When Inspiration Meets… Whatever This Is
Dear diary,
Today I sat down to start painting the new hand-painted Christmas ceramic decorations - the ones inspired by our family tradition of adding one meaningful ornament to the tree each year.
A romantic idea, right?
A tiny heirloom for a memory. Something to hold onto a moment in time.
Except, dear diary, reality looked less like slow Christmas mood lighting and more like:
- Paint-splattered legs
- Dust in my hair
- A palette that looked like a baby wiped avocado on it
- A rogue toddler paintbrush attack (I respect her energy)
One ornament trial genuinely looked like it had been decorated by a festive potato.
There are sketches everywhere. Some beautiful. Some… concerning.
And colour swatches drying like a forensic lineup of “Who thought THAT shade was a good idea?”
Turns out dreamy handmade holiday magic begins as a chaotic crime scene of creativity.
The truth about new ideas
No one tells you this part when they say:
“Follow your creativity!”
Sure, follow it.
But also prepare for:
- Sudden self-doubt
- Debating throwing a decoration across the room (in a charming, whimsical way)
- Googling “why does ceramic painting betray me”
- Wondering if anyone even wants new Christmas memories anymore
And the guilt-spiral lines like:
“Is this sentimental?”
“Is this original?”
“Does this even make SENSE or am I sleep-deprived?”
Because creativity is beautiful…
but the messy middle can feel like failure in real time.
But then, the spark
Somewhere between the colour tests and caffeine, one tiny ceramic bauble quietly turned out… beautiful.
Soft, nostalgic colours.
A hand-painted moment.
A little keepsake to mark a year, a place, a person, a feeling.
And suddenly:
There it is.
The whole reason to try new things in the first place.
Why we make
We don’t create because it’s easy.
We create because we believe a feeling is worth making tangible.
Maybe this is the year someone:
- Built a home
- Saw the ocean with their kids
- Survived toddler Christmas chaos
- Lost someone they love
- Fell in love
- Grew quietly in ways no one noticed but them
And a decoration can hold that.
Not perfectly - but lovingly.
So Dear Diary…
I will keep going.
Mess, doubts, gold-glaze tantrums and all.
Because some years deserve to be remembered tenderly, even if they weren’t tidy.
And handmade means a little wobble is character - not a mistake.
xx
Terri