A Day Late!

How did that happen?

It seems like I just posted and I am already a day

late on the next one!

The days are running together, but now

that we have returned from a trip to the Texas Hill Country

it is time to get serious about the craft show.

So mark your calendars!

On our road trip Mr. MySpareTime and I were talking about what we

wanted to start crafting on first.  So I whipped out the old

Ipad {love that thing} and was lookin at the calendar and boy did I have to

take a deep breath, only 14 weeks until I need to be ready! Yikes!!

While we were out junkin' I was on the look out for old cabinet doors. 

Now most of the time these things are pretty easy to find, but this year they

have been as hard to find as Hen's Teeth.

Like these from last year

These darn things have always been great sellers for me and I love

working on them.  There just so many things you can do with them

and customers love them because the are easy to store.

I am still on the Creativity Challenge but you know trying to make

creativity happen on demand is pretty hard.  It's like trying to go

to the bathroom on demand at the Doctor's office. Once you stop

trying, you can go till the cows come home, but when you try to

force it, it just isn't happenin! 

This challenge has taught me that creativity is happening all around us

most of the time.  It is from how you dress in your own style, to how

you never follow a recipe exactly, to how you decorate your home,

to your artistic expression.  So most of the time I am doing something

creative and just didn't realize it.  I think what I really wanted was

a quick fix to getting my craft show stuff finished.

{who am I kidding, STARTED!}

 To really kick this years crafting off, I will take every Friday off from

the websites and really push the crafting.  Once I get started I can usually

knock this stuff out in no time.  I am also going to be enlarging my pattern

selection, so as I make the things I will be making patterns too!

{Multi-tasking at its best}

So the Friday posts might be later in the day, it is soooo hot here that I have

to get outside in the early morning and stop about 2pm or it is just miserable.

So hopefully on Friday I will have a few pictures to share of new items!

Thanks for stopping by.



The Spark

Last time I posted I shared with you my sister's

new office and sewing room.  I got to thinking about

the room and how nice it looked and where my sister

got her inspiration for that room.

The fabric for the drapes!

She had seen this fabric months ago and had wished

she had a place for it.  When she decided to remake her

guest room into her work area she knew if the store still had

this fabric it was going to be in the space. 

She looked and looked and finally found the fabric and

bought the last yardage they had on the bolt.  It MAKES the room!

That is creativity at it's finest!  Seeing something and knowing

you can make it into something wonderful.  The pattern is cheerful yet

sophisticated and oh so 60's and reminds us both of our mother.

Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes and it really amazes me

how many people say "I couldn't do that, I'm not creative."

That is a pile of you know what!

Everyone is creative in some way, I will agree some more than others,

but sometimes you just need to let it out to run wild!

Now speaking of wild, the gals at my favorite junkin' spot in

Tulsa, River City, will be featured on HGTV August 4th.

You need to tune in to see this wonderful place.

I got quite a few goodies there this last trip and

I will share those with you next week.

This place always has something new and wonderful!

Now on a random note, I had to share with you this dog

I took the picture in a parking lot where a dog groomer was and

this poodle was dyed BLUE!  What a crazy thing to see.

Now that is creativity!

Thanks for stopping by.



What a Creative Visit!

Sorry, I missed posting on Friday but I was up to my eyeballs

in creativity at my sister's house!

As I said in my last post, Mr. MySpareTime and I were headed to

my sister's house in Oklahoma for a sewing room makeover

and a 1st Birthday Party for my Great-nephew, Finn.

Here is the birthday boy.

We arrived a little late{OK, a lot late} due to a freak storm that

swept through our neighborhood the afternoon before we were

suppose to leave. We lost all electricity for 27 hours and boy did

this throw a monkey wrench into the plans.  But, we arrived on

Wednesday and hit the ground running on Thursday on the

dream quilting/sewing/crafting room my sister was hoping for.

I won't bore you with the details but her vision turned out

stinkin' BEAUTIFUL.  Now my sister and I have very different

taste in furnishings, but boy was this room a knock-out!

We painted and assembled and re-arranged things until we

got the room she had been wanting.  Take a look.

The beautiful fabric was her inspiration!  This very clean, modern

color palete of grey, bright yellow and white, with just a pop of

black for accent is gorgeous.  She had this in her head and

between the three of us we brought it all together. 

