speaker-0: I was getting very sick. I lost my voice. And it forced me to go back to my creative self. And I started to get quiet again because I had a rest of things. And I found my inner kid again, if you will. I found her. And through that I did not really recognize, and this was through COVID. This is all this was really my journey. COVID, somebody asked me. ⁓ we could paint with my family. And I said, Well, I can't come over. He said, We'll do it online on Zoom. I said, sure. And from that day that I painted, it really so the tragedies and the things that we were going through as the world really actually brought my comfort.

speaker-1: Welcome to the Fun and Bliss Show.

speaker-2: Where fun is our practice.

speaker-1: And bliss is our lifestyle. And I'm Monika.

speaker-2: I'm Monique. This is a show to help you laugh louder. Savor the silly and sacred alike.

speaker-1: Dance more often. And turn fun into a blissy plan.

speaker-2: So we can live lives of more ease, love, prosperity, and joy.

speaker-1: Let's go!

speaker-2: Hey all, welcome. I'm Monique, your chief fun officer.

speaker-1: And I'm Monika, your chief bliss officer. Welcome back to the Fun and Bliss Show.

speaker-2: Welcome. Today's episode is for that woman who has been so busy working, achieving, caring for everyone else and doing all the things she is supposed to do so that somewhere along the way she stopped creating just for the joy of it. Maybe this sounds familiar. You used to paint, you used to sing, maybe you danced, you gardened, you cooked, you wrote, you decorated, you made things with your hands, or you simply gave yourself permission to play. And then life got serious.

speaker-1: Late got serious because one of the things we forget as adults is that creativity is not frivolous. It can be how we reconnect with ourselves, it can be how we express what we have been holding in. It can be how we find joy again. And you do not have to be talented, artistic, or even know what you're doing to begin.

speaker-2: Absolutely. And that's what makes our conversation with today's guest, Claudia Gardado, so powerful. Claudia spent years in corporate leadership, carrying enormous responsibility at work while also trying to meet all the expectations waiting for her at home. And eventually her body started telling her that something had to change.

speaker-1: So during the pandemic, Claudia began reconnecting with the creative part of herself she had pushed aside for years. She started painting. She started teaching other people. And what began as a way of finding her own joy grew into Create with Be, a business centered around creativity, connection, and bringing people together.

speaker-2: I love Claudia's message because I think it removes one of the biggest barriers that people have around creativity, the belief that you have to be good at it. You totally do not. So creativity can be painting and it could look like some masterpiece, but it can be simple. It can also be cooking or gardening or singing in your car or making something. With magazine clippings, joining a book club, writing yourself a love letter. It is so much less about what you make and more about what makes you come alive when you are making it.

speaker-1: Mm, I love that, Monique. And that connects so deeply to fun and bliss because joy needs room on your calendar, too. So many of us schedule meetings, appointments, deadlines, errands, and responsibilities, and then expect fun to somehow squeeze itself into whatever time is left over. Claudia offers a different idea. Schedule it, protect it, make joy something you actually plan for.

speaker-2: So if you have been feeling burned out, disconnected, overly responsible, or like you have forgotten what you even enjoy anymore, this conversation is definitely for you. You do not need to reinvent your whole life. You you may just need to try one thing that makes your heart sing again.

speaker-1: So before we begin, we bring Claudia in, we have to start the way we always do. So Monique, what did you do for fun today?

speaker-2: I love that we're talking about creativity because what I have been doing for fun is making tons of art. I've been like obsessively making these. It's like called they're called Zen Tangles, but it's this doodly, it's very meditative. And I love it. And I've been having fun making ones that are very abstract and finding and doing ones that look like plants or bunnies or cats or and I've just been making so much art and it has been. just bringing me a lot of joy and making me come alive, which is perfect for what we're talking about today. What have thank you. What have you done for fun lately?

speaker-1: Kind of similar. I mean, I have to say that creativity has truly been my place for joy over the last year, right? Making this movie and all that stuff. And so today the really fun thing that I'm getting to do is audition the voices for the dog lead in my movie A Christmas Rescue. The dog's name is Yoda. And so what I was telling Monique, I was telling you this, right? Like where I was looking for the voice of Yoda. And you're like, what? But no, it's not gonna sound like Yoda.

speaker-2: little dog is gonna sound like Yoda and maybe profound and I was like, yeah, so fascinating.

