Today we're gonna talk brains. Yep. That age-old discussion about whether you are right-brained or left-brained.
For many years, I never thought of myself as creative. I mean, I don't draw all that well (although I can color a mean picture with some fresh Crayolas!) and I just never actually did anything remotely creative. I mean, I like to read, I like making lists and planning down to the very last detail (have a touch of OCD in that regard) and I think very logically and linear - usually. Even my profession (lawyer) yielded itself to functioning mostly left brain. Truly a left brain person.
Then, something happened, about 12 or so years ago... I started watching HGTV and fell in love with the design shows that were on at the time: Divine Design, Mission Organization, Design on a Dime, Decorating Cents, Designed to Sell, to name a few. Also I watched Trading Spaces on TLC. On those shows I saw the most AMAZING house and room transformations ever! And I was inspired to try and recreate some of the things they did on television (on a budget, of course! I mean, who can really spend $800 on a comforter set??? not I, not I). And you know what? I liked it. And was pretty good at it.
I had a lot of input into designing things for the first home I had built with my then-husband back in 2002, including lighting, windows and other aesthetic touches to differentiate my house from the neighbors (we lived in a subdivision with a lot of similar homes). And when it came time to paint, I drew upon the different design shows and painstakingly chose colors (tried out paint samples, taped swatches to the wall, and all that). And it turned out pretty good. Normally this is where I would insert a picture, but I don't have any handy since that was such a while ago. You can trust me though!
And that is how my love of all things home decor was born. There is nothing I like better than scouring stores for new items to add to my home's decor: decorative boxes, interesting storage pieces, art work, throw pillows, rugs - you name it! The best part is bringing the new piece home, placing it and feeling immense satisfaction of the item being simply PERFECT! That's a great feeling. And nothing I like better... except crafting.
Crafting has become, over the years, my ultimate guilty pleasure. It started with scrapbooking back in 2004 after the Tween was born. I was at a friend's house, who had also just given birth to a little bundle of joy, and she was showing us the scrapbook she made of her pregnancy. I was hooked! Now, up until that point, the only "scrapbooking" I had ever done was for my sorority scrapbook when I pledged back in 1990 and periodically adding to it over the years. But nothing like what I saw that day. The next day, I went to Michaels and started buying stuff. I came home that night and sat down at the seldom-used dining room table and started scrapbooking. Now, because I doubted my creativity and feared messing up, I figured the safest bet for me to start was to play with redoing my sorority scrapbook (it only had two colors, so pretty hard to mess up). I think I scrapbooked every day that week and went to store just as many times. The dining room looked like a craft studio!
After a few weeks of that, I was brave enough to take a stab at doing baby books for the Teen and Tween. Yes, the Teen was then 5 but I had all of his baby photos in albums, in chronological order and labeled. The Teen was still an arm baby, so her new little life was happening in the moment. So I took on the monumental task of beginning baby books for both of them simultaneously. And thus my eternal love of scrapbooking was born.
It has truly been an adventure over the past 11 years, and I dare say it is still going strong. I have attended conventions, retreats (even one down in Atlanta) and monthly crops (gatherings of scrapbookers where we work on projects, think book club without the books). I have hosted online scrapbooking groups, organized monthly and quarterly crops. I have even sold scrapbooking supplies. Here is some recent things I've done featuring the Tween and Teen when they were much younger:
(Please pardon my messy work area in the background!)
Last year I added a new hobby to the mix - jewelry making. Now, I went and took a class at Michaels because I wanted to learn to make some stretchy bracelets; I never dreamed that I would become that interested or inspired by it! I have grown to love it so much that it rivals scrapbooking! Here are a few things I've done fairly recently:
I think these things are pretty cute, if I do say so myself! I do have some newer stuff, but I'm not posting any photos as I'm getting things ready for a launch party (more info about that in another post).
Why am I talking about all of these things? I'm glad you asked! Because I'd been locked into the notion that I was purely left brain for so long that I never ventured to do anything creative because I didn't think I could. But guess what I learned? That I DO have some creative bones in my body! I can make pretty things!!!
My experience is not a new one; in fact it's supported by scientific fact that there is no such thing as being all left-brained or all right-brained. This myth arose in the 1960s from the research of Dr. Roger Sperry and has unfortunately, convinced many people that they were unable to do certain things because of being labeled as right-brained or left-brained. The fact is that we are all "whole brained" and both sides of our brain work in tandem. See more info here. Now, which side we feed more is another story.
What am I saying? Don't allow yourself to be limited by a silly stereotype. All you button-down shirt types like I was, pick up a pen and some paper and start doodling. Why? Because you can! All you musical and artsy types, work on those math problems. Why? Because you can! If I can do it, so can you!
What about you, have you stayed away from certain activities or professions because you though you were solely right-brained or left-brained? How did you overcome that (or have you)? Holla @ Darvi! Be Blessed!
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