I’ve listed 100 Creative Ideas to Spark you into Action all tried out during my five beautiful blogging years, inspired by recent list makings. There are 100 ideas that will point you in “the right” direction for a more creative life. I believe creative action gives happiness in abundance. And that is what I wish for you!

100 IDEAS for Creative Action by iHanna. Photo is Fröken Glad in Stockholm (Copyright Hanna Andersson)

I wish you happiness and joy all summer long! I wish for you a life that is filled with art, craft, friends, sunshine, creativity adventures, inspiration, rainbows, new knowledge and exiting explorations. All ideas are free for you to use. And all comes from iHanna with love! Here you go:

1. Read the book A Creative Year by yours truly! I hope you’ll like it.
2. Write a mission statement that includes creativity and read it often to remind yourself of where you’re going
3. Live in the present moment and enjoy the now because it’s the best place to be
4. Allow yourself to obsess over cute stuff even if you consider yourself to be a grown up
5. Find happiness in little things, in the details, in the mundane.
6. Explore creative blogs to find like minded, inspiration, new friends, make contact!
7. Make a field of flowers from thrifted doilies and other treasures. Anything can be a creative spring board if used in unusual ways.
8. Read many wonderful books on creativity and keep your favorites close by
9. Cut apart a pair of old jeans and design your own hand bag in the perfect size for your personal needs
10. Customize a letter stamp set with unmounted stamps and write big with it
11. Play with water soluble crayons on paper and drench it in water
12. Decoupage pretty papers to a blank notebook cover to make it your own
13. Pick up a needle and hand sew a patchwork ball and start juggling
14. Look through your stash of pens and try all of them
15. Try experimenting with glass fusing to make jewelry gifts
16. Cast on and knit a crazy scarf with fun fluffy yarns
17. Share genious and interesting articles with your friends so that they too can learn new stuff
18. Use pretty napkins and make shabby chic fridge magnets (download and print the pdf I made)
19. Make a cool inspiration board from a big frame to hang up things and cards that you enjoy
20. Make pretty mixed media postcards for your loved ones
21. Glue buttons to something to make it pretty, like the IKEA mirror frame – because it’s fun
22. Break china plates and create a unique mosaic pot that everyone will be envious of
23. Buy a bag of concrete and make a bird bath from a rhubarb mould for your garden
24. Don’t drink your Kool-Aid and don’t eat the Jell-O but use it to dye yarn with!
25. If you have a cat you could sew a cat basket just because you can.
26. Join a swap and make a batch of chunky book pages, tire yourself out!
27. Experiment with old photos and make art with them, like I did with the Asian Dog Postcards
28. Felt a sweater and cut out a pair of Serendipity gloves
29. Go choose yourself a good journal because you need (another) one
30. Continue to ask questions – always keep asking and the answers will come…
31. Doodle and copy to make your own fun stickers!
32. Invite your friends to a crafternoon this week (invite everyone!)
33. Experiment with gesso and bubble wrap in your journal
34. Get into Artist Trading Cards and start trading them with people around the world
35. Sew a scarf out of fleece because it’s so soft and you need soft
36. Crochet a bowl with fabric stripes and put little stupid stuff inside it!
37. Play with angelina fibers and admire how it shimmers and shines
38. Celebrate how great you are and bake a chocolate cake for yourself
39. Capture a photo project in a Blurb book with your own design
40. Explore your inner thoughts and plans by creating a personal mandala
41. Take out some acrylic paint and spread it around with a brayer
42. Draw out your glue gun and shoot glue with it – a candle holder is a perfect choice
43. Recycle a magazine to create a gift wrap flower decoration
44. Repurpose your old socks to sew your own sock monkey
45. …then make pretty clothes for your sock monkey and take photos!
46. Make a kitty happy; sew a cat blanket in patchwork style
47. Be a princess in your own Creative Kingdom! Play, sing, dance, laugh – and create things that makes you happy.
48. Fold a paper crane because origami is tricky but fun
49. Download free labels to decorate your journal and notebooks
