Naturally Optimistic

My 'sample' yarn sticks and the calm before the storm. I work in a great place. A place of learning. A place of exploration. A place of inspiration & community. It makes me so happy when I get to plan something that brings a little bit of all of those together. One of my favorite most recent forays has been Crafternoons.  2 of 3 beautiful sticks a pre-schooler & her mother were working on. They planned on tying them together to make a mobile. This was so pretty.  Crafternoons is a aft/craft program aimed toward pre-school through elementary aged kiddos. I try to tie projects into a book, a specific artist but sometimes I just follow my gut & go with a project that looks fun & fits my budget (this project was essentially, free).  We made Yarn Sticks. I didn't know if they would like it. I didn't know if it would capture their imagination and I didn't know if it would hold their attention. But boy did it.  Kids & parents alike enjoy...

I have been meaning to make some "Owlies" (my self-named stuffed owl toys) (okay, so that's what I'm calling them in my head. I'm too lazy to do a google search to see if someone is already calling them out that out there). Anyway - I LOVE owls  & since August's room's theme is "Owls" I always have my eye on them. Owl ornaments, owl pillows, owl lovies, you get the idea. There are oodles of owls all over Pinterest & Etsy which is fantastic. But I wanted to make my own. So that maybe I could use up some upholstery fabric & some wool I felted & sell them. In my Etsy shop. Who knows, but why not, right? The supplies are staring me in the face & I'm not exactly gainfully employed at this point (except by a couple of tiny employers who only pay in hugs & kisses, which I gladly accept, but they do not pay the mortgage, sadly). So, I drew a "pattern" (really, I chuckle when I say that) & cut it out ...

I finally did it! I launched my Etsy shop! CraftyCarrster I hope to fill it with more necklaces, card wallets, bags, napkins, magnets, greeting cards, etc in the coming weeks/months/years. I *hope* to sell a few things & make a *little* money. For fun things like - getting new tires & getting my fillings replaced.Wheeee! So- if you see something you like, buy it! Or tell your friends! Or just "favorite" me...that would make me feel good.

A couple of weeks ago I was really stuck creatively. I knew what was causing it but I just couldn't seem to get past it. I felt like I had a dam of debris building up in my inner psyche that wouldn't let anything else get by it. Oh boy was it annoying. And not just annoying but also sort of debilitating. I couldn't finish my film. I mean, the film is done, but I was re-working the beginning and just felt like my brain was empty. I could hardly even TRY anything with the edit so it was really frustrating. Add to that that my only working *moments* were when HOPEFULLY both kids were napping (or at least somewhat occupied, Dahlia...) so I could get my thoughts together to even start. And a lot of days that just didn't happen. Plus I was up against a deadline. During this time, I did quite a lot of browsing on Pinterest. Drooling over all sorts of really cool, crafty, artistic creations. Dreaming of what I should decorate my house with. Wishing, quite frankly, that I...

It's that time of year and I couldn't be happier. Time for decorating, wrapping, Christmas Carols, cards and all the goodies that go along with the holiday season. I don't get sick of it. I love it. I anticipate it. I like feeling warm-holiday-fuzzies, making gifts, giving, receiving, special meals and fresh snowfalls (hopefully!). This year obviously holds extra anticipation and I'm going to try to enjoy every minute of it. This is my super-anal Christmas card list.....going back to 2002 the send/receive list. I always *think* that I'm going to drop losers from my list who I NEVER EVER EVER EVER HEAR FROM....not even once, one time a year in 5 years...but I don't....because I like making & sending cards too much. Basically my list just keeps growing. The card-making has begun and hopefully will be concluded in due fashion.

Finished! The Triplet Baby Blankets...as of last week. These are the last two...the yellow is for Joshua and the green for George. I dragged Steve into a fabric store in Minneapolis with me yesterday. He was a good sport. I tried to make it interactive "ooh - I like this fabric, can you find one that matches in blue....etc" which worked for a while... It was so fun to be in a store with SELECTION. I was nearly freaking out. I spent a lot of money there...but I could easily spend that much every week! I have many Christmas projects to work on...you just might end up with these fabrics under your tree...... You never know.

I'm a participant in the Modern Letter Project and on their site a while back I noticed a "make your own envelopes out of recycled materials" tutorial. So, while my never-ending crap clean-out continues at home, I discovered a couple of beautiful calendars that I've been carrying with me (from home to home) for the past 7 or 8 years (!). I loved these photos but didn't know what to do with them....so I decided to make envelopes out of them. I tried the tutorial first, but I didn't like it. I didn't have any control over the size and the angles and that bugged me. So, I undid a standard "card envelope" that I use frequently for the greeting cards that I make, and made my own template from that. I then sat down and made envelopes out of 2 years + worth of calendar art. I think they turned out really nicely and I can't wait to use them! AND I got rid of more crap in the process...okay - mostly the crap just changed shape and moved locations, bu...