See Shell's Schemes

New Old Craft

2012-01-05T18:18:00.001-06:00

When we were going through my maternal grandmother's house a couple years ago, getting it ready to sell, one thing we found were these long dowels with a kind of crochet hook on one end and a flattened part at the other end with a hole in it.
We all wished we would have asked Grandma what the heck those were.
Last week, I got two separate craft catalogs in the mail (Mary Maxim, and Annie's Attic), and to my surprise, they both featured this "NEW" craft that clearly uses the same hook thingy.
"now you can knit with a crochet hook!"
Very intriguing.
Not wanting to wait for a package in the mail, I tried locally, I stopped at Michael's and called JoAnn's, no and no. So Monday, I stopped at Hobby Lobby, and I almost missed it, because they are tiny!
I was expecting this kit to be regular book/magazine sized, because the knooks that we found at Grandma's were more the length of a regular knitting needle, these little babies are barely five inches. So the book is actually just a pamphlet.
The instructions seem pretty good, and they have some great videos on their website to help you get going. I've only had a chance to practice a little bit this week, but it's my new obsession to learn!

Hey! I just remembered Project Runway All Stars starts tonight! I can practice knooking while I'm watching. Yay.

A Fishy Tale

2011-11-20T15:39:00.003-06:00

Of course, it's a fishy tail. ;p
I found clip art of a sun fish of some type, and modified it into my own little fishy. Not much is stitched so far, just the spots on the eye and the, well, spot, and the parts of the tail. Each stripe will get some embroidery on it as well, and it will all get stitched together, with probably some details in the water as well.
I've really been liking using bright colors, imagining colors where they don't normally go, I started that idea with colored pencils and water color a few years ago, and am now bringing it into felt. But I think in the water it would be very cool to try using an almost exact color thread in different embroidery techniques or shapes. Then it would be almost hidden.
I'm thinking of these full sized felt pieces as Felt Painting. I'm not sure if that's the best term or not, but it's a work in progress term for a work in progress work.

On my desk

2011-11-17T18:49:00.000-06:00

Thought it was time again to share what's on my desk at work.
I have a nice desk job, where I get to leave right at 5, and not worry about work until I'm back in the morning. (and lucky to be close enough to go home for lunch) I'm very thankful to have a nice desk job, even tho sure, I do sometimes complain about something or another. But hey, who else gets Arbor Day off as a holiday?
Anyway. We also get the standard two 15 minute breaks each day. So I use my time creatively. If it's a full work week, that's a whole two and a half hours of creative work I can get done.
I've mostly been making lots of little felt pieces; pins, magnets, key chains, and different kinds of hair thingies. But I was inspired to try a huge felt piece. I'm thinking to use one felt sheet as the background, the ones I get are just a few smidges bigger than an 8 x 10 sheet of paper, so I'm thinking when it's done, I can crop it to fit a regular picture frame.
So what is it?

Fabric Calendars

2011-11-12T12:37:00.002-06:00

I'm sure you've heard of Spoonflower, where you can design your own fabric. I've got lots of ideas, but haven't tried it yet.
Right now, there's a contest for a 2012 tea towel calendar. I can just picture some of these covered in sequins and hanging in a kitchen.
There's lots of cool ones, go vote!

Meeple Bag

2011-10-06T20:14:00.001-05:00

In getting ready to teach my favorite board game, Carcassonne, at Nuke Con last week, I decided that I needed a new bag to draw out the tiles.

I have one bag that came with one of the expansions, but this bag was for the new 10th anniversary edition that I had to have. I could use the current bag as a guide for size.

First, thinking of material, I thought of Spoonflower, and maybe I could make some meeple cloth. If I had time I could, so maybe will put that idea on hold for another time.

So I decided to use the bleach splatter method, and got some nice black material. When I told The BFF that I'd really only be a couple minutes in JoAnn's, this time I really meant it. Straight to the remnant bins, there's always plain black remnants in the bin.

I spent one whole evening cutting little meeples out of freezer paper, and another spraying the bleach. Does anyone else have a problem with the smell of the bleach? I should have used a face mask!

Anyway, I think it turned out pretty good. It's always interesting to see how bleached out something will get, and I was pretty happy with the coloring I got with this material. Good thing it was a big remnant, I'll make something else with it.

Meeple bag front

Meeple bag back

Meeple bag with guests visiting

The Bead That I Need

2011-09-23T17:34:00.000-05:00

Turns out the beads that I needed were purple metal and reconstituted turquoise. I do love turquoise, it's natural and not all gemmy. Plus, it's my birthstone.
I should learn more about it, though, because there are different types, like from different regions, I think.
I'm also not sure exactly what reconstituted means in regards to turquoise, but I'm thinking it's probably like taking apart and then putting back together.
So I would think that reconstituted is a good stone, waste not want not and all that, right?
I guess overall, I need to learn more about stones. Maybe I should get a rock tumbler...

Finding The Need For The Bead

2011-08-05T18:55:00.000-05:00

"Sometimes you find the bead for the need and sometimes you find the need for the bead."
This is a thought that I first had many years ago, when I was asked how to decide what beads to buy. There was a huge bead show, where they rent out a conference room in a hotel, and vendors buy space to sell their wares. I was planning on going with my saved up bead money. This was long enough ago that I couldn't find a large selection of interesting and diverse beads easily in person. There's always catalogs. Those wonderful ten pound catalogs. But there was less bead selection out there in the craft stores than there is today.
So I was excited for the upcoming bead show, and excited to be able to spend this saved up money (this was also a time when extra money was kinda scarcer for me), and I shared my excitement with my co-workers.
One co-worker who is an artistic soul and a crafty chick, but hadn't worked with beads before decided to check out the bead show, and I happened to bump into her while I was there. Which wasn't hard considering I was there for probably three hours. I showed her what I had picked out so far, and she spun around the room, a bit overwhelmed. "How do you ever decide what to get?"

That day I bought some of the beads that made up these earrings that I made last night. That day almost ten years ago. And a couple weeks ago I found the other beads in a local craft store. Both times, the beads just "called" to me. That I needed to use them. Sometime. And when I brought home the new beads, I spent an evening digging through all the beads I have (ok, only the ones that are actually organized, I'm sure there are more beads hiding here and there), and in the last container at the bottom of the stack, I found the beads from years ago, and realized they had to go together. And now I know what I bought them for.

Photos with the new toy

2011-07-23T17:37:00.000-05:00

Trying out the wonderful light box set I got from my folks.
Of course, my first tries are with meeples!

Experiment.2

2011-06-10T19:28:00.000-05:00

The Bag

2011-04-23T18:11:00.000-05:00

Close up of bag

To rectify not having photos of the bag, I got out my camera this afternoon and snapped a few.
In this close up, you can see there were many colors. Too many, too random. But it's cute.
Someone gave me huge bags, like garbage size, but in the same nice light grocery bag plastic, in pink.
I wish I would have saved all that pink until I thought about how to use it. I've never seen any other pink bags.
And the orange were from bags given out right around Halloween, I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for those.
One thing I remember about making this bag, as I said I made it for Earth Day a couple years ago, and I was so excited to make it. We had a big Earth Day celebration at church, and we were thinking about the things we could each do ahead of time. On that Sunday, we each were supposed to write down the things that we were going to do or have done. I wrote down that I made the bag, but then I was too shy to show people afterward. I had it with me, but I just got a case of the shys, don't know why.
Sometimes I have trouble tooting my own horn. I'm sure we all have that sometimes.
So I'll toot about it now!

Plarn

2011-04-22T17:26:00.001-05:00

Plarn I made a couple years ago

So I'm looking around this sad little neglected blog of mine to find info of when I made a plarn shopping bag a couple years ago, for Earth Day (Happy Earth Day, BTW). And it appears that I not only didn't post anything about it, I barely took any pictures. Silly me. ;p
Sometimes I'm pretty good about taking photos and notes on projects, and sometimes not.
I found my early crocheting notebook, with patterns that I was writing down as I went along, but nothing on the plarn bag. Bummer. I don't even know what hook I used. But I do remember one thing: I used mostly good bags, but a few bad ones.
Good bags, in this particular instance, are the nice squishy grocery bags that are strong, but pretty thin. The 'bad' bags, were the heavier plastic, either soft heavy almost like a garbage bag, or crunchy heavy, mostly from book stores. I guess to carry books, they need to be heavier. Go figure.
I was looking for something to re-inspire me crochet-wise. I've made bunches of scrubbies, but got a little bored with no challenging project. And then I saw this blog on my trip 'round the interwebs, and got that inspiration I was looking for! I guess the spring time brings out the eco-friendly part of me.
So I dug all the plastic bags off the back porch. Despite having nice reusable bags that I use most of the time, we do definitely collect bags! I decided to sort through and not make a variegated plarn like last time. Digging through the various kinds and colors we have, I decided to also go home town with this project, so I'm starting with Super Saver yellow, and then I'll work on Russ's white with black and red. I've got a three inch ball so far, and I will accept donations only of the yellow.
I've been wanting to rearrange things on the blog for a while, and update from the old design. The background photo is of a watercolor I did in high school, one of my favorites.

Two Thousand Eleven

2011-01-12T18:39:00.000-06:00

Well, here it is a new year again.
Wow!
'Bout time for some updating 'round here. Yup.
For one, Bloglines is no longer, so there's no longer a nice long list of artsy/craftsy blogs over there, but I imagine most folks these days use a reader, so maybe you didn't notice. I'm gonna update the background and header and all that stuff soon, so I'll get a nice crafty list going again.
The best part of the new year is I'm typing right now on my new birthday/Christmas gift from the BFF, a MacBook! So picture me sitting in some coffee shop, typing away. Now remove that image, I don't really 'do' coffee shops. But there are plenty of places I will take my new toy.
With something new, even as great as it is, there are changes, and I haven't yet figured the best way to get my photos from the main computer to here easily. Thus, no photo for this post. boo.
But here's a few mental pictures for you, of the things I'm working on or thinking of. You know, scheming about. lol
Paper crafting Zombies at work with my gift to myself, a calendar with a new paper craft Zombie for each month. Just finished January, "The Business Man" yesterday. Good break time activity. Got me thinking more about paper crafting. Wondering what it would take to make my own patterns??
Got an ad the other day in the mail, with four reproductions of famous art work, on nice paper, a little bigger than 8 x 10, and I'm thinking of some interesting ways to enhance them. The Artist Extreeme has claimed one that he wants to paint a Flying Spaghetti Monster into, and I've claimed the Monet for bead embroidery. Now what exactly do I want to do with the Mona Lisa?? Tons of ideas. Maybe cut the mouth open to make a kind of puppet, or cut out the eyes to make it a mask. The Artist Extreeme thought to maybe paint a smiley face over the actual face. Could also hook up some tiny motion sensitive lights, and put it in a frame, to freak people out. That might be fun.
And thinking about starting the Artist's Way again. And heard Lynda Barry being interviewed, so I was inspired to get her two new books. Maybe I can sort of combine the Lynda Barry ideas into the Artist's Way ideas.
And off to choir!

