Colorful Creativity, The Farmer + Lucky Me

A few days ago I received a lovely email from a reader who discovered me through my latest book. Here's what she said.....

Hi Kristin - just to let you know you are inspiring me! a few years back we purchased a house to DIY on a lake up in northern michigan - long story short the house was hit by a car and had to be demolished and we started over. we had a blank slate -  i knew i wanted to decorate it in brighter colors than i had my home - i wanted Happy!  and eclectic - relaxing. i bravely painted the main floor mostly a lemon/lime green with a bright orange kitchen. it has been the beginning of a new journey for me :)

i found the video of your home randomly online and went to your website - purchased 1 of your books, recently ordered 2 more. i need to be pushed out of my box and i love that you are constantly encouraging people to do their own thing - not simply do what YOU do - although, i must confess to almost following the circles pillow verbatim... however, not again! LOL!! all that to say  - THANK YOU!

i read this today, written by an author speaking to another author, a teenager just beginning to believe she can write - "Thank you, thank you for writing, for taking the time and spirit and soul to write, because i love to read. And keep going, even when people make you feel like it's not that important. It might be the most important thing you do. Keep going."

Thank you Kristin for encouraging me - keep doing what you were created to do.   Ruth

I am putting this here not to toot my own horn today (as my Mom would say). I thought it would be a great way to start a new dialog here on the blog. Creativity and making is something I think about all the time and I'm happy that I am helping Ruth explore more of her own in her home. 

First off, I want to give a shout-out to my husband Mark (aka The Farmer) who is having a birthday today. Last year just around this time, the orchard in front of our farmhouse started to bloom. We barely had time to notice because the film crew from Houzz was here and we were all knee deep in that new experience of drones flying over our house and sheep and dogs and all that comes with a film crew. 

Mark is a busy guy running from one place to another checking on his sheep, keeping food in front of them and all there is to do with raising sheep and lambs. The last thing he wanted to do was be interviewed and filmed but he knew that the video would create new opportunities for us. Rick, the producer, wanted the sheep and dogs in the video. They had to fly the drone twice over two days over the sheep to get the perfect shot of Farmer, dogs and sheep. 

Then Rick wanted to ask Mark questions. I stayed out of the way and really didn't know what was being filmed. It wasn't until I saw the finished 7 minute video a couple of months later that I heard what he said. 

Go to minute 3:03 and you will see what I am getting at. The first time I listened I cried. I am a very lucky woman. 

Why am I writing all this. The thing is, I go to quite a few different events and farmers markets where I pimp my book Crafting A Colorful Home (my book on creativity, interior decorating, craft and color). I talk to a lot of people about the book and color and making. I have been astounded by the number of women who tell me that their husbands would never let them decorate their homes the way that I have done. 

I guess I married right for me. I cannot imagine making my home without expressing my creativity. I cannot imagine painting my home a color I don't like -- to be safe and worry about re-sale. I cannot imagine living in a relationship where I was being told that my creative ideas didn't matter or that I was stupid or that my creativity wasn't important or appreciated.  

Our marriage has always been a pretty equal thing. We each have our places where we are "in charge." Over the years, mine has been the kitchen and the home. When we were first married, I thought everything should be equal. I was and am a feminist as Mark and Julia are. I felt we should start out the house chores equally - you know - take turns cooking, laundry, vacuuming, cleaning, taking out the trash. That worked for a short while until I realized that he wasn't a very good cook - I got a bit sick of hot dogs, eggs, and spaghetti the 3 meals Mark specializes in. Shrunken cashmere sweaters coming out of the drier gave me the realization that I had better take charge of that department too. We worked it out over the years and it seems to work - although by no means is everything perfect around here. 

In the beginning of our marriage as we were building our home together, I tried to get Mark's opinion on colors and decor. The guy has incredibly good taste and I have been the recipient over the years of many gorgeous antiques, porcelain, copper pots, and more. But he never told me what I should do in our home and I guess I can say that I am so grateful for that. He always told me to do what I wanted. I have been able to express my own style and opinions in the world of home decor. And he loves it when it gets done. Even if we all go through a bit of chaos and mess along the way. 

You might be wondering why I am writing this all here. It's something I have been thinking about for a long time. The letter I got from Ruth above and the letter I got from Ria in the Netherlands the other day made me think that I should start a dialog here on the blog - more about creativity and where I get my ideas and how I design and make and do things. Here is Ria's letter.....

Hi Kristin - To begin with, I want to tell you how happy I am with your book " Crafting a colorful Home".
I ordered it a week ago (here in the Netherlands) and it arrived on Saturday.
To see all these colors, in the book, at your blog and in the video make me feel so happy.
When I was younger, I loved only natural colors, say: beige, grey, brown.
But, by growing older,  I'm 71 now, I learned to appreciate bright colors.
And my hope is, the years that the Dear Lord grants me, to craft my home as colorful as possible.
So, thank you very much for sharing your talents with people all over the word.

Have a wonderful day,
Ria (living in Valkenburg, an old town in de very southern part of the Netherlands)

This morning, I went out early to take photos of the orchard that is just beginning to bloom. 

It is doing it again, just like it did last year and the year before. Spring is a wonderful time of year to be outside noticing, walking, breathing it all in. I've heard older people say they wonder how many springs they have left. I never really thought about that until a couple years ago when I started thinking about getting older. I hope I have a lot of springs left because it is just beyond incredible. 

The ewes were grazing and it was just the prettiest morning. The sky was blue and it wasn't hot yet. As I traipsed around the field, switching lenses, making funny noises so the sheep would look at me, noticing things that had changed in the past couple days as the sun is shining longer each day and the heat is making things grow and bloom, I couldn't help but feel thankful for the man I have been fortunate enough to have met back in 1979 and shared my life with and to have as the father of our daughter Julia. And the sheep - he brought the sheep into my life and cares so well for them. 

There are so many fantastic creative things going on in this world right now. I hope that I can remain a part of your creative corner of your soul and life as I continue to write and blog and photograph here on this blog. I hope I can continue to be a sunny part of your day and maybe help you to add more color and spice and pattern to your life and interior space.  

Tomorrow I am on my way to Brimfield to the first flea market of the year (there are 2 more - in July and September). I can't wait to see what I see and find. I hope I will find things that I can use in my next book and in our home -- things that will become patterns or things that are patterned. Or things that I take photos of and remember and then incorporate into an idea for a pattern that I make and do. The thrill of the hunt is really quite fun. 

On Saturday, I will be at Webs at their Annual Tent Sale. Stop by and say hi if you are going. I'm going to be next to The Bistro Bus, close to the front door.  I'll have our lamb meat with us - it will be frozen if you want to take some home. I'll have my books and some other things. I would love to meet you. 

And if you have a husband or partner who doesn't let you paint and use color in your home, show them the video at 3:03 and tell them that they need to start loosening up their mind and let a little creativity into their space and life. Or maybe it is you who is too fearful of choosing the right color and mucking it up. Picking colors and designing a space is a scary proposition. It is much easier to go with all white or just how they are showing it in catalogs and magazines. Putting yourself into a project personally means that you might fail and it might be a mess and it might have to be redone. But doing it yourself, adding color and your personality and choices will make you feel much better than just following the crowd. You will be so proud of yourself and feel better and start to look at the world in a different way. 

Lastly, if you want to learn about how to be more creative and colorful in your life and craft, you can come to a retreat here at our farm. I have early bird pricing until May 15th. Three different weekends of classes - check it out here. As Richard Branson says "Screw it, just do it."