Rock, PAPER, scissors

Hello, Hello!  I hope everyone is having a great day today.  I am :-)

Today, I am ready to mail a package to my dear friend *M* in Holland.  As you know, I love exchanging handwritten letters.  I have had many of my snail mail friends for about four years now.  *M* is one of those friends.  She is so much fun and I wanted to send her something special.

I am all about PAPER!  I love making things out of paper:  envelopes, cards, journals, stationery.  I am not good at making most of those things, but I really enjoy trying to be.  And I am a PAPER HOARDER!  I have soooooo much paper!  Whenever Hobby Lobby has a 50% off sale, I grab at least 4 packs of scrapbooking papers.  I also go to my local art stores and buy lots of Japanese papers.  I'm obsessed!..  Or maybe, I am just a creepy paper hoarder. Ha!  No doubt, I have more paper than I could use in about 3 years' time, if I were working on paper arts constantly and never bought a single sheet of paper during that time.

So in my paper adventures, I decided to try something new.  I decided to try making paper dolls.  I used to make paper dolls for my sister and me, when I was younger and we wanted new dolls. My parents didn't always have money for new toys.  I would use paper that had old school assignments on the back.  I made the girls into bunnies and I created all sorts of wardrobe items for the paper dolls.  I think doing this for my sister and myself all those years is what inspired my love for arts and fashion.  It also taught me to re resourceful and make something out of nothing.

Sorry about that tangent!  For my dear friend *M*, I made some paper dolls.  These are the first ones I have ever made like this.  Lots of adjustments need to be made.

 

I will give my best ones to *M*.  I will likely give away the others as well. 

 

 

 

I will definitely be making more dolls, so that I can discover the best way to go about making them. 

 





 

As for how I made the dolls, I used my Cricut.  My sister gave it to me 7 years ago, but I have only been learning to use it and all its features in the past year.  Each doll has about 90 kabillion small parts to her and I then have to assemble them and embellish them.  Even though I have lots to learn, I love the way these first ones came out.  There are 4-5 more patterns left that I didn't try yet.  I will soon, however.

 

 

And then, I made some envelopes.  I love envelopes.  I have made my own envelopes for years.  When I first began snail mailing, I wanted something more original than the envelopes I could find in stores.  I also knew that I had no intention on spending so much money on them.  That's when I started making my own.  I used cardstock and my Cricut to cut out the address labels.

 



This is the first bunting that I made a few weeks ago.

 

I made the bunting out of scrapbooking papers.  I made the mini bows by hand and I sewed little beads on to them.



Of course, all this comes with a cute, hand-written note inside of this handmade card that I threw together.  I love making cards, but I wouldn't say that I am very good at it.  I need much more practice!  Considering how much I love paper...and how much paper I've got stacked piles high, I think that some card-making might be in my near future for the holidays!
 

 

I felt really embarrassed about sending *M* a bunch of paper.  I love paper, but I am not sure how everyone else in the world feels about it.  LOL.  I decided that I would add in something special.
 

This summer, my family and I went to Mexico.  I found these adorable little handmade dolls.  I find toys from other countries to be so interesting.  These handmade dolls are so sweet.  I bought them so my Little Darling would have something to play with on the plane ride home.  They are so adorable, I just had to keep some for myself, and I chose to share them with my friend, *M*.  For just a few dollars, my Little Darling got about 15 dolls.   And I think the coin purse speaks for itself :-) 

All of this was so much fun to make.  I hope *M* enjoys everything in her little package.  In the next few weeks, I will be cranking out gifts for friends and their babies.  I look forward to completing some of these projects that I have had on my shelves! It feels so good to have time again to be creative.  It feels even better to have a computer to be able to share these adventures with someone!

Hunting For A Bunting

This week has felt really busy.  I think I forgot how involved blogging can be.  I also forgot about the notion that, when you have a craft blog, you are also expected to work on projects and complete them on a regular basis. HA! Well, lucky for me, I have about 20 projects that I have worked on for the past year or so that are near completion.  I just need to get hookin'!

