Don’t worry, I’m not talking about cheating in their relationships. A new study by the American Psychological Association has found that creative people are more likely to cheat when it comes to tests and the like. The study claims that because creative people are so flexible in their minds and can generate ideas, they can justify cheating through “self-serving rationalizations,” which means they don’t cheat so severely to the point where they feel bad about it. This study says they tested individuals for creativity and intelligence. And then the subjects were given lab tests that made it easy to cheat.

Both of the tests were paid and the individuals were basically told how to cheat, which seems to have provided an incentive to do so. The researchers did say that this could have been a problem. I’d like to see what the results would have been without the incentive of money. The study says that those who tested high in creativity were the ones who cheated more. It doesn’t say, however, how the subjects were tested for creativity.

I would, one, like to know how they determined creativity because it’s such an open thing. What makes someone creative? You can say being an artist or a writer makes you creative. Others will say the way you arrive at an idea makes you creative. How do you determine creativity through a test? I’m not quite sure. And, two, how accurate can a test be if you’re setting someone up to cheat? If you’re told that a Scantron answer sheet has lightly bubbled in answers because they were photocopied wrong, even if you’re not trying to cheat, you might subconsciously do it.

Most of the people I know that cheat wouldn’t necessarily be classified as creative. I’d classify them as lazy. I consider myself to be really creative, and if I were to cheat I know I’d feel awful about it. I wouldn’t be able to justify cheating because I’m creative and can contribute thoughts. I don’t think being creative makes me, or anyone, more likely to cheat.

What do you think? Does being a creative person make you more likely to cheat?

It’s gift giving time and that means one thing: you’re finally gonna get that iPhone you’ve got a lot of wrapping to do. And if you’re anything like me, you’re way too cheap to spend money on holiday wrapping paper. Plus, is it really fair to our lovely planet to waste a tree on something that just gets thrown away? I don’t think so.

I realize some of you probably fold up your wrapping paper and reuse it, and more power to you. But for the rest of us, mostly those of us who tear through our presents without mercy, here’s a way to make your own unique, personal and beautiful wrapping paper without harming the planet or breaking the bank. (It also happens to be really, really pretty!)

What You Need:
- Newspaper sheets, brown paper bags (from the last time you went to the grocery store), or a roll of brown paper
- Catalogs, magazines or Sunday supplements
- Scissors, glitter, paint, fun shaped sponges, glue and ribbon (all optional)

What You Do:

First, you should decide what kind of design you want on your wrapping paper. If you enjoy looking at photos rather than creating art yourself, you can go for a collage-type style of wrapping. If you’d rather get down and dirty with the paint, grab yourself some brown paper and those colorful little cups of poster paint.

For a collage, lay out a big sheet of newsprint and cut out especially eye-catching and beautiful photos and words from your magazines. Place them approximately where you’d like them on the newspaper, then apply a thin layer of glue to their backs with a glue stick, and stick ‘em on. Your object is to cover the whole sheet of newsprint, so you might have to cut out a few smaller pics to fill in the blank spaces. This makes a really gorgeous sheet of wrapping, especially if you don’t go overboard on the glue. When you’re done, let it dry, and wrap that gift!

You can do painted paper one of several ways. Start with a base of brown from a long sheet of packaging paper or a paper bag that you’ve cut apart at the seams. You can use a template or stencil you make yourself to paint a design on the paper with a sponge, or create a potato stamp and use it to apply a pattern. If you’re really ambitious, you can actually draw pictures and do art on the paper, which is obviously the most special option… but also the most time-consuming. For my personal favorite alternative, dip those fingers into the paint and go crazy. Finger-painted wrapping looks really fancy and everyone will love it!

I think we can all agree that Hallmark cards are lame. If the card doesn’t contain something that you would actually say out loud on it (“For You, Mother, on Your 50th Birthday,” anyone?), it’s not worth spending your hard-earned cash on. Especially considering they cost like $5!

