Sharing My Creative Week

Creativity Looks Like Tulips: And an old wooden bench

April 26, 2026 Leave a Comment

Not quite 10 years ago we had a very large pine tree removed from our backyard. I do hate taking down trees, however necessary, and I had asked the owner of the tree removal company if he could make us some logs we could use as seats around our fire pit. I liked the idea of giving the tree purpose and keeping it with us in a sense.

He took things a step further and had a friend who owned a lumber mill make us several, very large planks of wood. He was very excited about how we could use these to make a picnic table or something similar. It was a very kind idea and something I imagine wouldn’t have been inexpensive had we decided to do it on our own.

There was one problem however.

They were huge.

And heavy.

My husband is very handy however he doubted any of his tools would be able to cut the boards, assuming we could lift them anywhere to begin with.

So, we covered the boards up with a tarp and put them over near our compost piles until we thought about a project we could use them for.

And time rolled by.

This past weekend we had gorgeous weather. It was nice but not too hot and we spent it out in the garden. We swept the patio and set-up the pond, I weeded beds and picked a few spring bouquets and relished being outside again.

I am forever rearranging things. Moving this chair to that room, that picture to this table. I love sprucing things up just a bit here and there. A few years ago our poor front porch was in need of repair and I was very excited to re-do the decor once the hard work was done.

I purchased a very sweet little loveseat and two chairs. It looked adorable and I was very happy with it.

This past weekend however, I decided to move the little loveseat to our patio. Our patio in the backyard is one of my favorite places to sit and journal or enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. The loveseat looked adorable on the front porch but it wasn’t being used so, off to the patio we carted it.

Later that night I was trying to figure out to do with the empty space on my porch. I was browsing Pinterest and I found one photo that had a rustic wooden bench (picture #12 in the link below) and another photo that had a bench filled with plants (picture #20 in the link). You can see the inspiration photos here.

I really loved the idea of a rustic bench with plants and asked my husband if he thought he could make me something like that. It was a lazy rainy Sunday but in the afternoon the skies cleared and we were able to make our way back outside-and back to the stack of pine boards.

The years had significantly changed the wood. It was light and surprisingly in fantastic shape! I explained my idea and we quite literally knocked this wooden bench together in around 20 minutes. Well, he knocked I held the planks and offered ideas.

And just like that, I have a new bench on the porch that looks amazing and brings a smile to my face whenever I come home. I have used it to take some photos of my bouquets and with a few coats of some sealer I am pretty confident it will be a lovely display on our porch for years to come.

Sometimes I forget that my creativity is first and foremost for me. Whether it’s decorating, arranging bouquets, writing or making art it starts with filling a need for expression. A need to create what doesn’t yet exist. It doesn’t have to be about content or productivity, not at first, not ever.

It can simply be about experiencing the joy of moving from idea, to concept to existence. And adding a few tulips on top for good measure.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

*If you are a fan of cozy mysteries and would like to be kept up to date with Book #1 in the Cassie and Polly Mystery Series you can click here. I promise no spamming or anything like that. It’s free and of course you can unsubscribe at any time. I am just getting that substack going but your support means the world!

This week I am offering a sneak peak at what subscribers of my Substack receive as part of my Letters for Creatives. You can see the extra content I include each week below. In addition to the content below you receive a mailed zine sent to you each month that’s great for collection, collage and general whimsy. Thank you so much for being here and supporting my work!

What’s Inspiring Me

I have been truly enjoying Samuel Meads reels over on Instagram. He has such a lovely and positive approach to making art and watching him make some of his pieces has inspired me to get my materials out on my desk so I can pick them up more easily when I feel the inspiration. You can follow him on Instagram here.

What’s I’m Making

Bouquets! I have been cutting the beautiful tulips from my garden and making some really lovely bouquets. I am dabbling with selling my flowers this year and have had two orders already. I cannot wait until I can get out there and plant the summer flowers!

What’s I’m Reading

Here’s what I finished this week:

“The Book of Knowing and Worth” by Paul Selig (Affiliate Link)

This is a re-listen for me. As I mentioned my spiritual journey has been full on lately and this book has been sending me off to sleep at night. I really enjoy the peaceful narration and the channeled text is very enlightening.

Here’s what I am (still) reading:

“A Fire at the Exhibition: A Lady Hardcastle Mystery, Book 10” by T.E. Kinsey (Affiliate Link)

As you know I am a huge fan of the Lady Hardcastle Mysteries. I listen to them all on Audible and really love the performance. This one is no exception

“Can’t Spell Treason without Tea” by Rebecca Thorne (Affiliate Link)

“A World Made New: Book Three the Manifestation Trilogy” by Paul Selig (Affiliate Link) I have listened to a lot of Paul’s channeled texts over the years and I really enjoy the audio books because he reads them himself so it feels really authentic. I realized as I am writing this that I hadn’t actually read the first two books in the series which makes sense as I wasn’t following along with this one as I usually do. So I am going to be hopping off this one and heading over to book #1 but it’s still a great listen!

