Creativity is messy. Most of the time, it’s worth the mess.
So many projects going on here. Secret book compartments, Valentine’s Box, Oobleck, tin foil sculpture, reading assignment.
Our project at STEAM Club. Collect trash and bits from nature and make art!
My friend, Tony, makes beautiful, rustic needlework creations.
Blogging is a funny thing. It’s a good thing, but it’s kind of strange. Blogging has turned into a career for many people, it has garnered international attention and bloggers are seen as a force to be reckoned with. Companies seek blogger’s opinions, endorsements and appearances. I think this is all great and definitely opening up the world to differing viewpoints, points of connection and dialog. For me, this has been a bit intimidating of late. There are so many voices, saying truly profound and meaningful things. There are bloggers posting amazing handmade crafts and gorgeous people showing such talent in putting interesting and innovative outfits together. Where do I fit in?
Blogging for me is a creative outlet, a place for me to share my thoughts, my outfits, my crafts. I definitely want to connect with people, otherwise I’m shouting into a vacuum. I am stepping back into the blogging world with joy and trepidation.
I hope my friends and family will stop by my blog and check out what is there. I hope to connect with other fashiony, crafty, wordy people. I hope to learn new skills both technically and creatively.
My boys are both in school now (sigh) so my schedule is a bit freer to explore some creative things. I need to keep my mind and creative energy engaged. And don’t ever let anyone tell you that blogging is easy – time, effort, thought and action. I’m excited to be back at it. I’m also disciplining myself to take time each week to write. I love to write, but if I don’t set the time aside it doesn’t happen.
Here’s to crafting, creating, style and sharing the journey!
I wanted to blog, but I got buried!
You know when you are expecting something in the post and that just seems to make it take forever? So much anticipation!
As a Christmas present for myself and my sister, I signed up for Whimseybox. Whimseybox is a monthly subscription box that comes with everything you need to complete a craft project. And they’re cool craft projects – modern and hip. We both got a year-long subscription and our first box arrived at the end of January. You have no idea what’s coming so there’s a lot of excitement when your box arrives and you open it and see what’s inside. My sister and I actually opened ours together over the phone. 
The January Whimseybox was a wire wrapped bead necklace. The packaging was lovely and it was fun to open. 
They truly include everything you need to complete the project. Beads, two pairs of pliers, head pins, fasteners and the necklace. 
The printed instructions were excellent. They actually have video instructions as well, but the printed instructions were so clear that I didn’t need to access the videos. 
It took me a few tries, but I got the hang of the wire wrapping and it was fun. I liked that I could customize how I put the beads on the chain – the pattern. 
The whole project took me about an hour and half. I love that the box is complete with everything you need to be crafty. No excuses!
The completed necklace is pretty and I really like it. I’m also pleased that I have a new skill – wire wrapped beads!
Now I can’t wait to see what’s in the February box.
My friend A’Leah over at A Chic Twist, recently hosted a Pinterest Party. It was so fun. She offered two crafts and provided all the supplies and instruction, attendees just paid for however many of each craft they wanted to make. The two options were a mason jar pump dispenser and a photo to canvas transfer. I opted to do two of the photo to canvas transfers.
Our fearless leader, A’Leah, guiding us through the process and being silly so that I could take a photo.
Before the party I copied two photos onto paper using my ink jet printer. The canvases were 8×10. The first step was to trim the photos down to the appropriate size – I did a rough tear because I didn’t want to have a smooth edge.
The next step was to put a generous coat of gel medium onto the canvas as evenly as possible and then lay the photo face-side down onto the gel medium. Then you start from the middle and, with your fingers, smooth outward, pressing the photo into the canvas to ensure that there are no bubbles. 
After that it was a matter of waiting for the gel medium to dry which of course meant lovely drinks and treats and chatting. It still took a bit longer than we wanted for it to dry so we used a blow dryer to speed up the process. Once the gel medium is completely dry, you take a paint brush dipped in water and brush it over the paper – you can either do a small bit at a time or coat the whole canvas. I chose to do a small section at a time. Then you start rubbing gently at the paper with your fingers. It was like magic! So much fun as the top layer of the paper started to come away and reveal the brighter colors of the lower layer.
After you have taken away all the paper that you want to and the canvas has dried once again, you can add another layer of gel medium to seal the deal.
I was so pleased with the results. I chose to do one photo with lots of color and one photo that was mostly black and white. You get a lovely rustic, aged feel to the canvas and photo.
Additional points:
If you choose to do text, make sure that you print a mirror image as the photo will transfer as a mirror image onto the canvas.
Different types of paper and different types of ink will give you different results. It’s fun to experiment.
It’s good to share crafting time with friends. Lots of time to talk and catch up while feeling super productive and creative at the same time. Thanks A’Leah!
I wanted to share a few things that I’ve made over the last couple of months – mostly things that were made in preparation for Christmas.
I didn’t do as many handmade gifts for Christmas this year as I usually like to, but I enjoyed making the few things that I did. As always, I hope to be more prepared this coming year and start making things sooner. We shall see.
Anytime I get craft supplies out, my boys want to join in and start creating. In November I did a big craft clear out and got rid of heaps of stuff that wasn’t being used and organized the rest. All of my crafting supplies are stored in the garage since I don’t have a craft room. While I was organizing, the boys saw my jewelry making supplies and were asking repeatedly to make jewelry with me. So one evening while Colin was out, we set to it. It is so fun creating with my boys – I love to see what they come up with.
I also made a new crop of my repurposed vintage earring rings. My church has an annual Christmas Tea and Boutique and I make rings to sell at the boutique. I love making these rings. The designs are so beautiful and interesting.
For Jude’s first grade teacher, I had Jude making a drawing with a note and then I traced it on to fabric and then embroidered it for her. I think it’s a fun, simple and meaningful gift.
For my sons and my nephew, I created silhouettes along with the meanings of their names and then printed onto book pages. I framed them and I love how they turned out.
I did another printing on book pages project for some friends. They are fox fans so I printed a simple fox onto a book page and then hand painted it with watercolors. Then I wrote their name in calligraphy.
That’s my post-Christmas creation round-up. Here’s to a creative and more handmade 2014!
I said I would post some pictures of my own correspondence kit when I got it put together. I had so much fun gathering cards, paper, fancy pens, stamps and other supplies. This was all stuff I had at home, I didn’t go out and buy anything, but I wasn’t utilizing it because it was all scattered in different places around the house. Now it’s all easy to hand and I can write as inspiration strikes.
Looking forward to getting some snail mail into the post!
