Cakes and Cookies and Rolls, Oh My!

My interview today was a *huge* success!  The area manager was super lovely and asked lots of nice questions which I totally had the answers to (^_^) There are two jobs available at the store in my town, one as a Team Member @ 18 hours p/w (which I applied for) and one as a Senior Team Member (I know, right?) @ 30 hours p/w, which involves some supervisory/managerial work too.  I wasn't sure I'd be suited to the Senior position but the area manager has asked me to come back tomorrow to complete the extended 'Senior Interview' - he thinks I have what it takes!  Woo!  Having a 30 hour week would mean I could quit my unreliable yet easy evening job and devote a set time to my crafting and developing my independent business.  And it would be a much better salary too!  Fingers crossed!

Today is also the start of my 40 day sugar ban and exercise plan and it's been a success *yay* I walked to a from my interview in town which took me 30 minutes (exercise - check) and managed to resist the rows of pretty cakes and tasty looking cookies (those gingerbread men...wow) so I'm feeling pretty good that this challenge got off to a good start.  I don't know how well I'll do if I'm around all those yummy foods every day though...Must develop a will of steel!

I've been feeling a little "blocked" creatively recently.  I don't know if it's a combination of finding-work stress and planning-trip-and-funds stress and keeping-family-happy stress, but I've found myself sitting and waiting and trying to be creative and simply drawing a blank.  So I dug back into Creativity Bootcamp today (after forever, eep!) and did an exercise called "Morning Pages".  I know the clue is in the name, but I was busy getting prettified for my interview this morning so I set aside some time this afternoon and filled three pages of my notebook with random writings.  Nothing in particular, nothing overly insightful, just pouring out all those clogging thoughts that were impeding new ideas from flowing.  And do you know, I think it helped.  Just walking to my interview and back, I saw so many things that sent creative bells ringing in my head.  I'm thinking about doing this a few times a week to clear away any 'mind-junk' that gathers!  I found it to be a really useful exercise for me (^_^) Hope you're all having a swell Wednesday - it's almost the weekend, yay!

Late Night Early Morning Busyness!

My boy and I had a *great* time last night (^_^) He "picked me up" at 7, we prepared and ate our delicious tuna sandwiches, went for a walk through a hugely funny haunted house and watched a movie called 'Identity' (all in keeping with the haunted/creepy theme of the night) We talked for hours, over sandwiches, coffee and cake and I really enjoyed every moment of it.  It's my turn to host date night next Sunday, I hope I can make mine just as much fun!

I weighed in this morning and I gained a whole pound *SAD* Curse you, chocolate fudge cookies and Victoria sponge cake!  So I'm back to 161 *huffs* I posted Kyla's postcard today, fingers crossed it makes it to Canada in one piece!  Ooh, and the kittens had to take a trip to the vet to be neutered, micro-chipped and vaccinated today, we picked them up at just after 4pm and they're all doing really well.  Sleepy and cute and a little bit sore, in need of lots of hugs (and absolutely ravenous!)

I didn't have work *again, jeez* so I got stuck into some more of the Creativity BootCamp I've been doing and my word prompt for the day was 'hidden'.  I wanted to do some more experimenting with paper and sewing so this is what I made!

This is the first time I've ever sewn a blanket stitch, despite wanting to have learned it for yonks.  I was inspired by the date my boy and I had last night, love was definitely in the air (^_^) All I did was make a 'door' in a piece of black card and back it with a square of purple parchment decorated with a yellow heart.  There are so many things that could be done with it too, like adding a cute little picture or a message - The possibilities are endless!  I really enjoyed making it, it was so much fun to learn a new stitch and try my hand at it.  I think it turned out pretty well too!  I'd probably put this on the front of a card or maybe on a notebook to decorate it, or I'd include it with a letter to my boy as a sweet little surprise (^_^) I'm really enjoying this sewing-on-paper thing, my mind is bubbling with all the different things I could do!  Hope you're having an awesome Monday (^_^)

And Now For Something Completely Different

Well, different but still on the creative theme (^_^)
I spent ages trying to decide how to make this postcard for Kyla.  I wanted to do some wire work but that can get kind of bulky and it deforms so easily in the mail.  Then I figured I'd attempt some parchment craft but, again, it's pretty fragile and might get wrecked on the way to Canada.  So, with some encouragement from Creativity BootCamp, I tried something still connected to my paper craft but different to what I normally do.  Et voilà!  My very first paper/card/button/sewing creation!

I was inspired by a clothes magazine that came out of my brother's Metal Hammer (a magazine for rock and metal music) which was showcasing punk/goth/rock style clothing.  I initially wasn't going to stitch at all but I wanted to attach buttons and make sure they didn't come off!  I love origami too, I've always been keen on Japanese art and culture and it felt right to add a little origami heart to the slightly awkward looking skull.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, since it was a bit of an adventure planning and creating it.  I wasn't sure how to place my stitches around the edge of the skull and sewing on paper, I discovered, is very different to sewing with fabric!  There's far less room for error!  Despite a few little mistakes, I took it slowly and I really enjoyed making it.

