The Courage to Be a Beginner: + The Real Purpose of Creative Hobbies || with Kolbie Blume

Dec 15, 2025

In this conversation with Kolbie Blume, we explored how embracing imperfection can lead to deeper fulfillment in our creative pursuits. We discussed the concept of focusing on tiny moments of wonder rather than the final product, highlighting that the magic lies in the process, not the outcome. Our chat reminded me of the importance of investing in oneself and making room for personal joys, despite the everyday trade-offs and responsibilities that often overshadow our own needs.

Rediscovering hobbies and allowing ourselves to be beginners opens doors to joy and self-acceptance. It's about learning to prioritize ourselves on our list of responsibilities, exploring creativity without fear, and finding joy in the messiness of life. Remember, it's not about achieving perfection but about valuing the process and the personal growth that comes with immersing yourself in something you love, just as it is. Through this interview and my personal journey, I realized that being messy is, indeed, part of the magic.

Past Episode to support: first episode with Kolbie “How Perfectionism is Getting In Your Way” https://www.aboutprogress.com/blog/how-perfectionism-is-getting-in-your-way 

Kolbie’s new watercoloring book, National Parks in Watercolor

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This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth, get up to 40% off at ⁠⁠⁠Cozy Earth⁠⁠⁠ with code "COZYPROGRESS" and by goPure Beauty, get 25% off @goPure with code PROGRESS at https://www.goPurebeauty.com/PROGRESS #goPurepod

TRANSCRIPT

Kolbie Blume: You don't need to be a professional, and the reason for that is because you are the gift. Your life is the masterpiece. Creativity is just a vehicle. The hobbies are just a vehicle.

 

Monica Packer: Hi, this is Monica Packer and you are listening to about progress where we are about progress made practical. A few months ago, I shared a pretty raw episode where I talked through a pretty low funk I was facing personally and in real time. Thanks to a lot of reflection, both in that episode and after that episode and time passing,

I was able to receive some answers to this question this spunk brought to me, which is, what do I need to shift about my life right now from how I'm spending my time to how I'm asking for help to what I'm committing to, what I need to deprioritize? But there was one answer that rose to the top that really surprised me, and it was, I need a hobby.

Now. I have ways I am choosing to explore that soon, especially with my do something list for 2026. But I am ready to explore and as excited as I am to do that. I'm also a little scared. This is where the perfectionist in me comes back out and I know I'm not alone. Have you ever stood at the edge of a hobby?

Maybe a new one or one you are returning to, and you may feel excited or inspired? You have the supplies in hand only you freeze the moment you try to begin.

So many women crave the creative fulfilling outlet that hobbies can provide yet perfectionism comparison and fear tell us to not even try. I find this is true for hobbies that are more artistic in nature, but I've also found thanks to working with so many women, that those same obstacles are true for almost every type of hobby out there.

Today's conversation with watercolor, artist and educator, Kolbie Blume is a powerful reminder that hobbies aren't something we earn by being talented or productive. They're something we experience simply because we're human and we care. Kolbie teaches us how to embrace tiny moments of wonder. That's how she describes it.

So beautiful, to invest in ourselves without guilt, and to find joy in the messy middle where real transformation happens. If you've ever stopped yourself from starting something you love or revisiting something you used to love this conversation is your push to begin imperfectly and to belong to your creativity exactly as you are.

e Blume is a watercolor artist, author, and teacher who cares a whole lot about helping recovering perfectionists, reclaim their inner artists and build a creative life. You can find her on Instagram at this writing desk, and also she has a new watercoloring book out that teaches you how to watercolor. This new book is called National Parks in Watercolor. My family is personally big fans. This is something I already bought and I'm going to gift to my artist daughter this Christmas, but I think we're both gonna get in on the fun.

Before we officially begin, I want you to know that this interview originally aired as part of the More For Moms conference that happened in October. And all of those interviews were initially available on about progress, but they were polled after the conference ended.

Now, I have a tradition here. About progress to play. A few best of episodes from the year. The episodes that the audience found were the best of the year. Maybe the ones that were highly listened to or the ones I heard a lot about. This interview was the most popular session from the More For Moms Conference, and it was one of my personal favorites too, so I just could not not share it here as a permanent place in about progress feed now.

The bad news is, is I will not be sharing episodes very often that include interviews from the conference. But the good news is if you didn't catch it live, you can. I turned the More for Mom's conference into a self-paced course that you can take any time, and I also lowered the price and you get an additional $20 discount with the code listener.

At checkout with the conferences, interviews with 25 world class speakers. Honestly, some of the best interviews I've ever done in my work of over nine years. If you sign up, like getting a year's worth of content from about progress, but all ad free and on your favorite podcast app.