speaker-1: But you should see, like, there are some people that are applying for this part. There are like 438 applications just today, starting this morning. ⁓ and several of them are like, ⁓ I can do a ⁓ Yoda rendition. I'm like, no, that's not what we're looking for. You have to re like read the thing. But but it is really fun to see what people are saying and hear their voices. I love casting. So this has been really, really fun for me. That's what I did. And then we also did something really fun together, Monique.

speaker-2: Yes, we did. We just had such a fun conversation with Claudia Gardado about creativity, courage, and what happens when we give ourselves permission to play again.

speaker-1: Claudia is the founder of Create with Me, where she designs creative experiences for individuals, communities, and organizations all throughout Southern California. But this business grew out of something deeply personal. Claudia's own journey, back journey back to herself after years of stress, responsibility, and feeling disconnected from her creative side.

speaker-2: In this interview, we talk about how creativity helped her find joy again, why you absolutely do not need creative or artistic talent to be creative. ⁓ and how something as simple as singing in the car, gardening, or writing yourself a love letter can reconnect you with a part of yourself you may have forgotten.

speaker-1: And inside our deeper conversation, we continue exploring what it looks like to make creativity and joy part of your actual life instead of waiting until you have the time. Because if it matters, it deserves a place on your calendar.

speaker-2: So as you listen, think about this question. What is one creative thing you used to love or have always wanted to try that might bring a little more aliveness back into your life? As you're gonna listen to this episode, it's gonna give you so many ideas.

speaker-1: Yes, it is. It's such a good conversation. And listeners, just so you know, we were having some f ⁓ some technical difficulties while recording this show. So Claudia's sound wasn't awesome and we didn't catch it in time. But the conversation was so good. It was so alive, so full of fun. We still wanted to share it with you. So please stay listening. Don't get discouraged. This conversation is so worth it and will definitely make you feel happy today. So here's the conversation with Claudia Gordato. Hello, Claudia. Welcome to the show. Yeah, we're so excited to talk to you today about creativity and ⁓ sharing all your brilliance with our our listeners. Claudia, I want to start with something real. A lot of us women

speaker-0: Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

speaker-1: The people that are listening and even me, we used to be really creative, right? We painted, we made things, we used to do crafty stuff, right? But then somehow along the way, they stopped. ⁓ not because they chose to, but because they got busy, fun doing this sort of th stuff, felt frivolous, and so they kind of lost it out of their life. So what would you say to that woman listening right now about that?

