With the snow taking a break it’s time to settle into project mode! I’ve been working on photo books and the more projects I start the more creative I want to be. I’ve scoured the internet for ideas on being more creative and am happily trying them all!
October Tip – Make Meaningful Gifts with your Photos
Use your photos to create meaningful, one-of-a-kind gifts. Your family will treasure them! Check out www.shutterfly.com for a huge selection of ideas to find a gift you like, then search the web to find the perfect place to order it. Use photos that evoke emotion. Try changing a coloured photo to black & white for more graphic impact. Scan an old print photo to create a digital image you can use. Enjoy being creative! Now is the time to get these gifts started.
Stimulate your Creativity
Try these ideas I found on the internet for stimulating your creativity!
1. Collect ideas – start a journal, file, sketchbook – somewhere to keep your ideas
2. Record lots of ideas – use pen and paper and write them down
3. Take a doodle break
4. Surf the web – look at Pinterest, stock photo sites, follow your interest
5. Brainstorm – set a timer and write down as much as you can within that time limit. No censoring.
6. Change up your daily routine – drive a different route, eat a different breakfast.
7. Get outside – take a nature break
8. Be resourceful – think of a new way to use something you already have to solve a problem
9. Give yourself a deadline – this will make you focus on the task
10. Exercise – get moving, dance, run, go for a walk
11. Talk about your project – explaining it to someone else will generate new ideas
12. Be open to ideas – listen to other’s ideas and find a way to make them work, even if you don’t think they will. This exercise makes you look at your project a different way.
13. Visualize your final product – how will the people experiencing it feel
14. Go somewhere new – look at art, explore a museum, check out a different park
15. Make an appointment with yourself to be creative – try some techniques, you can’t just wait around for inspiration to strike. Do something to move forward.
16. Borrow ideas from somewhere else – find something you like and use it as a jumping off point.
17. Change your environment – tidy up, move things around, add some toys, play music
18. Avoid disruptions – put your phone away, turn off notifications
19. Daydream – spend some time just thinking – see where your thoughts go
20. Take photos – give yourself a task like taking photos – take pictures of things up close, or very far away, things you love or things that are orange
21. Read – read about something new, something that interests you, something very different from what you usually read
22. Ask lots of questions – can it be better? Can it be different? Will it work backwards?
23. Create a mindmap – link your ideas and see how many you can add
24. Challenge yourself – instead of looking for one solution challenge yourself to come up with 10 different ones.
25. Describe your project in different ways – try describing it from different points of view.
26. Take a happiness break – do something that makes you happy – write your next paragraph in different colours, sing, dance, send your mom an email.