Or you can watch the videos too and lifetime access to both of those things. So you can sign up at about progress.com/more for moms. And don't forget to use the Code Listener at checkout. My interview with Kolbie is coming up after a quick break for our sponsors.

 

Monica Packer: I have big plans for the holidays, and they mostly involve me getting ready for bed by 7:00 PM wearing comfortable pajamas and curling under a blanket with my family, with the tree lights glowing softly and playing games, watching shows and reading books.

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Monica Packer: If You haven't heard,

I spent all of 2025 writing a book. and I'm so proud to say that my first draft of the manuscript has officially been submitted. There is so much work to come and the book is set to release in the fall of 2026. However, we have a new title, And with that, a way for you to get first access to what that new title is, as well as the first peak at the cover and to get exclusive behind the scenes virtual online events, celebrating its launch to act as , grassroots publicity, and to potentially be an advanced reader as well.

To get access to all of that, you simply need to be part of the free book launch committee. You can sign up at about progress.com/book committee. I've been sending out newsletters with updates. And some juicy behind the scenes, such as lately. The good news I got and the bad news I got, which is now turning into not so bad news.

And actually I think it's gonna be great news in the long run, and I'd love for you to take part again to get access to the newsletter and everything else I just shared. Go to about progress.com/book committee

 

Kolbie Blume. It is such a joy to have you part of the Moore for Moms Conference. Welcome.

Kolbie Blume: I'm so excited to be here, Monica. Thank you for having me.

Monica Packer: You have quite the story, and we're going to get into it as a way to bridge the gap between what we're trying to inspire them to do more of, which is a hobby of sorts. And I think we all know that feeling. It's like standing on the edge of a diving board when you're like really excited and then you get to the edge and you're like, nevermind. So that lead up is so fun. You're ready. You buy all the supplies I did this last month. You get all the water colorings. Supplies or the photography supplies or the hiking supplies, you're really, really into it.

And then right before you're supposed to do it, the fear kicks in. It doesn't seem so fun anymore, and you don't wanna do it because you're not gonna be good at it mostly. Right.

Kolbie Blume: Right.

Monica Packer: I wanted to start by hearing if this has ever been the case for you. If there has been a hobby or two or 10, or a venture even where you've been like, oh no, I don't wanna do this now.

Kolbie Blume: That's probably every single passion or hobby I have ever started. I have felt that way. I think that especially if you are a person who has. Big ideas and a big imagination. And a big vision, which is if you're the kind of person who likes to start lots of hobbies, you have that right because you can, you can picture it, you can see yourself doing the thing, and it feels amazing in your head, and you can imagine how good it's gonna feel when you do it.

If you have a big imagination, then. That means you almost always have some kind of expectation, and when you have expectation, it's. Gonna be heavy. It's gonna be you're, you're going to be flooded with all of the ways that you're a human and all of the past experiences where it's been hard for you before and all of the possibilities where you can fail, right?

That's, that's the flip side of having an imagination, is that, yes, you can imagine how amazing it can be, but you can also imagine how scary it would be and how horrible it would be if you failed, and how heart wrenching it would be if you tried this thing that you just believe you would. You could be really good at, but turns out maybe you're not.

It's really heavy. It's really hard.

Monica Packer: It is such a comfort to hear this has been true for you, for every single thing you've ever tried. That's new and you know you're right. I think it's true for me too. Every single thing I've ever done, I've had that feeling before, during, know, of starting something new and. You brought up the expectation factor, and I'm realizing a lot of our expectations are designed off of faulty comparisons, like we're looking at someone else's after, and we're wanting that, and so that expectation that we have to be able to get to that point what makes us feel all those scary feelings at the start.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah, totally. I think that in, and this is, this is very normal. This is true for nearly every person I talk to. We have this idea that in order to. Inhabit a space we have to qualify for it, right? Like in order to have an identity, in order to say I'm an artist, or in order to say I'm a crafter, or in order to say I'm a hiker, right?

Like you need to. Prove that you can do that thing. You need to show your credentials. You need to say, oh, here's the evidence that I can actually do it. And if you don't have that evidence yet, if you haven't gathered all of that data, if you haven't had that experience, then sometimes you can go into a new thing instead of, you know, having the really wonderful magical dopamine that comes from trying a new experience.

You have the fear that comes from. Worrying about whether you actually belong there. Worrying about whether you're just an imposter, worrying about what everybody might say if they see the evidence that you are a messy, imperfect human doing a thing that you have no business doing, right?

