Happy Wednesday everyone! I'm back with what is already my fourth Cup Of Creative interview! This week I'm chatting to Alice, from Wooden Windowsills. We get into taking on house renovations, being creative in the kitchen and how hard it can be to get back into something you once loved.
I am loving interviewing all these inspiring women and creatives, but I want to know what you think about it! Is there anyone inparticular you'd like me to interview? Specific names or specific creative outlets? And what do you think to me posting these once a week? Let me know what you think to this, and today's interview in the comments below! x
Hi Alice, thank's so much for agreeing to chat with me! My first question is... What does "creativity" or being creative mean to you?
Wow starting with an open one. I guess it has so many meanings to different people. I've never been great at conventional art or drawing (trust me, I can pretty much only draw a tree!) which is strange as my family are all amazing and one brother is an animator and my mum is a potter. However, I've,always expressed creativity in other ways, just as its intertwined in each of our personalities in different ways. I love music and interiors and home design. I've also discovered a recent love of gardening (I know, call me a granny!) My favourite outlet for creativity is probably through food though. Helped along by my passion for eating, we spend a lot of time cooking and inventing recipes and trying out different cuisines, and that's definitely one of my favourite ways to be creative.
What's the most creative thing you've ever made in the kitchen?
I LOVED doing the bake off bake along last year during GBBO, that was definitely a highlight and I'm so excited for this years contest too as each week I'll be making one of the bakes again and linking up with other food bloggers too! It forced me to bake things i'd never made (and sometimes hadn't even heard of!) and it gave so much scope for creativity!
How you find time to bake once a week during the bake along baffles me!
How you find time to bake once a week during the bake along baffles me!
It's really interest that your family is much more traditionally creative. Did you feel yourself sort of rebelling against that? Because your degree was in geography right?
Yes it was! Nice memory there I'm impressed! I think I just found other ways to be creative. I was the only one of my siblings who seriously pursued music and learnt to play multiple instruments. Im also the keenest chef of all of us too I guess. Whilst they can all draw and paint amazingly I will cook up a storm whilst singing I guess!
Ha I love this your answers are preempting my questions! I seem to remember you also saying you were going to pick up the violin again? Have you yet?
Funnily enough I was asked the other day if my best friend and I would consider if we'd play at a friends sisters wedding (we used to be in a string quartet years ago together) and madly we said yes! So we've got until April to get practising! I'm hoping its like riding a bike and I won't have forgotten it in the six years I haven't played regularly!
I'm sure you won't have! And having a deadline works wonders for getting you back into rehearsals! I know I find it IMPOSSIBLE to work on my theatre without some kind of date to work towards!
It definitely helps! I just need to make sure I practice early enough- I usually leave deadlines to the,very last minute. I work well under pressure I guess!
Once you remember how much you enjoy it sticking to rehearsals will be much easier!
So you've just finished doing up your flat and your selling! Are you itching to get stuck into your next diy project or will you be looking for something more ready made?
Haha no we're going even less ready made!
The house we are bidding for is a beautiful country farmhouse that needs some TLC! Pretty big task to take on, but the flats been a really good practice space for DIY and I'm so proud of how it's all turned out now we're done! In meantime we've finally got a bit of time to show some love to the boat which has been neglected for a few years whilst we've done the flat!
Are you renovating the boat or just general upkeep?
Renovating! No rest for the wicked! Adam bought a Hurley 22 yacht when he moved to Plymouth and ripped out the interior, started the big task of putting it all back in as he'd wanted it, and somehow life got in the way for a while!
You're not a couple for small projects are you?!?
Hahaha nope! What have I got myself into?
Hahaha nope! What have I got myself into?
Well I am so so jealous! That sounds like an absolute Grand Designs dream of a house project! And I'd love to live by the sea with my own boat! Where do you get your inspiration for DIY from is it mainly pinterest or do you have a favourite designer/magazine/shop?
Lots from Pinterest, or I also love Houzz for interiors inspiration. I also get a lot of inspiration from my parents who did the same thing we’re doing, and ended up mortgage free by age 34
It must be so satisfying though when you see it all finished and know you did that with your own hands?
Yes, the satisfaction is so so good when it's finally done. I find some of it so long and laborious it's definitely not all fun and games!
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| This is Alice's family pet, Timothy, and he is included on here even though he has nothing to do with this post, because LOOK AT HIM. |
So one final question... Do you have any golden advice for someone struggling to embrace their own creativity? Or any advice for budding kitchen creators/violinists?
Don't force it! Some days we're just not very creative, and that's fine! do things you love, and give yourself space and time and it will all come flowing back before you know it! I find I'm most creative when I'm happy and productive and filling my life with lots of little joyous things, so that definitely helps! In terms of specifically kitchen enthusiasts - don't be sad when it goes really wrong, it will probably still taste pretty good! Some of the best meals are ones where I've just winged it and thrown it all together! As for the violin - well, I guess the trick is to just keep picking it back up. If you loved it once, you'll probably still love it again so it's definitely worth just keeping it up as and when you want to!
Yes! I think we can all get a bit bogged down in making things 'successful' that we can forget to just enjoy the process. Thanks so much for taking the time away from DIY, baking and violin practice to chat with me Alice!
Thanks for the wonderful questions Stephie! This has been so much fun to answer! Plus it really got me thinking!
Alice blogs over at Wooden Windowsills and you can also follow her over on istagram and twitter too.
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