Friends! I have a question for you….
Why do you create? Why do you refinish furniture, sew, paint etc the way you do? Do you do it for yourself? Do you do it so when other people walk in your house they are ASTOUNDED by your mad skills? Do you do it to make your husband mad?
I was talking to my favorite person in thew world who shall remain anonymous (to protect the guilty) and she was feeling bad because some people she really likes (her friends) were not that nice about her MAD decorating skills. (Which by the by are just like mine; so of course they are awesome) It made her feel super bad because she didn’t walk into a store and buy everything, she worked really hard creating it. So it got me thinking. Why is it so important for us to have other people approve; even people we don’t necessarily like?
Now children sit down and I will tell you a story.
Once upon a time there was a BEAUTIFUL queen named Mandi. She had just discovered a new love called Yellow Spray Paint. When the king came home from golfing he asked what the crap she was doing. The beautiful queen told him to suck it and now their palace is the talk of the land (or at least the ward.)
The moral of the story is:Â If I had stopped with literally the first piece of furniture that I tried to beautify because my hubs didnt understand “The Vision” then none of us would be here reading this right now.
So who of you face these nay sayers and what do you do about it?
I started doing it because it was an inexpensive way to decorate my apartment and home. Then I did it because I would see something and realize I could make it and probably make it better.
Then I did it because I love the finished product and how it makes me feel…for my sanity.
And now I do it when I have to.
I’ve come full circle. I don’t create so much but I appreciate seeing other’s creations and even buying them because I know the value of handmade things.
So there…more then you wanted to know? You asked for it!
I started sewing because I have always wanted to learn…still new to it and learning. Anyway, my husbando travels A TON and when not traveling has to work pretty late. As much as I LOVE reality TV…i knew there was better things to do with my time after work.
soooooo….
My mother-in-law loaned me her older machine (which I affectionately name Shirley for whatever reason) and I began sewing about 2 months ago. I’m in love with sewing because I feel like it’s productive and allows a creative outlet for me. The projects have become a friend in my house when it can feel rather empty. I also love sewing because my job can be VERY stressful and it’s an outlet that threads the stress away…..AHHH…my husbando is especially appreciative of this factor!!!
As for nay sayers….I’m sensitive too, but if we let nay sayers run our lives, and not just in sewing, we’d be pretty miserable people eh???
So kill em with kindness…and SEW ON!
xoxo to all the ladies who inspire me daily!
Fler
great post! I used to have people (my friends) calling me crazy and telling me to change my clothes because I have a unique sense of fashion. Its not bad, its just unique. Eventually those embarrassed friends became the same people that said to me….wow…I could never pull off wearing that.
I stuck with being me & told them to suck it up!
🙂 🙂 🙂
I do it because it’s a theraputic way of expressing yourself, of feeling a sense of accomplishment, of having fun and saving money all in one. And for a little bit of the “wow” factor from others.
I don’t understand though why you’d be friends with someone who is openly critical about your style. A real friend loves you for ALL of you. If they’re putting down when you are and what you do, then they don’t love you for all of you and therefore are not real friends. Just how I feel about my friends. That’s all. 😀
Um I’m thinking my answer is all of the above.
1. Creative outlet: need it.
2. Cheap/Frugal: you betcha.
3. I’m ca-razy. Just how it is.
I say suck it to everyone else and do whatever you want, too. Workin’ on that in a personal way.
I don’t think I made any sense.
Hi! I just found your blog yesterday, and I love it!
I have a couple of reasons why I create, as Im sure mst of us do. The first being, that it just makes me feel good. It calms me, inspires me, makes me happy and is just generally good for my mental health.
My next reason has to do with growing up poor. I had a knack for interior design and all things artsy, but I didnt have any money, and my house was less than spectacular. I had to get creative to surround myself with things that made me feel good. The first thing I made was a desk, out of some old crates and a piece of ply wood. If only I had known the wonders of spray paint back then. Now my reasons are basically the same. I want beautiful, things and I dont want to spend a ton for them. I also want them just the way I want them, so its easier to make them, than search them out. Any other crating I do is purely for fun, and because I love it!
Whew! Sorry I wrote a novel in your comments:)
Oh I almost forgot! To the haters? I know they are just jealous of my mad skillz so I just brush it off.
