Since graduating college and starting my full time gig almost two years ago, I’ve struggled with finding time to be creative. While I don’t have assignments to do in my spare time, work is exhausting in other ways, and it’s difficult to motivate myself to work on projects.
After a couple of months of this, though, I definitely started to feel the lack of creativity in my life wear on me. I decided to purposefully and mindfully make time for creative tasks. Just by changing up a few things in my routine enabled me to fit in time for creativity, and helped provide an outlet from the stress that comes from a typical 9-5.
Make it easy to get to your DIY supplies
Most of my DIY supplies were put away in boxes under my bed or closet to save space in my apartment. My boyfriend and I re-organized our space about six months ago and I made sure I could easily get to my supplies, which helped tremendously.
I can now see my most used supplies just by walking in my room, and it motivates me to create more. We also got a lot of cool shelving to help organize my supplies, which double as decor. My boyfriend is a huge fan of functionality so it was a good compromise!
Use things like Pinterest or Instagram to stay inspired
I constantly look at Pinterest for new ideas, and it’s great at giving me ideas for projects. Not only can you get inspiration, but you can also learn new techniques. You can have just one board dedicated to projects, or different ones depending on the mediums you like to use.
Instagram is also great for quick inspiration, but it’s not as easy to save ideas for projects. I also look at Etsy or other online stores for inspiration! There’s really no limits with finding inspiration for projects on the internet.
Take classes to learn new creative techniques
I touched on this a little bit earlier, but it can be great to learn with hands-on experience. This is a great way to learn more about different mediums and get inspired by other people! I got my boyfriend a glass blowing class for Christmas (that I joined in on), and it was so cool learning how to work with a completely new material. Especially since it’s not something you work with everyday!
Just search for art classes in your area, and you’ll find tons to choose from. Groupon is also a great website to look at because you can find great deals on there!
There are also a ton of online classes to take, and YouTube is a great resource to learn virtually any creative technique. You don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home to learn new ways to be creative!
Write down new project ideas immediately
I have a bullet journal that I use to keep track of my schedule and also my ideas. Anytime I have a remotely good idea, I write it down so I can come back to it later. Once you start writing ideas down, it’s a lot easier to get the ball rolling. Ideas often come in pairs, trios, or groups, so get them all down on paper!
You can also just keep a running note on your phone if you don’t have a planner, or don’t have it with you. I do this all the time if I’m out without my bullet journal, and just add to it when I get home. If you’re anything like me, it’s really easy to forget ideas, so make sure you have them down somewhere!
Plan time to be creative
I know this doesn’t sound very glamorous, but sometimes you just have to plan the time for projects. Dedicate a certain time of the day, week, or month to being creative! Don’t move that time for anything else, and use it to focus on making something that you love. Once you start to consistently schedule in time to be creative, it quickly becomes a habit.
Planning time for creativity also helps you plan for what you want to do, so you aren’t stuck without the supplies you actually need for a project. I’ve been in that situation and it’s extremely frustrating!
Most importantly…
….stay creative! It sounds like simple advice, but try and be creative as much as possible. Once you start making things, it’s easier to keep the ideas flowing and your motivation up. It’s natural to get into a creative rut, but don’t stay there.
What are your favorite ways to be creative?
I got into embroidery about two years ago when I made a couple of shirts for Alex and I before a trip to Disney. It’s actually pretty easy to get started with embroidery! The thread is also really cheap and craft stores have so many to choose from.
During a sale at Michael’s, I got about ten of these square canvases. Since I have so many, one day I tried embroidering a canvas and it was similar to using fabric! I love combining the two now because it adds a 3D element to flat paintings. It’s a little more difficult to embroider canvases, so here are some tips!
Watch where you put the embroidery holes
Since canvases are stiff and tearable, it’s important to watch the hole spacing. If you put them too close, it’s possible to make one giant hole or tear the canvas altogether. You can put the holes close together, but when making things like flowers, be extra careful.
Similarly, don’t put multiple threads through one hole. You can do this with fabric, but it puts too much stress on canvas and can cause tears. There’s no flexibility with canvases so you have to get creative sometimes.
Don’t pull too hard
Be mindful of how hard you’re pulling the thread through the canvas. Again, it can easily tear if you handle it too roughly since the canvas isn’t flexible. I’ve definitely pulled too hard before and caused a slight tear or the hole ended up larger than I intended.
Although canvases are sturdy, they’re more delicate than fabric and have to be handled more carefully. Make sure that there are no tangles in the fabric since that can cause you to pull too hard trying to get the thread through. I tend to make my thread too long so tangles inevitably happen and I’ve wasted so much time getting them out!
Sketch your embroidery design first
The great thing about canvases is you can sketch out your design so easily, and erase it if you don’t like it. You can definitely do this with fabric, too, but it’s a lot easier on canvas. Take advantage of this! Even if there’s already paint on the canvas, it’s super easy to lightly sketch over the top.