Like that's what your inner critic is going to say. And um, and it's the faulty comparison thing because you don't see behind the scenes how. Example, I'm a professional painter, right? I, I've been a professional watercolor artist for like eight years

Monica Packer: That amazing.

Kolbie Blume: I almost every single painting, almost every single one, I hit a point where I'm like, this is terrible.

I'm terrible. What am I even doing here? I didn't go to art school. I don't belong here. Why am I even painting this? Every single one? And. Of all of the hundreds of paintings, all of the hundreds of lessons, the hundreds of courses that I've made, I can pinpoint all of the mistakes, find all of the evidence to prove that maybe I am an imposter despite years of experience.

And so it's one of those things where. You think that it's because you're a beginner, you think it's your lack of experience that is making you feel all these heavy things, when in reality the shame will follow you even when you get all of the experience, even when you have all of the

Monica Packer: Hmm.

Kolbie Blume: the credentials.

And so. If we can get around that, if we can remember like, oh, I'm feeling this. Not because I'm a beginner, but because I care so much about this because it matters so much to me, and it would hurt so much if I couldn't have it. So my brain is doing this protective thing. My brain is doing this thing where it's saying to me, we better not because it's.

Easier to find joy in the fantasy than it is to find joy in the reality of being a messy human right. But it's so much more satisfying when you do it in reality because you're actually doing it.

Monica Packer: Especially when you, as you've helped us be able to own for ourselves here today. When you, when you decide that it's normal, it's normal to not feel like it's going great or it's bad or you're not, it's not the way you envisioned, regardless of where you are in terms of amateur to professional, you said.

That the feeling matters the most, like that you care about this thing.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

Monica Packer: curious about your own story to become a now professional artist, that started with the caring and how that helped you bridge this gap that we're talking about.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah, so it's actually really interesting story because I thought I was terrible at art for a very, very long time. Uh, I probably stopped making art when I was. 10 ish. I think that's about when I realized like, oh, I'm good at one thing and I'm not good at this thing. And so I moved away from the things that I wasn't good at and toward the things that I felt like I was good at.

And, uh, it wasn't, I was in my mid twenties maybe when I picked up, uh, doing art. It was, um, I, I was spending a lot of evenings alone. Um, and I was working a full, a full-time job. Um. And for whatever reason, I was scrolling through Instagram. This was 2016, so Instagram was a much quieter place in 2016, but

Monica Packer: I know if

Kolbie Blume: RIP.

Monica Packer: Yes. Our RIP.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

Monica Packer: Yeah.

Kolbie Blume: Uh, but I was scrolling through Instagram and I saw all of these very short clips, but of people painting and doing hand lettering, and it just looked so fun. It looked so fun. And I remember thinking for weeks while I was scrolling during my lunch break. I remember thinking, I wish that I could do that.

I wish that I could make something like that. I wish that I could have the same experience that I'm, I'm looking at and. Um, it was actually I very shortly after I read Daring Greatly by Bernie Brown for the first time. I, uh, which was the very first time I ever heard somebody call perfectionism. A bad thing.

That was the first time I'd ever heard somebody say that perfectionism was armor, right? That it was anyway holding you back and, uh, at some point along the way, um, the, I wish I could do that. Turned into, well, why can't I do that? I bet I could try. I bet I could try doing that. And, um. So I got some supplies and I was terrible at it, but I think it was the one of the first times that I was doing a thing because I wanted to experience it, not because I wanted to be good at it.

I was going into it automatically knowing I wasn't gonna be good at it. Um. And it wasn't until I realized how much I loved it that the fear really kicked in, uh, because I started to care about being good at it. And I found myself when I was getting caught up in seeing where other people were,

Monica Packer: Mm-hmm.

Kolbie Blume: the gap between where I was and where other people were.

Then it made my paintbrush so heavy. It was so hard to. To feel that gap. And I think that the only thing that helped, the only thing that pushed me forward, uh, to, to keep doing, to keep doing the art, to keep practicing and then to eventually like, start a business and teach other people. Because primarily that's, that's what I do, is I teach, I teach watercolor.

Um, the thing that propelled me forward was remembering that. I'm not here to prove anything. I'm here because I like it. I'm here because I like painting, and painting was probably one of the first things that I did just because I liked it, not because other people were praising me for it, not because it was gonna, it was gonna lead to some kind of accolade.

I started painting while I had a whole different career, but I just loved it so much that it was, I was motivated to. Develop the mindset techniques that allowed me to set aside the perfectionism and embrace the process

Monica Packer: Hmm.

Kolbie Blume: to think about it, to think about painting less as like a performance and more as like a safe haven.

