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Maggie Whitley

joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith & simple living

You are here: Home / creativity / {a NEW mini-series: “How I live a creative life,” featuring five personal tips from Gussy // tip #4}

{a NEW mini-series: “How I live a creative life,” featuring five personal tips from Gussy // tip #4}

April 12, 2012 · 11 Comments
Filed Under: creativity, inspiration

this is week #2 of my creative life mini-series.

last week the focus was on five guest bloggers + their tips on living a creative life: kyla roma, just lovely things, lisa leonard, tiny twig + sarah jane studios ~ and this week the focus is on sharing five different applications i currently use to live a creative life and how they’ve transformed my mindset into something incredibly inspiring and freeing.

click here to my personal tips from this week: 1, 2, 3.

* * *

tip #4: create an oasis where you work

if you’re like me, you work from home. that means throughout the day your office moves from the dining room to the bedroom to the living room to your actual desk ~ and sometimes, outside on the front porch! when i’m not working on my computer i’m working in our studio. i absolutely love our studio space, tucked into the corner of our home. we’re renting our home right now which means our studio has lite blue painted walls, but it’s a neutral backdrop for me to hang art that blog friends have made + sent over :)

by working with the room’s layout i’ve created a little oasis inside. i spend a lot of time in this room so this is important. but i’m choosing not to focus on it’s little quirks — our house is over 100 years old so there are little quirks in every room ;)

creating an oasis where you work is really easy. let me show you what i mean…

first, keep a positive attitude about your workspace. how can you create your ideal workspace? how can you make the most of your space? second, what fun elements can you add to the room to enhance it a bit more? we have finger knit garland hung from two windows, and since our walls are tall i’ve got some word art {it spells CREATE} sitting on the crown molding of one window, and beautiful painted art from casey wiegand {below} on the crown molding of another door. by constantly creating new Gussy products i’m surrounded with cheerful colors + textured elements. surrounding myself with fabric is definitely an oasis ;) third, prioritize what works best for you in terms of having a productive work day. if you need coffee to start your day, drink some coffee. if you work better in a tidy house, or in silence, in the early morning hours, or if you like to have a million things going at once like heather does ;D prioritize what works best for you.

the point is… when you run an Indie Biz it can be hard to be creative all the time, especially if you work from home ~ the distractions are endless! when i find myself struggling to stay focused these three tips help me so much! sometimes we need a little push to finally create our oasis ♥

PS. it’s been fun to see how i can continue to stretch this mindset! this week i created something new for lunch: english muffin toast + peanut butter + raspberries + honey. SO TASTY! making sure i take a break for lunch and having the ability to create something that’s not from your typical lunch menu makes working from home even more fun!

*click here to see more photos from my studio

YOUR TURN: what is your workspace like? is it an oasis for you? is it perfect or do you have plans for a little make-over? share with us below! xo

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11 Comments
Filed Under: creativity, inspiration

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Comments

  1. Maribel Reyes says

    April 12, 2012 at 4:17 pm

    Honestly? I think I need a little makeover. More organization and less papers everywhere! for starters every single pen on my desk decided to dry up on me… so I guess I should start with a working pen…

    Reply
    • Gussy Sews says

      April 12, 2012 at 5:30 pm

      ohhh, new pens are my favorite! :) call me a dork, but i’m super excited for you to organize your desk!!! xo

      Reply
  2. Valarie says

    April 12, 2012 at 4:30 pm

    You just do not know how timely this post was! I have been, literally all day today… trying to work up my gumption to get my work space ready for two huge projects that are looming large over my head. I HAVE to get started but the space was holding me back. I am encouraged by your post!

    Reply
    • Gussy Sews says

      April 12, 2012 at 5:31 pm

      YEOW! thanks for sharing this with me — that’s so super awesome! what are you thinking for your space??? i’d love to know :)

      Reply
  3. Catherine Denton says

    April 12, 2012 at 5:52 pm

    My studio is always a work in progress but I love being in there–definitely an oasis. I have a large window to let the sunshine in and get a glimpse of nature; an art wall with loads of color; and a large china cabinet full of paints and pretties. I took over the dining room a few years back and love it.
    Catherine Denton

    Reply
    • Gussy Sews says

      April 12, 2012 at 8:20 pm

      oh that sounds amazing!!! and a china cabinet with your paints inside? awesome! :)