The point of the exercise in Creativity BootCamp is to branch out into new directions creatively and see if I could discover another side to my creativity, something else I could make and enjoy.  And I did!  I'm not sure yet how I'll refine the process of stitching with paper and using a combination of materials in crafting, but I'm going to have a lot of fun finding out (^_^)

In other, terribly exciting news, tonight my boy and I are having a Skype Date Night, which I'm really looking forward to!  He's told me to wear my favourite colour and that the theme of the night is 'haunted'.  I'm so curious to find out what he's planned for us!  We're going to make some scrummy tuna sandwiches together and eat, then who knows where the night will take us!  It's difficult, being in a relationship with someone so far away, but we make the effort to keep things interesting and show each other that we really care and are invested in our relationship (^_^) Roll on May, I can't wait to see him again!  Hope you're having an awesome Sunday!

Music Is What Feelings Sound Like

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Music is a huge part of my life.  I know I'm not alone in this *grins* I'm never without my music; whether I'm outside walking, inside working or even talking on Skype with my boy, I always have music playing.  I love all different kinds, from heavy metal to classical, pop to rock and all those different genres in-between.  It just depends on my mood.  My two favourite genres would have to be heavy/prog rock (Coheed and Cambria...You rule my world) and 80s pop music.  C'mon, 80s pop is awesome.  Look past the day-glo, lurid make up and curly perms *shudder* The 80s was freakin' awesome for music.

Music helps me concentrate.  It inspires me.  It blocks out distractions and keeps me focussed, which helps when I don't have my own space to work in.  My MP3 player, Chuck, has seen me through long journeys, 4000 word essays  and now he helps me work on my crafting.  I would be lost without him.  Most of the time I put him on shuffle (<-- best invention *ever*) and just let the music roll.  But I do have a few favourites for particularly emotional times.

When I'm super, super happy, nothing gets me up and dancing like 'Burning Down The House' by Talking Heads, 'We Close Our Eyes' by Go West or 'Let's Dance' by David Bowie.  Not to mention the awesome cheesiness of Abba's 'Head Over Heels' (it's not one of their most popular ones but go listen, it's seriously good).  Whenever I hear anything by Coheed and Cambria it brings a smile to my face (they really do rock my socks) and then, of course, there's 'Hey, Soul Sister' by Train, which just so happens to be "our song", which makes me grin like a crazy person and think about my wonderful boy.

Then there are those times when I'm feeling a bit miserable or annoyed at something, so I get some Disturbed or Three Days Grace going, something I know is going to fire me up, get me motivated to get rid of my negativity.  Something I can sing along to, loudly, is always good too, like 'Shout' by Tears for Fears or pretty much anything Lady Gaga has done (I never thought I'd like her and I totally resisted for ages but wow, she's awesome...Huge girl crush on the Gaga)

I rarely use the word 'fabulous' to describe people but...Gaga is fabulous
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I'm still working on my postcard to Kyla @ Freckled Nest - I decided to do something a little bit different, it's my first experiment with paper, buttons and sewing.  I'll post some pictures tomorrow! I'm  looking forward to sending it, Kyla has been a big inspiration to me on my creative journey (^_^)

So tell me - what kind of music do you like?  What inspires you?  What lifts you up when you're down and makes you want to crazy dance when you're happy? 

Have an awesome Saturday!

Pick-A-Chures

I'm no photographer but I *love* taking pictures.  Capturing moments in time that could otherwise be lost is such an interesting and beautiful concept.  Normally, I only take pictures or people or places, events that I've been to that I want to remember.  Since I've started blogging, I've really been thinking about how to set up a shot, where to focus, what I want the point of the picture to be, what I want it to say.  It's a lot of fun to use my camera in a different way (^_^)

Working through the Creative Bootcamp, my creative challenge today was to go out and take pictures.  That's it.  Just go, explore, take different pictures of different things and see what happens.  So that's what I did!

Baby Snail! *squee*

I took a good look at the pictures I took and I see that I'm really attracted to nature, lots of green and close-up shots!  I think I like the detail of it, being able to see all the lines and colours and picking up on the little parts that could be missed in a wider shot.  I feel this represents my creative style as a whole; I enjoy working on the details, making sure nothing gets overlooked and, even if I'm working on something very simple, I like to make sure that every part of it is just right.  I really enjoyed taking my camera out today and exploring different ways to create an image!

I really love sending and receiving mail, as I've already said (^_^) One of my favourite bloggers Kyla Roma, who I've been following for quite some time and who has really inspired me, has invited her readers to send postcards and mail to her, so I'm going to make and send her a postcard!  As she said, there's nothing more exciting than getting something beautiful in the mail!  Think it's time to get my craft things out and get creative (^_^)

Don't You Just Hate It When Something Ruins Your Flow?

