IC-ADvice

If I may be so bold, here are one or two things I've figured out in course of doing eight previous ICAD years, that either no one told me before I started, OR... (perhaps more likely, lol) to which I didn't listen. Feel free to not listen, either! :)

DON'T...
...get too hung up on the numbers. Yes, the goal is to make one piece of Index Cart Art for each day of June and July. BUT... that's there to spur you on, not to talk you out of trying; or make you feel like a failure if you "only" do 30 cards. (Dude! You did THIRTY cards!) Finishing any particular number of cards at any given time is NOT the most important thing! The most important thing is to play, to have fun, and to explore new ideas. Whether you make 61, or 21, or just *1* index card, it's a WIN!

DO...
...take a little time at the beginning to create a bit of structure that works FOR YOU. In my case, I happen to love making little books and know from experience that having one will spur me on, because I see my progress as I add a new card each night. I also have a small "ICAD set up" that stays in our living room (where i work at night) so that when ICAD time arrives, I don't have to go and gather supplies... which would totally derail me at 10:30pm!  Thus there's my ICAD book, a bin containing index cards and a cup with my favorite pens RIGHT THERE so i can skip directly to the fun part!!! 

DON'T...
...worry about the "daily" part too much. In an ideal world, yes, we'd all have 20 peaceful and inspiring minutes every single day to make our index cards. If you know anyone who lives in an ideal world, please send me their address because I'd love to visit!!! Let's face it, some days it's just NOT gonna happen. Here are a few ways to cope: 1) realize that this fact is universal, and let yourself end a perfectly successful ICAD season with however many cards you complete; 2) time-shift the event and allow yourself the luxury of making fewer cards per week into August or September; or...

DO...
...take advantage of the times you feel inspired. Some nights, I finish my ICAD for the day in fifteen minutes and still have time and energy leftover. So yeah, I work ahead! Is that cheating? Ummmm... NO!!!!!! This is an optional event and a gift I'm giving to myself, I can structure it however I want. And so can you!

DON'T...
...feel like you have to "catch up"! Start wherever you are, and move forward at a pace that feels comfortable. If you miss a few days, no big deal. Maybe you'll make extra cards on extra-inspiring days, maybe you won't. Either way, it's cool. We all have enough chores and obligations, don't turn ICAD into one.  

DO...
...use the prompts on your own terms. It is NOT all or nothing. The prompts are optional and meant to give you a glimmer of an idea to get started. Some prompts won't speak to you at all... skip 'em! Some will give you multiple ideas... try them all! Some days you'll have brand new art supplies you can't wait to play with, or a technique you're dying to try... some days will be Mandala Monday! Give in to whatever cravings you have!

DON'T...
...succumb to "comparisonitis"! Please, please, if you only take one thing away from this over-long post, let it be the fact that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. We were all beginners once. We will all improve our skills with practice. We can all enjoy ICAD on our own terms! 

I hope you will have so much fun with ICAD2020 that on August 1st you're already dreaming about ICAD2021! ♥♥♥