Nit Wits #32: Sham-rock Posted Feb-28-2007
The Types of Stones Glass Houses Like
While watching a re-run episode of the original Star Trek series on TV Land the other night, I amusedly watched Captain Kirk engage in hand-to hand combat with a Gorn, an intelligent reptilian humanoid with super strength. ...

How to Draw a Shamrock Clover Posted Feb-27-2007
St. Patrick's Day Art Lesson
Where three hearts join one stem.

Lucky You! St. Patrick's Day Card Posted Feb-25-2007
Happy Self-mailing St. Patrick's Day Creativity
March is not only the best month for parades, but it's the perfect month for green clothes, Lucky Charms cereal, rainbows, and pots of gold. Why? Because March 17 is St. Patrick's Day!

After the valiant response from my self-mailing Valentine's Day card, I've made a similar printable design for enthusiasts of St. Patrick's Day. ...

I've Squidoo-d My Creative Self! Posted Feb-17-2007
And YOU can too!
Yippee yay! The creative fun is ever manifesting itself! I wanted to research the process of setting up a Lens on the Squidoo Web site and was pleasantly surprised at how easy peasy it was! Here's the fruits of my labor I'll call Creatively Playing. ...

Sweet 'n' Free Ant Valentine's Day Card Posted Feb-12-2007
Happy Self-mailing Valentine's Day Creativity
It's two days until February 14... Is the thought of buying the perfect Valentine's Day Card for your sweetie bugging you this year? Do you keep ANTicipating the same ol' greetings on the card rack: red hearts, "I Love You's", and sensual scripty messages? Are you ready for something more insectingly CREATIVE? If so, print my FREEative Valentine's Day card today! ...

The Stories Behind Nit Wits #26-29 Posted Feb-11-2007
The 2006 Series
Support groups for dieting CRUSTaceons, cowering Greek Moo-ses, gourdly gardens, and holiday stresses materialize in my Nit Wit comics 26-29. •

The Stories Behind Nit Wits #17-25 Posted Feb-10-2007
The 2005 Series
How ants remove band-aids, exercise procrastination, birds running for office, disappointing dates, skin crease removers, Picasso's pumpkin, and electrical art. Medical mishaps and more can be found in my Nit Wit comics 17-25. •

The Dog Who Ate the Diamond Ring Posted Feb-09-2007
Circling the Truth
I had to laugh this morning upon hearing this story of a dog in Michigan who ate a diamond wedding ring. The owner of the ring thought someone broke into her home and stole it, but as it turned out, her pit bull Missy swallowed it.

The funniest part of the story was when the news channel cut to an x-ray of Missy's tummy — the beautiful silhouette of an expensive diamond ring was just sitting there like Jonah in the whale's belly. Then they cut back to Missy's face (the dog) which had the cutest expression of innocent guilt that every dog-lover knows.

Good news for the ring owner: the ring came out intact and Missy is okay. I guess some dogs really do like rich food. •

Frippery FUN: Frou Frou Flip Flops! Posted Feb-07-2007
Go Ask Alice (NOT the Brady Bunch Maid)
I believe that inspiring kids deserve unconditional kudos. Recently I learned of a 9-year-old Floridian named Alice who is involved in a community service project decorating and selling flip-flops for charity. This Spirited "Kid" Interview with Nancy Mills tells the heartwarming story of a social-conscious kidpreneur who is using her creative talents to help others.

Want to give Alice a hand? Cheer her on with her decorating and selling flip-flops. And if you're in a giving mood, she loves unworn flip flop donations. Wow, what a great example of the creative shoe fitting... Now whenever I hear that distinct flip-flop shoe walking noise, I will think of Frou Frou Flip Flops! •

Secret: There's No Such Thing as Clutter Posted Feb-05-2007
Best-selling Author Sunny Schlenger
It's 11:00 a.m. and sunny outside. I just looked at my suction-cup window thermometer and through the frosty glass over the icy windowsill I saw that it's -1 degrees out there. It's official: the Chicagoland area is in full deep-freeze mode. On days like this, ice skating is not nice skating!