'Process'

Creativity Boot Camp suggested thinking about 'Creative Buzz-Kills' today, things that disturb me when I'm working, things that halt my creativity in it's tracks, that make me feel like I'm not creative, artistic or even doing anything worthwhile.  And, since I'm here, I thought I'd write about a few things that stop me from reaching my full potential and how I plan to overcome them.

Creative Buzz-Kill #1 - My Self Doubt

I'm never sure if I'm good enough.  I get so excited to start creating, making big plans about starting a business and working for myself, doing what it is that I love every day.  But there's always that nagging voice, telling me it's impossible, I don't know enough, I'm not creative enough, I couldn't handle it.  It's really a fear of failure and trying to avoid it at all costs, as though I'm setting myself up for a fall and it's kinder to myself to just back away now.  But really, truly, I know in my heart that whatever creative endeavours I pursue, however great or small my success may be, I won't have failed.  I'll be brave, I'll be adventurous, I'll take calculated risks and allow myself to be out there, to try it, to really be an artist and create.  I'm not going to let that nagging doubt foil my plans to follow my heart.

Creative Buzz-Kill #2 - My Parents

My parents are wonderful, laid-back, caring people who love me.  They always said that they'd support me, no matter what it is I decided to do with my career.  They neglected to mention the "as long as it's a proper job" part of that promise.  I once mentioned to my mother that I liked performance art and linked her to some of the work my course lecturer had created.  It was beautiful, extraordinary and unusual.  I don't think my Mum, who describes herself as 'open-minded', has ever been so shocked, bewildered and dismissive of something.  Blogging is "a waste of time" to my parents, it's "boring" and, essentially, pointless.  Creating things?  Well, that's okay if we need Christmas or birthday cards/gifts, but if not...What's the point?  I've stopped mentioning my creative ambitions to my parents as the negative feedback I get really hits home.  I just want them to be proud of me, but I also want to be happy in my work.  For quite some time, I felt like I was letting them down by not wanting a "proper" job (for years, I'd wanted to be a Renaissance lecturer at a university) and being, in their eyes, slightly weird.  Now, I want to be happy with my choices and to do that, I need to follow what I believe is the best direction for me and not live by anyone else's standards or expectations.  And that's exactly what I'm doing to do.

Creative Buzz-Kill #3 - Lack Of Personal Space

I don't currently have a bedroom.  I also don't have a space I can work without interruption or distraction.  Most of my craft materials are packed away in boxes, under the stairs or in the loft.  It drives me absolutely *nuts*.  I use the dining table to work at but I have to pack up for dinner/homework/laundry, I can't leave anything out for fear it will be moved/damaged (by people or cats) and it's impossible to work at a steady, comfortable pace when people are in and out, kittens want cuddles and I'm never sure when I'll have to shift everything at a moment's notice.  Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do to help this situation at the moment so I figured - Keep It Simple (for now!) Work with a few chosen creative items *parchment & origami paper, blank card, wire, beads*, use them in unfamiliar ways, fully explore and expand the creativity I have within these options and enjoy discovering everything I can do.  Everything I need in order to create, I have within my reach.  I'm going to live happy knowing that one day, soon, I will have my craft space and, soon after that, *hopefully* my studio.  Patience is a virtue!

It feels really great to talk about that!  I'm glad I was able to focus on a few of the things that impede my creativity and figure out ways to manage them.

What kind of things dampen your creativity?  How do you go about dealing with them?

Finding(s) My Way Forward

I'm so punny *snorts* Moving on...

I forgot to say yesterday, but some incredibly speedy sellers got my Ebay purchases delivered to me the day after I'd paid!  Really was super super quick!  I am now the proud owner of approximately 800 jewellery findings and some exceptionally pretty spacer beads.  Just waiting for my cloisonné beads and gemstone chips to arrive, then there will be no stopping me.  Right after I figure out what everything is.

I'm really so excited for the Indie Business course; people from all over the world are going to be taking part! It really will be an amazing, enlightening, informative and incredibly fun experience.  I can't wait!  In order to almost "prep" myself, I decided to undertake {this} 2-week creativity bootcamp!  There is a workbook and a guide to download and it's all wonderfully free (thank you so much!) I think it's going to be a really useful tool in helping me understand where my creative passions lie and channelling that into something I can be proud of.  It starts with a letter to my future-self (I love writing these - I've got one to open on my birthday this year which I wrote January 1st...I already forgot what I wrote) and the word "scarlet" as my inspiration for today.  With limited access to my craft supplies (under the stairs, behind bikes, fans and cat litter) I made it very simple, creating an origami envelope to house my letter, decorated with a scarlet origami heart.  It's really pretty and I'm pleased with how it turned out (I've made several of these before but they've never come out this good, due to my apparent inability to cut/fold/do anything in straight lines) I'm looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what my task and inspiration are!  I'm feeling more creative already (^_^)