I have long been fascinated by creativity and how to define it. When I first started to read blogs I was left feeling woefully inadequate by the amazing things that I was reading about. Things that I would have never thought of doing or making, and I have now come to realise that I never will. Not so long ago I posted about my realisation that creativity is so much more that just producing amazing objects to share on your blog. It encompasses so many areas of our lives and what it means to each of us is completely different. What is most important though is that we make room for it in our lives, in whatever form it needs to take for us as individuals, and we own it.
I am fond of making the presents that I gift. I recently made some fabric baskets for a friend, the pattern came from a book that I have on my shelves. She asked to look at the book as she wanted to make some herself to give as gifts. When she saw the pages in the book she looked at me and said, I would never have thought have making them at all looking at those pictures. It was the perfect compliment to me. But when you really look at all the things that people make and share pictures of, are they often as not fairly similar. That is not to say that we are dull, boring and repetitive, far from it, but that as we all view the potential for something differently we make it slightly different or add our own twist. But if it is something that we are new to and need to follow some instructions to gain confidence isn't it great that someone has been there before and made them up for you?
Last year I made a story sack for a friends child. I actually made this for her eldest child, but it has become a favourite of her youngest. Sadly the wee owls have not proved themselves to be sturdy enough and most of the babies have missing wings. I wanted to make another story sack, with sturdier contents this time, but I was struggling with inspiration. I often see projects which I would really love to make, this is itself is not a good enough reason for me to do so. I have to need it or be able to gift it. When I saw this delightful gnome I knew that it would be the perfect addition, it was sturdy and adorable. But I needed to work out how it would make its way into a story sack. I mulled it over for some time..............gnome stories? colour stories? rainbows!
A rainbow of gnomes, in a rainbow bag, with a delightful story about the colours of a rainbow. I just hope that book doesn't get destroyed this time.........
So I took two patterns created by others put them together and made something out of them, inspired by a blogger showing me what she had made. What I created was totally different, yet the same, I am not more or less creative, just given my own twist to an idea.
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Tutorial for bag is here