Creative Ruts and How I'm Starting to Deal With Mine

I've been stuck in a creative rut lately. I feel like I've been doling out cookie-cutter projects one right after another and it's sapping the creative life out of me. It's all catching up.

A client called the office this morning. Normally my boss would've answered the phone and talked to them, but since it was first thing this morning, my boss wasn't in yet. So I answered--I didn't know it was going to be a wake-up call.

I was originally psyched about designing a menu for this restaurant, but this particular client has been difficult from the get go. Consistently indecisive and haphazardly unorganized--any designer will tell you that THAT is a horrible combination.

Well apparently the people that had the final say in the menu approval didn't like what I did and called it amateur. I didn't want to take it personally, but it dawned on me that they were right. I pretty much phoned this one in and just did something to get this job off my plate. The actual company that hired us loved what I did, but apparently the higher-ups didn't and I am almost back to square one. MEH.

I got off the phone with the client and immediately called my friend, Katie. Normally in a crisis I would call Chuck, but I knew he wouldn't fully understand what I would be so upset about. Not that he wouldn't have cared and consoled me any less, he just wouldn't have truly felt my pain. I knew Katie has been where I am right now. And although she felt like she didn't really do anything to help, she did by simply just picking up the phone and talking to me about it.

Getting off the phone with Katie, I still kinda felt eh. At least I KNEW I had to get out of this funk, I just didn't know how. I started looking for stuff to get inspiration. I found a few sites that help. I found this gem from one of my favorite scrapbook artists, Ali Edwards. Imagine that! A whole post on breaking out of a creative rut... Hmmm.... God? Is that You? It's me, Hazel...

I also went to these other blogs that I've found in the past couple of weeks (VERY helpful for all you fellow designers out there!):

BittBox | Lost and Taken | VectorTuts+ | Keep Designing
I know I should've been working, but my projects were dependent upon this inspiration search. Here's where the utterly UH-mazing happens... (Let me preface this by saying GOD IS SO GOOD!)

I get a phone call (I know, another!). But this time on my cell. It wasn't a number that I knew, but I figured maybe it was Chuck using a buddy's phone to call me saying that his cell phone battery was dead, just in case. So I answer. It wasn't Chuck.

It was a former client of the company I work for. But she had gotten my number from our old sales director. She said that I came highly recommended by her and that I was just the person she needs. Turns out she's starting a new venture and is in need of design work. Hel-LO freelance!! Well at least the start of it =)

Which brings me to utter amazement at how God is so wonderful. Remember my previous post? When I said God knows just what you need? This is definitely proof positive.

Every day is different

When it comes to my dad, the feelings come in waves. Sometimes it's calm and days go by like normal. Some days it comes crashing over me like huge swells.

I've been missing my father a lot these days. For the past couple of weeks, there have been little things that remind me of him and a few times I've had to break down and just let it out, right now being a prime example. At work. Yep.

I'm listening to Pandora, on a mellow station. Actually Chuck created this Go Jimmy Go station and I've added variety to it to include some Hawaiian artists. (Note that I've been going through Hawai'i withdrawals lately, too). Well as I'm working on something, the station plays a song by Keali'i Reichel called "Patchwork Quilt." At first it was just another song in the background, but then some of the lyrics hit me...

"...Oh and you will live forever
You know that I'll be loving you
Just like a patchwork quilt..."
I had to stop what I was doing (and secretly cursed Pandora for not having a rewind/replay button!)... As I listened to the rest of the song, I just couldn't help but cry. (Luckily I have a ready supply of Puffs Plus!) It still amazes me how God can just stop you dead in your tracks to get you to listen.

I did more digging (yay Google!) and it turns out that this song was written for those who have died of AIDS. But really, if you really listen to the song, it can be a great tribute to anyone that you have lost.

I think I'll go say hi to my dad today. For now, I leave you guys with a Patchwork Quilt.

My lovelies.

I really don't know what I would do without my friends. Especially my girls. And when it comes down to standing with us on our special day, there are no other people I would rather share with than these beautiful women.

MINH-THI
Minh-Thi has graciously accepted to be my maid of honor. She and I met while working at Grandesign. You are never going to meet a more fun, loud--in the best way, of course (we loud ones tend to stick together), energetic person--period. She's so charming and lovable that you would be a fool NOT to love her! Just ask anyone that knows her. They'll tell you that I'm right.

EMILY
Emily is Chuck's sister. I love Emmie to pieces! She's so funny and independent. Her laughter is so infectious, that you can't help but to laugh with her. I only wish more of us could see life through her eyes and just see the pureness of it all--no BS. I couldn't be more proud and happy to call her my sister.


KATIE
Katie and I met at Grandesign also. We instantly connected with our similar tastes, sense of humor and overall quirkiness--we swear we share the same brain. We've had some pretty awesome adventures! She is one of the most talented and humble people I know and she's become one of my best friends. It's awesome to see how God puts people in your life for a reason and I've been so thankful that He placed us in each other's lives. And she and her hubby, Ant, are going to be parents later on this year! She's going to be the best mom, I just know it!

