5 Reasons You May Want To Pick Up Crayons Again

Did you know that 6 of the top 20 selling books on Amazon are adult coloring books?

Do you know why?

Adults who rediscover the joys of coloring enjoy a host of benefits ~ some of which may surprise you.

Check out 5 reasons coloring’s not just for kids anymore.  (And why I’m hosting my CreativeOasis Coloring and Wine Party on August 26th!)

1. Creative Expression.  Coloring offers a chance to experience lovely, low-pressure creative expression. The forms on coloring pages have already been created for you. They provide a gentle structure in which you get to add your choice of colors using your choice of medium…crayons, colored pencils or watercolors for example.

You can enjoy the act of coloring without any special skills, training or talent. And you can easily find inexpensive supplies at your local grocery store or pharmacy.

2. Stress Relief. We’ve learned that coloring serves as an excellent means of relaxation. In fact, some say coloring provides benefits similar to meditating.

Psychologist Antoni Martinez says, “I recommend coloring as a relaxation technique. We can use it to enter a more creative, freer state of being.”

3. Digital Detox. In a world where we’re connected to and communicating via electronic devices so much of the time, coloring offers a tranquil digital detox.

4. Free Thinking. When you allow yourself to become absorbed in the simple creative activity at hand, your mind becomes more focused and quiet. It becomes easier to release thoughts of your never-ending to-do lists and relax and truly experience the present moment. Meditation promises this as well, but coloring offers an easy, enjoyable alternative.

5. Good Old-Fashioned Fun! Many people haven’t touched a crayon since elementary school and they’re amazed to remember how much fun coloring can be.

For all of these reasons and more, I’m delighted to offer my first Creative Oasis Coloring Party on August 26, 2015.

Join me for some low-pressure creative play using crayons, colored pencils and watercolors while learning simple ways to weave more creative fun into your busy life and why creativity can be so beneficial for your overall health and well-being. 

What could possibly make a Creative Oasis Coloring Party even better? 

The location ~ the lovely times ten cellars in Dallas! (So we'll during our party we'll combine the health benefits of wine with the health benefits of creativity, how fun is that?)

Want to join us? Space is limited so please register online to reserve your spot. (*Pre-registration is required half the available seats have already been purchased.)

Here are all the details: 

NOTE: THE 8/25/16 PARTY HAS SOLD OUT

BUT GOOD NEWS, WE'LL BE HOSTING ANOTHER PARTY 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 ~ 7:30 TO 9PM

TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKET FOR THE 9/16/15 PARTY 

USE THIS 'BUY NOW' BUTTON BELOW

What:

Creative Oasis Coloring Party

Where: 

times ten cellars

6324 Prospect Avenue

Dallas, Texas  75214

When:

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

7:30 to 9:00pm

Cost:

$25 (includes creative supplies and one glass of wine)

*NOTE: Tickets must be purchased prior to the event since there is limited space and we want to be to have enough of creative supplies for everyone attending.

I hope you'll join me for an evening of wine, creative camaraderie and coloring fun!

I'm also happy to share my Mid-Week Oasis Moment with you ~ bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration and motivation delivered each week. (Of course you can unsubscribe anytime you wish.) 

xo ~ Jill

Warning! Creative Play May Result In These Symptoms

When's the last time you enjoyed some low-pressure creative play...just for the fun of it?

Recent personal experience reminded me of the wondrous power of creative play. (See the "symptoms" listed above.)

While spending a fun girls' night in with my mom and daughter last weekend, we decided to each choose a simple creative project from our Pinterest boards, break out the art supplies and dive into some low-pressure creative fun.

My mom chose to color in a mandala with colored pencils. My daughter drew a beautiful freehand lotus flower and enjoyed some intricate geometric doodling with gel pens as well. I drew freehand flowers (they would up looking a bit like peonies) in crayon and then painted them in with watercolors. 

As I've shared before, I don't consider myself a visual artist. But I do love to play with creative supplies and I'll admit to being quite pleased with the way this little piece turned out.

That being said, the process...the sitting around in a relaxed atmosphere...the playful experimentation...the "we're just doing this for the pure joy of it" attitude...not the end result...was what brought about the "symptoms" we experienced.

Want to put more creative play into your summer? After last weekend, I know I do!

I've created a way to help you do just that, my "Create the Summer of Your Dreams" Do-It-Yourself Creative Oasis Kit that I'll be releasing very soon.

In the meantime, grab your free Summer Wish List Fun Sheets here to take the first small step to creating a summer filled with creative freedom, relaxation and fun.  

Until next time, all the best from my playful Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post please share on Facebook and twitter using the buttons below!  If you'd like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.