I also discovered that the light in my apartment is horrible!  I may as well be living in the Bat Cave.  With that said, please excuse whatever terrible quality the pictures have for the moment.  It would be great if I could find some photo equipment with the holiday deals that will be coming up.  I am hoping to get some lights for sure!

So, let me get into what I have been working on this week:  Buntings!

I made my first one a few weeks ago.  I made it as part of a package for a snail mail pal.  I will show it to you some other day, as I have just found out that the photo is really terrible.  I really loved making that bunting. It was easy and fun to make.  Of course, I decided to make more "trial runs" and see what I could do.

 

This is the second bunting I made.  The other day, I mentioned going completely mad over details and trying to incorporate light blues into this color combo. Clearly, I was unable to make that happen, but what I did end up with is much better than what I dreamed possible. Lesson Learned:  Just go with it, and let creativity guide you, rather than being too much of a control freak.

 



 

 

I was really happy with the oranges, pinks, and greens. 

 

 

This is for Baby R's package for another snail mail friend.  I Love to write letters and to give gifts this way.  It's such an amazing way to share and connect with people.  To exchange something hand-written and handmade can really make someone's day.  It says, "I thought about you and I chose to give you something more valuable than anything:  My time!  I care about you!"  Or at least, that is the feeling I get whenever I get a letter or package from a pen friend in the mail. 

 

After feeling happy with these results, I had so many triangles and little things out. Remember, I had this perfectionist melt down, and I made 70-something triangles and bows and found all these little notions... 

 

 

So, I figured, why not make one more. I had fun making the other two once I remembered the real purpose behind being creative.  So I took the left over patterned papers and got to work on another.

 

 

I have another pen friend, M, who also just recently had a baby girl.  I think there is something in the water because there are precious baby girls being born all over.  Let me just say this:  I seriously Adore making things for little girls.  This is a little simpler than the previous bunting, but I wanted to try different things.  These are all trials for me, as I learn to perfect the skill. Don't get me wrong.  I try to make my trial runs as perfectly close to how things would look after I've gotten a grasp on the skill.

The buntings are made from paper, like most of the ones I've seen.  Just regular scrapbooking papers.  I have this huge box of bows, buttons, flowers, ribbons, and sparklies.  Those were the main source of my embellishments.  I made all the mini bows on the buntings by myself.  I am a tall woman, with big man-hands, so that was a lot of fun. LOL!  No, really, I had a blast making tiny bows.  I made the tops of this particular bunting sparkle with a little pixie dust that I have had in my stash for ages.

I am hoping to get even more creative with the buntings I make.  I have so many more ideas on ways to embellish them and different styles.  To me, these are some big accomplishments because I love learning to make something new.  I hope I can max out on the creativity here.  More importantly, I hope that both Mama S and Mama M enjoy these buntings for their babies. 

Have a great week!
 

Method? Or Just Madness?

Good early afternoon to ya!  I am shocked that I am up and functioning so well this morning and I haven't had any coffee. Very shocking!!

I usually do my "work" late at night.  That's how this blog came about actually.  I was working third shift and cranking out projects all night...  I figured I could chronicle those late night creative adventures.  I haven't worked third shift in years, but I guess old habits die hard.  I still feel most alive and creative between the hours of midnight and 3am. 

Last night was no different.  The Hubs was being helpful and grading our Little Darling's school work for the past 6 weeks.  He gave me a chance to... well, essentially, all I did was make myself a little crazy under the premise of "working".

The blanket I showed you in my last post here is actually part of a collection of items for my friend's baby girl.  Another part of it is a bunting.  I am new to making buntings and I really, really, like it!  The hard part for me is coming up with the right color combos.  Baby R has light green walls, so I needed something that would either coordinate with or pop out against that wall color.

 

For some reason, I was obsessed with greens, blues, and oranges.  Then, I thought I should add some pinks in for good measure.  In the end, I had about 70 little triangles cut out that I kept arranging and rearranging into patterns.  Let me just say that there is nothing more frustrating than wanting something to look a certain way and not being able to accomplish it no matter what..... and so my madness begins!

