~ Get your creative juices flowing ~

I've been feeling so inspired lately to do creative things! For some reason my creative juices have been flowing more than normal...from coming up with great movie script ideas...to starting a lamp business...as of recently ideas have been endlessly streaming...something that was not happening for me even a few months ago. So I thought, what a great topic to give some advice on how to get YOUR creative juices flowing and how to turn them from just IDEAS to REALITY!!

Why so blocked?


If you feel like you haven't been able to create anything or come up with any new great ideas in a while...there are many factors to why....

✥ Stress  ✥ Health issues  ✥ Family or Relationship issues  ✥ Not understanding the topic your trying to create for  ✥ No plan of direction for a specific topic ✥ Financial issues

How to start churning your creative wheels 


✥ MUSIC ~ Listen to some calming music or music with an uplifting sound when you feel creatively blocked. It will relax you and allow you to have a clear head for creative thoughts to start flowing. Stress is the number one reason it's hard to create so get as close as you can to your "Happy Place" as possible.

✥ EXPLORE ~ Get out of the house or office and go see something inspiring.. go have a picnic at the park..go see a show you've never seen...get out of your usual scenery and let the world be your inspiration.

✥ BRAINSTORM ~ If your trying to create something...whether it's a dance routine..writing a song...coming up with a new business idea...or trying to come up with a DIY project...just start brainstorming without crossing out any of the bad ideas. The key idea here is brainstorming FREELY to allow as many ideas in at first as possible. If you can't come up with that perfect dance routine...do improv..dance around  freely and you may just stumble upon that perfect ending to a routine.

✥ RESEARCH ~ One of the most important things you MUST do when creatively blocked...do some Research!!!
Check out blogs...look at pictures...read articles on interesting topics..the more you expose yourself to the more you have to pull from, when trying to create something of your own.

✥ MAKE IT FUN ~ Have fun with it!! The one biggest reason we all find it hard to be creative or come up with new inventive ideas is because we are being pressured to create. Work is demanding new ideas..school is asking for that amazing essay...our families are wanting success and it's hard to create when there are so many expectations or deadlines from the outside. So enjoy it! Think up ideas for yourself...for fun...and then you never know if that one idea you came up with jokingly with a friend will actually be your best idea yet!

Finally, don't let your creative ideas just stay in creative idea land.....make them your Reality!!!

The best way to make your ideas become reality is to avoid procrastination. The moment that great idea comes into your head...WRITE IT DOWN....SING IT....START RESEARCHING IT!
By starting the idea right away you eliminate the ability to procrastinate...put it off...or even forget about the idea completely.

As a rule to live by in the Vervefelicity lifestyle...be a DOER! Don't be lazy or let life pass you by...take every opportunity you have or every idea and make it a reality if it's what you want. Use your creativity to build something special you can put forth onto the world!

~ Create. Inspire. Live. ~

*IT'S TRAVEL TIME!!!* DANA POINT STYLE

Hello All! So I'm here in beautiful Dana Point staying at my mothers semi-new house. It's always so great to wake up to the view of the oceanside here! My friend Michelle, sister Jessie, and I are here relaxin for the next few days, and I wanted to show you all a little bit of the sights and adventures we have while we are here! Jessie's friend is flying in today from Boston to visit, so while we show her around we will show you around as well!!

 ~ Day 1 ~

My moms house! These are pictures of the outdoor area and roof lounge room!

Doheny State Beach

Bike Ride to the park with Mel!!

Gorgeous Dana Point Park 

Later we all had dinner at Taco Surf!! I had the greatest fajhitas... and got a photo op with the Dos Equis guy!!!

~ Day 2 - Purple Outfits Day!! ~

On day two we had such a blast!! Mel, Jessie, Robin and I, drove a few minutes up the road to Laguna Beach and not only had like 5 different photo shoots.... but went into tons of shops...walked the beach...had lunch and delicious frozen yogurt from an organic cafe!

Woke up to breakfast being made by my mom! Delicious bagel egg and cheese bacon sandwiches! Mmmmm!!!

Purple Twinning =)

Modeling time

 Cutest little Bistro we stumbled upon down an alley in Laguna

 It felt like we had walked down a street in Europe!! 

From top left to right: Jordan, Michelle

Bottom left to right: Robin, Jessie

Sisterly love <3

This is the yogurt shop we went into after lunch...the froyo was amazingggg!!

We walked into this store called BLUE EYED GIRL... where I saw the CUTEST studded shorts pictured below!! They come in white and gray.

Just a few more pictures we had fun taking!!

Thanks for checking out my page!! Hope you all enjoyed the pictures!!!! =)

~ Create. Inspire. Live ~

This Ones For The Girls!!!!

So today I wanted to share some of my makeup tips for all you ladies out there! From Ancient Egypt to Modern day times...women have long been using makeup to improve our looks.

Many of us girls don't like to spend alot on makeup because it's something we use daily and can get costly to have good quality makeup when we use it up so quickly! I was this way and always bought the grocery store/ pharmacy makeup....everything from powders to mascara. 

Not that i'm hating on grocery store makeup, some mascara's, foundations and powders are great products for the price however after using them daily, you often find you're constantly needing to switch up the brand because it's not working the same as when you first got it. 