I’ve tried freehand embroidery on canvases before and it doesn’t turn out as well if I’m following sketches. I like to figure out the spacing, like with the bike video above, and it tends to look messy. The only things I freehand are small details, like flowers and polka dots.
Try not to back out of the embroidery holes
With fabric, you can easily back the needle out and make a different hole. You can’t do this with canvases since it’s rigid and the canvas won’t “go back” into its original form. Once that hole is made, you have to stick to it unfortunately.
If you absolutely must move the hole, you can try to “pat” the canvas back into place, and even put some paint over it to try and hide the mistake. You can also place the hole where the embroidery thread will cover up the mistaken hole. There are ways to cover up mistaken holes, but it’s harder than regular fabric embroidery.
Good luck!
Canvas embroidery is so much fun and you can produce beautiful results. Over time, your lines will get cleaner and your embroidery will be spaced out well. Search Pinterest to find design ideas, and embroider away!
I hadn’t known that bullet journals were not only planners, but actual journals as well – silly, I know. I personally have (or had, now) a planner, a separate journal for my thoughts, and another journal for goals/ideas. Obviously I couldn’t carry around all three, so I’d usually just carry my planner around with me. My phone is full of notes and ideas since I didn’t always have my “ideas” journal with me, so it would result in a lot of lists later that I couldn’t really make sense of.
With my bullet journal, I can have designated pages that are solely for lists and ideas, or anything else I’d like to put in there. I really like the creative freedom you can have with bullet journals, and that you can follow the system loosely and make up your own rules. I’ve found it’s been great to sit down on Sunday afternoon and figure out the week ahead, and see what all I have to do. It’s quickly become a part of my weekly and daily routine to set up the week on Sunday and get ready, and then come back after work and update my journal.
Another part I love about bullet journaling are the different “trackers.” Currently I have a habit tracker and mood tracker, and I think next month I’ll add in an expense tracker, too. Visually checking in with my goals for the month and year has been helping so much in keeping myself accountable, and it’s cool to see them fill in. I love filling in those little boxes, so it keeps me motivated, too! This has also been great in setting realistic goals, and also seeing where I can push a little more to set a higher goal.
So far I’ve been keeping my journal relatively simple, but I’m excited to become more creative in the future. I love drawing and painting, so my bullet journal will be a great place to be able to do that in, since I don’t have a whole lot of time to dedicate to that. I really love how you can get super creative and elaborate with bullet journals or keep it simple if you like!
The future log is really important for your bullet journal, because it allows you to see the year at a glance and write in important events. So far I’ve mainly written down birthday’s and holiday’s, but as time goes on there’s more and more to put in the log. I added little doodles for each month to give it some personality, too!
Put in any yearly logs you want, or anything else you’ll want to come back to a lot
These are some of the supplies I’ve been using
This post contains affiliate links.
I have been on Etsy so much lately looking at room decor, and everything else really. You can find some really adorable things on Etsy, and it’s super fun to just browse around! While I was looking the other day, I came across a really cool crescent moon dreamcatcher. I have always loved dreamcatchers, and have had a lot through the years. When I saw this one, I knew I wanted to make one like it! I absolutely love DIY-ing, so I really wanted to make one rather than buy it, especially since I knew I could simply make one myself.
Here is all that you will need for this DIY (side note: I got everything from Michaels just to keep this easy! This post is in no way sponsored by them, however!)
How pretty are these feathers?! I saw them and knew I had to use them for this DIY.
I also got these feathers since they are nice and fluffy and large. I also like the natural color that they add to the dreamcatcher since a lot of the pieces are white!
Here is the metal rod cut to the crescent shape!
I have been obsessed with Michaels stone and crystal collection they’ve had in the jewelry section! Everything is seriously so gorgeous, it was so hard to choose which crystal pendants to get. I have this really nerdy rock collection, so the inner rock geek in me was crying when I saw all of the stones.
I got this really pretty shimmery embroidery floss for the web part of the dreamcatcher, and I think it ended up looking so cool! I love how it’s basically a dark copper color, and it really added a cool dimension to the web, especially since they can be kind of bland sometimes.
Here’s a nifty action shot of my dad cutting the metal. He was very proud of himself for making it on the blog, ya’ll (he didn’t realize he wasn’t actually in the shot…poor guy).
These are the little clippers my dad used to cut the metal!
Let’s get started with the actual process:
To get the beginning of the twine to actually stay on the metal, I used a hot glue gun (I completely forgot to take a picture of it, sorry!) to glue the end of the twine down. After it was dry and the twine was secure, I went ahead and started to wrap the twine tightly around the metal.
I first quickly wrapped the twine, and then went back and pushed it all together more.
Once I hit the end of the metal, I did the exact same gluing process as the beginning!
For the strings that hang down, I decided to do slip knots. I first pulled off how much I wanted from the spool, and then doubled it back up it’s length so both sides where the same size. After you have one long string folded in half basically, grab just below the part where it is folded in half.
