Tag Archives: Crafting

Here you go NYS, don’t spend that $1.90 in one place!

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I’m not sure if I should be excited or annoyed that I had to submit a payment for $1.90 to NYS for sales tax collected this past quarter. I’m choosing to go with excited because it means that people liked my work enough to spend their hard earned money on it. Sure it wasn’t that much, but these are people who chose my work over others and I have it on good authority that the recipients are very much enjoying their gifts.

I’ve taken some time off from crafting to get moved, settled, etc but I’m looking forward to opening the shop back up soon and am always willing to do custom work if asked.

Thank you to those who have spread the word about my work!

 

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Seam ripping, cutting and pinning – oh my!

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I’ve spent the last two nights doing this

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to parts of this

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(That’s a pile of 50+ year old ties for a special project.)

It’s taking longer than I thought it would and they’re less even than I thought/hoped they’d be, but it’s an important project for Sunday so I’m not going to give up.

Currently, seams are ripped. Tomorrow is ironing and piecing…

Then there’s this

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My purple fabric project is coming along, I cut the seams, pattern and pieces them pinned it together. Before I sew it together I have to decide if it’ll have a drawstring or not. Details.

So this isn’t the post I wanted to write tonight, but it’s where I am. Crafting time can’t always be predicted…especially with new projects you’re figuring out as you go.

Today I try to draw a bird.

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I’m going to toot my own horn for a second and just flat out say that I’m a pretty good crafter. I have some  basic artistic skills and the ability to take whatever you put in my hands and figure out what it wants to be or be part of.

What I am not is a good artist. I’m not even passable when it comes to drawing, but I want to change that. While you can put something in front of me and I can sometimes produce a decent version if you give me enough time, for the life of me I can not sketch out something in my head. That’s ok though, there is always room for improvement and certainly learning.

To work on this, I have a board on Pinterest called Do a doodle doodle dumb doddle do where I pin examples and tutorials. Every day or so I try a few of them and thought I’d share today’s attempt with you:

Today’s pin How to draw a bird.
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Doesn’t look to hard!

Here’s how it turned out.
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Um, yeah. It’s a start? I know it’s not bad, but it felt very forced. Perhaps with practice I can make it a little cuter and less stickinthemudd like.

Are you learning how to do something new? How’s it going?

Crafty Packing

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If you’re anything like me, vacation sounds lovely and well not as lovely at the same time. The idea of getting away and having few commitments sounds divine to me, but too much down time and my hands get itchy and my pants get twitchy.

What is a crafter to do when she’s leaving town for an extended trip? Especially when she knows that there will be plenty of “down time” that can translate nicely into “crocheting by the pool” or “digitally crafting” while it rains.  Granted, I have a couple of books I have to read but neither will take me all that long to read.

Enter what I like to call “Crafty Packing”.

If you know you’re going to want (or like me, need) to have activities while you’re away, why not pack a few items to help with that? You can make postcards or notes to send people, work on portable projects and even build stock while you’re away! (If you’d like.)

Today let’s talk about making something to mail your friends/family to let them know you’re thinking about them while away. You don’t have to buy post cards while you’re out (you can and I do) and you don’t have to pick up stationary if you’re left wanting to send someone an actual letter. You can actually make your own if you’re so inclined.

While you can pop into any drug store or Walmart etc for any of these items, I find that my best crafting is done late at night and it’s generally not the best time to go out to pick up such things. I generally have a stash of the following in my carry on backpack with my laptop and crochet supplies:

  • Ruler
  • Small scissors
  • Glue stick
  • Postage Stamps
  • Scrap Paper/Note paper/Index cards/Sheets of Card Stock
  • A few markers and pens (I love Sharpie’s Pen for their colors and usability.)
  • Random stickers

(Okay so that list looks slightly like what you’d pack for a five year old, but that’s just fine.)

Not that bad of a list, huh? My backpack or other carry on bag has spots for all of it and if yours doesn’t, you can put the small items in a plastic bag and the papers in a manilla envelope. It doesn’t take up that much space and when the mood strikes, you’ll be able to make something fun. Why should kids get all the fun?

Come back later this week and we’ll talk about specifics to make something to send in the mail.

(Please note that any specific products mentioned are just ones I like and not sponsored in any way. If they were, I’d tell you and the opinions would still be my own.)