Ten things the child in you wants to tell you {about creating}

I'm linking up for the prompt, "ten", today over at Kate Motaung's place for Five Minute Friday, where we write for five minutes straight without fancy edits. Just writing for the fun of it. 

I've been taking an online mixed media course and for Five Minute Friday, I wanted to share a list of ten things I think my inner child has told me over these few weeks of creating. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking that you could use some reminders, too.

1.  That it’s perfectly okay to make mistakes. There are no mistakes really, only happy accidents. This little one inside of you knows this. Listen to him/her.

2. That the fun is in the exploring and trying new things. The fun is not in being perfect. Try saying, “what would happen if I_______________?

3.  Art heals and opens up my soul. The little child in you needs to be given permission to come out to play. Listen to those soul urges! And, create just for the joy of it.

4.  It’s good and right to be curious. 

5.  To look at life with eyes of creativity and maybe a little humor and lightheartedness.

6.  The child in you knows it’s never too late to create. Taking up acrylic painting or beadmaking in your 50’s? Heck yeah!

7.  Don’t be afraid to let go of outcomes. Letting go of how something is going to turn out is very freeing and frees up creativity that has gone stagnant or underground.

8.  Embrace the journey of art and creativity. Everything is a process. 

9.  You might not like your creation in the middle. Keep going.

10.  Listen to your intuition or soul whispers. Your soul is speaking. If you get a chance to get quiet. Listen to what the little eight year old in you would want to say. What they would want to tell you about what to create. You’ll hear those whispers and the creating will happen.

Thanks for stopping by for this list of ten things the child in you knows about creating.

Blessings to you, friend!

~Anne

for when you can't create

Linking up (a little late) with the brave writers over at Five Minute Friday, where we write for five minutes straight. No fancy edits. Just writing for the fun of it. Won't you come on over to Kate Motaung's place and join in? This week's prompt is "free". 


Have you ever felt like you'd like to create something and there was a big boulder sitting on your muse? Like a traffic blockade, the creative juices just won't run. They're stopped up like your stuffy nose with a cold (okay, maybe TMI).

This happened to me a few days ago. I sat down to paint. To create. I really wanted to. But, the negative gremlins were screaming loud. I couldn't figure it out.

"I love to paint," I said to myself.

"What is wrong with me? Why do I feel like crying instead?"


The voices said,

"you'll never be as good as ________________, so why bother?"

"you'll never be good enough to sell your art, so why bother?"

"who do you think you are?"

I know I'm not the first, nor the last to have these kind of voices screaming inside my head. Trying hard to convince me that I'm done as an artist (and feel like I've only just begun!) 

{They're}trying to tell me that I might as well hang up the artist hat and apron and brush because it's all a waste of time anyway.

So, I wiped my tears and got up from my creative space.  I went over to the chair where I do most all of my journaling and started writing. I figured that maybe if I started writing out my feelings, something might unearth. 

Some reason for the gremlins shouting loud.

And, you know what? Something did surface!

I had just recently had an art wound that I had already started to cover up with other negative and positive emotions.

Journaling. Writing. Freed me.
Freed me to sit down at my creative space again.

And, create with joy.

Thanks for stopping by today, friend! Blessings to you!

~Anne

Six important things I learned in June

Linking up with other writers over at Emily Freeman's blog for her "what we learned" link up! Taking time to share big things as well as the ridiculous and mundane. Come on over to see what other writers have learned in the month of June!


1.  The mixed media painting class I'm taking from kellyraeroberts.com is teaching me lots more than just how to paint. Here are a few things I've learned in this online class.

--let go of outcomes
--trust the process
--there are no mistakes, just happy accidents
--perfection isn't needed or welcomed
--be messy and have fun

a painting in midstroke

I've always had a hard time with ALL of these things, and who'd have thought an online painting class would challenge me in these exact areas!? I'm loving every minute of it. I'm learning to let little Anne get messy and have fun! Priceless learning in creativity and art.


2.  Just because you might get a great deal on a nice pair of sandals at the Bass Outlet, doesn't mean you will love them. From the moment I started wearing them, the left one (because of a cushy sole) started making a "whishing" noise with every step I took! I told my daughter and she promptly said, "Oh! You mean they're wheezing?"  

Great, my new sandals wheeze. So embarrassing. Now, the right one wheezes, too, so I guess it's balanced.

3.  My heartstrings are being tugged by a little red house outside the little town of Ljungby, Sweden. Oh, my heart! Read last Friday's post about it here.

4.  Our family has been catching up on all the Season One and Season Two episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. We've gotten angry together, worried about whether Sky was ever going to find her dad and mom, worried who might be dead, etc. 

We only have about four episodes left and then I think I'm going to go through withdrawls until September rolls around for Season Three. People, this is all the TV I watch, except occasionally the news and 60 Minutes!

5.  Inside Out is a movie for every. person. to. watch. I am not kidding. This is not a movie review, this is a plea. Not only is this movie funny and creative, but it will give you and your friends/family a whole new way to talk about your emotions. And, who doesn't need that in today's world? 

6.  When water is pouring into your basement window during a deluge of rain, and you don't own a mop??  Last week, we had a huge amount of rain and right about midnight, water started seeping, then gushing into a basement window. We have since discovered that this thing will likely happen if the gutter closest to the window is plugged with leaves. 

my son and daughter helping to mop

But, at midnight, we didn't think of fixing the gutter. All we could think of was get every towel in the house!! and I was thinking, we don't even have a MOP!! I have a Swiffer, but that isn't going to do anything to sop up leaking rain water! 

So, at 2:30am, my daughter got in the car to brave the roadways to get us a mop. As she went out the door I yelled, get two!
And, we needed every strand on each of those mops to soak up water. 

Lessons learned that night. 1) Make sure your gutters are clean, 2) make sure you have a real mop in your house.

Thanks for stopping by today, friends, to see what I learned in June!
And, Happy 4th of July!

~Anne