Today I made some coconut eggs, a favorite in our house, and it got me thinking about how I categorize the different things I do.

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When I decided to start a 365 challenge of working on something creative every day, I didn’t stop to define what would count as “something creative”.   As a crafter and sewer, some things are obvious. Crochet a scarf: creative.  Sew a quilt top: creative. There are other things I don’t seem to think of that way. Try a new recipe: that’s just cooking. Sew a button back on a pair of pants: mending.

So for some reason cooking doesn’t fall into my self-decided category of being creative, but making candy does. Even though it is much simpler to make candy than to assemble a pot pie or make home-made spaetzle. I have a friend who creates incredible meals. Ones that take hours to prepare and might start with her making a mole sauce from scratch or cutting vegetables to the exact perfect size for beautiful colorful salads.  I consider her creative.

The same goes for different projects around the house. When I strip and refinish a chair, that counts. When I strip and repaint wood work, that doesn’t.  Should it?

Is creativity a feeling, or an action? And why is one person’s creativity not mine? Questions I am pondering today. I don’t expect to come up with an answer, but it is making me think about what I am doing, and why. Perhaps it has something to do with necessity vs. option.  I NEED to eat.  The wall NEEDS to be painted. But using that cute fabric or pretty yarn to make a bag or a scarf, turning a curbside chair into a bright seat on our porch? That’s just for my soul. The same goes for coconut eggs.

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