If you are able to take everyday stuff and give it a creative twist- you would have something that attract everyone’s attention and could have great potential. For example, the usual cupcakes are often being displayed in a sweet, pretty and appetizing way. Whenever we see a cupcake, it’s design makes us want to eat it.
But Zilly Rosen, the author of the book Zombie Cupcakes, take the art of cupcake making to another level. Check up the cupcake designs below which is so different and eye catching:
The cupcakes above, with gory creation of organs- are actually carrot cupcakes done with royal icing and coloring. Instructions to make it are in the book itself. Real creative twist!
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Tagged as:
business,
creative,
cupcakes,
writing
When I saw the book Ignore Everybody and Other 39 Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod, the chapters I flipped that made me took the book were “Keep Your Day Job” and “Beware of Turning Hobbies into Jobs”. As I took the book back, I sat intently from afternoon and finish the book at dusk.
I really enjoyed the book, it is something that a creative person can relate to- and Hugh MacLeod understand the creative mind… if not, he would not be able to write out those insights that only another creative person can recognize.
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Tagged as:
ambition,
entrepreneur,
stress,
work
by Yin on February 11, 2012
There is a lot of ideas that you can be inspired from IKEA. They would invest a lot in the display area to teach people how to use their products.
Products arranged haphazardly as we can see in most stores would not increase sales- unless the buyer has a sharp eye for details. But a majority of consumers or potential buyers have short attention span- they go around, knowing they need to buy some new furniture but could not get the ‘whole picture’. IKEA’s display area would give them a clear idea.
Take for example, for Valentine:
A huge advertisement billboard is placed outside its premises- with a 2 seater Klippan sofa on sale. For couples celebrating Valentine’s day, some thoughs may come to mind:
- wow, a 2 seater- just for me and my the other half. No place for the mother-in-law!
- hmmm…. 2 seater- interesting…and RM629 is not really that expensive- affordable. Maybe I should get one for our bedroom- cost almost the same with the 99 stalk of roses- that’s gonna wilt anyway
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Tagged as:
entrepreneur,
sales,
small business
by Yin on December 6, 2011
Have you ever find that you love a hobby very much but often wonder why was so tough for you to learn up the hobby? Well, you need to first consider what type of learner are you- what is the method that you can most effectively learn:
- Is it by listening to instructions from others
- Is it by reading in a book, watching videos like those found on YouTube (visual)
- Is it doing it yourself (attending classes)
For me, I learn quite effectively through visualizing and looking at pictures. If you are too, then you would need to find a book that provides a lot of visual to help you to learn. Once you can identify your most effective learning technique, you will be able to pick up a skill much faster and safe yourself the agony and frustration of not able to comprehend things.
I would illustrate this with an example. Let’s say you want to learn up scrapbooking, you can speed up your learning experience by using a book with lots of pictures. One of the books you can read is on Teach Yourself Visually Scrapbooking written by Rebecca Ludens and Jennifer Schmidt or any books that have lots of visual and having the step by step process displayed as pictures:
Tagged as:
book review,
craft,
crafts,
creative,
Creativity,
hobby
by Yin on November 29, 2011
If you love beading, it would be a painful process when no one tells you what to do when make a mistake. I remember when I learned beading on my own when I was younger, I had made painful mistakes that cost hours of hard work to go to waste. For instance, in my beaded hairclips, I would not factor enough excess thread space to enable a little bead movement. As the result, at the end when you realize there is not enough thread space to squeeze all beads, sometimes tugging harder would end up breaking the thread and all the hardwork would just be gone.
That’s why, if you are serious enough about your hobby, you would need to do constant research to find ways to improve your craft. Either learn from internet or from books- in which you can either buy online, from the bookstore or browse via the library.
Book Review: The beader’s bible- a comprehensive guide to beading by Dorothy Wood.
There is a book called the Beader’s Bible written by Dorothy Wood. I find the book’s quite practical because it list down different types of beads, equipments to use, and how to correct common mistakes and what to do with them.
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Tagged as:
book review,
craft,
crafts,
creative,
Creativity,
lessons
I’ve always been a slow learner when it comes to languages. When I was in Form 5- I took the 1119 English and you know what I scored? C6- I just barely passed. Previously, the teachers and me all believed that I was stupid and an underperformer in school.
It took me a long time- but I realised that I was not stupid- I just learned things differently from others. I cannot memorise things and then ‘vomit’ them out in exams. In order to remember, I need to connect and understand. And I dread to think how many more ‘unfortunate’ kids out there who don’t seemed to be able to grasp languages and are judged to be an underperformer.
