In a previous blog, I talked about how creative inspiration comes and goes whenever it pleases. I gave some tips on how to coerce it out of hiding and into your life, but what happens when you have the opposite problem?
Sometimes, I have too many ideas all at once. There are so many things I want to tackle right then and there, but I don’t have the time or the materials to do it. I feel creatively overwhelmed.
It’s feast or famine, folks, and I can’t decide which is worse.
I believe that everyone has creativity, whether you consider yourself a creative person or not. And one thing I think we can all agree on is that creativity comes and goes. It’s like this blessing of a mood that gets bestowed upon you. Sometimes, you can call and call and call for it and it won’t show up. But what’s one way that you can bring it upon yourself? You can make sure that you show up every day. If you’re ready to be creative every day, you’ll never miss creativity’s surprise appearance. But if you don’t allow yourself the time to welcome it, it’s going to find that your door is locked and move on without a visit.
When I was in high school, I had tons of creative energy. I used to write prose poetry nearly every day, and I’d write short stories that I don’t know how I’d ever come up with today. In the past 6 months or so, I’ve been trying to reclaim the imagination I had when I was younger. If you’re in a bit of a creative rut, here’s what has helped me.
I’m not one of those people who can just come up with an idea for a craft project; I’m more of a copier than an inventor. My desire to DIY usually comes from when I see something that I like but I know that I could make it better somehow, or more often, I know I could make it for cheaper than it’s being sold for.
I was inspired to make these earrings just about a year ago when I was out shopping with Jake, his mom, and his sister on Thanksgiving weekend of 2017. We stopped in J. Crew and while browsing, I stumbled upon these earrings that I loved–but I didn’t love the price. Here they are:
I liked the idea of them, but I thought they’d look more amazing in a classic red for Christmas. So I took a picture to remind myself of how they looked, and I told myself that I’d make a pair. Well, I didn’t end up making that pair until about a year later. But hey, it gave me the opportunity to create my first DIY-related blog post! Keep reading to see how I did it.
It’s December 2013, and I’m sitting on the futon in my college apartment. My end-of-semester assignments are looming, and junior year is kicking my butt a little bit. I have a car, a bit of money to spare in my tiny student bank account, and something makes me say to myself, “I want to learn how to crochet.” So I drive to Walmart and buy one skein of Lion Brand Hometown USA and a hook.
So my crochet hobby didn’t exactly start in the most sentimental way. I didn’t learn from a maternal figure on a comfy couch with the smell of cookies baking in the next room. I learned from a YouTube video in an old apartment, all the while feeling guilt for all the schoolwork I wasn’t doing.
But it was this less-than-sentimental beginning that makes me want to share my story. Having this creative hobby changed my life.
being mrs. benedict 