As you may have read on my “About” page, I crave beauty. Nearly as equal in its pull for me is a craving, or desperate need to be creative. When I’m missing opportunities to be creative, it is almost painful. At a minimum, it actually causes me anxiety. Seriously. I get anxious and I start prowling about the house to see what I can DO.
These strong desires can be satiated many different ways. Thankfully, there are all kinds of ways to be creative. It could be doing a craft with my daughter. It could be rearranging tchotchkes on my bookshelves. It could be changing out furniture or organizing my closet. It could even be writing a blog post!
There are countless ways to fulfill that creative craving. Sometimes it’s just cruising around Pinterest or flipping though a beautiful magazine, or design book, to get new ideas. Even problem solving requires us to fire our creative engines. Sometimes, these moments are the ones we end up being the most proud of.
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I’ve always described myself as “if MacGyver and Martha (as in Stewart) had a baby, it would be me”. I can make something out of nothing….but in a good way (not a gossipy, mean girl way)! I am the Queen of Making Do. Give me a lunch bag, a paper clip and some glitter glue and I will give you a MASTERPIECE! (Or give me some bulletin board paper for a last minute elementary school request. Just sayin’.)
In my early adult years, money was super tight. I had to be creative to have, really anything. I once created a coffee table out of fabric covered boxes and a clear glass top. That same year, I could only afford a very small Christmas tree and “A” string of lights, so I made ornaments by cutting angels from some beautiful wrapping paper, stringing brass buttons and fashioning a star from aluminum foil. I used what I had. (And face it, shiny and glittery = over halfway there.) My motto during these years? “Poverty is the mother of invention.”
I am lucky to have access to more at this point in my life, but I still like to challenge myself (and my kids) to try to work through or create with what we already have. (See Easter Centerpiece below. I found out Friday afternoon that I would be hosting 10 for Easter Dinner!) You may not get exactly what you first envisioned, but you may get something better. For me, I think it’s just really fun to work out that puzzle of, “how can we make it happen without having to run to the store?”
Next time you’re in need of a creative solution, challenge yourself to work with what you have. Don’t be afraid of a Pinterest fail. Each time you try this, you’ll find a little more genius in you that you didn’t know was there.
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Oh, and please, for me, please post your Pinterst Fails. I love them so much.
*Book – Modern Mix by Eddie Ross, HGTV Magazine, Country Living Magazine, Magnolia Journal.
**Print shown is “Daydreamer” by one of my favorite artists, Ellen Kelley McHale. You can see her works at www.nelleykelley.com.
