Sooo I'm a bit obsessed with the solar eclipse that will happen on Monday, August 21, 2017. I booked my ticket to Nashville as soon as I heard Nashville was one of the major cities where you can see the total eclipse. This eclipse is really very cool because it has been 99 years (the last time was 1918) since the United States experienced a coast to coast solar eclipse. I'm thrilled to be in my hometown celebrating this very special experience with family and friends. Inspired by the eclipse, I've been on a bit of creative spree. Check out my eclipse party planning tips here.

I created these games to keep folks entertained and to help them learn about the eclipse and astronomy.

These are online invitations  that I created on Pingg.

If you happen to be in Nashville, you won't be disappointed if you visit any of these favorite spots:

• Adventure Science Center
• Christie's Cookies
• Slim & Huskies
• Monell's
• Virago
• BarTaco

I'm all set for Monday, I have my eclipse viewing glasses (and verified they're legit). I'm going to take the advice of the experts and just enjoy the experience. I hope you'll enjoy this unique experience wherever you are.

I've found that regularly reading inspirational quotes is a wonderful way to stay motivated. These are a few of my favorite art and creativity quotes:

"The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable." -Robert Henri

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."
- Thomas Merton

"The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

"Pictures just come to my mind and I tell my heart to go ahead."
- Horace Pippin

"Creativity takes courage." - Henri Matisse

"Art is not a thing; it is a way." - Elbert Hubbard

"Inspiration comes and goes, creativity is the result of practice."
- Phil Cousineau

Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see."
- Paul Klee

"Everything starts from a dot." - Wassily Kandinsky

"There is no must in art because art is free." - Wassily Kandinsky

"Take the ideas that speak to you. Use your imagination. Create something wonderful."- Oprah

"Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.: - Andy Warhol

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way-things I had no words for." - Georgia O'Keeffe

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." - Pablo Picasso

"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working." - Pablo Picasso

"The artist vocation is to send light into the human heart." - George Sand

For more inspirational sayings, check out the LoFL blog and my Pinterest Inspiration board.

Here are a few of my favorite recent pins...

For more pins, follow my ReikoRenee Pinterest board and the Fun+Art+Wine Pinterest board.


Images via Pinterest

Still loving taking photos of the sky. #lookup

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here is some fun information about the color green:

• Green is considered good luck in most Western cultures, for example a green shamrock.
• Green is a secondary color, a combination of yellow and blue.
• Green is the color of growth, prosperity, balance and harmony.
• It creates equilibrium between the head and the heart.
• Green governs the heart chakra and relates to love and balance.
• If your favorite color is green, you are understanding, self-controlled, adaptable, sympathetic, generous, humble and romantic.
• It is the color of nature, spring, renewal and rebirth.
• It promotes growth, vitality, dependability, compassion, and generosity.
• Green is rejuvenating and nurturing with a strong connection to safety.
• It is the most restful color for the human eye.
• Traffic lights are green all over the world.
• In Spain, racy jokes are "green."
• In China, a green hat can be a symbol of infidelity, symbolizing that a man's wife is cheating on him.
• In Japan, the words for blue and green ("ao") are the same.
• At racetracks, green cars are considered unlucky.
• In Feng Shui, green eases absent-mindedness, nervousness and rudeness.

Sources: threeheartscompany.com, empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com, color-wheel-pro.com, colormatters.com

New hand-crafted greeting cards are now available at Caramel, located at 1603 U Street, NW in Washington, DC. Caramel is open 12-7pm on Saturday and 12-6pm on Sunday. These colorful greeting cards are unique works of art, individually created with paper and acrylic paint. I have been making these cards for 10+ years and I enjoy hearing from happy customers who love giving them to commemorate special occasions. The cards are ideal for birthdays, graduations, Mother's Day, Father's Day, anniversaries and many other occasions. For custom orders, please contact reiko@reikorenee.com.

The heart is the eternal optimist and the most popular symbol of love. In honor of Valentine's Day, here are some of my favorite heart quotes...

The meditation of my heart shall be understanding. - Psalm 49:3

Pictures just come to my mind and I tell my heart to go ahead. - Horace Pippin

There is no set path, just follow your heart. -  Anonymous

The artist vocation is to send light into the human heart. -  George Sand

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. - Helen Keller

The heart doesn't know how to play it safe. Thank goodness. - Terry McMillan

There are some things in life that catch your eye, then there are those that capture your heart; pursue those. - Unknown

Do what your heart ask you to do! Decide to live, choose a life you want to live! - Saint Augustine

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. - Confucius

God has put something noble and good into every heart His hand created. - Mark Twain

Beauty is not in the face; Beauty is a light in the heart. - Kahlil Gibran



For more fun heart and love inspired quotes, check out my L'amour Pinterest board.

 

I love the clean slate the new year offers and I believe the 100 happy days challenge is a fun way to start the year off on a positive note. I'll be posting my #100happydays moments on Twitter and Instagram as well as sharing my progress on the blog. You can learn more about the the challenge here.

Here is my first entry: