When I realised I had to start somewhere… and when I did…

I felt a little overwhelmed. Collecting things from beaches- no problem. Crocheting, drawing, painting and generally making things with my hands- no problem. The big question was- how would I combine the two without making it look like I was trying too hard? And can you try too hard? I learnt the meaning of procrastination from an English teacher in school whilst we were reading Hamlet. I can’t remember now what Hamlet was procrastinating about but when I start to put things off, I tell myself to stop being like Hamlet. As is usual for me, I started making lists. Lists of my ideas, lists of the things I’d need, lists of the places I could get them from. Anything to avoid starting to make something. I know that my biggest problem is that I am a disaster averter to the extreme. I try and avoid any possible problems I might encounter and it is hard work. I was worried about using a shell I really liked and then accidentally breaking it, so I just didn’t use the shell. I was worried about using the only piece of blue sea glass I had, so it stayed tucked away safe in my sewing box. I had to be brave and just make a start and so I used what I had loads of- limpet shells- to make some mini Christmas tree hanging ornaments, perfect for decorating the real Christmas tree in December and because I had loads of them, I could afford to crack a few without losing my head!