The Handmade Summer

I have this spacious, beautiful studio in my home for all my creative, handmade endeavors. The sunlight floods in through the old floor-to-ceiling sliding porch windows, even on a rainy day. I can soak in the lake views and observe my azaleas, camellias, and hydrangeas producing the most breath-taking shades of pinks and blues. It’s the perfect place to get my creative juices flowing.

But lately, I’ve done myself and the rest of the world a disservice by failing to create much of anything. Despite wanting to change that, time always feels so elusive.

I unofficially audited my time and found that I actually have plenty of time. I just misuse it. It turns out I’m consuming much more than I’m creating, and what I’m consuming isn’t creatively inspiring or beneficial. It’s just noise.

Thus, I give you The Handmade Summer (follow along at #thehandmadesummer on social media). I have a list of 15 projects I’m hoping to check off my handmade list while I have these weeks off from school. I’m not sure if I’ll tackle everything, but every item I make is one way to fight back against a culture that urges us to merely consume rather than digest and use as inspiration.

Currently, I’m working on cross stitching a few patterns I plan to display within embroidery hoops in a little unadorned corner of my sunroom.

What creative projects have you been putting off? Join me on this creative journey and use the hashtag #thehandmadesummer. I can’t wait to see how you choose to fight back against consumption and create something beautiful!