Step right up and imagine the thing you want most -- your strongest desire! Now quietly whisper your ambition into the ear of the Dream Genie and if he dreams about it --your wish will eventually come true. But beware! This astonishing wish-granting hibernator loves to sleep. If you accidentally wake him up he will become cantankerous and impart upon you the exact opposite of your wish. Use caution!
Bonus:
You can customize your papercraft toy dream cloud, with money bags or use the blank cloud to draw in whatever wish you'd like to become a reality!
Fun Zone -- Activities for parents and kids! Here is a neat idea to help you practice your creative writing or illustration techniques -- start a dream journal! A dream journal is a notebook or pad of paper and a pencil or pen that you keep next to your bed to capture the many bizarre and wonderful thoughts your subconscious mind creates. It's important to keep this journal close at hand because dream memories fade quickly as you get out of bed and begin your day. Jot down story lines or draw quick sketches of things you saw in your mind's eye. Keep it loose and don't sweat the fine details. What you're trying to accomplish is to lock these fleeting and elusive ideas into something more permanent for future reference. You'll really enjoy leafing through the pages of your journal as weeks and months go by. They can be a great source of story-starters for school projects or art class.
Surprise! The more often you write or draw, the better your stories and illustrations will become!
I tend to use my trusty spiral bound illustration pad I purchased from my local arts and crafts store but there are some fabulous journals and notebooks available in bookstores filled with empty pages to hold your creative thoughts and drawings.
What's next? Are sketchbooks a thing of the past when computers and laptops can take the place of good old pencil and paper? Perhaps for some, but not for me. I've never felt comfortable with my Wacom Tablet for sketching -- I just can't seem to get the control I need when my hand isn't hovering directly over the art (but I do love tablets for coloring and painting on top of my scanned sketches). That said, I am really excited about devices like the Apple iPad coupled with programs like Autodesk SketchBook Pro. I've seen some amazing demonstrations by artists using a rubber-tip stylus on this combination of hardware and software. Would I ever make that transition? I guess only time (and testing) will tell. If it makes people (including myself) more spontaneous about practicing their sketching, then I'm all for it.