 

 

Eventually, I settled for these colors.  They are, more or less, what I was looking for:  the greens, oranges, pinks.... No light, bright blues though.  Don't even ask me what my obsession with the blue is about!  I couldn't tell you.  At any rate, I found happiness in this pattern.

 

 

Then comes the fun part:  choosing the embellishments.  Yes, I know a bunting is essentially a string with some triangle fabrics or papers hanging from it, but that just seems so boring when I make them that way.  Much like the woman who can't imagine making a crochet blanket that doesn't have 20-30 different colors in her granny squares, I just need more.

My problem, the madness, is figuring out how much more.... or even what kind of "more".  I made about 10 mini bows last night, trying to figure out a ribbon color combo and a ribbon style.  I also rummaged through all my random piles, buckets, drawers of odd ends to find little flowers, bows, buttons and other things that could be used for the embellishment of this bunting.

Where does your inspiration come from?  For me, it's almost always my dreams, physical activity, and music.  Mainly my dreams.  I had a dream that I made this adorable bunting with polka dots, blues, oranges, greens, and pinks.  It was embellished perfectly and it was a focal piece in the nursery.  Ok, maybe I am flattering myself a bit.  The maddening part came from having to face the reality that I don't always have the supplies I need to make my dreams come true, so to speak.  I also get annoyed at my skill level.  This will be my second attempt at a bunting ever and I am already contemplating ways to seriously up the ante!

Fortunately for me, my husband beckoned me to bed and I got live to go insane over minute details another day :-)

I will admit that I drove myself a little mad trying to be perfect.  That is when I noticed what was happening.  I was becoming irritable and disappointed, which should never be a symptom of creativity. I had to stop right there and appreciate the true purpose of the project:  To put a smile on Mama S's face and to provide a heartfelt gift for Baby R.  I also needed to really think about WHY I create.  It isn't about outdoing myself, upping the ante, or even to be perfect. It's because I love the feeling of working on making my dreams come true.  I may not have the supplies or skills at this moment, but I love the process, the growth, and the heart that I put in.  I love seeing my efforts grow into a tangible manifestation of my dreams!

Happy HUMP DAY!!!!  Hahahahahaaa!!! 😉

A Field of Lavender

Why HELLO!!!  It's be a long time... No, a Long Time!!

I have my reasons for having taken such a long leave of absence.  Excuses are like assholes, so I will show you mine.  Why not get all close and personal on my first post back?

1-  I worked too much. No time to be creative killed a part of my soul.  Now, I am staying home full time.

2- My laptop BROKE in every way possible, from the hinge to the outlet; from the mother board to being hacked with viruses.  I'm making (this) my first post on my new Baby!  It feels great to be reunited with the tech world!

3-  My art room was a colossal disaster:

 

 

 Clearly, I've solved that little problem.  Now, I have Time, a Computer, and a Creative Space!   Who knew there was a recipe for blogging perfection? Now, I know this!  And yea buddy, I just rose up out my chair and did a Happy Dance!  Ha ha ha :-)

So what have I been up to?  This summer was loaded with travels and writing letters to pen pals.  I love snail mail!  My family returned from our last little vacay at Disney World in late September.  I quit my job shortly before we left.  Since then, it's been about developing a new routine and finding all these projects that I have started and not finished over the past three years that I was working too much.

I chose to start with something adorable...

 

I started this project for a friend back in April. She's a special friend whom I've actually never met in person.  She and I started writing to one another about four years ago.   She has had a sweet, precious baby girl.   My friend loves this color, so I was pretty happy she had a girl. It would have been a little difficult to incorporate lavender into a blanket meant for a boy!  Not impossible, however.  I've got some design skills!

I absolutely love making African Hexies.  They are so beautiful to me.  It's prettier than stripes and, to me, more interesting to look at than granny squares.  The only thing I can't handle is the weird edges!  It makes the end result look like it's unfinished.  A long time ago, I searched for a pattern to fill this in.

I found a pattern online somewhere about three years ago.  As you can see, I haven't added these parts yet, and I don't know what to expect once they are added to the edges. I have never made them before, even though I've had the pattern this whole time. I'm hoping for some magic!

