July Cafe

The best way to have a good, creative idea is to have lots of ideas. Here are some ideas that might get your creative juices flowing and keep you from getting into an artistic rut.

July birthstone: Ruby
Flower: Larkspur

July- National Blueberry month- Click Here to find out how to make an easy blueberry print using corks. You can also use the same idea but a different color to make cherries, grapes, etc.




July 1- Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day

Are you ruing the days because the kids aren’t in school and are driving you crazy? Why not get them to flex their artistic muscles by making ice cream sculptures out of salt dough? Afterward, you can treat them to real ice cream as well. The picture above was taken from here.




July 4- Independence Day

The 4th is always a nice day of family picnics and fireworks, but the pictures usually leave me disappointed. For ideas about how to get better fireworks photographs, click here.



July 7- Chocolate Day

Shoes made of chocolate (yes, those red pumps are chocolate)? How about a city-scape? Click here to see an exihibit one gallery had with creations made of chocolate.



July 12- Different Colored Eyes Day

What is the color of your best friend's eyes? What about your relatives' eyes? Take this day to look into the eyes of others. It also brings to mind a condition called heterochromia, where one person has two different colored eyes. Some famous people with this condition are David Bowie, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Walken.




July 13- Barbershop Quartet Appreciation Day




July 14- Bastille Day

Did you pay attention in high school history class? The United States celebrates July 4, but France celebrates Bastille Day. Here is a website with history, recipes, and celebration ideas to make this a special day.

July 17- Yellow Pig Day

This is a holiday invented by university mathmaticians. They chose July 17 because it is a special number. Did you know that the average person breathes 17 times per minute and it takes 17 muscles to smile? The White House has 17 bathrooms, and there are 17 species of penguins. Why is this day called Yellow Pig day? Because yellow pigs have 17 eyelashes, of course! Enough of a reason to celebrate this day? Well, click here to find a lot more information including lyrics to special Yellow Pig Day carols.



July 20- Moon Day

This day commemorates the first landing and walk on the moon by humans on July 20, 1969. Click here to see an interesting Smithsonian web course about this historic event.

July 24- Amelia Earhart Day






July 25- Culinarians' Day

This is a holiday for everyone who likes to cook. If you are a musician who likes to cook, why not combine your two talents today and make this guitar sandwich? Click here for directions. If you poke around on that website, you will find a lot of interesting snacks and fun things to do with food.

July 27- Take Your Pants for a Walk Day

Despite the imaginative title, this is not a day to put a leash on your wardrobe. It's a day to get out and enjoy a stroll. Click here for information on hiking trails in the Inland Empire.


July 30- Mutt Day
Three things to do on this day:

1. Love your dog. Here is a link to a book called The Mutt Styling Guide.
2. Read a Mutt and Jeff cartoon here
3. Learn about Duchamp's Fountain and consider what makes art art (he signed his Fountain installation "R. Mutt"). Click here for a discussion on this topic.