To you....from me

There is nothing more satisfying than making something for someone else.  Oh I do love making things for me too.  But there is a certain amount of excitement when you are doing it for someone else.  Oh and stress too ~ will they like it?  Will it be good enough to give away?  Will they notice all the little errors?

The heck with it ~ just do it.  I had the privilege of making a gift for a friend this week.  It was a pillow for her birthday, I've already made 2 prior to this so I am starting to get the hang of it, of course just when you think you have it all figured out something new pops up but hey that's the quirkiness of handmade.

I love the planning and executing stages of making something for someone.  Asking other friends for advice on colors etc.  The satisfaction of completing the project and knowing you just learned something new! (that usually is everytime I craft, amazing how much stuff there is out there to learn everyday!)

The best part was when she opened it and exclaimed...how did you know I love these colors and patterns!  Yay, score!  Not everyone has a positive reaction to something you make and as a note to those who have received something not quite their style ~ remember the heart that went into it.  Always remember to keep your negative thoughts to yourself ~ nothing harder on a crafter than to hear what someone doesn't like about it ~ just tuck it away and don't use it if it is not for you.

Anyhow, what better way to give and to receive than to give a gift that you made.  Here is a picture...not the best lighting but I forgot to take one before I left for the evening ~ I should have gotten one of her holding it ~ oh well this will have to do.

Ta-da the reveal...

Well sort of ~ you know taking pictures in a basement with no windows is not all that lovely.  But that is what I have so here are some before and after pictures of the craft room.  I will be spending some time personalizing things and adding a few crafty touches in the weeks to come ~ watch for a contest and giveaway ~ yup I said it a contest!  Woo hoo.

Ok so here are the pics ~ first the reason I had to leave the original plan darn water anyway!:

We still have to remove the carpet in the corner ~ sigh bye nicely painted room with windows...

 

Here are the before pics of the mess I had to clean up in the other room ~ and I didn't take it at the beginning I forgot!  So 1/2 way through cleaning it up I remembered to take a picture ~ so imagine it with 1/2 as much more junk:

So thankful for a young son, his friend who needed some furniture and our good friends with a busy international student ministry who took the fooseball table!  It was finally ready to refill...

 

Ok so here is what it looks like now ~ I will be putting in different lighting and like I said adding some more personalization but here it is:

 

 

crafting, painting, paper craft area.

sewing, cutting and organizing area

ah yes and the sit down and relax area!

 

To say I am pleased as punch would be an understatement ~ I only have a few things on my wish list~ better lighting ~ a heater, it's cold down here, some color on the walls and carpet cleaning ~ the carpet has seen better days but hey I am not complaining at all ~ ok creative juices start flowing!  Oh and you are all welcome to come hang out anytime ~ just call and I'll have the tea on and we can create all day together...

 

Enough

Alrighty then enough of this lolly-gagging around it is time to get serious ~ serious about crafting that is.  I actually started this week off serious, I got to work on my craft space in the basement ~ and yes I know I just did a craft space, now I am moving again ~ to a larger room!  Yay!  Unfortunately it was the messy room, sheesh what a mess.  I did take a few pics of the before but it was already half cleaned up yikes.  Once I find my phone cord I'll post some before and after pics.

Unfortunately at some point this week I over did it and ended up in extreme pain through my rib area on my back ~ not pleasant at all and ended up on couch/bed rest for 2 days.  But I am feeling much better and will work a little slower now.

So stay tuned I have most of my stuff moved in, now to just organize a bit and then start creating ~ I am dying to start creating!

See you soon....

Summer hiatus

It is really hard to craft while summer is here... I love camping... and last year we bought ourselves a new travel trailer.  Now a lot of people own these things and take it out once or twice a year but not us...if there is a block of time that will fit a camping trip into it where nothing else is going on I'm out of here!  I have even learned how do drive and park it so I can go when hubby is working!

Now this year I had a small kink thrown in... you see I was overdue for my mammogram as my birthday is in May and it had gotten into the do later pile.  But my Aunt was diagnosed with end stage breast cancer and it suddenly became important to get it done now.

Well long story short they found a mass...it is benign (non-cancerous) but it took 20 days from discovery to results and I will have to say that took a lot out of me.  We became as a family more reclusive than normal...yikes we are already reclusive.  While I struggled through this I found myself sleeping a bit more and camping a lot more.  Easier to put it aside while enjoying the outdoors.