So what’s a gal to do when the holidays and special occasions roll around?

Duh! Make your OWN cards.

If you normally run screaming at the thought of anything crafty, take a deep breath and hang with me for a second. I also hate crafts, but I love to make greeting cards. They’re so much fun, and you can personalize them any way you want. AND they can be as simple or as involved as you like—no need to spend an hour laboring over intricate cutouts and frilly decorations if you don’t want to.

Here’s the other good news—they’re easy. All you need to make a basic card is some paper that you can fold and some markers (or crayons, pens, colored pencils, paints, or even chalk). Try making a painting on the outside of your card and writing a message on the inside. If that doesn’t strike your fancy, do a stencil or make a collage. A mosaic is another fun idea.

And don’t limit yourself. Remember, you can use anything to spice up the design—ribbon, googly eyes, fabric, shells or leaves, beads, scrap paper… you get the idea. Here are a few materials you may want to gather:

Glue. If you’re really desperate, you can tape cut-out pictures to a card, but it looks kind of tacky (no pun intended) and it won’t be as permanent.

Scissors. You can tear the paper to fit your needed shape, but it’s easier (and cleaner) to cut. Plus, you can cut out any shapes you want.

Pipe cleaners. As in the cool picture above and the How Stuff Works tutorial from where it came, you can twist pipe cleaners into flowers, moons and stars, hearts, birthday cakes… you get the idea.

Scraps. If you’re a pack rat, you’re probably a natural for making greeting cards. Saving receipts, business cards, take-out menus, and old wrapping paper will really pay off when you want to make a cool patterned skirt for a greeting-card girl or a funny-lettered billboard that spells out a birthday message.

When you’re making your cards, keep a couple of things in mind:

- Reinforcement. When using a lot of glue, you don’t want marker pictures to smear or bleed, and you don’t want those annoying wriggly wet lines. If it looks as though your card is heading in that direction, dab some glue lightly on the edges of one or two more pieces of paper that are cut to the same size as your card, and glue them on the inside so that the card will look smoother.

- Personality. Keep your audience in mind when making your cards. Just as you wouldn’t buy a card with a Shakespearean love sonnet on it for your brother, you wouldn’t want to give a slapdash and amateurish-looking thank-you card to someone with whom you just had a job interview. That’s not to say you can’t give homemade thank-yous after job interviews–just that if you do, they have to look professional.

- Creases and folds. Decide whether you want a long and narrow card, a fat square one, or something in between. Fold the card in half, and cut. If you don’t have a scissors handy, you can crease it along the edges where you want the cuts. Fold one way sharply, then straighten the paper and fold the other way. Make each fold again a couple of times to reinforce it, then use one hand to hold the paper and the other to tear gently along the edges. It should tear away in a straight line.

If you’re not artsy and all of this talk about designs makes you wanna hurl, just fill your card with cool words. A simple list of words and phrases that remind you of the other person is a creative, personal and not-at-all artsy way of creating a special card. It might seem lame, but if you’ve ever received a homemade card, you know how great it feels.

Now all you need is an occasion. So log onto Facebook right now and find out when your next friend’s birthday is—and get cracking!

[Image courtesy of howstuffworks.com.]

The summer heat and lack of money melt my formerly creative inner cook, and even though I’m slightly decent at preparing a meal, all I can think to do is eat apples, fry eggs and drink beer.

Even worse than cooking in the summer heat is cooking for one. It’s depressing. There are always leftovers and really, who wants to make an elaborate meal if you’re the only one eating it?

Which is why I was so excited to see these 101 simple summer meals that can be prepared in 10 minutes or less.

I’m all for using fresh ingredients and keeping it healthy, but sometimes recipes that call for a dozen different fresh components just end up rotting in the fridge.

These meals, however, don’t require too much and really do spark a little creativity in the kitchen. I’m so pumped about having so many new ideas that I’m already planning how I can use my leftovers (see #89).

