I was just gonna post the video above for today’s post–but I’ve received so much kindness this week, so I felt like I needed to also say thank you to some people who’ve made me incredibly happy and grateful.

Thank you to Mayi Carles for the adorable package you sent!

Yesterday, the postal woman came to the back door and handed me a package. I racked my brain as I signed the slip, trying to figure out what I had ordered. Then, I realized it was a package from Mayi–something I hadn’t ordered. In a frenzy of excitement, I tore it open to find a customized stack of to-do bookmarks, a pencil, and a super sweet note. And, the whole thing was wrapped A-DOR-ABLY. Yes, I had to break down the word adorably to emphasize it, because it was that sweet. I took some pictures to share with you guys, because I just couldn’t help myself:

Thank you Mayi for making my day–and being such a good friend!

Thank you to my lovely consulting client for sending me a handwritten note.

I’m not gonna name you–because I’m not sure if you’d want me to–but you know who you are. Thank you so much for taking the time to send me a handwritten thank you note after our consulting session. It totally made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave thoughtful comments on Wednesday’s blog post.

I was amazed by how many people were touched by that post. I haven’t responded to all of the comments, but I want you to know that I read and appreciate every single comment. I’m going to try to reply to as many as I can, but this weekend is going to be a full one. I’m going out of town for my nephew’s second birthday!!!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend–and let’s help Rose out. If you have a way to keep your creative juices flowing that I didn’t mention, leave it in the comments below!

A few weeks ago, the talented and lovely Jess of Epheriell Designs invited me to participate in A Creative Odyssey Blog Hop. For the month of December, over 45 bloggers are sharing their creative goals for the New Year. Today, along with one hundredth gallery, I’m sharing mine.

I’ve already got a lot on my plate for 2011. I’ve planned out almost all of the paid information products that I’ll be selling on Blacksburg Belle—and written down my business goals. But, I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking about my creative goals.

For the past year, I’ve been trying to find a balance between my desire to help other creative entrepreneurs and my love of creating. When I first started Blacksburg Belle I was frustrated, because I wasn’t spending enough time creating. I spent most of my time writing posts, working with other creative entrepreneurs, and promoting my site. Then, I realized that just like everything else, I needed to schedule my creative time instead of waiting until I have “free time.”

Every evening I create a to-do list for the next day, and I always keep it to 6 items. I don’t put more than 6 things on my to-do list, because I want it to be doable. It makes me feel really good at the end of the day when I’ve checked everything off—and I’ve realized that setting unreasonable daily to-do lists makes me feel crappy and overwhelmed. Two things that destroy my creativity

On my to-do list I always include something creative like working on a new piece of mixed media, making a new pair of earrings, or sewing a fiber art bracelet. And, if I finish my to-do list early, the rest of the time is my creative time. I work on any creative project that inspires me.

So, one of my creative goals is to keep this up even when I have a lot of other stuff going on.

Here are my other creative goals:

1. Sew something for myself each month.

I constantly make things for other people, but I hardly ever make things for myself. I create things for my family members during the holidays and for their birthdays. Plus, I make a lot of stuff to sell. While I love doing those things, I need prioritize myself as well.

I just got back into sewing, and I can’t believe that I ever stopped—because I really love it. So, I want to make it a goal to sew 12 things for myself during the next year. That shouldn’t be too hard since I sewed 10 gifts for people on my Christmas list over the past weekend.

2. Learn how to knit socks and mittens.

I really enjoy curling up on the sofa with a cup of tea and knitting while I listen and partially watch television. It’s one of my guilty pleasures. But, I don’t know how to knit anything more than a basic scarf, and it’s time to move on.

3. Attend an art retreat.

This would be a really big deal for me. I hate traveling alone and I know this sounds a little crazy—but I hate leaving my dogs. They’re spoiled rotten, because I work from home and it’s really hard on them when I leave for long periods of time. But, I know it would be an amazing experience to spend a couple days with other mixed media artists and learn new skills.

In the spirit of not setting unreasonable goals, I think I’ll stick these. I can always add more as the year progresses.

What about you? Do you have any creative goals for 2011? I’d love for you to share one or two of them in the comments section below.

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Everybody gets caught up in their day-to-day lives, even creative people. And, it’s easy to forget that you need to nurture your creativity. Making simple changes to your daily routine can bring lots of creativity into your life. Here are 12 things you can do:

1. Write morning pages.

I can’t take credit for this idea. I got it from reading The Artist’s Way {affiliate link}, and it’s something that the author, Julia Cameron, demands that you do. Julia insists that writing whatever thoughts are in your head first thing in the morning will help you deal with your inner critic and inspire creativity. And, she’s right.

