Gone are the days of overhead projectors that use transparencies, chalkboards have taken a backseat to “smartboards” that capture images and send them straight your e-mail. And the once beloved PowerPoint might be the next out. Recently, I have discovered a very cool tool:  Prezi. Described as “The Zooming Presentation Editor”  it has definitely captured my attention. The concept is simple. Break away from the boring presentation of progressing through your talk slide by slide. Instead, why not zoom, spin, and engage your audience with Prezi. I encourage you to explore the different Prezis on their website and see if you are as interested as me!

It’s Doug’s birthday! The Willow shrubs, and of course Rubber Ducky, are celebrating Doug this week. Don’t forget to wish him a Happy Birthday too!

I was fortunate enough to schedule a few snow days last week. Snow days with some business associates (friends). They didn’t start out as friends…business brought us together, but bonds grew and friendships developed.

Our scheduled snow days were in beautiful Telluride, CO. I’ve made many trips to Colorado, but this was my first to Telluride. And it was awesome. Natural. Clean. Unspoiled.

The air was crisp and quiet. On several days, soft snow fell. The fluffy white flakes looked huge contrasted against the deep evergreen trees as they floated down from the crystal blue sky. There were several mornings where our skis were the first to make a mark on the freshly groomed slopes. It was easy to feel at one with nature. I found it all to be extremely peaceful. And big.

The great wide open spaces made everything seem bigger. Reality seemed bigger. Day dreams seemed bigger. Ideas seemed bigger. It seemed as though the sky really was the limit and I found myself not only thinking bigger, but believing bigger.

The great wide open…where everything’s bigger. Where visions are crisper and ideas sharper and minds are open like the views from the mountain tops. All so startling, yet ever so refreshing. What a great way to start the new year…thinking bigger…believing bigger.

And how were your snow days?

Social media has become quite a powerful advertising tool.  According to eMarketer, U.S. marketers will spend $3.08 billion to advertise on social networking sites this year, much of which will go to Facebook. The firm estimates that Facebook generated $1.86 billion in advertising in 2010.

What social media tools does your company use? Are you making use of Facebook’s paid advertisements, or do you stick to the free options?

As of this week, I have discovered a new love for etsy.com. You may immediately assume this is has nothing to do with design – it’s only a shopping site – but you’re wrong! There are endless handmade items by crafty and creative individuals that are willing to share their talent, artwork and serve as inspiration.

Photo Credit: Red Bird Ink

For example, currently in my “Favorites” there are letterpress number coasters and a bright, yellow linoprint. (Feel free to get me either as a gift.) Both of which are designed and handmade items that people are selling for profit!

Photo Credit: Niki Milns

This inspired my room mate and I to get crafty ourselves by creating something as a decoration piece for her bathroom. Maybe it’s not sell-worthy, but it’s an expression of creation.

Photo Credit: Kaloni Neubert

Do you have any great ideas on what fun things you can do/make and benefit from? Have you made anything that is lying around your house? There are endless possibilities of things you can do with art and different ways to use them. All you have to do is think and use your talent. You might even make some money in the process…so get to creating!