 

 

I am not finished with the blanket yet. I have one  full row to add and then all the half hexies.  That's tonight's goal.  I hope within the next few days, I will have a finished blanket with a hat and maybe even a cardigan.  This will be a Christmas gift for sweet Baby R's first Christmas.  I hope she & Mama S like it!

 

 



 

I will post details about supplies and patterns on my next post, when the project is complete.  I'll also give you a small sneak peak into my next project.  It's gift-giving season, so I'm going to be busy, cranking them out!

 

Have the most lovely of Sundays!  

Handmade Christmas: The Cards Are On the Table

DONE DONE DONE!!!!  I am finished with my Christmas cards.  I have no idea how it happened.  I also didn't even realize that it DID happen!  I was bored and decided that I would write my little message inside of each card and start loading the envelopes and checking off my mailing list.  Next thing I know, I run out of people and cards at the same time.  YAY! 

So here are the final cards I made.

I made some simple wreaths.  I traced the circle using a little kiddie cup and then I cut it out with craft scissors-- saved money by not buying an expensive punch!  Then, I used a smaller circular punch I already had to cut out the center of the wreath, but if you don't have one, gently fold the circle in half and use craft scissors again.  That's what I would have tried.

I made some snowflake cards.  These are layered stickers.  I always bulk up on winter stickers and rub-ons.... and it seems like, for the most part, winter lasts for so little time here.  Between all the Fall harvest decor and beautiful colors and Spring... I just don't ever use any of my winter embellishments.  So!  Yeap!  Another *FREE* set of cards made with more things I had lying around.

These are just a few gingerbread men that I drew on some cardstock and cut out.  Then, since I don't have one of those fancy dye things for the edges, I just layered the gingerbread men on some black cardstock and cut the whole thing out.  I think these are my favorite ones of all.

The cardstock that I used to make the gingerbread men says "chocolate".  Cute!

 

I also made some ornaments. They are drying in this picture. I used the same circle stencil I made for the wreaths and just cut out some circles from pretty paper and embellished the paper with flowers, glitter glue, and ribbon.

 

I wasn't expecting to finish the cards so soon.  I was just getting discouraged last night, thinking I had about 25 more to make.  I was about to give up because if I spent any more time making cards, I would not have time to get on with the hand made gifts.

 

Problem solved!  The cards are signed, put away into their addressed envelopes.  I am just waiting another week or so to mail them out. 

 

I also have to admit that I was a little bummed out because I am trying for perfection.  I keep having to stop and tell myself that THAT IS WHAT HANDMADE IS ALL ABOUT! 

 

Those tiny imperfections that signify that THIS was HAND-CRAFTED by a HUMAN with a CARING HEART and all the wonderful IMPERFECTIONS that make her UNIQUE! 

 

Do you ever have to pep talk yourself into believing that you are worth all that you are?  Man!  I have to do it all the time.  Without realizing it, I can really be hard on myself.  It's no fun when you are your worst, and sometimes only, critic.  But I am learning to change this, day by day, and project, by project.

 

As for tonight, even thought it is really late, I am going to start on my next project.  I am making some things for a girl  that is on the cheerleading squad with My Little Darling.  She is having a birthday party, and after spending $1500 on Black Friday and another $400 on Cyber Monday, I am going to have to make something phenomenal out of whatever supplies I have on deck!  And, trust me!  I am sooooo Up for the Challenge!  ...  T minus Two Weeks until the birthday party.  Wish me luck, patience and perseverance!

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Handmade Holidays: Inspo Flow!

It's really true when someone says, "You can't  have it all!"  I hate to be honest about it and face those facts, but it is what it is.  I can't have the best of ALL worlds.  My week has been FULL of crafting, shopping and gift wrapping.  I have to slow down and remember my priorities....

At this point, my apartment looks like a fucking crime scene:  Laundry piled higher than the head of my soon-to-be six year old!  Disorganized piles of things for work, holiday crafting, mail, to-do... and whatever.  We have NO FOOD in the house-- how the hell have I been finding time to cook so much???  My kiddo's home school lessons haven't been planned for the next week.  My hair is on top of my head, looking like a crazy piece of hell! And on top of that, I have been getting 2-4 hours of sleep per night. 

