WORDS TO INSPIRE AUTUMN CRAFT CREATIONS

AUTUMN'S POTPOURRI OF COLOURS

This is Part II in the Series of Words to Inspire Craft Creations and we are taking a look at Autumn's Potpourri of Colourful Words.  As I created Part I, Spring Has Sprung for those of us living in the Southern Hemisphere, I thought it only fitting to create Autumn's Potpourri of Colours for the Northern Hemisphere. 

How splendidly do these words from stories, describe a crisp Autumn day? 

"It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler of crust of brown sugar and cinnamon."

 - Sarah Allen, First Frost.

"Fall has always been my favourite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale."

 - Lauren DeStefan, Wither. 

"Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple."

 - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

These delightful words just lend themselves to creating the most splendid of Autumn creations or if you're short on time then pop on over to my Etsy Online Store: TheArtOfCreativityCo, to purchase your Halloween Cards, Prints or Gift Tags. 

WORDS TO INSPIRE AUTUMN CRAFT CREATIONS

This Poster is available in PDF and is FREE to download and print, here.  You are welcome to share it, however you may not sell it.

PS> Keep a look out for my Newsletter, which will be available to subscribe to soon, where I will be offering free resources, discount codes, keeping you up-to-date with what's new in my Online Store: TheArtOfCreativityCo, and such much more. 

MY Etsy ONLINE STORE: TheArtOfCreativityCo

I'm so excited to share that my

 Etsy Online Store : TheArtOfCreativityCo, 

is now OPEN. 

You can visit TheArtOfCreativityCo here, and purchase beautiful unique handcrafted cards and tags for any occasion, as well as posters and mixed media for the home, office or school.  New products will be continuously added, so don't forget to check back for more goodies. 

TheArtOfCreativityCo Online Store is Now Open

As an Opening Special, I would like to offer you a 10% discount on the purchase of TheArtOfCreativityCo items.  Use PROMOBG916 upon checkout to avail of this offer.

Can't find that perfect gift, I've got that covered too. Gift certificates/coupons are available to download.  Send me your friend's name, email address and a short message and I will email the gift certificate/coupon to your friend.

The Art of Creativity Studio Gift Certificates

I look forward to you stopping by and shopping at my Etsy Online Shop:TheArtOfCreativityCo.
Your reviews would be greatly appreciated on my Facebook Page or on My Etsy Online Store.

ARE YOU A CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR?

WHAT IS A CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR?

Creative entrepreneurship (as defined by Wiki) "is the practice of setting up a business – or setting yourself up as self-employed - in one of the creative industries. The focus of the creative entrepreneur differs from that of the typical business entrepreneur or, indeed, the social entrepreneur in that s/he is concerned first and foremost with the creation and exploitation of creative or intellectual capital. Essentially, creative entrepreneurs are investors in talent – their own or other people’s.

Caves listed seven basic economic or “bedrock” properties that he believes distinguish creative activities from other sectors of the economy:

(1) Demand is uncertain

(2) Creative workers care about their product

(3) Some creative products require diverse skills

(4) Differentiated products

(5) Vertically differentiated skills

(6) Time is of the essence

(7) Durable products and durable rents"

A Creative Entrepreneur as defined by the British Council is as follows: 

• "Somebody working in the creative sector who is able to demonstrate business success in the classic terms of business growth (profit, market share, employees) and/or in terms of his or her reputation (creativity, quality and aesthetic) amongst their peers.
• Somebody working in the creative sector who has developed a successful (in terms of impact and reach) social or not for profit enterprise in this sector.
• Somebody working in the creative sector who has shown leadership in the industry by championing its development in their country.
• Somebody working in the creative sector who has developed initiatives (exhibitions, trade fairs, festivals etc.) that develop and grow the market for this sector in their country."

