Making time for creativity can feel impossible when life is already full. Between responsibilities, relationships, and the everyday rhythms we care deeply about, creative practices are often the first thing we set aside. Not because we’ve lost interest, but because creativity starts to feel like something that requires more time, more space, and more energy than we have. This reflection by Renee Smith explores how creativity doesn’t have to wait for “someday,” and how small, intentional practices like Artist Trading Cards can help us reclaim creativity right in the middle of real life.
Most of us don’t lack creativity. We lack margin. We’re living full lives…good lives…but full just the same. Family, work, responsibilities, relationships, deadlines, commitments we care deeply about. Somewhere along the way, creativity gets pushed aside. Not because we stopped loving it, but because it began to feel like something that required more time, more space, more energy than we had to give.
So we wait.
We wait for the house to be quiet.
We wait for a free afternoon.
We wait for the right supplies.
We wait until life feels less crowded.
And in the waiting, creativity starts to feel distant…almost optional. We look longingly at our nearly forgotten art supplies and whisper, “Someday, Roy…”
But creativity doesn’t live in the wide-open spaces of “someday.” It lives right here, in the in-between. We need to relearn making time for creativity.
Making Time for Creativity When Life Is Already Full
Most seasons of life don’t offer uninterrupted hours or empty calendars. Take it from me, life rarely slows down long enough to hand us a perfect window for creating. But the good news is this:
Creativity doesn’t require escape. It requires intention.
It doesn’t require cleared space. It requires claimed space.
Space made in the middle of what already exists.
Making space for creativity doesn’t always look the same. Sometimes it’s a planned afternoon or a quiet studio moment. Other times, it’s choosing a form of creativity that fits the life you’re already living. That’s where Artist Trading Cards come in.
What Is an Artist Trading Card?
Artist Trading Cards…often called ATCs…are small pieces of original art, primarily created on standard playing cards or thick paper cut to the same 2.5 x 3.5 inch size. They are meant to be shared, traded, collected, or kept—but most importantly, they are meant to be created.
They aren’t about perfection or performance. They aren’t about producing something impressive. They’re about showing up.
Most of my ATCs are created in the moments when time feels tight, and creativity feels out of reach. An ATC can be painted with leftover paint, collaged from scraps, stitched with fabric, layered with paper, or created using thread, texture, and found materials. Some include words or verses. Others remain visual and quiet. There are no rules demanding polish or permanence. They exist simply because space was made for them.
Creativity That Fits Real Life
There’s something grounding about a creative practice that fits into the life you’re already living. ATCs don’t require a dedicated studio or hours of uninterrupted time. They fit on kitchen tables, corners of desks, or on the floor while kids play nearby. They slip into short pauses and borrowed moments. They make room for creativity without asking life to rearrange itself first. Most can be completed in short windows of time. And that matters.
Because finishing something…however small…restores connection. It reminds us that creativity hasn’t left us. It’s just been waiting for us to show up.
Letting Go of Supply and Performance Pressure
One of the things that keeps creativity at bay is the belief that we need the right setup before we begin.
The right space.
The right paper.
The right brushes.
The right paints.
The right tools.
But creativity isn’t dependent on perfect space or supplies. It’s dependent on permission.
Permission to claim space. Permission to use what you already have.
Permission to work with scraps, fabric, thread, and leftover materials.
Permission to create without making it mean anything about your talent or worth.
Artist Trading Cards quietly dismantle the pressure to get it right. They welcome experimentation. They leave room for texture, stitching, layers, and imperfections. They invite play without judgment. And play is often where creativity finds us again. Making time for creativity is valuable, needed, and grounding.
ATCs as Devotional Space
For some of us, Artist Trading Cards also become a place of reflection. A verse stitched into fabric. A word written and carried through layers. A prayer held in texture and thread.
Creating can become a form of devotion…not rushed, not formal, but attentive. A way of sitting with a thought, a scripture, or a season longer than words alone might allow. The act of making becomes a quiet offering of time and presence, a time of prayer and thankfulness, a way to calm anxiety and fully embrace the space in-between. In this way, making time for creativity doesn’t compete with faith…it accompanies it.
Art Meant to Be Shared
Another quiet gift of Artist Trading Cards is that they don’t have to stay with us. They can…but they don’t have to.
ATCs were originally created to be shared, passed hand to hand, and offered freely. A small piece of art can become a small act of encouragement.
Tuck it into a card. Leave it on the desk of a co-worker. Share it with another artist. Give it to someone who might need a reminder that they’re seen.
When creativity is offered without explanation or expectation, it becomes an invitation. It says, You don’t need perfect conditions to begin. It says, There is room for creativity in a full life. Sometimes the card you almost didn’t make becomes the encouragement someone else didn’t know they needed.
Creativity Lives in the In-Between
If you’re waiting for life to slow down before you create, you may be waiting longer than you think. But if you allow creativity to meet you right where you are…in the middle of your full life…it becomes something sustainable. Something gentle. Something faithful. Creativity doesn’t ask for everything.
It asks for space. A tiny opening for it to grow. A willing heart and a moment claimed in the in-between.
Artist Trading Cards are small pieces of art. But they’re also reminders that creativity still belongs in your life…even now, even here, even in the middle of everything else. And sometimes, that reminder is enough.
If You’d Like to Continue Exploring Artist Training Cards
If this way of creating resonates—making time for creativity in the middle of a full life—here are a few offerings designed to support that rhythm:
Ephemera Packs – curated papers, textures, and found pieces meant for layering, stitching, and quiet making
Tea Bag Art Kits – a small, tactile way to create using unexpected surfaces and simple materials
Journals – created for reflection, devotion, and returning to thoughts over time
Memory Box Kits – collections designed to hold cards, materials, and meaningful creative moments
Some of these offerings are available through creative partnerships I’m grateful for.
Creativity doesn’t require a wide-open calendar or a perfectly prepared space. It asks only for intention, permission, and a willingness to begin where you are. Whether through Artist Trading Cards or another small, meaningful practice, making time for creativity can become something gentle and sustainable, woven into the in-between moments of a full life. When we stop waiting for ideal conditions and instead claim small pockets of space, creativity reminds us that it still belongs to us, here, now, and exactly as life is today.
