Create

I've always been an artsy person. Creating is simply part of me. It makes my heart happy when I add a little cuteness to the world. Having the many everyday responsibilities that I do being a wife, mother, serving in church, etc, at times I have wondered if taking time to create was wrong. Was I wasting my time creating these things? The thought weighed on my mind. Friends of mine have had the same sort of thoughts.

My friend, Cari, shared this on her blog...

"I have been stressed lately.
Just everyday-life-with-2-kiddos-and-a-hubby kinda stress.
But stress nonetheless.
Crafting is my stress relief.
I decided a few weeks ago that I need more time to spend on
MY NEEDS.

I know, scandalous for a mom to admit, right?"
 
Have you felt scandalous for taking time just to be creative?

As Brother Mitchell would say, "guilty, say guilty."

President Uchtdorf said this in a talk to the women...



{You can read the entire talk here > Happiness, Your Heritage. It is very inspiring.}

 
Cari, went on to challenge us in her post...

"What can you create for $5?

Redo a piece of furniture?

Create/spruce up an article of clothing for yourself or a loved one?

Fill a long empty flower pot?

Add a touch of art to a barren wall?

Make a thoughtful gift for a friend in need?

Organize your sad junk drawer?

Oh, the possibilities!"
 

I love challenges, they get me focused, so I decided to play. I had no idea what my project would be. I have an ever growing {wish I had time} to-do list. In my mind I jumped from one project to the other. I went through my stash of found things in my craft room, old empty frames, wood and fabric scraps, ugly things waiting to be beautified. I would pull something out and start on it but I just wasn't feeling it. Well, the due date for the challenge came and, luckily, I wasn't the only one who needed more time to finish up, so the challenge was extended. Whew. I've been really into decorating lately since we recently moved into a new place. I like to go to home decor sites for inspiration to look at how they arrange and decorate.

At potterybarn.com I saw this "nest" pillow and thought it would look great on our entryway bench but there was no way I was going to spend $50 on a little pillow. Inspiration hit! I have these placemats from Target on my dinning room table.

Perfect!, I thought. I can use one to make a cute little pillow and it will pull together all of the colors I used throughout the house. I went to the dinning room and studied a placemat. When I realized it was lined on the back, I did the futterwacken. Awesome.
All I had to do was cut a few inches off the top to make it more of a lumbar size pillow, stuff, and stitch it back together at the top. Easiest pillow ever!
My entryway bench...

beautified for under $5. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Head over to Cari's blog and join the fun > Are You Up For a Little Challenge? (or you can add a link in my comments to your $5 project) The due date is no longer the 18th...just pick a $5 project and create.

More $5 projects to come after girls camp. This challenge has got my creative mind racing. Thanks for the push, Cari.