5 Creative Bloggers to Watch in 2010

I was so honored to be included in WE Magazines list of 100 Women Bloggers to Watch in 2010 a couple of weeks ago. Since then, I’ve seen a lot of lists for 2010 – business trends, social trends, political trends.

So, I thought I’d add my own list for the creative community. I don’t have time to list out 100 bloggers, although I’m sure there are many times that many creative bloggers out there. Instead, I’ve listed five that I truly enjoy following and that I think we’ll see do great things in 2010.

Let’s begin! In no particular order…

1. Kevin Kaiser (www.kevinskaiser.com). Kevin is a brand manager and literary agent by day and a creative writer by night. In his designated writing time, he’s working on a project that I am really excited to see come to fruition, and he has chosen to bring his readers along with him on the journey, all the while encouraging readers to write and building creative community.
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A Handmade Christmas

I love supporting Etsy sellers when I can, but I’m also a big fan of doing those things that I can at home that are actually cool. I don’t know about you, but many times when I try the DIY route, it just doesn’t turn out.When I find a DIY resource and it works… well, that’s just magic.

Here are three sites I’ve found with adorable handmade Christmas ideas that actually meet both the I-would-actually-have-that-in-my-house and doable criteria that are so essential to stress-free holiday decorating. Hope you enjoy!

1. Felt Ruffle Wreath via www.domestifluff.com

I love this one and can’t wait to try it myself. Go here for the full tutorial.
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5 Secrets to Frugal Inspiration

In economically challenging times, we don’t always have extra money in our budgets to buy the latest great book or publication, or go to the conferences we want to go to, or participate in the courses we would like to join. Our bank accounts may be taking a hit, but that doesn’t mean that our creative growth has to.

Here are a few secrets I’ve found to continue growing creatively, without breaking the bank.

1. Can’t go to the conference? Participate online!

I’m planning my 2010 budget, and while there are tons of great conferences I would love to attend, some of them just won’t make the budget. While I wasn’t able to find “official” free videos of some of my favorite conferences, I was able to find several via YouTube. I hope that more conferences follow TED’s lead in the future.
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Creative Inspiration During Cold Season

It’s cold season around here, and I don’t just mean the temperature. I mean the sniffling, sneezing, your-hurts-so-bad-you-can’t-get-out-of-bed cold season. On days like these, I prefer to live life from the couch – preferably wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea or a bowl of soup.

But in my world, sick days don’t make the deadlines go away. The benefit of an iPhone and a home office is that I can always be at work – even if I’m still in my pajamas.

So how do I stay inspired and creative while trying to rest and make the sniffles go away? I really enjoyed reading this article about getting dirty with creativity, but on sick days, that’s just too much effort for me. So, I’ve compiled a list of go-to options that require the least amount of energy and effort. Most of them can be accessed conveniently from the couch.
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Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you had a wonderful time celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family this week. My husband and I celebrated with friends on Thursday and then decorated our home for Christmas on Friday. I took a much-needed break from the interwebs (and my laptop in general).

Sometimes as a blogger it is easy to live with a “how can I document this?” kind of mentality, and so it is really important to actively step away and just be.
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When Something’s Gotta Give

The last few days (weeks?) have been crazy around the Wilcox house. We’re moving to Nashville, which means we’re smack in the middle of that transition of packing up your house, renting your house, finding a new house, scaling down, and deciding what matters most in terms of quality of life, lifestyle, the future – oh, and what to do with all our stuff…

Lately it feels as if my brain has been stuffed between the grips of a metal vise, and every last bit of creativity, energy, and innovation is being squeezed out. Like every last great idea has been tapped, and I have nothing left to give.

This is what it’s like sometimes when your livelihood depends on your creativity, when your clients depend on your ability to generate great ideas, and a changing marketplace demands constant innovation. Honestly, sometimes I feel completely tapped out.
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