Creativity and Stillness: Thoughts on my artist weekend

March 1, 2026 Leave a Comment

It’s been a beautiful weekend.

I am currently writing this in a hotel room on an impromptu artist retreat. The idea was sparked and realized only a few days ago and I must say it’s been an amazing time.

I want to be able to share some photos of what I have been up to but that will all come in next week’s post. This isn’t me teasing you to subscribe or come back next week just that I don’t feel I can write it all up as I would like right now. It would feel rushed and to be honest I am getting loads of creative ideas that I want to have time to sit with so hopefully it will be worth the wait!

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Today I wanted to write a bit about what I have experienced on this solo retreat and to do that properly I think a little back story is in order.

I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling Momma to 3 awesome kids. Truly, they are awesome. They are creative, smart, funny and best of all they know their own minds and I just love that.

My life is my family and has been for the past 15 years and while it’s challenging and hard and has grown me in ways I don’t think I could begin to summarize I know I am doing what I was meant to be doing during this season in my life.

Creativity, however, is my recharge. It’s where I can go and just rest, make a mess, write the words and show up exactly how I am and let it all go.

When I was 8 I decided I was going to be a writer. 8 year-old me knew this, never doubted it and to be honest writing is the one creative pursuit I never doubted about myself. Even when people told me something wasn’t good or that I couldn’t write I just knew they were wrong and went about my day. I’m not sure I realized that about myself until just now.

Man I love writing.

The one part I did question was my legitimacy as a writer. You see somewhere between 8 year-old me and the 40 years since I came under the misguided belief that to be a writer I had to prove it. It wasn’t enough to write I had to be published. It wasn’t enough to be published I had to earn money. It wasn’t enough to earn money I had to earn a lot of money.

Crazy right? I mean who makes up these cockamamie rules?

The answer? Me! I did!

Somewhere I decided that I had to prove myself. I had to prove I was a “real” writer. I had to show them that I had done it.

I don’t know who “they” were but apparently they were important enough to have me beating myself up for not being where I believed I was supposed to be.

Over the past maybe 2 weeks I have been on this deepening path. Deconstructing things, questioning old beliefs.

This creative weekend has really been a beautiful little balm for my creative soul. She so needed to be treated to a weekend of possibility with zero expectation. She needed to be rewarded for her strength, for showing up even though I was, to be honest, quite mean to her a lot.

In all of this, there has been a bit of a returning to myself. Reconnecting with the parts of me that had been patiently waiting for their time again. Parts that knew I needed my attention to be elsewhere but that one day I would come back and be so grateful they were still there.

If you are feeling stuck creatively. If you are questioning your legitimacy as a writer or an artist or just whether you are actually creative at all I would like to send you a virtual hug. I don’t know about you but I am so grateful I have creative outlets. Whether I am stitching something, writing something, playing something or whether I’m just thinking about those things.

Creativity is what connects me to me.

The bigger me.

Being creative connects me to The Creator and the energy and alignment that comes from that is, well, it’s truth.

I have been blessed to be able to get away for the weekend and I know that.

If you are a momma with little ones you may be reading this with one in your arms, through bleary eyes at 2 am on your phone.

I see you. Hang in there. You are doing amazing and you got a collective mamahood cheering you on as you go through the hard moments, the beautiful moments and everything in between.

If you are someone who just feels stuck, uninspired or maybe not even sure how to begin to get back your creative spark-I see you. Stuck is part of the journey. Sometimes the only thing I could do was watch other people be creative or read the writings of others. You aren’t alone. You aren’t behind. You aren’t wasting time. If this extremely long north eastern winter has reminded me of anything it’s that all things need a pause. We aren’t any different.

Maybe you are someone in the feasting stage of creativity. You are full of ideas as they flood in fast and furious and you are just trying to keep up. I am cheering you on and hope you know that the making is enough. If no one reads it, listens to it or sees it, it’s enough. You are a beautiful creative-making machine!

If I could wish one thing for all of us, it would be to spend a bit of time today recognizing our amazing gifts. Seeing all we have been given. Resting in the things we have already done, made or dreamed. To relish in the creative expression of another and send them a little cheer for not only making something but sharing it. Our energy goes so far and even if we can’t reach out to someone and say “way to go you” offering up an energetic cheer really does make a difference.