Radical Suggestions & Gentle Reminders ~ A Creative Oasis Manifesto

When we give ourselves permission to enjoy what makes our hearts sing and time fly we experience our Creative Oasis. You've heard me say this before but we can all use a gentle reminder from time to time, right?  

Because our Creative Oasis is unique to each of us and because there are so many fabulous, fun, fulfilling experiences out there waiting to be explored, I decided to write a free-form list poem of some favorite Creative Oasis moments to share as examples and before I knew it I'd written a full-blown manifesto! (Click here to download your free printable copy.)

Of course this list contains only a smattering of the oodles of experiences out there just waiting for you to discover, revisit, explore and savor...but it's a good start. 

Here are five quick and easy steps to help you use my new Creative Oasis Manifesto to spark some creative joy of your own (sooner than later I hope!):

#1 ~ Read the manifesto aloud with a blank piece of paper or your journal open to a new page. Each time you come to a word or phrase that gives you a tingly, energized feeling, makes you smile or sets you to day dreaming about doing that very thing, jot it down. Our body is like our own personal polygraph machine. If we pay attention to the signals it sends us (warm fuzzy feelings, sly smiles, jazzy jitters and what have you) we're sure to stay on the right track!

#2 ~ Next, read over the list you've written. Quickly and intuitively (without overthinking) put a star next to your three favorites. 

#3 ~ For each starred moment ask yourself: "What are three super small steps I can take to enjoy this Creative Oasis moment?" Write those down too. You may feel compelled to doodle hearts, stars, moons and smiley faces all around your steps. If so, my professional opinion is to break out the colored pencils and go for it!

#4 ~ Each day for the coming week, you get to choose one of your super small steps to enjoy! Repeat as time allows throughout the day and week. 

# 5 ~ To make getting to your small steps even easier why not add them to your calendar or day planner? This really helps give your creativity priority just like everything else on your to-do list. 

In fact, I'm going to radically suggest you put your creative small steps at the very top of your to-do list! That's right, you heard me. Puttering in the garden trumps laundry. Felting for a few minutes comes before your meeting. Pulling images for a collage has priority over making dinner. (We're only talking about 5 to 10 minutes here, so I feel safe in saying no one will starve as a result.) 

#6 ~ Also, what if you set a timer for just 5 to 10 minutes to lower the pressure and help you begin?Another benefit of practicing small bursts of creative joy throughout the day is it helps us practice getting to our Creative Oasis more often rather than waiting for those big chunks of free time that rarely, if ever, come our way! If you have time to do more ~ Great! If not, no worries. At the very least, you know you'll be enjoying a few minutes of Creative Oasis time most days.

If you have trouble breaking down your Creative Oasis moments into small, doable steps, please drop me a line in the comments below and I'll be happy to lend a hand.

Until next time, here's to gentle reminders, radical suggestions and the Creative Oasis Manifesto!

Jill

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post and would like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this in my Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.

A Day Without Sunshine is Like...

Or cloudy…or overcast…or rainy.

But let's go with Mr. Martin's take for the moment. It makes me giggle.

And though I'm pretty sure that humor was his main intent, his words offer a great example of a technique I love to share with my creative coaching clients called reframing. 

When we "reframe" we look at a situation from a different perspective, shedding new light (or in this case, absence of light) on it.

For example: someone who recently purchased of copy of my Create the Summer of Your Dreams Kit sent an email to let me know a few random letter characters weren't showing up in the e-booklet and interactive sheets. (Turned out it was an issue with the pdf reader he was using and easily fixed by opening with adobe instead.) In the meantime he came up with a brilliant reframe saying, "No worries. It's like a bonus 'fill-in-the blanks' activity has been added to my kit!" How fun is that?

Here are a few more reframe examples:

 "I have to finish this photo album for my daughter's birthday," shifts to

"I get to create a special gift my daughter will treasure forever."

(Can you feel the difference?)

 "I don't have time to open that watercolor kit I bought," becomes 

"If I play with my watercolors for just 10 minutes, that's less than 1% of my entire day." 

(Sometimes good old logic does the trick!)

"No one will ever read this story I'm writing, so why bother?" transforms into

 "I love writing so it's time well spent no matter who else reads it."

(Creativity for the sake of the pleasure and satisfaction it brings is good for your mind, body and spirit.)

How might you use reframing to help you make more time and space to enjoy Creative Oasis moments in your life? (Those creative endeavors that make your heart sing and time fly!)

I'd love to hear your reframe ideas in the comments below.

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

p.s. Did you know that summer just officially began last Saturday? So there's still a season full of summer days and nights to fill with creative fun and satisfaction. Click here if you're curious about how my Create the Summer of Your Dreams Kit can help you do just that!