Where Do I Begin?

I have a birthday coming up this week...let's say I'm fairly certain I've already lived the first half of my life.  And that's ok, it's what I do with the rest that intrigues me...

I have a lot of dreams, desires and hope for tomorrow and all the tomorrows I may enjoy.  There are a few things I wish I had done differently, but at this point it doesn't really matter.  I'm here and I'm ready to write several more chapters.

I figure it's never too late to be healthier and more fit so I have embarked on a wellness program.  I've been stumbling a bit, but I will continue, taking little steps along the way that will eventually add up to a whole lot of improvement.

My family is my number one priority.  Always has been and always will be.  They are the reason I get up each day and more forward with plans to better myself.  I owe them the best me I can be.  Without their love and support I would lost.

I love to craft.  I love to write.  I love music. I love Mother Nature. I would not know how to get from morning to night without visiting with the "creative" me for a few hours.  It is how I breathe.  Some may find it odd that I would take on developing a home business at my age, I should be retiring in a few years.  No, I don't think so.  I feel that my best work is still to come and I long to dive into it head first.  Work continues on my craft room/space and I am constantly finding new ways to use the talents my DNA has given me.  My crochet, knitting, sewing, journaling, jewelry design & scrapbooking will travel with me until my last breathe.  The music in me accompanies and soothes with every step I take.  And words, oh my, words never cease to amaze, confound and delight me as they tumble across the page expressing my innermost thoughts, dreams, desires and hopes as well as the demons, 

the fears and the failures.

Turning 63 may be daunting to some.  To me, it's just the beginning of a long and wondrous journey.  My hand is outstretched in friendship; I hope you will journey with me from time to time.

Where Do I Begin?

Social Media vs. Creative Time

I have yet to find a comfortable balance between the time I spend being social and the time I spend creating what I want to be social about.  Everything I make is made just by me, I'm not  part of a group, I don't have any helpers plus I have 40+-hour a week job outside my home and a family.  So I struggle daily with how much time I devote to blogging, tweeting, pinning, instagram and Facebook (I'm on Google+ but I haven't had time to figure out what that is yet)...and then there is the time I spend reading the blogs I follow.  

So when do I create?  If I don't have anything to promote, why spend the time trying to promote it and if I don't promote, why bother creating?

I know if I want to get anywhere making a brand/name for myself, I must promote, advertise, be social, get my "stuff" out there.  It's daunting and  I do wonder sometimes if I'm just chasing an elusive dream...

For as long as I can remember I have always been creative; and I have over the years dabbled in promotion and sales; craft fairs, home shows...so far word-of-mouth has been my best source of customers.  But, what do I do if I want more, want to be bigger, reach a larger audience, really make a difference in the number people talking about my work and ultimately of buying customers?

Today with all of the social media venues; and the relatively cheap cost of using them, the opportunities  are truly endless.  As I get further into social media I am learning how to make one "click" work in more than one  place at a time and that is a HUGH step - the 'ole work smarter not harder!

But even as I type this post, I can hear that stash of yarn over there calling me and the headbands that aren't finished (and are already sold!); and then there's the jewelry I'm fixing for a friend and the pendant that needs a necklace, and the hair bows, the shopping totes, the purses, the doll clothes.....I could go on and on and on.  Yes, I feel as tho I'm in a revolving door...so, where do I begin?

Any suggestions?

Inspiration?

Inspiration, where does it come from and more importantly, where the hell does it go?  Boy it's great when the ideas come rushing in like a flood; but, when you reach the desert it can make you wonder if you've ever had a creative moment in your life.  My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was maybe 6 or 7; my mom taught me to knit and sew at the same time.  Both of them have always been an inspiration to me and sometimes all I have to do is think of the times spent with them, watching, practicing and attempting to make my work look like anything close to theirs.  And then there are those times when nothing makes the needles fly and I simply have to leave what I am doing and come back to it at a later time when the creative spark is fully ignited.

Something that has been helping lately is recalling and revisiting in photos the amazing trip that my husband, Bob and I were able to take this past August.  Bob's brother Sean and his wife Jane invited us to their home on Pender Island in British Columbia, Canada.  Above is the view from the back patio and actually from every window along the back of their home.  They designed the home to take advantage of this amazing view.

All around the house beautiful flowers, plants and trees greeted us every day as we would make our way around the island.  Most every day we took the boat out to view Pender from the Gulf or to make our way to one of the other islands nearby.  Probably the best day we had was boating over to the Farmers Market on Saltspring.  The food, flowers, crafts and musicians were amazing.  I don't think it is something I will ever forget.  And on our way back to Pender we stopped at the spot where we had dropped a trap earlier in the day to pick up our fresh crab for dinner.  It doesn't get much better than that.

A tree native to the area, the Arbutus was all over the island.  The bark is a cinnamon color but when wet turns almost lime green.  Amazing.  Wish I could grow one here in Kansas.

Just looking at these pictures reminds me what a wonderful world we live in and how fortunate I have been to visit and enjoy this picturesque part of the Pacific Northwest.  And whenever I end up in the desert of lost inspiration, all I have to do is pull up these photos and know that if I wait a minute or two the road to creativity will present itself and I will be on my way once again.

I hope that you have something that feeds your creative soul and makes it bloom!