In case you were wondering what my priorities are:  Self-Care (preserving my mental health and physical wellness), Domestic Responsibilities (being a good Mother and Wife), Financial Gain, and then comes Arts/Crafts.  As of right now, I am living my priorities backwards--  I have been arting more than anything.  Then, I have taken on lots of responsibilities at work, and I spend time at home tackling that mess I created.  I am totally slacking in the area of all things "domestically related".  And I haven't been eating or sleeping well at all.  So yea---  tonight is not about art.  It's about getting my apartment scrubbed, my hair combed, my feet pedicured, and making a menu/grocery list.

Don't you hate it when reality slaps the shit out of you??  IT SUCKS!  I just wanna have FUNNN!!!  But it really is no fun when you can't focus on what you enjoy because the more important tasks have not taken care of themselves!

.....  BUT!!!  I did need to take some time tonight to jot down my Christmas Inspo.  Having a handmade Christmas is so much fun, but I really have to do my research!  So this is what I did today:  I went to the grocery store.  They have a reasonable magazine selection.  But I am far too cheap to make several magazine purchases.  I mean some where as expensive as $12!!!  Yea right!  So I whipped out my phone and took some pictures.  They are totally low quality, but I don't have many readers, so more than anything, this is my little "cyber bulletin board" of what would be magazine clippings if I could actually afford all of the magazines. 

Disclaimer:  I do not have all of the citation information for each photo, but I will post a hyperlinked list at the end of the pictures in case you would like to go to the store and check out the magazine yourself :)

This picture is the reason I opted for a Handmade Christmas!  I know, it's always something so small and seemingly insignificant. But I love these hand-sewn cards and so I wanted to try to do my own cards and the idea snowballed from there.


I have to apologize again for the terrible quality.  I was literally watching over my shoulder because I wasn't sure if I was even allowed to take pictures of magazines rather then buy them LOL!

This is a GORGEOUS wreath made from balls of yarn, pine cones, and jingles.  I think there are also some glittery gold foam ornaments as well.  I want to make a few wreaths this holiday season. 

Here is another wreath made with plastic berries, yarn wrapped around a foam circle shape, and felt rolled rose flowers.  I have been wanting to make a wreath for a few years... I figured, since I am doing a handmade Christmas-- there is no time like the present, right?!

 



I saw lots of examples of hand made paper ornaments like this one.  This one is special because it's the first one that I saw that was embellished like this-- LOVE ME SOME SPARKLY!  And I also really like the beading coming from the hanging wire and dangling down. These are really simple to make.  Get a paper punch at your local craft store in this scalloped circle shape.  Cut out three or four.  Embellish as you will.  Fold them in half and glue them to one another with a wire or string for hanging from the top (with a loop) until the bottom that you can embellish with beads.  I may not make a tree full of these, but I am going to give this a try!











I also saw lots of really cute things for children.  I like the idea of getting My Little Darling in the spirit by allowing her to hand craft gifts for her friends.  Like this Crayola wreath-- ADORABLE!

 

 

 I love this picture frame with all the different textures of buttons.  This is a little more detailed then I would prefer for my daughter to work on, but I think the idea is cute and something that would be fun to do with a child as a joint effort for a gift.

And last, but definitely not least, a Christmas tree for a Little One.  My Little Darling has requested her own tree.  I would love to get her one, but I am still torn about the ornament situation.  I am not a big fan of having glass in the room of someone under the age of ten.  Ya just never know how that might turn out.  And My Little Darling is a WILD CHILD!  But I can do something like these adorable, easily crafted felt ornaments.  And I can make them WITH My Little Darling!

 

I am sure the layout of this post is a little crazy, but it's all good.  I just wanted a place to put all my handmade inspo.  Will you be doing anything interesting this year?  Crafting something special?  Are you attending a craft fair or will you be making just a few small sentimental gifts for a select few?  I wish I could allow people to post responses on here.  I would love to hear what others are doing and SEE what everyone is trying out...

 

Well, laundry calls!  And I am in no position not to listen! 

 

Happy Holidays!

