Hi all!
2020 may have been a terrible year like none other but it was undoubtedly full of creativity. Worldwide, people began to learn new hobbies, bake bread from scratch, host parties/events over Zoom and discover different ways to entertain themselves. In my own personal bubble, I let my creative juices flow – pardon the expression. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, took chances and did things I always wanted to do. This post isn’t to brag or make others feel less productive. In fact, you’ll notice my list doesn’t include anything huge or out of this world. It mainly revolves around reading/creating online content. When I wrote down everything I did in the last twelve months, I was amazed by how small and simple these things were. I hope it gives you some ideas that don’t involve writing the next classic novel or painting a masterpiece. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
1.) I participated in 3 different Readathons.
In February, I took part in The Fortune Teller Readathon – My TBR!
In May, I attempted The Bookemon Readathon – My TBR!
In October, I got involved in The Hocus Pocus Readathon – My TBR!
2.) I launched my very own horror themed Bookclub. This was a huge step outside of my comfort zone but such a dream come true!
You can learn more about that here.
3.) I participated in three, 30 Day Challenges and one, 100 Day Challenge.
If you head on over to my personal and bookclub Instagram pages, you’ll be able to check out my progress during all of these challenges. I did: a.) The 30 Day Music Challenge, b.) The 100 Happy Days Challenge c.) The 30 Day Horror Movie Challenge and d.) The 30 Day Horror Book Challenge.
4.) I created a 30 Day Horror Book Challenge.
Speaking of…The 30 Day Horror Book Challenge was created by myself and my dear friend Caleb @the_bookeyman. He did the design and I assisted with the prompts. It was recently featured on a horror themed YouTube channel – I feel so proud! Free to use our template below and enjoy!
5.) I consistently blogged once, sometimes twice weekly.
This wasn’t always easy to do but I love blogging so much, I made time for it. You can get some tips from my Blogging FAQ here.
6.) I participated in two blog collaborations.
You can check out Coronavirus Around The World (Interview/Collaboration with SophieMagsBlog) and Magic For Liars by Sarah Gailey – Book Review & Collaboration with TheBookBog!
7.) I interviewed an author for the first time.
This was so fun and such a huge deal for me. You can check out the interview here.
8.) I reviewed a few NetGalley ARCs.
If you’re not sure what NetGalley is, I explain it here. If you want to read some of my 2020 reviews, click here for my Books & Reading category.
9.) I wrote a lot of poetry.
Stay tuned, because one of my last posts of 2020 will be sharing some of my favourite pieces of poetry. It’s been such a healing, cathartic thing to do.
10.) I began scrap-booking!
I did a whole post sharing my scrap-booking flip-through, which you can check out here. I had so much fun cutting, pasting and letting my imagination run wild.
11.) I journaled daily in various diaries/notebooks.
Journaling is literally a form of self-care and meditation for me. It’s the first thing I do in the morning when I wake up. I have many different journals for different purposes.
12.) I drew Vileplume in crayon!
I nearly didn’t add this but I drew a picture of my favourite Pokemon and I love it! I’m proud of it!
13.) I participated in the Book Covers to Outfits challenge.
You can check that out here!
14.) I hit 1,000 subscribers on this blog which led to my very first Q&A and Twitter giveaway! Such a big, joyous milestone!
Check out 1K Bookish Q&A – Part 1! & 1K Bookish Q&A – Part 2!
15.) I wrote and mailed letters/packages to friends.
A global pandemic forces one to communicate differently!
16.) I tested and reviewed products sent to me.
You can check those out here in my Product Tested Reviews category.
17.) I began the Black Resilience Booksta Challenge.
This is a black book reviewing challenge that pushes a reader to continue reading from and amplifying POC voices. You can find all of the ones I’ve done so far here.
18.) I taught myself to juggle 3 objects.
During the first lockdown in Melbourne, I decided to teach myself a skill I had been wanting to learn for a while. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos on how to juggle 3 objects and eventually got it!
19.) I completed my Goodreads 2020 Reading Challenge of finishing 50 books.
Every year I set 50 books as my goal, so it was nice to meet that number!
20.) I hosted a Zoom birthday party for Abigail and decorated our house Minnie Mouse themed!
During the second lockdown in Melbourne, my daughter turned 2 and nobody was allowed over so I decked out our home and had all her family celebrate over Zoom. I did a photo diary post that you can check out here.
21.) I took an Art Therapy class.
I’ve never done Art Therapy before but thanks to a Skillshare free trial offer, I took one and really enjoyed it. It was healing and creative.
22.) I participated in my very first read-a-long!
In November, I read The Stand by Stephen King. I joined a read-a-long group on Instagram with a few people and we made our way through it together. It was really nice sharing all of our thoughts and feelings as we progressed. I definitely want to do one again!
23.) I participated in my very first buddy-read!
This month, I took part in my very first buddy-read with @lisas_bookshelf. We read The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. It was such a fun thing to do!
24.) I purchased a TBR cart!
I decorated it with a theme of Halloween Forever. You can check that post out here.
25.) I invested in my first magazine subscription.
Last but certainly not least, I used my birthday money this year investing in a magazine subscription. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I subscribed to a 12 month plan for Audrey Magazine, which changed its name to Mindful Puzzles a few months ago. Their first issue came out this month and below is a picture of the stunning cover! I highly recommend them. You can learn more by checking out their website here.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Please share some of the creative things you got up to in 2020. If you didn’t do much, that’s absolutely fine too. It has been the strangest year of our lives and there is no rule book on how to act in a pandemic.
Thanks for reading. Peace & Love xoxo