Like it's a place I'm going because it makes me feel good and you can feel good. Even if what you paint looks terrible, you can feel good. Even if what you paint goes in the recycle bin, at the end of the day it 'cause it doesn't matter. The product is only one way to find joy. Whatever you make, it's only one way to find some value from it, but it's not the only way.

There are so many other ways to feel. Good in your body to find safety and joy and wonder in your life. And the surefire way, the way that's going to to come through for you every single time is not by relying on perfection or relying on performance because you can't control that 99% of the time it's relying on your showing up.

It's getting in the middle of it. You are in charge of what you choose to do, not how it turns out, but you are in charge of what you choose to do. And if you can find joy in that, being a beginner isn't so scary.

Monica Packer: One of the biggest life lessons I've learned totally attesting to that, and it's that the transformation lies in the process, not the outcome. as we give ourselves permission to. Be present in the process. learn so much more. We can expand so much more. I love that you brought up that your fear didn't really kick in until you were already in the deep end.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

Monica Packer: And it's making me think a lot of the women who are listening are think they're not, they don't have hobbies or they're not good at a hobby because they had a similar experience. Let's say you leap off the diving board and you're in the deep end, and at first it was exhilarating and joyful and fun.

And then you get sink into that. faulty expectations, the fear, the comparison, the getting caught up in the outcome, and you just so beautifully illustrated that if you know, oh, it's supposed to be like this, I'm supposed to be like treading water in the deep end, then that frees you up to actually swim in it

Kolbie Blume: Mm-hmm.

Monica Packer: it,

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

Monica Packer: it. Let it rush over you. I'm going full on full hog with an analogy here.

Kolbie Blume: I love it.

Monica Packer: I'd love to deliver some practical tips for them. Then, those who are ready to embrace this beauty of being an imperfect beginner, what do you have for them to do so? deeply and I, I, and I guess practically.

Kolbie Blume: My biggest advice. Is to, for whatever it is that you are trying to begin, whatever hobby it is that you think you might want to begin is to find, I like to call them tiny moments of wonder. Um, to find something, to find a moment, to find one part of the process that has nothing to do with the end result.

You already know that you're gonna love it if you end up loving the thing that you make, right? But like. So we don't need to worry about that. What you need to do is find something in the process that you're going to love no matter what that you can, I don't wanna say you can control because you can't always control everything, but like a moment.

You can pretty reliably give yourself, uh, a good example if you're doing watercolor is. If there's a specific color you really love painting with, if there's a very specific, I like to teach watercolor specifically with mindset principles because, um, there are some really cool like color blends and, uh, techniques with watercolor.

Like when you use the, the wet on wet technique with watercolors where you get the paper wet and then you drop the paint on the wet paper and it just like Blumes on the paper. Right. And sometimes it looks like. An explosion of color on the paper and it's, it's like watching fireworks or like watching the sunset.

Like the first time that I, that I painted with watercolor, specifically on watercolor paper, I was literally like speechless. I was, I thought I had never seen something more beautiful in my life and I. Wanted to recreate that, not because I thought I was such a good painter, but because I wanted to see it, because I wanted to feel that feeling again and.

Like if you're a photographer, you know, instead of thinking how am I gonna get exactly the right shot, think, oh, I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna take pictures at a time of day that I know I'm gonna love. Regardless if you are a hiker, and you know, you're worried about if the view is going to be exactly what you want, then take a friend you know that you're gonna love talking with no matter what.

Right. Like if you, if, uh, if you're a painter or a writer, have some kind of ritual, like a candle or a music playlist that you, that you can have that makes the experience feel like a hug, right? That makes the experience feel like a gift you're giving to yourself. Because ultimately. Hobbies are not about proving that you're a good person, right?

Anytime you go into something trying to prove that you're a good person or prove that you're worthy of celebration, you're gonna be disappointed 99% of the time because that automatically assumes that you're not already without, right? And. So, you know, we're not about that here. Nobody has to prove anything.

Value is inherent and immutable. What you're doing is creating an elevated life for you. You're creating elevated moments for you. And the thing about moms, I know I am one, is you, even when you're thinking about like self-care and self-compassion, like you hear things like this. Perfectionism can creep in too, where you think it's like, oh, well I have to get the perfect candle, or, oh, I have to set aside a whole afternoon for this when there's not time to do that.

Like you don't have, you don't always have time to do all those things, and so even as you're carving out. Tiny moments of wonder for yourself. You have to check that all or nothing mentality and remind yourself that even five minutes is going to make a big difference.

Monica Packer: Hmm,

Kolbie Blume: five minutes of scribbles in your sketchbook can regulate your nervous system and help you go throughout your day.

