Craving Creativity

I'm not creative... or at least I don't feel creative.  I don't scrapbook (tried digital scrapbooking and finished more, but it's just not my favorite).  I don't sew well. (Okay, I can sew, but I need to read the manual to the sewing machine every time I get it out.)  To be honest, it hasn't been until recently that I've enjoyed creating things in my spare time.  I have had the insatiable desire to find and create beauty.  Maybe it's Pinterest. Maybe it's having a bit more time now that Ben naps.  Whatever the case, I'm thoroughly enjoying stretching my incredibly weak creative muscles.

About a month ago, I finally finished a project for Caleb's room: framed pictures from several of his favorite children's books.  I figure as his interests change we can either change out the pictures or just take them down and use them elsewhere.  The idea came from another blog, but I gave it my own spin.  I bought several frames from garage sales, secondhand stores, and IKEA.

 Caleb's room has white crown molding so I spray painted all the frames to match the molding.  I then made scans of pictures from several of his "read this one again" books and cropped them to be different sizes (5x7, and 8x10) to give the wall some variety.  I meant to have more frames with mattes, but that didn't happen.  Oh well.  Overall, I'm super pleased with how the wall turned out.

  As a mom, any time I finish something outside the daily, I give myself a high five, a pat on the back, and permission to slack for the next 12 hours (just kidding on that last one).  Caleb walked around for days saying, "Thank you for the pictures on my wall!  They look so good! That was very kind of you."  I'm not even lying.  That's the way he talks.  Don't ask me where he got that from.  I'm guessing "Thomas and Friends."

Currently, I'm working on a blanket for Ben.  Watching him snuggle with what I have done so far is all the motivation I need to keep going.  I also found a TON of neutral fabric at a garage sale on Labor Day weekend that I'm excited to turn into a table cloth and perhaps some matching curtains for the dining room.  Oh, and I reclaimed my keyboard from my parents' house to practice my old pieces from college (dreaming of the day we own a piano... so dreaming!) and sing the occasional 10 verses of "This Old Man" with Caleb.

While I love seeing my handiwork around the house, making things look all nice and homey; I think the bigger goal is that my efforts to create will encourage our sons to reflect the image of their Creator by working with their hands, utilizing their imaginations, and just having fun being creative.  If I don't do it, how can I encourage them?  So for this season, I have picked up small projects that bring me joy that I can pursue while mothering.    And I think it's rubbing off.  Caleb painted with watercolors this afternoon for an hour, carefully selecting recipients for each of his masterpieces because, as we've told him over and over, if you don't share what God gives you, you lose it.  Some of the blessed receivers are reading this so act surprised when Caleb hands you a picture with all the enthusiasm a 2 year old can have, okay?