speaker-0: Well, it's funny because I was that woman, right? And we spent that time kind of going through that thing of creating. ⁓ one of the things that I remember most is creating boxes. Didn't have I didn't have Barbie dolls, I didn't have, I don't know, all the typical things everybody has their kid. My mom gave me boxes and I was to create things. So I think that started there. Okay, but then you talk about life and how it comes back. An important lesson for me after I was in corporate for about the first 17 years, I never realized how much of myself that little girl, you know, the the girl who was creating with the boxes, the girl who was playing with the mud, whatever you want to call it, came back. I didn't realize how much the skills that that we actually had as children came back. ⁓ tenfold for me later on in life, when I worked in production, how to create things out of nothing. You know, you don't have the budget to do something. So all of a sudden the creativity started to come in. When it really hit me, and this is something for our for our audience, when it really hit me that I need to get back to creativity, was when I totally found myself lost in my corporate environment. And What I meant by that was I was surrounded, I had hit a certain plateau, and I was surrounded by a lot of men at the time, and I was being told, you know, how things were going. And I felt repressed and I felt kind of convoluted. I actually, I actually had, and I still have it, it's a little warm. I have a ⁓ everything that we do manifests within us, you know, and it manifests in different ways. And I just want everybody to remember this because when you're holding back or you're repressing anything internally, anglo show up somewhere, somehow. For me specifically, I was getting very sick. I lost my voice. And it forced me to go back to my creative self. And I started to get quiet again because I had a rest do things. And I found my inner kid again, if you will. I found her. And through that, I did not really recognize, and this was through COVID, this is all this was really my journey. COVID, somebody asked me, ⁓ we could paint with my family. And I said, Well, I can't come over. He said, We'll do it online on Zoom. I said, sure. And from that day that I painted, it really so the tragedies and the things that we were going. through as the world really actually brought my company together. I know this sounds so crazy, but that one meeting, that Zoom meeting with Paint With Me and just a a random ask, I said sure. Sent them their stuff, had a whole family thing come together, found a front, just a quiet little thing, taught them how to paint. I forgot that I knew how to paint. I forgot that I knew how to teach. I forgot that it gave me so much inner joy and peace. I put it out on a post on Facebook. And boom, I cannot tell you how many people flooded into my dance. And it got to a point where I'm like, ⁓ my gosh, okay, eventually ⁓ that I found such passion in it. I had to create a company. I created a company during the pandemic. In fact, these socks that you see behind me were they were created when my father was passing away. And my father told me, this was in 2018, he told me, you know what, sweetie? I see you melting. We used that word to me. I see you melting in this corporate environment. You need to do what you've always done. And he sat there and doodled some of these ⁓ pictures with me. It was a random thought. I know nothing about production. I know nothing. I knew nothing about nothing. Which which is very interesting to me because when you have heart for something, and this is to all the ladies out there, to everybody out there. When you have heart for something, when you have a desire, passion or just a drive, you'll find the answers. And that's I mean, this is the this is really the secret formula to anything. I I went out on a search and I found answers. And to my surprise, it was literally right in my backyard. It was crazy. And it came back, all that creativity just started flooding out. I had a friend who created a company for me called Barnyard Craft Shack. I was making random reads, literally like one of my first little adventures, if you know. And then G Sox came into effect right after in 2019, right before the pandemic. And I had no idea what I was doing. I enlisted all kinds of strange people that I had I didn't know. And it was the most fun experience ever. But what really rang true with the inner spirit, the inner child. I was missing her. I had just gone through the crazy doors. I was missing me. And I I kind of reintroduced myself to myself if that could be anything, if anybody can relate to that. And it was one of the most wonderful times of my life. I I stop, get quiet, and go. That's what I tell everybody. I mean really honestly this is I also I believe that the gifts that are given are not ours to keep, they're ours to share. And ⁓ that was really, really true during this period. And honestly, there was no true roadmap. There was no college degree in my backpack, you know, what I did, the typical, this is what you do, white pickets and house, get married, da-da-da, so on and so forth. I believe in no rules. I believe in make your rules. To this day, now that Poochie Socks went for a while, and I will revive it again. But what happened was the pandemic. But what happened to my company was also the pandemic, which created create with me, which is my creative company now. And I'm working with corporate companies, I work with just mom and pops, I work with with anybody who wants to work and and have fun and be creative in any workforce. I think the things that are missing are just the fun values of being yourself again. And that's I don't know, maybe this is too much of an answer for you, but I I just I'm overjoyed with ⁓ just talking about that journey and where where it's taken me. I mean, I'm so grateful for where I'm at today because of the little Claudia talking to me behind, you know, always just pushing me to. Bring out your painting brush, do this, do that. That paper looks cool, you know. What are you gonna create with a plant today? I I just find it fascinating.

speaker-1: We can't tell that you're passionate about this at all. But that was perfect. So yeah.

speaker-2: I know that. Yeah, thank you. With one thing that really resonated with the story you were sharing is feeling disconnected and something not working in your life, and it comes out as physical in your body, as dis-ease in your body. You were saying you lost your voice, and and then that creativity helped you come back. I had a similar issue. I had I was in this law firm that was killing me slowly.

speaker-0: ⁓ yeah.

speaker-2: And had a pendus appendicitis. And then at the time, a friend of mine gave me the Artist Way book. And I started to kind of reconnect with my inner artists and it totally changed my life. I think for a lot of re women listening, they're gonna resonate with this, you know, this kind of feeling of something's not right. It shows up in your body, and then creativity and fun help shift the gate. So can you talk a little bit more about that chapter and how like when you're successful on paper and things look good, you have this great job, everything's right, but something feels flat and and where cu creativity comes into that for you.

