SALE ON SALE 
Quarantine may have us going stir-crazy but it’s also getting our creative juices flowing. With newfound time and space, maybe you’re finally making good on your vow to learn to play the guitar or dusting off your paint brushes after all these years. There is no shortage of creative prompts out there: endless dance challenges and recipe email chains floating through cyberspace plus, works of art to recreate, masks to sew, and virtual performances to put on for the (very) supportive friends and family in our lives. Not to mention all the creative ways we’re learning to support each other on special occasions with drive-by birthday parades or virtual baby shower games. Or even inventing special occasions to add some excitement to our days. Sure, many of us never thought we’d turn the house into an obstacle course, day spa, movie theater, or cocktail bar but here we are! Each day we are inspired to get creative under quarantine in a brand new way and in doing so, we are reminded that life is still sweet.
1. Wear a Mask and a Smile
Masks are doing a lot to help stop the spread of COVID-19. But hiding a smile? Not so much. Photographer Laura Fuchs grabbed her camera (and mask, of course) and hit the streets of New York City to ask, “Can I take your picture?” From six feet away, Fuchs’s photographs reveal that, despite the circumstances, people all over the city agree there’s still something to smile about.
2. Support Network
Reddit user Gaddafo posted an image of his mother earnestly clutching a painting she made. The amazing act of internet support that followed is resurfacing a year later and it’s the kind of positivity we need right now! The original post stated: “My mom painted this and said no one would like it. It's her 2nd painting.” The impressive painting of a crane proves that we are our own worst critic. Internet to the rescue! Not only did innumerable strangers compliment the amateur artist but to show their true appreciation, something strange started happening. A Swedish artist painted a painting of Gaddafo’s mom holding her painting to which another artist responded by painting a painting of the Swedish artist holding a painting of Gaddafo’s mom holding her painting. And then another artist---we think you see where this is going.
Read more here: Bored Panda: People Start a Drawing Chain After This Woman Thought No One Would Like Her Painting
3. Long Distance Duet
Queen of high notes and even higher ponytails, Ariana Grande teamed up with Justin Bieber from far, far away to record the song, "Stuck With U." But, you know, the good kind of stuck. With camera-shy pup, Toulouse, by Ariana’s side and Bieber hand-in-hand with wife, Hailey, the two croon about the family, friends, partners, and yes, pets we’re so lucky to be hunkering down with. The catchy tune will have you swaying in your PJs not unlike a lot of the celebs and everyday people we see busting a move with their quarantine-companions in the DIY-style music video. And it gets better. The song also doubles as a fundraiser for the First Responders Children’s Foundation which not only has been funding college tuition for the children of first responders like medical workers and firefighters for nearly 20 years but is also donating funds to cover meals, masks, accommodations, and other financial needs.
Listen here: NPR: Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber Team Up for Fundraising with Single 'Stuck With U'
4. The Boy Who Read
Who better to read us Harry Potter than Harry Potter himself? Also known as Daniel Radcliffe in real life, the Harry Potter film star lent his voice to an online read-aloud the first chapter of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Ready for chapter two? More of your favorite actors are lining up to read the rest in the weeks to come including Dakota Fanning and David Beckham (what?!).
5. Art Appreciation
Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a nurse? You got it. There’s a new superhero in town thanks to subversive street artist, Banksy. The anonymous graffiti maker showed his (her?) softer side with an art donation to the University Hospital Southampton. The piece depicts a young boy playing with action figures--not Batman or Spiderman or another one of those animal/man combos, but a National Health Service nurse, faster than a speeding bullet in her cape and mask.
EXPLORE