Mindful Practices to Spark Creativity

Be, Awake, Create: Mindful Practices to Spark Creativity

Author: Rebekah Younger, MFA

Publisher: Reveal Press

Publication Date: June 1, 2019

Length: 264 Pages








About the Author
Rebekah Younger has created artwork, knit clothing, interiors, businesses, communities, and books. She brings her love of creating to all aspects of her life and shares it with others through teaching mindful creativity. 

Activities to Spark Your Creativity
This book offers contemplations, mindfulness practices, and art activities to spark creativity. Each chapter is written to invite self-reflection and creative expression through "hands-on" learning. The print version of this book is a workbook/journal that allows the reader to record responses on the pages. If you read a digital copy, the author suggests the use of a journal or notebook to record written and artistic responses to the prompts.

My Thoughts
Creativity is defined as "the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination" (Dictionary.com).

Ms. Younger has done an excellent job in developing exercises, activities and prompts that encourage creativity. She considers herself a "creator" and uses her creative talents in everything she does. This book is not limited to the visual arts. The author encourages the reader to discover creative ways to express herself in art, music, dance, writing, photography, sewing, and other activities.  

Mindfulness meditation is used to develop an awareness of our environment and the world around us.  Meditation helps the creator stay focused and be awake to things that might be overlooked. A creator has a mindset that is open to new ideas and ways of doing things.

A few years ago, Ms. Younger had heart by-pass surgery and spent many months recovering. During this time, photography became a tool for her recovery. She used her camera to record images of ordinary things around her that she had previously taken for granted. She developed a new way of looking and seeing things that brought her joy and fulfillment.

I think the ideas in this book will definitely spark creativity in the hearts and minds of the readers. The more you put into the activities, the more you will get out of this excellent book. Highly recommended!

MY RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5

FYI ~ I got a free digital copy of this book to review from NetGalley.

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Book Review: What NOT To Do In Your Photography Business by Chris Darbonne

What NOT To Do In Your Photography Business

Author: Chris Darbonne

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Date: March 25, 2013




About The Author
Chris Darbonne quit her job working for an automotive company to open a photography studio. Her honest and conversational writing style may give you some insight into a retail photography studio. Learn what she did wrong, and also all the things she did right. Chris discusses things to be prepared for as well as techniques that worked.

What Went Wrong?
Some research states that up to 50% of all small businesses fail. Chris Darbonne shares her experience of opening a retail photography studio that no longer exists. This book details the lessons that she learned.

The author is very candid about the mistakes that she made in her business. The first chapter tells about an aggressive saleswoman who sold Ms. Darbonne an advertisement at a movie theater. The price of the ad was thirteen thousand dollars for the ad to run for eight months. YIKES! The author learned that it was not wise to make hasty decisions when it comes to purchasing advertising. Ditto for aggressive Yellow Pages sales reps.

Ms. Dabonne also shares "What I Did Right" in her business. One decision that  was "right" was hiring two photographers from the College of Creative Studies. These assistants were very helpful in building the business and offering a wide variety of products. However, the author regrets the fact that she did not do a better job training the assistants to handle telephone inquiries about her services and pricing.

Would Ms. Darbonne do it again? Her answer is YES! She is happy having gone on this adventure and is OK with where she is now.

My Thoughts
I have read quite a few books about how to succeed in business. I enjoyed reading this honest appraisal of mistakes that led to the closing of this business.

The author is very upbeat about the lessons she learned in this adventure. I think this book would be an interesting read for any aspiring photographer AND anyone thinking about starting a small business.

The lessons is this book are very clear. HAVE A PLAN AND PROCEED SLOWLY. The author states that she is no longer taking pictures. That is a shame. I hope she will eventually regroup and start again...a little older and a little wiser.

My Rating: 4 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I ordered a digital copy of this ebook from Amazon.Com during a free promotion. Please check the current price before ordering.

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A Rustic Style With Animoto

This morning I went my Animoto account and discovered a new video template called "Rustic". I love everything country, rustic and vintage. This template is just what I have been waiting for to feature photos of my rustic treasures.

Animoto is a web application that produces videos from photos, video clips and music. Animoto analyzes the provided photos, video clips and music to generate a video similar to a trailer. According to the website, the song is analyzed, producing a unique video every time.

Here is a video that I made with the Rustic template.

 FYI ~ The Animoto link in this post is my affiliate link. For a limited time,  you will receive 20% off any new Pro subscription purchase and I will get 2 free months added on to my Pro subscription.

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Book Review: Blogging for Bliss by Tara Frey

Blogging for Bliss: Crafting Your Own Online Journal: A Guide for Crafters, Artists and Creatives of all Kinds

Author:  Tara Frey

Publishers: Lark Crafts

Publication Date: August 4, 2009




About The Author
Tara Frey began blogging in 2004 and inspired thousands of creative souls with her honest and often funny prose about family, friendship and her creative endeavors.

The Creative Blogging World
This book is a visual delight for artists, crafters and creatives of all kinds. The color illustrations are amazing and really add value to the text. Ms. Frey was a creative blogging pioneer and she shares many of her techniques for adding photos and using photo-editing software. She offers tips on enhancing and embellishing blogs with type, art and other visuals.

