Kim Dettmer Art

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25 Awesome ways to Practice Happiness

5/29/2019

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I believe being HAPPY takes practice. Here are 25 awesome ways to practice happiness.
  1. Listen to uplifting music
  2. Go to a playground and swing
  3. Get a coloring book and grab your colored pencils or crayons and enjoy
  4. Create passwords that have a positive message - for example: Glad2BeMe!
  5. Listen to TED talks - there are SO many uplifting messages that people have to share!
  6. Doodle
  7. Get out in nature
  8. Lay in the grass and find objects in the clouds
  9. Smile
  10. Hang twinkle lights
  11. Get a daily Note From the Universe at www.tut.com
  12. Be grateful - write down the top 3 things that you are thankful for
  13. Do something that you have always wanted to do, but haven't
  14. Send someone flowers
  15. Go fly a kite
  16. Make a wish while throwing a handful of glitter into the air
  17. Do something nice for a stranger
  18. Use puns (they're punny!)
  19. Eat dessert first
  20. Journal
  21. Remember the details of a really awesome moment
  22. Talk kindly to yourself
  23. Take a nap
  24. Stargaze
  25. Surround yourself with positive messages - artwork, posters, cards etc.
Make it a HAPPY day!
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My 5 Favorite Creative Digital Apps and Programs

5/22/2019

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While I love to create art with paints, paper, scissors, and glue, I also do love finding higher tech ways to spur my creativity.​ I use these apps and programs in a variety of ways... Sometimes I take my "hand-created" art, scan it into the computer and then play with it digitally. Other times, I create art or graphics completely digitally and still other times I use techy tools to inspire my non-techy art.

Here are my 5 favorite creativity digital apps and programs.
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1) Adobe Creative Suite:  Adobe is the workhorse for creatives - with good reasons! 
My first introduction to an Adobe product was in the late '90's when, as an advisor to a college newspaper, I helped students layout the paper in Adobe PageMaker. Once I got past the initial learning curve, I LOVED the program and transitioned seamlessly into Adobe InDesign. Currently, I use InDesign a tons! Through InDesign, I create images for my website and social media, do the layout and design work for prints, cards, and other products and create logos, business cards, plus so much more. 
Adobe Photoshop is another program in the Creative Suite that I use all the time. Specifically, I use Photoshop to edit color and manipulate images.
Lastly, I have dabbled with Adobe Illustrator and have found it to be a powerful tool - and a bit overwhelming. Becoming proficient in Illustrator is on my bucket list and I look forward to learning it.

2) Tangle Patterns App: I love this app! Often, when I grab my sketchbook, I click on my Tangle Patterns App to get inspiration. This app has a ton of different tangle patterns with step by step instructions. I find that drawing the repeating patterns is relaxing and fun. Plus, I often use snippets of the "tangled" sketchbook pages  in my collage artwork.
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3) Canva: I was recently introduced to Canva (thank you Ali!) and now I use it all the time! Through Canva, I create professionally looking designs for facebook and instagram posts, email headers, and more! They have tons of drop and drag images and photos that are fun and unique. Plus, there are a plethora of fonts to choose from! Canva makes it is easy to create a graphic that fits my style and get the look that I want.

4) Procreate: Two Christmases ago, my husband gifted me an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. I tried out a bunch of apps, but when I found Procreate, I was blown away! This creative app, allows me to sketch, paint, draw and create on my tablet. It is so fun to play with! In procreate I have created texture designs for papers that I use for my collage artwork, doodled and sketched fun little images, designed logos, and even created time-lapsed videos of my creation process. And, I have only touched the surface of its capabilities. Except for its unfortunate name, Procreate is amazing!
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5) Animoto: This is my go-to place to create video and slideshows. It is so easy to use - I have created professional looking videos by simply drop and dragging images and video clips. Animoto has music library and a variety of templates allowing me to get a the exact look and feel that I want.

What are your favorite creative app or program that you use?
Make it a HAPPY day!
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The Power of the Doodle.

5/16/2019

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I freaking LOVE to doodle! I have filled up sketch books with randoms doodles and I sincerely think that doodling makes me a better person.

The doodle is a powerful tool! 
It taps into creativity, 
    reduces stress and, 
        is a great way to practice happiness.


Here are a few of my favorite doodles...
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Grab your favorite writing utensil and take a moment to doodle! You won't regret it!

Make it a HAPPY day!
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Lessons from Art: Happiness is a Choice AND a Practice

5/8/2019

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​Throughout 2018, I create a piece of optimistic, happy artwork every week for my One a Week Art Challenge. I challenged myself to meet this goal and I was committed to it and succeeded. 

But to be honest, 2018 was a hard year for me and I learned that choosing happiness is not always as simple as it sounds.

In our country's current political climate, when truth and facts are blurred and integrity and ethical behaviors are not the norm – it is SO easy to feel the negativity. It is SO easy to be consumed by seeing the bad in others and SO easy to forget to find the good. On top of that, personally, during 2018 I experienced a series of circumstances in which I was disappointed and let down by people that I trusted and respected. Candidly, there were times throughout the year that I felt like I had lost my faith in humanity.
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​But there I was, creating a HAPPY, POSITIVE, OPTIMISTIC piece a each and every week and often, that felt in conflict to how I was feeling.

So, to be inspired to create happy artwork, I had to purposely find the good. I sought out positive stories and looked for the beauty in our world. I practiced gratitude and I made creativity a priority. I worked hard to stay grounded in positivity.
Had I not had this One a Week Art Challenge in 2018, I know that I would not have remained as optimistic as I did. That's how ART taught me that Happiness is BOTH a practice and a choice.

How do you practice HAPPINESS?

Make it a HAPPY day!
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Inspiration and #100DaysofMOVE

5/2/2019

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For a LONG time - a really LONG time - I have been saying that I need to exercise. And, many times, I started, but after a week or two, I would lose motivation and quit.

As you may know, during my One a Week Art Challenge in 2018, I learned TONS about the power of persistence (read about that here). So, I decided to attack my lack of exercise with the same commitment...so on April 22, #100DaysofMOVE began.

Yep, from now until July 31, I will exercise everyday. Spring is blooming here and the weather has been nice, so thus far, my exercise has been walking around my town.

What does this have to do with ART?
Honestly, when I started this 10 days ago, I would have never imagined how much this would connect to my artwork. But, #100DaysofMOVE, has been filled with lots of inspiration in some of the most unexpected places. To keep me motivated, I am documenting my walks with photos.

​Here are some of the inspiration that I have found on my walks.
This has proven to me - yet again - that inspiration is everywhere! I just need to remember to look for it! Thank goodness that #100DaysofMOVE reminded me.

I hope you enjoyed a peek into my daily walks!

Make it a HAPPY day!
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