what’s up???

I must confess that I haven’t been up to much lately…waiting on supplies, and creative bursts…I have been reading a lot though, so I have been sort of busy doing something!  I just finished Rob Lowe’s memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends.  It was really good.  He came off as human and real, not some Hollywood character from a bad B movie!  I’ve tried to read a couple of memoirs by actors/comedians and I couldn’t finish the books they were so boring and dull.  I was sadly disappointed with Sarah Silverman’s book.  I had hoped for something great but all I got was her penchant for peeing in public places!

I have some polymer clay on its way.  I’m excited to try it out.  My daughter made little dinosaurs a few years ago and they were so cute!  I’m planning to make beads, and then string some bracelets and necklaces.  So that’s my next big project.  That and sew some new pillowcases for the house.  I’ve been collecting fabric remnants for this.  I scored a yard of Avengers material and some  hep cats and a yard of Winnie the Pooh.  The Winnie the Pooh is reserved for my granddaughter!

Well, the heat is finally here in Northern California, so I will be inside during the day reading and crafting.  Hopefully it will be an industrious summer!

on being grateful…

I’m going to address something different today…being grateful…though it could all probably be tied to working in the arts/crafts area because that is one of the things I am grateful for…that I get to do what I love and do not have to be tied to a 9-5 job.

I’m also thankful for my children, and my family.  I’m approaching a new place in my life…one of being on my own.  My children have been the focus  of my life for 30+ years, but now each one is on their own path.  I find this exciting, joyful, and a bit frightening!  I’ve never been totally on my own…I had my family, then I joined the Army, then I got married, and had kids.  So now I get to find out who the real me is…and enjoy my grandbaby Haylee!

The above picture is the top of my bookshelf in my living room.  It holds assorted items given to me by my kids and family members.  I made the ceramic vase behind the pine cove postcard (which my daughter, kim, made).  The vase was an accident of sorts.  I set out to make a kidney shaped bowl, but I forgot to allow for the width of the ropes of clay in the center part…it turned out like most of my ceramic works…wonky, but still beautiful in it’s own way…  The Pine Cove postcard by kim is based on the Christopher Moore series of novels that take place in Pine Cove…I recommend him to everyone…lots of fun to read!

I hope that everyone who reads this post will take some time to reflect on being grateful…think of what makes you happiest, then do it!

ideas i got!

I have spent the past few days using StumbleUpon to look at new stuff…mostly focusing on polymer clay crafts…and I am simply amazed at the creativity out there!  Now if only my daughter will remember to mail me the fimo clay she has for me…ok, I know, she’s busy busy busy…but I can dream can’t I?

Polymer clay looks like so much fun.  I took ceramics in college and I enjoyed all the hand work…pottery wheel, not so much…I did learn that if you are naturally a high strung person you probably shouldn’t slam a caffeine drink right before using the wheel.  I did manage to put out one fairly decent looking bowl, which was good because that was the class requirement.  Years ago my daughter made some clay dinosaurs from the above mentioned fimo clay.  They were so cute.  Mine is stashed away somewhere safe…

the other thing that is happening is my son is moving out.  I will be taking over his room and setting up my painting easel in there!  I was trying to figure out how to set up either the easel or my sewing machine in my room, which contrary to the word is not very roomy.

sewing books from the library!

I went to the local library to check out a book on basic sewing techniques to brush up before I started to sew again.  I found a new book (of course) called Sewing in a Straight Line by Brett Bara.  She’s the gal from Knit and Crochet Now on PBS.  I love that show.  And I love this book…so add it to my long list of books the library has that I want for myself!

This book is pretty good…the premise is that you can sew just about anything with just straight lines.

I really have to get a grip or stop visiting the library…since neither of those is likely to happen, I will probably just order this book in a month or so!

keeping busy…

the hot weather has hit us finally and so going out during the day is kept at a minimum…right now i’m working on crocheting some more dish/washcloths out of Knitpicks sport weight cotton yarn…it takes a little concentration to not have to rip out rows and rows of work…the pattern is easy enough, but if you’re not paying attention it’s easy to make a mistake!(I just ripped out 3 rows cause I was watching the Young and Restless while crocheting!!!)

Since it’s too hot to have an afghan on my lap to work on I’m going to concentrate on small stuff, and I’ll be working on kid’s sewn clothes soon…I have some cute materials for baby dresses and hats, and I have my eye on a really cute pattern at the store…

I have a ton of ideas, I just need more time!  And less hot weather!

figuring it all out…

yesterday I spent the day reading on the business and marketing aspect of having a craft business…mind boggling indeed!  I was lucky enough to find a copy of The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin in the local library (gotta love the library)…next month I am going to get business cards for everyone to hand out…and I have to get serious about marketing…all new things to me…and I must confess that it doesn’t come easy for me…I can create until the cows come home, but taking care of business is a horse of another color indeed…

I am also going to start preparing for the christmas season…I could kick myself because when my kids were young I made all sorts of craft stuff for them…One year while expecting my second child I busied myself by doing a completely handmade Christmas!  All gifts and ornaments were handmade.  Imagine my surprise this past holiday when my daughter and son in law sent us a Christmas card and on their tree I spied an old Teenage Ninja Turtle ornament from her childhood!  Makes crafting like crazy fun!

angry birds…

the other day I was a little bit bored so I decided to break out the yarn and try my hand at making an Angry Birds hat.  I used the pattern by Amy at http://amray1976.blogspot.com/2011/12/crochet-angry-bird-child-hat.html . I made mine with earflaps and long braided ties. I was very happy with it!  My son grabbed it to give to one of his friend’s kids.  

For the past week or so I have been in transition so I haven’t made much except for the angry bird hat and an owl hat.  I bought material and I prewashed it all and went to iron it all out only to discover that I need to invest in a better iron…my 9$ cheapie just isn’t working out…it wouldn’t completely iron out the wrinkles even with steam.  So next month I am splurging on an iron and maybe even an ironing board (I ironed on a cloth on the kitchen counter!  I’m justifiying the purchases as business expenses!

I also found the local store’s fabric remnant shelf!  I saw so much I wanted to grab and keep…but I had a budget and a purpose for visiting the store, and material wasn’t on the list…I did grab a cute blue fabric with little black paw prints all over it…and I plan to stock up on remnants as soon as I can…it’s fun to check them out because a lot of times you can get great fabrics you may never buy a yard of because of their price.

I hope you are all doing whatever you do to make your lives happy ones.  I am at a content part of my life and feel much gratitude for being able to finally do what makes me happy…I love searching the internet (I use StumbleUpon) and seeing what everyone’s up to and what they’ve created…

blow wind blow…

Today is a very very windy cinco de mayo…we will be celebrating later with tacos, bean/cream cheese dip,  and tortillia chips…we will pass on the margaritas however!

Right now I’m waiting to see if my granddaughter is still coming over to spend some time…always up for visits from that little sweet bee!

Yesterday I prewashed all the material I bought last week.  In the past when sewing for my children I rarely prewashed fabric but after reading a great article on the subject I decided to start these projects out right from the start…So now I must hook up the iron and press all these fabrics that i went gaga over in the store!

I’ve decided to start out by making small change purses to get me back in the swing of sewing…Each purse winds up being about 4×6″ so they’re pretty tiny and will go quickly…The way I approach each project is I make a batch and then send them out to friends and family to see if they are liked…then if so I make a batch to sell…I guess my friends and family are my guinea pigs!