Cleaned up and working again…
Finally, I think I have my space in the basement cleaned out and organized enough to actually get some work done. Imagine that! Currently I’m working on a storage box for some of my ATC’s. While I work on that I’m thinking of themes for my next altered book. I have the book that I want and I know the sort of format I want to use, as far as cubbies and alcoves within the frame of the book. Now I just need some inspiration for a theme. I’m also in the middle of another altered art piece that is beginning on the base of a frame. I am in need of another foraging trip to the scrap store for some more supplies, plus I always like to visit their art gallery for a little inspiration. AHHHHH, next week the kids go to summer camp all day, so I’m free to browse with another artistic friend of mine. Can’t wait!
I’m trying to get active again and keep this blog up to date and provide fun and interesting new information. So stay tuned, more is on the horizon!
Junk Jewelry
I’m starting to get into making junk/altered/found item jewelry. I like how it forces me to be more creative in how I look at everyday objects. Plus, I’ve never been a traditional jewelry fan. I guess that is because of the artistic kinda girl I am, I’m always drawn to more “funky” stuff.
It started recently when I found out about a charm swap, being run by Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine. ( http://quiltingarts.com/cpsmag/cps_challenge.html )Send in up to 5 charms, and get that many back made by other people who enter their charms. I’m looking forward to seeing what I get back that other people have created. I’m working on my 4th charm now. Because of course, I’m sending in the maximum number of 5! Charms must be in their offices by April 13th, so I need to get busy and finish my last two. I’m trying to make them all as different as possible. One turned out so well, I’m going to make another just like it, but in a different color for myself to keep and wear. I’ll post some pictures later today.
I’m trying to look at any item, from the hardware store, to old toys, electronics… and see the pieces as jewelry items. Not only does it make for great recycling, but it really stretches your creative mind, to think beyond traditional crafting supplies. I’m going with a couple friends tomorrow to the Scrap Exchange in Durham, NC (scrapexchange.org). I’m going to be keeping my eyes open for things to use in my charm and jewelry making. Needless to say, I’m so excited. They always have completely different things in stock every time you go, so it’s always a surprise to see what kinds of cool stuff you can find.
Swappable Charms, the new ATC?
In the latest edition of Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine (digital edition), there was a small article about an artist named June Pfaff Daley (junepfaffdaley.blogspot.com) that started making charms to swap at different art retreats, etc. I thought, “What a great idea?! Not the making charms part (although that’s awesome too)… but mainly the swapping part” How many of you have made and traded ATC’s? (Artist Trading Cards, for those of you who are not in the know) However, with ATC’s you have to keep your little collected creations in boxes, binders, perhaps framed? Well, the thought that came to me as being so cool in creating charms to swap is… how great would it be to get to wear a charm bracelet or necklace adorned with the charms you have collected from other artists, as well as your own creations? You can wear them for the whole world to see and admire. So, a small artform (the charm), creates another artform. (the bracelet/necklace) I like the idea of one thing evolving into another. Which I guess is what really attracts me to altered art in the first place! I love junk and transforming one thing (primarily known to non-artists, as trash) into something incredibly attractive, artsy and unique. I hear it now being referred to as Upcycling. Since you are turning the object, not back into itself, but into something entirely new and different.
So, if you think this is a cool idea like I do, get busy, get charming and start swapping!
AHHH! I’ve been so busy!
Hello to all my readers!
I’m sorry it has been so long since I’ve posted anything substantial. My life has been a crazy whirlwind for a couple months now. Unfortunately, I’ve bought some new supplies for creating altered art, I just haven’t had a chance to work on anything yet.
I’ve gotten into a little bit of quilt making and am interested in exploring the world of art quilts, which actually has a lot in common with altered arts. I’m addicted to searching for great “junk” to use as embellishments in what ever project I am currently working on.
The other item that has taken a lot of my time is a new crafting group that I have started. I decided I really wanted to form a group where crafters and artists of all types could come together and create, fellowship, snack on food and have a great time and get tips and learn from each other as well. So we started in February and will continue to meet two times a month. We meet at North Cary Baptist Church (at the corner of Reedy Creek and Chapel Hill road) on the second Friday and last Saturday of each month in the Fellowship Hall from 10 am – 2 pm both days. This is a great location because there is tons of room and people can bring whatever they want to work on, including cricut and sewing machines. ANYONE is welcome to join us. For more information you can visit my other blog at http://creationcrafts.wordpress.com, the church’s website (which I design and update) http://www.northcarybaptist.org/craft.html, or email me through either blog (my email address is listed on the Creation Craft page of the website).
You don’t have to sign up, or join anything… and best of all it is 100% FREE! Just show up with something to work on and a small snack to share, and come have a great time! I’ve really enjoyed the first two meetings and am looking forward to the third, which is coming up on March 13th.
