Set in the middle of winter, halfway between Christmas and Easter, Valentine’s Day is a bright spot in a sometimes bleak season. The bright red hearts, pink and white striped candies, and shiny, lace-covered boxes of chocolates brighten up grocery store aisles and window displays at a time when the outside landscape is rather colorless! Traditionally, Valentine’s Day has been a celebration of romantic love, with movies and TV commercials depicting romance as a combination of well-dressed couples, expensive jewelry, fancy chocolates, and fine dining—often things that are more reflective of one’s credit card limit than true romance! The reality is that the typical Valentine’s date is much like a typical date night, generally involving dinner at a chain restaurant followed by a movie!

Although there is nothing wrong with dinner and a movie, why not step out of the traditional date box and do something unexpected? Make this Valentine’s Day a true celebration of love by creating a personalized celebration for your loved one! The ideas listed below work equally well for a romantic love as well as for a child, relative or friend, and, while most of these ideas require more advance preparation than a trip to your favorite restaurant, the delight on your special someone’s face should be worth the extra effort! An added bonus: All of these can be accomplished on a limited budget.

8 Creative ways to show you care:

1)      Make a homemade card–complete with silly rhyme and sappy message! Use construction paper, cardboard, wood, or fabric as the base. Decorate with paint, markers, pens, decoupage, glitter, cut-outs–let your imagination run wild! Make sure to spend time getting your message just right! This is the heart of any card. Don’t be surprised if your beloved wants to frame your work-of-art!

2)      Assemble a favorite-things gift basket. You know what your loved one likes—or at least you should!! Does he have a favorite gum, soda, or beef jerky? Does she prefer the expensive coffee, chocolate-dipped biscotti, and strawberry spearmint life-savers? Snag a basket from the thrift store (be sure to clean it!), then fill it full of your love’s favorite things. They will be so impressed that you know them so well!

3)      Have a picnic. Ditch the fancy restaurant and head outdoors for a romantic winter picnic. Grab some take-out items from a local restaurant, or prepare your own meal. Be sure to carry glasses, and dinnerware so the meal is extra special. Even fried chicken, served on fine china, is a treat! Take your favorite beverage, and a thermos of hot chocolate. Be sure to include a blanket to sit on, music, and candles. After the meal, lay back and enjoy the beautiful winter sky! Don’t forget to encourage your loved one to dress warmly!

4)      Make a t-shirt that proclaims your love. Select a design. You could opt for an eighties style “Tim loves Tonya”, a sweet “You are my sunshine”, or a whimsical “Tim and Tonya sitting in a tree…” (Look online for more design ideas.) Pick up a t-shirt in your valentine’s size to decorate. Use fabric paint, fabric glue to attach cut-outs, add stitching in a contrasting color around the edges—let your imagination run wild! Follow instructions on the fabric paint to insure the shirt is washable.

5)      Send on a treasure hunt. Create a treasure hunt for your loved one, complete with rhyming clues to decipher. Start by making a list of approximately 10 places to hide clues. Write clues to lead to the hiding places, with the first clue being given directly to your love and future clues being left in the hiding places and pointing to the next hiding place. At the end of the treasure hunt, have a special “treasure”. This could be a gift, or a picnic (see #3), or the final clue could lead your love to a special place (ex. Restaurant, event, etc.) where you meet!

6)      Write a love letter—in parts. Write a letter, taking the time to tell your loved one how special he/she is and why. Print the letter onto cardstock paper, decorate the edges (if desired), then sign. Cut the letter into between 3 and 7 pieces. Place each piece in an envelope addressed to your love. Mail the envelopes one-at-a-time on different days, so that your valentine will receive one piece of the letter at a time!

7)      Go on tour. Create a map of places that are significant to your loved one, or to your history together. (Some examples might include: Place where you first met, first date site, the school you attended together…) Take a driving (or walking) tour of these places, stopping at each site to share memories. You might want to share a souvenir or token gift at each site. Make sure that at least one stop includes food!

8)       Bake and decorate your favorite goodie together. Do you know what your love’s sweet tooth craves? Instead of buying, why not make it together. Assemble recipe, ingredients, and all baking supplies. Depending on how much you want to do, you could also include aprons (and hats!), decorated bakery wrappers, packaging for the finished product, and a light meal to eat together while the goodies are baking!

However you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day, remember what you are celebrating—the special and awesome gift of love! This Valentine’s Day, take time out of your life to focus you un-divided, uninterrupted attention on your loved one. It will be a gift not quickly forgotten!

What ideas do you have for a creative way to show your love? Share them at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christina-Carol-Artisan-Jewelry/255649044446614

Need some inspiration? Take a look at my fall to-do list. It’s guaranteed to get your creative juices stirring!

Things to do this fall:

1) Go yard sale shopping! Nothing gets my creative juices flowing like picking through other people’s junk! I’m always amazed at the things people get rid of. (One person’s yard sale junk is another person’s next crafty project!) Digging through  cast-offs is a great way to cultivate  ideas for new projects. An old chipped flowerpot? Perfect for using as a toad house. Plain jane pumps? With a little embellishment, they become the perfect shoes to wear with your little black dress. Plaid shirts and overalls? Just the thing for a friendly scarecrow to greet visitors (See idea #2.).

