Sorry this is such a blah post… been busy, but not as creative as I’d like.  Hmm.. maybe I need to find some creative ways to sneak in more creative time… in just the every day things.

I wanted to post *something*, so here’s something…

I finally settled on a design for my business cards (for the time being).  I have a terrible time designing for myself for some reason - it’s easier when I do it for other people.  Anyway, so I did that and ordered the cards, and they came this week.  I’m quite happy with them.  The color is a little different than I expected, but that’s good to know.   I had them printed on a paper with a matte silk laminate - they are awfully smooth and buttery (irresistable).  I also had a spot UV - basically, part of the design printed in clear gloss on top of the matte…. so, the white lines on the funky globs is also in shiny.  On the back, I had spot UV of the globs (filled, not just the outlines) printed over the stripes.  It looks good, but I still view it as a learning experience, and am excited for the next time to see what I can do.

I also threw in Rich’s business card, which I had done several months ago.  Very simple and to the point.  Just what he needs to help him visualize himself as a writer/author.

I’m including a photo of Kael’s birthday cake - yes, I recycled the candles from Hana’s - but they’re so fun!! (and I needed to offset the white frosting).  The cake is homemade, but it didn’t make as much as I thought (only one round pan), so it’s small.  He didn’t mind.  The important thing is the frosting - Kael can’t eat any frosting with traditional powdered sugar - it makes him sick.  Last time, I made a 7-minute frosting which used sugar instead.  But, this time, I used *homemade* powdered sugar.  I ground up some natural sugar with my grain mill, and then I added a little tapioca starch flour in place of the corn starch that typical powdered sugar contains.   It came out pretty good.  It tastes fine, and the consistency was good, in that it got stiff like regular powdered sugar, BUT, my grinder doesn’t do super fine grinding, so it was slightly grainy.  No one seemed to mind (except maybe me).  But, at least we have another option for frosting.  Yay!

Creativity Question:  Do you pile up a lot of “tomorrow’s”?  Prof. Harrold Hill (The Music Man), tells Marian (the Librarian), “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.”

This is something I do too often, and I’m trying to get better at NOT piling up the tomorrows… any suggestions, stories, etc?  A little inspiration goes a long way for me (until I put it off until tomorrow).

I really needed this…. to get out into the fall weather and into the magnificent colors.  I wish I could have stayed out longer, but I’d forgotten that since the end of Daylight Savings time, it gets dark earlier than it did a week ago.  So, it was getting dark, there were quite a few clouds - the lighting wasn’t perfect (as on Friday when I didn’t have my camera), and the batteries died after about 5-10 minutes, but here’s a bit of what I was able to capture…

I always feel grateful after I’ve had a chance to walk a bit in nature.  Its intricate and exquisite beauty reminds me of the hand of God in my life.  I feel renewed, more grounded, and I am able to more fully appreciate the simple things… simple, but meaningful and inspiring.

Creativity Question: I’ve asked before what inspires you.  This time, the question is, where do you go to renew your soul?
For me, there are several places - but nature is probably the place where I feel the strongest, simplest, soul-stirring feelings of gratitude, and at the same time, refill my creativity cup (and I can’t possibly capture it perfectly through my camera lens).