So that is all for me. I have some creative plans before I leave but they may not happen until I get home and that is alright with me. Thank you for being here with me on my journey and I wish you a beautiful week!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Little and Often: Moving slowly, creating intentionally

February 22, 2026 Leave a Comment

I’ve been moving slowly and yet time has been whirling around me.

It’s been intentional, slowing down, being more deliberate, trying to stick to the creative focuses I have been given.

I always find it interesting how slowing down, not being hurried or busy seems to be revolutionary. In this journey I am learning just how necessary it is for me. There has been this uncovering the past few years where I am realizing so many of the aspects of who I truly am were never in need of correcting.

That doing things little and often provide me with true and sustainable momentum while also providing the most joy in my chosen task. For me, rushing and forcing never works. It’s not sustainable. Pushing and hustling doesn’t work for me either. In most ways it is completely counterintuitive to my own creative process.

Over the course of my creative life I have moved in rhythms that looks something like hustling and pushing followed by avoidance and then beating myself up for said avoidance.

The balance for me lately when those “you should be…” come to mind is responding with, “this is my life.” That little phrase reminds me that I get to do these things, there are no shoulds here.

I also recognize that my creativity needs space. If I don’t make regular time to be creative, then I can’t expect to make much.

Schedules and routines are lovely things I like to think about but I work much with a general list of priorities. I have been playing with a habit tracker and it has been working well. In the past I would focus far too much on what I missed, the boxes not checked, but I have been working on that and having a simplified list of my 3 creative focuses has been helping.

Last night I was lying in bed and thinking about my plans for my Substack. I don’t know about you, my fellow creative, but sometimes the ideas come fast and furious and then before I know it I am facing complete overwhelm at the realization that there are just not enough hours or enough energy. The idea of the three focuses has truly helped me clear out the clutter and find my little and often.

So, I took a breath, focused within and asked, “ok what’s my purpose? What’s my focus?”

Writing is one of my focuses so here I am, working on this week’s Letters for Creatives. While trying to keep focused with a million ideas whirling in my head.

So this weekend, while the snow falls here in the Northeast I am going to be finishing the most recent round of edits for my cozy mystery and recording a creativity session for paid subscriptions. Those are my plans. My ideas are, well, more.

I really want to do some collage. I have been thinking about it for maybe two weeks and I just need to sit down and get collaging. There is just something so therapeautic about tearing up bits of paper and brushing on some glue before sticking them down.

I want to finish my current junk journal. I have only 2 pages left and a few that need some last little bits added to them.

Slow stitching. I am really excited to finish the first page in my slow stitch journal so with any luck I can share the finished page here.

I would love to hear your thoughts about creativity. Are you best when you challenge yourself to make things happen or do you also need to do things gently? Are there any projects you are slowly chipping away at? Please let me know!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Staying on Path

April 27, 2023 2 Comments

I am sitting in the studio, in my cozy chair with a cup of decaf french vanilla. Dinner was delicious-albeit a bit decadent with all it’s cheesy yumminess-and I am taking time to just sit and visit with you all a bit.

The ideas have been swirling and for what feels like the first time I am able to keep up with them. In the past I have had ideas flood in that often took me in various different directions. Lately however, I feel more grounded, my plans and ideas have a direction and I am able to move along at what feels like a grounded steady pace. Sometimes I just don’t have the energy or if I am being honest, the inclination or dedication to stick to the plans I set out. If I were to offer a guess, it’s because in the past I let anything that peaked my interest take center stage rather than vetting it for cohesiveness and longevity.

So often I was lead off of my path to be taken down one that, while interesting, isn’t for me. My husband and I will joke that we get distracted by “something shiny” and off we go. I am working very diligently at appreciating the shiny but letting it float on its merry way to it’s real home.

My focus lately has been on my first in-person art journaling class. Launching my new digikits as well as my dollhouse channel. I want creativity to be my focus and I want to focus on sharing it in an inspiring way to others but I also want to be spending time each day living my creativity not just creating content. I was guided today to take a good look at my creative corner at home. If you aren’t familiar it’s a little corner in our bedroom where I have a desk and lots of creative goodies to play with. The desk was covered with laundry and bags and various things that needed putting away. Most days if I am working at home I am at the kitchen table with my laptop but it was being suggested that maybe, I need to clear off my creative space so I can practice what I preach a bit more.

It’s hard to do little bits of creativity through the day when you need to dig through laundry to find your journal. And while I love creating content my creative practice is first and foremost what sustains me through the day to day of life. It’s what supports me when I am feeling frazzled-giving me an outlet for the struggles-and it’s also what grounds me in the good days-helping to savor the little moments.

So today I cleared the desk, I uncovered the 10 journals I have started prepping and made a plan to sit there each day-if only for 5 minutes-and have a play.