So all is well, summer continues to lay before me...not much crafting done but a whole lot of life done.

I have a few days 13, between now and our next camping trip and I'm trying to catch up with things.  Crafting may have to wait a bit longer but I am already looking at Christmas ideas.  So keep a watch out for September I hope to be kicking off the fall with a flurry of projects.

And please my dear friends don't put your mammogram in the to do pile...do it as soon as the card arrives in the mail and if ever you find yourself in the spot I was in please let me know so I can care and support you as my close friends did for me.  A little knowledge of the process is helpful along the way and I now possess it!

Happy summer all...enjoy the "dog" days of August!

Ohhhhh look what I've found

Ok, so I have seen a lot of craft projects lately using washi tape, patterned tape.  But I ran across something even better the other day and it is fabric tape...ok well really I can't see much difference between the two I love them both and they add a nice touch to crafting projects, so I used some of my "craft" money and ordered a few rolls...just a few, 7 is a few right?!?

eeeee. I love them I can't wait to do something with them...I'll think of something and post it soonish as at the moment crafting and camping aren't mixing too well...I can knit, crochet, cross stitch but paper crafting I don't have the room for...sigh.

We haven't quite got down into the basement after our flood clean up to clean up our mess yet so I am living in craft limbo...every time I go down there I am so discouraged by the mess...but fear not there is a plan...after the camping is done!

Meanwhile...any one interested in a pair of socks??

Subway art

I saw a picture of subway art not too long ago on one of the blogs that I follow and I fell in love with the whole idea.  There are just so many applications for it.  If you would like to see examples check out etsy and search subway art.

So my day yesterday started out with the mission to make something for a baby shower coming up and as I made my way to my craft room in the basement I was met with an unexpected disaster.  Thanks to all of the rain it appears water came into my basement...right where my craft supplies are.  My bookcase that held magazines and patterns was drenched on the bottom shelf and there was approx. a 6ft by 6ft sopping wet carpet, base boards were wrecked and dry wall was lifting away... sigh.

After a quick down ward spiral I picked myself up...donned shoes and went to work moving furniture and craft supplies...now this room is packed as my husband has temporarily moved his office in there as I am moving into the family room with my craft stuff...but first of course is cleaning out the family room so our whole basement looks like a bomb has gone of quite literally.  Sigh!

So after that was done and a fervent search for insurance papers, which I had removed from the file to copy for the bank but hadn't put back yet...oi!  I decided I wasn't going to let the whole day be ruined...

So I started creating and very much enjoyed my first and second attempt at subway art...learned a few things... would change a few things but overall very satisfied with the finished product...wondering though if I should spray it with something to hold it all together and keep it from discoloring over time???  Any suggestions...ok here are some pics!

Warning...the following photos may inspire you to craft...fair notice given!  :)

Eventful days

It has been a crazy couple of days...I finally kicked my fibro flare and have some energy now to do some things...and do things I did.  First off I spent last weekend camping with some lovely ladies I was brave and drove our trailer to Herald Park... I even parked it all by myself.  Woo hoo.

We enjoyed some relaxation, conversation and peace.  It was awesome!

Then arrived back home and waited 11.5 hours while my dad had back surgery it was a long day waiting for word on how he was doing.  It is going to be a slow recovery but he is seeing improvement every day and we are hopeful he will have a much better quality of life now with 2 rods holding everything in the right place and pressure lifted of the nerves in his back.

Then I decided to shelf the project I was working on...I was just having too many issues and was getting frustrated so I decided it was time to move to something new.  I received some cute squares from a fabric club I belong to and decided to surf the net for ideas on how to easily make something for a friend.  Here is a quick glimpse...

I wonder if the person I'm making this for can guess its for her... it is coming together quickly so with the Grace of God and good energy levels it should be ready for a full viewing by next week.

I trust in the Grace of God to fulfill my needs physically, mentally and spiritually.  When I am feeling poorly I don't question why me, but what can I do with this for Christ's glory.  Sometimes it is a lot of prayer or encouraging others.  Sometimes there is no obvious answer and it is then that I know it is to just sit  and think of the things of  God to think over what I can do better in my life to meet the expectations my saviour has of me.  So take each day as it comes the good, bad and downright awful and remember each one can be lived out in a way that pleases our Lord.  God bless you all.