Tiny "Art" - We'll All Float On

I made another Tiny "Art" card this week. I haven't been having the best of weeks this week so I needed a little reminder for myself that things will get better. I've been pretty stressed at work and I have back problems that were really bad this week.

Then, I've been so stuck on a huge decision that I just can't seem to make. A couple of years ago my friend told me about Etsy and I thought that would be such a great thing to participate in. At the time I wasn't really crafting. I had major confidence issues. But lately I've been crafting like crazy! A few months ago I played around with the idea of starting a shop but I knew I wasn't really ready. I didn't have the ideas in place yet. So I decided to put it off for a little longer.

About a month ago I just had all these ideas all of a sudden! I was overflowing with inspiration! I felt like I had enough to get it all started and then move from there. I never really looked at having an Etsy shop as a big money making thing. For me it's about having another place to share my work. If I make a little money then that's awesome. It's just not the ultimate goal. :-) I had so many occasions recently where I felt like this was definitely the next step I should take. Then came the task of naming it. I've been going through every possible name I think of and they are either not good enough or taken! This week I just reached my peak frustration.

One day this week when I was driving to work We'll All Float On by Modest Mouse came on the radio. It was such a great reminder to me that even though things are not going great right now, they will work out. I just have to push forward and continue making things I love. Some days that's easier said than done. ;-) That's why I decided to make a Tiny "Art" card to represent this song. Now I have a little reminder when I'm feeling down to just float on!

He must be French...he has a mustache!!!  ;-)

I made this one really kiddish but I just wanted to have fun with it. I didn't buy anything new for this project.  I looked at the supplies I already had at home and figured out a way to use them.  I drew a simple little picture and cut it out of felt. I have stitches on there that are probably not even real stitches. But, you know what? I really enjoyed making it! So, I guess it doesn't really matter that it's silly. :-)

I'm still working on figuring out how to do the corners of a blanket stitch so they look right and I'm a little confused about how to end it, but I think my stitches are starting to look a lot better.  They are much more even now.  I've had lots of practice lately.  I love the way a blanket stitch looks so I've been using it in a lot of projects.

So, I will float on.  Work will be good and bad.  Back pain will come and go.  The shop will come together in time.  I'm just going to keep crafting and when the time is right it'll all fall into place. 

Until then, I'm just a girl without a name...doing what she loves.  :-)

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Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad...but it's the middle that counts the most. You need to remember that when you find yourself at the beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up. And it will, too.

365 Project - Week Fourteen

It's Friday!!! Time for more pictures!  I wasn't feeling too great this week so I just sort of took pictures of what I found around me.  I didn't really seek out any special places or anything.  I did see some things that I'll try to remember for future pictures though.  :-)  Sometimes I'll see the perfect picture and I can't get to it.  That's so frustrating!!!  Somdeday I'll get those pictures.  I really want a hummingbird picture.  Sadly, they don't seem to like having their picture taken.  I almost got one this week but I was too slow.  That's my next big picture challenge for myself.

Here's week fourteen!

Day 92

I had to go buy some felt for a craft project so I went to the only place in Austin that I could find that had good felt.  I'm secretly happy that it is.  I love going to Stitch Lab!!!

Day 93

I had to go to a meeting at Freebirds after church on Sunday.  I just had to take a picture of the flying guitars!!!   :-)

Day 94

I was taking pictures of my craft project for my blog but it was too dark in the house so I went outside.  While I was out there I took a picture of this pretty little cactus.  :-)

Day 95

I went to San Antonio for work on Tuesday.  My coworker was super sweet and let me stop to take a picture of the giant boots before we came home!  I wonder what size they are.  :-)

Day 96

I guess the person that wears the huge boots can play this saxophone.  ;-)  This huge sign is on the side of Strait Music where they have the Austin School of Music.  I love it!

Day 97

One of my coworkers made this cupcake!!!  It's so cute!!  The marshmallows really do look like popcorn.  How did she do that?? 

Day 98

Yeah, so this is interesting.  It's on the side of one of the buildings on Main Street in Buda.  I wonder what the purpose was.  I thought maybe it was for a sign but there's no sign.  Oh well.  It was interesting enough for a picture so I like it!  :-)

Next week I hit a huge milestone in the project...

Day 100!!!

I Heart Stop Motion - Wolf and Pig

I had a bunch of craft projects that I planned to share with you this week but they're taking a little bit longer than I thought they would.  I have a couple almost finished so this weekend I should have lots of fun goodies to share with you.  I'm finishing up Craft Academy this week and then I'm working on some ideas for my hopefully-very-soon-to-be etsy shop.  I have so many things planned.  I just have to get it all ready...and think of a name!!  Grr...argh!!  :-)

I still wanted to share something special with you this week so I decided to share one of my favorite stop motion videos in my second installment of I Heart Stop Motion!

