#AtoZChallenge | A Creative Theme Reveal

When we renovated our house, our architect asked us to pull together pictures from magazines and books that would provide him with ideas for what we wanted from our new house. It was unnecessary advice. I already had an extensive stash of clippings that I had been saving since before I was even a homeowner. I was always planning and dreaming for what my home would be someday. I already knew what I wanted although the reality of building on a budget meant many of those perfectly preserved images never made it out of their page protectors.

But, there were a few ideas that did make it into the blueprints. One was simple but has had a great impact. We added a built in bookcase to the landing where our u-shaped staircase turns. We painted it colonial blue and it adds a fun pop of color against the knotty pine that spans the length of the wall behind it. The pine panels were salvaged from our original cottage. They’re a nice nod to the house that came before. I’m a memory keeper at heart.

Can you guess what books line these bookshelves? Home decorating and design books! Just because we built our dream home doesn’t mean the dreaming stopped. There’s always a project to be found or a little tweak to be made. There wouldn’t be any fun in being completely done. But, to be honest, I’d lost my steam. We really hadn’t been tackling those last few things.

Then, everything changed.

With all the down time related to the COVID-19 restrictions, we started ramping up our home projects again. When you spent 24/7 at home, you start looking around and saying things like “maybe we should add some shelves on that wall” or “that pedestal sink really needs to go”. True story! We tackled both those things early in the pandemic.

As we dove back into our home projects, I started calling it finishing off the last ten percent. We were focusing on those final touches that would make our home complete or at least complete at this moment in time. I know it will never really be done but it’s fun to try. I added projects to my to-do list any time I thought of something that would help complete the look of our home. And, as I got more invested in reaching that finish line I kept coming back to one of those decorating books lining my stairwell shelves called “Crafting a Meaningful Home” by Meg Mateo IIasco.

I connected with the concept of personalizing this final decorating push with hand crafted things that have personal meaning, that give a sense of connection or that simply are a chance for me to try a new craft.

When my girls were young, we would go to Plaster Fun Time with friends. The walls of unfinished plaster figurines waiting to be brought to life with color always made me smile. My girls would each pick a piece from the lower, less expensive shelves, get their squirts of paint and dive into the making of their masterpieces. They never painted alone. I too walked the aisles until I found the perfect piece to unleash my creativity. I was always the last to finish painting. And, I always got the glitter coating. Life’s more fun with glitter.

We had a playhouse that was the perfect place to display the many, many plaster pieces we made over the years. Although they are long forgotten now, they still hold a special place in my heart.

The creative process is messy, frustrating, and comes without a guarantee of success. Often, the final product is something completely different than what I envisioned in my head. Occasionally, it’s a complete failure and I have to rethink the project. But, when it works there is such a sense of joy. Having something that I made from nothing is so satisfying.

I love the creative process. Getting into a creative flow and losing track of time is the perfect way to spend an afternoon. So, for my A to Z challenge this year, I will be focusing on craft projects for my home. 

Do you enjoy home crafts? What is your favorite one?

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I’m participating in a Blogging A-Z Challenge for April 2021. I will be posting new content every day this month except most Sundays. Each post is associated with a letter of the alphabet, starting with A and ending with Z. My theme for the challenge is Craft Projects for my Home. To read more of my A to Z posts from this year, click HERE.

60 thoughts on “#AtoZChallenge | A Creative Theme Reveal”

  2. Iain Kelly says:
    Reply

    Look forward to hearing all about your craft projects. With twin 6 year olds, a lot of my crafting involves dinosaurs, cars and cardboard boxes at the moment! Not quite up to the same standard as yours I fear! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Anne M Bray says:
    Reply

    Your Home page got very confusing! I am so old, haha.
    Thanks for leaving a comment on my art blog. I can’t reply there, so I’m doing it here!
    I really don’t know WHAT I’m going to post. The easy path would be doing the US states, but I’d like to be less predictable than that. Ha. No preplanning happening so far!

    Looking forward to reading your A-Z. Sounds like a fun subject!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Trudy says:
    Reply

    I’m excited for your theme! A year ago we completed a major project in our home right before everything shut down. Now I am gearing up for another project, but feel unfocused.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. mollyscanopy says:
    Reply

    Glad you are joining the A to Z Challenge again this year. I, too, have been casting an eye over my home and tweaking it here and there — but I could use some fresh ideas, which hopefully you will provide in April! See you then.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Weekends in Maine says:
      Reply

      I loved your posts last year highlighting all those amazing quilters and the different styles of quilts that they make. It’s an amazing artform. I’m looking forward to your upcycling ideas this year!

      Like

  28. Pingback: A to Z 2021 – Reflection | Janet's Smiles

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