September 2025
Fresh fall finds to fuel your empty creativity tank
Take a peek and decide what you should try next!
Do you ever look around and think, “Nothing inspires me right now”?!
When this happens to me, I know my creative tank is completely out of fuel, and it’s time to find practical – and fun – ways to tap back into the right side of my brain.
I have new favorite creative resources almost monthly, so I thought it might be helpful to share them with you.
And in case my vibe doesn’t match yours, I also reached out to a few creative friends and colleagues to ask what top 3 things they’ve been doing lately to refresh, recharge, and refuel their creative tanks.
Take a peek and decide what you should try next!
I reached out to a few creative friends and colleagues to ask what top 3 things they’ve been doing lately to refresh, recharge, and refuel their creative tanks.
Courtney’s Creative Picks
This publication is a creative human’s dream come true! The Color Club Magazine is pretty newly available and it’s exactly what it says it is – a vibrant, independent magazine created for and by creatives.
The art in this magazine is total eye-candy, and the articles are truly inspiring, covering everything from artist interviews to content that’s meant to boost your creativity in “mind, body, and artistic spirit.”
Even if you don’t identify as creative, this magazine will probably change your mind.
(And, while you’re at it, you should definitely join their community for an extra dose of creative connection.)
This one is probably a little less “traditional creative practice” and more “really practical suggestion” because you can’t be creative if you’re uncomfortable. Period.
Creatives are some of the most pretzel-y people I know (and yes, I’m also guilty as charged), so it’s really important to recognize when you’re tense or wound up, instead of in an ideal flow state, because your posture absolutely sucks.
This pillow saves my flow with a little extra support so I can focus on creative decisions and not my achy body.
I would be lying if I said anything fills my creative gas tank faster than (literally) touching grass.
This summer, our local libraries in Minnesota started offering free state park passes, making it that much easier for me to get out and take a walk truly surrounded by nature. (Check if they’re offered in your state, too!)
While I’m out there, once I’ve had time to take some much needed deep breaths and appreciate the sheer amount of space around myself, I love to do a little design challenge:
→ I start by feeling the atmosphere, and then imagine what I could create from what I observe. I look around and ask myself…
→ What sounds stand out? Is there rhythm? What does it make me feel? Grounded, calm? What can I see? Shapes, colors? What do I smell? Can I hear the hum of insects, feel the strength of the sun?
→ Then I translate that into a color palette: Is it earth toned and warm? Is it like a cool breeze? Does it take inspiration from the flowers?
→ And typography: Is it loose and organic? Does it have movement? Is it sharp and structured?
→ And finally, brand tone and voice: Does it seem wild and erratic? Does it feel grounded and local?
This inspirational practice is a great way just to slow down, gather inspiration offline, and use your own creative instincts.
I asked my friend and collaborator, Elle Rosselli, founder of ClearCopyWorks for her top 3 favorite creative finds this fall. Here’s what she chose:
Some days you just want to write, but (and I say this even as a writer) you don’t know what to write about. And maybe this is just the creative in me talking, but you don’t want a bot telling you what to write about, either.
One of my favorite fellow creative humans, Amanda Stern, sends fresh, curated journal prompts straight to your inbox so you can get right into creative mode and let the thoughts and feelings flow.
As a professional writer, I often put a lot of parameters around the “right way” to write and Amanda’s awesome prompts give me permission to let that go.
So this is a great creative jump-start, especially if you need a reminder that writing is cathartic and therapeutic no matter how you get those words on the page.
There are SO many mini crafts you can do – I’ve seen mini needlepoint, mini dollhouses, mini erasers, the list goes on. This summer, with a close group of girlfriends, we created mini bookshelves for our “friend-aversary.” I know, very cool, right? (haha)
We bought mini book cases from Michael’s and ordered random fiction mini books from Temu, (but you can also follow instructions and DIY the exact books you want).
And it was so fun and inspirational, I decided to create a bookshelf just like it in real life for my office.
It took weeks to source the used bookshelf (FB marketplace) and find the exact teal shades of paint samples I wanted, (Lowes sells tiny paint samples for >$10), but the evenings I spent gathering supplies, prepping, painting, and simply unleashing my creative vibes was amazing.
I felt energized and had fresh ideas daily.
If you’ve never tried hot yoga and there’s a studio near you, I highly recommend it for starting your day!
I go to class at 6am almost daily.
I know, I know, barf. I’m with you, because it’s sort of ridiculous to get up that early and drive somewhere in the dark, but hear me out, anyways…
It’s a great way to get grounded and set an intention for a creatively productive day.
For those who prefer a home routine, there are tons of free resources on yoga sequences that spark creativity and inspiration, and I really hope you give it a whirl, because other than a “thinking” walk in nature, this is my best creativity practice by far.
This pillow saves my flow with a little extra support so I can focus on creative decisions and not my achy body.
Next, I spoke to another close friend, Kelsey Funk, founder of Spark Learning Design, for her top 3 favorite creative finds this fall. Here’s what she chose:
This is my favorite creation tool right now!
Vyond takes my favorite part of The Sims (we all just played so we could create the characters and houses, right?!) and combines it with a video editing tool.
I love that it lets me cartoonify just about everything!
So far, I’ve used it for talking head videos, marketing and commercials, and even a corporate profile “pic.”
I don’t know what it is about this musician and that cello of his, but it always helps me get into a beautiful flow state.
I’ve also used Focus@Will, which uses info from neuroscientists to help you focus better (so you can actually check a few items of your to-do list, instead of just shuffling them from one day to the next).
Yup, the children’s show.
But before you judge me, I’m telling you just to watch one episode. I’ve never met an adult who doesn’t love Bluey.
It’s truly not just for children.
The themes (and frankly, the incredible voice-over acting) is for all of us. It’s helped me heal a little bit of my inner child and reminded me that we all learn best through play. That never changes, no matter how old you get.
Finally, I asked one of our Grace Built Co. team members, Laurel, for her favorite ways to up the ante on her creative output. Here’s what she said:
Being bored is a lost art, but it’s so important to reconnect with yourself. Remove yourself from the constant stimulation of being chronically online.
Go for a walk. Sit outside with no distractions. Let your mind wander.
I try to find ways to get away from my laptop and phone (I’ll pop it in a drawer or charge it in a different room) so I can just sit in silence as often as possible.
Having an engaging hobby (or a few of them) is such an important creative outlet!
For me, I love to read, play cozy games, and create things just for the sake of creating. My current obsessions are Animal Crossing and A Little To The Left.
Consuming content outside your “typical” genres can really expand your creativity. If you always stick to the same industry or the same type of content that you work with, you get stuck in a loop of sameness.
I personally like to get outside of digital design and marketing as much as possible and watch things like competition shows.
Some of my favorites are The Great British Bake Off, Project Runway, and Glow Up.
What will you do first?
If you’re feeling less than inspired right now, pick something from this list (or use it to brainstorm your own outside-of-the-box ideas) and give it a try.
Even if your creativity tank is currently full, I hope you try something new this month just for the challenge of doing things outside your comfort zone!
And if you love having fresh ideas like this, sign up for my newsletter, Design Off The Grid.
I send out ideas like this all the time, and I love when you hit reply and share yours, too.