Renée Trudeau is the award-winning author of Nurturing the Soul of Your Family and The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal. A sought after life balance coach/speaker, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, US News & World Report, Spirituality & Health and more. Trudeau graciously agreed to share the following guest post with Girls That Create. As we begin a new year and set resolutions, Trudeau wants you to remember self-care is not about improving yourself.  Self-Care is Not About Improving Yourself One Sunday morning I was lying in bed reading from author Anne Lamott’s beautiful little book Small Victories. In one of her stories about parenting, she shares with a little self-deprecation, but mostly tenderness, how she doesn’t bake for PTA fund raisers, is often disorganized and sometimes forgets to follow-through on updates from her son’s school. Her ability to accept who she is is both endearing and freeing. Her story got me thinking how so many people I meet have a misguided sense about the concept of self-care. I often hear a lot of “shoulds,” and many confess they downright suck at self-care. A a life balance coach/teacher, I have studied, explored, written books about and taught self-care to men and women globally for more than 20 years. I can wholeheartedly share that self-care–a practice that has changed my life more than any other– is NOT about: fixing yourself or turning yourself into a “makeover version” of you trying to become someone who “has it all together” or who’s always …

Out with the old and in with new is January’s motto. To help you with organizing an art space, the office or anywhere needing a thorough clean out, here are free storage labels. There are six colorful sheets altogether. Click to download Free Printable Storage Labels Things you should know before downloading: Girls That Create printables are for PERSONAL USE ONLY You may NOT modify, re-sell, redistribute, or claim the design as your own If you’d like to share this project, credit must be given to Girls That Create and linked back to this post More Girls That Create posts: Make Your Girl Her Own Art Space At Home and Free Printable Powerful Girl Gift Tags www.girlsthatcreate.com

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to read one book about women in music per month. And goodness are there are some excellent candidates! Below are 60 books. The list does not rank these books, rather the collection is to give you tons of choices for your reading pleasure. This post contains affiliate links via Bookshop, whose mission is to financially support local, independent bookstores. Women in Music: 60 Books Women in Music Books 1 – 10 Face It: A Memoir: Debbie Harry with Blondie has sold millions of albums worldwide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Girl in a Band: A Memoir: Kim Gordon, founding member of Sonic Youth, fashion icon, and role model for a generation of women, now tells her story-a memoir of life as an artist, of music, marriage, motherhood, independence, and as one of the first women of rock and roll. I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone: Simone changed the face of both music and race relations in America. Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music: Ann Powers, NPR’s acclaimed music critic examines how popular music shapes fundamental American ideas and beliefs, allowing us to communicate difficult emotions and truths about our most fraught social issues, most notably sex and race. All I Ever Wanted: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Memoir: Kathy Valentine, Go-Go’s bassist Valentine’s story is a roller coaster of sex, drugs, and of course, music. It’s also a story …

Whether you love it or hate it, Christmas music is here again. Readers loved the last Girls That Create post on holiday songs by women, so here are 10 more for your playlist. Once again we’ve thrown in some soul, rock and other numbers with all the feels (Spotify link below). Enjoy and Happy Holidays! 10 More Christmas Songs Where Women Rock It 1) Christmas, Baby Please Come Home:  Darlene Love If you’ve seen the 2013 documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, you’ll recall Darlene Love (if you haven’t seen it, please do, the film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 86th Academy Awards). Love grew up listening to gospel music and began singing in her church choir at age 10. She is also an actress. For years Love brought the house down on the Late Show with David Letterman singing Christmas, Baby Please Come Home. 2) Winter Wonderland: Eurythmics British pop duo Eurythmics gifted us this beautiful version of Winter Wonderland. Member Annie Lennox’s vocal range is contralto. She has earned the distinction of “most successful female British artist in UK music history”. Enjoy Lennox’s talents. 3) Joy: Tracey Thorn Tracey Thorn began her musical career in the punk-pop hybrid group Stern Bops playing guitar and providing some vocal backing. She is best known as being one half of the duo Everything but the Girl. Joy is on Thorn’s fourth solo album entitled Tinsel and Lights. Listen and watch this moving video. 4) I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas: Kacey Musgraves  At age eight …

It all started with figs. In 2010, siblings Nate Padavick and Salli S. Swindell launched the website They Draw & Cook (TDAC). The duo came up with the idea during a family vacation. Padavick had been trying to replicate a fettuccine recipe with figs while Swindell was using her watercolors to paint the fruit in its crate. This led them both to realize how fun it was to illustrate food. Today artists from around the world submit their work to TDAC, making it the largest online collection of illustrated recipes. TDAC has generously shared several recipes with Girls That Create. Take time to create these delicious dishes with your family (click on recipe images for larger view). Jungle Critter Pancakes by Sue Mattero (website, Instagram) Harvest Apple Kale Salad by Lisa Lane (website, Instagram) Butternut Mac & Cheese by Lisl Christie Grandma Susie’s Ranger Cookies by K. We Recipe books can be purchased on the TDAC site. Swindell and Padavick are also behind the website They Draw and Travel, which is a collection of illustrated travel maps created by artists from around the world. More recently they launched Illustrators for Hire, an online global directory of creatives. Across all three sites the founding principle of TDAC is as true today as it was 10 years ago: to promote the careers of freelance illustrators. They Draw & Cook Website Instagram Pinterest Salli S. Swindell Website Instagram Nate Padavick Website Instagram Images provided by They Draw & Cook More Girls That Create posts: Kate Allan: Q&A With Author and Illustrator …

