Hitting the Wall: How to Unblock Your Creative Self

I originally planned this post to be about inspiration, but when it came down to writing it I just didn't feel it.  I wasn't feeling creative or inspired.  

I'd hit the wall so to speak.

People hit walls for lots of reasons.  Sometimes I'm tired.  Sometimes I've just pushed myself too hard.  Sometimes I'm just coming to the end of a highly creative cycle.  As a naturally creative person, I usually only work on things when I 'feel it'.  However, when your business also involves creativity, that doesn't always cut it.  Sometimes you've got deadlines or goals you are trying to reach and you just have to find a way to push through.

Here are some of the techniques I use to unblock my creative flow.  

Pinterest

My go to inspiration place is Pinterest.  If I'm having a hard time coming up with ideas, the first thing I do it jump over to my happy place and start looking.  

Sometimes I start a new board and get busy filling it with new ideas.  Other times I pull up boards I've already made and take a walk back through past inspiration.  If you want a look into my pinning, you can follow me.  https://www.pinterest.com/smckamille/  I'm on pinterest almost every day looking for some inspiration.  

Unplug

If pinning doesn't get my creative juices flowing, I know it's time to get away.  I'm not talking about a vacation.  I'm just talking about getting out of the studio and decompressing.  One hour outside can really get your mind cleared out and ready to start fresh.  Even in the depths of Michigan winter I get out walking several times a week.  

Go Off Subject

Sometimes, it's not even about not feeling creative.  It's about being burned out on doing the same old thing.  I'm always looking for new craft ideas.  I recently spent a whole weekend and I'm not even going to get into how much money starting a bullet journal.  I'm in love with this new mashup of planning, journaling, and art.  Just taking a couple of days to unleash another creative side to myself go my chi unblocked.  I actually made 2 new outfits this weekend because getting organized with my bullet journal freed up the part of my brain that's endlessly trying to remember what I need to do.  I just bit the bullet, wrote out my whole calendar, and now my mind is free to focus on creative things and not obsess about missing appointments.  

Another great thing about going off subject is that sometimes you need to have a breather.  I've never been one to focus solely on one creative pursuit.  Look back through my random posts and you will see.  One of my favorite projects was this Daddy Daughter Dance Corsage.  I'm not a florist, but I had a blast looking up tutorials, getting the supplies, and making this adorable corsage.    

So there you have it.  Those are my three go to techniques for getting creative.  

My Newest Paper Bag Album + Layouts

By now, everyone knows that I am crazy about sewing, but what you may not know is that I have an equally sick obsession with scrapbooking.  I especially love mini albums.  My favorite by far are paper bag albums.  I have about 200 of these things made up and sitting in tupperware at my house.  Lisa & I just love getting together and making them.  I was try to stockpile them for some Christmas craft shows, but we really haven't even booked any shows for this fall.  I put a few in our Etsy Shop but for the most part they are just sitting around here.  Sometime I like to make one that it over the top fabulous.  I'll probably start giving a new mini album layout every Sunday on our blog, just because I love them so much.  These are really awesome and affordable Christmas gifts, especially for people you work with.  I even put one in the mailbox every Christmas for Gretchen - our mail carrier. 

I came up with this Sweet 16 Album because I wanted to get out my Cricut and actually get some use out of it and because I had this wonderful stack of paper I have been dying to use. 

The basics of making a paper bag album are pretty simple, you sew a couple of bag together.  I like to make 8 page albums (sewing 2 bags together), but some people make the albums huge. I've seen them with 30+ pages.  You can only sew 3-4 bags together without breaking your sewing machine needle.  IF you want to go bigger than that, you should use rings or just tie it together with ribbon.  I've said it before, you need to buy a 2 hole punch.  It will punch through anything. 

Then, you can stitch down the papers or stick them down with tape.  I've done it both ways.  Tape is easier.  For the cover I used my Cricut to cut out the title with a shadow and the mats.  It's the cartridge that comes with the machine.  Under the mat, cover paper, I put a huge piece and tulle and then tied it in a bow with a charm.        

For the next layout, I added more mats from the cricut and some of the scrollwork from the Home Decor cartridge.  I also taped down a little remnant of beaded trim I had in the stash.

For decoration I've got some primas with buttons in the center.  For the tag, I folded a foil flower in half, stapled it down, and then added a sticky gem.  I inked the tag with pink. 

This album is 6x6.  These are the huge bags you get at CVS or Meijer.  The dollar store only has the smaller bags that make a 4.5x5 album (which I normally make).  For this layout, I cut a circle page in 4 pieces and used 2 to make pockets.  I used some felt sticker details, metal words, and more primas.  Inside I have pull out pages for more photos.  I stapled folded primas onto them as tabs and then I used some glitter decals.  Lisa made some donations for Colorblok for a charity event and they gave us a ton of freebies.  They are right down the street from us and I love to buy from them. 

On this page I did a triple mat for each of the photo layouts.  The tags are embellished with more primas and scrollwork from the Home Dec cartridge.  I tied a big bow to hold the tags in. 

On the back, I have a bunch of layered flowers.  I jazzed them up by adding some flower shapes I made out of tulle.  These flowers are really expensive, so I try to add tulle when layering to make them go further. 

Here, you can see my pull out pages that were tucked into the pockets on the bags. 

Happy Crafting!

Saving Art

My 3-year-old daughter has repeated her personal affirmation so many times lately.  Truthfully, I don't know where she comes up with this stuff.  But, I love her motto. 

"I am going to be an artist.  If I can't be a good one, I'll be a bad one."

Up until about a week ago, all of her art looked pretty much like this.  She would present me with a drawing and proclaim, it a rocket ship, or a princess, or a garden. 

Last week she brought me this drawing and said it was an ocean full of animals. 

They actually look like something.  I guess she had a breakthrough. 

Her latest art project from her first day of preschool:

It actually inspired me to start scanning her artwork into the computer to make a photo book for her.  I am going to keep all of the projects, photographing the 3-d versions and mix in some photos from this year.  At the end of 2010 I am going spend a few hours and make a digital scrapbook on snapfish for this year. 

Happy Crafting!

Sarah