Swap-bot: Mandala Coloring

I've been doing quick easy swaps to get my numbers up so I can play in some of the better ones soon.  Today I was looking for a Halloween coloring page for one I am already in and I came across a bunch of mandalas to color.  I remembered how much I used to love doing  them so I figured why not create a swap.  And newbie friendly to help out as I know I'm having a hard time finding things I actually want to do with a quick turn around.

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/75166

Feel free to pass this along ... happy swapping!

Where does the time go?

Wow it seems it has been awhile since I've posted anything here.  I've been having fun knitting and felting but other then that the creativity just doesn't seem to be flowing.  Sure I have a bazillion ideas floating around in my head but that is all they are ... just ideas.

 Felted Knit Bowl

I took a step outside of my comfort zone and signed up for Peace Felt but I'm feeling a little intimidated seeing some of the items that have already been posted.  I fear my partner will be disappointed.

This past week I've also picked up the hook again to try and learn crochet. Using a children's book I was finally able to pick some of it up.  I'm confident I can chain stitch, single crochet, double crochet, increase and decrease.  But that's as far as the book went.  My purpose in learning this is to help a friend finish a sampler blanket she has been working on.  Shhhh it is a surprise, a few of us will be giving her our squares in a few weeks.  So I have some books on hold at the library and hopefully I can crochet a few different pieces to add to the blanket.

 My first attempt at single crochet.

Also this past week I've felt the urge to get back to doing something creative.  I follow Helga's Blog and decided that it was time I jump in on a challenge,  Inchies!  How hard can it be to make a 1x1 collage?  Harder then I thought I guess ... the start of my project still sits on the table, unfinished and today is the due date.

 Turquoise inchies in progress ...

I was going to include some pictures but blogger is not allowing them to upload "failed" is what I get.  Yup that about sums it up, ironic, huh?

Edited to add the pictures, I guess "never give up" is the lesson today!

Ladder Scarf

I knitted this cute little ladder scarf one afternoon/evening - it was a fun and quick knit using a dropped stitch which was new to me. Awkward at first but really got the hang of it and now I love doing the drop stitch.

Unfortunately I was just "playing" and grabbed a ball of yarn that I only had one of so the scarf is short, maybe it will work for a child. I'm also not sure of the type of yarn I used since I no longer had the label but I think it is a chenille by Lion Brand. It is soft and warm!

Felted Knit Bowl

I made this felted knit bowl along with the vase that was previously posted from the same yarn.  The bowl looks much better, the vase did not stripe like the bowl did.  Will have to adjust the pattern to fix this next time since I still have more of this type of yarn to use up.

The yarn:  Patons Classic Wool in Rosewood

Felted Knit Vase

I recently made this felted knit vase using Patons Classic Wool in Rosewood. This was my first time using this yarn, it was all they had available locally.  I'm not so crazy about it, I've been spoiled learning to knit with Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride wool.  Still good to try new things!

Holiday Thank You Notes

 

I haven't done much this past year, my hands have just been to sore to really enjoy doing anything.  I'm really missing my yahoo groups and chatting with crafty and artsy folks.  I miss sharing ideas and I miss being inspired by you all.  However I did manage to toss together a few holiday thank you notes for some friends.  It felt good to make something even it was a simple project of painted, stamped paper and torn cardstock.

Legs For Brian

Legs for Brian
http://www.legsforbrian.com/

Please take the time to read Legs For Brian ...

Yes I personally know this family and it is heartbreaking to see those around you suffer. I have been to their house, I have seen Brian crawl around ... There is no reason why any human should be allowed to suffer like this. Animals are treated better in most cases. Please share this and lets try and get Brian the help he needs!

How can people come together to help those in other countries but we let our friends and neighbors suffer? How can our government help those in other countries but ignore the needs of those in our own country?

Please pass this along, twitter, facebook. blogs, media ... whatever. Lets get Brian some help from someone who has the ability to help him!

Much thanks!

Felted Mini Totes

These fun little totes knitted up quickly and required me to learn a new technique as the bottoms are square. I learned to pick up stitches!

I think they would make a great little gift bag. I can already see holiday colors and maybe embellishing them with decorative buttons and/or gems. If I start now I might have enough for myself as well as a few to sell since some of my online friends have expressed an interest in my felted knits.

 

I did learn a valuable lesson from this project. I made four bags in total and felted them two at a time, the first two came out great (at least I think so) while the second two were a tad to "fuzzy" and looked worn. What caused the difference in the final result when everything appeared to be the same? The first two were felted in separate pillow cases and the others were felted in separate mesh laundry bags. I tried the laundry bags after spotting them at the dollar store, I remembered reading in a book that this is what the author used. I honestly believe that the bags are better protected in the pillow cases and will be using them from now on, maybe the mesh bags could be used inside one laundry bag - keeping them separate from each other but still protected.

Playing with Yarn

Yes, I'm still playing with yarn and having lots of fun with it. I recently made a drawstring bag and a small bag. The small bag was just made from the left over yarn from my first project, I wanted to make a test piece as I have never felted anything on my own. It was a success!

Feeling confident that I could do this on my own I decided to try a drawstring bag. It required me to knit button holes for the drawstring which was a new technique for me. I think it turned out okay, would have been better without the "fizz". Time to move on and get over the fizz!

Before felting...

After felting ....

My First Felted Knit

So I've been learning to knit, its been a slow process and not something that got my full attention. I have a friend who is teaching me and she's been great. The goal of this project was for me to learn how to knit and how to felt it when it was done. There was no pattern to follow as we were just going with the flow and taking it step by step.