      Reply
  4. Nadir@StitchSense says

    April 13, 2012 at 7:40 am

    This series has been great! Thanks for sharing, I live in a small rental house also & its hard to feel like I’ve put my decorating “stamp” on anything since we can’t do much with the house. In my studio/office, I have been able to create a pretty creative space using what I have including using my yarn stash as part of the decor. I’ve also “zoned” areas to make the room work better like having a computer station, a jewelry making station, love seat to sit on & crochet, etc as well as a designated shelf for my pattern books & such. :-)

    Reply
  5. Valarie says

    April 13, 2012 at 11:01 am

    22 years and 3 children later, I am finally moving my work space into an actual room! House was built in 1919, so lots of quirky angles to the ceilings and no storage! So for right now, I just need to get organized and get going. In the meantime, our architect student son is designing a new garage/studio to be built here on the farm this summer! Then the real fun will begin of designing my dream studio!

    Reply
    • Gussy Sews says

      April 13, 2012 at 11:03 am

      OHHHHH — that sounds amazing!!! :) yeow! what a fun summer you have ahead of you!

      Reply
  6. Kasey M. says

    April 13, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    The first thing I did to give myself a designated work space was build a desk with [mostly] what I had on hand. It’s in my bedroom [not ideal] but I have HUGE windows that really cheer me up. Sunlight + birdsong = Happy Crafter :D

    I’ve also gotten into the habit of actually making my bed because I like having a tidy workspace. Now I just need to figure out how to work productively but not feel so isolated since I come straight home from my 9 to 5 take care of the pets and then head to the studio for the rest of the night!

    Reply
  7. Maribel Reyes says

    April 16, 2012 at 9:57 pm

    Oh, well in that case I can be totally honest with you and say that a stationary store or any stationary/office supply aisle is like a candy store for me! and now also for my 6 year old daughter! haha… we love new pens, pencils, notebooks… ;)

    Reply

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ABOUT MAGGIE WHITLEY DESIGNS:
Maggie Whitley weaves her writings around joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith, and simple living. She homeschools her children, enjoys a quiet room while reading, and roars with laughter over the challenges & delights of motherhood. Maggie and her husband, along with their four young children, live in metro-Detroit. She has been writing online since 2008.
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JOY in motherhood & homemaking 🧺🌿💓✨

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I fought every internal comment I could think of a I fought every internal comment I could think of and took my kiddos for a looooong walk today before dinner. ❄️✨ There’s just so much work required to raise children! I’m feeling like a tired lady. But sunshine & fresh air are good companions to keep around. 

We came home and I made “the best dinner ever”. Max specifically announced, “it’s so great you’re launching new meals to the world”. LOL— kids! 🤣👏🏻💓
How about a little Wednesday night introduction? 😘Social media sure has changed over the years and we don’t always SEE who we’re following or remember WHY we’re following certain accounts. 

So, hello! As you can gather, my name is Maggie ;) 

I started writing online (almost 13 years ago) to share the handmade products I was sewing. My shop was called Gussy Sews. ✂️👛I love the community that has grown from sewing & sharing online.

Let’s FFW to today: Zack and I live in Michigan and have four young children (2 boys & 2 girls). I slowly left the handmade industry and walked right into homemaking, homeschooling, and encouraging women through writing. 💕📝

Motherhood has been very hard on me. (And not just because of how close in age our four children are.) It’s been hard for me because I fought for years to accept that *it’s supposed to be hard*. 

I mean, how do you effectively teach another person to know and love the Lord? Bc that’s how I think of motherhood: a calling to nurture others by studying the One who nurtures me. So I gotta make the first move: study the Bible and seek Him first. As my friend Autumn reminded me, vulnerability births transformation. 

(I’ve had to be really vulnerable!)

So, yes motherhood has fully transformed me. But even more so, Christ has fully transformed me. My list of “all that He’s done for me” is off to a beautifully long start.

Something else I want you to know about me: I stalled for years before acknowledging I have anxiety and depression. It’s hard to talk about this because of course this isn’t forever “my hardship”, but rather because acknowledging this means to heal I have to work through some really difficult things. ✨

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Just a few cheery memories from my week! How about you?
Book reading! One of my best “Maggie” activiti Book reading! One of my best “Maggie” activities. I finished my last book moments before 2020 ended, which brought my started list to a close. Small joys add up to big joys ;)

What are you reading this year? Currently?

How many books are you planning to read? What’s your goal?

I’ll share what’s on my list for 2021 soon as I received some nice titles at Christmas. 📖✨🤍
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