Where do I go from here?

Fall is my favourite season.

I can’t even call it autumn when I say that—nostalgia makes me go back to my American childhood. Living in Maine for 10 years made autumn easy to love.

Autumn makes me feel fresh and alive with ideas. It’s a throwback to all those school starts. As an adult, my favourite parts of school remain: lots of books and raiding the back-to-school sales for stationery. If I didn’t use a Kindle I don’t think I could physically fit all my books in my office. (Thank goodness for technology, right?)

Even more than on New Year’s Eve, I’m thinking about what I want to do with the next year. Where do I go from here?

Where do you go after you’ve been burnt out?

When I started this blog I only thought about the first year. The second year, my grand editorial plans fell through the cracks when I got chronic shoulder pain. And when the pain got better, I was so used to having an excuse not to blog that I struggled to find a reason to get back into it again. Every time I’m busy with client work or life gets stressful, blogging falls to one side.

The very project I started to help me live a more creative life had become a creative block. Instead of making for me, I was trying to make for everyone else.

Once upon a time, blogging and sharing crafts was how I relaxed. And after a summer of following whims, I’ve found that feeling again. Seeing the WordPress app on my phone doesn’t make me feel quite so anxious anymore.

And I have felt anxious. And envious. And guilty for not posting when I should, as according to my inner critic who wants more work all the time—yet never thinks it’s good enough.  My Feedly and Pinterest and magazine subscriptions have lain unappreciated, their gorgeous content a reminder of all the ideas I had that didn’t happen.

So I’m setting a date with myself. No excuses. No letting my inner critic ruin the satisfaction of DIY. Every week on Wednesdays, you can find me here. Tutorial or roundup or what have you, it’s a date.

I keep giving myself pep talks, reminders like not every project has to be perfect. It’s ok to be afraid. It’s ok if it gets difficult sometimes.  Judge your work through the eyes of a friend.

My craft room has been whipped into shape. I’ve found the time to go through my random bits boxes and bags, organising materials and brainstorming project ideas. Handmade is truly food for the soul.

There’s so much to come this autumn and for you-know-when in December. Needle felt, crochet, sewing, macrame, calligraphy and more. Can’t wait to get back in the swing of things!

Have you ever struggled with burn out?

In other news, I’ve fallen in love with the new ‘Create Your Own’ labels collection from Avery. I’ve used these stacking clear tubs to organise supplies for months, but all the stickers I found would peel off. When I was sent some samples courtesy of Avery I finally had labels that stuck. Writing on them with a fountain pen was good practise. My handwriting is getting rusty, let alone my calligraphy!

An organised stash is a stash ready to be used.

Lots of crafty love,

P.S. Here’s a project to help you stay cosy:

Disclosure: The round labels featured were sent to me by Avery. I chose to use them in this post.