speaker-0: Well, I think I was struggling with that for years. Honey, I it's very interesting. I'm gonna start off by saying this. The things that we learn from our ancestors. Okay, and I I wanna say this because it's especially in Hispanic culture, you know, hopefully, clean I mean, these are true things that you get raised with. And they're embedded in our story. Now there's certain good There there's a lot of good to it too. So I don't want to totally take away from that. But when you're married, okay, I'm gonna start off with this. When you're married, you are to tend to your husband. Okay, you are to clean this house. No, no, I want everybody to picture this. Tend to your husband, clean the house, make sure everything is picture perfect, okay? Then get up, go to work, hold on. Make dinner, make sure you got dinner on the table. All these things, I mean, it just it is not realistic. And I I say this with an open heart and an open mind. For those of you who are doing it out there, hey, it didn't work for me. I found myself in a very deep depression. I found myself in a whirlwind of I was at the top of my game in my corporate world. And I had about 80 employees at the time. And it was I remember sitting at my desk in Long Beach and feeling I my body started to just tell me no more. And it was the most interesting thing because I wasn't realizing that that's what it was. I I I wasn't realizing that all the heavy stuff around me and basically it's stress. Monique, it's it's the stress that we carry. I had stage five endometriosis. I couldn't bear I'm ⁓ I'm gonna bear my soul here. I couldn't have a child of my own. Okay. All of these things played a real role. I didn't really have anybody to guide me through the obstacles that were in the way, if you will. had male doctors. I and I not anything I'm a male physician, but what I'm gonna say about women's hearts are women women know the women's anatomy. And when things go wrong, I felt way more comfortable with any women. So that's I'll just say that was my experience. I went through to surgery by myself. I had a very crazy husband at the time. We won't get into that. That's part two. But once it was all said and done and I found myself like there were nowhere, there was nowhere else to turn. I felt like ⁓ I was literally sick. I had to take a leave of absence. And that leave of absence was the one that I'm like, wow. I was completely and utterly unhappy. And when I started to take time for myself, I found the garden. I found cooking. I found an entire group of friends that were completely different. I I I mean, I completely changed my fun group, the people I surrounded myself with. And I started to find her happy. I started to find me again. And it was a slow role. And I'm not saying, ⁓ everybody play with paper and you're gonna be What I am saying is find the that ⁓ for me creativity, creativity with plants, creativity with design, creativity with painting. Also, my connection with people and teaching. There was something with me, I was always a kid. I sang, I'm always on stage, I was always on stage as a kid. And one of the things that I missed was being that that part of me that was I love to entertain. It was just it was in my soul. And I I for completely forgot her. I went through books and books and books and I started to laugh because I'm like, I remember that play. Or I remember that panting. Or I remember all these things. And when I started to really look at it, I'm like, I completely lost me. And it was because I thought the rule book was it very job it and it's ⁓ that the that the that you know and it really wasn't my organic plan but the creativity came hence so bursting that it I couldn't deny it. It was so just in my soul that I couldn't deny it. And the fact that people were responding to it was an affirmation of this is where you need to be. When the company, when I started my company and I didn't even know how to start a company, and I started to ask questions and how do I do this and what do I do that? Even up to your bank account ladies. Who I mean, what is this one of the scariest things about housewife to this or your bank account? Lumby speaks about this. Even that was kind of scary. But I had said, I'm done with this corporate job, I'm done with this relationship. And having my dad pass away during that time really gave me a very strong sense of self because he too was my dad was a kid, a Lashki kid. Mother didn't even want him. He was on the streets. My dad was a millionaire by age 55, doing what he needed to do. And he was also super creative. He worked for ⁓ Sonny and Chair. He worked for Barbara Stryson. And he was he was a quilter. And the happiest times I saw my dad was when we had he had we had this huge table in the den. And my dad had fabric and cotton. And he was it was when ⁓ quilting and drapes and all that were were not mass produced. ⁓ they were all handmade and my dad was spinning fabric. And I always loved seeing him there because I could see him with his pencil and his head. And he was just so mechanical about it. I didn't know that that was just so in me. So in me. And I just remembered that and it just took me back. You know, God rest his soul, he's not here with us today, but he I know he would be proud of the direction that I'm in. And I think nothing replaces that my health came back. My voice came back. ⁓ my gosh, I can't tell you. I I sung in a band. Random, like random, like crazy stuff that I said, all right, crashing to the wind. That's me. Okay, let's do it. Yeah, sure. Sure. Yeah, I'll be your lead singer. I mean, who does these things, you know? But randomly, but it's what makes my heart sing. And whatever it is that makes your heart sing, that's what You gotta you gotta reach out for it. You gotta reach out for it. And I what I didn't know, and the biggest lesson was that all of these things were go were supposed to be so embedded in my day to day. I didn't know that it was supposed to be part of my ⁓ entrepreneurial life. And that's the biggest lesson because I had no idea that that could actually happen. And full time This is what I do. I'm a full creative. And I'm in stores in Torrance, Irvine, Anaheim. ⁓ right now, I do classes all through Southern California. And it's just been, and I work with a lot of corporate ⁓ companies at this time. It's been a beautiful thing. So I mean, what I've been able to create. Now I don't take any of my corporate away from. it's taught me a certain certain balance that I needed, you know. And but allowing myself to say yes and to not be afraid of it has been remarkable. Because I think most most of us get afraid of this, you know, stepping in and deciding that this is actually going to be the way you're going to make money in life.

