"Create the Summer of Your Dreams Kit" is ready and waiting for you!

Woo-hoo! I'm so happy to let you know that my Create the Summer of Your Dreams™ kit is ready and waiting for you today! I've been writing, crafting and creating this fun do-it-yourself Creative Oasis Kit for weeks and it feels great to finally be able to share it with you – just in time for summer! 

 Create the Summer of Your Dreams is for you if:

*You’d love to experience the joy and fun of creative fulfillment this summer                                        * You have lots of creative ideas but your never-ending to-do lists and other people’s stuff seem to take up all your time

* You crave relaxed creative “me” time – like you enjoyed when you were a kid

* You’re worried that summer will come and go before you have the chance to dive into even one Creative Oasis moment (As a reminder - your Creative Oasis is anything that makes your heart sing and time fly!)

* You feel blocked by procrastination and perfectionism 

* You have a tough time giving yourself permission to enjoy your creative passions

With your Create the Summer of Your Dreams kit you’ll enjoy:

* Permission to enjoy Creative Oasis time this summer – that’s time doing the things that make your heart sing and time fly!

* Printable fun sheets with step-by-step exercises to help you decide which summertime creative experiences you crave the most 

* Easy, low-pressure ways to dive right into your own Creative Oasis moments

* Enlightening creative prompts, activities and reading suggestions to help you easily and intuitively create the summer of your dreams 

 You can purchase your kit for today just 

$19.99

The Create the Summer of Your Dreams kit includes:

#1 – 35-page how-to booklet featuring
step-by-step guidance and compassionate support

        

#2 – Five creative fun sheets including:  

* Summer Permission Slip

* Summer Dreamin' Quick List

* Oasis Treasure Map

* Instant Oasis Ideas

* Oasis Journey Options

         

          #3 – A Creative Reading Resource Guide featuring five of my all-time favorite creative books

You can purchase and receive your Create the Summer of Your Dreams kit immediately for just  $19.99 using Paypal by clicking the "Add to Cart" button below:



Or you can receive a complimentary kit as a gift with your purchase of a 4-session one-on-one 
Creative Oasis Coaching package between June 1 and August 1, 2014. 
(Click here for more info on all of my coaching packages.) 

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

Practicing What I Preach 5 Minutes at a Time

Lately I'm giving myself permission to enjoy creative play even more than usual. The quickly created spread in my Creative Oasis Journal above is an example of how I've been practicing what I preach. Of course, I never wanted to be preachy – but I do love reminding you how  even just a short bit of  creative time can lead to great big creative satisfaction in your busy life!

What does that look like?

* Setting a timer for 5 or 10 minutes
* Opening up my Creative Oasis Journal
* Diving into low-pressure creative play without over thinking things
* Cutting and glueing images, painting with watercolors, writing quickly and freely

How does that feel?

* Fantastic * Freeing * Fabulous *Fun

What happens?

*I experience a huge amount of creative satisfaction in a short amount of time.
* I feel energized for hours afterward in all aspects of my life.
* I'm reminded of why I love my creative time and am more likely to get to it again sooner than later.

Why is this important?

 * It's a quick, easy and fun way to add joy to my day, especially if I'm having a bad day.
* Every part of my life (work, family, friends, personal) benefits when I make time for creativity because I'm a happier, healthier person when I do.
*It's a wonderful way to take a break from my never ending to-do lists and rejuvenate myself.
* Being in the creative flow relieves stress and enriches my life in amazing ways.

As a Kaizen-Muse® Creativity Coach I know this to be true and share this with my clients all the time, still I continue to be delightfully surprised when it's reaffirmed time and again in my own life! 

Some Gentle Reminders

 * It doesn't have to be perfect.
* You don't even have to know exactly what you're going to do when you begin.
* You get to just go for it and have fun.

*Creativity comes in many forms - in addition to painting, collaging, crafting, knitting, making music and writing there's gardening, cooking, entertaining, sewing, yarn bombing, crafting, scrapbooking, dancing, doodling, canning, making cards, taking photographs, enjoying nature...
Like I always say, your Creative Oasis is whatever makes your heart sing and time fly!

What if?

What if you gave yourself the next five or ten minutes to dive into your Creative Oasis?
What might that look like? How might that feel?
I'd love to hear from you.

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

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my short e-book that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!

Wanted Dead or Alive – Procrastination

(Click here to request a free printable version of this poster.)

Procrastination...it's one of our most common creative blocks.

It keeps us from enjoying our creative endeavors by allowing our inner critic to whisper in our ear: "You're no good at this. You don't have time for this nonsense. Who do you think you are?"