 

 

Magazines:  Traditional Home; Country Living; Bliss Victoria;  Fresh Style; Cottage Living; Southern Lady Holidays; HG TV Magazine, Stitch/Craft Create

 

 



Hanmade Holidays: Play Your Cards Right

Weeelllll...  It is the end of Black Friday.  I have to admit that I did all my shopping from 8pm until 2:30 in the morning like some sort of psycho path.  You would think I was really out to get some awesome electronics and whatnot.  Nope!  I am all about TOYS!  Ha ha ha!  I get all of My Little Darling's gifts on Black Friday in addition to about 5-10 other gifts for the other awesome Little Ones in my life.  It's the easiest and cheapest way to get everything taken care of.

This year was a whole new experience, let me tell ya!  I was at work...with some children.  I knew it was a risk to try to do something like face a Black Friday Wal-Mart MOB with them.  I knew the risk of a kid running off with some random weirdo who wears his hunting gear full time was high.  I knew the risk of a kid inciting a riot, only due to the uncontrollable urge to innocently start a flash mob, was high.  I knew the risk of getting attacked by one of the kids due to the stress of the mania was high.  But the deals were too good to resist!  And we played our cards right, strategically stationing ourselves all over the store. I got everything I wanted.  But I can't say what any of it is......  Not until the 25th of December, that is!

I went to bed at 3am, and I woke up feeling hung over...  This past summer, I was diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia, which basically means that sugar is now my mortal enemy and I must do what I can to avoid it at all costs.  I just don't really give too much a shit about my health when it comes to THANKSGIVING YUMMYNESS!!!!  So I had about 5 too many slices of pies and about 4 too many sodas...and countless carbs!  Unfortunately, the effect it has on me is that my body shuts down and I am completely exhausted and incoherent after my body crashes from the sugar high. 

With that said, I went for a bagel this morning, rather than the slices of chess pie I planned on eating.  I had tea instead of the large coffee with pumpkin spice flavoring and 1/4 cup of eggnog latte creamer.  I was depressed and didn't really finish my food... I was still craving pure sugar.

I spent the day running around like a mad person between stores, wrapping gifts and hiding them in my small apartment, driving to pick up my daughter and back home and rushing to work.  I meant to have all my cards done by last Sunday ...

But that didn't happen.  I had to put everything to the side so I could plan out my Black Friday shopping!  I have almost finished about half of them.  I started with some very simple cards, just cutting out rectangles from festive paper and mounting it onto the card.

Like these two.  Very simple.  In hindsight, I should have just made them all this way. Faster. Easier.  Cleaner.  But where's the fun in that???

So then I made some Christmas trees.  I figured, "If you are going through the trouble to even bother with hand making all your cards, you should at least get some fun out of it.  Try something new!"  So I did.  I love working with paper a lot, but I am not very good with making cards.  I browsed all my magazines and books on the topic.  But, as I find so often, it's best if I just let my imagination take over and do what works well for me.

I am almost done with about half of them.  I had to throw away about 20 embellishments.  I used some fabric paint....  It didn't do what I was hoping it would and I have to go back re-make all of those cards again.  I'm SO NOT HAPPY about that, but hey-- Isn't that what art is about?  Trying the unconventional?  Taking chances?  Realizing that you fucked up royally?  And starting from ground zero again and again and again?  Until you find something like contentment with what you've fought so hard to create?  Well, that's what it's like for me!  Ha ha ha!  I assume that, for aspiring crafty/artsy peoples, this is not encouraging, but let me just put this out there:  There is NO greater feeling that trying 127 kabillion times to make something, anything, which invokes a sense of pride within you.  Nothing makes you happier and feel more accomplished.

The name of the game for the next few days is to get 100% done with ALL designs, including a re-do of the wreaths & ornaments I had, snowflakes, snowman, gift boxes, gingerbread men, and even Rudolf!  Wish me luck!  I sketch everything by hand on cardstock and use it as a stencil.  I am not sure if Rudolf will look like a reindeer or an Water Buffalo! I don't have that many cards left to make, but I am totally determined to have me some FUN while I get to it! 

--Happy Crafting!