#CultivatingCreativity: CULTIVATE GRATITUDE

Hi All! This month my friend Rachel McGough at Handmade U issued a challenge to spend July getting into the habit of cultivating your creativity. You can read her post on 5 excuses not to create here. All month she will be interviewing Creatives (here's a link to the interview with yours truly) about what excuses we struggle with and how we get beyond them.

This is a subject I've given a fair amount of thought to over the years, so I decided I would put together a few posts on the ways I fight the creativity killing excuses Rachel talks about. So let's go!

Probably the two biggest Creativity Killers for me are comparison and perfectionism. They feed off each other like parasites and create fear that kills any desire in me to create anything from paintings to pot roasts. Though comparison and perfectionism are intertwined, I want to deal with them separately so today we're going to talk about COMPARISON.

This is one of the worst traps we creatives--and all other members of the human race, near as I can tell--fall into. We compare absolutely everything we have and everything we are to other people, what they have, what they are. And invariably, we fall short because let's be honest, we almost never compare our lives with those who have less than we do, we almost always compare ourselves with those who have more. But the fact is, we don't compare our reality to the reality of others. We compare our reality with our perception of their reality. Do you see the problem? We are comparing ourselves to a lie, a dream, a mist, a PERCEPTION. We don't know what that other person has gone through to get where she is. We don't know her story, her heart, her fears. We only know our perceptions. There is no way we can win at this one.

So how do we stop killing our creativity with comparison? We cultivate gratitude! This isn't positive psychology, it's spiritual discipline. It's not about switching our focus from comparing ourselves with those who have more to comparing ourselves with those who have less. It's about developing a genuine heart of thankfulness for what we have. It's about being thankful for the talent you've been given--whatever that may be. It's about being thankful for the little things:

And the big things:

Cultivating gratitude keeps our vision clear. As Creatives we need clear vision to do what we do. When we compare ourselves with others creativity becomes a proxy for competition. When we cultivate gratitude for the life we have the privilege of living, creativity becomes an expression of the beauty of a grateful heart. Competition breeds fear--fear of losing, fear of failing. Gratitude brings joy. And it's in joy that we create, that we take risks, that we add to be beauty of our world by exercising the talents we've been given. And what's more, gratitude gives us the guts to cheer on our peers and celebrate their victories with out the petty jealousy that comes from competition.

So let's wrap this up with a little call to action: spend the next four weeks listing 5 things you're grateful for everyday. Write them in your planner, make pictograms, get a new journal to jot them in, whatever it takes. But spend the next four weeks being thankful for your life, and see if it doesn't just help open those creative flood-gates. (Or at least remove a roadblock or two!)

Have a wonderfully creative, comparison-free week!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 9

Hello All! Welcome to DAY 9 of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share. I hope you've been inspired to whip up some crafty goodness for the holidays this year!

Today's home decor project uses the My Creations Star by Close To My Heart.

The star comes in white ready for decoration. CTMH has a template that you can print out that allows you to easily cover the star to match your decor. To make this one, I used Pear & Partridge paper. (A single sheet will cover the star with a bit left over.) Before covering, I inked the edges of the star and the paper pieces using Cashmere Exclusive ink. I then adhered the pieces to the star. For the rosette in the middle, I cut two strips of coordinating patterned paper at 2 x 12 inches, scored both at every 1/2 inch and then accordion-folded them. I attached the two strips together to form a ring, and collapsed it in the middle to form the rosette. I used my hot glue gun and two 1-inch circles to secure it. (I've found with larger rosettes, hot glue is a must.) If you want more elaborate edges in your rosettes, you can find several options on the Artiste Cartridge, which is also the cartridge I used to cut the large snowflakes that I layered behind the rosette. The banner is cut by hand from a piece of Kraft cardstock and layered on coordinating patterned paper. I stamped the background in a snowflake pattern using the Pear & Partridge Workshop On The Go stamp set and Bamboo Exclusive ink. "Peace" is stamped in Cashmere Exclusive ink using the Trinity Alphabet stamp set. The small snowflakes were made using a retired punch by Creative Memories (but you could also use the Artiste or Art Philosophy Cricut cartridges to make them). I added some Pearl adhesive gems and a little Almond Glitz for a little extra pizazz. The red pearl stick pins are from my stash.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I hope you enjoyed my little star, and are inspired to go out and create your own. CTMH has some fantastic 3D creative pieces that are simple to embellish and make wonderful gifts. Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered to win some fabulous blog candy from me (a Capture the Date stamp set and a Chocolate Exclusive ink pad!). And you definitely want to go and see what Lynn has been up to at From My Bungalow.

12 Days of Christmas: Day 2

Hello All! Welcome to Day 2 of the Kraft-y Hearts 12 Days of Christmas Blog Share. If you haven't stopped by Lynn Darda's Bungalow yet, be sure to do so. She has the cutest little gift idea!

I hope everyone is having a peaceful Advent Sunday. My family and I will begin decorating our Jesse Tree today. It's one of our favorite Christmas traditions. So in honor of that tradition, today's project is a little ornament I made from an accent cut using the Artiste Cricut Cartridge and a little Almond, Silver, and Stardust Glitz Glitter Gels. 

To make the ornament, I cut 5 shapes at 2 1/2 inches from Cranberry cardstock. (The more cutwork the shape has the more interesting the ornament will be.) To make it easier, I folded each shape in half and then unfolded it again and added the Almond and Silver Glitz. When the Glitz was dry (OH did that take patience!), I folded the shapes again, with the Glitz on the inside of the fold, and glued them together back to back. I then added Stardust Glitz to the very edges of the outside, working in sections so that it wouldn't smear. I added a little 1/8-inch ribbon from my stash to use as a hanger, and it was done!

