I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I have a number of art projects that I keep wanting to start, but haven't, and think, wow, I really ought to be painting, and then I feel lame for not having done any painting lately.

But the more I think about it, the more I realize that I don't have to specifically paint to still be an artist, because being an artist is just what I AM. I've been exploring a lot of other things lately that have really satisfied my creative itch but haven't necessarily been putting a brush to paper. I'm feeling content to let the muse lead me wherever she wants to, without me beating it up or feeling I have to master it. Some things I've been doing lately:

Decorating. I've cleaned up my office and gave it a very colorful and thorough makeover. I absolutely love working in this space every morning and it really does energize me. That being said, I've moved on to...

The kids' bedrooms. Totally fun to reflect their personalities while still getting the upper hand on clutter and how to prevent any spaces for it in the future. Not to mention finally hanging up all those paintings I've done for them over the years! Which means...

Our bedroom is next. We've lived in this house for something like a dozen years and still never decorated anything. This summer we'll be building a headboard for the bed, I'll be pulling out the sewing machine to make some bedding and pillows, and I'll frame some artwork/love notes for the walls. I've started a pinterest board where I'm posting ideas if anyone wants to follow along.

The day job. I can't wait until some of these projects are street-approved and I can share, because they've been so much fun to work on. It's loads of design, but really creative design (including package design! woo!)

Music. There will probably be another post about this at some point, but I'm thinking of learning a new instrument for my birthday next month. Why not? And meanwhile, I've been enjoying teaching myself to play "Mr. Bellamy" by ear on the piano. I have the verses pretty note-perfect now. I'm having a lot of fun with it, considering it's a song about a guy who throws himself off a ledge (albeit a very catchy song about a guy who throws himself off a ledge).

See where this is going? I could list a ton of other things... cooking, fashion, how I braid the girls' hair, fixing up an old bike, designing a dress for myself instead of just the girls, how we went and bought 10 bottles of nail polish from the drugstore and have been going nuts with the pedicures.... it's more like I'm just BEING creative, with all my being. And letting myself be free to do just that.