Amazon list a few books for Creative Entrepreneurs which I can personally recommend: 

The Creative Entrepreneur: A DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real

"This book is for the large audience of artists, crafters, and creative individuals from all walks of life who desire to make a livelihood from their creative work, or who possibly have achieved some success, but don't know how to replicate it or move to another level of accomplishment.

The Creative Entrepreneur takes readers on an inner journey of creative exploration to discover how to make their dreams of creative livelihood real.

 It's a visual, project-oriented, step-by-step approach to business development for anyone who is mystified and possibly frustrated by how to make a business out of their creative work."

The Right-Brain Business Plan: A Creative, Visual Map for Success

"Turn Passionate Ideas into Profitable Enterprises

Do you dream of making a living doing what you love but find the process of creating a viable business plan like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole? Jennifer Lee knows what it’s like to make the entrepreneurial leap — and how to do it successfully. The key is using, rather than stifling, imagination and intuition. Lee’s illustrated, colorful worksheets and step-by-step instructions are playful yet practical, transforming drudgery into joy. They’ll enable you to define your vision and nail down plans for funding, marketing, networking, and long-term strategy.

The Right-Brain Business Plan: Jennifer Lee

Discover how to:
* Develop a financial plan with fun and flair 
* Select your circle of support to get the work done
* Clarify your business values and goals 
* Paint a picture of your business landscape
* Understand your competition and what makes you stand out from the crowd
* Identify your perfect customers and create a marketing plan to reach them
* Map out concrete action steps to bring your Right-Brain Business Plan to life"

Digital Arts explains "How to be a Creative Entrepreneur" because we have all had those light-bulb moments, but very few actually act on them and then when we do take that leap of faith, are not sure how to proceed.  Make no mistake, this certainly is a very challenging road to embark upon for Right-brained Creatives as one has to get that Left-brain to do all those boring admin matters too.  Especially, if you only have a small budget to work from and start off as a one man team.  Having said that though, when it all starts to come together, that sense of accomplishment just makes you want to pat your own back ;-) 

The Atlantic describes it as "The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur"

"... in the age of creative entrepreneurship, producing becomes an experience, even the experience. It becomes a lifestyle, something that is packaged as an experience—and an experience, what’s more, after the contemporary fashion: networked, curated, publicized, fetishized, tweeted, catered, and anything but solitary, anything but private."

Creative Entrepreneurs.co believe that "Creative Entrepreneurs are Different. They’re often primarily motivated by a creative idea, not financial reward. The size of the ventures they create has a broader range, many of them smaller than in other sectors. They work differently, with less predictable business cycles and business models based on subjective factors like taste and emotional intelligence." Join Creative Entrepreneurs.co and you will soon learn all you need to know about becoming a Creative Entrepreneur by bringing together all the resources you need to start your Creative business. 

Questions to ask yourself:

• Are you doing what you Love? 
• What can you contribute to the Market?
• Do you trust your gut?(If you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect others to)
• Are you resourceful? 
• Can you manage your funds/overheads? (That left-brain stuff)
• Will you be able to overcome those challenges? (Rome wasn't built in a day)
• How will you engage with your community? (Social Media, Expo's, Marketing, etc.)
• Are you able to work longer/flexible hours? (Being self-employed means longer hours, but they are flexible)

The Art of Creativity Studio started in my study and I hope to grow it with other Creative Entrepreneurs who share the same vision as myself. I would love to be able to hire an administrator who can do all the Left-brain stuff, so that I can just be creative all day and everyday ;-) 

Share on The Art of Creativity Studio Facebook Page 

how you started your business and what you think defines a Creative Entrepreneur. 

Until next week, go on and Make your Creative Life your "Proper Job" and embrace being a Creative Entrepreneur.

Keep Creating

Shirley

Creative Entrepreneur

PS. For this post I have inserted links to the definitions of a creative entrepreneur

 from various sources and inserted them in Direct Speech

DATABASE OF YOUR FONTS

FONT IDENTIFIER

Ever wondered what it would be like to have an overview all your fonts?

