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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

30 Days of Creativity



I discovered "30 Days of Creativity" through Pinterest at the end of May and thought I would give it a try in the form of an art journal. Here's an image of ideas from the thirty days website. It's helped me explore different ideas...



Mixed media art journals have been around for a long time. There are several magazines devoted to this special art form. I have friends that use journals to help them think about big ideas in their life. I have a few friends look back on their journal to discover who they are as a woman and how they've grown and changed through the years.

For me, it is a way to explore different art mediums. I also used this as a way to help my kiddos explore different art materials.



Below are some links to help anyone get started:

  • Ashley from LittleBlueBoo has a step-by-step tutorial for transforming a plain-Jane composition journal into a spectacular art space.
  • Tammy from Daisy Yellow has several posts with prompts. I bought one of her ezines to get even more ideas...
  • Julie from Balzar Designs has more ideas for pages.
It's not too late to take the pledge to do something creative everyday in June. Check out the "30 Days of Creativity" tumblr and go make something!



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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Summer Of Quilts

After the end of each school year, I find myself sewing with abandon for a few weeks to rejuvenate. I've worked three quilts that have "been in my brain" for a while.


Meet "Tree of Life." Last summer, I bought some of Free Spirit's Hot Flash fabric, with the intent of making something a little chaotic. I put a border around three sides and then sewed a chevron border along the last side. I'm intending to hand quilt this one with lots of swirls to complement the movement of all the colors.
This turquoise and red quilt is the completion of an online quilting bee I participated in last year. Four times last year, I was placed with six women from around the world. We shared our color preferences and then each quilter made the SAME block in different colors for their group. At the time, I was crazy about red and turquoise together. I really enjoyed working with different colors and design elements. I think I'll just "stitch in the ditch" or sew around the squares. I bought tons of red polka dot fabric for this purpose.
This is "Royal Squares," a free pattern I found off of Craftsy. It utilizes scraps of all sizes. I only had to buy white fabric to make this. I like the way the white squares POP out. This quilt also helped me with those 1/4" seams.

Now, for a bit of sadness. My sewing machine has died. It was an old one, though. I bought it when Rich and I were in college, about 15 years ago, at least. He still has some of the shorts I made him. I've made Vincent costumes, Ava dresses, quilts, baby gifts- so much on that machine. Here's a picture:

It appears that sewing machine technology has taken off since I bought this one. Long gone are the 4-step button holes of mechanical machines. Now, there is automatic everything! Along with computerized technology comes a big price. There are machines out there that cost less than my first car! I'm researching machines and Rich is gonna give me one for my birthday. Maybe I'll be able to sew without my family hearing the loud roar of every little stitch. Looking forward finishing those quilts!

 

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Summer Bucket List

This is an unusual summer for us. We usually have a plane trip planned to visit family. We did a lot of traveling during the school year, so we are going to take it easy.  That said, Vincent is a little disappointed. "But staying home is SO BORING!" he says in his tween voice, voice dripping of sarcasm.  Enter the "Summer Planning Pages." I found a website that offers free blank calendars, printed 3 and we started organizing our summer. Gina from East Coast Mommy has a great, free printable I used to help get our creative juices flowing.  Here's Vincent's, all circled and ready to go! 11 Cat, from No Wooden Spoons, has some great ideas for summer photography.  Then, I used the planning calendar pages and color-coded everyone's activities that are already planned.  13 Now, we are going to add all of the activities on our summer bucket list so we make sure this summer is full of possibilities.