Week 1 : The “One Thing a Week” Creative Challenge
Hello and Happy New Year!
With this post, I am going out on a limb that may very well crack and break beneath me, but I'm going to give a weekly personal challenge a go for 2023. [UPDATE: Ok, I didn’t make it for the whole year on this. I was still making things every week but I got behind on photographing and posting about them. But, I did get through 70% of the year and that’s good enough for me! Thank you if you followed along.]
I spent some time crocheting over the Christmas period and something interesting that I distinctly noticed was how good it made me feel to create what I did. It gets dark and gloomy here in Toronto in the winter, with the sun barely coming out at all on some days. That type of weather usually leaves me (and everyone, I assume) feeling kind of low, but I honestly noticed a mood lift resulting from creating something.
So, I looked up the mental health benefits that come with making things and found this article, which states :
"Research has shown that crafting, regardless of the medium you use, can bolster mood, improve self-confidence, and reduce stress overall. In addition, crafting has also shown to improve mental agility, improves both gross and fine motor movements, and also decrease cognitive decline. Crafting additionally has been shown to be a natural anti-depressant. Research studies have shown that those suffering from PTSD, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Insomnia and any level of chronic pain have achieved a reduction in symptoms by incorporating crafts into their lives.
Crafting creates a situation very similar to that of meditation. When engaged in a craft, you are focusing on the here and now. In those moments, time stands still. You are able to forget the stressors of day to day life and be part of something completely separate. In addition, crafting stimulates the production of dopamine, the “feel good” neurotransmitter, that is responsible for pleasure and enjoyment."
Encouraged by these findings, I’m going to try to consistently create in 2023, keeping it doable by asking myself to achieve only one success per week from the ongoing wish-list of things I want to try, and I'm going to publicly keep myself accountable by telling you about it here every week.
Maybe there's some form of creative expression you'd like to challenge yourself to do at least once a week, and if so, please join me!
Of course, everyone's list will be different but here's mine ...
I plan to do at least ONE of the following every week :
- Handcraft one item, or if it's an easy thing, make several, or if it's something that takes more time to make, share it when it's finished.
- Create one blog post on this site (not including the Weekly Challenge update), or
- Post one video to YouTube, or
- Post one YouTube Short video (I haven't done one of those yet, but plan to start), or
- Post 2 images to Instagram (photos are quicker to do so I'm aiming for 2 of them).
Here’s my achievement for Week 1
It involved creating an Instagram Account since I am very late to that party and, although I've admired many Instagram photos in the past, I have never joined in myself so I opened an account. It is called "LoulouVintageHome" and will focus on my love of vintage home décor.
And, to meet the challenge goals, I posted two images to it.
This is not a plug to get you to follow my new account, but it would be silly and strange for me not to tell you where it is (Thank you if you do follow me there, though!) :
Loulou Vintage Home on Instagram
In case you don't use Instagram, the photos on this post are the ones I posted there. (Note: they may be a bit blurry here because Instagram is made to be viewed on a phone.)
Wishing You a Happy New Year with a Vintage Vignette
Hello! Happy New Year. Here's hoping that 2023 turns out to be a good year for you.
I put together a vignette of mostly vintage and/or thrifted items to celebrate the holiday. I say "mostly" because there's one brand new piece in there -- the sparkly tiara that I found at Dollarama last week. Oh, and the bottle of champagne is no longer in place, as we raised a toast with it last night.
There's a short time-lapse-ish video showing how this came together, piece by piece, if you'd like to see that.
Santa is in the Kitchen : A Decorated Tiered Tray and a Recipe for Christmas Plum Pudding
Hello! I hope you're enjoying the holiday season. In our home, the first thing that happens to mark this time of year is that Nick makes Christmas Pudding (also known as "Plum Pudding"), following a recipe that's been in his family for over a hundred years.
I have a fond memory associated with this particular dessert. He and I met 24 years ago in November and, as she did every year back then, his mother had sent him one of these puddings in the mail. He brought it over to my apartment one dark winter evening (that was the year that it snowed so much that the army was called into Toronto to help clear the roads), including the ingredients to make the Brandy Butter that you have with it. You douse it in brandy just before serving and I remember, without knowing why, I was asked to turn off all the lights as he dramatically lit the pudding on fire. It was very memorable and special.
Thrift Store Finds : Vintage Christmas
Hello and Happy December!
While I didn't find a lot of Vintage Christmas items at the thrift store over the past year, I love what I got. Being especially fond of old ceramic pieces, I was excited to luck out on a few of those. I also picked up some great things that aren't specifically for Christmas but that will be great to use in the seasonal displays.
And, as is my new way, I made a video "show and tell" describing the loot. I hope you'll watch it, and, if you haven't already, I hope you'll subscribe to my Youtube channel. (Thank you, if you do!)
I haven't photographed everything, but I will be sure to post pictures of each item here, once they're immersed within our Christmas décor.
Halloween Decorating : Two Spaces, Two Themes
Hello! Happy Halloween Weekend. Hope you're having fun with it.
Here are a couple of different spaces I decorated for the holiday this year. One is done in the "Dark Academia Spooky Gothic Style" and the other features one of my favourite topics -- cats! In this case, it's all the black cats.
The videos each begin with a good look at the decorated spaces and then move to a Part 2, where I talk about some of the items used and where they came from. I hope you'll watch them!
First, the Dark Academia area, which included the top of a cabinet and a small table beside it.
And some still shots of the displays ...