I have over 1500 fonts installed on my Mac and land up only using the ones that I know, as I just don't have the time to scroll through and test all 1500 of them every time I create a new project.

Now, as we are creatives that means we are visual, well, I certainly am and I like to see what the chosen font will look actually like and not have to type a word or sentence for each and every font that I think I might like for my project.  Luckily for me and you, Print my Fonts by Stefan Trost Media has created a software program which does just that for us and best of all, it is for FREE.  You can of course make a donation, which would greatly assist them, for future programs.

It's easy to install, if you wish to do so or you can just utilise the tool as is. Download the program, install the software, which is compatible for both Mac & PC, and open it.  It will look like this image below.  You can then check which boxes you would like printed.  I chose these.  "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog", if you did not know, it uses all the letters of the alphabet, therefore you are able to see how each letter will look for your desired font.

Install Print My Font Tool

I decided to not print all 108 pages but rather save all 108 pages as a PDF as I am constantly adding new fonts and would then waste a lot of paper reprinting the list each time.  I saved it as a PDF which you can do by sending it to the printer, however, it has a box that gives you an option to save it as a PDF rather than selecting the Print option.

Print My Font Print or Save Option

The great thing about saving it as a PDF is that it has a search button.  Start typing in a font name and it will highlight the one you're looking for or alternatively you can now scroll through the list and SEE which font you want as it is now already displayed in it's style. This is an easier and quicker way to overview your fonts in a list form and is now on-hand for all your future creative projects.

Print My Font Database

Or you can rather type in the text directly with the Print My Font Tool to view in a specific font within your font library, as seen below, instead of saving or printing the list.

Stefan Trost Media- Print My Font Tool

Inclusive of this one, there are many other features to explore, read more here.

Print My Font Features

Share this post on any or all of your social media platforms and help fellow creative entrepreneurs discover this amazing tool.

Wishing you a very creative week

NO PHOTOSHOP? NO PROBLEM!

PICMONKEY IS YOUR #1 OPTION

"PicMonkey is a free online photo editor and collage maker. Basic editing all the way up to advanced stuff." It is so easy to use and before you know it, you too, will start to create your very own designs for any project. 

PicMonkey

I decided that my Facebook Page needed an update and I used PicMonkey's Collage Maker to help me create a fab new FB page.

I'll show you just how easy it is. I chose the Collage Maker Option, then selected the Facebook Canvas for my Design.

It is best not to change the presets (which you can easily do, but why re-invent the wheel)

Open a photo or photos from your Computer, Facebook, OneDrive or Dropbox and then drag them into the cells (boxes) as you'd like them to appear.

In addition, you can create cards, your own designs, or any other collage by utilising their free templates provided. The backgrounds can be coloured (you can also use the dropper and use one of the colours from your image), rounded and spaced, just as you like. 

Once you have completed the layout, it is best to save your design at this point. It is preferable to save it as a PNG. The Quality of the image will be recommended, but that can also be changed. No time to complete the Edit? No problem! When you are ready to complete the project, just open it from where you saved it and continue the Edit from the Design Option in the first image.

Once on the Basic Edits the possibilities are endless. Crop, Canvas Colour, Rotate, Exposure, Colours, Sharpen and Resize are just the start of the Edits. This is what happened when I changed the Saturation and Temperature in Exposure, from the above image to the below image. You will be promoted to Apply the changes as you go along or if you are not happy you can cancel or undo.  Just a note: You cannot undo the Edits once you have saved your design, so I would suggest that you rather save it a few times, with a new Filename, during your design process than to have to begin the whole design from scratch.  That way you can pick up where you left off when you were happy with the design at that point. 

There are TONS of Special Effects, which means that for each project, you can have a completely new image.  Play around with the different options from the "Tried & Tested", Basic, B&W, Camera Look, Paintbox, Light Area, Artsy to Advanced and be amazed. If the Freebies aren't enough for you already, then sign-up for the Royale Package and receive even more choices!