Fold the loop back behind the base (the metal rod covered in twine).
Put your fingers through the loop, and pull both lengths completely through the loop.
This is how it should look after you pull the whole thing through the loop.
Tighten up the knot, and situate it how you want!
Okay, now time for the web! This is the time I definitely suggest watching the video to see exactly how this is done. I completely forgot to picture this on the first “layer” of the web, but it’s exactly the same process. To start it off, wrap the string around the base about five times, or however many you think it takes to anchor it tightly, and tie it off. So take the tale of the string and fold it to the right of the base, or in this case the second “layer” of the string.
Pull the tale over the second layer. You will see a kind of loop form, especially if you are on the second layer.
Pull the whole tale back through the loop.
Now it’s time for the fun part – decoration! My parents had this copper wire hanging around that I decided to put around some of the string (you can also find this at stores like Home Depot if your parents don’t just happen to have some haha), and I absolutely love how it turned out. To keep the feathers on, I hot glued them to the strings, and tied the string around them to make it appear as though I had tied them on rather than glued them on.
Here’s how everything turned out! I love how the gold feathers look with the more natural ones.
The crystals really add a lot as well!
1. Get festive pillows and put them on your bed, couch, etc.
Christmas pillows are always so pretty, and there are so many to choose from! I love to go to Michaels to get them because they have a lot, and they also have a lot of coupons you can use! This makes the cost of the pillows go down a lot, and also allows you to get a lot!
I found my little Christmas tree in the dollar section of Target (it was $3), and later found the little ornaments for $3 as well! I had the little firefly lights already, but I know Target has some for super cheap as well. It’s super easy to find really cute and small Christmas trees that don’t cost a lot, and also won’t take up a lot of room in your small space! It was also super fun decorating it, even though it didn’t take that long at all.
I found a little kit at Target (I promise this isn’t sponsored by Target!) with gift tags and a bunch of twine. Instead of using the trees as gift tags, I decided to make a little banner out of them and put them by my desk! It was super easy to do, the kit was $3, and it looked so cute once I hung it up! This would also be really simple to do with simple construction paper and twine if you can’t find a kit like the one from Target!
4. Hang up twinkle lights. Everywhere.
I have little fairy lights in my room year-round, but they definitely feel super festive around the holiday season! You could even get some red or green colored lights to layer on top of twinkle lights already there.
Do you like decorating for Christmas?
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day!
With school coming right around the corner for some people, I thought it would be perfect to share with you guys a DIY that’s great for motivation. We all have those days where we feel inadequate for various reasons: a failed test, rejection of any kind, or you just feel down because of stress. I find that when I feel like this, motivational quotes, however cheesy, can really help to get me out of a slump. Making some kind of art piece with the quote is even better, since arts and crafts are so therapeutic. Does that make me sound ninety years old? Probably. But as long as it helps me stay motivated throughout the year, sign me up!
Thanks for reading, have a wonderful day, and dream big!
What You Will Need:
-Mason Jars
-Acrylic Craft Paint
-Paint Brush
-Rubbing Alcohol
-Cotton Rounds
-Sand Paper (not pictured)
1. Start off by cleaning the Mason Jars with Rubbing alcohol to make sure all of the oils are off of the glass and the paint will stick.
2. Begin painting the Mason Jars with a thin first coat. Let the first coat dry completely before you put on a second!!
3. Paint on a second coat once the first is completely dry.
4. If using a lighter color, paint on a third coat once the second coat is completely dry. I had to do this with the pink since it was so pale.
5. Let all of the coats dry over night. This is very important!
6. Once they have all dried completely over night, you can start to sand them to create a distressed look. I had a 120 grit sandpaper, which I found to work great! Just go around and sand wherever you want the paint to look old and distressed, and make sure to especially sand the words so they stand out.
The finished products!
 |
| I used them as vases when my friend got me flowers! |
What You Will Need:
-Cheap plastic cup
-Milk bottles (I got mine from Michael’s)
-Elmer’s glue
-Dawn Dish Soap (any dish soap will work just fine)
-Blue and green food coloring
-Paint brush
1. Add 2 tablespoons of Elmer’s glue to the cup, and 1 tablespoon of water (it’s a 2:1 ratio if you want to change up the amount). Mix until water is incorporated.
2. Add 3 drops of blue food coloring and 1 drop of green, as well as 1 drop of Dawn dish soap. Mix until the “paint” is a nice sea-foam green color.
3. Begin painting one, thin layer onto each milk bottle.
4. Once each milk bottle has a thin layer, you are done! Just let them dry overnight and they will look like the picture below! Don’t worry if they look streaky while drying, they will dry to be a nice opaque color! I was skeptical while I was watching mine dry but they turned out just fine.
 |
| The finished bottles! I put some fake peonies in them because I thought it looked so adorable. |
What You Will Need:
-Small grapevine wreath
-Little fake flowers on a “vine”