I’m hoping that having this time set aside each month will help me continue my artwork, which can sometimes (most of the time) take a back seat to all the other things in life I have to take care of. You know, all the really fun stuff like, laundry, kids, cooking, cleaning, caring and cleaning up after two dogs and two cats, teaching AWANA, participating in a scrapbooking meetup group, going to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and completing my lessons for that as well as my Sunday School class, going to choir practice… need I say more? LOL.
I’m resolved to try and keep up with all of the above mentioned things and reinvigorate this blog and my new blog with new and hopefully exciting information.
See you back here soon!
It’s been toooooo long!
Ok, let’s get back into business here. It has been forever! I really haven’t been into any altered crafts lately, so I haven’t updated the site. I am doing some other crafty things though. I’ve been working on improving my sewing skills with costumes and a doll pattern. I’m being a little untraditional though, as my dolls are zombie dolls. I’m using a traditional doll pattern and zombie-tizing it. That way also, it doesn’t matter if I make little mistakes in the beginning. Where a real doll would just be ugly it adds character to a zombie doll. When I can sew them so that they turn out really nice and the arms legs and head are all the exact right shape and such, I’ll make some into traditional dolls as well.
That’s kind of the way I work. I never stay on the same type of thing for a long time. I’ll eventually get back into more altered crafts, and technically I guess you could consider a zombie doll altered. But, time always runs so short with everything that I’d like to get done, as always in life.
I will be starting a crafting group that will meet at the church that I attend soon. I will probably write more about it when things get more solid in the planning. I always wanted to host a group similar to the scrapbooking group I attend through meetup.com, but don’t have the room to do so at my home. I asked permission to have the group meet in the fellowship hall of the church I attend, North Cary Baptist Church here in Cary, NC. They approved this and so I can’t wait to get everything set up to start. I LOVE the church that I go to. The people there are so open and welcoming and non-judgmental it’s like a second functional family! lol. I hope some people who even don’t attend church will come and meet some of the people who go here and give it a try, if not, we’ll still welcome them to come do crafts with us. I really like the idea because there is enough room for people to bring sewing machines with them. I want ALL crafters to be welcome, not just knitters or scrapbookers. So, hopefully we’ll get people who scrapbook, sew, knit, crochet, jewelry makers, altered artists, whatever! Come and create and have great fellowship and food and fun.
Still operating…
Hello readers! Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Life got very crazy and I was away from computers for the week. I hope to be getting back on schedule now that school is starting again. I of course, am going to be even busier, but at least it will be a consistent schedule. Right now I’m having trouble writing or thinking because our bulldog Gordo is having bad gas problems tonight and is farting some pretty rank toots here at my feet. I think perhaps I should invest in a gas mask to wear. It is also awful that he is silent but deadly, there is no noise to warn of a coming attack to your nasal passages! I will try to take pictures tomorrow of the projects that I worked on at the scrapbooking convention last weekend. My mother is here visiting from Texas this week, so I’m sure anything that I’m able to post this week will be pretty short and sweet.
I hope you will all hang in there with me while I get my weeks scheduled and organized. Don’t stop checking back for more updates and tips and tricks. They are coming, it just may take a little time to build up some steam again.
Have a great week!
CKC Scrapbook Convention, Charlotte NC
Oh what an awesome time I had! Busy and fast, but great! I took three classes at the convention: Fun and Fast Tips for Fabulous Journaling, Word Books 101, and Pocket Full of Cards (all about making cards with pockets)! I really liked all my classes and got a lot of great ideas, not to mention just getting inspired. That always helps. Will put some pictures online when I get the projects finished. Two are almost done, the journal and the pocket cards, but the word book only has one letter covered out of a five letter word. Each class is limited to one hour, so quite often you have to get the idea and then finish it at home. I’ll tell you though, the vendor fair was pretty cool. Although it made me wish that I had won the lottery before I went so that I could have bought more! Hee Hee Hee! I really liked the t-shirt that I saw there that said, “My husband lets me buy as many scrap supplies as I can hide.” LOL. And of course, I think my favorite shirt was the one that said, “It’s all fun and games until someone looses an eyelet.” I definitely wanted to buy that one, but the t-shirts were $20 and I felt like I’d rather spend that money on supplies, at least at this point. I just started scrapping this year, so I don’t have a great amount of supplies. Plus, I’m a stay at home mom with no income of my own, so I have to be conservative with my purchases. This trip and the classes were a gift from my husband… my Mother’s Day gift. He asked my before Mother’s Day what I wanted and this was it! A great gift I must say! I was so inspired by the convention that I cleaned and reorganized my craft room, once again! I’ve been down there (in the basement) working on scrapbooks and cards. I want make some cards to sell in packets and to give as gifts. I think I finally got it to the point where I can stand to be down there working, without feeling like I’m crammed into a dark closet.
Right now I must say that I am exhausted! I got home around 10:00 Saturday night and when I called my husband to tell him I was almost home, he asked if I wanted to go to the new Batman movie, since the kids were away for the evening. I was like, sure, why not… what’s a few more hours to stay awake. Then he was the one that fell asleep two times during the movie! Again, LOL. Then we came home and fiddled around watching some TV and online, before finally going to bed around 2:45 am. We had to get up at 8 am, so we could go pick up the kids, take someone to the airport, and get back in time for church. I have to tell you that I am so, so, so, so glad that this is the last week of summer vacation! Yay! Finally, some peaceful days! The beginning of the summer up until about three weeks ago was o.k., but now I think the kids have summer-itis because they are CONSTANTLY fighting over every little thing!
