Creative Every Day

I've had trouble with this post - maybe like Samson having my hair cut has sapped my strength, but here goes....
Creativity is good for the Soul.
Earlier this month, Glenda of Graphicus fame, brought to our attention a site advocating being creative in some way every day. the creativity may be cooking, writing, gardening, besides the more obvious art and craft activities. (You can find more information in Glenda's blog linked from the Graphicus website.
I have to say that whenever I review my day’s activities, I feel so much better when I have made progress with an ongoing project. Winter months and bad weather conditions seem to affect our mood in a negative way but being creatively involved reduces the effects. But then, I am probably preaching to the converted!
The box I began yesterday is finished - at least for now. I had wanted to add more dimension but the inspiration didn't come - maybe next time. I'm only too happy to keep trying.
After sanding the box for the second time to get rid of any roughness from the first spraying of glimmer mists, I covered the lid with paper to hide the printing. I printed a sheet from the 'Butterfly Bliss' CD then added my own decoration of GM's and screens. When this was dry I added stamped butterflies and dragonflies. Some of the butterflies were further embellished with gold embossing and H2Os. After a spray or two of gold glimmer I stuck my selected area on the lid. I stuck gold present tape around the edge of the lid and on top of that two widths of satin ribbon. the outside of the box base is sprayed with blue, green and purple GM and the inside with glimmer mist but that showed up the gluing and construction of the box, so I painted again with acrylic paint and when that was dry it got, the almost obligatory, gold glimmer spray. The edges of box and lid were 'polished' with gold wax.
Now the big decision - What shall I keep in it?

Getting things orderly

I'm reorganising, perhaps another way of saying tidying, my workroom again. This morning I went out to get some folders to store my unmounted rubber stamps so that the ones I want to use are easier to find and they don't take up too much space. There's never enough storage space when you're a crafter! I got some at WHS, but it turns out not as many as I needed.
Sorting things out meant that I found a few 'goodies' long saved for the moment of inspiration to arrive. Amongst them was a turkish delight box, round and wooden, great...... another box to decorate and experiment with glimmer mists - the latest 'must have' if you belong to the Graphicus Guild.
The lid has some printing on it so that has to be covered andI decided to design a paper with my glimmer stencils and butterfly stamps. It seems a shame to completely cover the wood grain so I gave the box a light sand and sprayed with glimmer mists. The damp brings up the grain, making it rough again, so when it is dry I shall sand again and spray once more. An ongoing project - to be finished tomorrow. I will try to post the papers I created.

I'm thrilled

Well, I wasn't going to post so early in the day but...... I've just managed to convert an 'unknown' negative into a black and white photo. It's the subject matter that excites me so and hubby isn't at home at the moment to share it with, so I decided to share it with you. Normally I hate any photos of me but in this one no -one would recognise me. Any way, the excitement is because it is of my cousin, me and our grandad outside my childhood home, back gate open. I was born in Ashington, Northumberland, but my parents brought me and my brother to Bedfordshire when I was at the age of 13. I visit as regularly as possible and always have to walk by my old home but never have the courage to open the gate, just incase it has changed too much. I had, until this moment, only a picture in my head. Can you beleive that the shed on the left is where my mum did the family wash every Monday morning! We forget, sometimes, how lucky we are and how far we have come. Perhaps this was taken on a Monday, as I can just see some washing on the line.

A first Entry

Well, here I am, motivated and encouraged by fellow crafty bloggers. I did say bloggers!
I love being creative and tweeking this blog will be just another creative process - I hope.
I have been crafting as long as I can remember, taught a variety of crafts by friends, relatives and parents. From a love of making my own clothes developed an interest in Weaving and Spinning and more recently my childhood love for drawing, painting and cutting out has raised its head in card making and papercrafts. Many people, like myself, seem to be gaining so much from their contact with others with similar interests and I have been pursuaded to take this, the next step, publishing my experiences on the web. Who said retirement was boring!