It's not about. Proving anything. It's not about giving yourself the most ideal, because even in the best scenario, if you're raising kids, there's no such thing as ideal. There's only doable. And so you have to remember that doable is better than ideal every, every single day because. Doable is actually reality, right?

That's what ideal is in your imagination, and it tastes so good when it's in your imagination, but doable is in reality and you can give that to yourself, and it can be magical.

 

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if You owned a business, would you sign up for continuing education to support it? What if you were or are a teacher, a beauty technician, a doctor, a photographer, a tend hygienist, or anything else? The answer is, of course, you would sign up for continuing ed because that is what all good professionals do.

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Monica Packer: okay. There were like 20, 20 mind blowing nuggets and just that one alone, like I am, I, I, I think what's really striking me is just that it's for you and that because of that you're able to. Do it, make it more doable. Take advantage of a moment. You're able to pair it with something that makes it more about you too, creating those feelings.

So that was so golden. What, what else have you got for us? I'm sure you've got a couple others that are just gonna make me cry

Kolbie Blume: Well, I think that some of those tips were maybe practical. I also, a big part of my watercolor education style is pairing practical technical skill with mindset techniques, uh, in order to, you know, help you actually have a foundation because. Inner critics can be so loud and they can be so sneaky. They can be so sneaky, uh, especially when it comes to hobbies, because oftentimes hobbies require money.

Oftentimes hobbies require investing, and while I'm a firm believer. You don't need to break the bank in order to invest in your hobbies. I'm also a firm believer that sometimes people think they have to find the cheapest route or like the least expensive route in order to

rationalize like, oh, it's not, it's not gonna be that much money. Like, oh, it's not gonna, like, it's not too much. It's not gonna be, you know, and essentially what you're doing when you do that is needing to make Your passion smaller in order to make them. Fit. Right. And, and, and again, not everybody has the same resources.

You can have beautiful, magical moments with like $5 watercolor set from Michael's, right? Like absolutely you can. And also the professional watercolor supplies works better.

Monica Packer: Yeah.

Kolbie Blume: Like professional watercolor paper works better. You're going to have magical experiences. Because the supplies work better. You're gonna get less frustrated if you use really good supplies.

And some people get so caught up in this. And at the root, my fear for me and for other people is that on the outside you're saying, oh, well, you know. It's, it's not a good investment unless I'm a professional or it's not a good investment until I've reached this level of expertise or all these things when what you're really saying is I'm not a good investment.

Until I can reach that level of expertise, I'm not a good investment unless I'm using this skill to bring money in. Right. And the reality is. You are always worth investing in. And Monica, you put this so beautifully when you talk about putting yourself at the top of the list. Um, it is just this, this was a thing that I thought about, I've thought about for years because I've always been a big advocate for, you don't need to be a professional to get supplies that make you, that make you feel like it's a gift.

Right. You don't need to be a professional, and the reason for that is because you are the gift. Your life is the masterpiece. Creativity is just a vehicle. The hobbies are just a vehicle. And I know, I know. It's so easy to think you're being selfish by giving yourself a gift. Like you're only allowed to have a gift if somebody else gives it to you, but you're not.

Because the more you are generous with yourself, the more that generosity is going to seep out everywhere. Your kids are gonna see that your kids are gonna learn how to treat themselves the way that you treat yourself. And I think that, a big mindset hurdle is recognizing that it's not selfish to give yourself.

A gift. It's not selfish to give yourself time. It's not selfish to invest in yourself because you're worth it. Like even if you're a beginner, even if you buy that fancy sketchbook and all you do is like messy scribbles, who's to say that your journey right at this moment is not worth memorializing?

Who's to say that? All of whatever creative energy that you had in your body, an actual human isn't worth preserving and, and having in this beautiful whatever beautiful supplies you give yourself.

Monica Packer: Your wisdom. It's almost like you've lived it. know?

Kolbie Blume: Fancy that.

Monica Packer: you have to learn so much of this. Well, I would say all of it, knowing you, like the hard way you live this out, you've met all these internal and external that come up for all of us. But I would say, and since we can say it, especially so as moms,

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

Monica Packer: that you are worthy of the investment,

Kolbie Blume: Mm-hmm.

Monica Packer: not just in money, but yes, some money like you so gently pushed us, but the time,

Kolbie Blume: Mm-hmm.

Monica Packer: the trade-offs that you have to make.

other areas of your life, your responsibility is and yes, the children, to prioritize investing in yourself. Can we speak to the trade off piece a little bit more? 'cause I'm sure that's another big mental block. How do you move through that yourself? How do you help other people do that? When they think, I don't have the time because if I don't do this, it's not gonna get done.

