Catching Up on Creativity

Lately I've been in a "finish it" mood.  I've got dozens (no exaggeration) of crafty projects either unfinished or still in a "to do" pile.  In an effort to organize, I've been trying to finish these projects up little by little.  Besides, I paid good money for the classes to learn how to create the project.  It's like money wasted if I don't actually CREATE the project.  So, today I am showing you a few of the projects I finished this weekend.

LE BELLE BOUTIQUE

This was the only class I took at Paper Cowgirl this year.  Cindy Gilstrap is an oh-so-talented lady who lives just down the road in McKinney TX.  Incidentally, she will be teaching this class again in October at one of our favorite vintage-inspired boutiques, Smitten, on the downtown McKinney square.

The skirt of the dress was created from strips cut from a vintage dress pattern.  I inked the edges with chestnut roan colored ink before gluing them to the styrofoam half dressform adhered to the canvas.  I believe Cindy mentioned that Cerri of Little Pink Studio sells these at her shop.

On the bodice, I used old primary school lined paper Cindy brought with her.  I liked the pinstripe effect they brought to the dress.  This spoke vintage French fashion to me.  Additionally, I decided to create a neck ruffle and pearl "buttons" to complete the blouse.  I really like how those little details added something special to the outfit.

I surely liked the finished product.  Thanks, Cindy!  Now, if I could ever get my dining room makeover complete, I'd have somewhere to hang this cutie.

PRIMITIVES

My other big project I completed this weekend was my "Prim" doll.  A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to attend an AMAZING 3-day workshop at "The Church" in Dallas.  Debbie and Shea are the most talented and gracious ladies around.  If you haven't heard of them, they're this mother-daughter duo from California, who we were lucky enough to receive a few years ago in our Texas Heartland.  Shea's husband is in real estate and together, they had the vision to restore an old broken down Methodist church (we're talking, windows shot out, animals living inside, rusty plumbing) into an unforgettable studio and home.   Aside from being astounded by the beauty and grace of their home, I enjoyed great friends, great food, and great classes during the retreat.  Colleen Moody taught us how to make a doll, like the "Prims" she is known for.  It was actually a pretty arduous task and took more time than most "class projects" do.  But, I'm not complaining.  I feel like I really LEARNED something completely new for the first time.  Though I didn't complete my doll at the retreat, I finally got her finished up this weekend!  I'm thrilled that I even managed to get the wings sewn on properly.  

Here is the overall finished product.

This is really my favorite part:  the underdress stuff.  I used a sleeve from a dress I'd had, to create her bodice and hanging down slip under her skirt.  Under her slip are a pair of bloomers I fashioned from another odd piece of clothing I had.  It had chenille dots and delicate tat work that made for lovely bloomer legs.   My mom would be so proud of my bird wearing a slip, as she thinks it's immodest the way nowadays most women (including myself) fail to wear slips under their dresses.

Here you can see the back of my bird's dress.  What initially attracted me to the sleeve I used as the bodice (which just happened to fit around her perfectly) were the little pearl buttons.  They were the perfect thing!  I added some velvet trim to the top of the bodice (which was really just cheap Wal-mart ribbon I had soaked in    a potion of red food color and brown tea to get that perfect peachy color.)  I also had a piece of CZ chain I'd received from the generous Shea to add a little BLING BLING.  Jewelry always completes a look, in my opinion.

And the "crowing" achievement:  her crown.  The base is Dresden trim.  I added vintage accordian folded sheet music, a vintage pin, a few "diamonds" and my favorite color of Stickles--Platinum.  My crown is actually quite basic compared to some of the crowns the other ladies created for their birds!

Any ideas for names?  She needs a name.  I can't just keep calling her "bird".  

So, that's it for now, but I've got other projects to finish and blog about.  I'll keep you posted!

Creatively Challenged?

Ever feel creatively challenged?  Can’t seem to get your mo-jo flowing?  What causes you to feel this lack of inspiration?  What do you do to alleviate these symptoms? 

I think we all must surely go through this at times. It's part of being a creative personality.  Just like a performer, no one can exhibit her talent all the time!  That's not even reasonable to expect of ourselves.  I know I've been ever-guilty of thinking I had to create a marvelous work of art each and every time I go into my studio.  Not so.  (Heck, I’m lucky if I can create a marvelous work of art ONE in ten times I go into the studio!) 

One thing that I've noticed works for me is to (borrowing a phrase from Nike) "just do it."  That is to say that when I'm not feeling the least bit inspired, I often just get into my studio and make myself work on something more mundane. Maybe it's just organizing my space. Or perhaps it's just picking up that old project I've been meaning to finish but was too "inspired" doing other things to mess with. Whatever the case, when I tell myself that I'm not really "creating" per se, I find that I can get started. And wouldn't you know, before I have a chance to realize it, that fickle ol' creativity sneaks in and I'm off and running again! Happens every time! 

Thanks to Debbie Mumm for the pictures!  Don’t you  just love her cute images?!

Haiti Service Project

I had a WONDERFUL time yesterday! Late last week I received an email from some women at church stating there would be a service project on Monday to help the victims of the Haiti 7.0 earthquake which had occurred on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. A few women had decided to get together to make baby blankets for the little Haitians and invited our whole Frisco, TX stake (a large group of women of our church who live within certain geographical boundaries)to participate.

Since being layed off over a year ago, I've struggled at times with feeling a PURPOSE. Not yet having children of our own, sometimes I lack the drive to make every day meaningful. This service project opportunity was exciting to me because I knew it was something, no matter how small, that I could do to help. Something that might have a real effect in someone else's life.

So, from 8:30am-6:00pm yesterday, I met with many other wonderful volunteers to make baby blankets. Our goal was to complete 50 baby quilts, but by end of day we had more than 70 either finished or nearly finished! I sat at my machine and sewed all day long, while others pieced fabric and batting, ironed, trimmed, and tied the quilts. We had a whole assembly line going! As I finally got up to leave, several of the others thanked me for my service. All I could say was, "It was a pleasure." And it was.

I hope these blankets make it to Haiti in a timely fashion. I hope some little orphaned child gets one to snuggle up close to and feel the comfort and love that we are sending. I hope I can remember this feeling of how good it is to feel needed. I hope I can reach out to find other ways to serve and regain a sense of PURPOSE!