Only the Marvelous: In Full Bloom

Orchid Bodysuit: DIY Glitterati | Orchid Petal Wings: DIY | Strappy Shoes with Flower: DIY | Necklace: Im.G | Red Violet Wig: Lynelle Hair Fashion

Sometimes
The reflection I see
Bears no
resemblance to me
Sometimes
I look around the place I live
And wonder
How I came to choose the things I did
In the morning
He smiles
At the start of another day
He smiles
Kisses my shoulder
Cradles his body
Behind mine
Shin to toe to tight to mind
Sometimes
I wake and know the time will come
The day unfolds
Someday
That everything will resonate
Flowers bloom
In desolate places

In the morning
He smiles
At the start of another day
He smiles
Kisses my shoulder
Cradles his body
Behind mine
Shin to toe to thigh to mind
Shin to toe to thigh to mind to mine
Sometimes it seems
All the birds are flying south
While I am grounded
One day I'll wake
And everything will resonate
Flowers bloom
In desolate places

- Flowers Bloom, Mandalay

I love Halloween. I absolutely LOVE it and I think I have been emphasizing repeatedly how much it is my favorite holiday... ever. I do not enjoy any holiday as much because I am a girly girl who loves to play dress up...and isn't that exactly the whole point of Halloween? I put so much emphasis on planning my costume and start as soon as the -BER months hit.

This year, I decided to keep things light and fresh by having an Enchanted Forest themed Halloween. I already did leather, I already did sequins, I already did fur and I already did feathers... so why not try out something different? I was definitely a major petal pusher for the year that even Dominique was in theme with me and dressed up as Poison Ivy. Do wait for her blog post on that.

I always DIY my costume. I think it's the best part of the entire process, really. Creating something rather than just sketching and seeing your vision transform into something all by yourself is exciting. Also, practicing restraint of course, is vital in the whole process of costume design, it challenges your creativity and you find ways to make things work. The places to look for resources can range from a fabric store, the jewelers, the market...and even the hardware store. I think we should all use our creative power, if at least, once or twice a year (if you're for example stuck in a job that involves numbers and exact measurements) because nothing makes one so joyful, lively, free, bold, compassionate and liberated. Creating something from scratch is just amazing- it is the most indifferent thing to fighting and the accumulation of objects and money. It ignites a certain sense of craft that you didn't even know you had in you. It is absolutely visually stimulating.

So much of the frustrations we have and the irritability we undergo is a by product of not using our creative powers. All of us have areas of creativity and each of us has a unique creativity that is especially related to our talents and personality. Whenever we look at others, and think, "I can't paint like that," or "I don't have the talent a certain person has," we end up moving a step farther from realizing what we actually have.

When we block our creativity, we lose touch with our joy and liveliness. Is it any wonder that we end up being cantankerous and try to fill up the loneliness for our creative selves with money and things... which never quite do the job. Ultimately, we have to find what we are good at, get creative and nurture it. By nature, the creativity is there, and we might not be aware of its existence.

Sometimes, creativity, is also finding ways to achieve and live life as fully as possible despite the challenges that prevail.