One day last year I was getting tired of how my makeup was looking. I didn't like how my foundation felt on my face... my mascara was getting clumpy or dried out easily. I was trying to figure out how celebrities always look so good and put together all the time, when I realized one major thing was they invested in good makeup! Now, we can't all be affording 100's of dollars in makeup but with great stores like Sephora and Macy's....finding some great makeup that you can collect over time can really make you feel and look your best! 

So... I'm gunna go through all my current favorite makeup products that I've been collecting over the past year so you too can try some of them out! I got my makeup from Macy's and Sephora but am including Amazon links to all the makeup for an even better price than in stores!

The Must Have Foundation



This Smashbox Foundation is absolutely AHHMAZINGGG!!!!!
The key to making your makeup look great is with a really great base foundation! What I love about this foundation is it lasts all day...covers up any facial blemishes or imperfections with a light airy feel...and actually has helped my skin improve!
Tip : I have the lightest color and when applied it might look too light for you but this product has a yellow base, so unless your skin tone is more yellowish than stay with the lighter color and use a good powder to match your actual skin color.

My Favorite Powder 



I love this powder! It has a nice application and doesn't feel heavy on the face. It perfectly complements the Smashbox Studio skin foundation.  I have the medium tone which helps darken my skin color after applying the foundation.
Little Italian Women Baked Bronzer




This bronzer from Urban Decay is literally baked in Italy by Italian grandmothers...perhaps even a relative of mine! Lol. ! I have had this for almost a year and am not even close to being done. I use this for my cheeks and highlight areas on my face. It has a great bronzed color with a luminescent sheen to it. The color is called Baked!




Every-Day Eyeshadow Essential




Every girl out there should have the Urban Decay Naked Palette in their makeup collection! It's a little bit of a high price but for what your getting and usage you will get out of it, the purchase should be a no brainer! It is simply one of the greatest makeup purchases I have made. So far I have had it for a year and still have tons of usage left on it. It has great colors for the everyday eyeshadow look as well as a darker color palette for the evening looks! It includes 12 eyeshadow colors, an application brush and includes a small bottle of the greatest eyeshadow primer!!! The great thing about this palette is if your clueless like I used to be, about how to apply makeup and eyeshadow, there are great youtube tutorials teaching you how to apply different eyeshadow looks using your Naked Palette colors.

Mascara + Primer

Amazon didn't have a good link so I'll include a link straight to Sephora for this one. This Urban Decay Eyelash Primer Potion is great for making your eyelashes longer and thicker. Never making your eyelashes too clumpy it gives just the right amount of extra volume without making you apply fake eyelashes. Selling right now for $20 bucks... Heres the link!!


http://www.sephora.com/product/productDetail.jsp?skuId=1187673&productId=P244903&keyword=urban%20decay%20eyelash%20primer&_requestid=40838 






Now, this is an amazing Mascara. I have been known to go through dozens of mascaras a year, However I have had this mascara last me almost a year and I still haven't needed to buy a new one. I love the color of this and that it never...ever goes on looking clumpy or flakey after it dries.

Eyeliner

Excellent Creamy eyeliner pencil in an array of different colors! This is great because it goes on smoothly, lasts long and is waterproof. Runs for $19.00.


5 Brush Essentials


Now for brushes I don't own a lot of the expensive brushes from MAC or other companies. However I will tell you the types of brushes I use that, if you collect just these few...will go a long way in your makeup collection. The brushes shown are either Vincent Longo brand or Avon- Mark collection brushes.

Avon- Mark Powder Brush

Avon- Mark Blending Brush 

Avon- Mark Bronzer Brush

Avon- Mark Eyeshadow Brush

Vincent Longo Foundation Brush

Sorry for the long post, but I hope you all found this helpful and now know some great makeup products to go get!!!

~ Create. Inspire. Live ~

A Thousand Words

What would you say if you only had a thousand words to use for the rest of your life?

So I watched the Eddie Murphy movie, "A Thousand Words" with my little sister today and I actually really liked this movie! It had a really great positive message about how your actions speak louder than words. And of course it got a few laughs out of me as well!

Watching this movie made me think about the past. I even went on my old myspace ( yes it still exists ), and looked back at all my old pictures (down below you can see a few) and comments from friends and people I used to talk to that I had completely forgotten about. 

Sometimes you don't realize that you really have met alot of people and had different sorts of relationships with many people over your lifetime that are either there for a short period or for years and years. 

We all change, grow up and go onto different paths and every one of us leaves behind certain memories and people, it's the nature of things. But looking back today, I appreciate every single person I've met. Anyone who has ever given me a smile, or shared a conversation, shared a struggle with me,  was the person I spent hours talking to on the phone or spent every day by my side. I am thankful for all my closest friends, family and even the aquaintances and random people I may have had a small conversation with just standing in a line. 

 

We have the ability to say alot with a small amount of words, and yet we often waste those words. We talk to talk, we lie, we break our promises. But we also have the ability to use our words to make an impact in someones life by one kind word or thought. Sometimes the memories we remember the most are the ones that came and went by the fastest. The moment didn't need a million words or hours or days to impact our lives.

So like my question in the begginning of this post, I again ask you.....what would you do if all you had was a thousand words to say all you had to say to the ones you love? What would you say? Who would you say it to? 

My small words of wisdom as I end this post:

Live every day being as honest as you can, with as little words left unsaid as possible. We only get one life and only a small amount of time to do and say all we can. To show not only through our words but with our actions that we care, that we're here for each other. 

Have a great tuesday everyone and please share your thoughts on my question in a comment!!!

~ Create. Inspire. Live ~