But wait! There is more.... You can add Text to your image using their fonts or you can add Your Own Text using Yours. These can be resized, centred, colorised, blended, etc. Here are some Font & Graphic Websites that I use: Font Bundles, Creative Market, Graphic Stock, The Hungry JPEG, Creative Booster, Deezy, to name but a few.

Oh boy! And the Overlays are just AMAZING! These too can be resized, centred, colorised, blended, etc. or use the Eraser Tool to remove the bits you don't want. Note, that any of these options can be clicked on and deleted before you apply changes and save. 

Add PicMonkey's Textures or Your Own from the Websites, I suggested above.

Then, if you still want more options, choose the Themes. Last but not least, your Masterpiece needs a Frame to complete the Design, if you so choose. 

The Design is now complete and my Facebook Page has a new Cover. 

FREEBIES FOR MOTHER'S DAY 2016

FREE PRINTABLE MOTHER'S DAY CREATIONS ESPECIALLY FOR YOU

With Mother's Day on the 8th of May this year, I have created these free Mother's Day printables just for you.

Included in this Mother's Day Free Printable Kit from The Art of Creativity Studio are 2 Cards to choose from, a Mother's Day Quote as well the following Coupon messages: 

• Mother & Daughter Date
• Mother & Son Date
• Unlimited Hugs & Kisses XOXO
• Shoulder Massage
• Foot Massage
• Run a Bubble Bath
• Breakfast in Bed
• Clean the Kitchen
• Cook Dinner
• and a few Blank one's for you to write whatever else you think that your Mom deserves

Which Mom does not appreciate a little bit of pampering? I certainly would love to receive these special treats, which is why I have created these coupons for you, to gift to your Mom or anyone who is dear to you on this Special Day.

Mother's Day Coupons

Blank Mother's Day Coupons/Vouchers

Most of the work has been created by The Art of Creativity Studio because I know that time is precious and sometimes gifts are left until the last minute or you just don't know what to buy or maybe you just don't have money. So all that is left for you to do is to choose which one's you would like to download, print them off on a good quality card stock, place them in the envelope (see how to make your own) and surprise Mom with a card, coupons and a quote which can be framed.

For You, Mom - Mother's Day Card

Mother's Day Card

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY FROM THE ART OF CREATIVITY STUDIO TO ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL SPECIAL WOMEN

This Free Personal Use Mother's Day Kit created by The Art of Creativity Studio,

 is downloadable as individual projects here.

MY CREATIVE JOURNEY (Part II)

MY STORY continued

One of my First Drawings

My cousin’s wife is an Artist and her work is just spectacular! She has many of her pieces at Hotels in Abu Dhabi and people kept asking her when she was going to give lessons.  So when she started offering Art Classes in 2010, I decided that I wanted to broaden my Art skills to something a little more grown-up.  It was the best decision, I undertook.  I was in Heaven…  This was just what I was hungry for and my love affair for Art was kindled.

In 2011, Our son had just completed High School in the UAE and was off to start Varsity in Cape Town and our daughter was just starting High School, in the Northern Hemisphere. I had the longing to return to the Cape and had itchy feet and needed to be closer to my sisters, brother, and especially my Nanna (both parents passed away many years ago). It was a tough decision to leave my DH (Darling Husband) behind, but he finally had a good job and had to remain in the UAE.  

KraftyKidzWorkshop

I tried looking for a teaching job, but the pay was terrible, so I decided to start KraftyKidzWorkshop which was a mobile Arts and Crafts shoppe for parties and events.  This worked for awhile, but was not lucrative as I had no marketing skills at this time and although the idea was a good one, the area where I currently live was not conducive to.