Procrastination convinces us that everyone else's stuff is more important than our own.

It causes us to hop up and look for something to eat when we're not the least bit hungry.

It fills us with a strange desire to re-organize our perfectly organized sock drawer or pantry or creative closet.

Procrastination tempts us to check Facebook, Twitter and email about ten times more often than we need.

It thrives on busy-work that could easily wait until tomorrow or even never in many cases.

It encourages our stubborn refusal to delegate and assures us that we must do everything ourselves.

Procrastination sucks. Literally. Procrastination sucks the creative life out of us. 
So how to we rid our lives of this insidious creative block?

Simply acknowledging our various procrastination habits is a great first small step. When see our blocks for what they are...when we're aware of the many ways they creep into our lives, that's the first step to hunting down procrastination and putting it behind bars where it belongs.

Here's an easy way to start. What if you make a quick list of all the various ways you might procrastinate today? By taking a moment to acknowledge the different ways you might keep yourself from making time for creative joy, you'll be more aware when your excuses pop up through out the day.

You may realize: 

"Oh, look - here I am on Facebook again. I could spend the next 15 minutes here, 

or I could get out my watercolors and paint." 

You may find yourself staring into your fridge and think,

"I'm not the least bit hungry for food. I want to play the piano!"

You may find yourself shuffling papers around your desk and have the epiphany

"I'd much rather be writing!" 

The idea is, when we're on the look out for our blocks we can stop them in their tracks. We can remind ourselves that we have a choice. "I can spend more time doing this thing I don't really need or want to be doing, or take this time back for my creativity." It takes practice, but it's a doable way to begin. And even if you only open up an additional ten or fifteen minutes in your day for creativity – well, that's ten or fifteen minutes more than you had before – so it's great movement in the right direction! 

Here's to rounding up our procrastination habits and locking them up where they belong so we can free up more time for creative satisfaction in our life!

Need more help saying NO to procrastination and YES to creative fulfillment? One-on-one creativity coaching may be just the ticket. 

Click here to check out Seven Reasons You Might Benefit from Creativity Coaching.

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

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

Recovering Procrastinator

Singer/Songwriter

Master Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach

Founder Creative Oasis Coaching

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my short e-book that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!

10 Things I Learned Doing the 2012 Whole Living Clean Eating Action Plan

The magazine cover that intrigued me enough to begin.

10 Things I Learned While Doing the 2012 

Whole Living Clean Eating Action Plan 

#1 – Life still has meaning without cheese.

#2 – Healthy food is beautiful food.

#3 – There are lots of yummy breakfast options that don’t include bread, eggs or cheese. (who knew?)

#4 – Sweet potatoes might taste even better with a spritz of fresh orange juice and toasted almonds than butter.

#5 ­– I can eat kale every day, sometimes twice a day, and still love it.

#6 – It’s okay to drink breakfast (as long as it’s a smoothie.)

#7 – Making a delicious pot of soup is a huge time saver for a few days of quick, tasty meals – breakfast, lunch or dinner!

#8 ­– I would just as soon eat a bowl of crispy roasted cauliflower as potato chips or popcorn and I’m not even kidding!!!

#9 – A small handful of raw nuts with dried cranberries satisfies my sweet tooth. (Would it be even better with a square of dark chocolate? Of course!)

#10 ­– I actually really like tofu, at least when it’s scrambled with some garlic, ginger, turmeric and kale. (I wasn’t kidding about loving the kale!)

I love food, so I’m not about to last on any kind of warm lemon water and cayenne pepper for a month detox! This plan found in the January 2012 Whole Living Magazine and website was sensible, satisfying and delicious. It introduced me to some wonderful new recipes that I’ll continue to incorporate into my weekly meals.

I found great creative satisfaction in preparing such beautiful, healthy food, as well as trying out new flavor combinations and now I love having all of these new options for yummy, well-balanced meals! When combined with my 1,200 miles in 2012 challenge (walking, running and biking and average of 24 miles plus a week) I do indeed feel lighter and brighter!

Bonus alert – I also met some super cool people on-line who were following the plan too. If you like, check out their great blogs below.

http://eatplaylove.blogspot.com/

http://theromanticlife.blogspot.com/

http://www.ruth-writes.com/

http://www.wholeliving.com/153124/how-2012-challenge-works/@center/152870/2012-whole-living-action-plan

All in all, a wonderful way to start of the New Year!

If you try it out, I’d love to hear about your experiences.

All the best from my creative oasis to yours,

Jill

New Hair Style to Add to the 2012 Changes!