good things

I love magazines.

I love to look at the pictures.

I enjoy reading how things work, how things are created and, of course, stories about people that are creative.

Martha Stewart Living has been among my favorite magazines for many years because of all the creativity in its pages, and because I save them, the day finally arrived when I simply couldn't keep all the magazines anymore, soooooooo ...

I began tearing out the pictures and articles that I wanted to keep.

I'd go through the magazines while having my morning coffee, which turned out to be a lot of fun, and after I filled a box with these pages, (and, this took months!) I organized them and placed them in a 3-ring binder.

I still subscribe to MSL, but I no longer keep all the magazines in tact (except for the February issues, which I'll explain another day). Every month, when the new issue arrives, I go through the previous month's issue, tear out what I want to keep and put the pages in a 3-ring binder.

I'm currently working on my second "edition" of Best of Martha Stewart Living. For me, a 2-inch notebook holds three or four years of my magazine tear sheets. And, in doing this, I find I've created a Martha Stewart Swipe File of ideas.  Pretty neat, huh?

Martha's magazine has inspired the color of my bedroom walls (a pale celery green which complements the blues and pinks and peaches that I love) and the way my office is organized, including the boxes and magazine holders lined up on the shelves holding papers, pens and my favorite craft publications.

I enjoy art, too. I love old books and papers, ink pens and taking pictures, and sometimes, when I'm looking for an idea for one of these things, I browse the pages of my Best of book and find inspiration.

As I read the blogs of other creative spirits, including Martha herself, I see that living an artful life is just as creative as painting a picture or knitting a sweater. So, I continue on my quest to cultivate my creativity ...

and, as they say:

Life's a journey.

Enjoy the ride.

Being creative is subjective. I think.

I got a bad respiratory infection a couple of weeks ago and it totally derailed my efforts to cultivate my creativity. The most creative thing I did for eight days was lay on the sofa with my dog and watch the 1995 TV miniseries "Pride and Prejudice" with Colin Furth in the role of Mr. Darcy.  One of my favorite friends, Jean, loaned them to me when she discovered I was sick.  Jane Austen's classic novel about the prejudice that occurred between the 19th century classes and the pride which would keep lovers apart has spawned more than one movie, but this one is now my official "favorite!"

However!  I am inspired by the costumes and settings of that era! Oh! But, I was born a hundred or so years too late!

It took all of last week to catch up on my work, and this morning, while whining to myself about not having any time for creativity, I realized I am creative in my work. Where most people will address envelopes with the aid of a computer, I like to hand write them. So, here is my creative offering for today. 

I'm getting back in my creative groove, so there will be more to come.

Whew! Glad that's done!