50. Take on a big blanket project (or something else that is time consuming) with no deadline date or stress involved, enjoy taking your time with it
51. Try needle felting wool into something tiny and cute, but be careful with your fingers so you don’t hurt yourself
52. Start a collection of quotes that inspires you further
53. Do Daily Art Cards for a distinct period of time – just to challenge yourself
54. Try to spin your own yarn to see if you have the patience for it
55. Sew a fabric cover for your diary using lots of lace
56. Cultivate the habit of keeping a diary because it’s good for you!
57. Don’t be affraid to doodle away some of your precious time, it will be well spent time – plus you have got time for anything you want to do!
58. Appreciate the seasson that we have right now even if you don’t think it’s your favorite
59. Draw a montly calendar overview in your notebook or diary. Make fun plans!
60. Embroider something without a plan – it’s called free form embroidery!
61. Smear, stain and spill with your paints
62. Widen your horizon by looking up a new word
63. Walk around with your camera and try to see old views in new perspectives
64. Turn your floor into creative chaos and enjoy the big work space you then get
65. Plan a quilt project and start cutting fabrics
66. Crochet an amigurumi bird in bright yellow
67. If you like to make one of something, then go crazy and mass produce until absurdness
68. Make cute gifts for wee friends that needs something soft to cuddle
69. Make space for writing inside your art journal too
70. Also play with layers in your journal and cover things up
71. Get yourself an accordian fold type of Moleskine because it’s so much fun to unfold it page by page
72. Unleash your inner artist with collage, doodle, graffiti, drawings…
73. If you’re depressed you can always cut out and glue images, it could change your day
74. Find textures and use them – you’ll never look at that cheese tray the same way again
75. Spread out your creative wings – you need space in your life to create
76. Identify the tools of the trade that you love most and start using them, daily
77. Check out new cool books and give yourself a gift
78. Let yourself fall in love with a fountain pen, or any pen.
79. Try writing your own poetry for a while (I did two months of daily poetry this year)
80. Pick up something you think is pretty and do a still life study
81. Explore all the colors in your crayon box
82. Always always indulge yourself in inspiration – you can never have to much!
83. Create a rug that makes you happy to walk and sit on, and to look at
84. Make a granny square scarf because granny squares are cool
85. Find a partner to do a diptych project with!
86. Knit your own mittens
87. Choose one word for your year because words are powerful things you know
88. If you need a trip don’t do drugs, make a special place like the Mushroom land and go visit there in your imagination…
89. Detect all the colors around you. The bright ones are easy to see, but will you notice colors that whispers softly too?
90. Document what your creative life looks like right now, tomorrow it might be different
91. Make your own paper beads from recycled newspaper
92. Cut out your own stencil and make a mark somewhere
93. Explore the zentangle way of drawing in its meditative way. Go slow!
94. Make a mixing chart with water colors to learn how they work
95. Never throw away pizza boxes because you never know what you could use them for
96. Always remember that white paint can transform any old furniture to prettiness
97. Carv your own stamp and stamp it everywhere
98. Wear the crazy things you make – with pride! You’re as special as your creations.
99. Write someone you like and let them know that what they do are meaningful
100. Make your own list and start with #1 today. Set your goals in life, list craft projects to try or list things that inspire you personally to remind you what you need! This could also be your bucket list of sorts. I’ve just started writing my own, and it’s fun fun fun!

I have been needing a blog break for a while. The reason I hesitated this long is because I love my blog so much, and it has given me lots of joy, and it still does. I’ve been blogging for five years and the above ideas are only a fraction of what I’ve posted about and done during these years. So while I know I need to step away I also know it will feel like loosing my mind. What shall I do with me… But I will figure it out as I go along, as I always do. It’s a messy thrilling life, yes?