Anyway, will try to update more tomorrow. Thanks for reading, hope everyone had a great weekend!
Short and Sweet Handy Tip
I hope I can keep it short and sweet. I remembered this very simple but extremely useful idea for use when altering books. I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it, but try using bulldog clips… the ones that look like this:
for holding your books open while you gesso or design pages. Simple, yet extremely helpful. I don’t think I have any new wisdom to impart this week. I’m still prepping for the scrapbooking convention in Charlotte this weekend! I had to go get some last minute supplies for some of my classes. Only two more days and counting! Now let’s just hope I don’t give myself a hernia carrying all my supplies, lol!
Back in Business, Sort of…
We finally finished with our church’s Lay Renewal Weekend. I have to tell you, it was Wonderful! My first thought was… “three days of church? Hmmm.” But, it turned out to be one of the best things I’ve ever been able to participate in. I met a lot of great new people and got to know some of our new friends from church even better. The people in our church seem really close now and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next few weeks as new programs start and hopefully more people get involved. If you live in this area (Cary, NC) and you want to experience one of the most open, friendly and encouraging churches around… please visit North Cary Baptist Church! Let me tell you, I’m married in a bi-racial relationship with two step children and we both have tattoos, including myself who is working on a full sleeve, and everyone there accepted us with open arms from the second we stepped through the door.
Anyway, now that all those activities have past I have to spend today cleaning because the pastor and his wife are coming tonight to give us some new member paperwork and talk to our daughter who is 7 who told him she wanted to be baptized. I’ve been working on getting the inside pages to three of my altered books coated with gesso. I decided to try and get the entire inside prepped so I can create whenever the mood strikes and can also take at least one with me as a journal. I think this has been easier than doing a page and then prepping the next page and so on. It lets you get some continuity going with your design thoughts if the pages are already ready to go. I won’t have much time this week though for new projects because on Friday afternoon I’m meeting some of my meetup scrapbooking ladies to go to the scrapbooking convention in Charlotte for the weekend. I’m so, so excited I can barely contain myself. Needless to say, I probably won’t have much in the way of updates until next week. However, I hope to maintain my blogging through this Thursday with more tips and tricks, so please stay tuned. I can’t wait to tell you about how the scrapbooking classes went! Some of you may be thinking… I’m into altered art, not scrapbooking, why does she keep talking about scrapbooking? Well, I started out making artist trading cards at the scrapbook meetings, as the group is really for anyone into any kind of paper crafts. But then after seeing some of the projects done by other people I started to get into the scrapbooking. I’ve noticed that there are many similarities between scrapbooking and altered art. They are beginning to use many altered art techniques in scrapbook pages these days. So, there are many things like including pictures, journaling, memorabilia, found items, etc. that are being shared by scrapbooking and altered art techniques.
I hope everyone had a great weekend! Thanks again for reading!
Clearing Creative Blocks, Getting Inspired
I’ve been busy the past couple days cooking for a church function, which was yesterday. I probably won’t have time to blog or craft this weekend either as our church is having a lay renewal weekend and starts on Saturday morning and runs through Sunday night, for our family anyway. I’m still squeezing some scrapbooking time in on Sunday. My meetup group has an all day scrap on Sunday, I’ll only be able to go from 1-5:30 this time. I’ll be spending the time getting my stuff in order for the scrapbooking convention in Charlotte that is next weekend. I’m so looking forward to that. I’ll blog all about it when I get back. I had some time today and went down to my craft area to try and get some work done… but it was a no go. I couldn’t get motivated or inspired. I was pretty frustrated, but then I remembered some of my tricks to break that uninspired down time.
1. Don’t try to force yourself to create when you are stumped, you’ll just get further frustrated.
2. Relax and listen to some of your favorite music in a quiet place.
3. Start writing/journaling! Even if you have to start writing about not knowing what to write about, once you start writing, more ideas will come out. That is one thing I need to do more… journal. I’m making a backpack of journaling supplies that I can start taking everywhere with me, that way, when an idea hits, I’ll be ready for it!
4. Watch a favorite movie that inspires you. Right now, mine is Nim’s Island… I love the island and the artfulness of their house in the jungle. Just thinking about being able to live like that inspires me.
5. Think about something that interests you and look up information and pictures about it online.
6. Go to the library and just browse books.
7. Go for a walk or exercise. Sometimes all you need to do is get the blood flowing and clear your head.
The one thing I try to avoid when I’m totally blocked is looking at other artist’s work. That always frustrates me and makes it hard for original ideas to find their way into my boggled mind, at least at that time. Anyway, I hope some of these tips can help you out of your rut, if you happen to be in one. Thanks for reading!
