Make Me

Simplify

I've been scanning old photos and it occurred to me to do that with all bits of paper I'm "saving" for records.  Currently I have these two file boxes that I keep my tax records, warranties and all that kind of crap in. If I scanned everything and kept it on flash drives, that would help simplify my life.

Zen Habits has a great list of ideas simplifying your life. I'm going to give some of the ideas a try. Miss Minimalist also has a good list. I know my life works better when it's simpler, so why is it so hard to make it so?

On the Mend

Okay. I think I can say I'm on the mend now.  I'm only coughing once every five minutes as opposed to once every other second. I was feeling rather sprightly yesterday until the searing cramps of a mild case of food poisoning. Thank you Mimi's Cafe.  It's probably because I was mocking the menu asterisk under french toast that warned against the great gastronomical himiny-jiminy or what have you.  Apparently my disdain was sensed and I spent the better half of a gorgeous afternoon that I felt like a normal person in the fetal position on the couch watching That 70s Show. C'est la vie.

Anyway, illness notwithstanding, I can no longer put off announcing that Celeste91 is the winner of the Make Me Hair Pin Challenge.  I really liked the the typewriter key she chose. I don't know about you, but I'm always adjusting m'pins, so the shift key really appealed to me.

Celeste wins the big shwag bag from Rings n Things. The hair pin blanks and the copper bracelet blank. I'll post later if she has a blog and or Etsy shop we can bounce off to.

Our other participant, Rebecca, had a really beautiful entry that was hard to ignore.  She used earrings here and I think the end result is really elegant and lovely.  Rebecca? You're the runner-up and as such wins 24 hair pin blanks.  Congratulations, Rebecca!

I've not been doing a things crafty myself. Other than trying to keep down lunch and looking at back issues of Interweave Knits.  I have been thinking a lot about my goals for 2009. One of my things is I need to not cut corners. I need to not be afraid of things that are hard - you know, sometimes I shy away from things that look too difficult or time consuming without considering if I would enjoy the end product enough to make the trouble worthwhile. 

Any crafty resolutions in your hat?

Did You Do Your Assignment?

A couple of weeks ago I asked you to write down some of the mental reasons that keep you from being as creative as you wish to be. I thought I would share with you my reasons.

For the longest time I've felt that I've been more of a mimic than a artist of any sort.  I don't feel like I'm bringing anything new to the table. Everything is so out there now - blogs, Etsy, Flickr, Craftster, Ravelry. You're sitting at home with just you and your little brain and you think you've come up with a great idea only to pop on to the internet to discover 32 people have come up with 32 different and, seemingly, better ways to do it than you.  It's a quick way to undermine one's confidence. 

Sometimes I forge ahead anyway - that's how I've trained myself - but I've not been totally happy with the end product.  More often I find myself putting the project away half finished and starting something else.  Granted, I've always had half-finished things lying about, but the now it has really gotten out of hand. 

I spoke to an artist friend of mine and I told him I thought I was in a state of flux; that I thought my methods, media or statement were about to change. I felt out of sorts when looking at a blank canvas - be it paper, canvas or fabric.  I feel as if there is no me to put there. 

So, in my search for what is keeping me from being my most creative self, I will have to examine where I want to go with my art and where I want my focus to lie.  A challenge and an exploration if ever I heard of one.

Creativity Expanded

So what was I yapping about yesterday? Oysters. Expression. Embracing yourself? Nice. But what does that all mean?

Glad you asked.

I want to use this blog as a forum to explore different arts/crafts and creative forms of expression to encourage people to delve into their creative sides.  For some that may mean picking up a hobby you left behind years ago, for others it may mean finding something new.  I'd like people to get over their fears of failure, at least when it comes to creativity.  Creativity is the one thing you have that springs from the very core of you - you own it. No one can tell you it is right or wrong.  To my way of thinking, shutting that part of your brain off is not giving yourself a place where you are free from criticism; a place where you are free to grow and become confident.

There are probably plenty of people in the world who want nothing to do anything artistic.  Personally, I think they lead dull, colorless lives void of humor, passion and vitality, but that's besides the point. 

If you already knit, collage, stamp, craft or whatever - I think you will still get something from my blog. I still learn new things all the time, so I can't help but share them here.  If you would like to be a more creative person, here's your first assignment:

Get over yourself.

If you avoid trying new things because you think people are going to laugh at you, I have news for you - people already laugh at you. Maybe because you wore that unicorn shirt last week or because you say "nuke-u-lar" like George Bush.  Fact of the matter is you give strangers a million different reasons to laugh at you every single day.  So you may as well accept it and move on.

Regardless, write down some of the MENTAL reasons you don't do creative things.  (Time is NOT a mental issue - we'll deal with that one later!). In fact, you may want to start keeping a little journal to write down any thoughts or ideas that come to you. Also jot down a few artsy things that sound interesting to you - it doesn't have to be grand: go to a museum, learn nighttime photography, fold an origami crane, etc.