Or there's always this to do or that to do, or this person to help.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

the trade off. You know, I always like to say creativity is infinite. Energy is not, resources are. not, time is not. I think that especially when you have so many responsibilities, especially when very likely, a lot of your identity maybe feels tied to how well you can, uh, perform those responsibilities, right?

A lot of your worthiness feels tied to, your ability to. Put everyone else above yourself. It takes a lot of unlearning to remind yourself that you belong up there too, that you're a human too, that you're a part of your family too. You're not just the behind the scenes making the magic happen person.

You belong in the magic also, and that maybe it will be even more magical for everybody else. Maybe it's even more generous when you include yourself. As part of the process, um. And one way that for me personally, I, I talk myself through this because you're not, you're right. All of the things that I talk about are basically pep talks I've given myself or like harrowing, you know, nights of wondering like, am I even worth it?

What am I even doing? Am I failing my kid? Am I, uh, what business do I have trying to teach other people this thing? All of these thoughts I have thought and thought through and gone to therapy for and all these things. And um, and I think that it's important to remember that it is literally impossible.

To be everything to everyone. It is literally impossible. You can't possibly do it. Uh, and perfectionism is so sneaky in motherhood and in everything else really, because it try, it gives you this fantasy, it gives you this fantasy that like, if you just do all these things, then you'll finally feel like you're enough.

But perfectionism more than anything is a distraction. It's distracting you from what's actually possible. And um, so in terms of the trade off, remembering that you are never, ever going. to be able to do everything all at once. You're never ever going to be able to fit everything into a single day, but you will be able to do more by giving yourself five minutes.

Every day than if you give yourself an hour every month, like a little bit every day or a little bit every week is gonna take you so much farther than trying to carve out the ideal, um, is one way that I can get around trying to fit everything together. But that's not just for the. The hobbies piece.

That's also for the parenting piece because I think that we think in order to prove that we are good parents, that we have to put our kids at the top of every list, every single time, and that means putting what we care about, separate from them at the bottom. A way, you know? And even now my brain is being sneaky by saying like, oh, saying this.

It's just, you know, rationalizing to yourself why it's okay to whatever. But remembering that 10 minutes of really engaged parenting time, 10 minutes of really engaged, like, I see you, I'm here for you. I wanna talk with you, with your kid, is gonna go a long way and.

Monica Packer: Yeah.

Kolbie Blume: If you make small moments for that with your kids, I promise you will also have time for the moments for you.

When I remember that quality moments.

matter more than spending. 24 hours a day only focused on my kids. Like I only have one kid, but when I, when I try to be there for my kid all day, like sitting with him, engaging with him all day, I am tired. And the quality goes way down.

It goes way down. And so it's like you think of it,

Monica Packer: get tired too.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah. they do. They need some downtime, they need some time to do their own thing. And besides that, it's not your job as a parent to. Entertain your kids all day. It's also not your job to make sure that you're involved in every single little decision that they have to make during the day.

It's your job to make sure that they have a resource, they have a person they can go to that they can trust. They have a person they can go to who they feel safe enough to talk through things with, but the only way that they're gonna live their life and learn how to be a human is by having a chance to live their life. You think by pulling time away from them and putting it toward you, it's, you know, sacrificing time with your kids. When in reality it might even make the time you do have with them more engaging and more meaningful and more valuable because you're nourishing yourself so you can also nourish your kids

Monica Packer: Mm-hmm.

Kolbie Blume: And, um. You know, I kind of like to think of it as whenever I'm painting, if I've spent more than two or three hours on a painting and I feel like I'm getting really stuck, my brain wants to keep going because it's like, ah, I just really need to get this right. But by then I'm tired I'm not actually thinking clearly.

I'm too.

stuck in the mess. I'm too close to it, right? The times when I stop, I can pull away from that and come back to it the next day or come back to it a few days later. It's like. My ideas are flowing. It it, it comes because sometimes you need some space. And it's the same with parenting. It's the same with managing a family.

It's the same with engineering. A home, like a household system. You can't possibly do it 24 7.

Monica Packer: Yeah.

Kolbie Blume: You would be bad at it if you did it 24 7. Not that, you know,

Monica Packer: Burnout

Kolbie Blume: Burnout There you go.

Monica Packer: what, you're gonna get bad eventually, even if you're good at it.

Kolbie Blume: Yes.

Monica Packer: thing that intensely 24 7.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

Monica Packer: know, minus a few sleeping hours, yeah, you're gonna burn out and then that means you are going to be bad at it. I

Kolbie Blume: Yeah,

Monica Packer: helping me, what you're helping me re-own for myself, because that's what I think life is.

