The Joy of Creativity!

Creativity… 

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.  

No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

Everyone can create. 

You don't need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty. .

What you create doesn't have to be perfect. . .   

Don't let the voices of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it."  
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf)

I was not raised in a creative home…
 my mom took her sewing to the sewing lady and if she needed an idea for a handout, she paid someone to help her do it. She didn’t have a lot of confidence to branch out and TRY anything new!
(sad to say she still doesn't) 

It makes me sad to think about how she was
and I wish she would have had this quote from President Uchtdorf, to inspire her to have a YES, I can attitude!    
I still remember being a teenager and hating to see her spending her hard earned money to have someone make something for her and then telling her “Let me try and help you with making a cute handout for the girls in your Young Women’s class”.
I remember feeling so much JOY as I created something awesome.   

There is nothing that brings more satisfaction than to look back and at something and say to yourself 
“WOW, I made that, 
I created that with my own two hands”! 

What a blessing the blogging world has been in my life 
because it has been such a FUN creative outlet for me.

I married into a family FULL of creativity and I myself, have always felt a little inadequate…
I can’t draw or doodle and I definitely have the world's worst handwriting, I can’t look at a photo and paint a wall in zebra stripes, I can’t sew, I don’t throw amazing out of this world parties that have every detail PERFECT, I can’t play the piano by ear and the list goes on.

However, 
I have always had a yearning and desire 
to be as creative as I can…
 I love to make homemade cards, I love to wrap a gift in a fun, creative way,  
I love to make my home “festive” for the holidays,  
I can bake and cook and be creative in the kitchen, 
I can be creative with the way I take photos and present them,  
I can be creative in the way I plant and grow things in my yard and garden AND, 
I can always bring a SMILE to a friend or strangers each time I meet them.

It’s funny how the desire to create is in us and how when life gets hectic and crazy and you don’t have time to create, how there is a truly a VOID in your life. 
That has been the case this past few months…non-stop dealing with all of the curve balls that life throws at you.  I have missed being creative and I can’t tell you how much JOY it brought to my life to finally have a few moments to pull up my boxes and decorate my entry shelf for fall. I had yet another moment of FUN, when we pulled out all of the Halloween decorations.
Ethan was SO excited as he pulled each little thing out of the box and talked about the memories he had of the decorations.
He was thrilled when he saw it all creatively put together!

Creativity really is just seeing a pile of various objects 
and bringing them together.
Such was the case with my latest creative endeavor.

Tracy has been obsessed with Pinterest
and all of the wonderful “eye candy” there is to enjoy there.
I have seen so many cool centerpieces
that have used various treats of the season to fill their jars with.

 I got looking at the branches from the Memory Lane Tree
from our anniversary celebration and thought it would be fun
to fill a glass jar with candy corn,
fill the vase with the branches that I had painted black
and then to hang photos from Halloween Past all over it.

Sure enough, it all came together great…
even BETTER than I had thought it would and this 
FUN thing is what is now gracing our dinner table for the next month.

SO, fun, 
SO easy 
and something that ANYONE  
could put together!!

Feel the JOY that comes from taking a pile of random things and  
C-R-E-A-T-I-N-G 
 something wonderful and beautiful to display and enjoy in your home,
office or wherever else you would like.

 Happy Weekend...
Whatever it is you are doing, have fun creating something wonderful today!