I have always been described as a creative person. From a young age, my parents encouraged me to dive head first. Headfirst meaning hands dipped into paint. Paint stained hands making anything I could think of and calling it art.
Recently with the rise of TikTok and social media talking about the lack of hobbies and interest individuals have. This past quarter I have been spending a lot of time sitting with my sketchbook in hand. The strain that has been lifted off of my shoulders from me just spending time with my journal or doing a creative project of sorts.
Spring has been me making felt crowns, drawing on various pieces of paper and gluing them into both my journal and my sketchbook, and spending an outrageously long time on Pinterest trying to plan out my summer and my apartment for the next year. A new thing I have been trying is sitting and collaging online. Whether on Canva or just my Instagram, my creativity has gone digital.
This has made me think about all those poor people who haven’t been graced with a creativity bug or just want to find a hobby. I have tried so many different outlets for creativity- from drawing and painting to theatre to sewing and knitting, the want to do more has never really ceased. Currently my list of projects I want to complete I think is longer than ever before. Life is just better when you are creating something or doing something fun. Bringing a little bit of color, glitter or anything bright into gloomy days can brighten your own spirit.
My craft list for this coming summer is long but here are a few of the highlights:
- Gameday jeans- I have a pair of jeans that I am not the biggest fan of and gradually I have been adding UW related touches to it. I hope that by the end of my time at the University of Washington they can act as a time capsule of my time as a UW fan.
- Jeans with painted swans- My for you page on TikTok as well as my Pinterest have been full of videos and pictures of people painting their jeans. Adorning the blank denim with swans or nautical scenes usually on the butt. A goal of mine is to thrift a pair of jeans to do this to. Making my clothing more of a statement piece in my closet.
- A quilt, since likely I’ll be living in an apartment for the first time I’d love to have a quilt or something that I sew over the summer. It would be really cool to have a combination of thrifted and new fabrics to create a story in fabric.
- Sewing more to create. I alter a lot of my clothing which heavily relies on my needle and thread and aimlessly watching different movies or T.V. shows for hours to keep me entertained. This summer I want to whip out the sewing machine and actually make more of my own pieces.
This summer I am hoping to really work on unlocking my creativity and see what other creative bugs strike throughout the year.