Kiddies attending Xmas Workshop

Parenting Hub

Then my sister-in-law and I found an opportunity to work together, and bought Parenting Hub.  She is a qualified Graphic Designer and this worked for a year.  We were able to  share the work load and learnt much about marketing. We attended workshops and events, etc and grew our business. As we were not able to expand our business at that time, the work load became a bit much and as I had been commuting a lot to Abu Dhabi, we unfortunately had to sell the business.

Mixed Media on Board

I started taking Mixed Media classes, again to expand my art skills and improve my techniques.  I like working with many different mediums and can become easily bored with just one medium, so I  mix it up and explore new techniques. Working with Mixed Media has made me realise that it is ok to make mistakes and occasionally things do go wrong and that I do need the patience (like my Nanna) to accept that I don't know everything (yet). At least Mixed Media, is very forgiving.  I also find that daylight is the best time to work on my projects.

Acrylic Painting on Canvas of Blouberg Beach

Now, what to do? Not one for sitting around twiddling my thumbs, I started formulating ideas and The Art of Creativity Studio was born in October 2014.  My Blog has given my creativity a voice and the teacher within, can share ideas and "How to" methods. My ideas started becoming a reality when I actually started doing! Starting with this Blog, and slowly building my brand as I learned new skills and techniques.

Nikon D3100

I like to go the extra mile and am a bit of a perfectionist (to my own detriment). My hubby always says that I like to create extra work for myself, which admittedly, I do, do. Not wanting to stop at creating The Art of Creativity Studio,  I expanded my horizons even further and took a Photography course. I would highly recommend any creative person to pursue photography as it helps with that eye for detail, and of course helps to market your creative work. 

"Steal Like an Artist"

Facebook and Pinterest were the next steps, I took to develop my brand.  And slowly, my desires to turn my obsessions into a business started to become a reality. Recently, I have joined Instagram and you can view many of my creations and my photography images on that platform. 

I have read a book, twice, called: “Steal like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told you About Being Creative” by Austin Kleon,  where he suggests that you take an idea and put your stamp on it, by developing the different ideas and creating it into something of your own, and share, of course!

Pinterest and Instagram are my constant source of inspiration, and I often think, “I can make that and develop it my style.”

I must say that I have been known to become quite excited when I visit an Arts and Crafts/Stationery Store as it lights a fire within me, even from a very young age and I can spend hours just looking around, but I can also spend a small fortune too. I find myself wanting all the tools of the trade (if only my budget and time would allow). I do, however have to realise that I cannot have everything and that at some point I have to start limiting my supplies, as I am finding that I am out-growing my studio and soon I will need my own Craft Store to store all my supplies. 

Silhouette Cameo at work

 The Silhouette Cameo has, however become my latest tool, and boy are the possibilities just endless with this amazing product...!  I have always enjoyed figuring out how things work and most often self-teach myself many of the skills I have acquired through the years. Of course,  nowadays, we have YouTube tutorials which are always on-hand…. One can learn just about anything these days on the Net. My head is exploding with so many new ideas and creations. 

Crowns for Princess for a Day @Reach for a Dream Foundation

Birthday Card for my Sister

Why is it that at school we are only taught, Academics or Sports and that there is very little room for Creative minded students? How sad is that? We need creatives in this world, to make it more beautiful. Well, now is the time to embrace my creativity and share it with the world (literally). I want to stop making excuses as I have doubted my abilities for so long now that I don't want to hide behind them, anymore.  I have the flexibility of my job, and yes, it is a job! I am my own boss, I have creative control over my own projects and at least my creativity can’t be stifled, I am in charge of my own destiny. The nice thing about having a flexible schedule is that I still have time to catch-up with Family and Friends over a coffee or lunch/dinner. "Fortunately", for my creativity, my hubby is away most of the time, my son is away at Varsity and has left home and my daughter is in her last year of High School. I like to start the day with a clean slate, which entails a walk on the beach with my dog, as my constant companion, and most chores done as this clears my head for the day ahead in my studio.