speaker-1: It does definitely it definitely does definitely take a lot of courage to do what you've done. Because you're right, walking away from a corporate job and having that regular salary and turning your creativity into your own business, that takes a lot of, a lot of courage. So kudos to you for that. And I think a lot of people that are listening to this show just want to have a a little bit of that extra creativity to add. To kind of add that spark back into their life, right? Like just give give me a little bit of of yumminess or fun. And creativity really gives that. And one of the things that I really love about your work, Claudia, is that you there's a there being creative does not mean being good at art, right? Like so. Yeah. So so many of us women are like, well, if I don't have any talent, why even bother? And I think Your story really exemplifies why bother? Like, first of all, you are talented, but just the act of being creative without being performative, without anybody ever seeing it, right? Without any kind of judgment, that turns on a different light inside of us, I think. Don't you agree?

speaker-0: And like I can't agree with you more that creativity is not just about a paintbrush. And I tell this to all my students. Number one thing is what I start out with. The way we see things, okay? The way that you see something, the way that Monique sees something is not the way I see it. But it's still beautiful. And it still has a purpose here. Monique and I had to sit next to each other our last time, our our last encounter together. We had a draw. Do you remember this? We sat and we drew some something creative random and mindless for her her hers was. And it was it was very interesting because that piece of something couldn't be further different, yet so perfect. If if I can

speaker-2: Does that.

speaker-0: Convey that. I don't know if I'm conveying this correctly, but whatever it is that makes your heart sing. If you are a if you love books, if that's what you're loving and and you want to join a book club and and that's your creative outlet, let it be. Go out there and do that. If that's like basket reading. ⁓ I mean, whatever it is, I can't encourage it more because you will find that you are ten times more available for others when you need to be because you found an inner self. You will find that you are more available to yourself. There's there's a certain balance in happiness that comes from doing things you love when that is like your height, your your golden arch, if you will, and you are excited to be there. When you are there, people see it. People want to be around you. And it makes you ⁓ even more enjoyable. Not only for you, for others, for everybody around you. So I'm rambling y'all. But it's just 'cause I really, really love what I do.

speaker-2: I love it. So I know that you've watched hundreds, thousands of people walk through your workshops and experiences. What do you notice happens in somebody's body, in their energy, in their mood, when they give themselves permission to just make something, just create without it needing to be impressive?

speaker-0: It is the funniest thing because people will come in and they're closed off. They sit down. And I start off I'm with a chant. I tell everybody, everybody is a Picasso, right? Everybody is a everybody say it with me. And I have them voice it. And so sometimes when you just say things, they just, you know, it just builds an excitement in the room. Now you're not the only one yelling in the room, right? So now that just broke the ice. And When they can actually see, I always tell them, trust the process, I will get you there. And you and a lot of them are like, ⁓ no. I mean, you should hear the the negative talk in the room is the funniest thing. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, we're gonna let that go. What did we say? What was the what was our word? I am a Picasso. Okay, keep going, Picasso, keep going. And and then they start creating them like. Look what you just did. And and they're putting their first succulent in and to the succulent birdhouse. And they're like, ⁓ you're right. I go, okay, so let's place this and that. Girl, you've got this. You don't need me anymore. Keep going. And all of a sudden, now their conversation was that girl that walked in the room and didn't say up. I can't get her to be quiet because she's so excited. Now she wants to converse. and open up, I see the flower just go really wide open and it becomes a recurring thing. Now they want to know when the next thing is coming. When the when's the next and I I can't keep up with it. I mean it is just it's so fun that I didn't know that something so simple can make such an impact. But what they don't really recognize is the impact that is made is in me. Like I get to see this. Can you imagine? Having a job when you just see people flourish and they they're just developing and they're so excited. By the time they leave you, they're at they're they're right up here and they are just so turned on by what they just did and they're excited to go share. Now it's like picture, picture, picture. They're sending it to Bobby Joe, their cousin, and ⁓ my gosh, you can't nobody's gonna believe I did this. That's what I like. Nobody's gonna believe I did this. ⁓ yes, they are. What are you talking about? And then the next thing I know, their cousins at the workshop. And somebody else is at the workshop and they want me to recreate this or they're hire me to come to their home. There is nothing more special in my job. Out of everything I do, that one thing that you just talked about, Monique, and that turning and switching the switch of the excitement, the face changes, the body changes, everything is like. Such a vibe. It is crazy. I am I love that. Out of everything I do, there it there it there it is. There is my silver line. There is no ugly in in ⁓ what people create. It's what they create. I use that in the corporate ⁓ workshops too, because when I give them something, now they come become competitive in corporate workshops, which cracks me up too. I do a lot of lawyers, believe it or not.