First PMC

2010-11-24T19:37:00.001-06:00

This is my first attempt at PMC (precious metal clay). I knew my first try wouldn't be perfect, but I made it just for me, and I love wearing even with it's flaws.
I made the outside shape freehand, the hole with a straw, and for the main decoration, I pressed a wooden Meeple (playing piece originally from the game Carcassonne) into the clay. I kinda wanted to cut around the Meeple shape, for a cut-out, and I think I will try that at a later time, but with my first try, not knowing quite how the clay felt and handled, I was more comfortable just pressing it in.
Plus, I'm interested in (eventually) learning how to put colored enamel on the silver clay, so I thought at some point, I could experiment with this pendant and enamel.
The necklace is just a hemp cord that I have to tie off each time I wear it, but I couldn't find the kind of necklace that I really wanted.

Mask

2010-10-31T16:13:00.000-05:00

Here is the mask I made for Halloween. It's embroidered felt, with a ribbon tie. The embroidery is completely random. It was fun to make, but a little hard to see out of.

Thread Thrifting

2010-08-31T17:21:00.000-05:00

I heard recently that our local Goodwill thrift stores had started a 'bit wall' with all sorts of little sets of bits. This was important because I heard it from a fellow gamer, and we were talking about game bits, which are always needed, and I like to craft with them sometimes, too.
The 'bits' I found this time, was thread. Awesome sets of three-to-a-package DMC thread, on their cards, with their numbers written on already. I got four. Aren't they beautiful!?!

Crafty Family: Sudoku Quilt

2010-07-07T21:53:00.000-05:00

Here is the quilt wall hanging that my Rubber Stampin' Auntie made for my mom and dad to hang in their camper.
My parents really like sudoku puzzles, and other number and word fill-in kind of games, and they've tried to introduce sudoku to this Auntie a couple times, but she's just no that into it.
But she did figure it out enough to make a perfect sudoku grid for this cute little quilt.
She made it out of several old ties that my Grandma had taken apart.
I love the connections, the patterns are cool, and the orange makes it pop!
And yes, I knew about it before it was done, but not knowing if this would end up being a "Muffin", I didn't mention it. ;p

The Morning Sun is Shining Like a Red Rubber Ball

2010-04-10T15:17:00.000-05:00

Well, OK, a Pink Rubber Ball.

This ball is me playing around with shading and blending colors in Corel Painter Essentials, the program that came with my Bamboo graphics pad.
Yes, I bought myself a new graphics pad, tax return money burning a hole in my artistic pocket. The old one I bought probably ten years ago, so I guess I shouldn't be too upset that it finally gave up the ghost.
I've been playing around with it for the last couple weeks. There is a lot of just practicing to get the feel down, most of which doesn't get saved. The feel of the pen on the pressure sensitive pad is unique, and takes just lots of doing to feel comfortable with. So different than seeing a line behind the pencil in your hand.
Other than playing with the graphics pad on the computer, I've been doing a lot of embroidery with felt, mostly at work. I'm putting full force into just going with the flow, embroidering as I go, not making any pattern in my head or on paper. It's good exercise to not have a plan, but when I get so far into no plan, with practicing and not saving on the graphics pad, and the embroidery being the main things I've been doing, then I get to the point of not knowing where to start with a plan or pattern.
Case in point today: I'm inspired to work on the lining for the fulled purse that I started a long time ago. I really want to start carrying it, and after some thinking through of what I do and do not want in the lining, I just want to get it done. I have everything I need at hand. The sewing machine is out on the table. And the afternoon to myself. And I have butterflies in my stomach at the prospect of HOW to make myself make a pattern. Even creating the bag itself was a make-it-as-you-go design.
So much free-flow lately. Much needed, and much appreciated. But I need to be able to free-flow as well as flow-within-the-lines, too, right? (as long as the lines are my own)

UFOs: Poly Clay Canes

2010-03-14T13:37:00.000-05:00

We all have UFOs, UnFinished Objects, projects half finished laying around. (Well, I'm presuming we all do, maybe some of you are more disciplined than I) Sometimes we lose interest in what we're working on, or other times, something more urgent needs to be finished. Usually, I don't mind having UFOs, as long as I can figure out what I was doing when I pick it back up again. (yea, that's happened, I've found something half finished that I had no idea what it was supposed to be. now, I'm leaving myself notes.) A UFO can be a nice surprise sometimes, finding something that only needs a bit of work to be finished and beautiful!
But a UFO that is made with polymer clay can be a different story.
This photo shows five canes that I worked on at different times. Left to right: a wing with translucent bits, the few that I did slice up and bake looked great, but this old cane looks cracked now; a colorful geometric cane that I have never even cut into; a huge pink and orange cane, inspired by/made for a doll collection that I don't collect anymore, also never been cut; a sun cane, the pieces were intended to be surrounded by beaded sun rays, but I didn't ever figure out the best way to make the rays, only a few slices taken out; and a Christmas colored cane, this one is the most used of these five, it has made a few barrettes.
I've seen artists make huge canes, that they couldn't use all at once, and of course, canes are for sale as canes. But I'm not sure how people get them/keep them soft enough to use again. I feel like I'm looking at a trash heap, a beautiful trash heap, but still not really usable. Well, I won't throw them away, hoping I'll figure out the best way to reuse them!!

Needles!!

2010-02-19T16:38:00.002-06:00

I put a thin magnet in the bottom, to hold the needles in place. The magnet probably came off the back of a free calendar or advertisement, meant to be stuck to your fridge. There was a bit of adhesive left, but since I was putting it into a metal tin, it didn't matter if it stuck through adhesive or magnatism. ;p
The magnet holds the needles in place and you can arrange them by height or use and they will stay how you arranged them.
One tip I learned: I put the opening of the sliding tin so that the eyes of the needles are at the top, easier to get them out, not so many pointy sharpnesses when I reach in.

Idea...

2010-02-18T21:38:00.000-06:00

I collect tins, especially candy/mint tins and lunch box tins, and I don't just collect them, I use them. Most of my tins have supplies or a project inside. This tiny tin was full of tiny mints in a con package a while back. I anticipated some great project would come out of this.

I covered the top (and bottom, but that didn't stick) with polymer clay to cover the advertising and to make it my own. This poly clay is the cane I made back in November, smooshed together and run through the pasta machine.
So what would I put in something so small??
Now I realize that I should have put something in the pictures for reference. Again, silly me.
It's about two inches long, and about one inch wide, and just under 1/2 inch tall, by my guessing without it close to me at this moment.
So with those measurements, what project or supply could I possibly put into this tiny tin??

And after being worn a while...

2010-02-17T22:11:00.000-06:00

Can you see the wear and tear on these ? This is after being worn for approximately six months. I searched back through my iPhoto, to find a picture taken right after they were finished, just to see when I had started wearing them, and looks like I forgot to take a 'finished' photo.
Typical shells. I take a bazillion pictures during part of the process, and forget to take a 'finished' photo. Silly me.
Anyway, as I mentioned before, I'm using this pair (set?) as a trial, seeing what needs to be changed. I wear them every night (necessity really IS the mother of invention), whereas some folks who might want to buy a pair, might only use them once or twice a week, like The BFF, who's pair has held up very well.
See how the turquoise fleece in the back is kinda scrunching around to the front? I think I might need to cut the fleece a tiny, tiny bit smaller than the felt, to prevent this. It may also depend on the kind of felt, which I will need to pay more attention to.
The elastic part is a child's headband, which I discovered is maybe close to an inch smaller than the adult headbands I have found. That definitely caused the pulling at the temples.

'Night Shades

2010-02-12T22:03:00.000-06:00

I guess most people would say sleep mask, but when I started making these, I just could not come up with 'sleep mask', in fact, it took me five minutes right now to come up with that. Eye blinders always popped to mind, I remember answering the fleece-cutting store clerk's question by saying I was making 'eye blinders' and seeing the silent confusion in her eyes. (Doesn't everyone understand what I mean, regardless of what I say??)
So the term Night Shades came to me, as they are kinda shades you wear at night, right? And adding the apostrophe, makes it actually Good-Night Shades. Awwe, how cute.
These are one of the things I'm working on for potential sale. There, I said (wrote) it out loud. I have had a goal for too long now, to get an Etsy store started, and maybe saying it out loud more will help my get my butt in gear. Besides the four that have been pictured here so far, that are for personal use or gifts, I have half a dozen started, with the felt layer, all embroidered and felty (the most time-consuming part) finished.
I'm kinda working through the trial run of the ones I wear, to see if/how I need to tweek the measurements a bit. The fleece inner side and the felt outer side don't seem to wear at the same rate on the ones I wear every night, so I'm thinking I need to cut the fleece a bit less. And the headbands that I have used so far have been ok, but I need to figure out a good supply, not just hope to pick some up at the Dollar Tree.
These two are:
top: (red with flowers) Holiday gift for The BFF's mom, just finished at time of photo.
bottom: (fuchsia with flowers) my own pair, worn every night since creation, worn at least two months before this photo.
Can you tell my pair has been worn?

Finally Fotos (or Phinally Photos?)

2009-11-07T13:04:00.008-06:00

Yes, I have been becoming more creative this fall.
Habits changing.
On my breaks at work, I've been working with felt more. Pins, barrettes, puppets, sculptures, and sleep masks. Lots of sleep masks. I have some fun designs already in progress, and even more still in my head, and I am working toward stockpiling a bunch for my (future) etsy store.
The two shown were both finished a couple weeks ago for gifts.
In my not-on-my-breaks-at-work art/craft time, I have started the habit of Studio Time on Friday evenings. Last night was the fifth week in a row I sat down for at least 1 & 1/2 hours to work on poly clay. Organizing my art supply closet a while back was the best thing to get my Studio Time going. I have a dedicated shelf area for all my poly clay paraphernalia and the three totes and one milk crate fit perfectly into the area. So on Friday evening, I can pull everything out, and subsequently clean it all back up, very very easily. Making it easy is important for me since I don't have a 'craft room' right now.
I had already bought the blues for a specific idea, so that was what I've been working on. I just mixed a few different shades of blues and whites, and decided to just go with a polka dot pattern. I love caning with poly clay, but since it's been a while since I've been seriously working with it, I decided to kinda start slow, re-learn some of the basics. The evening that all I did was condition the clay and mix maybe one color was so therapeutic!
Shown are several slices of the long cane I ended up with, before they got more manipulated into something else. I have three finished things so far, and lots more of the cane to use.
And my epiphany of late: I love working with felt for the same reason I love working with poly clay: COLOR!

And More To Be Finished

2009-08-26T18:08:00.000-05:00

During my summer crochet-scrubbies-as-stress-management project, I learned that while the making of the scrubbies was relaxing, the tying off of the scrubbies was definitely NOT.
So I'd end up with a big pile like this waiting to be tied off. And since they were waiting to be finished, they weren't going off to new homes to actually be used, which was, after all, an essential part of the plan.
My folks, as I think I've mentioned before, have been doing volunteer work ever since they retired (almost ten years now!), and I have sent a few scrubbies along with them to give as gifts to their team mates, as well as give to family members they meet up with along the way, but I've never sent enough along, because they were still waiting to be tied off!
So I had a great idea. If my mom was willing to tie off the scrubbies (maybe busy work during the long drive?) then they could take a big bunch of scrubbies with them, and give them away when they're finished. Mom was game for the idea (thanks Mom!), so this big batch is in her capable hands now, being tied off and given away.
...and I'll get busy crocheting MORE.

Stress Management...

2009-08-15T12:17:00.006-05:00

This summer has been rather stressful in our house. I can admit that now, because it does appear that we are back on the uphill climb (knock on wood!!).
One thing that is interesting to me, is how my creativity ebbs and flows with stress. Not that I ever stopped getting ideas, but that I had no ability to move forward on any of those ideas.
Mindlessness was my stress management solace. Sims 3, I'll admit, was one of my best friends this summer, and I do like to think that there is some creativity at least in the designing of clothing and furniture, and especially in the house designing.
On the actual creativity front, ie, working on arts -n- crafts, the best I could do was crochet dishcloths and scrubbies. Lots and lots of scrubbies! Cotton yarn and tulle crocheted together in various colors and shapes. There are at least twenty scrubbies missing from this photo, between the ones already given away, and the ones waiting to be tied off.
Some people focus on a big project to overcome stress, I guess it's different for each of us, but also different for us depending on how the stress is hitting us.
I am really looking forward to starting something soon. Knock on wood again.

Marionette

2009-06-24T15:18:00.002-05:00

So the marionette has been hanging up on my cube wall at work for about a month now. Hmm, time does keep passing by, doesn't it? I haven't decided if or how to make the puppeting stick, whatever it's called. For now, it's just pinned by it's head and hands. It really is nice just as a hanging piece, so I'm satisfied just leaving it this way.

Marionette: The Head

2009-05-21T20:36:00.000-05:00

Finished Marionette: Close Up

2009-05-15T20:18:00.001-05:00

Finished Marionette: Close Up (Very)

2009-05-13T20:43:00.002-05:00

Marionette

2009-05-12T21:08:00.003-05:00

I finished the marionette in felt that has been on the back burner for maybe a year. Finished it yesterday at work. No picture yet. [note to self: take photo of marionette]
Not sure how to make the ... ? ... stick? The thingy that makes the marionette move? Whatever that's called.
I love the colors, I love the weirdness of the shapes that I used. But I'm not sure if anyone else will get it. So I guess, this was real art.

Schemes

2009-04-18T12:47:00.000-05:00

n.

1. A systematic plan of action: “Did you ever carry out your scheme of writing a series of sonnets embodying all the great epochs of art?” (Edith Wharton).
2. A secret or devious plan; a plot. See synonyms at plan.
3. An orderly combination of related parts: an irrigation scheme with dams, reservoirs, and channels.
4. A chart, diagram, or outline of a system or object.

v., schemed, schem·ing, schemes.

v.tr.

1. To plot: scheming their revenge.
2. To contrive a plan or scheme for.

v.intr.

To make plans, especially secret or devious ones.

Creativity Today: 2-13-9

2009-02-13T23:52:00.000-06:00

Crocheting dish cloth: 30 minutes on breaks at work

Butt in Chair

2009-02-13T21:59:00.002-06:00

I got my hands into some clay last night, for the first time in I don't even want to think how long. Of the myriad issues/excuses that have kept me from my clay, one has been space, and that has been a big one. Over the last few months, I have been working on the remedy, or at least band-aid, and have completely re-organized the cupboards by the kitchen table that were never really used for kitchen things anyway. The theory behind the clean up was to make it easy to get out the clay even for short periods of time. Because, time, as we all know, is the other major culprit to not getting to the creative things. So if these cupboards are well enough organized, I should be able to grab everything out and work even for 1/2 hour, and easily put things back. Last night, I finally tested that theory.
There was a new episode of CSI on, and I had the various things I 'needed' to get done, done. So I decided to commit the hour the show was on to the clay. It stretched to about an hour and a half, all told, but it was still very easy to pull out and put away. One tub for the current work. I wouldn't really need to get out any others when I'm very pressed for time.
And it felt soooooo good to get into the clay, there aren't enough O's in the world to convey. Even though the new brand I bought ended up being a bit stinky. Whew! But doing it nonetheless. I do think the "Creativity Today" helped kick me in the butt, when I had to, so many days, write the same "crocheted on breaks at work" crap.
I've had a few ideas of clay pieces to work on, but they are still in the idea phase. What I started on is an idea I had a couple months ago, and had actually bought a couple packs of fresh clay in the colors I needed, and some small barrette backs. I guess this is the organization of ideas, the newer ideas need to ferment inside the brain a bit more before buying or arranging supplies, the idea that is fully fermented can come out my fingers now. I like that.

Creativity Today: 2-12-9

2009-02-12T23:56:00.002-06:00

Crocheting dish cloth: 30 minutes on breaks at work
Working with polyclay, conditioning and mixing colors: 1 1/2 hours

Creativity Today: 2-11-9

2009-02-11T23:52:00.000-06:00

Crocheting dish cloth: 30 minutes on breaks at work

Reflections on a Podcast

2009-02-11T20:26:00.002-06:00

I get so inspired sometimes when listening to podcasts, similar to how some books give you a different perspective, and after reading (or listening), your view of the world has changed. One little insight, a connection, a couple words put together in a new way, an idea or just a spark, a moment of relaxation, something just right and somehow it hit me right when and where I needed it.
How I listen to podcasts is, I think, unique. I work as an Accountant (In real life I am an Artist, but my secret identity is an Accountant), not a CPA or numbers-crunchy type, mostly researching and rearranging numbers, but still something that takes a certain part of my brain. While I’m working, and using that logic part of my brain, my creative brain section is completely free, and often bored if not fed. That’s why I’m listening to podcasts most all day as I work. Since my creative journey at this stage of my life often feels like I am in a gathering phase than a doing phase, I appreciate the creatively inspiring podcasts tremendously!
I am always so very inspired by Craft Cast, it would take too long to list all the inspired things I have learned from the great Allison. The latest episode, with Kelly Rae Roberts is a great example.
As I listen, I have a notebook that I jot down notes or sketch ideas in, and here randomly are some of the things that were said &/or my reactions to what was being said:

“Creative journey” I love this phrase (see I used it in the paragraph above!) I have often thought of other parts of my life as a journey-spirituality, parenting-but I want to remember that my creative soul is on it’s own journey as well, and it’s the journeying that is the important part, not getting there.

“Expressing vulnerability” through creativity. I have had thoughts similar to this recently, and didn’t have words for it. It is something that I am not sure how to do, and I want to let myself go and see what happens.

“Quiet time” and “Listening to the creative soul” Having to pause the podcast to start writing this post, and having to put into words how I listen to podcasts at work, I was made aware that my most quiet time actually is during my work time. This awareness makes me think a couple things: find ways to utilize this quiet even more, and/or see if I can carve a space (probably both physical and mental) into the rest of my life where I can actually feel the quiet and listen.

“Butterflies out of the cocoon” The word I chose for last year was Emerging. As of right now, it is still my word.

“Walking through the ring of fire” Allison has said this before, and I love this phrase and the image (not to mention the great song) it conjures up, my interpretation ****

“Redefining balance” and “Losing balance is part of the process” A few years ago I had a phrase I decided represented my life at the time. Just about time I think things are going to get back to normal, I realize that normal has up and moved, and there’s no getting back there from here. When I was able to be ok with the truth of that, and even laugh about it, and take it in stride, I was able to move forward in the non-normalness of my life. And everything was ok. And now, I want to add the knowledge that losing balance is part of the process and I can redefine balance, just as I redefined normal, and everything will continue to be ok.

So that's just a few things that really struck me while listening to this fantastic Internet Radio Show. There were more wonderful moments, but these are the moments that really struck ME. Listen for yourself, and see what inspires YOU.

Creativity Today: 2-10-9

2009-02-10T23:30:00.000-06:00

Crocheting dish cloth: 15 minutes on break at work

Creativity Today: 2-9-9

2009-02-09T23:29:00.000-06:00

Crocheting dish cloth: 15 minutes on break at work

Creativity Today: 2-8-9

2009-02-08T23:13:00.000-06:00

Rehearsing and singing in choir: 2 hours
Leading childrens' choir: 1/2 hour

Creativity Today: 2-7-9

2009-02-07T23:12:00.001-06:00

Watching tutorials, and practicing with Illustrator: one hour

Creativity Today: 2-6-9

2009-02-06T21:18:00.001-06:00

Working on felt marionette: thirty minutes on breaks at work.
Drawing "Landing" with Colors app: twenty minutes

Creativity Today: 2-5-9

2009-02-05T23:31:00.001-06:00

Drawing game tile in larger form, for felt and embroidery patch: thirty minutes on breaks at work

Creativity Today: 2-4-9

2009-02-04T23:29:00.000-06:00

Crocheting and finishing experimental tentacled dish cloth: 15 minutes on break at work
Singing at Choir Rehearsal: one and one-half hours

Creativity Today February

2009-02-04T10:18:00.001-06:00

I like to think of February as 'habit' month. This stems from someone telling me once that it only takes 28 days to create a habit, 28 days of doing something, and it will become ingrained into who you are. And February has 28 days, usually. Plus, February is enough after the beginning of the year that it doesn't have to feel like a New Year's resolution, which are at such risk to be broken.
Of course, I know it's pretty arbitrary WHEN you do it, and I'm not sure if it's really 28 days, I've heard other numbers, but I figure I can commit to doing anything if I have a set amount of time, so I'll use February to try an experiment.
This year's experiment is to actually document how much time I put into creative endeavors.
See, I like to think that I am always being creative, that I do something creative every day. But reality is, life sometimes gets in the way. I don't have a dedicated crafting area, which means I can't leave things out, and in the evenings at home, it is sometimes hard to find or make the time to work on something. And I don't want to stress it so much that creative time seems like a chore!
That's why I use my breaks at work. Two 15 minute breaks times five days a week, that's a whole two and a half hours! I can get a whole project started and finished in one work week.
But I'd really like to carve more time for creative things, and actually USE the time I have better, so I decided the first step is to actually log how much time I am using for creativity right now. And see where the trends are. Kinda like a food diary or something.
So you may have already noticed that I am listing what creative things I'm working on each day. And I intend to do this for every day in February. And maybe in March, I'll figure out how to sneak in more time.
Plus, this is a good way for me to keep track of what specifically I'm working on. Right now, mostly just crocheting dishcloths. Which is great, but there's more I can do!
And yes, I consider my choir times to be creative times, too, even though, that's not specifically the artsy-craftsy stuff that I talk about here. It's a different side of my creative soul. Plus, it pads out the days when it seems I didn't do much.
So bear with me, or journey along with me, for my lame account of what creative time I spent each day.

Creativity Today: 2-3-9

2009-02-03T23:04:00.002-06:00

Crocheting on experimental tentacled dish cloth: 30 minutes on breaks at work
Painting with Colors iTouch app: 15 minutes
Note to self: Maybe that stylus for the iTouch would be a good idea, fingers feel too fat to paint details

Creativity Today: 2-2-9

2009-02-02T22:53:00.000-06:00

Crocheting on experimental tentacled dish cloth: 15 minutes on break at work

Creativity Today: 2-1-9

2009-02-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

Leading children's choir: 1/2 hour

Organizing

2009-01-29T11:43:00.001-06:00

In the worldly knowledge of my twilight years (hah), I have come to realize that most things I find as road blocks, things I have troubles with, even though it sure feels like, at the time, that I am the only one who has ever had this problem, that I am not so egotistically unique.
What I am alluding to here is what I've decided to call Organization Avalanche. When trying to do one thing, only makes you think of ten things you need to do first, and, of course, when you start to do one of those things, that gives youten more things for each of those things (it's a Potsie scheme)!!
I'm trying to give mouth-to-mouth to this blog, and have decided to post old photos along with my ramblings, but all my old photos weren't tagged on the new computer. (and the 'new' computer has only been here for half a year, you'd think I could'a gotten that done by now!)

Long & Rambling #X

2009-01-16T10:51:00.000-06:00

Where to start? I imagine several long, rambly, possibly TMI, probably incoherant posts, bringing this blog back in line with my brain, so I may as well just jump in wherever.
For my birthday, my wonderful BFF got me an iPod Touch. He's been enjoying his for a few months now, has come to find it invaluable, and knew that I would fall in love with one, too. My birthday, for those playing along at home, is five days before Christmas, so I haven't quite had my new tool for a month yet, but yes, I love it, and I am writing right now on it. (with it?)
And with a new tool, comes new commitment, maybe even new inspiration, and I will be able to get the words out of my head while they are fresh, and not have to try to recreate a thought or feeling hours or days later, when I finally feel that I have the right amount of time.

...Shaping...

2008-11-21T14:48:00.003-06:00

While the purse was still wet, I wanted to see if I could give it some shape. I was pleased to find that soup cans fit just fine.

...Soup?...

2008-11-19T14:42:00.000-06:00

...Out Of The Washer...

2008-11-15T11:17:00.002-06:00

The colors did bleed a bit more than I anticipated, but I still love how the colors look together.

...Ready For The Washer...

2008-11-01T12:15:00.003-05:00

I found these mesh tote bags at the Dollar Tree, they had originally been upwards of $5 for the package of four, now only a buck. I had to tie a slip knot to keep it closed, but it worked fine. (Using another of the mesh totes for fine washables, so hooks don't get caught, you know.)

...Pretty Pooling...

2008-10-30T20:29:00.001-05:00

...Crocheted...

2008-10-25T15:15:00.002-05:00

...Gage Checked...

2008-10-17T21:15:00.000-05:00

...Rolled Into A Ball...

2008-10-15T21:53:00.003-05:00

(no sound to speak of, just experimenting with video)

...Died With Food Coloring...

2008-10-06T21:28:00.002-05:00

I had meant to try dieing yarn with Kool-Aid, but somehow the instructions I kept finding seemed daunting. How could Kool-Aid be difficult? I'm not sure. But when I found these instructions using food coloring instead of Kool-Aid, I decided this would be the better way to go!

Hand Died Yarn...

2008-10-05T09:32:00.000-05:00

Bryan the Master Control Zombie

2008-09-01T10:48:00.001-05:00

Zombies love their Brains!!!

2008-08-31T11:36:00.003-05:00

One of the birthday presents I got for The BFF for his birthday yesterday (Happy Birthday Bryan!) was a Monster By Mail zombie portrait of him at work. (all those television monitors to keep track of would surely turn anyone into a zombie!)
So keeping with the theme, I made brain cupcakes for him to take to work to share. (for more info on how I made them and more photos, see my recipe blog) Creativity comes in many forms, you know. ;p
Mixing frosting colors is, in some ways, very much like mixing paints, but of course, presents it's own challenges, paints aren't usually going to get too warm to work with. The color-in-color sripes that can be achieved by using different colors in the same bag, is fairly unique to frosting.

Museum

2008-08-25T07:14:00.003-05:00

Due to me not reading the free pass correctly, The BFF, The Artist Extreeme, and I did NOT go to the local zoo as planned yesterday afternoon. And would you believe that the free pass only expired the day before! Arrrrgggg!
So we were still set to go somewhere, and we checked out a few local things on the web to see what we wanted to do, and we all agreed on the Sheldon Memorial Art Museum. After finally finding a place to park, we weaved our way through all the new students finding their way around the downtown and campus area to get to the museum.
There was a very cool video installation, and of course, the permanent collection is great, but the best part for us, was the sculpture/multi media exhibit by Elizabeth King. Sculptures of her face, most about 1 /4 size, with blown glass eyeballs created by another artist, were so life like, I kept expecting them to move. Hand sculptures carved from wood, with animations of them actually moving, with stop-frame photography. Just breathtaking all of it.
One of my favorite parts of this phenomenal exhibit were her sketches of how to make the figures, even cut out with paper, now that's an art journal page! And there was a display case of antique dolls and figurines that the artist has collected to help her explore how her predecessors made their art.
Very inspirational indeed.

No More Excuses

2008-08-22T21:01:00.004-05:00

Well, the whole not-posting-because-I-can't-get-photos-uploaded issue is finally solved! Our new computer arrived this week, and photos will be aplenty!
I'm trying to make a point with our new computer to use it for good, not evil. ;p Meaning I want to do artistic things with it, and not just games or time wasters. So last night, I did the first tutorial on our art program Art Rage.
There was one point in the tutorial that it gave a couple paragraphs of directions of what to do if your drawing didn't fit on your screen...well, that's one problem I WON'T be having!
And a funny parental moment happened, well, a couple moments. Both kids saw me working on the tutorial and had very different reactions. The Artist Extreeme, when realizing that I was working from instructions, gave me grief, 'why are you doing what they're telling you to?', he the ever do-it-yourself artist. To which I explained that I was using their tutorial so that I could learn my way 'round their tools, but that didn't convince him. The Rawk Star, on the other hand, was very impressed with this little bit of art, to which I had to fess up that I was tracing their photo, using their instructions, but he was still impressed, his tracing 'looking like a mess' according to him (but I know that was an exaggeration).
I'm thinking that I might make a kind of on-line Art Journal about learning the Art Rage program, still thinking about how and where I would do that...maybe just another blogspot site, dedicated to only the Art Rage art? Whaddya think of that?

Pincushions

2008-08-03T18:49:00.002-05:00

Pincushions
Originally uploaded by seeshells

There is sooo much cool stuff on Craft Stylish, I'm sure I miss half of it! Luckily, others share when they find something cool! Crafty Pod pointed to an awesome tutorial for tiny pincushions made from bottle tops. They are so simple and quick, I cranked out four on my breaks at work, even on a week that I took one day off!
Of course, I had to add beads, and some sequins, too! If you click back to flickr, you can see each one closer up!
As I was making them, I decided one of these would be for my mom, her birthday being the last day of July. One just seemed to be specifically for her, and when I was working on that one, she happened to call from their vacation! So that clinched it for me. I'll still let her decide which one she likes best, I wonder if she'll pick the one I think she'll pick...(OK Mom, make your pick!)

And knowing me, I can't just make cute little pretties. As I was stitching the top on one, I thought, 'hmm this feels like it could be a brain' and the zombie pincushion below was born! I think he ended up looking a little like Bert, but that wasn't intended. That one is mine, of course!

Art Journaller: Destroy RFA

2008-07-25T20:40:00.001-05:00

Destroy RFA
Originally uploaded by seeshells

Do you ever get a strange nervous feeling and you don't know why? I know some people don't, but I do (probably something to do with being the parent of teens). I decided to call it Random Freefloating Anxiety. The other day, I had one of these attacks of RFA, and in the process of getting rid of it, I had the idea for this drawing.
I've been working more on my Art Journal, but have been still working very timidly, and I wanted to explore a more purposeful style. In all my art classes in high school and college, I learned to sketch, to pencil things in first, but I've been seeing and hearing about just drawing without sketching, and I wanted to try that out for myself.
So this drawing is both a visualization for me calming my brain, and an experiment with a technique I don't usually use.
The Boy Friend Forever said "it's not your usual style...I like it" LOL Those are two separate statements, and I knew it when he said it, but it sounded funny. I like it too. And it's not my usual style. But I do want to explore this style more.

Alphabet Brainstorming Exercise

2008-07-17T19:29:00.001-05:00

I’m working on making a prompt jar, I found the idea in the Art Journaller section of Art Scouts, but I’ll bet the basic concept has been found other places as well. The concept is to create a bunch of prompts for yourself that will be jumping off places for ideas. Art Journals, writing, pretty much any art form or even meditation can be sparked by prompts. There are sites that help provide prompts, there are books, and even cards to prompt you. But there is a difference in being prompted by others and being prompted by your own ideas. Ideas beget ideas. So I’m working on creating a set of my own prompts that will spark my own brain.

In thinking about how to make a large set of words for prompts, I came up with this idea that I thought I would share.

Write the alphabet in a column on a large sheet of paper
If you can orient it ‘landscape’ you’ll be able to fit more words
You can skip X &/or Q if you want
Start with A, write the first word that pops into your head, then go down to B, then C, and so on
When you get to Z, start again at Z and go back up
Don’t edit yourself-just don’t write the same word twice
Keep going up and down, writing one word for each letter, until you’ve filled the page

I found it very interesting to find what popped into my head. Of course, the words I had already thought of led to the next words, so it was interesting to see how the going up words differed from the going down words.

Perfection Procrastination

2008-07-14T13:12:00.002-05:00

A little story of overcoming that putting-it-off-till-it’s-perfect crap!

Remember that bag I crocheted and fulled way back when? (back when I could upload photos easily) I loved it when I was making it, I loved it when it was done, but it wasn’t quite finished, it needed the perfect button. And by gads, I would make it the perfect button! Since I’m a polymer clay artist, I will make a button in just the perfect size and shape, in the colors that will mirror the fringe.

Now lately, I’ve been getting all my poly clay supplies organized, my art supplies overall organized, my house organized, my brain organized…well, you get the picture, more organizing than actually doing. And so the button had yet to be made, and the purse had yet to be used.

Yesterday, a busy day for a Summer Sunday, we were getting ready to leave for theatre in the park*, and I was troubling over what to take with me. I had a few things I needed to take, you know: keys, wallet, sunglasses, but didn’t want to take my regular (read: big and heavy) purse. Too bad I hadn’t finished that perfect button, because this was exactly the occasion that I made my little purse for.

Well, in perfect shell style (I’ve been known to make a pair of earrings in the car on the way to where they will be worn), twenty minutes before we have to leave, I decide that I can make the perfect button later, and I need to find the good-for-now button right NOW! Poor BFF (boy friend forever) making a sammich as I’m whipping things out of my art supply closet, throwing things around him on the table, he had no idea what my crazy brain was up to! I knew I had a couple choices of buttons that would probably work, and I found one that works just fine. And even if I don’t make that perfect button soon (or ever), at least I didn’t let my cute little purse sit in some box waiting for perfection.

Rah! For overcoming perfection procrastination! On to the next ‘waiting’ project!

*We have the coolest theatre experience here in Lincoln. In the huge park on the edge of town is a theatre in a little valley, surrounded by pine trees (thus the name Pinewood Bowl). Every summer around this time, they put on a musical under the sun and stars. The doors open at least an hour early so you can get a park bench seat, or find the perfect place to park your lawn chairs or blankets. By the time the show starts, the sun is behind the trees, and they time it perfectly so intermission is hitting right when dusk is over, and the second half of the show is lit with stage lights, and a wide screen on the side of the stage shows close-ups of the action.

It’s always a great experience just to be in an outdoor theatre, but the shows are awesome, too. This year it’s The Music Man (it runs again next weekend if you’re local), my uncle happens to be one of the producers, and this year, my young cousin was in the ensemble, too, which made it even more fun to watch!

4-H Projects

2008-07-10T20:14:00.006-05:00

Serving Tray and Hot Dish Mat
Originally uploaded by seeshells

More stuff that mom brought me from my childhood included this set that I made in 4-H and took to the county fair. I thought they were kinda lame at the time I made them, but now they're just cute.
The 'serving tray' was an old cookie pan, in case you couldn't tell, spray painted and decorated. The 'hot dish mat', as it was named by the intake person who must have been from Minnesota, is a piece of cork with felt glued to the back, also spray painted and decorated.
I bought a can of clear matte finish that I'm going to spray them both with, (like the judge suggested), and the tray will work perfectly in my cupboard to hold all my spices. (That's a big project for another day!)
Below, along with removing the address, since my parents still live there, I added the notes from the judges.

Make Me!

2008-07-07T18:28:00.004-05:00

I love when something demands to be created. That happened to me this past weekend. I’d been using my duct-tape wallet for a few months, liking it, not loving it, and the past couple weeks, I’d been thinking about what to replace it with. Thursday morning at work, the idea overtook me, and I had to stop working for a few minutes to draw out the plan: a small felt wallet, embroidered with beads, with a zipper and two other pockets. This morning before work, I transferred my important things into the completed new wallet.
Granted, it was a long weekend, and I was able to work on this project more because of the holiday, but I have a feeling that whenever this project had demanded itself to me, I wouldn’t have been able to do much else until it was finished.
Don’cha just love when that happens? When a project refuses to go on the back burner, jumps into your head shouting "MAKE ME", and just about puts itself in motion without you.
I’ve mentioned that I have been feeling a little noncreative lately, so it was even more exciting for me to have this priority project hit me. Through my noncreative-feeling period, I did keep working, mostly crocheting, and kept watching blogs and flickr for ideas, and researching on Etsy. A week ago or so, a quote inspired me, and I dug my Art Journaller supplies out from the bottom of the stack of crap on my desk, and moved it to my bed stand. Most nights since then, I've doodled, nothing spectacular, but just kept working.
I guess that's the key, do the projects that inspire you, and even when you're not feeling so inspired, keep working until you're inspired again.

Heart Dish with Etsy Purchases

2008-07-06T14:20:00.002-05:00

Heart Dish with Etsy Purchases
Originally uploaded by seeshells

Since I was taking the photos of my heart dish from my childhood at the same time as I was taking photos of my recent Etsy purchases, I decided to put them together, and what perfection! I think that's the perfect thing for my little heart dish to hold, and it sits by my computer to inspire me!

And The Back

2008-07-03T12:40:00.002-05:00

M.R.F. 2-1-75
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

Here's the back of the cute heart dish. It has my initials (my formal initials that is) and the date: 2-1-75, which would make me about a month and a half after my 11th birthday, in the 4th grade. That date also means I created it on a Saturday (I had to look it up, because I didn't remember doing anything like this in art in elementary school), so it wasn't a school project. Maybe a 4-H special seminar or a Saturday church group?
The piece is about 2 1/2 inches across and about 3 inches from point to highest peak.

Heart Dish

2008-06-28T11:29:00.002-05:00

IMG_6105
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

I didn't think of myself as an 'artist' throughout most of my elementary school days. There were two or there boys in my class who would meticulously draw the most detailed cars, maybe one drew ships, but I was in awe of this talent. They drew realism, and were the same ones I had drafting classes with later in high school. They were the future draftsmen and designers whose artistic talent lay in the perfection of realism.
I have never been good at or interested in doing realism myself, and realized later that I was an artist, I am an artist, despite making things that are not photo representations.
I made this little dish when I was still in that period of my life of not thinking that I was an artist. I had just turned 10, and was much more interested in the literature we read that year, which included The Hobbit, and A Wrinkle In Time (if you've never read this book-go read it now!).
I don't remember the actual making of this dish, I remember that we wouldn't know what the glaze actually looked like until it came out of the kiln, which was very intriguing to me, the not knowing. I think, since I didn't consider myself an artist, I didn't care so much about making it perfect or symmetrical, but the asymmetrical-ness was what I realized I really loved about it.
I really think that creating this particular piece helped me start to see the artist inside me, the artist who isn't about realism, but more about the beauty in asymmetry, the artist who doesn't need to know everything is perfect, but can experiment and play and be happy with the results!

My Etsy Purchases

2008-06-25T21:50:00.002-05:00

My Etsy Purchases
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

Here they are in person!
Lucky Pants pin was purchased from Lupin, and the Glow-In-The-Dark Fishbones earrings were purchased from Rainbow Mermaid.
I love them!

Etsy Treats Arrived Today!

2008-06-23T18:03:00.002-05:00

I was surprised to find that both of my Etsy packages, both coming 'across the pond' arrived in my mailbox on the same day! Today!
They are cuter than even the pictures could show! And the little fishie earrings do glow in the dark. So cute!
(I'll try to get pictures up later this week)

I {heart} PayPal!

2008-06-14T10:30:00.006-05:00

When PayPal says they guarantee unauthorized transactions 100%, they mean it!
I had over $300 stolen from me late Monday, and by Friday morning it was back in my bank account! Turns out, my password into PayPal had been hacked, it wasn't very secure, and it was the same password I had used other places, stupid me. But after changing my password (and making it more secure and singular), updating a few things on the PayPal account to prove it was me, one phone call, a little patience, and viola! I am no longer ripped off. WHEW!
Now, I don't want to embarrass myself, but I haven't always been that good with my budget, but recently, after a Rude Awakening, I have gotten all organized with my budget, made a spreadsheet, check my balance daily, all that. So let me just say that this could have been a whole heck-of-a-lot worse!
As a little reward to myself for having my budget straight enough that this little adventure didn't have to turn my world upside down completely, I decided to buy two things from Etsy that I have had my eye on. From two of my Etsy and crafty heroes to boot! (Rainbow Mermaid and Bugs & Fishes) They are both in England, so it will probably take a little while to get here, but I'm so excited!
Thankfully, except for the patience part being kinda hard, it wasn't a terrible experience. And the guy in customer service that helped me at PayPal was awesome!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR PAYPAL PASSWORD SECURE AND DON'T USE IT OTHER PLACES AND CHANGE IT EVERY SIX MONTHS OR SO!

Felted Bag: Finished Felting

2008-06-07T09:40:00.003-05:00

Finished Felted Bag
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

So way, waaaaay, back when, I was felting this purse. Wow, I checked the date, I took this picture over 2 months ago. Here's the bag after the second trip through the washer. It shrunk up just perfectly, I was so pleased. I figured where I had added the fun fur, it wouldn't felt as much, but I didn't realize it would end up this cute. One of my kids said it looks like a little skirt flaring out at the bottom. I have yet to make a button for it, I'm thinking I'll use poly clay in the fun fur colors, try to match those colors pretty closely, that should tie the color scheme all together nicely. This bag is pretty small, which is what I wanted, so that's fine, I wanted a purse to carry at times when you really don't want to carry a purse, but can't stuff the essentials in your pocket. I really love the felting process, and I've been antsy to do something else. In my stash of gifted yarn, I did just find two skeins of off white wool. (from Woolworths-LOL!) So I may experiment with Kool-Aid dying and felting on the same project.

A Few Photos to Follow

2008-06-07T09:24:00.002-05:00

Well, it's been hard not being able to get photos uploaded, but I've been being patient, and there is probably a most awesome overall fix that is coming later this summer, so I will continue to be patient.
In the mean time, I did figure out a work-around, that involves me using the BFF's computer. It's time-consuming and rather annoying, and I'll only be able to do it when he's not using his computer himself, but I did get a few photos uploaded to flickr this morning!
Stay tuned!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

2008-05-24T14:17:00.004-05:00

Even when I'm not actively creating (or feeling that way), I'm still gathering ideas, reading blogs, watching flickr streams, being inspired. I have 113 Blogs linked in Bloglines, with over 22,000 posts still to read in the Creative/Artsy blogs alone! (I think, unfortunately, that I need to pare down that list a bit)
One of my favorite creatively inspirational blogs to read, or rather look at, because it is the magnificent pictures that draws me, is Animation Backgrounds. Animation is a wonderful art form, and Rob collects and posts some of the absolute most beautiful. Check out a couple recent posts that floored me: Hyde and Hare, one of my favorite cartoons I remember from my childhood, and The Lion King, a family favorite from my children's childhood.
I'm happy to see my felting hero's blog Bugs and Fishes is up posting again after an internet issue. She makes the coolest pins and things from felt, and inspires me on many levels. Check out her Etsy shop too. Her felt mustache disguises were featured in a Craft magazine! The photo of the blond mustache is one of the best photos of a craft that I have ever seen!
And I have to admit, I have a new infatuation! I am completely in LOVE with the kitchy dollhouse Dizzy Heights made by Rainbow Mermaid. I have collected miniature things at different times in my life, mostly in combination with specific dolls, but she combines so many different things together, it is sooo cool. I have acquired a taste for Re-Ment mini things, and I may have to start collecting them, or watching for them on eBay. She has a wonderful Etsy shop, too.

Just another Monday

2008-05-19T22:44:00.005-05:00

Yup, I'm officially in a rut. Or a funk. Or a fog. Not sure which. Or maybe all at the same time.
I'm still crocheting up a storm. That is, until I rip it all out and start over again. ;p But I've made five granny star hats (pattern still coming) and a couple scarves and other things. Crocheting has successfully become my comfort craft. And when I need to work on it, it really doesn't matter to me that I might end up ripping it out and starting again, I need the practice.
I've been organizing my nest, my work space cupboard, a little more when ever I have a chance. But creatively, I think I'm in a 'gathering' stage. And life, well, life is a wild ride, like Mr. Toad taught us. And some days, I don't really feel like I've caught my breath the whole day. (Good thing I've got that comfort craft)
Tonight I discovered a funny little revelation about myself. I really, REALLY do not like concert band. Rawk Star had a choral concert and music awards (he got a bar for his letter!), and right before choral was the concert band. Now, I love all music, don't get me wrong, and I played in concert band for about 10 years as far as I can figure, but me playing in concert band was only to be able to be in the jazz band and the marching band. Choir was fine, I loved both concert choir and swing choir, I still sing in a choir. But concert band. Just yuck. I'm sorry.
And in the good news/bad news department, I'm sure glad that I have so much art supplies on hand, because when Extreeme Artist procrastinated his art project (hmm, wonder where he got that trait), at least we didn't have to run out to a store to get the supplies he needed.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

2008-05-11T12:27:00.002-05:00

Me and Ma by the Waterfall
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

Here's a nice shot of me and my mother. I don't remember this waterfall specifically, I couldn't even tell you where this is taken. But the photo is reminiscent of the wonderful vacations we took every summer while I was growing up. Both being in the teaching world, and having the summers off, loving camping, travel, and photography, my parents took us to many different places through out the continental US (mostly West of the Mississippi river). Although, some of the trips I was too young to actually remember much, I was a very lucky little girl to get to go to cool places like this!
And mom probably made both of our outfits in this photo, too!
Thanks for being a great mom, and Happy Mother's Day!

Sick and Dirt

2008-05-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

What is that old saying about making plans?
I must have been trying to test that this week. ;p
I've been wanting to plant some tomatoes for the last few years, not knowing where to put them. Last year I decided that right in front of my porch, on the opposite side of where I have a decent flower garden, in the space I didn't get any flowers to set in, that's right where I could put some tomatoes. But last year, I didn't get around to it.
Sunday I saw some good looking plants at the grocery store, for a very reasonable price, so I decided this was the year! I found six Best Boy tomatoes for about two dollars, and looking over all the other veggies, no eggplant, but a nice red pepper plant for about a buck, already in a peat pot.
Monday I found I had picked up a nasty (but luckily short-lived) flu bug from Rawk Star, which knocked me out for all of Monday and most of Tuesday, and by Tuesday evening, the poor pepper plant looked pretty forlorn. So I was determined to get the plants into the ground last night, and despite discovering that while I have several little fork-y things, and one little hoe-y thing, I did not have any little spade-y things*, so I had to break up the dirt with the fork-y one, and dig it out with the hoe-y one. I got all the crud cleaned up around the area, got all the plants planted, and even found some mulch I had forgotten about to spread around them.
The tomatoes look pretty good, though I know I planted them too close together (but that's to compensate for some of them dieing), but the poor pepper plant was still a bit forlorn. I rushed out this morning, disappointed that the pepper did not have a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree moment and was magically beautiful, but I'm not giving up on it just yet.
*Can you tell by my accomplished vernacular that I don't know that much about gardening?
photos have been taken, will be shared when the network decides it likes me again

Happy Arbor Day!

2008-04-26T09:37:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was one of my favorite things about working for the state: Arbor Day is a paid holiday here! I got Friday off, the kids still had to go to school (hey, they get the whole summer off!), so I could do my own things.
First a little nap, which turned into sleeping too long, but I guess I needed it! The afternoon and evening, I spent working on my art supply cupboard, which I am affectionately calling my 'nest'. I got it all rearranged, and mostly organized, fitting the various tubs, boxes, and crates in like a Tetris puzzle. I will need to reorganize some of the stuff in some of the containers as I use them, and hang up a few things on the insides of the cupboard doors, but it's mostly done.
Done enough, that I was able to start a project this morning that's been working in the back of my head for a while, it was right in the front of my cupboard, and I had a few minutes, so I did a little work. That's my goal, to be able to work even a little at a time. With no dedicated arts-n-crafts room or area that I can leave things out, I have to be more organized, thus the nest.
In crocheting news: I made two hats this week!
I made up a pattern starting Tuesday, finished the first hat Wednesday, wrote it all down, as best I could, and tried to recreate it Thursday and Friday. The second hat is slightly different than the first, in a couple small ways, so I'm working on the third one now, trying to perfect the pattern. When I get the pattern figured out for sure, I'll share it! Here's a tease: the name of the hat is the Granny Star Hat.
Off to crochet club, maybe one of the experienced hookers can tell me where the second hat is different.

Sandals, Segues, & Super Glue

2008-04-23T12:54:00.001-05:00

I am a skirt gal. Work clothes, chore-doing clothes, even my jammies usually aren’t pants. My problem is that I haven’t found awesome shoes that work with skirts in the cold months. I’m not a ‘dress shoe’ gal, which lends itself to the problem. Sandals and skirts, that’s me. I get teased for wearing my sandals into November, but I don’t get them out too early in the spring, my toes are shy of the chill in the very early spring. Our spring so far has been overcast and soggy and cold most weeks, and the heating/cooling at work tends to be really strange this time of the year, though I have been able to get the sandals out a couple weekends. Today is the first week day that my little toesies were brave enough to come out and play! And I’m wearing my $5 sale skirt for the first time! Yay Spring!
Another sign of spring has wheeled by me every workday for a couple weeks. Picture this: a well pant-suited woman in maybe her 60’s, completing her outfit with a light leather coat and cabbie cap, short gray hair flipping in the breeze as she zips by you on a Segue. On her way home each day, she goes down the street my parking lot is on. She is an everyday hero, an inspiration to do my part for the Earth, and to be myself! The first time I saw her, I was chatting with my brother who lives close to my parking lot, and we both commented how cool it was to see. Last week, I tried to share my excitement with a co-worker also on her way to the lot, and pointed out ‘Isn’t that cool!?’ to the reply, ‘kinda weird for Nebraska’ (from a gal who drives a huge white pickup truck every day to an office job). All the more inspiration to be myself, Nebraska is full of all kinds of people, despite what stereotypes are put on us, by outsiders and insiders alike.
And in my parking lot, just a couple days ago, I thought I found a treasure! I watch the ground as much as the sky for beauty and inspiration, and occasionally, on the ground there might be something worth picking up. I have ideas of found art, and Artist Extreeme is always collecting cool stuff for his projects as well. So on the ground the other day, was a full tube of super-ish glue. Full. I just bought a new bottle of brush on, finding the brush perfect for some tasks, but one can always use another tube of glue. Score! I thought, and went to pick it up. Well, it must not have been completely full…some of the glue was used for it’s last act of gluing…it was glued to the concrete! As I stood up, I glanced around to make sure I wasn’t being pranked, and laughed. I was pranked by some random accident.

Dreaming Of Crocheting

2008-04-18T21:16:00.002-05:00

1964
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

Since I'm still not able to get new photos uploaded, and the blog is getting awful word heavy, I dug through a bunch of old photos already on flickr to find a good one to share.
Here is adorable Baby Shelly, brand spankin' new to the world. I labeled this as being 1964, but since I was born only 11 days before the end of the year, and a full seven of those I was still unwrapped in the hospital, this is probably actually 1965.
I remember this quilt, no not from this time of my life, from later! It was multicolored, maybe even a using up leftovers kind of project. I'm sure it is crocheted just by looking at it, but I don't remember who made it, this photo wasn't taken at our house, it was at Grandma's. I wonder where this awesome quilt is now? And I wonder if I can figure out the pattern just from the photos?

Poly Clay: Sculpture - Making Push Molds

2008-04-17T18:38:00.001-05:00

Funny, I'm really enjoying these posts on polymer clay, sharing 'all my knowledge' (with tongue firmly planted in cheek saying that), and doing research to find more info. But it seems that every time I hit post, I start thinking of more stuff. Either second guessing myself that I completely left something out, or usually, just more, more, more! stuff I can add.
On that note:
A little more on making your own push molds.
Making a mold from more poly clay, is very easy, and you don't have to purchase anything extra, but it won't be nearly as flexible as the silicone kind. You will definitely need to put some sort of talc or powder in the mold because the clay will want to stick to itself. The firm clays hold the shape well, but you could even leave the object you are making the mold from in the clay when you bake the poly clay mold IF it will withstand the oven temperature.
Using the silicone two-part medium to make a mold will make your mold much more flexible, but there is a tricky time frame involved. You mix the two substances together, and within a few minutes (I think it depends on the brand, but about 10) it will start to harden, so you have to be on top of things when you get ready to mix.
Either way you do it, you can make a mold from anything, ANYTHING. Buttons, pendants, silverware patterns, leaves, toys, stuff from gum ball machines, game pieces, sticks, other crafts, cloth, anything you find laying around.
Again, if you make a mold from something that was originally designed by someone else, there is the tricky matter of can you sell it as your own.

Poly Clay: Sculpture - Push Molds & Rubber Stamps

2008-04-12T21:57:00.006-05:00

Categorizing all the different ways to use poly clay, I had thought to put push molds and rubber stamping the clay into the 'everything else' category, but in my research on sculpture, I decided they could kinda go in this category as well.
A push mold is a mold that has been made from a sculpted object, usually in a bas relief. Poly clay (or other mold-able material) is put into the mold to take the shape of what was molded. After molding, the resulting piece can be used in numerous ways, the face of a doll, on a pin or pendant, as one part of a larger piece, or just the molded piece itself.
We can buy molds, from simple molds, to incredibly intricate molds, to even a whole fairy mold. Or we can make our own molds, usually with a silicone molding material, or even with more poly clay.
There are many FAQ's and tutorials available on the interwebs that can get you started. Push molds can be a great way to make a sculptured piece, especially for a beginner or someone who doesn't care for sculpting by hand.
Rubber stamping on clay makes patterns or textures on the clay, which is a simple way to make intricate looking medallions or other jewelry. There are many places to get rubber stamps, some are more specific to texturing clay, but any and all rubber stamps work. And again, we can make the stamps ourselves, from carving (here's a couple tutorials: One and Two) or having your own art work made into a stamp. When looking for or making stamps, remember to think a little differently than if you wanted the stamps for stamping on paper, the stamping surface will push into the clay, so remember to use that to your advantage.
Both of these methods create a wonderful textured and 3D effect, and have many possibilities, the only drawback that I see, is that if you use a purchased push mold or rubbger stamp, it is not your own handiwork. That's perfectly fine, and a good choice for a lot of people, but if you are wanting to sell what you are making, you'll need to look into the legality of selling something made with someone else's molds or stamps. I learned that there are Angel Companies out there who allow you to use their push molds and/or rubber stamps to make things you are going to sell, so that could be a good option.
I have always wondered how other techniques, especially millefiori and mokume-gane would work put into a push mold or rubber stamped. I haven't seen others doing it, so I may have to try that myself!

Felted Bag: Sans Button (and Photo)

2008-04-08T21:25:00.002-05:00

Well, I must have used up my photo mojo Saturday, when I went I went to upload the "finished" photos, I'm somehow locked out of iPhoto. It's some networking issue, and the BFF will have to figure it out later this week. Then I'll put up more photos.
The bag is very cute, and I'll just need to find or make a button in the right size for it, and it will be done.
The only thing that I didn't really like in the whole process was some tiny white-ish bits of fluff that got felted into some of the fiber. Probably from the towel I put in the wash with it, or just from the washer itself, it really wasn't much at all. But I had to get every last piece off, with scissors and duct tape. I'm not sure if putting it in a pillowcase bag, which I had decided not to do, would have stopped that, but I may try that net time.
And since then, nothing on the hook. I don't know why, I guess I'm just not sure what to do next. I'm kinda tired of dishcloths at this moment, and I read the chart pattern to learn a granny square, so I think I might be able to read another chart, and maybe I'm this close *.........* to being able to read a real pattern, so what to tackle next?
Maybe I'll frog that last dishcloth and try a different hat, those colors are too cute not to wear!

Felted Bag: One Wash Down

2008-04-05T13:37:00.002-05:00

Once through the wash
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

After restarting the washer, I had to walk away, I was starting to obsess too much! I forced myself to just wait until the wash cycle was finished to peek again.
So after one trip through the washer, this little wet doggie of a bag is still a little soapy, but I'm doing the look-what-I-made dance and singing 'it worked! it worked!' until I woke up the rest of the house!
It needed another trip through, and felted up even a little more. It's now happily in the dryer for a little bit to just take the edge of the wetness off, then will be dried flat overnight.
Photos of the finished and dry bag tomorrow, now it's off to chores!
(but I certainly don't mind chores as much when I have already done something soooo cool today!)

Felted Bag: IN the Washer

2008-04-05T13:27:00.002-05:00

Washing
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

Working on the handle last week at crochet club, I got a little discouraged about this project, when the gals were discussing the kinds of stitches that worked well for felting. Whoops, I hadn't even thought about what KIND of stitches to use. Now after it's done, I see on many sites that people recommend bigger stitches. I figured the handle would be fine, but was still a bit worried about the bag itself...
I stuffed it full of plastic grocery bags before washing, thinking that would help the front and back not stick to each other, but of course all the bags did was come out and get washed with the rest of the stuff. ;p
But with the bag all stuffed with bags, I thought maybe the stitches were big enough.
I used the hottest temperature, the smallest size load, added Dawn dish detergent because one blog said Dawn specifically worked very well to help felt, added a towel and a pair of jeans, and let it go through the agitation cycle once, then the whole wash cycle again.

Felted Bag: Before the Washer

2008-04-05T13:04:00.002-05:00

Before the Washer
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

I've been going to a crochet club on Saturday mornings for the last few weeks, but today as I was getting ready, I was trying to figure out what project to take, and the only project I could think of was this bag. It was just finished as of last night, and I was very excited to try felting it, so I decided to play hookie from club this morning, and work on felting it instead.
You can see from the photo, that the bag got bigger where the fun fur was added, this wasn't surprising, but I hadn't thought it through so I was very glad I had put it at the bottom. After the fun fur, the rectangle was a little larger than it had been, but I compensated for that when I stitched the sides together.
I added the decoration on the handle to mask some bulky stitches. The beginning of the handle flowed very smoothly, but stitching the handle back into the bag wasn't quite so smooth. So some extra color to cover that up!

There are more 'before' photos at flickr, just click on the photo to get there.

Felted Bag: The Yarns

2008-04-05T12:20:00.002-05:00

Old Wool
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

I've probably mentioned before that sometimes my mom will bring me yarn or other crafty supplies that are discards from one of their volunteer jobs. (thanks again, Mom!) And last year, part of the leftovers included this old fuchsia wool. I knew this wool would be perfect to experiment with felting, and the fun fur yarn that I thought was the same lot number, but wasn't (see photo below), would be perfect to go with it.
I started two weeks ago, this was my breaks-at-work project, mostly. I didn't take any in-progress photos, sorry. I decided to just make one long rectangle, fold it over, and stitch up the sides to make a pouch type of bag. I wasn't sure the best way to add the fun fur, and started out crocheting both together, until I realized that the wool probably wouldn't felt too much if the fun fur was completely mixed in. So I decided to aim for the fun fur to be at the bottom. I single crocheted along with just the wool, then added the fun fur, then back to just the wool, then decreased on the sides a bit and made a flap.
I was very impressed with myself when I actually made a kind of buttonhole in the flap. We'll see how that turns out! I started and frogged the handle part several times, first thinking I wanted it to be round like the inspiration bag, but ending up with a very cool flat stitch.