Unique Handmade Cards will also be part of the Stock

My “Top Secret”  dream is to start selling my products before I move, again... back to Abu Dhabi mid 2017, on an online store, probably Etsy, so that my creations can be accessible to the whole world. I am currently investigating different options and working on building up my product stock, Unique Handmade Treasures for your Pleasure with Love by The Art of Creativity Studio xxx

My Motto

I Love what I do and it rewards me with such a sense of accomplishment. I still have a long journey ahead, but I am looking forward to it.





Read Part I: 

MY CREATIVE JOURNEY (Part I)

MY STORY

I absolutely love to create and make things and I will try anything creative once.

It has been a journey of many creative experiences to get me to where I am today.

I took great pleasure from a very young age in keeping myself entertained with my colouring book and crayons and I still have my first colouring-in book, which my Mom had kept for me.  I could spend hours "teaching" my dolls and sometimes my sisters would oblige.  Little did I know that years later, I would actually become a Nursery School Teacher or an Artist.

My Nanna taught me to knit, crochet, embroider and sew when I was 8 and I started sewing on her old Singer Machine with the treadle. She had so much patience and I was the only grand-daughter who was interested.  Neither my Mom, nor my 2 sisters were remotely interested in needlework. 

I also loved to write and had several Penpals in my teenage years and delighted in stamp collecting, which was the in-thing, back in the early 80's.



I had really wanted to become a teacher when I left school, but unfortunately, I was not able to attend Teacher College after I Matriculated.  I went to study "Secretary of Tourism" of all things at the Cape Technicon.  I went on to work for the South African Tourism Board for a few years.  During this time I met my future husband on a blind date and on the 6th of April 2016, we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary.

With my husband, being a pilot, we have moved several times, wherever the work has taken us.  When we were newly married, I attended Mixed Media evening classes in Pretoria, South Africa after work.  In our classes we created some of these:

Bunny Jewellery Holder for Daughter's Room

Checker Sheep Board for Nursery Room

I then started lessons at Sew & Simple in Johannesburg, South Africa and created many of my own clothes and my husbands tracksuits, absolutely hideous when you look back.... I was still yearning to become a teacher and decided that the only way I was going to do that was to study long-distance.  I enrolled and within 2 years of intense studying, I qualified as a Nursery School Teacher. My dream to teach did not materialise as in 1993, I fell pregnant with my son and wanted to be a full-time Mom.

My Son was 2 when we moved back to the Cape where I assisted a friend in her home industry business, which is now a very big supplier of school uniforms in the Western Cape and she now has her own factory. It was then that I realised that there was a market for Maternity Wear as the maternity clothing were just awful and had no shape to them whatsoever.  I went to night school and learnt pattern making and started my own little home industry, manufacturing Maternity Wear, called Mum2Be, which grew successfully.

I was able to continue with Mum2Be during several moves, and even when my daughter was born in 1999. Unfortunately, I was not able to move my business with me when we relocated to Mauritius in 2000 as I was not allowed to work there as my husband was the one with the work visa. However, saying that we were allowed to do Charity Work and Volunteer, so I volunteered at the Children’s school at the School Shop, where I learnt Pastel Accounting and attend the Corona Women's Group where I made many friends.  Expat life there was fantastic.

Halloween

Under The Sea Theme

Nursery Rhymes

Spirngtime at Nursery School

In 2005 we relocated, again, this time to Abu Dhabi.  This is where, I finally had the opportunity for my passion, which was to Teach.  I loved teaching and was able to teach as a Nursery School Teacher for 5 years.  Arts and Crafts was obviously my favourite teaching aspect and I looked forward to planning those lessons the most. The best was teaching kiddies how to paint, hold a pencil, cut with a scissors and watching them grow into very independent children who could write, build puzzles, throw a ball, climb the jungle gym, etc. 

Part II to follow next week on 13/4/16