speaker-1: Love. Yeah.

speaker-0: And ⁓ they're all type A, and it just makes me laugh. But they come out of there with a better understanding of working together because your vision, Moni, and your vision will never be the same, right? But collectively, we look at all these visions and we create something really spectacular together, and that is the sole basis of ⁓ what I teach when I go into a corporate ⁓ setting on working together team building

speaker-1: That's very cool. Most of our listeners are women that are sort of in that season of life where they're really just trying to hold it all together, right? Their families, their careers, and their responsibilities. And so they don't really know anymore what they enjoy, right? And so what do you think keeps these women specifically from prioritizing fun or prioritizing creativity? Because they they want to have the fun, right? But they're not prioritizing it. They're not finding it.

speaker-0: I think fear plays a big role in why we don't. I mean, I sat in that in that role for so long. ⁓ the knowing of or the thinking of what we're supposed to be versus who we are internally kind of kind of blocks all of that. But I I would suggest to everybody, even if it's not something recognizable, even if it's not something that they knew how I I would suggest trying one thing that's new. One thing that's new. That's it. No rules. New. Or or or familiar, but it doesn't matter. Just one thing. Because that one thing will spark something. I don't care how small. A spark is a spark. And it starts and it ignites something. So whether it's a little spark or a big giant spark. Fortunately for me, I had a big giant spark. Sparks all over the place. It was like Fourth of July all over May. But those little sparks will start the interest. And just doing one thing, start with one thing, especially if you don't know or if you don't remember what the or you know, if you're that person that says, I don't have any talents, this is not about talent. This is not about ⁓ being the best at something. I am not the best teacher. I am not, this is something that sparked. light into me and I didn't know that I could spark light into others and it just evolved and and this is where I'm at. What I trying to do is spark the light in everybody out there. And it literally it could be do a cooking class. It could be I mean those are so funny and fun. I one little thing, one little thing. I it E not even that. You don't want to go to a class, you don't want to see people yet. Do something in the house, a small little project that you want to see turn around. And let that frustrate you. How much joy. I want everybody to know. I want everybody to actually I'm challenging everybody. One thing, one spark, one one moment. I want you to just see how that made you feel, how high you left with that. And and then I want you to try number two. And then I just want you to keep going. And it's funny how all those little things and the joy that you come home with ⁓ will change your life. It is it is life-changing. Joy changes your life. Finding that little spark of happiness changes your life. And I'm telling you, I don't care how small it is or big, it will change you. The more and more repetition is amazing.

speaker-2: You are speaking our language. This is what we're all about. This is what our community is about. These little sparks of fun and joy and then play that will change your life in in little ways. And I love it because every interview we ask for a what we call a fab spark, a fun and bliss spark. So something that is short that people can try that will help them to practice this, right? And you already gave like you're so ahead of like you are on the way. You even use the word spark, you gave us our fab spark, you know, to for everybody to just ex try something that they've been that they're interested in. Try that one time. So I wanna refine that question just a little bit. So if someone listening has 15 minutes this week and zero art supplies.

speaker-1: On it. Yeah.

speaker-2: What's one thing she could do that would start to help her reconnect with her creativity or that playful part of ourselves? No art supplies, 15 minutes. What would you suggest?

speaker-0: No art supplies, fifteen minutes. Girl, you you have me like on a tailstone.

speaker-2: ⁓ It could have a pen and paper. ⁓

speaker-1: Music.

speaker-0: You know what? It's funny because I was gonna say that to you. The first thing that I think about when it comes to fifteen minutes of spark is fifteen minutes of funk. And that I am such a component and such an advocate for music. Insane. And you want to talk about creativity? And I didn't realize how many people money how many people did not sing in their car. What is wrong with that? What is wrong?

speaker-2: Yeah.

speaker-0: And so I just want to challenge everybody before I get into a little bit of creativity. We I want to I want to challenge you all. Get your oldest groove or just your top groove. If you are not a singer, I don't care. It does not matter. Get in the car. I want you to go to, yes, all the people are watching, who cares? Bump it up and just sing it. And just sing it. And let it go and just see it. I mean just me doing this right now, I'm getting wild. I'm feeling I don't know what groove it's in my heart, groove it's in ⁓ ha whatever it is.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-2: That's my song right there. That's my dance song. I can't listen to that song enough.

