Becoming REinspired

I've been feeling less than inspired lately.  Who am I kidding?  I've been down right UNINSPIRED for weeks (months?)  Last night while at dinner, I confessed to my hubby over wine and some tears that I have lost my creativity.

While I am truly HAPPY in my personal life, my head is no longer swimming with ideas.  The words that couldn't wait to tumble from my fingers to the page have simply ceased to exist.  My son turned 14 last week and the most decor I could muster up for his birthday dinner was a plastic tablecloth and some utensils wrapped in a napkin.

My brand new sewing machines sit basically untouched. I can't even remember the last time I purchased a yard of fabric. I have a gorgeous vintage French Provincial dresser, begging to be rehabbed, parked in the middle of my garage since September. (I haven't stepped foot in a thrift store in weeks.) I've barely even used the DSLR camera hubby gave me for Christmas.

Two years ago, if I would have had all the tools at my disposal that I have today, I would have been unstoppable!  So what's wrong with me?  Hubby assured me that I have not lost my creativity, but likely I had misplaced my motivation and inspiration.  Of course, he is right.

Since moving back to Florida and getting a job outside of the home, AquaSeventy6 has taken a backseat. It's been hard to juggle working, shuttling the kids to and from school, cleaning, laundry, family commitments, and more, while hubby works loooong hours. I don't have an assistant, a housekeeper, nor am I part of a carpool. It's just me.  The days I do get something on the blog or on Facebook can be discouraging.  The new Facebook filters on business pages only distribute my posts to 10% of my followers.

BUT, the truth is that I've worked too hard on this endeavor to let it die. 

I decided to go through my old blog posts and photo albums in attempt to become REinspired.

The REinspiration:

I began my creative career in 2009 writing for local online parenting sites. That same year, my friends Autumn and Kara started a business hosting social events for moms. Their goal was to inspire, and that they did!  The idea of owning my own business was planted, and immediately I knew it would be called AquaSeventy6 (although I didn't quite know what kind of business it would be.)

September 2009, Mommyista Big Bash

A year later Autumn and our friend Holly invited me to join them at a holiday craft fair.  They loved the Vintage Dish serving tower I had created for my MIL's 60th birthday party and thought they would sell well. Although the craft fair was cancelled, Autumn and I went on to create this blog. We made a myriad of super cool accessories, gifts and housewares (including The Vintage Dish) which we sold by hosting our own show-- the first annual Holiday Shop & Sip, and eventually AquaSeventy6 became a business.

What kept me motivated over these years were my friends and clients.  I loved getting positive feedback and inspiring others to take on a DIY project, hit the thrift stores, start a new hobby, or even turn their passion into a business

Soon after AquaSeventy6's birth, several other mom-owned, handmade businesses started popping up in the area.  It was awesome to be surrounded by a group of friends with so many ideas such as Marcy from Kaiya Designs, who was recently featured in the Tampa Bay Times, Jasmine from R&E Avenue who has clients all over the country, and Kara who now owns Simply Vintage Candles, was featured in Smart Retailer, and just this week shipped a PALLET of her hand-poured soy candles to Pennsylvania.

2013 Spring Shop & Sip

I've met even more creative women throughout the years, from writers to photographers, artists to designers. I've listed some of them on my sidebar under (appropriately enough) INSPIRATION.

I'm feeling it now...the beginning of my REinspiration. I don't know where it will take me, but I am ready for the ride.