Set aside 20 minutes in the morning when you first wake up to write down your stream of consciousness. Write down anything that comes to mind, and continue to write until you’ve filled up three pages. At first, you might feel silly. But, as you continue to do this morning after morning, you’ll see a huge difference in how it impacts your day.

2. Take pictures.

Carry a small point-and-shoot camera with you, and take pictures of things that inspire you. When you’re on a walk, take a picture of the wildflowers. When you’re at a local café sipping hot chocolate with your children, take a picture of their smiling faces, the marshmallows, and the stack of coffee mugs.

Collect and edit the really good pictures. Discard the rest. Doing this on a regular basis will help you observe the loveliness of everyday things—which will inspire your work, no matter what creative medium you use.

3. Plan creative time.

Want to know the secret of successful artists, writers, photographers, and other creative entrepreneurs? They plan creative time. They don’t wait until they’re hit by a creative muse. Instead, they work on creative projects every day, even when they don’t feel inspired.

If you want to have a successful creative business, you need to work on your craft each day. Don’t make excuses.

4. Go on an artist’s date.

All creative people need to constantly refill their creative tanks, and I love the idea of taking your artist on a date. Just you and your artist—which if you haven’t caught on, are the same person. Again, I got this idea from The Artist’s Way.

Each week you should set aside one to two hours to take your artist on a date. You could go to a movie, scour the magazine rack at your local bookstore, go antiquing, enjoy a gourmet meal by yourself, or go hunting through your local dollar store. You must go alone, because you’ll be more observant if you do.

When you’re on your artist date, take in your surroundings and allow yourself to play creatively.

5. Learn a new skill.

If you’re a creative entrepreneur, you probably have at least one thing that you’re really good at whether it be painting, knitting, writing, or something else. But, if you want to push yourself creatively, get out of your comfort zone and learn a new skill.

If you’re a mixed media artist, take a beginner’s knitting class. If you’re a jewelry artist, learn a new cooking technique. When you push yourself, it’ll help your creative business. You might be surprised what you can take from a different niche and apply it to your own.

6. Live in the moment.

When you’re thinking about the past or the future, you’re not plugged into the present moment. When you’re fully engaged in the present, you’ll do your very best creative work.

Stop living for yesterday or tomorrow, and instead, live for today. When you find your mind drifting, focus your attention on your body and your current surroundings. Come back to the current moment.

7. Make a to-do list.

I know that I don’t fully engage in my creative work when I’m thinking about the pile of dirty dishes in the sink, the blog post I need to write, or the emails I need to send. The way I get around this is that I keep a daily to-do list. This frees me up creatively, because I don’t have to keep this information stored in my brain or constantly remind myself of what I need to do.

8. Engage your right brain.

Before you dive into your next creative project, engage your right brain with a right-brained activity. This will stimulate the part of your brain that needs to be actively engaged for you to be super creative.

9. Start a creativity swipe file.

I run across blog posts, pictures, creative tutorials, and quotes that inspire me on a daily basis. Whenever I do, I save it to the “creative pick-me-up” folder on my desktop. Just saving something inspiring gives me creative juice. But, I also use that folder to get inspiration when I’m running low.

Open up a new folder on your desktop, name it, and start adding things that spark your creative fire.

10. Set up a creative workspace.

You want to be inspired by the place where you do your creative work, so spend one day at least twice a year enhancing and changing up your creative space.

In my art studio, I have a really big inspiration board where I hang magazine pages, pictures, and color combinations that light me up. I only have to glance at it to get my creative juices flowing.

11. Start asking, “What if?”

Instead of hoping someone else will come up with a solution for your problems, get creative. Ask yourself “what if” questions.

For instance, if you wish that you could afford eco-friendly paint, ask, “what if I could make my own eco-friendly paint?”

This kind of thinking will lead to lots of creative problem solving.

12. Do something you’ve always wanted to do.

What are you waiting for? We constantly put off pleasure and fun until we have more money, more time, more resources. Stop making excuses for why you can’t do what you’ve always wanted to do. Instead, figure out how to do it.

If you’ve always wanted to go to Greece, could you cut back on your monthly expenses over the next year to save enough to go to Greece? If you’ve always wanted to learn how to cook delicious Italian food, can you find an inexpensive, local cooking class to take?

Think about how doing something you’ve always wanted to do would make you feel. Happy? Stress-free? Excited? Invigorated? All of these feelings lead to creativity and will help you fill up your creative tank.

Pick at least one thing from this list, and do it this week. Leave a comment below letting me know which one you’re going to try.

Please excuse the dogs causing a little ruckus who wanted to make an appearance on Blacksburg Belle. And, I promise we’re on our first cocktail in this video–even though it definitely doesn’t seem like it. We hope this video will give you ideas on how you can refill your creative tank when it’s running on low.