<\/p>\n
August is Artist Appreciation month! Yay! How cool is that! Let\u00b4s make a lot of art!<\/p>\n 1. Write limericks just for fun. Begin each one with \u201cThere once was a girl named _______\u201d or \u201cThere once was a town called ______\u201d. Go around the dinner table and have each person make up a limerick for themselves or the person next to them.<\/p>\n This is friendship day. Invite your best friends over for wine, crackers and cheese.<\/p>\n Today, well, just over 800 years ago (1291) Switzerland became an independent country. That\u00b4s pretty long. And they\u00b4re still pretty independent: so neutral they won\u00b4t even be a member in the UN. And i some regions, women didn\u00b4t get to vote until the 1990s. But it\u00b4s one of the most beautiful countries I\u00b4ve ever been to. Read up on it, will you!<\/p>\n 2. Pick up garbage when you see it on the ground. For example, if you are going for a walk and see a coffee cup in the gutter? Pick it up and throw it away. Every little bit helps to clean up our earth every day.<\/p>\n Visit a (local) gallery. Read up on some of the artists presented. Bring a sketch-book, sit down and draw. If you don\u00b4t want to draw the still-life in the paintings or sculptures, draw the people around you \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n 3. Find all your skirts and dresses, and don\u00b4t wear jeans for the rest of the month!<\/p>\n Watermelon-day! Guess what\u00b4s for dessert?! \ud83d\ude42 Have a seed-spitting-competition outside, see who can spit the seeds the furthest\u2026<\/p>\n 4. Find a poem you like, and memorize it!<\/p>\n Coast guard-day. If you live near the coast, visit a light-house, in any case, make a picture inspired by the coast guards and light-houses and safety at sea.<\/p>\n *5. Go see a musical! And let yourself be drawn into the drama!!!<\/p>\n Make a big pile of waffles! Take them with you on a surprise-visit to a neighbor.<\/p>\n 6. Be a Sunday driver. Take a long drive to the next town over\u2026to the country\u2026to nowhere. Stop for lunch (or eat in the car). Make a wrong turn. Find your way back.<\/p>\n It\u00b4s wiggles your toes day! Hm. What feels best? Green grass or warm sand between your toes. If you live near a beach, head on out for some wiggling! If not, dance barefoot in the garden!<\/p>\n 7. Make one room in the house super-tidy! And keep it like that for the rest of the month\u2026<\/p>\n Sea serpent day. Oooo! Make a painting, or several. Mermaids, giant octopus, sea dragons\u2026 let your mind go wild!<\/p>\n 8. Sit outside on your steps and watch the world go by. If it\u2019s chilly, throw a blanket around you. Say hi to the neighbors, wave at the people driving by, sip ice tea (or wine) and stay a while. You may even meet your mailman! \ud83d\ude42 Remember to bring your sketchbook!<\/p>\n Sew a big Twister-game-board (-carpet) and play with your favorite playful friends \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n 9. Celebrate Betty Boop\u00b4s birthday by wearing a short, tight, red dress, with bright red lipstick!<\/p>\n Doodle on the bottom of your sneakers\u2026you know\u2026like you did when you were in high school. Write your sweeties name. Jot down your best friends phone number. Doodle flowers and faces and lines and spots.<\/p>\n 10. Find a vintage crinoline petticoat skirt. Put it on and twirl.<\/p>\n The muslim holiday of Ramadan starts today. It\u00b4s a time for spiritual purification achieved through fasting, self-sacrifice and prayers. You don\u00b4t necessarily have to do these things, but it never hurts to sit down and think about your life, and how you are using it. Let\u00b4s make this an evening without TV, leaving a quiet calm that allows thoughts to occur and linger.<\/p>\n 11. If your hair is straight\u2026curl it. If it\u2019s curly\u2026straighten it. If all else fails\u2026wear piggy tails!<\/p>\n Play in the sand-day. You can choose to be childish and build castles in the sand, or you can be all grown-up and play beach-volleyball. Your choice.<\/p>\n 12. Take a class in CPR, learn to save lives!<\/p>\n Go to the beach with a group of friends and look for heart-shaped rocks. The one who finds the most beautiful rock is the one who gets to decide what treat you\u00b4re having for dessert!