Planting the Creativity Seed

Through all of the busyness of the holiday season, I've lost a little bit of my creative focus. My creativity has been manifesting itself in other ways, Halloween costumes and Friendsgiving decor, Elf on the Shelf and Christmas cookies. Creativity for me comes in many different forms. I feel fulfilled doing almost anything creative, from photography to baking, painting to lettering. 

Looking back at my childhood, one thing that really sticks out is how my mom exposed us to creativity. A new stack of construction paper was the most exciting thing to us, next to a new box of 64 count Crayola crayons that is...with a sharpener in the back of course. That was life.

This past weekend my mom took Macie for a few hours so I could take Henley to the movies (and actually finish the movie). While I was sitting in the theater, I got a text from my mom--she and Macie were playing with PlayDoh. Shortly after her first text, I got another picture of my mom's classic PlayDoh pink pig. My mom has made this little PlayDoh pig my whole life. I remember her sticking toothpick in it to keep it together so I could actually play with it when I was young. I remember feeling so accomplished when I too was able to make the pig. This wasn't the first time I saw my mom make this pig for my girls, I have seen in a lot of times and every time it makes my heart smile. Something so small for my mom, I'm sure, but to me, it is so meaningful. 

My mom is the reason I am a creative person. She never pushed this upon me, instead she fostered the fire inside me. She showed me how to create and I'm sure she didn't even realize it at the time. Now that I am a mother, I see I am doing the same for my girls without even realizing. Macie picks up the PlayDoh bin almost daily and Henley loves coloring, painting, and stamping letters for her friends. We spend rainy days inside painting or sunny days outside with chalk. We make treasure maps of out kraft paper taped to the floor and painted rocks to hide around town. 

One of my goals for 2018 is to continue being creative weekly, in any form, and in that I want to continue fostering this within my girls. Creativity makes life more fun, more beautiful, and more fulfilling. I truly believe we are all creative individuals, some just foster it more than others. We were not created to work and die. We need to flourish and be fulfilled. We need to create and grow. 

These are the ways I am focusing my creativity to grow and develop in 2018:

Photography: In 2017 I started playing with the DSLR Camera more often. I have already signed up for an online camera course through Brit + Co and plan to try out my newly, learned skills on the girls through photoshoots throughout the year. I am also learning to navigate Photoshop and Lightroom.

Writing: Last year through the Year of Creativity course I learned how much I enjoy writing. I don't think I am amazing at it and I have a really hard time thinking of topics to write about but I enjoy it. I've learned if I am in a quiet space, I can easily fill the page with thoughts. This year, I want to take time, at least monthly, to step away and develop this skill. I have a few books in my queue I'd love to read. I also plan to take a day here and there, alone, to just let the words flow. It's extremely hard to form coherent thoughts being interrupted by snack requests.

Blogging: I love blogging for you all. I have no idea if anyone reads at times but it's fun just getting words out that don't have the pressure to be profound or life altering. 

Chalk Art: I have a chalkboard in my home in our kitchen. I used to update this daily but I really have only been changing it seasonally. I love looking at it when it's new and I love putting meaningful quotes on it. I would like to get back to changing it out more frequently. 

Painting: Last year, I did a small online course for watercolor lettering. I really enjoyed it and would love to keep playing with that medium. If I improved my watercolor painting skills through this, that would be an added bonus. 

Lettering: As some of you have seen on my social media, I got an iPad Pro for Christmas. I absolutely love lettering in the Procreate app with the Apple Pencil. I have very limited knowledge of that and am looking forward to figuring out the program more and learning how all of those amazing people on Instagram create such awesome art. I did learn how to animate pictures this weekend, game changer folks!

Most of these will be done with my girls. When I am painting watercolor lettering, Henley and Macie are right next to me with my extra water brush pens. They love writing on their chalk easel or pulling up a stool while I am drawing, adding their own touches to my board. As a perfectionist at times, it is hard for me to let them "help" but I am seeing how much it is helping their creative little souls. I challenge you to get messy this year, for yourself and for your kids. Let's start creating and give our kids the same. 

So to 2018, our year to create!