The August-September Creative Edit
keep creating at all costs
If you are new to the creative edit - WELCOME! I am so happy you are here! I use this space as a recap of the creative work that I get to do. I believe in the creative practice of taking stock in the work that has happened and not just pushing forward aimlessly without noticing what is working and what could be tweaked. I hope this inspires you to pat yourself on the back for your own creative endeavors. You are creative, you are full of ideas and dreams, and sometimes we just need a little push to notice them.
Creative Wins and Edits
The Wins:
Got a client through two speaking engagements!
Grew TikTok following to 1,137 from 121 in July. It is monopoly money as Jess Connolly says, but still fun and so silly how the internet works. I think everyone on TikTok is there for the craft videos, which is so fine, but I am still trying to figure out what kind of content I want to be making, and that is OK too!
Had a new inquiry for a website build, which is so exciting!!
Client worship night - made them allllll the graphics and also got to be their designated photographer!
Beaded fish! Beaded Necklaces! Beaded Bracelets!
Made a bunch of print materials for a friend who is a vendor at an art fair this weekend. She sells Taylor Swift-inspired beaded bracelets. She is a social worker and often can be found bringing them to the clinic with her, passing out a little cheer to her patients!
My sewing machine needs to be serviced, but I'm still determined to finish sewing a banner for my gathering of friends in my kitchen, where I make them lattes. A banner makes everything more official. I threw this gathering monthly throughout the summer, and it was such a delight. I think I am taking a break this fall due to our weekends being a little stacked, but I want to bring it back soon!
I started posting on the corporate socials at my new job. I don’t know why that felt so scary, but we are doing it and learning a lot about marketing for business rather than personal brands. Getting to take professional photos of luxury houses was not on my 2025 bingo card, but alas!
This doesn’t seem like a creative win, but it super is - I have been doing incremental decluttering, which helps my brain actually accomplish more creative work. Seeing my space at ease and peace truly is a game-changer.
What didn’t work as well:
Randomly, I have been afraid/apathetic towards Instagram. I sometimes go through slumps where I don’t know what to post, but the aversion I have to it right now isn’t great. My job entails posting on Instagram across many accounts daily, and while I am still doing my actual job, for my own account… I don’t even know the right words for it… But it’s worth exploring what might be bubbling under the surface there. Just know if we are friends on IG, and you see me posting - it probably took a lot these days.
My mornings have been rushed and hurried lately. I am running out the door and not giving my brain the space to recalibrate before jumping right into the day. I would like a slower start to my days, and I know that will lead to feeling less like I am on a creative hamster wheel and more like I am on a creative retreat.
Feeling inspired by
Corporate girlies on TikTok. They are helping me get dressed and not feel alone in the 8-5 grind.
Pink jelly nails
Hanging art in my home again - and the trend where you put fabric over the matting and then the photo peaks through. LOVE!
Cowgirl core
Wanting to plan a trip to Montana / Wyoming
Wearing pops of color
Sonic’s Twisted Flamingo - I get one before therapy, and it’s a treat!
These pants have been everything to me lately
Closing Encouragement
Caroline Lunne always says that the internet is art, and I strongly believe this. I also know that the internet is a scary place, and for a lot of us who create online, it can be hard to know how to show up these days. Maybe your thoughts sound something like…
Do I keep sharing light content even though we are all seeing difficult headlines? Do I share my beliefs? Does that feel true to me? If I don’t, am I complicit in something I don’t intend to support? If I do share, can I handle the mental load of those who disagree? Do I really want to have those conversations on social media? Does anyone actually follow me online for the sake of political takes? I feel really strongly that ____. I feel ofended that ____ said ______. I can’t beleive _____ really thinks ______. I don’t fully understand this issue. I feel worried about ____. Unfollow/reshare/like/scroll past quickly/I need a screentime limit/I just wish we could agree. I wish more people cared about ___. If I don’t care, no one will.
Here is what I will say - if the light bringers stop bringing the light to dark places, those dark places will remain dark. Keep making art, keep making collages, keep taking the pictures. Keep sharing your heart, and may it stay tender as a heart of flesh and not of stone. Keep checking in with yourself about what feels right and good and true for you, and not what is expected. That’s perceived pressure, and you know what we do with pressure around here.
I will also add - I think we must get off our phones. Our souls weren’t meant to have constant access to the influx of information the way we do. I think our souls weren’t meant to be tied to a news source, or ruminating online about anything - good or bad. I am working REALLY hard at finding rhythms for my job, being on the internet, and screentime limits for when I am not working. It’s not going well, but I am dedicated to finding some sort of solution. The goal for me is not to numb but to create.
I know it honors the Lord when we use the gifts we have to create. Keep creating at all costs. Take the pressure off and make stuff. Make stuff for you, for your sister in law, for the neighbor who lets her dog poop in your yard, for the community garden, for Instagram, for your college roommates, for the person you lost touch with, for your dad, or your estranged uncle, or the weatherman. Make art for your portfolio, for your clients, for the deadline, but also make it for a kindergarten class up the road, and for your city, and for your church, and your running club. We need it.
okthatsitloveyabye!