Our world makes distractions so easy and focus-especially on the truth of what matters to us-hard to come by. I want to be deliberate with my time and how I spend my energy and paint covered hands and collage pages always bring me joy.

Thursdays are also the days where I give my book club update. This week I am still working on the same 3 books I mentioned last week. I have been listening to the audiobook during studio time and have been trying to read my Scottish Bookshop book during the day but haven’t been very successful. With any luck come next Thursday I will have completed these 3 books and have some new ones to share with you.

I hope this post finds you well. Are you reading anything good? I would love to hear!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Gardening, Books & Dollhouses

April 20, 2023 4 Comments

(Please note this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links you don’t pay anything more but I earn a small commission)

Happy Thursday!

I am sitting in my studio after having spent some time today in the garden! Oh it feels so good to be out in the sunshine! I planted my lettuce seeds and cleared out 2 beds and had a nice long sit, petting the dogs, and thinking about what my plans are for the garden this year.

I am really excited that after 20+ years of wanting we are finally purchasing privacy trees for the back border of our yard. This is something I have always wanted to do but at first our yard was already full of trees that cast it in full shade so growing anything like evergreens wasn’t going to work. Sadly most of those trees died, the upside is that our backyard is now full sun-yay! I have also been able to replace almost all of the trees we have lost and just put them in more appropriate spots.

The other thing I did was had a good swing on the swing set. Last year my husband built one for the kids and I had requested that he build it sturdy enough so that I could also use it as swings were my favorite as a child. I have to ask the last time you were on a swing set? Can I just say that I forgot how amazing it feels! I told my husband that from now on whenever we are grumbly we should just come out and swing for 5 minutes and suddenly all is right with the world. Really it was pretty awesome.

In other, more blog-focused news I will be hosting my first in-person class this June! I am so excited and really can’t wait to get everything pulled together. I already have lists and ideas and I am planning a goody bag-including a brand new art journal-for each participant. It’s going to be so much fun! I will be sure to keep you updated and I do plan on offering an online version of the class so be sure to keep an eye out for that.

With the gorgeous weather today my husband was kind enough to help me transport my dollhouse to the studio. Originally I was excited to work on it at home but other than the very first steps I just haven’t been able to find the time. I spent this past week designing a digital planner so I could plot out my studio time with my current projects. I was able to use it to carve out time each week to work on the dollhouse and the content creation that goes along with it.

If you read this post you know I am dipping my toe into the world of miniatures and I have begun my first project-renovating my childhood dollhouse. I have quite a bit of footage filmed and wanted to see how I was going to do with it before deciding if it was content I was prepared to create and share on a regular basis. I feel ready now and I am going to spend the rest of April filming some videos and then launch a separate YouTube channel just for the dollhouse.

I will keep the same format here which is writing a blog post and sharing the YouTube video. I’ll create a separate link that takes your right to the dollhouse content and all the appropriate videos but I didn’t want the videos on YouTube to be under my art journaling channel. I really thought it would be confusing for subscribers and probably make some algorithm somewhere cranky. I have designated Sundays as my dollhouse day to share all things miniature. Currently I post content here on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so I thought adding Sundays would help you know what to expect and when here on the blog.

That brings me to another thought-my podcast. I have loved making podcasts in the past but lately I have been struggling to find topics to share about. I have some ideas and things I might do-including taking a step back all-together but I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you listen to the podcasts? If so what would you like me to talk about? For now, I am going to take the rest of April off and see what comes up for May.

Lastly I did want to give you a Book Club update. I finished 1 mini book this week-“A Christmas Tartan” by Paige Shelton (affiliate link). It was really good-her Scottish Bookshop Mysteries (affiliate link) are one of my favorites. I am currently reading the next book, “Lost Books and Old Bones” (affiliate link) along with “Emerald Isle” (affiliate link) Stacy Justice Mysteries Book #5 by Barbara Annino. I started this book last year and then just stopped reading on my kindle for a bit. I am hoping to finish both of these books this week along with the audio book I am currently listening to which is “The Secret Adversary” by Agatha Christie. I mentioned in the last book club update that I am working on The Agatha Christie Mystery Challenge and I really enjoy listening to them in my studio. They are so well produced. If you are interested in the version I am listening to it’s on Audible here (affiliate link).

So that is the news for me! It’s funny I didn’t know how much I would have to share with you this week but it turns out it’s been quite a bit! I would love to hear what you are up to so please do share a comment below. If you share about your reading adventures on your own blog you can join my link part (see below) and we can all come and see what you have been reading. One day I hope to host a virtual book club-does that sound fun? Let me know!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

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Sharing My Creative Week

What’s Inspiring Me

What’s I’m Making

What’s I’m Reading

(Please note this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links you don’t pay anything more but I earn a small commission)

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