<\/p>\n 13. Throw out your old make-up. It\u2019s old. And if you still have it and it\u2019s old\u2026you don\u2019t use it\u2026so throw it out. Now go on a make-up shopping spree! Tji-hi\u2026<\/p>\n It\u00b4s still summer! Have a picnic! Put on your white lace, and go to the park, bring along a big basket with home-made lemonade and cup-cakes and biscuits. Be romantic!<\/p>\n 14. Play on the playground. Go to the playground. Right now. By yourself. Swing on the swings. Go down the slide. Slide down again.<\/p>\n 15. Well, what do you know?! Today is relaxation day! Take things easy, chill, play lounge-music and smile \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Spend the day exploring. Bring your camera and take black & white photos of everything. Or if you have a digital camera, buy a roll of Lomography redscale negative film from Urban Outfitters. They are pretty awesome! Look here for more pictures.<\/p>\n *16. Wear a candy necklace all day long. Re-string it if it\u2019s too tight. Eat it if you\u2019re hungry.<\/p>\n It\u00b4s roller coaster day. Yup! Go to the fun-fair, buy a ticket for this 1898-wonder, and brace yourself. One ride is enough. Afterwards you can find a bench, and draw sketches of people\u00b4s expressions as they come of the roller coaster.<\/p>\n 17. Scavenge for old picture frames (the chippier \u2013 the better). Find them in different sizes (so that one will fit inside the other). Hang them on the wall inside one another or as an arrangement \u2013 the frames, themselves, will be art.<\/p>\n Archeology day. One of my favorite subjects! I love to read or hear about ancient Egypt. I would dream of sitting in the dessert unearthing pyramids with a spoon already as a 7-year old\u2026 30 years later I\u00b4m inside one of the pyramids at Giza in Cairo. Beyond cool! Be inspired by history and archeological treasures to make your own little treasure. Like this chair I made while I was at teacher\u00b4s college.<\/p>\n *18. Take your mom and dad out for lunch. Don\u2019t meet them\u2026pick them up and be their chauffeur. Make sure all talk is \u201chappy\u201d talk. Treat them.<\/p>\n Put on your red, sparkling glitter shoes, and watch The Wizard of Oz. This film premiered today in 1939. Continue reading Gregory Maguire\u00b4s books Wicked<\/em> and Son of a witch<\/em>. The first is made into a wonderful musical.<\/p>\n 19. Take your best friend to your favorite store. Do lunch and then browse. Indulge. Buy yourself a little \u201csomething-something\u201d.<\/p>\n Potato day. How about a variation for dinner: R\u00f8sti-potatoes! We\u00b4ve been growing our own potatoes in the garden this year, so today I\u00b4ll be getting my dinner from my own back-yard. Now, that is pretty cool, my friend!!<\/p>\n 20. Sign up for an art class. Local art stores usually have 3-hour or one-day workshops. Try something new! Go alone and make new friends.<\/p>\n Turn off the TV, and turn on the radio. When was the last time you sat down and listened to a radio-program? There\u00b4s actually a lot of really great shows on, if you choose the right channel.<\/p>\n 21. Start recycling in a big way. Buy products that are green, save scraps to use in artwork, sort your garbage and recycle as much as possible. Organize a recycling center in your garage or basement\u2026get the whole family involved.<\/p>\n It\u00b4s also the international day for homeless animals. Maybe you can adopt a cat? At least see if you can support a homeless animal shelter by a small donation of some sort.<\/p>\n 22. Make tacos for dinner! Make sure you have a lot of avocado. They are really good for you! Oh, and save the avocado-peel. We\u00b4ll be using them for plant-dying silk fabric! Have a look at how Pat of Altering thoughts did it. Oh, I am SO trying this!<\/p>\n *(It\u00b4s also Be-an-Angel-day today. But seriously. If you did both the recycling-project AND the animal-shelter thing yesterday, I think your wings will still be white today.)<\/p>\n 23. Go through that special drawer in the house, (Everyone has one, either in the kitchen, the hallway, the laundry-room\u2026) where all the odd bits and pieces end up. Find one thing in there, and make something creative with it.