Cloverdew Creative

My last post had me thinking about adventures… what exciting new things will I do this year?

I wouldn’t say these are goals so much as a brainstorm of what wonderful things I have to look forward to should the conditions be right:

Go to Singapore and Indonesia for my brother’s wedding

Start a new career

Start a scrapbook from scratch

Finish a novel

Write a personal mission statement

What exciting adventures do you have planned for this year?

design by Fifi du Vie

Eat Like an Artist in 2012 ♥ my new Wonderland playlist on Spotify ♥ iCal ♥ the above image from Fifi du Vie ♥ Being Erica ♥ Jay Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne ♥ Move and the world will get the fuck out of your way. – <3 Hey Amber Rae ♥ Pinterest ♥ This post about a true adventurer and his 365 photography project (make sure to watch the fascinating and moving video). ♥ the complete works of Shakespeare free for iOS ♥ Shit DC Says ♥ letterpress business cards ♥ John Legend’s cover of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep (can you imagine if they collaborated? OMG.) ♥ Adobe Bridge ♥ mimosas ♥ President Obama singing Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together ♥

What adventures are you up to? I’m brainstorming my own for 2012…

image from pinterest (click for link)

This post is part of a weekly feature on this blog called a Simple Image, which is just an image with links to the photographer’s or artist’s own website or blog.  If you would like to have your artwork or photography featured, or if you have suggestions on who should be featured, please contact me via email.

Shiny New Year love list:

origin: unknown (Is this yours? Let me know so I can credit you.)

Pantone and Sephora teaming up for a new beauty line!  ♥ SARK at TEDxFiDiWomen ”Succulence is Powerful” (YouTube video) ♥ friends who are always there no matter how many miles or days come between you ♥ Inbox: 1 (as close to zero as I can get realistically) ♥ teaching my mom how to use Flipboard and getting links from her as a result ♥ Janelle Monae ♥ handmade quilts ♥ warm and fuzzy sweaters ♥ The Definitive Color Wheel ♥ these 30 Things to Start Doing for Yourself ♥ light and fluffy snow falling ♥ laughing with my coworkers ♥ my brand new Nook (thanks, bro!) ♥ my new nightstand and lamp from IKEA ♥ starting the New Year off with a fantastic brunch shared with good friends in my new home ♥ having less than an hour commute ♥ using traveling as an excuse to buy my favorite magazines ♥ Rihanna’s You Da One ♥ reading through my old blog entries ♥ President Barack Obama sings Lady Gaga’s Born This Way (YouTube video) ♥ LUSH’s Stimulating Spice Shampoo ♥ Twelve Things You Were Not Taught in School About Creative Thinking (great article on creative thought processes) ♥ some wonderful inspiration from Louise Hay on how to love yourself and why you should start NOW! ♥ research and creative projects ♥ Hyperbole and a Half’s alot (must read: hilarious, especially for grammar nerds like me!) ♥ the fact that it’s Friday ♥ a Lord of the Rings (extended editions, of course) movie marathon with good friends ♥ my new Tumblr theme ♥

The Alot is Better Than You at Everything (image source: Hyperbole and a Half)

What are you loving right now?

This morning, my mom sent me a link to a post about Berlin-based land artist Walter Mason. His work utilizes the beauty of nature and expands upon it. I just had to share the loveliness.

landart | elmleafmeander by Walter Mason

If you’re taken with this image, please check out more of  Walter Mason’s work at his Flickr photostream.

This post is part of a weekly feature on this blog called a Simple Image, which is just an image with links to the photographer’s or artist’s own website or blog.  If you would like to have your artwork or photography featured, or if you have suggestions on who should be featured, please contact me via email.

A canary’s song, the bright sun on a cold winter’s day, a warm glow from a lamp to read by. What comfort and joy yellow brings to our lives!

1. ” Yellow Peppers “, 2. Yellow Leaves, 3. Yellow Rose, 4. Yellow Pom Poms again, 5. Yellow, 6. yellow pencils, 7. Yellow Hydrant, 8. yellow river, 9. Yellow balloons

For years, women used yellow ribbons to welcome home their men from war. Even today, they are used to embrace loved ones returning. Yellow is the color of creative and intellectual energy. Yellow symbolizes wisdom, joy and happiness. Yellow is representative of optimism and enlightenment. The color stimulates the long and medium wavelength cone cells in the retina. It stimulates the brain and nervous system, activates memory, and encourages communication. Yellow is often associated with food (see: McDonald’s Golden Arches).  Yellow is the color of the third chakra and is often associated with the South cardinal direction.