It's like you learn something and then you have to relearn it so you can own it again inside of you.

Kolbie Blume: yeah.

Monica Packer: It's that trade-offs happen no matter what.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

Monica Packer: matter what. And if you're getting to the point where the trade offs are you. That it's time for you to choose other trade-offs here and there. It's not even being at the top of the list, it's just being on it.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

Monica Packer: Um, and so that's what any kind of hobby can do for you. And you've been so good about teaching us both the practical and the mindset ways that we can do that. and I think it really does come to a challenge of, know, I, I don't like the toxic positivity stuff, but just do it.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

Monica Packer: do need to just try, you do need to push yourself to do it a different way to, to see, to see what it can be like and what's on the other side of that.

Which, speaking of which, you're never a finished product, but I would like to know has everything we've talked about with art and you're, as your hobby now turned career and, and you spoke so eloquently how it doesn't have to be like a professional thing either. So with that aside, what has art.

Given you.

Kolbie Blume: Oh man. What has art given me? Uh, it changed my life. It diving into a thing that I thought I was bad at. And practicing. And practicing. And. Knowing full well where my limitations are because make no mistake, I think that I really enjoy painting. I think that I have skill that I've spent a lot of years working on, and I am not by a long shot, the best watercolor artist, like I, am thoroughly mediocre in terms of like professional watercolor artists.

And whenever I say this, people are always like, no, no.

Monica Packer: like, come on. But I, I get what you mean. I get what you mean, like when you're in it. Yeah.

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

when you're, and well, like I can, I can see, even now I can see like, ah, I wish I could do it that way. But doing it this way is gonna require so much more time and patience and like a specific discipline that maybe I don't have, or maybe I don't have the same passion for. And maybe that's one of the one thing that, like one thing in particular that art has taught me is how to celebrate exactly where I am, how to celebrate me.

Celebrate my progress. Not even because I've made progress, but because I'm existing. Because I'm here and there's so much to find here. Perfectionism so much is about saying if you go there, then you'll be happy. Here is not good. But there, there is where you find the joy. Creativity says, look around. You just have to look around.

You don't actually have to go anywhere right now. You can be where you are and make something of the things that you can find. And if it's messy, everybody is messy. Everybody is messy. I, I went to Paris a few years ago and you know, obviously. Art everywhere. Right. And I'm looking at paintings by Monet and Picasso and Renoir.

There are scribbles on those paintings because that's what paintings are made of. They're made of scribbles. I think Art lifted the mystery a little bit because it's so easy to imagine that, you know. People on the other side of Instagram have it all together. It's so easy to imagine that like, ah, if I can just have all the right habits and get all the right supplies and find all the schedule, then I'll finally all these things, when the reality is that like it's doing the thing that's going to give you the experience, that's going to give you the courage to keep doing it.

And it's always going to feel messy. It's never gonna stop feeling messy. And so if you. Tell yourself, well, if I can just get good enough, then I won't have to be messy. Like that's never gonna happen. It's always gonna be messy,

Monica Packer: Mm-hmm.

Kolbie Blume: because you're a human and it's okay to be messy. In fact, what if I told you that the freedom is in embracing the messy?

The freedom comes from embracing the fact that you are always gonna be messy. But messy is beautiful. Messy is where interesting things happen. Messy is where. You see new perspectives that you would never have thought to look for, and it starts with believing that you are so worthy of love, that even your messy scribbles count as art.

Monica Packer: Chills. This whole session has been completely magic Kolbie. it's because everything you've taught today, it's not just about the thing that they're doing. So whether it's gardening or sourdough or sewing or, or hiking or art or watercolor like you so specifically teach, it's the deeper life stuff that makes a worthy pursuit.

Um, innately worthy. We're gonna end with our final question, but before we do, I wanna direct them to your fabulous freebie. It's painting the Wilderness Challenge. We'll have it linked for them, I would like them to know where they can find you. If they're like, okay, I, I just gotta find Kolbie.

Where should I go?

Kolbie Blume: Uh, I am on Instagram, so my handle on Instagram is this writing desk. And you can also check out my website, this writing desk.com. And I'm also on YouTube. So the painting, the Wilderness Challenge is a free 10 day. Beginner watercolor landscapes challenge, which is basically, I say challenge, but it's like a course.

It's 10 tutorials that you can sign up for. I'll send you an email and with supplies, guide and all sorts of resources including the tutorial. And it's a great place to start if you've thought that watercolors, landscapes might be something you're interested, interested in. Um, and I also have a few books out for beginners as well, so those are all on my website.

