Simplicity.... with Crafts. Is it Possible?

I was recently reading a simplicity book (another one... I tend to read them a lot).  This time it is Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson.  I've followed her blog for awhile - it's very informative about creating a life that involves the least amount of trash.  Some things in the Zero Waste Home sound a little bit more complicated for me but overall I like the ideas that spring forth.  I especially like her take on crafts and this quote from her book -

"As I let go of potential/unifinished projects and seldom-used materials, I let go of frustrations and expectations.  I realized that the unused art supplies had been nagging at me.  They were just sitting there, waiting to become something better, something artful, something amazing, something that would allow me to vanquish my fears and exceed my abilities."
                                                                                                ----Bea Johnson, 2013, Zero Waste Home

I completely get where she's coming from.  With all the craft items in the house, there is a pressure that I should be making beautiful artwork or beautiful jewelry or beautiful clothes or beautiful knitted items.  Instead, she goes on to say that creativity can lie elsewhere - in alternatives to buying new things, in alternatives to reusing something, in alternatives to making do with what we have. 

Right now, my crafts are not alternatives to buying new things - they are just other new things, that require time and effort to be made complete.  Sometimes the time and effort is very well worth it because I sincerely enjoy what I am doing and sometimes, it can just be, well, time and effort spent.  What really matters? 

I also love this quote from the book:
"...I believe that the art supplies do not make the artist.  It is not a wealth of supplies that gave van Gogh's work power, but rather his vision and execution."
                                                                                             ----Bea Johnson, 2013, Zero Waste Home

How true! I must remember this when deciding to get every little accessory to feel like I am truly good at a particular craft.  And from this inspiration, I have another thing to get rid of - a box of possible craft supplies, just in case we didn't have them on hand when we wanted to use them.  They've been sitting in the basement untouched for about 2 years  - a box of egg cartons, clean meat styrofoam trays, empty tissue boxes and paper towel rolls.  Adios!