Everyday Artist

One of my favorite books is Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. If you have never read it, I highly recommend it. This morning, I was reading one of the entries and it really struck a chord. She wrote about being an artist of the everyday.

 

You are an artist if you grow flowers in your yard.

 

 You are an artist if you bake and frost cupcakes. Especially if you put sprinkles on top.

 You are an artist if you quilt.

 You are an artist if you sew.

 You are an artist if you pick out yummy food for your family at the grocery store.

You are an artist if you take photos.

You are an artist if you knit.

There are so many moments in an ordinary day to be artistic. I think it makes life so much more enjoyable to look for those opportunities to be creative. I love being an artist of the everyday!

Winter

Last night it decided to snow. And then it decided to rain, and then rain some more, and then freeze.

 So I decided to bake chocolate chip cookies and make caramel corn.

But this morning, I had to scrape an inch of ice off the car. My supervisor from work called while I was scraping, and said there was no power at work. So of course the first thing I do is grab my camera and take pictures.

I am still not sure if I have to work, so while the car finished thawing, I fixed myself a latte and talked to my Mom and Dad who are vacationing in sunny Florida. I hope they bring some sunshine home with them.

Edited to add: No power at work means an unexpected holiday!! Off to the craft room...

Happy Little Projects

 

In honor of Valentine's Day I thought I would share a few projects that I really loved making. 

Becky asked me months ago to make her a "fortune cookie" bag for her sock projects. She chose the floral fabric a few months ago, and I bought the pink gingham a few days ago, set up the sewing machine and got to work.  This took maybe an half an hour tops, once I figured out exactly how to sew it up to make a pyramid shape. Very clever and lots of fun. I followed this tutorial. I love the combo of the floral and the sweet pink gingham.

This has to be the cutest and easiest thing I have ever made. Why is it that anything really small is so cute? OK. So these are just paper diamond shapes, folded in half over cotton string. I made a diamond template that was about 3" tall and 1 1/4" wide, and traced the template onto different scraps of paper. I cut out the flags while watching TV.  I then arranged them on about a 3' piece of string, and used good old Elmer's glue to glue them on.  It is hanging from a shelf on Becky's desk and makes me smile every time I see it. I think it makes her smile too!

Wishing you a very Happy Valentine's Day filled with hugs, flowers and chocolate!

Road Trippin'

I am such a lucky Mom. I love the fact the Becky likes to spend time with me and that we have fun together. One of the true joys of grown children is that they can also be your friend! We planned a road trip to Pittsburgh to go to the Knit and Crochet festival.We stopped for breakfast at George's and filled up on coffee, eggs, toast and hashbrowns.
It's always a bit of a gamble planning a road trip in February, but we set off early in the morning and the weather tried to cooperate. We made it to the festival and had fun looking at all the beautiful yarns, rovings and gorgeous samples. Becky picked up some really PINK sock yarn and handmade needles.
Then we made these

They are pins done with this really cool needle felting machine. It looked like a sewing machine, but had a special attachment that "felted" almost anything you put underneath it. Loved making these!

Our next stop

 I get ridiculously excited every time I see that blue and yellow sign!

I usually am attraced to the bedrooms, but this trip I loved the living rooms. The soft blue paint was gorgeous! Love the white coffee table! And I bought the chandelier on the last trip but it is still in the box.

Red, white and blue. LOVE. See the little heart shaped pillow? Becky bought one for her room. $4.99!!

Swedish meatballs for lunch. EVERY TIME we go.

Some red and white gingham. I love the kitchen stuff!

And our cart at the end of the day.  Well at least one side of the cart!

 

I loved every minute of this day!

Inspired.

Since my last post I have been in a little bit of a crafting funk. The cute mitten down there? Frogged. It was way too small. The sock further down? Also ripped. Got to the gusset and my circular needle snapped. Can you just see stitches unravelring everywhere {sob}. Time to put the knitting down and do something else.

But what?

I started browsing my favorite blogs and came across this cool tutorial. Hmmmm. Scrapbook paper? Check. Stamps? A drawer full. Embellishments? A box full.Canvas and Paint? A quick trip to Pat Catan's and just a few dollars.

This was so much fun to make. And the best part was Mod Podge. I really haven't used paint or Mod Podge and what a blast to take a brush and paint all over a canvas! I am delighted that I have found a way to use my craft supplies that have been collecting dust. And the bright colors are so cheerful to work with. My inner artist has been released! LOL.