Monica Packer: bring that up. I can attest that you're a fabulous teacher, not only on Instagram. I, I have, I think I have all your books actually. Yeah. And my, my daughter and I both use them and it's so fun to lean into it. And she's more of an oil and acrylic, and today she was doing watercolor and getting so upset about how perfect, like, how imperfect it was.

And I

Kolbie Blume: Yeah.

Monica Packer: is good for you and it's good for me too. Well, let's end with this final question. And it is what is one way you are currently seeking for more out of your life?

Kolbie Blume: I have thought about this question. It is such an interesting one, and this might seem counterintuitive to what we've been talking about, but one way that I've been seeking more out of my life is actually by separating. My love for art and creativity from my identity,

Monica Packer: Yeah.

Kolbie Blume: um, because I think it's so easy to get caught up in, uh, I was born to create like, right, like my, my identity is an artist, which can be empowering.

Um. But there are times in life sometimes where you have to put hobby, you have to set hobbies aside. Or like for me, sometimes maybe work ebbs and flows or you go through like life happens, right? And then you start to think, who am I? If I can't get to my desk every day? Who am I if I can't show up in the same way that I am always able to show up?

And um, so I've been trying to find. A much more sustainable and, uh, self-compassion driven relationship to my business and to creativity. Um, it's definitely been a journey because self-compassion has been at the, the focus of when I've been talking about creativity since forever, but. I always learning new things, and for me it's like, okay, how do I love myself?

Even when creativity ebbs a little bit? How do I love myself when the inspiration isn't always there? And because it's not, sometimes it's not there. Sometimes you really don't have the energy or the time and it feels really sad. There's a lot of grief that comes with That and which could be a whole nother topic,

but the way that I'm carving out more for myself is by celebrating every single moment that I get with creativity and also celebrating the moments that are creative that maybe don't look like creativity, like just going for a walk or having a laugh with my kid. Or, moments that don't, aren't like.

Directly related to art, but that still feel nourishing for my soul. Focusing on those two.

Monica Packer: That should be your next book too. Kolbie, this has just been a pure delight. I'm so honored that you took the time and we have learned a great deal from you. So thank you very much for coming on The More For Moms Conference, and I am sure everyone's gonna be so blown away by this. So thank you again.

Kolbie Blume: Oh, it was absolutely my pleasure. Thank You Monica.

I hope this episode gave you the hug and kick in the pants you need to grow. I'll now share the progress pointers. These are the notes I took so you don't have to, and those of my newsletter, get them in a graphic form each week. You can sign up at about progress.com/newsletter, and what you'll receive will be an expanded version of what you hear today.

Number one, focus on tiny moments of wonder, not the end result. Number two, do what's doable, not what's ideal. Number three, invest in yourself because you are worth the investment. Number four, trade-offs happen no matter what. So choose ones that include you. And number five, being messy is part of the magic.

There was so much goodness there. I do hope that you sign up to get the expanded version of this, because Kolby is just a magician at delivering these gold nuggets of wisdom that I think we all need. And I again, wanna remind you to go get her new book, include it as a gift to someone or to yourself.

It's called National Parks and Watercolor Capture, America's Majestic Beauty with 25 Easy Projects. Again, I can't wait to see my daughter open it and to dive in with her as well. This podcast is listener supported. Members of the Supporters Club make my work free and available to all. They also get access to three levels of exclusive benefits from more time to more content with me.

My favorite piece of content is more personal, my private premium ad free

Monica Packer: podcast

for the best eight or ride or die levels of the supporters club. And last week I released on Thursday an episode where I shared about that question mark I had like I need a hobby. So what hobby and how do I make time for that? In that episode, I kind of share my own messy middle of trying to sort through that and to create some plans on how I'm actually gonna make this happen.

And part of those plans do include the Do something list, so stay tuned for that as well. We always do a free training on that near the beginning of the year, and you will hear more about that soon. You can always support the show for free. The best way right now is to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and doing so still submits you for our ongoing favorite things.

Giveaway in honor of nine years of about progress. That's going to go still through the end of the year and likely a week or two into the new year as well. You automatically enter by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It takes just a few minutes. Again, it's free and it helps us show so much.

If you can do that and just share what you've loved about the show or what you would miss about it, if it were to go, or about a favorite takeaway or interview that I shared or concept that you've learned, that goes miles to supporting the show, and thank you so much for doing so. We have one more episode coming for you this year. It's gonna be another best of, so stay tuned for that on Thursday and after that we're taking our usual two week break at the end of the year and we have great stuff coming for you in 2026, our 10th year of about progress.

Thank you so much for listening. Now go and do something with what you learned today.

 

It's called National Parks and Watercolor Capture am Capture,

 

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