<\/p>\n Take your camera for a little discover-tour on the docks. Preferably with containers. Take pictures of letters on different background. Try to get the whole alphabet. Once you get home, crop your pics in Photoshop, and you\u00b4re ready to make your own groovy signs!<\/p>\n *24. Back to school! Go to the office-store or paper-store and buy funky, colorful erasers \ud83d\ude42 And get yourself a piece of art-supply that\u00b4s been on your wish-list for a while. A new type of markers? A new type of paint? A dremel?<\/p>\n Strange music day. How cool! Well, we\u00b4re bound to have different opinions on what strange<\/em> is, but I will recommend some music I find both strange and kind of wonderful at the same time: Trio Bulgarka, Tom Waits, and The Avalances. Now that\u00b4s folks that ain\u00b4t afraid of being different!<\/p>\n 25. Indulge in random acts of kindness. Send a handmade gift to someone (a teacher, a friend, even someone you don\u2019t know). Pay one month\u2019s electric bill for your parents. Give movie tickets and baby-sitting to a friend who could use a break for a date-night. Put your ideas in a bowl and every once in a while, pull one out and do it. Make up random acts of kindness for your children to do, also. Today is kiss-and-make-up-day. Coincident? I don\u00b4t think so \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n At the end of the evening keep indulging, this time in a big banana-split!<\/p>\n 26. for one week, write daily love letters to yourself. Yes, you can do it. Write only good things: \u201cYou look great today\u201d, \u201cExercising was fun, wasn\u2019t it? Eating chocolate in bed was even more fun\u201d. Put them in envelopes covered with stickers. Mail them every day.<\/p>\n Wear red socks today, and see where they take you\u2026<\/p>\n 27. Make chocolate chip cookies. That can\u00b4t be done often enough!<\/p>\n Restring some of your old jewelry into a new accessory. Mix new beads with heirlooms and flea-market-findings.<\/p>\n *28. Outbid someone on eBay at the last minute. Remember\u2026it\u2019s not about the item\u2026it\u2019s about WINNING!<\/p>\n In 1963, Martin Luther King made his famous I have a dream-speech. Make a page in your art-journal inspired by his speech. You can find it here.<\/p>\n 29. Make your own paper. Find a blender at the local Goodwill. Put water in it, then add scraps of paper. It might be a good idea to a touch of wallpaper-glue in the mix. Blend until it makes a pulp. Pour onto an old window screen (found at a rebuilding center, hardware store, or your own basement). Press the water out (best done outside or over a plastic bin). Let dry and you will have paper. Press down more for a thinner paper, add bits of dried lavender or grass for texture. Use a ruler to tear it into squares for sending notes or making art on. Google \u201cmaking paper\u201d on the web and try some other recipes.<\/p>\n 30. Wear several watches (each set for a different time zone). Think of the fun Swatch watches. Pick up used watches at a thrift store. Decorate them up and wear them on one arm. When someone asks you what time it is, raise your sleeve a little and say \u201c1 pm here\u201d\u2026then pull your sleeve up a bit more \u201c8pm in Los Angeles\u201d\u2026then pull it up more \u201c3pm in Honolulu\u201d\u2026.\u201d7 am in Tokyo\u201d.<\/p>\n Decorate your old towels with vintage apothecary labels, like Cathe over at Just Something I made.<\/a><\/p>\n 31. Make your own chips! Slice a couple of big potatoes, fill a iron-pan with sunflower-oil, and fry them. Be very careful not to set your house on fire!!!<\/em> Keep the lid to the pan right next to you, and NEVER leave the pan. When they\u00b4re fried, let them dry individually on paper-towel-paper. Put them in a bowl and salt them with maldon-salt (real sea-salt). It\u00b4s the yummiest chips I\u00b4ve ever tasted! Now bring your chips-bowl with you to the couch and watch an old classic (in black & white). Try Doctor Chivago<\/em> with Omar Sharif or Gone with the wind<\/em> with Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. Oh, and send me a suggestion on how to celebrate September!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.spindelmaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Untitled-1.jpg\" "\\"Untitled-1\\"")
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