Staying creative in a world of ready-made

How many people do not think they have the slightly incline to be creative?  Most people say "Oh no, I'm not creative like you", or "I don't know have any sense of colors".  Unfortunately, most people will not try for fear of failing and it's so easy to go to a store to buy what you want ready-made or have someone else make it for you, for a price of course!  But I'm here to tell you it can be so easy and so much more rewarding if you do it yourself!  It's not just about the money you'll save, it's about that feeling you get.

Fortunately for me, my mother loved to use her hands to make things and gave me the confidence in myself to try and create.  Like many children, I was not so keen in following in her footsteps unless it benefited me.  Unlike my father who was not handy with his hands (but knew how to do everything if you catch my meaning) she was the one to take on minor construction projects around the house:   finishing off the drywall and painting of the basement of our house, or scouring the yard sales to buy an old piece of furniture to refinishing it.  She also sew her clothes, my sister's and mine too and she just loved to try working on different projects all the time.  It can be addicting.  I know I have the disease too!  Once you start, you can't stop.

Of all the crafts my mom taught me, knitting is the one thing I never could grasp.  She tried to teach me but I'm left-handed and just never got the knack for it: I'm not very gracious at it (the needles tightly tucked under my arms, I lift my elbows every time I make the yarn go around the needle making me look like a duck flapping its wings - yes, I'm not kidding).  But I tried!!!

I can crochet, I sew, I refinish furniture, paint my house inside and out, and even redo whole rooms inside my house with my husband.  Last time, I was very angry at one of my sons and grabbed the crow bar and knocked down tiles in the bathroom walls.  We had to start the project.  I'm not so sure that was a good way to force the issue but now we have a beautiful bathroom.

Anyway, back to creating things.  a friend asked me the other day if my husband knew how to lay tiles.  I responded that not only did he and I laid tiles we have done practically our whole house.  I mean we're no master tilers but I think our floors look pretty good and the bathroom walls do to.   And it must be true because many people couldn't believe it when we said we did it!  I mean you won't know if you don't try! And believe me, saving money is a HUGE incentive.  But the feeling of accomplishment you get is "priceless". And my friend's husband is in the trade's business so it's not like he can't work with his hands but my point is if you don't try you won't know.

These pictures I'm adding are those of a dresser my husband refinished.  I've done several over the years and he's helped me a little - mostly sanding the wood but never really doing it.  Well this dresser has been taking space in our garage for more than a year.  I started working it but than the weather got hot again and I just couldn't get into the mood.  One day, I came home from work and he was scraping, sanding, cleaning the wood.  I was so surprised.  He chose the colors of the wood stain and did the whole thing by himself.  It turned out beautiful!!! He did a superb job and I couldn't have done it better.

If he had not tried, he would not had known he could do it.  What's the worst that could have happened? Stain it the wrong color and start over (or give it away if it's that bad).  I'm just glad it turned out so good. Now I have a new dresser for my fabrics.

Let's give you a little background about me and maybe you'll understand some of my motivations as muddy as it may seem sometime.

I'm proud to say I come from the island of Guadeloupe in the French West Indies. Guadeloupe is one of the islands in the Caribbean and is located south of the Virgin Islands and north of Barbados to give you a general idea. Guadeloupe is a french island (meaning it is a dependence of France - kind of like Hawaii is to the US). My parents were born there and their parents before them, so I have deep roots there and a large family. Guadeloupe is a beautiful island with all its island problems but that's for another story.

When I was little, my dad wanted to see the world and after a dispute with his father (which happens a lot in old families) decided to transplant his roots to Quebec, Canada. So off to Montreal my mom, sister, brother and myself went. It was hard at first! No family, new surroundings, a different language (french canadian is very different than the regular french), and a lot of new foods we didn't know. But we adapted and grew to love it. We made friends, family members came to visit and some even stayed. I met my first boyfriend there and my best friend is still my best friend after thirty years.

Later when I was 18, my father wished to start a new business in Florida with its climate that was so much more like Guadeloupe. The move brought all of us a little closer to home while staying in America. Unfortunately for my dad, the business did not work and after much heartache and a divorce, he moved back to Canada.

But I stayed behind with my siblings and my mom. I met my future husband in the college courtyard, and 28 years later, 3 children, 3 dogs, several cats, a few fishes, snake pets, and even a live scorpion (my middle child is into critters), we are still married and I hope we'll continue to be and grow old together.

I continue to mix my french with my english, I love to make french foods and foods from Guadeloupe, I love to hear french music and see an occasional french movie with sub-titles (my husband is so good to me) but I have lived in America longer than anywhere else now and it is engrained in me. I am more comfortable speaking english than french to my mother's despair but I keep trying to stay true to my roots.

We love to travel whether in the U.S. or abroad. There is so much to learn from other people's cultures. The difference that we see in others is sometime what brings us together. So I hope that we will be able to continue explore the world as long as possible.

Well for my first blog, it is certainly is a long one but I hope that I have not bored you. Tomorrow is another day and let's see what it brings.

As one my favorite quote says: Don't dream your life, leave your dream! Let hope we can live our dream...

There's a start to everything

Well, that's it! I made the decision to start a blog and I'm committed to do this or I should be committed for doing this...

I mean with my full time job, taking care of my house, spending half my time off on the computer on my Etsy shop and sewing, jezzz you'd think I have no time for this. But really, I've always liked to write and even had dreamed of being a writer once a long time ago. So this is my little version of it.

I'll try to be frank, I'll try to be funny (but sometimes the mood is not there), and I'll try to keep up with this blog, but I'll always be thankful for everything I do and anything I have.

So let's see how this blogging journey is gonna be. Wish me luck!!!