Today I want to remind you of something important: if you craft, you will have craft failures.
Maybe it’s a silly thing to say – but it is true! You can’t win them all, and all ideas you have won’t be your favorites. I actually LOVE when I have craft fails and today I want to explain why, and encourage you to test and play more – rely on old standards a little less.
When I am creating and know exactly what I’m doing – for example the easy/quick cards from earlier this week (post) – there is no possibility of failure. It’s set up so that it’ll be simple, easy, and a craft win. I love these times for when I’m feeling unsure, stuck, or just need a boost mentally. That said – it will also get boring if I never try new ideas or crazy concepts.
So, I give it a go. And sometimes, it fails. There are a lot of reasons for the failure. Sometimes it is bad execution. Sometimes I didn’t think something through. Sometimes it just does not work. But here’s why I love it: It pushes what I know. It sparks new ideas.
I learn more from the failures because if this didn’t work – then my mind will come up with something new or an approach to try next. I always say creativity is like a muscle- if you’re not exercising it, it’s not growing or flourishing!
So it will happen that some days I don’t like what I make, or some ideas are more successful than others. Instead of getting mad at myself for “failing” instead I see it as a new idea tried. I went several months without any real fails and I realized that was because I wasn’t testing new boundaries or ideas! So back to the art journal, back to more play, and embracing the results whatever that may be.
Sometimes those tests will result in epic wins (more on my recent win next week!) – and that’s just another reason why I love to test and why I embrace the fails. Because I never know when one of those fails will lead to my next great idea!
Letting go of any “failure” fear means that I can create boldly, without rules, limits, or worries. And that, my friends is why I embrace and even love my craft fails.
Thanks for the reminder that I am not alone with my fails.
You have such an amazing and positive attitude May. i love the idea of “failure” as a learning experience!
I try to look at “failures” as…did I try something new, did I learn something, yes? Cool. Move on, try again. Paint over it, cut it up, give it away. sometimes our failures are only in our personal feelings/mind.