Great post! I initially started creating because we didn’t have the money to just run out and buy everything. I made do with what we had, and found that it was really fun too. Now 18 years later, my husband and I have created an unusual home with many features that are outside of the box. I also create when I’m stressed…it calms me down. Having a party? I’d much rather create an amazing tablescape than clean! 🙂
Most of the time now I still create as a way to relax…and procrastinate a bit too. 🙂
I was born with this creative gene. Also as ah kid Ma got rid of me for ah day with a list of things to get from the woods. Fern, leaves acorns etc. When I got home she had me use this creative jean to create something beautiful with those items and a bottle of glue.
So it stuck all these years 😉
lol, this post really cracked me up! i have to say i don’t do much creating-not so skilled in that department-but what i have done are things i was determined to not buy b/c they looked so stinkin’ easy to do. i say it in my profile, i’m a cheap ass who’s determined to make things myself instead of buy it off of etsy. clearly there are lots i do buy off of etsy b/c i am not crafty, so it must be pretty simple if i think i can do it!
Hmmmm…quite an interesting question. I very MUCH need other people’s approval…and when my friends don’t compliment me on my renovations, it really hurts my feelings. I think even if I had an unlimited budget, I would still create everything I decorate with…because it’s WHO I AM. I think when people don’t compliment me on my creations, or like the way things I do turn out…they’re rejecting ME. But, I’m so much more than just what I can do or create, so that thought process is definitely flawed. Hard to remember that sometimes though! =)
Exactly! a good friend once said you either in or you in the way! I dont tell you how to dress what kind of car to drive so I dont care if you dont like my creative side. I do it for me, cause its what i want to do.
I hope that doesnt sound like a witch… eekk, cause Im not, ok maybe sometimes I am.
I’ll admit, adoration is nice, but I create because I have to. It doesn’t matter what I happen to be creating as long as I am creative.
I learned to sew because I hated what everyone else was wearing. LOL
My obsession with period clothes and costumes is two-fold: 1…I had kids, they wanted to be awesome for All Hallow’s Eve, I complied…eagerly! Then I wanted to be awesome for the Halloweeniday. Then they got into dance and acting and I became costume mom and I really don’t do things half way. LOL I jump, feet first….screaming with anticipation, to learn a new technique or have a new experience.
Making corsets and aprons are my current obsessions. Also trying to rekindle the muse part of my brain with the sketchbook project.
And yes, I am also a nut and the nay-sayers can just continue to be jealous that I am comfortable enough in my own skin to be who I am supposed to be regardless of who they think I should be! :-P~~~~~~~~~~ If I want to show up opening night to Star Trek in uniform……so be it!
I love letting my freak flag fly!!
I have this crazy creature inside of me.(LET ME OUT!) If I hold her in or if I choose to shut her up in my tiny little head, I become lost and TOTALLY depressed. It’s who I am. I have to create. ((I know I’m a total nutcase and probably suffer from the hearing voices in my head syndrome:)) People always ask me why I did this or why I made it like that. My answer,”I LIKE IT THAT WAY, If you don’t like it, go and create somethin’ better!” They will ask for my opinion about a creative somethin’ or other. My answer, “IF YOU LOVE IT, THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS!” We have all been blessed with the wonderful opportunity to create…not all of us have the eye to be able to appreciate it!(SHOOT!) Who cares. DO WHAT YOU LOVE! Maybe you will inspire someone to create something even better. BLAH, BLaB, BLAH, YACKITY, YAK! SHUT UP ALREADY, right? I’m all done;)
SmOoCHes!
Jen
It makes me a “cheap date”. 🙂
You know I normally do not post comments! However Miss Mandy, I like you! You left a rockin helpful comment on my blog and your just all around a cool chick!
I love to make something that is ugly into something beautiful! I am not good at a lot of things but when I started redoing furniture I found out I am really not bad at it. So… that got me started. Now I love to look for a bargain and revamp whatever it may be. Plus, I don’t have any money in the decorating budget so if I can get good deals and make them pretty I am that much closer to getting my new houser a little more “homey”!
I’m ridiculously independent! I know I have the ability to make something I see and I LOVE to say that I made it. Plus, if I didn’t create, I’d burst (and sometimes I do)! As to the haters – ah maybe they have a point sometimes!
Great post! I create for some of the same reasons your other followers do. I started because as a young married gal, I couldn’t afford the cute painted furniture look that was beginning to be so popular in the early 90’s. (Yes, I am old). I gained so much satisfaction from the process of taking junk to something beautiful, it grew into a nice side business for me. Now I can’t imagine going too long without painting. It centers me, it relaxes me, and it helps pay the bills. Have a great day. -K