Here are some of my favorites:

1 Make six-minute eggs: simmer gently, run under cold water until cool, then peel. Serve over steamed asparagus.

4 Open a can of white beans and combine with olive oil, salt, small or chopped shrimp, minced garlic and thyme leaves in a pan. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp are done; garnish with more olive oil.

9 Pan-grill a skirt steak for three or four minutes a side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, slice and serve over romaine or any other green salad, drizzled with olive oil and lemon.

13 Gazpacho: Combine one pound tomatoes cut into chunks, a cucumber peeled and cut into chunks, two or three slices stale bread torn into pieces, a quarter-cup olive oil, two tablespoons sherry vinegar and a clove of garlic in a blender with one cup water and a couple of ice cubes. Process until smooth, adding water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, then serve or refrigerate, garnished with anchovies if you like, and a little more olive oil.

20 Cut eggplant into half-inch slices. Broil with lots of olive oil, turning once, until tender and browned. Top with crumbled goat or feta cheese and broil another 20 seconds

29 Chop prosciutto and crisp it in a skillet with olive oil; add chopped not-too-ripe figs. Serve over greens dressed with oil and vinegar; top all with crumbled blue cheese.

45 Sauté shredded zucchini in olive oil, adding garlic and chopped herbs. Serve over pasta.

52 Grill or sauté Italian sausage and serve over store-bought hummus, with lemon wedges.

54 Brown small pork (or hot dog) chunks in a skillet. Add white beans, garlic, thyme and olive oil. Or add white beans and ketchup.

59 Brown bratwursts with cut-up apples. Serve with coleslaw.

72 World’s leading sandwich: prosciutto, tomato, butter or olive oil and a baguett

77 Sear corn kernels in olive oil with minced jalapeños and chopped onions; toss with cilantro, black beans, chopped tomatoes, chopped bell pepper and lime.

87 Grated carrots topped with six-minute eggs (run under cold water until cool before peeling), olive oil and lemon juice.

88 Cut the top off four big tomatoes; scoop out the interiors and mix them with toasted stale baguette or pita, olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs (basil, tarragon, and/or parsley). Stuff into tomatoes and serve with salad.

89 Pasta frittata: Turn cooked pasta and a little garlic into an oiled or buttered skillet. Brown, pressing to create a cake. Flip, then top with three or four beaten eggs and loads of Parmesan. Brown other side and serve.

99 Cook a couple of pounds of shrimp, shell on or off, in oil, with lots of chopped garlic. When they turn pink, remove; deglaze the pan with a half-cup or so of beer, along with a splash of Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, rosemary and a lump of butter. Serve with bread

Click here to see all 101!

Despite it all, I have been so on top of my game that I haven’t had time to focus on being on top of a guy. Career driven is a good look for me, so a little give and take in other areas hasn’t been so bad…until two weeks ago when the drought finally ended.

Now, you would think getting a little action would spark my creative juices and get things flowing for a slew of sexy blogs.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I have discovered a new form of cock blocking much more frustrating than the times your friends shove you into a cab and far away from the hottie at the bar. This is a literal cock blocking. A cock block on my creativity. And it sucks.

I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve it, but my brain has taken on man status and can not focus on ANYTHING besides sex. Maybe it was because we didn’t venture that far during our few days of hot hook-ups and my brain has decided to just make up the rest.

If you thought sleeping was hard enough when you’ve got sex on the brain (hello, hot sexy daydreams!), try having to be slightly creative when you’ve literally got a cock blocking your creativity.

Luckily, I kind of like this one (the boy not just his member) so I’m not so apt to fall into bed with just some random to fulfill my nighttime (and daytime) fantasies. With writer’s block you’ve just got to write through it and that’s what I’m trying to do with my creative cock block: accept what I do not have and move forward. And just keep hoping one day all these dreams come to a head.