i love being creative. i'm a girl. very much a girl.
the women around me influenced me to become this way. my grandma and aunt were a huge influence. my grandma taught me how to paint, my aunt martha how to sew, aunt karen how to crochet, mama taught me how to scrapbook, and a few things i picked up on my own.
my grandma is an avid painter. and when i say painter i don't mean make a couple watercolors here and there when she has time. it's daily. watercolor, acrylic, everything. she has a room in her home with piles to the ceiling of canvas, not an exaggeration. every wall in my home growing up was covered with her paintings. now that all of her grandchildren are growing up and having children of their own the demand to fill their own homes with her work is even greater. i remember her teaching me how to paint. i would go over to her house every so often, she would teach and we would talk.
my grandpa was the same way, only with woodwork. he was the most amazing, do it yourself, get the job done, man i will ever know. all of the grandchildren got something from him as a gift that he made for them. my sister got a display case for her spoon collection. my brother got a desk to study at. but mine was the best. he made me a sewing table. it was the best birthday ever. i hadn't ever gotten something made from his own hands before and now that he's gone i can see his love for me every time i sit down to sew.
my aunt is by far the biggest influence. she had the most difficult circumstances to deal with but she never lost her positivity. she was always giving to others with her gift. she was an interior designer, teacher and seamstress. i was incredibly jealous of her talent. the woman was amazing. she made her daughter's prom dresses, all of her children's bedspreads, designed each of their homes, etc. right before she passed away she made me a fleece blanket with my name embroidered on it and serged edges. it was such a simple design but she nailed it right on the head and it went perfectly with my childhood room. at her funeral, the way people talked about her was amazing. she was strong, with a sense of humor, and ALWAYS giving. always. she is the type of woman i want to be.
so this is why i do what i do. why creativity is so important to me. why i will do it until i die. cause of these women.
i used to be able to craft a whole lot more when i was in high school and didn't live in the busy college world but thanksgiving break gave me a chance to get back to my old habits...
first craft: crochet.
mainly i do this when i'm watching tv so i don't feel like i'm being completely unproductive. the entire series of one tree hill was finished. yeah, that happened.
my inspiration was pinterest... naturally.
it's not a tutorial but the design looked simple enough to recreate.
i started off with making the actual headband with a basic chain stitch. to measure it around your head make sure not to stretch it and add approximately five extra stitches on their for good measure if you generally crochet with tight tension, which i definitely do.
the bow was a little bit more complex. I stitched the width that I wanted and each row I started I would skip the last stitch reducing the number of stitches in each row making the width shorten each time. After you get to the center, increase the stitch by one after each row and you will get back to the same number of stitches you started with.
This is the finished product. Next time I will take pictures with each step.
I'm currently working on the same design but a beige color and a muted pink, hopefully i can get all the kinks worked out and get a better tutorial for you.
Second craft: meow shoes.
The next project I did was one I'd been working on for a while.
Like all girls I have a shoe obsession.
But I LOVE making my own, why buy it when you can get it exactly how you want for a million times cheaper??
This two shoes are the same shoes. Walmart $5.
I made these shoes over the summer. I like eclectic things so i wrote and pieced together all of my favorite things, quotes, dreams, passions, etc. all on a pair of shoes.
and these were my lastest project. i've been having a thing with cheetah print lately. #wildchild
i just painted on the design after eyeballing cheetah print online super simple.
my next shoe endeavor will be the same nurse/school-play/50's-child looking basic white shoe with some tea bags and lace. Stay tuned. I know you're on the edge of your seat.
Third craft: Cell phone holder
My inspiration again was pinterest.
I used an old lotion bottle that I had. measured how my cell phone would fit in it then traced the outline of the case onto the lotion bottle. Then Modge Podge any fabric you want onto it.
Here's the full tutorial: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/12/holder-for-charging-cell-phone-made-from-lotion-bottle.html#more-6584
If you don't have a razorblade like the tutorial says, i found using a lighter to burn off the frayed ends works wonders.
Here's my finished project:
Tourth craft: MODGE PODGE
gift from the Gods.
Seriously.
I modge podged everything this weekend.
Lace around all my candles - all twelve of them (a little obsessed), a tin can that holds my paint brushes, a tin can that holds my stationary, my giant collage that i've been working on since i was in ninth grade,
Pretty much everything under the sun.
Fifth craft: rachel
I had these block letters that spelled out my name for the longest time but didn't know what i wanted to do with them. Should i collage on them?? Paint them every color of the rainbow??
I love color.
I finally decided to paint them black to tie them into my bedspread and this circle, damask looking frame that I have.