In fact, if a child grows up excelling in school by following the system of memorising and producing the facts in exam, there would be a real cultural shock in the working world. Because in working world, things really don’t work that way.
Recently, it’s been the news that the level of English mastery in the new generation of graduates are appalling- both spoken and writen.
How to improve one’s ability to master a language- especially spoken if it is not your mother tongue?
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Many seniors are at loss of what to do with their lives after retirement. Especially loyal folks of the workforce that stuck with the same organization through thick and thin for many years (like both of my parents). Work and family are usually their only priorities in life. So when it comes to retirement and the children are leaving hometown in search of better income in the cities, they suddenly find themselves with too much time on their hands and do not know what to do with their time.
Astro (local cable TV) realized this and uses advertisements targeted to pull at the children’s heartstrings- the clear message…the kids are in town and the parents are lonely in the village. So why not get them cable TV so that they are happy…and the advert ends with the faces of happy parents watching Wah Lai Toi (a very addictive Chinese movie and drama channel).
Honestly, to work all your life looking forward to retirement only to spend literally all your waking hours watching TV (time away are only to sleep, toilet and go out to get food) is little sad, don’t you think so?
Hopefully our idea of retirement does not involve spending time in front of the TV, eating takeaways and dwelling on the outcome of the next episode in the soap drama series. If we do not wish to have that kind of life, we should not wish the same for our parents either.
To get an idea on what to do, I want to share with you on how Mr Foo, my friend’s father :
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Tagged as:
creative,
Creativity,
hobby,
parents
by Yin on November 23, 2009
Stay at home moms can also make some side income through various income streams from home. Between managing the household, taking care of the kids and putting everything in order, moms are generally left with limited time for anything else.
Still, if there is a will, there is a way. To find time to better manage time, outsource menial tasks or to do it before/after the kids’ & husband’s bedtime. And TV drama series and time spent on frivolous online/phone chats would have to go. When you spend your time in something that you truly believe in and it eventually becomes a hobby that pays, the sense of accomplishment is great. Nothing beats that.
Here’s 3 sites that I want to share with you- truly motivating:
1. Roni’s Weight Watchen (http://ronisweigh.com/)
Roni started a blog about her weight loss journey. She drastically put on lots of weight after giving birth and later lost it through Weight Watchers. She also shared many recipe, tips and also her experience on her tummy tuck (with pictures).
I first found out about her site years ago through Weight Watcher’s success story page. I would always remember the banner she had used on her original site- consisting of a series of progress pictures from overweight till skinny.
Today, blogging provides her half of her income- she also has a few other sites like a recipe site. The rest is earned through SkinnyMinnyMedia.
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Tagged as:
blog,
Blogging,
business,
case studies,
creative,
entrepreneur,
family,
money
Many companies does this: take some generic product and add some perceived value, then increase the price. If the perceived value can potentially convince customers that they need the product, then the company can charge a bomb for it.
Some of the ways to add perceived value:
- attractive packaging
- persuasive writeup on the product
- getting celebrities or well known people to be ‘official ambassadors’ of the product
- use attractive colour, scent, etc
- freebie or contest to be thrown in
There are many creative ways- after all, marketing a product or service successfully depends on how you can convince your potential (and hopefully you target your market well) customers that their lives will be better off with what you are selling.
Example- Tealight Candles
Tealight candles with extra scent and colouring sold for RM15.90
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Tagged as:
business,
case studies,
creative,
packaging,
price,
value
A number of teenagers poccess special skills but left it behind as they venture into adulthood because everyone around them convince them that ‘it’s just not practical earning a living doing that.’ But some may continue, choosing a vocation that is related to their childhood skills. After all, as children or teenagers, it is a carefree period in our lives and what we love to do or are good at is a good indication of something that we should learn to pursue as livelihood…
Jenny Y is a friend that I’ve known since high school. We were classmates for 3 years before going our separate ways and lost contact for many years. Jenny is very talented in art- both drawing and colouring. She can come up with beautiful pieces in a short time. To me, she is naturally gifted and very creative. We always look forward during art classes to see the pieces drawn by Jenny.
Jenny drew the most beautiful birthday cards that I’ve ever received. For 2 years of my birthday, I’ve received birthday cards from her. Even though so many years had passed, I’ve kept this cards well:
The contents of a birthday card by Jenny on my 16th birthday (many years ago)
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Tagged as:
Blogging,
childhood,
creative,
friends,
memories,
skills,
talent,
work,
writing
