So about 6 months ago, when we had just about stepped into 2020, I had written a post (read My Quest for a new ‘Talent’) basically elaborating on the lack of any special skills or talents that I can brag about or post on social media to make my ‘social media friends’ go awww in awe of my talents and also be a source of joy to myself in the process. So I set out on a quest to look through every nook and corner of YouTube, Instagram to see if it would give me new ideas that I could pursue in this quest for finding me a ‘talent’. A few such activities/ideas did make it to my coveted ‘Talents to be tried’ list…some worked out, some not quite … thought it will be fun to share it with you all.
Wait, is that 👆👆 me? Well, I will let you be the judge of that…let’s get started 😀
1. Paint by numbers : 👎🏻
When I came across this, I was blown away..I always thought painting was fun but it’s been years since I have held a painting brush in my hand. So the idea of numbers guiding through was so encouraging. I mean it had 2 favourite things of mine..numbers and paints. It could never go wrong. As the Amazon package arrived, I looked at it and immediately made plans to hang the ‘masterpiece’ in the living room to soak up praises from anyone visiting. 😎
However, it’s only when I started, I realized it was no mean feat. The canvas was quite big and the numbers minuscule. It was a test of my patience and my eye sight. But I didn’t give up. For the next few days, every night I was hard at work. And I did make some progress. But the end was nowhere in sight. After more than a month of such perseverance, I realized I wasn’t even halfway through. My enthusiasm and patience was weaning off. My husband saying, ‘hey I can’t figure out what the hell you’ve been trying to draw for the past few weeks’ was the last straw…it’s still lying there waiting to be finished. Maybe one day I will pick up from where I left it and finish it. Maybe once it’s finished, it will really look good. Honestly, it’s a great idea. If you are really really patient, this is perfect for you. For me, I ran out of patience and this talent didn’t quite work out. 😔
2. Gardening: 👍🏻
Well, I know this is more of a hobby than a talent. But it’s something I have picked up pretty recently so I thought it deserves a mention. Now if you do read my blog regularly or even scroll through some of my recent blogs (My Mini Garden Tales, Spring for my Soul 🌻🌼🦋🌺), you will know that I have totally fallen in love with gardening. Every morning, that’s the first place I go to. To see if seeds have sprouted or there are new flowers blooming or some plant needs some pruning. I make a mental list of the things to do in the mini garden later in the day. It’s tedious and time consuming but hell, I love it!! So yayy. thumbs up alright 🌼🌻🌺🌹
3. Bottle Painting: 👍🏻
I have to say, this has to be the best thing I stumbled upon on YouTube. There are some amazing channels on YouTube with detailed tutorial videos on painting bottles and decorating them with different things. I am as addicted to watching these videos as I am into trying them all out..so far, I have tried my hand at mandala art, glass paint, tissues, lentils, pista covers, Charred paper and currently clay…all on glass bottles..it’s so engrossing and creatively very satisfying.
And once done, they make way to my work desk where they are displayed in all their glory and just looking at them makes me happy. At this rate, I fear I have to get a bigger table just to fit them all. 😂😂 Earlier, I would get Amazon packages regularly with new clothes, tops and dresses. These days, it’s all about my art supplies. Colors, brushes, varnish, glue, clay etc etc. In fact at the back of my mind, I am always thinking of my next project, what to do and how to do it. So this one definitely gets a big thumbs up 👍🏻😀💟
4. Good ol’ painting: 👍🏻
Since I already had all the colors and brushes for bottle painting, I thought, why not try the traditional water painting. Honestly, I am NOT a great painter. I can draw sceneries but I CANNOT draw human figures, I just don’t get the dimensions right and they end up looking more like hobbits. 🤷Yet, it feels so great to draw and paint in a coloring book. Reminds me of my childhood. I haven’t done much although. Definitely hope to do more of it in the coming days. But that’s a thumbs up too 👍🏻🎨
Infact I have been using up all the paints to paint whatever I can find, mugs, cardboard boxes…Its just fun playing around with colors and giving them a makeover. 💟💟😀
Apart from all these, I am always looking for new DIY projects that aren’t too complicated and will be fun thing to do. I have made a list of few more things like wall decor items, making artificial flowers out of waste materials. We’ll see how that goes.
But what I have realised in the past few months is that we are never too old to try something new. We just have to take the initiative and jump right in…maybe the first time, it won’t be that good or not any good at all, but who cares. As long as we have fun and enjoy ourselves, thats all that really matters.
So if there’s something that you have always wanted to try out, but couldn’t , for whatever reason, now’s as good a time as any. Give it a go. Am sure you will enjoy yourself. Do tell in the comments. 😀✌️
Heartfelt 