Productively Unplugged

Last Tuesday I stayed away from the computer. Rebecca issued a challenge to unplug for a day and be creative. It was harder to stay away than I thought it would be. But in the end it was a great day.

Seeing tangible results of time spent is so valuable for me. Although I'm a writer and spend a lot of time on the computer, I also need time to read and to think. I find that when I create with my hands, my brain is able to recharge and new ideas come flooding in.

When I realized how valuable the time spent away from the computer was, I spent less time on it for the rest of the week. And I accomplished a lot of things in my spare time...

- sewed a set of curtains for the guest room
- painted the guest room closet
- cleaned out and reorganized the linen closet
- made four sets of note cards and some bottles for future gifts
- made a spring banner
- read two books
- did some serious thinking and journaling about goals and dreams and how to put them into place

I decorated a few glass bottles to use as gifts for the future. Spring and summer are coming and I love sharing a flower or two from my garden with friends. These bottles are all recycled - they used to hold everything from pancake syrup to coffee flavourings to vanilla. When I purchase a product at the grocery store I now evaluate the shape of the bottle it comes in to see if I'd like to use it in this way.

I had a sheet of old wrapping paper. It decorated a gift given to my daughter several years ago and at the time I thought it just too pretty to throw away. I used it to make these cards and the banner below. For the cards, I just tore rough shapes of the flowers and words and glued them to cardstock - blue, green, yellow and pink. I like the mosaic effect. They are all different and I've packaged them in groups of four cards to use as gifts.

The banner uses the same gift wrap - it covers the bottoms of the card stock triangles. A simple ribbon threaded through the top, letters printed on pale yellow paper and voilà, a banner to brighten up the mirror on the landing.