I'll start with this one - but I promise I will get to the other questions by the end of the week!!! They are GREAT one's - really got my writing creativity going!!! Thanks, ladies :) And Mom Trump: You are too sweet - I can always tell you are reading because you send me text messages talking about what I wrote about (blush). Your text messages always make my day!
Blog readers, I have a wonderful mom-in-law :)
My sweet friend from high school, Amber, asked on my FB thread:
Amber wrote: "Ok, Here's one for you crafty girl. I want to start doing some simple crafts. What should I start with? And I really don't want to do scrapbooking...that's just begging for it's own room to store all the supplies :P"
What I think is so cute about Amber asking this is that I used to sit in chemistry class and DROOOOOL over her drawings that adorned her notebooks and bookcovers!!!
@Amber, girl, you ARE crafty and artsy! Please tell me that you still doodle those girls with the big hair and lovely eyes?!
Okay, so craftiness!!!
Truthfully, most of my "craftiness is geared toward scrapbooking, but YES, I totally get the not wanting to have all the supplies take up a whole room thing ;) It is hard to scrapbook without feeling like you need this and that and the other, and then you (I am talking about myself here - lol!) end up with too much.
But sometimes I get crazy and feel like doing something other than scrapbooking - like my drawings lately - but also, I LOVE to make decorative items. Most recently, I finished this piece:
This canvas with an oil painted flower has been sitting in my scraproom for 2 years now. I started the painting while teaching my art students how to paint that year. I really liked the flower, but when I started the background, I got discouraged and set it aside. I figured I'd pick it up again at a later date. That date finally came last week (2 years later) when my younger cousin came over to be crafty with me. I decided that the background did not have to be painted to look finished - and so I got out some patterned tissue paper, and plain kraft tissue paper (the kind you stuff in gift bags!), mixed up some Elmers glue and water, and slapped that torn tissue paper on that canvas!
Truth be told, I was always so afraid of "messing it up" that I never wanted to finish it. Sometimes "being crafty" for me, just equals me giving myself the freedom to TRY something new and not be afraid of "messing up."
Sounds crazy "schpilly" I know. But those are usually the times when I create things that I really like...things that I am not embarrased to put up in my home. Will they always be there? who knows?! But for now, I like them and they are expression of me and so who cares ;)
And most recently, I’ve been working on this:
Honestly, this is what my students are working on right now. It’s the first time for me to teach this, so I thought “what better way to explain how to do it, than to have tried it and know what works and does not work - first hand?” So I started my own. The actual lesson came from my Blick Art Supply Catalog (LOVE Blick!), and so far my students are really enjoying this and getting super creative - which makes me a happy happy teacher!!! :)
You can download the supply list, and “how to” HERE. There is also a great video tutorial - so helpful.
The great thing about this is that you can get as creative and/or decorative with these as you want - the possibilities are endless AND - probably my favorite part - is that I can put this on display at my home! I followed the directions on the lesson, and then used the left over chipboard to create the circles that mock fish scales. It’s not completely finished tho...I plan to draw a graphic line design on the back and sides. I’ll try and post pictures of the finished product...assuming it doesn’t take me 2 years to finish (cough, cough ;).
I definitely suggest this crafty project to anyone looking for a crafty project!!!
And finally, this whole post cannot go without me saying this...
LOTS of my craft inspiration comes from websites - and I must mention my LOVE for Martha Stewart. I have so many of her craft "how-tos" saved to my computer, that I might as well just bookmark the whole damn site - ha.
But here are a few more great sites that i frequent:
The Long Thread
Everything from sewing, to paper crafts - such great tutorials!!!
The Spotted Fox
Not only do these girls share their own crafty ideas, but they also share and link their favorite finds from Etsy!
Which brings me to the THE mecca for crafty goodness!!!
ETSY.COM
I get daily inspiration from all of the wonderful artists and crafters who have things for sale there. I shop there LOTS, but also save lots of things to my favorites so that I can remind myself of something I might try to DIY!
So there you go. I hope it’s not more that you were asking for :-/ I tend to be long winded...I promise I'll try to not be so long winded on every question.
But seriously, just experiment and play. If you don’t like it, move on and try another and eventually you will find something you like.