• Art - Blog - Creativity

    T Tuesday: winter chill edition

    I did it! I finally got creative in the form of an art journal page.

    through flowering gardens art journal page

    It took me a few days to get it done but I did it. Ah makes me feel so much better knowing that given enough time, my muse is still there. Maybe she was just frozen.through flowering gardens art journal page

    I honestly just kept grabbing things from my scrap bin and gluing them down onto some cardstock to get the ball rolling. Over the top I spread a bit of white paint to mute the wild background. Then I went back with teal and lime green. This combination of colors made me smile and almost forget how dang cold the basement was.through flowering gardens art journal page

    This flower was created with layers of die-cut  book pages secured together with a large brad. I used various sprays until reaching the desired color. After it was completely dry I shaped the petals.

    through flowering gardens art journal page

    I used a little piece of my new Tim Holtz tissue up one side of the page. The butterfly and flower had me thinking spring along with the cheerful background color.

    I’m hopeful that I can continue a bit of crafting here and there as the temperature seems to finally be getting warmer. Maybe then the basement won’t be so frigid.

    cold early morning coffee x2

    This was my Wednesday morning on the way to work. It was so cold. It’s also my early day. I had finished my cup of coffee I brought from home well before arriving at school. I had to stop in an grab a cup to go as well.  A two coffee morning for sure!

    What are you doing today?
    Also linking up with Try it on Tuesday for Go Green
  • Blog - Creativity

    T Tuesday: card crazy edition

    Another week that has flown by. Not sure how it happens that I don’t even touch my blog for a week at a time. That being said, I have been working on creative pursuits whenever possible. Well that’s not exactly accurate…I did waste a bunch of time one day on YouTube watching other people exploring the great outdoors when we were cooped up inside. somewhat organized space

    Getting organized has been a priority for me over the last few months. Trust me…I’m just scratching the surface. I’m sort of an organized chaos type of person. I want to change that so I’m working in baby steps.

    scrap bin

    I’ve gathered my paper scraps into this bin to make them more usable and visible.

    scrap bin

    But along with getting organized I trip myself up… I hate waste. Throwing stuff out really bothers me which is why I always seem to have a mountain of scraps.

    creative space

    With that in mind, I’m continuing my efforts to use scraps in creative ways. Mini-collages for cards and journal pages mostly.

    organized sentiment stamps

    Now that I have my sentiment stamps all in one spot, I have an easier time finding the words I want to use.

    dark 30 coffee

    I wasn’t sure I was going to get this posted when I started to write, find and edit photos etc yesterday. But I guess my brain had other ideas. I woke super early this morning soI was able to sit and finish my post with my first cup of coffee before getting ready for work.

     

    What are you doing today?

  • Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    A second look: quilt time…snuggle time

    I can’t stop sewing!!! Likely because I know I’ll be completely worthless for the next week or so until I acclimate to my new school schedule.

    Since I’m currently completely obsessed with paper foundation scrap quilting once again, I thought I’d share the quilt that came before this one.

    Take a look…

     

    1/15/2017

    Don’t you just love that feeling of satisfaction when you’ve completed a big project!?! I know I do. Not only do I have the finished product in front of me but I get to put a checkmark in the box on my perpetual list. Yes, it’s an actual paper list. It’s never-ending which really is a good thing. What would I do with myself if I didn’t have a project?

    quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

    Do want to know a secret? If I complete a task, chore or project that failed to make it on the list…I write down, draw a little box and proceed to “X” through it. So satisfying!!!quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

    This quilt started as a stash busting project. Just a loose idea of what I wanted or hoped it would look like in the end. Over the course of sewing, my idea evolved a bit which I personally think is a good thing. We need to be able to be flexible and learn from our mistakes. Or even just adapt when the moment presents itself instead of being so set on one path that we can’t change. This is true in life as well. Adapt or be flexible when needed as long as your end goal remains it’s ok to change little things along the way.quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

    One of the changes I made as I neared completion was the type of binding I wanted to use. I was originally going to do a sort of “cheater” binding where you wrap the backing around to the front and stitch down. I’ve used this method before with Mini-me’s quilt. I decided I wanted to do a scrappy binding as well continuing to use up my stash. The quilt really needed a quiet place in between the busy central pattern and a scrappy binding so I added a white sashing all the way around.

    quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

    The scrappy binding went together quicker than I thought it would. Of course, I didn’t follow the “rules” and cut everything on the bias. I’m not much a rule follower. quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

    Isn’t it pretty a rolled up like that? Like a colorful flower.

    quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

    After much agonizing about how to label my quilt (for the very first time), I decided I’d use wing it and hand embroider the info. Let me first say that I suck at embroidery. I think embroidery was the first craft I ever learned…and I never liked it. I’m always sticking myself with the needle, its tedious and boring.  I know there are plenty of people who enjoy it and find it relaxing…have at it. It’s a means to an end for me. I do have a decent size stash of embroidery thread though in the same tin my mom used half a century ago or more ago.

    quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

    After a few pinpricks I finished the job and was able to stitch it onto the quilt back. I am glad I took the time now that it’s finished. I can never remember when I made most of the other quilts except for the two I made while J was napping as an infant. Those I do remember.

    quilt time snuggle time | Halle's Hobbies

    This turned out to be more than a stash busting quilt. It became a labor of love with a bit of frustration mixed in. But what love doesn’t have some frustrating times.

    I had originally planned to heavily quilt in a funky random pattern but as I began I realized it would end up a bit stiff. I went back and pulled out every stitch…hence the frustration. I ultimately ended up stitching random wavy lines only along the white sashing. My thought is that I can always go back and do some more quilting if I feel it needs it.

    I’ve been snuggling under it every free moment I have. It definitely helps with the extreme cold we’ve been having. I did hear we have a warm-up in store….hooray! I’ve about had it with below zero temps.

     

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    Thanks for stopping by for Second on the 2nd!