Creativity!

So I read something at the bookstore the other day, it read:

 "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning , but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

I thought that was pretty neat... So now that I am back home I have had the opportunity to be creative thanks to my wonderfully supportive mother.

Lara, a friend of mine graduated high school this June and I woke up on the day or her graduation and wanted to do something special. She is a harry Potter fan and a very creative person so this is what I came up with

I didn't have tons of money, but girls love getting flowers so I decided to make her flowers! I had never done flowers on cupcakes before so I watched a tutorial and I was really happy with the results. I got the owl idea partially from pintrest... but I burned the edges of a brown lunch sack that I cut to look like a piece of old paper... On the scroll I wrote  "Congratulations on passing your OWL's , you may now graduate! Sincerely, Hogwarts Headmaster Lindsey Marchant" and I attached it to the bottom of the "owl" or balloon. It was a bast and really easy to make.

A few days previous to my flower arrangement project mom and I went on another adventure together... We went out to the store and bought "Disney Paint" (they have a new line of paint at Walmart). We got Cool Marine, Enchanted Violet and glitter paint. After we got all of the big paints for the walls I headed to the craft section for acrylic paints. Mom came over to the aisle a few minutes after me and found me sitting on the ground looking at the different paint colors and several paint bottles on the floor next me. I didn't care, I needed to look carefully at the colors and make sure they matched the princesses I was painting and that was serious business. I ended up grabbing at least twenty paint bottles... Together we painted two walls of the bathroom that night, Enchanted Violet on two walls and cool marine on the others. It was so fun to have her in there with me working on a project that was all fun! It is moments like those that remind me that life is meant to be taken slowly and as simply as possible so that we can enjoy all that God has to offer us.
 The next day though, the real work began,... and is still going on. For eight hours straight I worked on Ariel. It was a long fun day. I struggled doing the water at first but mom came down and gave me a hand and I was happy with it. I hadn't eaten for many hours cause I was so focused so mom helped me put together a lunch... Here is the lunch of an artist...... I had a small bowl of fruit too! I was so proud of my healthy lunch I needed to share...

After 8 hours, this is the freehand drawn/painted Ariel.....

It took me about a week to get into the bathroom again because Ariel was so exhausting! Let me add, before I draw each princess on the wall I draw her on paper for practice. Then I say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help me in my project...

This is the Cinderella Transformation! 

I still have Tangled, Belle and the Tower to complete... But here is what the bathroom looks like in the process of finishing this project... Truly an artist studio...

Aside from my creative projects I have had other opportunities to create.... My sister Madison turned 8 and was baptized! She asked me to sing at her baptism. I sang I am a child of God/Families can be together forever, arranged by my sister Kristy! It is a beautiful piece... How is this a form of creation? President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave an address to women and said the following:

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. ⁴ Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. ⁵ The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. “There is a great work for the Saints to do,” he said. “Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.” ⁶

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you." 

Here is a link to the whole talk if you want to read more:

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/happiness-your-heritage?lang=eng

Lastly, I just wanted to share that I am so grateful for the simple things in life. I noticed my dad was going to be going on a bike ride by himself and I had a feeling he would like some company so I decided to join him. When I stepped into the garage there was my dad in his wet suit! The weather in Oregon isn't the greatest and we had had some rain that would make our bike ride a little muddy. First thing he said was Lindsey do you want a wet suit? I would recommend a wet suit. My dad is the type, use it up wear it out make it do or do with out. He doesn't have a bike suit and didn't want his close all muddy so he compromised. I am sad to say my I just couldn't get myself to wear a wet suit for a bike ride but I am so grateful my dad is such a good example of making do with what you have and of not caring what others think. He does the best that he and what he feels is right and that is good enough for him.... A lesson I needed. 

Another note, Madison my sister decided to do the science fair this week. She and mom tried an experiment that creates crystals with epson salt and water.... It was to show what mother nature does on her own sometimes... anyways it didn't work. They wern't getting any crystals. Maddie still wanted to do the science fair so she beautifully decorated a poster board and was planning on just talking about her project. The morning of the science fair I wanted to make it work for her. I remember reading about her project and saw that the heat of the sun would make the crystals grow.... well we didn't have enough sun when she put it out because it was already evening.. so I was guided by the spirit to use a hair dryer! Two actually and it worked! I used some artificial means but the crystals appeared! Now this sounds like no big deal, but my mom took it over to Maddie that day and she was elated! She was so excited that we got the crystals to grow. Mom told me how happy she had been and I felt so good. I was on my way to the post office to send out a pkg. for my brother's (Kyle who is serving a mission) birthday and was just so happy inside. I had delayed my plans that day to help my sister and boy did I feel good! Life is so much more fulfilling when we are helping others!

 

Life is good and it is the little things that count. Create! Have fun and serve others and therein you will find joy.