301 Things to Draw by Editors of Chartwell Books

 

★★★★★ The publisher provided a copy for review 

Ok, this one is pure fun! and it proves that simplify can be the most powerful. Pages and pages of prompts - the interior is as plain as the exterior, waiting for your creativity. I can't resist showing you one of its 200 pages. Some prompts have a single page, while others share a page.

This book makes me want to pull out all my art supplies and have a great time playing.

You don't have to do these in order. Skip around and see what inspires you. However, in a year's time, if you use one prompt each weekday and skip weekends, you'll have a notebook of inspiration and doodles and painting and drawing and .... well, creativity. 

You could also use these prompts for writing a paragraph, sending a postcard to someone, etc. Use them as food for your creative brain. Highly recommended for those who want to journal something each day.  Buy a copy as a birthday present to yourself or an artsy friend.

Make Your Art No Matter What by Beth Pickens

 

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review

All those excuses for not making art? Pickens wants them to go away.

Whether it's money, education, relationships, emotions - you name it ... pick up a copy and keep it on hand when you know you should but just can't bring yourself to make something.

The chapters are filled with suggestions, questions, categories of resistance and help, and other fine resources that will get you moving again. 

Get your art supplies out. Then make sure you have a copy on your workspace. GO!

The Art of Tablescaping by Bugsy Drake

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review

Are you pretty serious about hospitality - or do you just want to enjoy the fun of setting a table? This book is loaded with ideas. It's like stepping into a Southern belle's brain. How do you theme a party? What resources and help do you need to pull it off?

I'm more of a general idea person so was boggled with the level of detail - from concept to text to photos. If you're a perfectionist, you're gonna LOVE it. Buy it to kick off your own creativity, too.

Block Print for Beginners by Elise Young

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review

If you've ever wondered about making your own stamps or blocks, want to put color on fabric or paper, or just want to explore a new craft, you'll enjoy this beginner manual. Young makes it simple with clear instructions, options to customize your work, and drawings. 

Have fun! This is definitely one for my artsy friends to try.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness by Olivia Telford

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review. 

How is your mental health? Struggling with depression, anxiety, phobias, procrastination, or sleeplessness? Maybe there are other ways that your mind is sabotaging your health.

Telford offers some practical but research-based ways that a therapist would guide you through the process of healing. It's not self-help exactly (unless you can read it and do the steps yourself.) 

It's more of a guide and explanations that you can work through with a therapist when you have trouble changing your own thinking. Highly recommended as helpful as we muddle through the pandemic.

Soul Anatomy: Finding Peace, Hope, and Joy in the Psalms by George Robertson

 ★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review. 

If you're wondering what scripture has to say to your emotions and your mental health during this pandemic and beyond, here's a series of "talks to the soul" that will lift you up. Whether you are happy or sad, angry or calm, afraid or confident, the Psalms address every aspect of our response to God and those around us. 

Robertson explores the psalms - and encourages us to deeply reflect in reading and response on what God is doing. Is your life going smoothly? Choose a chapter about that. Are you suffering because of others' decisions? There's a psalm for that.

At the end of each chapter, you can personally record how you are engaging with scripture and bringing God's reassuring presence into your life. Recommended to all.

Get Outside - a journal for getting into nature

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review. 

You have been considering taking walks, going camping, or exploring other ways of getting out of the house or office. During the pandemic, you've found that time in nature is transforming and life-giving, right?

But where to go in the USA? What to do when you stand outside your door or get out of the car? This Ink&Willow book has multiple to-go lists, from hikes to parks, to ideas of how you can restore your soul by getting OUTSIDE.

It's new, it's fun to browse, and you'll find a bucket-list to suit you. While this is specific to North America, it will give you a blueprint to follow around the world. Have fun!

Recommended for the sedentary who need inspiration as well as the active who just need new places to go.