In design, yellow is used to add brightness, to evoke pleasant and cheerful feelings, and to generate muscle energy. Bright yellow is an attention-getter because it is the easiest color to see (even most colorblind people can see yellow). When used with black, yellow creates a warning sign.

As with red and orange, yellow is often used to emphasize elements of design that are most important. Yellow is best used sparingly, since it can easily overwhelm.

• For more about the benefits and effects of yellow in web design, read about the Anatomy of Colors in Web Design: Yellow and the Sunshine Feel.
• Look to pops of yellow to invigorate your interior design.
• Activate your Manipūra (मणिपूर) or yellow chakra to aid with dynamism, energy, willpower and achievement.
• About.com reveals How to Use Yellow in Feng Shui.

What emotions do you associate with yellow? Does it make you hungry? Angry? Mellow? Will you add it to presentations to emphasize import or will you use it to brighten a room? I’m looking forward to brightening up my room with daffodils this spring. Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the sight of the sun on clear, cold winter days. 

Things that brighten up even the darkest day of the year:

The Day I Saw Van Gogh’s Genius In A New Light, a beautiful post about an art installation showing how colors appear differently to different people ♥ Keys and Codes Remix EP from Death Cab for Cutie ♥ working on creative projects at work ♥ great friends who I can lean on when I’m down ♥ Elf ♥ the opportunity to learn a lot in a new field ♥ uniball Vision pens ♥ fairy lights ♥ really fuzzy socks ♥ dirty chais ♥ The Glitch Mob ♥ Murad’s Pomegranate Lip Protector ♥ warm and comfortable knit scarves ♥ SnagIt ♥ going to visit my parents for Christmas ♥ the wag of dog tails ♥ reading friends’ lists of gratitude and thanks ♥ someone to drive me to the airport at a ridiculously early hour ♥ getting away for a few days ♥ discussions about Doctor Who ♥ being recognized by my boss for working hard ♥

What’s brightening your day?

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude and I am full of it. I am so grateful for where I am in my life right now and for all the little things that help me get through each day. Following are lots of awesome things that make my days just a little brighter.

♥ Iron Horse ♥ peppermint mochas ♥ gchat ♥ a 5k day ♥ being nicknamed “Daria” by my coworkers ♥ Christmas music & movies (I must be in the spirit of the season already!) ♥ ♥ ♥ Thanksgiving right around the corner (my favorite holiday) ♥ homemade banana bread brought in by a coworker ♥ NaNoWriMo pep talks from published authors ♥ these Pantone Christmas tree ornaments ♥ Bing Crosby’s voice ♥ being grateful for pretty much everything (a place to live, good friends, family, a great church, enough food on the table) ♥ participating in an awesome spiritual swap community ♥ giving back ♥ getting a hand-written letter from my sweetheart who has been in basic training for the last 4 weeks ♥ getting out early on the day before Thanksgiving ♥ Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Green Tea (which tastes like the holidays in a cup) ♥

*image credit: lennie hanazawa

No, I’m not talking about a run or a walk, but rather a word sprint. I spent most of my weekend writing. I sat with a computer on my lap and typed. And typed. And typed. When I got stuck, I skipped ahead in the story. I brainstormed with friends. I typed some more. Before I knew it an hour had passed. I had word wars with other writers (who can type the most words in 15 minutes? 30 minutes?) and took my characters from Greece to Italy. I gave my main character a reason to be pissed. And heartbroken. And by the end of all that, by the end of the day on Sunday, I had written over 7,000 words this weekend and over 5,000 words in one day. It felt phenomenal. And I felt totally exhausted. It was totally worth it. I had one of the best days in recent memory, holed up in my room, drinking a peppermint mocha, with no one but my characters and a few online friends for company. And it was heavenly.

If you ask me why I like to write, I’ll tell you: writing is therapy. There is a lot going on in my personal life and the best way to deal with reality is to use writing as an outlet, whether it be journaling or writing fiction, poetry or prose. You are what you read (or write) and an experience like this changes you. Writing helps to work out thoughts and figure out answers; it heals heartbreak; it builds character. Much like exercise, writing helps stretch you, challenge you. And at the end of the day, you come out stronger. You feel more yourself because of what you have put into your writing.

