Chris Dunmire's Free Printable St. Patrick's Day Word Find Puzzles Posted February-27-2008
For Patrick the Hatrick
Can you find all the words I've hidden in the letter grid? Try your hand at my creativity-building Word Search #8... with words embedded forward, backward, diagonal, horizontal, and vertical... and don't forget to wear green on March 17! •

Rock Painting Project by Ernestina Gallina: Sentimental Messages Written in Stone Posted February-21-2008
Creativity Rockin' Around the Clock
I love witnessing manifestations of creative brilliance. When most people think of artists who are prolific painters, thoughts of white stretched canvases and palettes of paint with bristly brushes immediately fill their minds. But in a world of endless creative possibility, anything can be a "canvas" in a literal sense: wood, paper, glass, boxes, walls, doors, book fronts, cars, people (think tattoos!) and yes, rocks. ...

Nurture Your Creativity: Forget what "they" Say
Posted February-9-2008
You know yourself better than anyone else does.
Years ago I had an inside joke with my friend Patrick about the “they” people. Everyone’s heard about the “they” people because they show up at every opportune time in the context of “You know what they say…” ...

“What constitutes success or failure in art?
There are no objective criteria.
One man's art is another man's junk.
... If it's only good or bad depending
on who looks at it, how can it ever be
considered a failure?”

Dave Duggins, "How to Make Projects Work" »

Nit Wits #40: The Law of Cattraction Posted February-6-2008
It's No Petaphysical Secret!
There's a kitty that lives in my house who has taught me all kinds of lessons about the Nature of Things. Not to take away from G. A. Mendenhall's Cat Physics (a very funny book for cat lovers, by the way), but if you've allowed a four-pawed feline to share your living space, you're certain of these five things. ...

FREE Sweet 'n' Fun Valentine's Day Card Project
Posted February-2-2008
Project Craftivity: Valentine's Day Self-Folding Cards
My latest printable project is an adaptation to last year's Buggy Ant Valentine in which I designed an all-in-one Valentine's Day card / envelope / message into one self-mailing piece.

This new card project, published on the Kid's Art Creativity Portal Playground Web site, features the same card design but without the ant theme and pre-inked message. The card is blank inside and is available in two sizes: the self-mailing size (1 per sheet) and a mini-card size (2 per sheet) perfect for making hand-delivered Valentines to pass out at school and work.

And for the Silly-Inclined:

Why the ant theme last year? Why not? Does it BUG you? Ha, actually, you should know by now that the ants on this Web site and my offline friends always get to test my creative ideas first. And remember:

Valentine's Day = Candy = Sugar = Ants

It all started when I bought that ant farm kit. I planted the ants in the dirt like the directions said and they didn't grow into anything! They just kept digging tunnels until I gave up watering them with sugar water and set them free in my kitchen to keep the floor spic and span. They earn their keep around here, especially because they antspire me so much. They're only annoying when they build those moundy hills in my living room. You need a good vacuum cleaner for that. •

Ernestina Gallina's Pietrevive: Whimsical Hand-Painted Rocks Posted February-2-2008
Between a rock and... an irresistibly cute bug place!
When's the last time you looked at a piece of art that made you smile? Ditto if the art is whimsical, brightly-painted, and smiling at you first? That's exactly how I reacted when I first saw Ernestina Gallina's Valentine Love Bugs project, which is now available on the Creativity Portal Web site for painting enthusiasts to try out as an introduction to the creative and fun art of hand painting rocks into objects, animals, bugs, and other characters. ...