Life is full of imperfections...

I think this place has become my peaceful corner to reflect on thoughts.. Just scrolling through my (not-very-many) past posts, one post caught my eye -- "Resin hates me."

That was nearly half a year ago! In these six months, I have had lots of practice with resin crafting. I must admit, it is quite a difficult craft and it does take a lot of detail and careful work. Even if you spend all your time looking at it, trying to prevent any dust particles from landing on your piece, there are still bound to be imperfections no matter how much you try.

With every resin piece I make, I learn something new.

I learned that you should never dome the sides with resin.
I learned that you should dome with runny resin, not wait till it's all thick. 
I learned that you should wait for the resin to thicken before adding glitter spangles. 
I learned that the background coloured layer should not be too thick. 
I learned that pieces cannot be too thin. 
I learned that drilling screw eyes can ruin your entire piece. 
I learned that toothpicks work best for me when doming.
I learned that you can make resin runny again with warm water.
I learned that bails sink into resin very easily.
I learned that bubbles appear in spots you cannot see until the piece is finished.

My lessons with resin never end. Yet, I learn from these lessons. I don't call them mistakes, I call them experiences.

I used to be a perfectionist, wanting everything to go my way. I wanted all the rainbows without the rain. But now, I actually find it overrated. Life is just like my journey with resin crafting. Things get into your way no matter how hard you try to avoid them.

I no longer find myself wanting to be a perfectionist.

Sure, I can strive to be one, but if I toss away a piece that I made just because it has a speck of dust or an unsightly air bubble, I would end up zero "perfect" pieces.

If I were to toss away every moment of my life that has imperfections, what would I end up with? I wouldn't have an enriching life to look back on when I am old.

Why be a perfectionist? Just go with the flow and embrace your not-so-ideal experiences (mistakes and failures if you will). Life is too short to be seeking for perfection.

~ Nikki

A Sudden Realization

Looks like I've forgotten about this space for a little while! I'm back with an interesting topic that I've been pondering about for some time.

Don't you love the feeling when you have tons of ideas and make endless clay charms for days on end? And you think, whoa, I made so many charms! I'm so productive! Yup, I am like that sometimes.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are days where you just don't feel like doing ANYTHING. The last thing you want to do is think of original charm ideas (which won't come to you no matter how hard you crack your brains). You just want to curl up in bed, watch TV all day long, eat, go out and play, enjoy the beautiful sunshine of summer... The list goes on. I know I certainly have been doing that this summer (except the sleeping part) :D

I've come to realize that we all go through ruts or slumps when it comes to crafting, some of them longer than we would like. It may also be stressful for us Youtubers to churn out videos to our lovely subscribers on top of our everyday lives. (Yes, we have ordinary lives just like any other human being!)

But yesterday I also thought of something else. Why force yourself to make things when you don't have any ideas? I myself have been in a "clay rut" for the past month or so, never feeling the urge to make charms as I did before.

On the other hand, over the past few months, I did made some quality charms that I am pretty happy with. I really think it's worth the time and effort to produce something that you personally like than to make things just for the sake of making them. Remember, quality over quantity any day!

For all my friends in the crafting community, don't strive to please others. Do what you think will make you happy. If you are not in the mood to make clay charms, do something else! I sure have been doing loads of resin lately :D

After reaching this important point in the self-discovery journey, my mind suddenly exploded with charm ideas! I had to scramble for pen and paper to jot them all down! Most of them were inspired by other amazing videos I recently saw on Youtube, but that is still something!

I hope this blog post has inspired you in some way or another! :)

Happy crafting!
♥ Nikki