Hooded Towels and nursing cover

from Ie Mei: Probably 7 years ago I made hooded towels for my newphews, Maika and Kai. Michiko, my sister-in-law just recently told me that they still use them. I'm sure they are falling apart by now so when Michiko had her baby, Boen, I decided to make new towels for all of her boys. This is what I came up with. I also made a nursing cover for her.

On a Spiritual Note

To emphasize how important creativity is, I've included this video by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. I think one of my favorite parts is when it says, "Creativity does not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano..." I think that is what comes to mind when most of us think of creativity or talent, but even a living prophet of the church has proved this wrong.

Improve
Beautify
Extend
Smile
Cultivate
Develop

So, when you think you have nothing to offer the world, think again. Look at this list and realize that anyone can do any one of these things. Smiling is a form of creativity and anyone can smile.

Crafty Headwear

I love almost everything about hair. I want to be a hair stylist one day and possibly own my own salon. I also love making crafts. So, I decided to combine my love of both things and make headbands. Besides using my crafty capabilities and good eye for color, I tried to put a new spin on my creations. I made all the flowers detachable so that they could be used on either headbands or on clips. Another advantage of detachable flowers is that you can combine them with all sorts of different colored headbands depending on what you're wearing. I think they turned out great and I'm so excited to model them in the real world.

Creativity in Cooking: Part 2

Like I mentioned in a previous post, the art of cooking is diminishing as fast food become cheaper and more available. For instance, an apple pie that usually takes quite a bit of preparation can be bought at McDonald's for as little as $0.50.



But remember when apple pies were round and came with a beautiful lattice top? Well, I am currently in a cooking class and am creating beautiful dishes every week. This past week I was able to create an apple pie from scratch. I made the dough, sliced the apples, and carefully weaved pieces of dough to create a beautiful lattice top. It's amazing how much more you appreciate a homemade apple pie after you've done it yourself.

Creativity in Cooking

As fast food becomes cheaper and cheaper, many people have forgotten the art of cooking and have resorted to pizza and burgers. I don't have much experience cooking and for dinner I resorted to grilled cheese or mac and cheese--usually some sort of carb and cheese. However, this semester I was asked to join a dinner group and even though I only cook once every two weeks, it gives me the opportunity to create meals that I wouldn't normally make if I were just eating by myself.

My mom is Chinese from Indonesia and she is a great cook. When I was younger I would often help her fold egg rolls or won-tons. I decided that I wanted to conquer this all on my own for my dinner group and give them a little taste of Asia. After making a pork filling (pork, cabbage, onion, and carrots), I folded approximately 32 egg rolls.

BEFORE:


AFTER:

Nail Salon

One of the things that I really enjoy doing is styling hair and doing nails. I'm currently majoring in business and then I plan to go to beauty school and then maybe open my own salon one day. I love going to the salon and getting my nails done. I especially love it when I get flowers on my toes. It makes my feet look especially pretty. Well, at the salon they charge around $3 for each flower. What a ridiculous price! So, I thought that I could save some money if I learned how to do it myself. After lots of practice, I think I've mastered it and I'd like to share some tips with others.

Usually they use some sort of tool with a round metal ball at the end to make five dots. Instead of buying this tool, I like to use a match. Here is a step by step video on how to make lovely flowers on your toes!

The finished product:

Got Creativity?

Yes. Everyone has a bit of creativity in them whether it is the ability to paint, draw, dance, sing, or write. Many people don't realize the small things that can be considered creative. I am currently taking a History of Creativity class and have learned so much about how people in the past were creative and am realizing my own creativity. For this class we have a big project due at the end of the semester. I wasn't sure what I really wanted to focus on, so I decided that I would work on several different aspects of creativity. This blog is going to follow some fun projects that I'm going to do to foster my own creativity and some thoughts on creativity. I hope that through this I will learn more about myself and more about what creativity really is.