Sometimes the universe sends us a message. The most recent (for me) is this graphic from the National Museum of Women in the Arts. It’s a strong reminder on why I created Girls That Create and believe in its purpose with my entire heart. I’ve been trying to figure out how to financially support Girls That Create with an online platform. Several weeks ago I was chatting with a dear colleague who suggested I look into setting a Patreon account. What is Patreon? They’ve put together a great video to explain. Basically Patreon allows you to directly support Girls That Create on a monthly basis at predetermined giving levels (tiers). Based on the tier level you support, at the end of every month (and in some cases every three months) your support is rewarded with special offers that only those giving through Patreon receive. As written on the Patreon page, “Our platform provides thousands of creators the opportunity to create on their own terms.” Right now there are 200,000+ creators on Patreon. In a nutshell, if you like the content appearing on Girls That Create and want to see the project grow – become a Patron. If you feel strongly about balancing out representation in mainstream media and seeing more women in leadership positions in the arts – become a Patron. If you want to help artists and inspire the next generation of artists – become a Patron. You can stop being a Patron at anytime. Click HERE to see the different tier levels, they …

Renée Trudeau is the award-winning author of Nurturing the Soul of Your Family and The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal. A sought after life balance coach/speaker, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, US News & World Report, Spirituality & Health and more. Trudeau graciously agreed to share the following guest post with Girls That Create. In these uncertain times, cultivating an attitude of gratitude is a powerful action that can greatly benefit our emotional well-being. Want to Feel Good? Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude Growing up, our overachiever family placed a high value on competency. Often that translated into a critical mindset toward self and others, where we frequently saw the bad before the good. This way of being, like all patterns, became habitual for many of my siblings. And as my father’s daughter and a champion of “let’s make it the best,” it’s a tendency I’ve been unraveling for years. When you walk into a room and see your child working on a science project, greet your partner at the end of the day after a big presentation, or receive an email update about a work project, do you see what’s going “right” or immediately look for what’s going “wrong?” Cultivating a gratitude practice has helped me to shift my perspective and see the gifts in any situation–even those that look horribly astray. An attitude of gratitude doesn’t come naturally to us. It was something I had to learn, to bring my attention and focus to, and to practice, practice, practice. I chose to …

It’s safe to say a lot of us are doing porch drop offs this year when it comes to gifts. Why not spruce up your present for a special girl with one of these free printable Powerful Girl Gift Tags?!? There are eight different gift tag designs included in the printable. Just print, cut, and write to and from on the back and you’re good to go! Click to download Free Printable Powerful Girl Gift Tags Things you should know before downloading: Girls That Create printables are for PERSONAL USE ONLY You may NOT modify, re-sell, redistribute, or claim the design as your own If you’d like to share this project, credit must be given to Girls That Create and linked back to this post For best results, print the gift tags on cardstock paper. More Girls That Create posts: Self-Esteem Activity for Girls: What I Like About Me and Picture Books With Women and Girl Main Characters www.girlsthatcreate.com

Every four years The Professional Association for Design (AIGA) activates its community of designers across the U.S. and beyond to Get Out the Vote. The 2020 Get Out the Vote: Empowering the Women’s Vote poster campaign (in partnership with the League of Women Voters) invites AIGA members to design nonpartisan posters to commemorate the beginning of 100 years of women’s voting rights. This campaign aspires to support voter participation, while also offering examination of the history of voting rights and women’s fight for equality. “For more than a century, women have played a fundamental role in shaping an inclusive and active electorate. Women have powered—and continue to power—the vote. Even as this year continues to bring unprecedented challenges to our communities and our democracy, we know that our nation is at its best when everyone has a chance to participate,” said Virginia Kase, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States. See all the submissions here.  Five Posters Empowering the Women’s Vote Title: All the Cool Girls Vote Submitted By: Lynell Ingram AIGA Chapter: Chicago Artist Statement: “Voting is our right, our duty, and our power. I believe in women, women’s’ empowerment, and our ability to influence the world and our collective futures for the better. This is my watercolor painting to put what I want to scream from the rooftop into an image and to speak to all of us, including the young or disenfranchised. We need our voices to be heard, on all platforms, but especially at the ballot box.” Title: Her …

As a child, author Dana Love was lovingly taught by her mother how to color pages in her coloring books. She was shown how to stay within the lines, color in the same direction, and allow her imagination to run wild and have fun. This skill would serve the author well through her life’s journey. Love has endured many harsh challenges, including childhood abuse and domestic violence. In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), she contributed the following guest post on how coloring helps her cope. She is also author of the coloring book Beauty for Ashes and shares sample pages below.  Believe It or Not, Coloring is Therapeutic! When I felt no one could understand what I was going through, and I felt alone during the difficult times in my life, coloring helped me to cope and to heal. I’ve experienced childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence. I’ve had to have surgery to repair my brokenness. I endured the loss of my father to suicide, job loss, and experienced sexual harassment on the job. I did not enjoy any of this, nor did I ask for any of these things to happen to me. My experiences span the timeframe from a child to an adult and so the fact that I can relate on both levels is a blessing because while I may never have an answer for why I endured mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical abuse, I did overcome. Now, I am passionate about helping both adults and children to overcome their difficult times …