2) Build a scarecrow. A house is not truly ready for autumn without a scarecrow! Scarecrows welcome the season–and occasionally scare away crows. Scarecrows allow you to showcase both your creativity and sense of humor. The best thing is, when it comes to building a scarecrow, there are no rules! They can be scary, funny, serious, large, small, big-headed, or even headless. They can be stuffed with straw, newspaper, old clothes, or nothing at all. Short on ideas? Just google “scarecrow” for inspiration.

3) Create an easy centerpiece. The key word here is easy! No special flower arranging skills are required. Here are the steps: First, select a jug, vase, pitcher or other medium-to-large container that will hold water. Fill it about 2/3 full of water. Second, grab a pair of pruning sheers and head outside. Third, select and cut branches of colorful leaves. Choose from trees, shrubs, vines, or even colorful weeds. Finally, carry branches inside, remove lower leaves, and stick the branches in your container. If you have  more than enough branches for your container, pull out another container and make a second arrangement! Using tree branches for arrangements is one of my favorite decorating tricks. It’s a great way to spruce up a room when you are entertaining.  I use this trick  in summer, too, but fall foliage is much more interesting!

4) Decorate with gourds and pumpkins. Another easy decorating trick. Gourds and pumpkins are everywhere this time of year, from your local supermarket to roadside produce stands. If you pay attention, you can find great prices. Roadside markets generally offer a large selection and reasonable prices, while big box retailers often offer promotional prices on pumpkins. With the addition of a large pumpkin and/or a couple of gourds, an entryway is suddenly seasonal! Smaller gourds and pumpkins look great clustered on a table or fireplace mantle. For extra impact, place them around the cut branch centerpiece from #3!

5) Take a walk. We are all so busy, busy, busy! It’s hard to make time to stop and smell the roses–or in this season to smell the crisp air and the faint scent of burning leaves! This fall, take time to experience the season. Soak in the sights, smells and sounds of nature. You don’t have to head to the mountains to enjoy the scenery. Even a walk around the neighborhood can refresh, invigorate, and inspire. Allow yourself time to just breath deeply and be fully in the moment. Enjoy the now. This season won’t last forever!

I’d love to hear from you! What things are on your fall to-do list? What things do you do to get inspired during the fall months? Share your thoughts and ideas here, or on facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Christina-Carol-Artisan-Jewelry/255649044446614

Many of the pieces of jewelry I craft have a special message. This is true of the Starfish Bracelet. I heard this story several years ago and it stuck with me. The story goes something like this:

A man was walking along the seashore when he came upon an area of the beach covered with starfish. Apparently, due to a recent storm, the starfish had been washed ashore where they would eventually die. “How sad,” the man thought to himself as he gazed out over the beach which was littered with thousands of dying starfish.
Suddenly, something caught his attention. Up ahead, another man walked along the beach. As the first man watched, the second man bent over, picked up a starfish, and flung it back into the ocean. Curious, the first man continued to watch the man pick up starfish and throw them back into the water.
Finally, the first man decided it was time to give the starfish savior a reality check. Approaching him, the first man stated with conviction, “You know, what you are doing doesn’t really matter. There is no way you can save them all.”
The other man bent over, picked up another starfish, and flung it into the ocean before replying, “It matters to that one.”

How many times do we feel sad about something, but don’t act on our empathy? How many times are we discouraged from doing something good, because it might not make enough of a difference? The story of the Starfish reminds me to focus on doing the good I know to do–to the one(s) right in my path. The results? An ocean of Living Starfish!

Check out the bracelet in the Christina Carol shop!

As an artist, I create tangible products and designs. Drawing inspiration from infinite sources, I utilize paints, metals, gems, fabric, glue, solder, leather, wire, even trash to fashion various types of art. The results can be seen, used and worn by others.

As a therapist, I create communications/connections with my clients. I write treatment plans that meet the individual needs of each client. I plan workshops that communicate information on healthy living in ways that are (hopefully) fun, interesting and inspiring.

As a wife and mother, I create relationships and environments that nurture my spouse and children. I design a comfortable home environment for them to live in. I prepare meals which serve nutritional needs and (once in a blue moon) please the entire family’s finicky palates!

You create, too! In fact, we all do. Your creating may involve different mediums than mine, but the fact remains: You create every day. You do this by living  in a way that is unique to you! Even if you don’t have the time (or talent) to paint a picture or bake a cake, you are still creating–creating relationships, work results, and a life that is either positive or not. Ultimately, the most important art we create…is our life! Of course, we don’t do this all at once. Instead, we create it, little by little, by the choices we make, the actions we take, the attitudes we adopt, the beliefs we sign on for, and the people we share our lives with.

In this blog, I will celebrate the creating life–and the truth that we are free to create any life we choose! I’ll let you in on secrets to finding inspiration, and debunk a few myths about creative people (aren’t we all?). I’ll share some cool things and people, and I’ll be real about my life. In the process, my hope is that I inspire you to discover your inner artist and get excited about a life, creating!