We recently had a cookout at work and everyone needed to sign up to bring something. I don’t enjoy cooking, so I’m usually the one to bring the paper goods or drinks. But by the time I went to sign up, those were all taken.

Crap. I was going to need to make something.

Figuring I could at least make a simple dessert, I headed over to my Pinterest board where I have been electronically hoarding dessert ideas and recipes that look easy to make. I found one for S’Mores Pops, which looked simple enough.

“But, Rhonda, this is a blog about creativity and not about your attempts to make recipes from Pinterest. What’s up?”

Agreed. The same thought crossed my mind.

There is a tie to creativity here, so please bear with me.

The S’Mores Pops looked nice and had lovely proper pop sticks on them. I didn’t want to spend that kind of money on something to take to a lunch where I knew there would be a ton of other desserts to choose from (and there were tons including a fabulous carrot cake) and I didn’t want to feel obligated to make them look pretty (my available time to make these was short and I didn’t want to stress out over it).

So I went with toothpicks and found a way to make them work. They weren’t perfect and pretty, but they still looked appetizing. Then it didn’t seem right to call them “S’Mores Pops” so I went with “S’Mores Bites” instead.

As I was making these adjustments (toothpicks, less pretty, different name), it occurred to me that these adjustments were actually a little bit of creativity.

I tend to feel bummed when I don’t have the time to do something creative like writing, painting, making jewelry, etc. But then I forget to pay attention to the times when I do get to be creative in little ways. I am going to guess that I am not alone in missing these little bits of creativity.

As a result, I am trying to pay better attention to little moments like this and appreciate the bits of creativity that pop up here and there. It happens more often that I would have thought.

Do you find the same to be true for you? If you do find bits of creativity in your life, please share any tips you might have for doing so.

BTW – The S’Mores Bites were a hit. Everyone who tried them loved them. The ones not eaten at the cookout were quickly consumed by the folks back in the office (yes, I had my fair share).

Making the S’mores Bites:

They are made with marshmallows, milk chocolate chips, and graham crackers. I was able to make 48 bites.

Start with smashing a package of graham crackers in a bag with a rolling pin. This was by far my favorite part of the process. 🙂

Then melt the chocolate chips following the instructions on the package of whatever kind you buy.

Next, stick a toothpick in a marshmallow and roll it in the chocolate.

Finally, roll it in the graham cracker crumbs and set it on wax paper to dry.

I covered this batch in cellophane wrap and put them in the refrigerator because they had to be made 2 days before the event, and I didn’t want the marshmallows to dry out. It worked beautifully.