1. The Soul Food Cafe
While wandering around the deep corridors of creativity sites I met Heather Blakey and was was inspired be her sheer generousity. This Austrailian educator has created a site that  adds new meaning to the idea of cyber space, and has offered it free to anyone who wants to wander through it's corridors of goodness. I have used it as a magazine, a place to go when I want a little break, and have my mind charged up. It is full of ideas to stir creativity, offers a feast of visual art, dailing writing ideas and prompts. If you like to think, you'll like the endlessness of this beautiful garden of ideas. In Heather Blakey's own words....

"So welcome to my world! If you join me on a daily basis you will come to see that my interests, values and the law I live by are all reflected on these pages. This network is my gift to you. There are no economic units to be found here. You do not need a cookie to access and benefit from my thirty years of experience teaching writing. You will not be judged or have your creativity squashed by tiresome criticism. All you need is a love of the written word and a creative spirit. ""Take freely, but remember to contribute your own verse and to always acknowledge your source. Pass on my gift to others."
As written at  the Soul Food Cafe..."The Soul Food Cafe is a product of imagineering. A writing playground, The Soul Food Cafe is an expression of Heather Blakey's not so silent partner, her creative self.The Soul Food Cafe was born from Heather Blakey's dream to provide real reasons to write; to make writing accessible to all who desire to write; to break the myth that the only real writer is the published author. The Soul Food Cafe promotes writing as a daily practice and demonstrates that good writing comes from having something worth writing about.To broaden the influence of Soul Food, Heather Blakey has sought and gained the support of educational providers, health organization, associates, friends and fellow writers. She has developed a community. She is building a powerful network of friends, mentors and patrons and will continue to broaden the circle.Heather Blakey will attract a cast of highly individual characters who, in turn, will strengthen Soul Food's foundations and ensure that her dream is realized".


2.Creativity Portal  www.creativity-portal.com
The creativity portal is organized by Chris Dunmire, who lives in Illinois. Her site is a great place to learn about and explore your own creativity. There are plenty of how to sheets on many craft related activities. There are also good articles on creativity, lots of free learning, and many links to tons of on-line resources. I just love it that Chris created the site as a personal journey and it turned into something so valueable for so many people that she does not even know. It is the equivalent of leaving free books or magazines around the world for people to pick up and peruse.

In Chris's own words.....

"Since its humble beginnings in the year 2000, the Creativity Portal has been an ongoing personal experiment in design and content within a creativity-based theme. Although the how-to directory has been its mainstay, the site has grown into a hodgepodge of creativity related features, and continues to be a personal outlet for my own creativity-and desire to inspire creativity and learning in others. I've been honored to host a variety of contributions by published authors, artists, and teachers worldwide-who freely share their knowledge and expertise with others. The Creativity Portal is visited by droves of people daily, and the feedback it receives from individuals and organizations gives it more life and purpose than I ever thought possible.

There is no doubt in my mind that we all possess the innate gift of creativity. Some of us learn to grasp it early on in our lives, and (perhaps like myself) lose sight of it until we are ready to embrace it again in later years. Others might have missed out on the opportunity to tune into their creativity, or just chose to leave it dormant while they pursued other interests. Neither is right or wrong, just a free choice we have before us in the banquet of life. I am certain, however, that when we take time to nourish our creativity, it will nourish us in return. And having experienced that generous payback, I can say with confidence that effort given to developing personal creativity is healthy "food" for the mind and soul."

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