Here's a close-up of the sparkle:

This little ornament can be made with any shape that is symmetrical. The Artiste and Art Philosophy Cricut cartridges are just full of possibilities! It's quite a simple process, you just want to make sure you give the Glitz time to dry. (Ask me how I know!)

To order any of the items used in this project, just click on the "Shop With Me" button to the right of the page. Now hop on over and see what wonderfully talented Lynn has in store at From My Bungalow!

On the First Day of Christmas: A Little Illumination

Hi All! Welcome to the first day of the Kraft-y Hearts blog share. If you just come from Lynn Darda's blog at From My Bungalow, you're in the right place. If you haven't been there yet, there are more treats in store!

So my daughter and I were trying to figure out if the gifts on the 12 days are cumulative or not. Think about it. By the 12th day, you would have 12 partridges in 12 pear trees. Just contemplating the clean up gives me the heebie-jeebies. I'll take my partridges and pears on paper, please!

Preferably Close To My Heart's Pear & Partridge paper if that's okay. (How's that for a segue?) 

Now for a little illumination:

When I first saw the cuts on the Artiste Cricut cartridge, I thought this little box would make the perfect luminary. I hadn't got around to cutting it out until now, and the cut really is beautiful. Each box is cut from one sheet of Pear & Partridge paper at 2 1/4 inches.  The sides and top of the box have cut work, and the bottom is solid. I thought about putting some clear plastic on the inside, but it caused a glare. However I did add some Christmas Red stickles for a little sparkle, which could easily be substituted for Red Glitz Glitter Gel. (I didn't have any on hand, but I'll be rectifying that situation with my next order.)

Here are a couple of close-ups of the glitter:

And here they are illuminated:

I think they are so cool! Keep in mind they are paper, so make sure you use electric tea lights. (I know that seems like a no-brainer, but just consider it a friendly reminder.)

Here's where they reside on the mantle:

Hope you enjoyed your first day of Christmas (or at least of December).  I'm also doing a little give away for all those who leave a comment and/or become a follower throughout the 12 days. So be sure to let me know what you think!

Now, if you haven't already been there, hop on over to Lynn's Bungalow and see what crafting loveliness she has in store.

Coming At Ya TOMORROW....

Don't forget to join us for fabulous inspiration and fun!

See you tomorrow!

Kraft-y Hearts' September Blog Share Part 3

Celebrating Close To My Heart's September Stamp Of The Month

Hi Everyone! Welcome to Day 3 of our Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share. Make sure you stop by From My Bungalow to see what Lynn has in store to inspire us today!

Here at Violets & Sunshine, we have a little project that would make a great teacher's gift or even a hostess gift. I was inspired by this project from Splitcoast Stampers. (What a creative bunch!)

On with the project!


This is a simple little note holder made from a 7 5/8-inch square sheet of Kraft cardstock. The notes are 3 1/2-inch square. I think I will go back and add a little acorn stamp to the pages in Bamboo exclusive ink (the pigment inks bleed through this paper, which is why they aren't stamped at the moment). I went ahead and stamped each side before folding them down to make it easy. I used Barn Red, Olive, Autumn Terracotta, and Smokey Plum pigment inks all from the Enchantment set.

[If you aren't sure which inks to purchase, I would suggest investing in these pigment sets. I'm finding that there are colors I use more than I thought I would, and a few that I thought I'd use that I'm not using at all. So the ones I use a lot, I'll buy in the exclusive inks as well. Keep in mind that the pigment inks behave differently from the exclusive inks--they are thicker and require a little more dry time, but are permanent and can be used with our alcohol ink markers. Because of that, the types of inks aren't perfect substitutes, but it's still a nice way to try out all the colors relatively inexpensively.]

Here are a couple of close-ups of the stamping:

Colors left to right: Barn Red & Olive

(Colors left to right: Smokey Plum & Autumn Terracotta)

I wanted a little extra support on the bottom of the box, so I cut a thin piece of cardboard to a 3 1/2-inch square and covered one side with paper from the Pemberly paper pack. After I adhered the Burlap Ribbon to the bottom, I added the cardboard and glued it in place.


The ribbon adds a little decorative touch, and help to weigh down the paper. To embellish it a bit, I added a couple of motifs stamped in Chocolate pigment ink from the Basics pigment ink set on Colonial White cardstock and colored with our new alcohol ink markers. I used Honey, Autumn Terracotta, and the light Ruby markers. I cut the motifs out and adhered them to the ribbon and then topped that with a button from the Bohemian assortment. I used a string from a scrap of the ribbon as the tie for the ribbon.



I'll be using this one at home, but it was such an easy project that I'll be making some as hostess gifts. For those, I'll add a little lid to the box, probably using a heavy acetate. I'll do another post on that soon.

I hope you've enjoyed our little blog share and are inspired to create some crafty goodness yourself. This stamp set will be available through September 30th for $5 with a $50 purchase (or for the full price of $17.95, with no other purchase required).

Now don't forget to stop by Lynn's Bungalow for more creative inspiration!

Have a fantastic weekend!

"It's Your Day" To Celebrate Stamping!

September is national stamping month! To celebrate, Close to My Heart is offering a special double stamp set called "It's Your Day" for $5 with a $35 purchase. Here's a little video that showcases this awesome set.

This is an incredibly versatile little stamp set. Perfect for Project Life pages, greeting cards, and so much more.  If you're interested, come and visit my CTMH site to take a look!