speaker-0: I just want or if it's or if you're not a car person and you just want to jump into the and you're in the bathroom and I mean you want to make yourself laugh and you want to find some instant woo turn it on and change your joy. Give it, give it a minute. Give it. I want you to take a piece of paper and a pen. It's just so funny. She she talked about this. And I want you to write a card to yourself. Okay, I want you to fall and have

speaker-2: Sour. There's a

speaker-0: I want you to put whatever it is that comes up on the top of it. I want you to write down in it what gives you joy. Give yourself a little letter of love. This it's so simple. I want you to fold it up, and I don't want you to open it again until the same day next month. I want you to put it away and I want you to open it up the same day next month. Same day next day. Literally put this in your calendar, same day next month. And I just want you to open it and see it and read what you wrote because nine times out of ten, you're gonna forget what you just wrote. Not put an instant smile on your face. Check that out and do it again. Do it again. Something small, something creative. Nobody needs to be sending you love cards, send them to yourself. We are the our best advocate. I love me and you should love you. And this is this is what makes me crazy and wild and I love all this. And the next time you do it, add a little flour to it. Put a little something else. Give it a little more salsa. And just enjoy that moment. I am I am not kidding you. You want to create a little step, a little kickstart. I want to see everybody now I just want to see everybody's videos and I want you guys to send them to Moan Heakin and the podcast here.

speaker-1: So Claudia, we you given us several sparks. That's amazing. And that will keep us going. And we like I said, we can't tell you're passionate about this at all. Like we should have you on a show just to give it give us a bunch of love sparks or fab sparks, rather. Those were amazing. Thank you. But unfortunately, we don't have so much more time to keep hearing all those beautiful ideas. So we're gonna head into the laser round. And this is some fun questions that Just whatever pops into your mind first, give us one sentence answers, okay? Okay. All right. So what is your go-to when you need an instant joy boost?

speaker-0: Music. Music is always my my go instant joy booth. Music. Love it.

speaker-2: What's one thing that never fails to make you laugh?

speaker-0: I know what my mom. My mom.

speaker-2: Right, Mom. Mom and me. Okay.

speaker-1: I love that. And what do you do for fun these days?

speaker-0: I'm a concert goer, I'm always going to concerts and I'm always going to experiences. So I don't like status quo, I love new experiences. So I like to try new things. Yeah. I like I'm going to a mythology class. I find that fun. I love it.

speaker-2: Okay, finish the sentence. Bliss for me looks like.

speaker-0: Liz for me looks like Gardens, puppies, paintbrushes, and lipstick. ⁓

speaker-1: I love that. I love that, Claudia. Can you this conversation has been so much fun and so alive and so full of energy. We've just loved it.

speaker-2: And we're gonna keep going too in our in our ⁓ deeper dive conversation in our connect in a collective. So if you guys have loved this, there's more in our collective.

speaker-1: And that's gonna be at funandbless.com. But before we go from this part of the conversation, I know Claudia people are gonna want to get to know you more. So can you tell us a little bit about how they can find out more about you and your work? And maybe come see you.

speaker-0: I think that'd be so exciting. They can always connect with me on my website, which is createwithme dot la or come to any of my social channels. I ⁓ and it's all the same. It's all create with me LA. Whether that's Instagram, TikTok or Facebook, I'm not good. So

speaker-2: All right. Well, thank you so much. Do you have a free gift, resource, event, or offering you'd love to share with our audience?

speaker-0: Love to have everybody. I would. I have this year I was so excited to be able to do my first coloring book. And it's an adult mandala coloring book. And I would like to give some to you, you guys, to go ahead and I don't know, use as raffles, whatever you like. You can get ⁓ on ⁓ Amazon. I mean you can also look on my website, but I'd love to do little giveaway if you don't mind.

speaker-2: Amazing. All right. That would be great. So those of you who are listening, we'll we're gonna email us. And the first I don't know, it kind of depends on how many we get, but ⁓ yeah, just email the first ones who email will get the the special coloring book. So thank you, Claudia. So yes, you can email us at ⁓ and ⁓ at funandlist.com. And they're you know.

speaker-0: Give you several money and Yeah.

speaker-2: First in gets it. All right. Thank you, Claudia. This was great. And I'm looking forward to continuing our conversation.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: Monique, I loved this conversation because Claudia gave us such a simple reminder. Creativity is not just for artists, it's for all of us.

