Posted on

my daughter’s creative space

paint yourself silly christmas tree ornament

I think my daughter is officially in love with painting pottery. In the past few weeks, we’ve been to Paint Yourself Silly twice. Her first time she had fun, but didn’t really know what to expect. The second time she painted like a pro and once she saw her first project finished and sparkly, she was hooked.

paint yourself silly christmas tree ornament

Both times we went, I didn’t paint. I’m the official pottery holder so she can paint the edges and other side. I point out places she missed and remind her what needs a second coat. I’m also in charge of adding her name and date on the back.

I try to provide art direction, but this girl has a mind of her own. She knows exactly what paint she wants where. It’s difficult for me to not pick up a brush and “fix” something. (I might have sneaked in a few touch ups here and there when she wasn’t looking!)

I guess it’s good practice for me. I have a feeling there will be lots painting in our future. Next time I’ll just have to get my own piece of pottery.

This is the last official creative space of 2010 over at Kirsty’s blog. I’ll be posting them through the end of the year, though. Want to join me?

Posted on

my creative space

In my creative space today I’m untangling this beautiful mess of yarn. It’s not as bad as it looks, at least I hope it’s not. There are three hanks that are loosely tied. If I can get them on the swift properly, it should be smooth sailing.

thrifted yarn

Where did I get such interesting yarn? I got a phone call yesterday while I was shopping for groceries.

kelly: I’m at the thrift store and there are huge tubs of beautiful yarn that are only 99 cents each.
me: Thanks for thinking of me, but I have so much yarn.
kelly: Yes, but some of this stuff looks hand dyed. It’s really beautiful.
me: Can you send a picture?

thrifted yarn

I think she sent four pictures, actually. One of those “tubs” was a large bin on wheels. I felt weak. A little defeated by my desire for pretty yarn that I really don’t need. I drove up to the store.

thrifted yarn

I exercised tremendous restraint and bought only six skeins. The pink/purple/blue skein is for my daughter. I let her pick out one because she was so patient while I dug through that big bin. I also bought her some stickers.

I’m a little early posting my creative space today. Make sure you check out Kirsty’s blog later today for more spaces.

Posted on

my creative space

my creative space

In my creative space today I’m still thinking about sleeves. I’m not sure if I’m going to make a shirt from scratch or use these pattern pieces on an existing garment. Can’t. Stop. Thinking. About. Sleeves.

What creative things are you thinking about today? Don’t forget to check in on the great creative minds over at Kirsty’s blog.

Posted on

my creative space

baseball amigurumi bookmark

In my creative space today, I’m slowly getting back into my crochet groove. These little circles are actually baseball bookmarks for party favors. I’m thinking they would make cute Christmas ornament bookmarks — something handmade to go along with a book as a gift. Pattern coming soon.

More creative spaces over at Kirsty’s blog. Enjoy the crafty goodness!

recycle: Bookmarks made from last week’s sweater yarn.

Posted on

my creative space

my creative space

My last flurry of crochet activity left me with very little black and white yarn in my stash. It also left me with tired wrists. I confess that I haven’t stitched a thing since last Saturday. I’m sure you know the feeling: one more stitch and you’ll be out of commission for way too long. Although, four days is an awfully long time for me. I think Sunday’s long stint in the kitchen chopping, peeling, stirring and dish washing didn’t help. Neither did all of that laundry folding. See where housework gets you?

Back to the yarn. I gave away most of my “amigurumi stash” of acrylic awhile ago because I wasn’t using it. I saved a few balls of neutral colors, but the Halloween critters used up most of that. I just happened to stumble across a black and white cotton/acrylic blend sweater at the thrift store yesterday. Crafty kismet! It was super easy to unravel and now I’m sitting her looking at my hook and trying to decide if I’m ready to start up again. Maybe I’ll just go to bed early tonight and start fresh tomorrow.

What’s in your creative space today? Check out the much more productive players over at Kirsty’s blog.

Posted on

my creative space

trick or treat bags

The kids exchanged treats at my daughter’s preschool party today. Thankfully, the Skittles came in an orange package. Paired with a black ribbon, these little bags turned out cute and easy. Good thing about the easy because I had to make emergency fairy wings last night, too.

reuse and repurpose: I bought glassine bags instead of Halloween bags so I can use the leftovers for other projects. The ribbon is vintage seam binding, which you can usually find in bags of assorted widths and colors at thrift stores and garage sales.

Posted on

my creative space

my creative space taking photos in the park

When I enrolled my daughter in “nature school” I never thought that I would enjoy her mornings there so much. The preschool is on a wildlife sanctuary, and after I drop her off, I’ve been wandering around with my camera.

my creative space taking photos in the park

In the early hours the air is cool and crisp. Only a few hardy flowers have survived the morning frost. (Thankfully, the ragweed hasn’t survived!) On sunny mornings the sun glistens off of prairie grass and the fall leaves sparkle.

my creative space taking photos in the park

I’ve talked a bit before about shifting my creative hours from late night to early morning. I think I finally have found something that will inspire me to get out of bed earlier. That and fresh brewed coffee, of course.

photos: I took all of these with my cell phone, but I tinkered with them a bit in photoshop.

As always, don’t forget to visit kootoyoo for more creative spaces.

Posted on

my creative space

my creative space

Our knitting guild has received yarn from the Land’s End Share the Warmth project. Have you heard about this? For every Feel Good sweater that is purchased, Land’s End will donate yarn to The Knitters Guild Association to be made into squares for Warm Up America. Our guild received three cones and I’ve got three “yarn cakes” to turn into squares. The colors are really beautiful and the yarn is super soft. I’m enjoying these squares a lot.

What are you doing in your creative space today? If you knit or crochet, consider making some squares for WAU! (You can use any yarn.) Details are on their website. Don’t forget to hop on over to Kirsty’s blog, as well, for more creative spaces.

Posted on

my creative space

cotton crochet bottle

The day before our vacation the little crochet bottles sold. When I got back home, I started to miss having them around. So I’ve decided to make a few more—some for the shop, some for gifts and some just for me. I’m also experimenting with different sizes, shapes and types of yarn. I love how a little re-purposing can transform a castaway into something beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, don’t miss the lovely spaces over at Kirsty’s blog.

Posted on

my creative space

In my creative space today, I spent the last day of my vacation crocheting squares at the beach. I’m cruising along on these, although it took way too long for me to memorize the pattern. Of course, now that I’m all relaxed and on a roll, it’s time to go home.

Make sure you pop on over to Kirsty’s blog for more creative spaces.