Blitsy Crafts, Artistic Challenges, and Some Welcome Creativity

So, it is May 3rd, National Scrapbooking Day.  Blitsy Crafts, a online crafts supplier that provides art and craft supplies for up to a 70% discount, is doing the day up big with a lot of giveaways and some crafty challenges to boot.  Blitsy is great!  They have daily and weekly sales and discounts on all your favorite art and crafts supplies….for scrapbooking, paper crafts, mixed media, sewing, needlework, fine arts.  You name it, they will feature supplies at amazing values to help you create.  I check in with them every day to see what’s new.

One thing they have going today is a humongous giveaway of crafting supplies in honor of National Scrapbooking Day #NSD. Oh my gosh!  So many great supplies are being given away along with a crafter’s rolling bag to carry them. Go here to see what all is included and enter for a chance to win!   http://www.blitsycrafts.com/2014/05/national-scrapbooking-day-with-blitsy.html?spref=tw .

After you’ve entered the giveaway, click on the “Shop All” tab and see all the terrific discounts they have on sale today and click on the “Blog” tab to see what other giveaways and challenges are happening in support of National Scrapbooking Day.

I entered one mixed media piece for the Blitsy Mixed Media Color Challenge.  It was a nice opportunity to get creative today.  Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

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Here, Let Me Prompt You

Every Tuesday, in a Facebook poetry group (of which I am a member), there is a “title” challenge.  We call it Title Tuesday.  Original, huh?  The moderator posts several “off-the-top-of-his-head” titles. Group members are encouraged to write poems inspired by one or more of the titles and are also encouraged to submit titles of their own for others to use.

I use to write prolifically.  Every day.  Once I wrote over 500 poems in one year, short and long, serious and humorous, terrific and terrible. Some were written to daily prompts, some to poetry challenges or exercises, others came from inside my soul.   But not lately.  I have been suffering a severe poetry block for months. I probably have not written more than ten new poems in the last twelve months and most of those were haiku.  Today I wrote poems to three titles.  Three!  I can’t tell you how good that makes me feel.

So what’s my point?  Sometimes you just have to slog through the mire to get to the other side.  Suit up, show up, do the drill.  Today I did the drill and I’m glad I did. I’m not saying you’ll succeed in creating something that is great on days when the flow just ain’t there.  But the time spent slogging will be worthwhile. You’ll discover something about yourself or your technique will improve or you will break through the ice.  And who cares if your inspiration comes from a prompt, a challenge, an external source?  It is still inspiration and inspiration spawns creativity and creativity is what it is all about.

Here is one of the poems I wrote today, unedited.  The title is unchanged from that given in the Title Tuesday challenge.

The Garden of Edam

She met him there
Under the fig trees
Timid as a mouse

Her voice squeaked as she whispered

We shouldn’t be here
It isn’t right
Someone might see

He flicked his tongue and winked

He handed her a treat
Waxy red on the outside
The inside white and sweet

His golden eyes blinked while he watched

She nibbled at the flesh
And scrambled back inside
To give some to Adam

He coiled and hissed in frustration

I merely wanted to know you
Mon Cher Souris
Nothing cheesy, I assure you

Eve licked her naked paws with glee