Hello, Here and There Creative Friends!
Firstly, I want to wish you all a happy new year! I have been away for a while, dealing with the events of October 7th. It has been a challenging journey, but I am slowly returning to my creative space. I hope you are doing well and had a restful break filled with warmth and relaxation.
Now, for the exciting part! I invite you to join me for a "Here and There Creative Coffees" meeting on Zoom, which is entirely free and filled with virtual and actual fun. During our meet-up, we will focus on setting creative goals for the year, using the design process as a guide. We will start with creating mind maps and mood boards. If you are interested in joining, please reply, and I will share all the details with you.
Lastly, I have a small list of recommendations for you for 2024. It may seem a bit nerdy and productivity-focused, but that's what it's like when you run your own business :).
My top tips for the upcoming year:
- If you are addicted to audiobooks like I am, you can now listen to them on Spotify! I cancelled Audible and now get everything from Spotify: one subscription, no more separate apps.
- I recommend reading "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle for managing mental health in uncertain times. It emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment and has dramatically helped me in the past few months.
- Let's talk about tools! Procreate has been helping me overcome creative blocks and really helped me illustrate my book. Even my 9-year-old daughter has started using it while she spends time on her iPad. I highly recommend it. Stay tuned for a post on my Procreate journey and tips. If you have any questions on how to start, you can hit the reply button and ask; I will do my best to help you get started. Here is a free brush kit to get you started!
- For my bilingual friends, Grammarly is a game-changer for writing. It's an AI tool that helps with editing, suggests new sentence structures, and corrects spelling mistakes. I am actually using it right now to write this!
- For all your calendar-related needs, Calendarpedia is a good solution. As a business owner, I swear by planning; my diary is my constant companion. Check out the 2024 calendar edition here: I plan to design my calendars every year but often delay due to work, kids, and current events. Maybe next year?
- For films, I would recommend watching Jews Don't Count. Especially if you live abroad and are Jewish! But also if not. This is an exciting perspective on how Jewish people are perceived; it is worth a watch.
- Last but not least - I just noticed that Amazon has now discounted my book "My Heart Is Here and There", which is an absolute bargain price, and only four copies are left. It can be a fantastic belated "Happy New Year" gift for everyone who has moved to a new place, whether children or adults.
I wish you all 2024 filled with peace, harmony, and much light to banish violence and hate. Let's make this year remarkable with our intentions and plans!
I look forward to hearing back from you here and there!
Thank you,
Sharon Vidan-Kashti x