speaker-2: It's for all of us, exactly. And you do not need to paint what others would consider to be a masterpiece or super talented. You don't need to know what you're doing. You just need to be willing to try something that makes you feel alive. And also all of us can be Picasso if we choose. ⁓

speaker-1: Especially Picasso. That's like

speaker-2: Cost of hands it stops.

speaker-1: Because so many of us have spent years being responsible, working, leading, taking care of everyone, keeping everything moving. And somewhere along the way, play just gets pushed to the bottom of the list.

speaker-2: Yeah. And then one day somebody asks, What do you do for fun? And you realize you don't even know. So that is why Claudia's story is so powerful. She found her way back through creativity. And the good news is there's not just one way in.

speaker-1: Yeah, Claudia was so full of fab sparks. She started giving them to us before we even asked. Like, seriously, she she went and then she gave us even more. So this week you actually get options.

speaker-2: for it. That's the beauty of creativity. ⁓ so Fab Spark option number one, try one new thing. Something creative, something playful, something you've been curious about, but keep avoiding because you think you'll not be good at it. You could paint, you could garden, you could cook, you could make a collage. Just try something.

speaker-1: And do not judge the result. This is very, very important. The point is not what you make. The point is what hap is happening inside of you while you are making it. Do you feel lighter, more curious, more playful, more like yourself? All of that, that's the win.

speaker-2: Absolutely. So I'm gonna do that one, but I'm also gonna do this one. Fab Spark number two, write yourself a love letter. This isn't a list of goals, not a list of things to fix, a love letter. Then you get to come back one month later and read it again. I just love that.

speaker-1: I love this one. Yeah. I actually used to do that. I want to do it again. It's so yummy. Well the Yes, I'm gonna do it. And of course, there's another one for you to choose from. Thabsberg number three. Sing your heart out where nobody needs to hear you. In your car, in the shower, wherever. Just sing and belt it out.

speaker-2: Be impatient. Yes. Sing like a demo. Okay, so so you just pick one or more. So yeah. Don't overthink it. Choose a thing that gives you that spark of curious joy and go for it.

speaker-1: And inside our deeper dive conversation with Claudia, we go even further. She shares her biggest bliscipline for fun. I'm giggling so much I'm stumbling over my words. But she gives her biggest blisciplin for fun and some creative ideas that are so unexpected you may never have thought of them before.

speaker-2: I hadn't. So if you want more Claudia style fab sparks, come join us inside the Fun and Bliss collective for the deeper dive conversations and go to funandbliss.com to access this conversation with Claudia and all our deeper dives.

speaker-1: There. And if you want more creativity, fun, and joy actually built into your life, the collective is also where we host our scheduled fun activations because fun is a lot more likely to happen when you actually put it on the calendar.

speaker-2: And Claudia has something fun for our listeners too. She is giving us several copies of her Adult Mandela coloring book to share with our audience. So email us at at funandbliss.com to enter the giveaway. And we'll put all the details and all the links we just talked about in the show notes at funandbliss.com.

speaker-1: Yes, and it's ⁓ and ⁓ as and Monique and ⁓ as and Monica. ⁓ and FartingPless.com. That cracks me up, by the way. And before you go, share this episode with the woman in your life who says, I'm just not creative. You know who she is. The woman who says she cannot even draw a straight line. That's actually a good thing. ⁓ the woman who has been all out all work and no play, the woman who may have forgotten what lights are up.

speaker-2: No.

speaker-1: Send her this episode. She'll thank you.

speaker-2: She will thank you. And we thank you for being here with us on the Fun and Bliss Show. Remember, you do not have to be good at creativity. You just have to give yourself permission to try. Follow the spark, schedule the fun, and do more of what makes you come alive.

speaker-1: And you can do more sparks too.

speaker-2: You can be as sparky as you want. ⁓

speaker-1: See you next time. Have a good week. Bye bye. Bye. Thank you for tuning in to the Fun Endless Show.

speaker-2: Where fun is our practice.

speaker-1: And bliss is our lifestyle.

speaker-2: If this episode sparked your joy.

speaker-1: Share it, subscribe, and join the movement. Stay blissful.

speaker-2: Stay fun. And see you next time.

speaker-1: I'm a flame, moving through the endless game. Every turn, every sway, colors burst, light in the way. Sou vai. Mm-hmm. Check. Dream rebuild the rhythm Ready? Songa