And i love how it turned out!
As you can see i have a problem but it made me not go too stir crazy this thanksgiving break.
Peace and blessings. Peace and blessings.
my grandma is an avid painter. and when i say painter i don't mean make a couple watercolors here and there when she has time. it's daily. watercolor, acrylic, everything. she has a room in her home with piles to the ceiling of canvas, not an exaggeration. every wall in my home growing up was covered with her paintings. now that all of her grandchildren are growing up and having children of their own the demand to fill their own homes with her work is even greater. i remember her teaching me how to paint. i would go over to her house every so often, she would teach and we would talk.
my grandpa was the same way, only with woodwork. he was the most amazing, do it yourself, get the job done, man i will ever know. all of the grandchildren got something from him as a gift that he made for them. my sister got a display case for her spoon collection. my brother got a desk to study at. but mine was the best. he made me a sewing table. it was the best birthday ever. i hadn't ever gotten something made from his own hands before and now that he's gone i can see his love for me every time i sit down to sew.
my aunt is by far the biggest influence. she had the most difficult circumstances to deal with but she never lost her positivity. she was always giving to others with her gift. she was an interior designer, teacher and seamstress. i was incredibly jealous of her talent. the woman was amazing. she made her daughter's prom dresses, all of her children's bedspreads, designed each of their homes, etc. right before she passed away she made me a fleece blanket with my name embroidered on it and serged edges. it was such a simple design but she nailed it right on the head and it went perfectly with my childhood room. at her funeral, the way people talked about her was amazing. she was strong, with a sense of humor, and ALWAYS giving. always. she is the type of woman i want to be.
so this is why i do what i do. why creativity is so important to me. why i will do it until i die. cause of these women.
i used to be able to craft a whole lot more when i was in high school and didn't live in the busy college world but thanksgiving break gave me a chance to get back to my old habits...
first craft: crochet.
mainly i do this when i'm watching tv so i don't feel like i'm being completely unproductive. the entire series of one tree hill was finished. yeah, that happened.
my inspiration was pinterest... naturally.
it's not a tutorial but the design looked simple enough to recreate.
i started off with making the actual headband with a basic chain stitch. to measure it around your head make sure not to stretch it and add approximately five extra stitches on their for good measure if you generally crochet with tight tension, which i definitely do.
the bow was a little bit more complex. I stitched the width that I wanted and each row I started I would skip the last stitch reducing the number of stitches in each row making the width shorten each time. After you get to the center, increase the stitch by one after each row and you will get back to the same number of stitches you started with.
This is the finished product. Next time I will take pictures with each step.
I'm currently working on the same design but a beige color and a muted pink, hopefully i can get all the kinks worked out and get a better tutorial for you.
Second craft: meow shoes.
The next project I did was one I'd been working on for a while.
Like all girls I have a shoe obsession.
But I LOVE making my own, why buy it when you can get it exactly how you want for a million times cheaper??
This two shoes are the same shoes. Walmart $5.
I made these shoes over the summer. I like eclectic things so i wrote and pieced together all of my favorite things, quotes, dreams, passions, etc. all on a pair of shoes.
and these were my lastest project. i've been having a thing with cheetah print lately. #wildchild
i just painted on the design after eyeballing cheetah print online super simple.
my next shoe endeavor will be the same nurse/school-play/50's-child looking basic white shoe with some tea bags and lace. Stay tuned. I know you're on the edge of your seat.
Third craft: Cell phone holder
My inspiration again was pinterest.
I used an old lotion bottle that I had. measured how my cell phone would fit in it then traced the outline of the case onto the lotion bottle. Then Modge Podge any fabric you want onto it.
Here's the full tutorial: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/12/holder-for-charging-cell-phone-made-from-lotion-bottle.html#more-6584
If you don't have a razorblade like the tutorial says, i found using a lighter to burn off the frayed ends works wonders.
Here's my finished project:
Tourth craft: MODGE PODGE
gift from the Gods.
Seriously.
I modge podged everything this weekend.
Lace around all my candles - all twelve of them (a little obsessed), a tin can that holds my paint brushes, a tin can that holds my stationary, my giant collage that i've been working on since i was in ninth grade,
Pretty much everything under the sun.
Fifth craft: rachel
I had these block letters that spelled out my name for the longest time but didn't know what i wanted to do with them. Should i collage on them?? Paint them every color of the rainbow??
I love color.
I finally decided to paint them black to tie them into my bedspread and this circle, damask looking frame that I have.
And i love how it turned out!
As you can see i have a problem but it made me not go too stir crazy this thanksgiving break.
Peace and blessings. Peace and blessings.