{These pictures were taken Sunday morning before we left and

the drop dead gorgeous roman shade was not ready to hang and

neither were the paper poofs that we had made, Oh for the need of

a thumb tack.}

We went junkin' on Friday {rain day} and found the last few things

she needed for the room { more about this on Friday}

and it is a MOD, HIP room right out of "Mad Men". 

Dan Draper would be very comfortable here!

We returned on Sunday and boy what a feeling of accomplishment.

When you get in the zone and all your creative juices are pumping

there is nothing better and to share it with my sister was great!

I know she is thrilled with the room and will spend many

hours there filling her new shop!

Talk to you on Friday and thanks for stopping by!

Staying in the Moment

You know I hear that term all the time now

"stay in the moment". What the heck does that

really mean?  Never multi-task? Never let your mind

wander? Always stay connected to your innermost

feelings?  I don't think so.

The key to that statement is MOMENT.

Most of life is average and ordinary, it is doing the same

things day in and day out, but once in a while you get that

MOMENT.  The secret to "Staying in the Moment" is

recognizing the MOMENT. Savor that sweet time and

realize that these are the truly important things in life.

This is true with your kids and your husband, in your job and

in your craft.  I find that sometimes when I am working on a

commisioned project I find it to beWORK, my creativity is there but

not all that exciting. I get the most satisfaction when I see something

and the design and execution all come together in one

great MOMENT.

But, back to reality and most of the time it is daily chores and

things that need to be done to get to those times when

magic happens.  This weekend was mostly not-so-creative work,

 but a few creative things did happen.

We finished the final details on the studio; installed the air conditioner,

{and boy do we need it! the temps are already in the upper 90's}

put up the ceiling fans, found a rug to help absorb noise and

moved all the items back in there that are waiting for

me to work on.  This was a hot, sweaty job my friends, but

it is over!

Then I got started on that laundy list of things to do

for the wedding I am working on.

Here are the finished projects.

The Flower Girl Basket

and Head Band

The Ring Bearers Pillow

And the Escort Cards

 

Now all I have to finish are the three painted burlap

pillows for the lounge!

{Boy have weddings changed! It used to be a ceremony,

a cake, a few nuts and mints and it was over.  Now it

is Lounges and Food Stations and DJ's and Signature Drinks!}

Then on Monday I got to keep my little grandson!

{I am surprised I got any work done at all.}

I am heading to Tulsa for the rest of the week to spend time with

my sister and help her re-do her quilting space.  She is so talented

with her sewing and now is ready to open her own site and shop.

{More about that to come!}

I will try to post on Friday, but who know what will be going on

once my sister and I start brainstorming.

{I can feel Mr. MySpareTime cringing!

I think up the ideas and he makes them happen}

Thanks for stopping by!

End of Week One

Today is the end of week one on the

Creativity Challenge.

This experience is a day to day challenge to

really look at what you are doing and

find ways to change your life to

encourage creativity.

One thing I have realized is that creativity

comes in all forms and my mojo doesn't

work well under a microscope.  I find that

even when I have 20 projects just blank and

needing to be worked on I cannot rush the inspiration.

When I am patient it will come to me in a flash.

I am not a work in progress, the finished product will

come to me all at once and BOOM it's finished!

So let me share what I did on Tuesday.

One of my close girl friends daughter is getting

married the 23rd of this month, so I have

been working feverishly on many things to make

this the brides very special day.

I have printed the wedding invitations, the rehearsal invitations,

and thank you bag labels.

I have made signs for the mission where they will be

married and still have 3 burlap pillows to paint, a

ring bearer pillow to make, a flower girl basket

and head band to embellish and a painted hanger for

a member of the house party.

But here is the what I made on Tuesday,

These are the table cards, each one named for

a charming town in Texas.

Then I will print the matching escort cards to be filed in

a vintage sewing drawer!  Too Cute!

Wednesday was nothing tangible that I could take a picture of.

My sister, Nanette, is starting a new business and we

Skyped while she threw ideas at me and showed me pictures

of her vision.  That is one of the best things about my

sister, she is full of imagination and enthusiasm.

She had her business name and I helped her get her

.com and email set up.  She will have the cutest shop and

website. I love brainstorming, it is pure creativity!

