Creativity in the Everyday: Interview with Lindy Sellers

When you’re highly creative, sometimes it’s hard not to set high expectations for yourself. In this interview with Lindy Sellers of LindySellers.com, we talk about finding balance and how to be creative in your everyday life. 

Guys, help me welcome Lindy Sellers, fellow creative and modern homesteading extraordinaire. She’s utilizing her creativity to emulate a pioneer lifestyle in today’s world. Today, she’ll show us ways she incorporates creativity into everyday life.

Without further ado, here is my interview with Lindy Sellers on how to incorporate creativity into our days.

Hi, Lindy! I’m so excited to have you on the Dressed Up Rustic blog today. Could you tell everyone who you are and some of your story?

Hello there!  My name is Lindy Sellers, and I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart, Chris for 23 years. We have three children, and all were/are homeschooled. The boys are both in college, and our daughter is a freshman in high school. We live on a 12-acre hobby farm called Sweet Harvest Homestead in North Carolina. I love painting, quilting, photography, gardening, growing herbs, and all things Southern.

So fun, Lindy! The name of your hobby farm is charming, and we’ve got a lot of the same interests (fellow quilter, painter, gardener over here!). Tell us the story behind your blog.

My blog is Lindysellers.com, ‘Better living through creative homemaking’. It has grown up and evolved over the years.

I started the blog in 2007 because I wanted a way to keep in touch with our families in Tennessee. We had just purchased our land and were building a home and having fun acting like pioneer wannabes. I wanted the grandparents and friends back home to be able to see our progress. I’ve always admired the women in my family who raised their families out on farms with no electricity. Daily they milked cows, raised chickens, sewed clothing, baked bread and made soap. What a contrast between my great grandmother’s life and mine! I wanted to emulate that lifestyle, with a modern twist. I began baking bread, making jam and jellies, handmade soap and herbal remedies. Folks in the community took notice and started buying those products from me. The blog then became a place for me to share what items we had available.

The blog and Facebook page has become a community in the past few years. I love teaching others the home arts. This summer we are hosting a Homesteading Skills Entrepreneur Camp for girls ages 10-21. During the four day camp, they will learn how to make handmade soap, candles, bread, jam, jelly, herbal salves, and lotion.

Oh, fun! I would have absolutely loved at as a young girl. I hope you have a fantastic turnout. Sounds like you lead a busy but fulfilling life. How do you work toward balancing all of your “spinning plates” from day to day?

My standards used to be set way too high; several years ago, I had to lower them dramatically because I was driving my family and myself batty. My mother was a meticulous housekeeper. Her linen closets looked like a museum, and she was very particular about how things were done. (When I describe her that way, it makes her sound mean and stuffy; she was not at all. She was just excellent at housecleaning and did the job beautifully.) I felt like I should follow in her footsteps but knew I could never measure up when my little brother came for a visit and told me, “Lindy, your whites are dingy.” Dingy whites! I felt like I failed.

I was driving myself crazy, and I was cleaning ALL of the time, trying to be like my mama. It hit me one day when I realized that my mama did not home school and didn’t have us underfoot all day, every day. Our lifestyles were very different and when I realized that, I changed and am much more relaxed and happier.

That was a long explanation to say that I balance it all by not setting super high expectations for myself and by making lists. Every night before bed, I write out what I need to get done the next day. My list helps me focus, and it feels good to check off the boxes!

I hear you. I’m a list girl! And it’s so easy to set those expectations too high–especially when you’re creative and want to do so many things in life. How do you incorporate your creativity into the busyness of everyday life?

Being creative is woven into who I am. It is like breathing to me, so incorporating it into my life is just what I do.  For instance, if I am cooking a meal, I try to use different spices or add a new twist to old recipes. If I am outside on a walk, I pick flowers or branches to bring into the house to create a pretty centerpiece. I find that if an idea comes to me, I usually stop what I am doing to go try it out.

I think it helps creatives to have a dedicated space to make things. I create a lot of items in my kitchen, so that’s an easy, dedicated space. I love to paint with watercolors. I found when I kept them put away and only pulled them out when I wanted to paint, I didn’t create paintings as often.   After finding a small fold-out table and setting it up in the corner of my living room for my dedicated painting area, I started doing daily, 20-minute paintings. Having that small space where I can leave my things out definitely helps me be more creative with my art.

That’s great. It’s a great to know what makes you feel creative and then finding a way to incorporate it into your everyday world, rather than waiting for inspiration to strike. 🙂 Thank you so much for joining me today, Lindy!

Thank you for interviewing me, Janette. This was a lot of fun, and I wish you the very best!