26. Make Chalkboard Art

Image by Jennifer Scott McLaughlin

Either buy or make your own Chalkboard, hang it like a piece of artwork & each week create a new drawing or doodle to display.

10. Be a Gourmet Chef

Photo by conceptDawg.

Here's a chance to take off your many hats (Mom, Boss, Spouse, etc), and try on your very own Chef's hat (unless, of course, you are a Chef).

Why not treat yourself to a three or five course meal? - Just as fun as eating it, is preparing it. Immerse yourself in all of the aromas, colors, and tactility of the foods. Spend time with each ingredient: smell it, taste it, look at it (I mean really look at it, as if you've never seen one of those before in your life!)

Treat yourself to foods you've never tried. Ever wondered what the difference between a Papaya and a Mango is? What a cumquat tastes like? or an Ugly fruit? Well, this is your chance.

Leaf through your cooking magazines, cookbooks, check out Everyday Food, etc. for recipe ideas.

Once your menu is set, make a grocery list & shop for your ingredients with the same curiosity and adventurous style with which you are going to prepare them. This is one big, beautiful culinary adventure, savour every aspect of it! In fact, why not shop at the Farmer's Market, an Ethnic Market, or a grocery store you've not visited before?

And when it comes time to sit and eat the food, do it in a way you wouldn't ordinarily:

• put out your best china (if you have it), light some candles...
  
• eat Anrea Zittel style: use only bowls (no plates)
  
• eat everything with your fingers
  
• use chopsticks instead of silverware
  -you get the idea

3. Be a Photographer

Take a camera with you wherever you go for an afternoon:

• Take pictures of the people you encounter (with their permission, of course). Develop or download the pictures, then write small vignettes about each person or encounter.
  
• Take close up pictures of various objects. Develop or download the pictures and make up a story to go with the object.
  
• Purposefully take blurry, off-center, or bad photographs (a la Uta Barth)- Develop or download + print the images, Frame them & have your own living room | gallery exhibit. Give each photograph an appropriate (or off-the-wall) title. Have an opening complete with food and beverages & invite friends and family.

1. Go For A Walk

...Or a jog. It may not seem related, but getting up and out of the house | office | studio and into the world helps those creative juices flow.

This can help in a number of ways:

1. It gets you out of an environment where you are feeling stifled
   
2. It puts you into the bigger world & in contact with idea-inspiring opportunities or situations
   
3. You get some exercise, which in turn can:
   
   • stimulate those brain cells
     Some studies show that there is a link between exercise, creativity, and cognitive skills. You can read more about it in Dr. Carole Wood-Grisham's Article or in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
     
   • put you in a better mood by letting those mood enhancing endorphins loose