T A N G E N T - - > (Of course that's why the Chicago Bears came in second place during the Superbowl last night: bears hibernate in the winter, sillies! I watched enough of the game to see a handful of commercials and the Prince half-time show, which I found energizing and moving. I find all artistic expression moving. And what a great end-note for a rainy Superbowl: Purple Rain.)

I find that the best prescription for cold wintry toes is sunshine and thoughts of warm places. Ahhh, how I miss my Arizona Travels right now. Meanwhile, speaking of Arizona, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to tell you about best-selling author, coach, and organizer Sunny Schlenger from ARIZONA. Not only does she have the perfect name for her location, but her Web site makes an intriguing claim: "There's no such thing as clutter."

What are all of those boxes and piles of things filling up our homes and offices then? Sunny will explain in a most interesting perspective on life that will change the way you see stuff. Serendipitously, the warm energy radiating from Sunny's site alone makes it a worthwhile experience, especially if you're in a deep freeze like me. (We'll just call this Febrrrrrruary.) •

The Stories Behind Nit Wits #13-16 Posted Feb-04-2007
The 2004 Series
Find out what the little Hamburger Helper mascot does during the off-beef season, what it feels like to be close-up to a pointy-toothed liar, how to carve a real-life Halloween PUNKin, and what snowmen eat for breakfast in my Nit Wit comics 13-16. •

The Stories Behind Nit Wits #9-12 Posted Feb-04-2007
The 2003 Series
Nose-itching shedding angora sweaters, carbohydrate-rich speech-makers, online multiple personality disorders, and classic Jurassic word lovers. Where was my nit-witty mind in 2003? Find out in the stories behind Nit Wit comics 9-12. •

The Stories Behind Nit Wits #1-8 Posted Feb-03-2007
The 2002 Series
Congratulations to me! My latest "Blue Scream of Death" Nit Wits comic made the 30th in the series. This is a landmark for me, for my corny humor, and for my patient drawing skills.

In celebration of this wonderful event, I've decided to sweep up my pixel act and get my comics organized on this site in an easy to browse gallery. The first order of business: categorize each year with the comic interpretations and links to the comic freebies. I've just completed the first year's, comics 1-8 for 2002.

Interesting Chrisbit: Roll Play above was the very first comic I drew, craving to express my humor but way fearful of 'putting it out there.' I'm now wondering if the idea of making two cross buns playing together drew upon my subconscious knowing that I would have to role play the comic artist if I wanted to overcome my fears and manifest this comic dream of mine.

Yes, acting as if has made a huge difference in my creative life, which I believe has a non-coincidental tie-in to the Law of Attraction. It's the seed of belief that propels us into seeing our potential through. We plant it AND we make it grow. Five years and thirty comics later has proved this to be true for me. Yes, our creative dreams are ours to carry to fruition — we just have to be willing to tend to our gardens and make them grow. (How's that for planting inspiration?) •

The Creative Nudge: Brenda Johima Posted Feb-01-2007
Creativity for Life, Work, and Play
One of the reasons I'm so into the Creativity Coaching scene is because of this one word: support. Yes, support.

How many of us thrive in *whatever* we do, not only because we love what we're doing, but also because we find the kind of support that nurtures, nourishes, and sometimes just plain kicks us in the you-know-what. (Yes, that's sole-support, didn't-cha-know?) And yes, support comes in so many forms: from ourselves and how we're feeling about what we're doing, from others and how they perceive what we're doing, and from the universe and how it responds to what we're doing.

And in respect to others, the support offered by creativity coaches can be very insightful, helpful, and truthful, especially for those of us needing to stock up in the self-discipline aisle. Sometimes we just need *someone* to be there to care about what we're doing. Someone to be accountable to. Someone to mentor us along. Someone to give us a little "creative nudge."

And speaking of creative nudges, Brenda Johima takes her Creative Nudge creativity business seriously. She's a creativity coach, consultant, and artist, among her many other talents, and I think her Web site and blog are worthwhile places to check out, especially if you feel you can use a creative nudge in support of your creative life today. •