The author features more than 50 blogs to inspire the reader and illustrate how a creative hobbyist or professional can use a blog to share and promote their skills.

There are many creative bloggers who have made the transition from pleasure to profit. Ms. Frey tells how these bloggers have built blogs that create loyal followers and solid business.

My Thoughts
I have found that craft blogs are RED HOT! Even though this book was published several years ago, I found myself pouring over the pages and absorbing as much of the information as I could.

I found the information about taking great photos, altering photos, designing banners, using photo-editing software, and adding "sidebar fancies" absolutely fascinating. I also learned how to use Blog Roll to attract more readers to my blog.

I enjoyed reading the case studies of 50 creative bloggers who have attracted a large following of readers.  I checked-out these blogs and most of them are still active. Each of these 50 bloggers also listed their favorite craft blogs so this book really offers a wealth of examples to investigate.

I was a little disappointed that the author's blog has been closed down. I could find very little current information about her.

I recommend this book to creative bloggers who are looking for inspiration from those who have found bliss and success in the blogosphere. I would love to see an updated edition in the future.

My Rating:  4 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I checked this book out from my local public library.

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Make A Music Video With Animoto

Animoto has recently implemented a new feature that allows you to fit your photos/video to a song. It is now much easier to have your content and music end at the same time when you are designing a video slideshow. This is a very helpful feature if you want the entire song to play during your video. If you do not set the music and photos to end at the same time, the music will gradually fade out at the end of your content.

I have designed two new music videos to demonstrate this feature. Animoto has hundreds of royalty-free songs in their music library. I made selections from the music library, and then I chose photos/video to illustrate the music.

Music really speaks to the emotions and it is a great way to connect with people. There are many other services on the Internet that assist you in creating video presentations, but I think Animoto is the best when it comes to artistic style and creativity.

I chose the popular country song, "You Are My Sunshine" and illustrated it with a combination of my own photographs and pictures provided in the Animoto photo library.

In this video, I chose a cute children's song from the Animoto music library and illustrated it with some family portraits and some floral pictures from the Animoto photo library.

Animoto provides a license to use their music in public forums (like YouTube) so you do not have to worry about copyright infringement issues. I used the Animoto Pro account to make these videos but there is a free option available to try the service to see if it meets your needs.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Share Memories With Animoto

Would you like to create a professional quality video slideshow to share with your friends and family?
Animoto lets you organize your photos, add some video clips and top it off with your favorite music. It is very easy to do and you will love the results.
I recently attended my daughter's baby shower and created a slideshow with the photos and video that we took on this special day. I used a brand new Animoto template named "Through the Blossoms" to design the slideshow. I explain exactly how I made the video in the steps below.

How To Made A Video Slideshow With Animoto
(1.) I transferred the pictures that I took at the shower from my digital camera to my computer. I also selected pictures that my daughter took with her camera and copied them from her album on Facebook.
(2.) I saved some of the favorite video clips that I took at the shower with my Flip Mino camera on my computer.
(3.) I went to Animoto and logged into my account. I clicked on the "Create Video" tab.
(4.) I was able to view all the video styles that are available on the site. I chose "Through The Blossoms" for this video.
(5.) I was taken to the screen where I would design the video. I clicked on the "Add Pics and Vids" tab. I uploaded all the photos that I had saved on my computer from my digital camera and the Facebook album. I then uploaded the video clips that I saved on my computer from my Flip Mino video camera. Animoto allows you to use 10-second video clips in your slideshows. You have the option of turning the audio off or leaving it on. I decided to turn the audio off on the video clips.
(6.) Animoto offers a collection of stock photos and video that you can add to your slideshows. I chose several baby photos from their collection to add to my slideshow.
(7.) I clicked on the "Add Text" tab and created several short written messages that I wanted to include in the video. You can drag and drop the text screens to the location you want them in the slideshow.
(8.) I clicked on the "Change Music" tab to select the music that I wanted to complement my photos. This is always the hardest part for me because there are so many selections in the music library. I chose a song named "Golden Days" for this slideshow.
(9.) I clicked the "Advanced Settings" tab to give the slideshow a name and description. There are other options you can use to customize the video to fit your needs.
(10.) I saved my work and then clicked the "Produce Video" tab. I waited a few minutes and it was a done deal. I previewed the video and then upgraded the resolution to 720 HD.
(11.) I exported the video to YouTube and shared it with my friends.

Animoto allows you to open an account and create a 30 second video FREE. Try it today.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Please Help! We Need "LIKES" On YouTube

My daughter, Cindy Phelps Thomas, works as an assistant manager at a large apartment complex near Houston, Texas.
The company challenged all of it's employees to create a video that features the things they are passionate about outside of work.
Cindy created a poignant video that features her husband, daughter, extended family and friends. She uploaded her video to YouTube and entered the contest.

She recently learned that the WINNER of the contest would be determined by the number of "LIKES" that her video gets on YouTube. The prize is a cash gift that would come in very handy for Christmas shopping. I think Cindy did a fabulous job with this video and I would really, really, really like to see her win. :)

I am asking you to click HERE to watch the video and then press the "LIKE" button to vote for Cindy's video.

You will need to have a YouTube or Google account to vote. These accounts are FREE and it is easy to sign-up.

The contest ends SOON so please vote TODAY!

Thank you so much for your help. Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.