But that evening we had a rain storm and look what happened!

Our neighbors tree fell over on our driveway and missed

our son's car by about 5 feet.  I didn't think it was raining

that hard, but the tree must have been rotten.  What a mess.

Thursday was a full work day on the websites but then I

did the long task of deciding what to make.  I usually start with

inspiration from websites, magazines, Pinterest boards or things

people send me.  The images have notes that say "love the colors" or

"look at the legs on the table". These are my inspirations.

I also look at the stuff {that is code for supplies} I have on hand.

I then think of how to use the inspiration on the pieces

I have or need to find.

 

I look at all the images I have and start the

spiral notebook.  I truly think that my sister and I keep the spiral

notebook industry going, we have so many. {this is a mutant trait

from our mother who did the same thing, Darwin at it's best!}

 

I make a sketch of the piece I will be working on and how I will lay

out the things I want to paint or make.  It takes a while, but once the

creative juices start to flow I can whip out the list in a few hours.

 

This will be my working list, it is forever a changing thing.

I love lists {but that is a whole nother story} they give

me the feeling of accomplishment and I get great

satisfaction in checking things off that list!

So today is full of things to do and I better get busy

or there will be nothing creative to talk about.

Thanks for stopping by!

Creativity!

cre·a·tiv·i·ty  -  the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.

 Boy that is a lot to think about!

Today is the first post on my 30 Day Creativity Challenge

sponsored by KristalNorton.com.

Kristal had this great idea to spend the next 30 days changing a daily grind into

a new found habit that was so part of your daily routine that you didn't

need to stop and think about it.

Wonderful idea and I took the challenge.

As you all know I am doing my very first Trunk Craft Show in

October and my life has gotten in the way of getting ready!

Between new grandbabies and redecorating and busy websites

and moving to a new office the crafting was just falling through

the cracks.  I needed a real kick in the pants and

even though Kristal is a sweetheart and would never

kick anyone, I am using this as a way to really

move ahead with my Craft Show products.

So, for the next 30 days I will endevor to do something creative every day.

Now after long thought I realized that isn't always going to be

making an item to sell, it might be something for a friend, or

something for myself.

It might also mean working on things for the craft show and

that brings me to the creative things I did on the first day of

this challenge.  Mr. MySpareTime and I have worked like

dogs all weekend in 90+ degree heat to finish the studio!

Boy did it turn out great!

This is the outside of the studio before the make-over

And after!

Now I think this was pretty CREATIVE!

Close up on the new shutters and the vintage black hardware

The bright red door {love that color}

My garage sale find, an antique mantal, my

company sign and some ceramic tiles added to

make a hearth.

We even added a candle holder to give it that

warm glow of candle light.

The opposite wall with a great little bookcase

remade with beadboard and a wooden top.

Added a few crates for even more display area.

{don't you just love the wall color, so fresh!}

The north side of the studio, a great black hutch,

another crate and the old walls out of my

craft show booth.  We hung them on the wall for

more display area and to add some interest.

{boy the stories these wall could tell!}

The other wall with our check out stand,

and a great hutch with lots of display area.

Here is a close up of the new painted

plywood floor.  I love the way it turned out.

It was cheap to do and really adds to the feel

of the place.  I know it will get scuffed and

worn but that only adds to the charm.

There are a few more things to do to finish this out,

Mr. MySpareTime will be installing the two ceiling fans

with lights and rehanging the blinds.  I have to make two

window valances and then I think we are good to go.

Stay tuned for more brain farts

as my husband calls my wild ideas.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm Excited

The sun is up and Mr. MySpareTime and I

have another long weekend of projects to finish.

As I told you on Tuesday, we are going to be doing

some spray painting.

No not that kind of spray painting!

This kind of spray painting.

We are renting a spray painting machine

and we will start this bad boy on Saturday morning.

Today we will be filling the seams and sanding the plywood floor,

moving a few electrical outlets, caulking the paneling

and taping off anything we don't want covered in

cream paint.

So come back on Tuesday and hear all about our

great success or our fiasco as spray painters!

Oh, I almost forgot, something exciting is about to happen in the
month of June!  I am taking the Creative Challenge from
KristalNorton.com
{that is 30 days of creativity}
Stay tuned for more!

Thanks for stopping by!