Have you ever noticed how creativity comes so naturally to children? Dreamy hot days of summer, cold cozy winter weekends ... when I was a child, every season was an opportunity to be creative, from making books and creating collages, to setting up a lemonade stand and building sandcastles.

If you feel like you've lost all the creative energy you had as a child, here are some surefire ways of rekindling those creative sparks. And it's all as easy as play - which makes for the best kind of creativity.

The trick is to borrow from today's children. If you've ever marveled at the "things they've come up with" for children, take a look at the smorgasbord of creative play available for children - and take advantage of some of these items to rediscover your own creativity!

Anti-coloring books. Anti-coloring books have actually been around for quite a while. Look in the activity section in the children's area of any large bookstore and you'll likely see a few of them. When I stumbled on one, I was amazed - and wished that I had discovered these books when I was little. Then I realized - hey, I've discovered them now!

If you've never seen an anti-coloring book, you're in for a pleasant surprise. Unlike traditional coloring books, the anti-coloring book makes full use of your imagination. Each page contains tantalizingly blank spaces, partial drawings or photographs and some very intriguing suggestions. The pages encourage you to participate fully - you'll find yourself adding monkey-headed ducks to an "exotic menagerie" or drawing what you think of when you listen to a shell.

While these books are marketed for children, you can take advantage of them to jumpstart your own creativity. You may very well find them to be a stepping stone towards creative journaling. To get you started, take a look at any of the Anti-coloring series of books by Susan Striker, and Drawbreakers, by Klutz Press.

Learn-to-draw books. If you've ever found yourself wishing you could draw, but fear that you can't handle a straight line, much less "Art", try a drawing book geared especially for children. Unfortunately, drawing has been elevated to a level of mystique and heredity, an elusive talent that embraces only a few who were lucky to be born with the drawing gene. I firmly believe that drawing is a skill that can be learned, much like writing. Very few people today would be able to write if they were never taught how to write; the same holds true for drawing.

With this in mind, explore some of the drawing how-to books that are available for children. Why children? How-to-draw books for adults can be intimidating - and frankly, they usually don't look like much fun. But grab a drawing book geared especially for children, and you'll find yourself creating fun pencil drawings in next to no time - and enjoying every minute of it!

For starters, I'd recommend any of Mark Kistler's books, particularly Draw Squad for the basics and Drawing in 3D for an amazing range of fun things to start you on the drawing road.

Klutz Press.Klutz Press produces some great books and kits that draw out your creative abilities. Many of their books come with materials, so you can start creating without another trip to the store. If you find yourself intimidated by the thought of learning something new and creative, the Klutz Press books are a good starting point.

Klutz books to try include:

• Book of Artrageous Projects, by Klutz editors and MOMA. Klutz Press produced this book in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While a little pricey, it comes with all the materials, and encourages a truly creative and exploratory approach.

• You Can Make a Collage, by Eric Carle. Carle, the author of the popular A Very Hungry Caterpillar board book, uses tissue paper in his own collage work. This fun little book comes with 72 sheets of beautifully patterned tissue paper to help you get a good start on creating your own collages.

• Fantastic Foam Book, by Klutz editors. If you're like me, you've probably wondered what on earth people do with all those brightly colored and uniquely shaped pieces of foam at Michaels' Arts and Crafts. This book explains one use - foam collages!

• Painted Rocks, by Klutz editors. Rocks appeal to the kid in each of us. I remember my rock collection fondly, and nowadays when I go out for walks, there's usually a rock that catches my eye. Painted Rocks comes complete with a set of acrylic paints, wiggly eyes and even one rock - but don't worry if you run out. Additional rocks can be found almost anywhere; half the fun is in the looking.

Children's Craft Kits. If you haven't walked the craft aisles at your local toy store for a while, you're in for a surprise. There are kits to ease you easily into nearly every creative venture; consider craft kits a starting point. Simple instructions and the required materials get you going, and when you finish the project, you'll find it easy to go to an arts and crafts supply store to get more materials and start on a more sophisticated project.

If you've been curious about learning a particular type of craft, but didn't quite know where to start, there's probably a children's craft kit out there with your name on it. Look for the following crafts:

• Soap making. The simpler soap kits use glycerin and molds; try to find one that is more sophisticated, with the teenaged user in mind.

• Clay crafts. These kits usually come with polymer clay or Model Magic (Crayola) and project instructions. Use one to get the hang of working with the clay and get your creative juices fired for your next, original creation.

• Woodworking projects. With these kits, you can create birdhouses, jewelry boxes, bookends, picture frames ... choose something that appeals to you and get the feel for working with wood.

• Candy making. Here's your chance to learn the how-tos of candy making. Make sure you buy a kit that doesn't rely on the manufacturer's prepackaged mixes.

• Jewelry. With jewelry kits, you'll find yourself working with a range of materials, depending on the kit you buy. But once you get the handle on the different types of hardware that can be used, and how to transform your creations into wearable art, you'll be able to step into your next project easily.

• Papermaking. Children's papermaking kits tend to be much cheaper than adult kits. The cheaper cost translates into less durable equipment, but if you're using the kit as a stepping stone, you'll find yourself better able to understand how to fashion the equipment yourself with the help of a good papermaking book.

Children's Science Kits. Science is one of the most creative fields around, and with a children's science kit you can get the basic knowledge you need to move further into a particular area of science with confidence.

The types of science kits are nearly endless. You can create perfumes ... or tornadoes. Learn about electricity and move on to creating your own lamps. Investigate your sense of taste, or smell. Open your eyes to nature and begin collecting and preserving botanical specimens.

Don't Forget to Have Fun! There's a wealth of creative opportunity available out there for children - and absolutely no reason why you can't play, too! Just remember to forget that you're a grown-up and somehow above all this silly stuff. Art and creativity are all about play, something that too many of us tend to forget in the process of growing up.

Belle Wong is the editor of Creativity for Life and The Altruistic Web. She can be contacted at creativityforlife@zenliving.net.

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