*image credit: Annie Rosse

NaNoWriMo is a wonderful adventure. And it sucks. It’s a fantastic writing exercise and a terrible thing for my social life. During the month of November, I tend to drink way too much caffeine, get way too little sleep, hide away from my friends (unless, of course, they are also writing for NaNoWriMo and we end up at Write-Ins together). I spend too much money on coffee and on food, eat too much junk, and neglect to get dressed on Saturday until I’ve finished my word count for the day.

I carry a flash drive with me everywhere, am constantly looking at my word count and refreshing my score on the NaNoWriMo boards, and I compulsively save after each paragraph. When I come to a stopping point, I save the draft on my flash drive, on Dropbox, on my computer’s hard drive and back-up drive, and e-mail it to myself via Gmail.

But, aside from the eccentricities, NaNoWriMo makes me grow as a person. I had no idea I was capable of writing this many words this fast. I’m actually on par with where I should be at this part of the month, something that’s never happened before. It’s quite an empowering experience to be able to come up with an entire story with just a few prompts and your own imagination.

This story has already taken twists and turns I didn’t expect and I’m sure there are more to come. It’s really a beautiful thing to acquaint yourself with characters and just let them talk to you. Here’s hoping mine keep talking!

*image credit: andy teo

Athena could not be fooled by her father, however. She stood tall and, as she had done many times before, swore to herself that she would never let a man be her undoing. She was not as weak as Hera. In fact, she was stronger, cleverer, and faster than any god, and more dangerous.

She did not need sex to feel powerful and she did not need love to get respect. She was admired and revered and worshipped far and wide and all she needed she got from her followers. Her wrath was her glory and her wit was her guide. Her wisdom made her a force to be reckoned with. Athena did not need the love of one man to make her happy; she had multitudes of worshippers who made her swell with pride.

Making her way around to the fountain, Athena filled her cup and drank to Dionysus as she passed. Everything seemed to be going rather swimmingly, especially for a party honoring Dionysus, but that did not last long. Although, the disruption wasn’t quite what Athena expected.

It was not a complete surprise when the Fates showed up, but when they climbed atop the table, Athena knew something was off. Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos spoke with one voice that boomed over all of Mount Olympus.

“We are the Fates, the ones who hold your future in our hands. We spun the thread of life on our spindle, we measured the thread of life, and we cut the thread of life, which determines the outcome of all souls.

We are here tonight to inform you of your own destinies.

Because you have abused your power, playing with the lives of mortals for your own gain and entertainment, it is decided that you will suffer the consequences. You will be sentenced to life as humans. You will be given life, you will live life, and you will die. And then you will be given life again. You will live out the rest of your days in the form of those you sought to control for your own amusement.”

A list of gratitude and wonder:

♥ having breakfast with three beautiful deer, grazing in the morning sunlight ♥ opportunities to interview with interesting organizations ♥ Lark Rise to Candleford (who doesn’t love a period drama?) ♥ testing out fun recipes from foodie blogs ♥ picking apples and making homemade apple butter ♥ good friends who rescue you from going stir-crazy ♥ ending the evening with a phone call from my sweetheart ♥ being able to do something nice for someone else just to put a smile on his/her face ♥ pumpkin spice lattes ♥ fall temperatures and being able to wear sweaters ♥ putting together a playlist on Spotify for the express purpose of writing ♥ spending a full day outside with good friends at the Renaissance Festival, wearing pretty garb, watching a production of Hamlet, and enjoying music ♥ LUSH’s Dream Cream (with every essential oil good for your skin in one lotion… it’s decadent and scrumptious) ♥ Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s autumn scents (Pumpkin Latte, Sugar Skull, Samhain, etc.) ♥ leaves turning many colors, falling, and crunching under my feet ♥ It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! ♥ homemade cheddar, shallot, and chive scones and broccoli cheese soup ♥ the start of NaNoWriMo ♥ Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups ♥ having a job ♥ making holiday plans ♥ all of the fall colors ♥ pedicures ♥ drinking wine and socializing with some great people ♥ firing up the fireplace to keep the house warm ♥

*image credit: jek in the box