I used Lamb's Pride which is 85% Wool 15% Mohair and the color is Ocean Waves, made by Brown Sheep Company.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the outcome and just love the color, the tropical fizz adds a fun touch. I'm not sure what it is exactly ... to round to be a purse, handles to long to be a basket - hmmmm maybe I'll use it as my new knitting basket.

This was a fun learning experience and can't wait to jump into the next project. My friend and knitting teacher will be on vacation for 5 weeks so I'm flying solo on this next one. I think I'll try a purse or a pillow from the book Felted Knits. I need a simple pattern as I'm not 100% sure what all these abbreviation mean yet. Wish me luck!

Birthday Goddess

I started out with wanting to make my mom a Birthday Goddess. The plan was to make a wire and bead goddess but we all know what happens when we plan things, don't we? It ended up in the trash, it just wasn't working - I think I need different wire. So back to the drawing board I went ...

I finally came up with the one pictured above - she is made from foamcore. I printed a pattern onto paper, traced it onto the foamcore and cut it out with a craft knife. Applied colored tissue paper and dry brushed Luminere paint to give it some sparkle. Then I layered on some homemade paper to resemble a skirt and tied some fibers around her waist. My mom has a big heart so I thought her goddess should have one too. This one was made from heated and stamped fun foam that was cut out and painted. Above her head she holds wire which I twisted and added some stones to. I went with a green theme to represent May's birthstone of Emerald.

Happy Birthday Mom!


Oh BTW the idea to use foamcore came from the March/April 2002 issue of Somerset Studio

Tin Lizzy

Okay so maybe its not tin but I just liked the sound of "Tin Lizzy"...

I've had this big black metal CD rack that resembles a lizard hanging on my wall for years. I loved it when I first bought it oh about 12 years ago but it has been begging me to just "do something" with it for awhile now. So I took it down, gave it some paint and I plan to hang it outside as a planter.

I'm thinking about screwing one of those square pots behind it near the bottom, maybe some ivy or a vining flower to climb up the lizard - hmmmmm, any thoughts?

She's at it again!

Yup, I'm at it again, I'm moving my creative space. Hopefully this time it will feel right and just be full of inspiration and creativity.

As you may recall the last move gave me my own space and by the windows, I had everything pretty organized and felt happy with my space until ... DH invaded my space and took over. The space has become total chaos to me and I can't even go in there without getting upset and feeling overwhelmed.

I'm tired of feeling uninspired, I want to make things, I want to get back to exploring my creative side but for that I need to have the appropriate space. Of course the space won't be 100% mine, when you have kids nothing is ever yours alone but I don't mind sharing my space with them because my boys are an inspiration. As a matter of fact they are at art class right now with Ms Carroll, she's awesome and I would love to be able to stay and play too!

I recently tried to jump back into one of my yahoo groups, thought I would try to make something for the monthly lottery - "green and gold" was the theme, but for the life of me I couldn't get it to click. Every combo of those two colors ended reminding me of Christmas and not spring, I just could not make it work.

Then there was my parents 40th wedding anniversary last week, I was going to make something for that but again just could not make it work. So its time for a change and hopefully a fresh start with lots of inspiration. Right now I'm in limbo and still have to reorganize and finish moving everything. For someone who claims to not have many art supplies I sure have managed to collect alot of "stuff".

:)

Something New

Yes, I'm learning something new ... I'm learning to knit.

A friend of mine makes these wonderful creations, she knits and then felts them. Honestly I had no idea what felting was until she opened my eyes. I always thought felted items were just cut and stitched from pieces of felt you got at the craft store. I had no idea how much work goes into something like this - amazing!

I think I was supposed to be making a chick for Easter but I haven't had my second lesson yet so I've just keep on knitting and probably have gone beyond what was needed for the chick. I still kinda feel like I'm "all thumbs" but after a few rows I can usually get a good rhythm going.

Stay tuned for my knitting adventures ...

:)

Be Creative!

Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.

Edward de Bono

Suddenly I have the urge to do something creative today - hmmmm...

Finally...

Yes, its me - I'm here and I'm back online finally. Well kinda, I'm using painfully slow dial up (hey its cheep) so my online time is limited. I want to thank all of you who have left me comments and sent emails. I honestly do miss being a part of the altered art world.

Yesterday the kids were coloring at the table, my oldest had my Sharpies out - I figured someone might as well use them since I hadn't been brave enough to do any doodling with them. Well they were calling to me so I gave in and picked up two, grabbed some index cards that were sitting on the table. At first I found the size of the card odd and uncomfortable to work on. So I got out my paper cutter and blew the dust off of it, cut the cards into 2x2 squares. Then picked up a red ultra fine Sharpie and started to just doodle.


Wow, I actually did it - made something freehand without a plan, I just did it :)

That felt good so I got another 2x2 square and started with the black Sharpie and then the red. This one involved some thinking after the first few lines were made but still was pretty free form.

There I did it, I finally used my Sharpies, aren't you proud of me?



:)

Exploration

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

T.S. Eliot

Just thinking ...

I'm sitting here at my table just looking at all the stuff I have to play with. Ideas flowing freely in my mind but not having the ability to bring them to life.

The other day I just sat here and played with some Sculpey and some beads, it felt good to do something but at the same time I became frustrated because I didn't really make anything. I know its a start, I'm sitting here and I did do something even if there was no end result.

That brings me to a question ... does there have to be an end result? Can one just create and play for the joy of just doing it?

I think we get so caught up in the fact that everything we do in life is for a reason and there must be something to show for it. Why can't we all take a valuable life lesson from the children and just play, have fun and enjoy - be free to just be?