Until next time,
J.
Chocolate Covered Pretzels
1 day ago
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Halloween Fun!
Until next time,
J.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Kids as Inspiration
One of the things that I love about teaching Sunday School is seeing how creative the kids are. For example, this past Sunday, our lesson was about God creating Adam and Eve. Part of the lesson was to make a model of the Garden of Eden. We made play-Doh animals, and then I covered the table with newsprint, got out the markers, and let them go to town drawing plants, trees and rivers. (Sadly, they are much better artists than your truly.) If you ever need to get your creative juices flowing, find a bunch of kids, give them some craft supplies and watch what they come up with. It's truly inspiring!
Which brings me to my creative toy box. One topic that is mentioned a few times in the crafter's devotional is reconnecting with your inner child by re-reading a favourite childhood book, re-acquainting yourself with a favourite childhood craft, or just getting out some crayons or markers and colouring. After reading these suggestions, a light bulb came on, and I said to myself, "Self, wouldn't it be just so cool to have a box full of fun craft stuff to pull out and play with whenever I needed to get inspired?" My self, of course, agreed with me, and so was born the creative toy box. I have colouring books, crayons (the 96 box from Crayola!), coloured pencils and markers. I have a bag full of alphabet beads, and I plan on buying at fuse bead kit (I've seen one that comes with a dolphin-shaped pegboard). I want to get a bucket of basic foam shapes; I find that just playing with them gets me thinking creatively, even if I don't actually make anything with them. Same for the beads. And of course, I have the Play-Doh used for the animals in the aforementioned model of the Garden of Eden. Hey, what did you think I would do with all that wonderful dough?
Next time you need to get your creative mind working, get out some crayons and colour, or go to the dollar store and buy a can of Play-Doh (I have seen them) and let your inner child out.
Until next time,
J.
Which brings me to my creative toy box. One topic that is mentioned a few times in the crafter's devotional is reconnecting with your inner child by re-reading a favourite childhood book, re-acquainting yourself with a favourite childhood craft, or just getting out some crayons or markers and colouring. After reading these suggestions, a light bulb came on, and I said to myself, "Self, wouldn't it be just so cool to have a box full of fun craft stuff to pull out and play with whenever I needed to get inspired?" My self, of course, agreed with me, and so was born the creative toy box. I have colouring books, crayons (the 96 box from Crayola!), coloured pencils and markers. I have a bag full of alphabet beads, and I plan on buying at fuse bead kit (I've seen one that comes with a dolphin-shaped pegboard). I want to get a bucket of basic foam shapes; I find that just playing with them gets me thinking creatively, even if I don't actually make anything with them. Same for the beads. And of course, I have the Play-Doh used for the animals in the aforementioned model of the Garden of Eden. Hey, what did you think I would do with all that wonderful dough?
Next time you need to get your creative mind working, get out some crayons and colour, or go to the dollar store and buy a can of Play-Doh (I have seen them) and let your inner child out.
Until next time,
J.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Book Review: The Crafter's Devotional
The Crafter's Devotional: 365 Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Unlocking Your Creative Spirit
Author: Barbara R. Call
This is one of the most fabulous books I've read in a while. I stumbled across it at Chapters last week, and was drawn to it because of all the journalling tips in it. There are 52 weeks worth of inspiration in it, with a tip for each weekday and one for the weekend. Each day of the week covers a specific topic (for example, Mondays are devoted to journalling), and the weekends are devoted to projects or techniques that take longer, such as taking a class to learn something new or collaborating with another artist on a shared project. I got so many new ideas from this book to help me both in my crafting (or my art creation, as I find myself now referring to it) and in my journalling. One of the areas where I've really gotten lots of new ideas is in my plastic canvas work. I've started on a new form of art combining plastic canvas with beads, buttons and items from my scrapbook stash. Pictures to come soon once I've finished a few more pieces!
I've also been inspired to pick up my journal again. I've always enjoyed journalling, although to be honest it's been suffering lately, both because I just haven't felt like writing and because writing is getting to be hard on my wrists. But I've "re-invented" one of my old journals and I'm excited to get back to it again. I'll be sharing before and after pics of my journal, along with pics of some of my journal pages. As for the pain, well, I'll just have to deal with it. Didn't someone once say that all artists have to suffer for their art? :) I've gotten lots of other ideas, which I'll be sharing in future blog posts. Next topic: my creative toy box.
Verdict: If you're in need of inspiration, then this is the book for you!
Until next time,
J.
Author: Barbara R. Call
This is one of the most fabulous books I've read in a while. I stumbled across it at Chapters last week, and was drawn to it because of all the journalling tips in it. There are 52 weeks worth of inspiration in it, with a tip for each weekday and one for the weekend. Each day of the week covers a specific topic (for example, Mondays are devoted to journalling), and the weekends are devoted to projects or techniques that take longer, such as taking a class to learn something new or collaborating with another artist on a shared project. I got so many new ideas from this book to help me both in my crafting (or my art creation, as I find myself now referring to it) and in my journalling. One of the areas where I've really gotten lots of new ideas is in my plastic canvas work. I've started on a new form of art combining plastic canvas with beads, buttons and items from my scrapbook stash. Pictures to come soon once I've finished a few more pieces!
I've also been inspired to pick up my journal again. I've always enjoyed journalling, although to be honest it's been suffering lately, both because I just haven't felt like writing and because writing is getting to be hard on my wrists. But I've "re-invented" one of my old journals and I'm excited to get back to it again. I'll be sharing before and after pics of my journal, along with pics of some of my journal pages. As for the pain, well, I'll just have to deal with it. Didn't someone once say that all artists have to suffer for their art? :) I've gotten lots of other ideas, which I'll be sharing in future blog posts. Next topic: my creative toy box.
Verdict: If you're in need of inspiration, then this is the book for you!
Until next time,
J.
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