Two key things have helped pull me out of the funk of the past couple of difficult years: regular exercise and creative outlets. Both are important to my overall well-being, and I’d venture to say that’s true for most of us.

What’s your “thing”?

But how does that creativity come out? Everyone has their “thing” (or several of them!) so if you don’t yet know what your “thing” is, then you probably haven’t played around with enough creative outlets yet.

A few possibilities to try:

• sewing and/or quilting
• fancy cookie-decorating (my daughter-in-law’s latest thing!)
• crochet/knitting (one of Kathryn’s favorites)
• photography
• writing (blogs, poetry…)
• painting (watercolor, oil… so many possibilities!)
• furniture refinishing/painting
• making pretty soaps, bath salts, etc

Me? I’ve dabbled in lots of different areas, and I’ve liked some better than others. Sewing, for instance: I’ve made simple curtains and some fun things like our Christmas stockings, but I have little patience for things like patterns. NOT my thing.

I’ve quilted, but in a make-it-up-as-I-go-along way. No patterns. Which means it’s unlikely I’ll ever make this baby-sized whale quilt but ohmigosh — adorable but sophisticated: Love!

{I think I have a pinning addiction; I currently have 5 different “create” boards, not including my kids’ art project board!}

You are NOT a failure if you try something and discover it’s not your creative BFF. Try something else instead! Example: once upon a time I thought maybe I’d make wedding cakes, but then I realized it was Not My Thing. I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t tried — so don’t say you’re not creative; you just haven’t found your thing!

Get your creativity out of hiding!

I’ve been making a point to embrace various forms of creativity, to pull it back out of hiding. One of my favorite ways has been through art journaling. Though I’m not currently doing daily art journaling (an eventual goal but too much going on right now), I’ve been playing enough to know I want to learn more watercolor painting techniques. In fact, my mom and I are planning to take an art class as soon as we can arrange our schedules, probably in the spring.

An art journal self-portrait. Because I’m made of words.

Household DIY projects are definitely one of my things! It’s just so doggone fun to make pretty things without spending the big bucks to buy pretty things someone else made. Painting furniture is one of of my super-faves. Well, actually, I love the result, but the prep work is decidedly un-fun but necessary. Other projects, like re-covering a lamp shade, are satisfying without so much hard work.

Most of the time I do creative stuff by myself as one of my introvert-friendly, sanity-saving things. But sometimes, when I’m feeling like an extra-awesome mom, I let the rest of the gang join in. I still haven’t gotten the little kids in on the chalk pastel fun, but I’m looking forward to it soon!

Clockwise from top left: Kathryn’s, Ken’s, Lindsey’s, and mine from 2 years ago.

Oodles of creativity:

If you’re looking for a new creative outlet to try, or need new ideas for one you already enjoy, the new Ultimate DIY Bundle has you covered. It’s a library full of DIY/crafting e-books and e-courses covering everything from photography to sewing to thrift store transformations… and even a section on the business of DIY, if you (like Kathryn) have ever considered opening an etsy shop.

When Kathryn saw the full list of books, she said,
“You get ALL THAT??? I’m totally stealing some of those from you.”

Included in this bundle is the A Year of Art Journaling e-book I’ve been using, and the Hodgepodge’s Chalk Pastels through the Seasons. You know I already love both of those. And one of the bonuses in this collection is a free online class from Craftsy, like the class Kathryn used to make her adorable amigurumi crochet bird with zero help from me!

The details:

The Ultimate DIY Bundle is only available for 6 days: from 8:00 EST today until 11:59PM on Monday, January 26. Learn more about the specifics here, but in short, this is $1200 worth of e-books and e-courses for only $34.95.

Buy with no worries: a 30-day money-back guarantee gives you a full 30 days to enjoy all the e-books and e-courses in the bundle, and if you don’t feel they provided enough value, you’ll receive a full refund. Read the fine print or FAQs.

{Disclosure: I’ll make a few bucks if you purchase through the affiliate links in this post — at no additional charge to you, of course.}

Jamie

Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »