On my desk

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?

Finally Fotos (or Phinally Photos?)

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!

My Crochet Eureka

My Crochet Eureka
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

This is the result of my little Eureka! moment I had a few weeks ago about crocheting. When I was sitting at work, thinking about how I'd really love to learn to knit or crochet, and I was thinking that I knew what crochet was supposed to look like, the basic steps, had a 'I taught myself' kit, and I could find plenty of help online. So why didn't I just teach myself, like do what I want to do instead of trying to learn from a book, like my son taught himself the guitar, I wanted to teach myself to crochet by ear...or rather by eye. So I grabbed a ribbon and a hook (that I just happened to have at work), and started playing.
Not much yet, but it definitely make me think I could figure it out.

The Next Felt Project

The Next Felt Project
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

When I finished the Zombie dice bag, and especially because I finished it so quickly, I wanted to keep up the momentum and start something new right away.
I didn't have anything planned, only a couple things I am still designing, that would take too long to start. Well, I've always wanted to make a crafty, kitchy, cutesy tissue box holder for my work desk, so I thought I'd jump right into that.
I checked at home for a pattern, just for the size of the squares, but I didn't find anything in my quick search before work. Somewhere in there, I realized that I could just measure the tissue box on my desk and figure it out myself. Duh!

Yellow Felt
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

So still in get-something-started mode, I looked at the felt that I had, mentaly measuring to see what color or colors would satisfy my embroiderlust. I had gold and yellow, each enough to make two sides of the box, and an orangy-gold for the top, and leftover bits of all three for decoration, whatever that was gonna be.
I've done the random bead in a beaded blanket stitch, and liked the results. I did the finger puppets and barrettes all with random regular (can't see through them--what's that word??) beads, but I had random transparent beads, too. So I mixed a bunch of the transparent and a bunch of the, er, non-transparent beads into this little mint tin.
(Note to my fellow tin collecting folks: Walgreens sugar free intense wintergreen flavored mints. Also in red in cinnamon, but I haven't tried those yet. Good mints, awesome little tin!!)

Close Up
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

I used all the random browns, oranges, reds, yellows, and golds that I could find. In the sets of cheapo random beads, there were several of each.
Most of my beaded embroidery projects so far, or maybe all, I've used a contrasting color for the blanket stitch, to make it stand out more. On this project, I decided to use a similiar yellow/gold-ish color on the whole project to tie it all together.

Welcome Collage

Welcome Collage
Originally uploaded by seeshells.

The first of a set of functional collages. Created at work, for work. I've been interested in exploring collage recently, and actually have been working on this piece, and the rest that go with it for several weeks, on the breaks at work that I just can't stomach working on the 'thing for etsy' anymore. I love picking through magazines with the sole purpose of cutting them up! My guy gets EW (among other mags, but this one is easily disposable), and he gets me House Beautiful, so most of the images I've come up with so far. I love finding color, texture, and patterns. And cutting out the letters makes me feel like I'm sending a ransom note!

The background image, if you can't quite tell is a couch that was in two pieces because it was at the binding. I liked the idea of the couch was welcoming, but didn't quite match up, to show an off-beat kind of welcome.

Ten on Tuesday

10 things You Like About Your Job

We get good vacation and sick leave, and you get more the longer you're there.

Twelve paid holidays. Only in Nebraska could you get Arbor Day off (because this is where Arbor Day started)

After a year as a 'staff assistant' I got a better position in the same office, so I already knew everyone!

I've met some awesome friends there, life friends, not just work friends.

I'm finally making almost what I was making at my wonderful job, which was four years ago this month.

We're right downtown, so we can get great lunch.

It's only about 7 minutes from home, and I can easily come home for lunch to spend time with my guy. (Because our schedules are off, and that's one of the only times I get to see him.)

There is some amount of challenge to the work, so I don't get bored, but it's not high pressure.

Most of my work is done on the computer.

I get to use my breaks to work on projects. And since my job itself isn't creative, I don't burn out creatively.

Ten on Tuesday

10 Things You Don't Like About Your Job

First, let me say that I was happy to see that next week's 10 Things is a balance to this week's. Because I am a 'glass is half full' kind of gal, and because I believe there is duality in everything, I was going to add disclaimers to most of this list. But the other side of the story will be next week, so I won't worry about that now.

We have to peg in and out, and account for all our time.

The building we work in has ventilation problems or mold problems or both, a lot of us have allergy problems only at work.

There's no free parking.

The team I'm on doesn't get along great as a team. We get along ok individually (and one person on my team is a great friend) for the most part, but not as a team.

The work I have to do every day varies, some days it takes all day, other days just a few hours.

The cube walls are paper thin. We can hear every phone call, nose blow (and other body noises), radio, fan, and conversation of our closest cube neighbors.

The managers are not taught how to be good managers.

There is no cafeteria in our building, and not so great snack machines, either.

There is a small group of middle school gossips that even tho I luckily don't have to work too closely with them, they tend to infect the rest of us with their gossip.

And the number one thing I don't like about my job: It's not creative!