What I've come to learn since slowing down and quieting my mind with creative activities is that I'm becoming more and more connected to what feels good to me and what doesn't. When I see others using watercolors, I always love the blended, light colored look it gives and I always want to paint more with them because it looks like so much fun.

A few weeks back, I decided to pull out my watercolors. What I do love, is that when I decide to play with my watercolors, is that it requires even less materials to pull out. Something that's a major plus when I'm super tired at night after a long day being mama to my kiddos (because, like I always say, I'm a doodler, photographer and cook by day and a doodle painter by night..ha!). But, my acrylic paints don't really require much more. ;)

As I started playing, I was excited mixing the water and colors together. There's something pretty calming when it comes to starting with water and then adding color to it. As it spreads and blends, it does bring me some calm.

I started with the background and chose colors that felt good at the time...pinks, purples and ocean blue (these have been my go-to-calming-colors for quite some time now...I just can't seem to get enough and I LOVE it!! Aaaaaaaah!!). I did enjoy covering all the white water color paper, like I always do when I paint on a white canvas with acrylics.

After the background was filled, I just felt a inner craving to paint the word love. I kept going over and over the word, because when I doodle words like this, I always trace and trace and trace over the word because the more I trace, the more inner calm I feel.

It was during this tracing time where I started to feel a little less love for the activity. I wasn't sure if it was just my left-brain being analytical and I just needed to get beyond those 5 to 10 minutes, which is when my right-brain starts to jump in and get me into the present moment and start loving what I'm doing.

So I painted some hearts and decided at another go.

This time, I decided on my favorite doodle that I do all the time because of it's super, calming powers it has on me. :)

Well...the more I doodle painted with my watercolors, the more I realized it's more calming for me to paint with my acrylics.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the way these paintings lookfor just a fun night of doodle painting play, but in the end, it wasn't so calming for me.

(And, that's WHY I paint, color, take pictures, cook and bake...it's creative activities like these that bring SO many calming benefits to me...I do it for how it makes me FEEL rather than thinking I should them. :) )

The reason being, is that I figured out during this painting, that I had to continuously stop to get water and paint. I felt like I was dipping my brush in the paint and water more than I was actually painting. And that's not calming for me. It was like, I kept having DO instead of BE.

When I paint with my acrylics, I can dip my brush in the paint and then swirl around the canvas for quite some time before I need more paint. I'm just BEing with the color.

I have more time in between adding paint to the canvas with acrylics...with watercolors...there was less time swirling the paint on the watercolor paper...and it's when I'm swirling the paint that my inner, calm self starts to shine, relax and have fun.

So when I finished, I didn't feel as happy as I usually dowhen painting with acrylics and I didn't have a smile beaming on my face and, the most important of all, I didn't feel as refreshed and rejuvenated, like I always do when I'm finished doodling with acrylic paints and my colored pencils.

Sure, this IS a creative activity, and for some, may REALLY love water colors, but for me, when I wanna really get my inner, creative calm on, this isn't the way to go....at least for right now in my stage of life.

This is why it's SO important to really connect within and see what creative activities FEEL best to you.

Everyone IS different.

If it wasn't for me continuing to keep creativity alive in my life, I'd never know what creative activities (and life decisions) feel best for me. This is why create!! And this is why everyone needs to create! And, yes, you are creative!! Everyone is!! And it's when you start to say hello to your unique, inner, creative talents, you'll start to see just how powerful creativity is and how many awesome benefits it provides.

If you wanna connect back more to YOU and you wanna feel calm, happy and naturally energized, keep doing a creative activity that you LOVE and soon you'll start making decisions based on how you FEEL (intuitive, gut) rather than what you THINK (head, others influence) is best for you...not only with creative activities, but in all areas of your life, as well.

Awesome, awesome stuff.

But, who knows, maybe watercolor painting will become more prominent in my life down the road, because, yes, right now I'm one stressed out mama, and I only wanna do the activities that de-stress me and make me feel beautifully nourished and put a big smile on my face.

Right now, in my busy mama life, acrylic painting and doodling with colored pencils does just that and it helps bring on my inner calm faster...so, I'm not giving up on watercolors or any other creative activity altogether...because I know, once my kiddos get more independent, my ME time will open up and I'll have more time to play around with my inner, creative talents. :)

So tell me...

What creative activities do YOU love? Which ones have you smiling BIG when you're finished? Which ones leave you feeling calm, happy and less stressed after finishing? I'd love to hear! :)

Until next time...

Life FEELS good...SAVOR it up!