JANICE
Jan and I have known each other since we were in middle school! So you can only imagine how many shared experiences we've had over the years. We were there for each other through all the frogs and we were there for each other when we found our princes. I recently had the honor of being one of her bridesmaids on her wedding day and I'm so honored that she agreed to stand with us for ours.

TIFFIANY
Tiffo and I met while we were both working at Quiet Flight Surf Shop. Oh the good times at good ol' QF. We've had some zany adventures and along the way became fast and life-long friends. She's adorable beyond measure and you can't help but love her. She's newly engaged and I can't wait to share the planning journey with her too!

MORGAN
Definitely not least is Morgan. Mo is Tiffiany's best friend and they've known each other since, oh, forever! Naturally I met Mo through Tiff. Mo is so much fun and she's become a great friend. She LOVES her Cowboys (the actual cowboys as well as the country bar). She's such a doll and she's so much fun!

So you've met my lovely bridesmaids. I love each and every one of them so much. They're more than my friends--they're the sisters that I never had and I'm so proud to have them share our special day with us!

I proposed =)

To my bridesmaids, that is. And now that they have all received them (and said yes, btw =) ), I can finally blog about it!!

I was looking for creative ways to ask my girls to be my bridesmaids. Then I found this post by Miss Apple Cider on Weddingbee, of course. I absolutely loved the idea of proposing to my bridesmaids, but I decided to add my own flair to it.

So where do I find Ring Pops? I hadn't had one in so long that I didn't even know where to start. Chuck and I were at dinner at Cracker Barrel one night and I told him about my plan to "propose" to my girls. (In true guy fashion, he's just going to simply ask his groomsmen). I told him that I needed Ring Pops, but where should I begin to look? When we finished dinner, we were at the cashier when Chuck says, "Hey look! They have Ring Pops here!" SCORE! :) Now to find the perfect presentation.

I needed just the right box so I perused through The Container Store and found these Shantung Gift Boxes. I purchased the 4-inch square boxes, 5 in gold and 1 in red. They were here in 4 days, to my amazement. I highly recommend ordering from them. They have awesome stuff!!

I wanted the perfect note to go along with my plan, so I made up a poem for my bridesmaids and maid of honor. Then off to Michael's (dangerous!) for pretty paper. I created the notes in those 4 days that I was waiting for the boxes. I also picked up 2 long styrofoam bricks from the floral arrangement aisle. I cut them to fit the boxes and place the pops on. It was cheaper to buy the 2 bricks and cut them than to buy the already cut pieces to fit. It's amazing what you can find at Michael's!

So assembly line time! I had already created, printed and assembled the notes prior to the boxes arriving. They turned out great, don't you think?




One disappointment in all of these were the Ring Pops. I opened them to find that some of them were sticky. Ew. Stupid Florida humidity is probably to blame. So to avoid the pops getting stuck to the paper when I placed them in the boxes (not to mention keep it sanitary--and I used gloves to handle them all, btw), I wrapped each gem with a small square of plastic wrap. I also found that little styrofoam flecks were getting everywhere after I cut them, so I wrapped each styro block in saran wrap too! Ah-like so...


There's a small bed of raffia under the styro block to give it some height. Then I placed the corresponding notes on top of the pops, placed the cover and wrapped each box with a pretty raffia ribbon. I also made little tags for them.


And here they all are, ready to be given away!


Aren't they pretty? The girls loved them and I am so happy they all said yes. Thank you, gals!

I'll introduce you all to my lovely ladies in my next post! =)

Must be my lucky month!

I won again! Another prize. This time from XL 106.7, the local radio station. Apparently it was announced on the air yesterday, but I was working so I didn't hear. Luckily they have someone call the winners just in case. So I have won a $25 gift certificate to Cafe TuTu Tango! WOO HOO!! :)

What are the odds? Two wins in one month? Maybe it's a sign of good things to come! Like maybe in the form of a "You're Hired!" phone call to Chuck from the Honolulu Fire Dept? Hmmm... Hopefully we'll at least hear a "Come out and interview" phone call come August! THAT would be an awesome birthday present for both of us!!

I won!!

WOO HOO!!!

I got the e-mail yesterday. I almost thought it was an April Fool's because I don't usually win stuff... but I won THIS! from WeddingBee, which has been my go-to wedding blog. I'm really excited to get my 10 Custom Tiny Text Bowls from Paloma's Nest. You can view the Etsy shop too! Caroline, the artist behind Paloma's Nest, calls it Modern Heirlooms. I call it SUPER CUTE! I'm pretty stoked, can't you tell?! :)

I've got big plans for these tiny bowls... They're going to come in handy somehow through this wedding planning (once it finally starts). I'm giving one to my mom and one to Mudder (Chuck's mom) for Mother's Day. I've also got something else for each of them, which should be arriving any day now! Stay tuned!