Felted Bag: The Inspiration

2008-04-05T11:45:00.002-05:00

Thrifted Purse
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

I go thrifting fairly often. In fact, one of my favorite grocery stores is my favorite partly because of being right next to a little thrift store. So it's pretty easy to scan the thrift store quickly before getting the groceries. (not so quickly if I have a kid with me, I think they like thrifting even more than me if that's possible)
About a year ago I saw this cutie purse, which appears to be partly felted, and partly fun fur. Funny thing, I didn't buy it the first time I saw it, then I kicked myself for a week until I went back, and luckily it was still there! It is not a size I would use, which is partly why I didn't buy it the first time, but I bought it for inspiration. I took a bunch of photos of it, and gave it to a wonderful young woman who enjoys it very much.
This was way back before I could crochet, when I was just starting with the knifty knitter, but I really wanted to make something cute like this.

Poly Clay: Sculpture

2008-04-02T21:45:00.000-05:00

I would say sculpture is sculpture, no matter the medium, and there are two basic ways (or, of course, a combination of the two) to achieve the sculpted form: taking away from, and adding to.
Sculpture by taking away from, or carving, can be boiled down to a joke (or artistic legend) that I've heard once or a million times. To carve a sculpture of a horse (or whatever), take your stone (or wood, or polymer clay chunk, or soap, or concrete, or candle wax), and carve away all the parts that do not look like a horse. ;p Wish it were all just that simple.
Sculpture by adding to is building that horse with lots of smaller pieces. Again, because the coolness of this medium is the color IN the clay, sculpture by adding to is most popular.
I haven't actually seen a lot of carving of poly clay, not at least in a traditional 3D sculpture, but more in carving stamps, and
other flatter pieces.
Using the color in the clay, building up a sculpture can be extremely beautiful. Artists can use different colors for every different detail, however tiny, or use fleshy colors to make gorgeous figures.
One of my greatest inspirations in this category, happens to also be my first cousin. Alicia has made some of the most fantastic dolls, several in the theme of her favorite musical, Phantom of the Opera. I also really love her almost unsettlingly beautiful Bird Doll, which was, I believe the predecessor to her line of Parrot Jewelry.
After all that inspiration, if you need any more of a push to get your fingers into the clay, here is a great Puppy Tutorial and a Mummy Video Tutorial.

Poly Clay: More Thinking

2008-03-28T20:10:00.000-05:00

As soon as I hit 'publish post' on that last post, and ever since, I've been second guessing myself. Can I really put all of polymer clay into three categories?
I can, partly because these are my own made-up categories, but also because I have a (slight) explanation.
What to me is the absolute coolest thing about polymer clay is all the colors! Between the different manufacturers having slightly different takes on their pallets, and the fact that you can mix any color together with any other color to make a new color, like with paint, the color choices are unlimited!
And using the color of the clay to be the color of what you are making is the basis of both sculpture and millefeori, everything else you are more using the clay as clay, and the color plays a great role. Maybe the third category should be 'everything else'.
I have often called polymer clay 'color clay' (especially back when no one knew what poly clay was), and this separation is kinda the difference between if you are emphasizing COLOR clay or color CLAY. Symbiotic both ways.

Poly Clay: Where to Start??

2008-03-25T20:22:00.006-05:00

I received a wonderful comment to my last post from The Sick Chick, "I've just bought some poly clay and a bead roller to try making some little round things for the first time. Any tips for the absolute novice? I've worked with real clay before but never polymer and I'm hoping it will hit several of my clay itches that I haven't been able to scratch due to lack of kiln..."
And since I'm kinda feeling like I'm starting all over again, this is a great opportunity to address this question, for myself too. I will start a series of posts to this end.
The first tip I would say, is to look around for inspiration. Yeah, that's a lame tip, there are always tons of great sites to look at for inspiration, whatever the media. But in the case of poly clay, part of the inspiration is figuring out what you want to do with it. There are sooooo many things you can do with it, you could get bogged down if you're not sure which way you want to go.
From my perspective, there are three basic ways you can work with the clay, and millions of subsets of ideas. Let's start there.

Sculpture: using the poly clay like any other clay, using your hands or tools (including push molds) to make the clay look like what you want it to
Millefiori: like millefiori in glass making, putting tubes of color into a log, slicing the log to show the design in each slice, think cookie dough with a design in it
Changing the Clay: adding things into the clay, to make it look like stone, or wood, or just not look like clay, &/or subtracting layers from the clay, with metalworking mokume-gane techniques, I would also put into this category any/all new techniques that people are constantly creating, or looking to other mediums to borrow from

These, again, are just my categories, and they cross over, and work together, but to me, these are the three basic methods. And if one interests you more than the others, emphasize that one, or work in it exclusively. Each method is a complete art form in itself.
Of course, just starting out, you may want to try a little bit of everything, and to that I would recommend a comprehensive book like The New Clay. This book first came out the same year my younger son was born* and I purchased my copy that same year. I went through most of the techniques as the book showed them, practicing techniques just for the sake of practicing. This book has history of the clay up to that point, and the history of the techniques it presents, and is one of my all-time favorite books.
I'll delve into each of these categories, and share some of the projects I made from the book, in the next few weeks, with links to inspiration. Now, since this is the week the kids are gone, I'm going to get all my clay stuff out all over the kitchen table!! Yay!

*He just turned 15 on Easter, so a couple interesting facts: you probably know that when Easter falls is determined by the cycle of the sun and the moon, Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, and March 23 is the absolute earliest it could be, April 25 being the latest. Easter hasn't been on this early date since 1913, and won't be again until 2160.
/trivia lesson

Poly Clay

2008-03-21T22:42:00.000-05:00

Poly Clay
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

Here's a bunch of beads and things I made with polymer clay several years ago. These are examples of different techniques I tried, some from books, some my own designs, some pretty good, some not successful at all, but that's what practicing is about.
Next week, kids gone for Spring Break, I will be delving a bit into the old poly clay stuff. Funny, I worked so much at it for so long, and now haven't for so long. I have to figure out where I was, go back and pick it up, and see where to move on to.
Part of my process, I'm realizing, I becoming ok with the time lapse. There were many reasons this, my favorite art form took a back seat, some reasons I will have to work through. So I guess the poly clay is a bit of therapy for me as well.
Art Therapy 101.

Me & My OCD

2008-03-19T22:19:00.002-05:00

I really like to make plans, to have schedules. Sure, I can be spontaneous, but I like to be spontaneous within the boundaries of a schedule. OK, yeah, I know I'm insane.
To me it's more like Einstein always wearing the same outfit, he (supposedly) had a bunch of the same pairs of pants, the same shirts, etc, so he wouldn't have to make decisions that would take time away from his other interests. If I have my menus planned out, and then the shopping list, it saves me time at the grocery store and in the kitchen. I lay out my clothes the night before, partly so I don't wake up the night-working BFF, but also so I don't have to think about it in the morning. (And yes, I am starting to limit my clothing purchases to be a bit more Einstein-like)
So where am I going with all this? Well, at one point when the kids were younger, I had specific plans for each evening, art night, chore night, writing, game night. It was easier for me to get things organized, and they got into the routines some too. It was fairly easy when they were younger, elementary school, when their day ended long enough before 9:00, that I could actually sit down and watch a 9:00 show.
Of course, they grow, and we all change, and they have a lot more say in how to spend their evenings. But I still kinda like to have a plan. Just for me.
Art night with the kids was always Wednesday, and after they went to bed, I'd continue with my own projects. Now, with no studio space, I really feel like I have to plan the time, I can't just drop into a studio (or table) whenever I want. My plan is was to reinvent Wednesday night as Art Night (and report here to keep me honest), but as I'm getting ready for bed, I realize that various errands, phone calls, and television distracted me tonight. BFF says just plan to do two hours before the end of the week, I will try that this week. And I will report here. But I really want to have a specific day where I always set aside the time.
Am I just crazy?

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2008-03-17T07:06:00.000-05:00

Four-Leaf Clover Pin
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

My Dear Grandmother has her birthday on St. Patrick's Day, which has always been kinda fun for her. Because of her holiday birthday, she has collected various shamrock paraphernalia over the years.
I made her a lucky four-leaf clover pin with felt and bead embroidery this year. I took it to her the first week in March, so she could wear it all month. Which she has.

Ravel, Ravel, Ravel

2008-03-09T10:43:00.003-05:00

I'm sure that most everyone interested in knitting, crocheting, looming, felting, &/or spinning already knows about Ravelry, but I just have to add my plug, here too!
I signed up for an invitation a couple months ago, after hearing about it on a few of the creative podcasts I listen to, and got my invitation in January. Now, to be honest, I like to sign up for everything that remotely interests me, so I can get my username before anyone else gets it. I guess that's kinda geeky of me, but it still annoys me that on any/all Yahoo! application, I have to use my amended username, because someone else got mine! So I promptly went to sign up as soon as I got the invite, but I didn't really check it out much.
I finally took an actual look around a couple weeks ago, since I'd been actively hookin' for a little bit. And I am sooo hooked! The layout is awesome, there are tons of groups, it's easy to navigate, connects easily to other web things, like flickr and blogger, and is a super community. I encourage everyone to go check it out, you might find the perfect group (or twenty) for you.
And I had my first opportunity to tell someone about Ravelry in public, too. I bumped into my friend, Z, handing out pie samples yesterday, and she commented on my hat, and turns out, she's a no pattern crocheter, too! So I had to tell her about Ravelry, of course. Come join us.
BTW, on Ravelry, and most anywhere else ;p I am "seeshells".

Blast from the Past

2008-03-07T22:24:00.001-06:00

Duct Tape Hat with Display Stand
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

Here's an old project I had never fully shared. A few years ago, I wanted to try to make a duct tape hat, and to start it, I decided that putting a strip of tape sticky side out, around my head would be a good base. Even sticky side out, it was getting stuck in my hair a bit, and then I remembered a recent gift my kids had gotten, this alien head lamp. (the word ALIEN is cut out, backwards, in the back of the lamp, so when you turn it on, the word shines on the wall)
Turns out, the alien and I have the same sized head. Whoda thunkit?
So I was able to use the lamp to create the hat, and display the hat. This is the hat I'm wearing in my avatar photo. It's a bit too hot to wear all the time! But I wore it to work once, on hat day, when I worked at an adolescent hospital, and it was a huge hit!
On the last couple episodes of Lime & Violet, they talked about ordering a display foot to photograph socks, that reminded me about this lamp. I may have to start taking hat photos on my friend here.