First I want to say thank you to Kate from Scientific Culture for her sweetness.  She posted the last stop motion video on her blog!  Thanks Kate!!!  You made my not-so-great week completely wonderful!  :-)

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Stop Motion with Wolf & Pig

By:  Takeuchi Taijin

オオカミとブタ (Stop Motion with Wolf and Pig) from Disposable Film Festival on Vimeo.

This stop motion impressed me so much because it's really two stop motions in one.  First he made the actual wolf and pig stop motion and then he made the photo print stop motion from those pictures.  This is amazing!!!  And it was such a cute idea, too!  I wonder how many pictures he actually had to take to make this. 

I loved how the angle of the pictures changed throughout the video.  The best was when the pictures popped up and were standing instead of laying flat.  I really liked the part where the sink becomes the pool.  And you gotta love the surprise ending.  It must have taken forever to plan it all out and actually film this!  There's just so much there.  I can't even imagine!  That's why this one makes my list of favorite stop motions!  :-)

I'm Only Happy When it Rains

Don't you love the rain?

We have been getting a lot of rain lately so I have had lots of opportunities to take pictures of the rain.  I've posted some of them on my blog, especially for my 365 project. 

This is one of my favorites!

I liked the idea of this picture.  It didn't come out quite as clear as I hoped it would.

These are some of the pictures I took last week that didn't make it into my 365 Project. 

I think my little camera takes some pretty great pictures.  :-)  I'm hoping to one day be able to afford a really fancy camera that can take pictures of lightning.  This one will do a lot but I don't think it is quite fast enough for lightning.

Craft Academy - Water Bottle Carrier

We learned how to make a really cute water bottle carrier in Craft Academy. 

It's actually a really simple project and I like the way it looks.  It has french seams, lining and a round bottom which are all things I have done before but for some reason on this project I was very intimidated by them.  I think I kind of doomed myself from the beginning on this one.  It made me nervous from the beginning of the class so I put it off for as long as I possibly could.  Then I decided I needed to just go for it!  

I thought I made my seam allowances extra big so that I wouldn't have any problems but somehow they came out too small.  I couldn't use the water bottle I was making it for.  But, it does work for a smaller size.  Then I messed up on my french seam!  I have done these before with no problems.  I just didn't catch all of the fabric in the seam when I sewed it.  It's an easy fix.  I was just ready to be done.  ;-)  

I ended up having to get my mom to help me sew the bottom on because I couldn't figure it out.  Everytime I have sewn a round bottom onto something it's been larger so it's a little easier to work with.  This was very hard for me.  She helped me pin it and then we just hand sewed it.  

I'm glad I was brave enough to try this project.  I just forgot that I need to go into a project ready to learn something and not looking for a perfect outcome.  Somtimes I forget...especially when I have had a few projects go really well.  Then when something doesn't come out like I hope it's extra frustrating.  Oh well.  I completed it.  It looks decent and serves its purpose so I'm going to call it a success and move on to the next project.  :-)  I have lots of fun projects planned!!  I'm so excited!!! 

Picture Perfect

I know I already posted something today but I just had to share the cuteness I just finished hanging on my wall!  I bought these prints from AJ the Purple on Etsy a couple weeks ago.  I LOVE THEM!!!  I have been on the hunt for some inexpensive black wooden frames.  the cheapest I found that I liked was at Michaels for $3.99 per frame.  Not too bad.  Today I got a text message from my mom that she checked at Walmart and they had some for $2.50!!  So...as soon as I got home from church I went over to look at them.  I think they are perfect!!!  I put them up immediately.  I think they look so great!  :-)

(Sorry the photo quality isn't very good.  My living room is a little dark.)

Bella Stella

I am so excited to introduce you to Stella!!!

Name: Stella

Date of Birth: 7/31/2010

Favorite Color: Tickle Me Pink (It's an actual color!)

Favorite Food: Watermelon (Yum!)

Favorite Hobby: Playing in the rain

Favorite Song:

(Yep...Stella's a Gleek too!!!)

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Stella is my first mini monster.  I loved making Seymour so much that I couldn't wait to make more monsters.  I thought it might be fun to try some mini monsters, too.  Plus, Seymour needed to have a plushie monster of his own.  ;-)

I'm pretty happy with how she turned out.  I went into this project knowing that I wanted to make a mini monster but I had no idea what it would look like.  I started out with some graph paper (I can't draw) and drew a very basic shape.  Then I just started cutting.  I trimmed it down until I got something I liked.  then I just made up the face as I was making it.  I think on future mini monsters I may have a little bit more detail...maybe something on the body.  She looks a little plain compared to Seymour.

I gave her the name Stella because she looks a little like a star.  Star in Italian (according to the internet) is Stella!  It's the perfect name for this little star-shaped monster!

I think felt monsters is my new favorite thing to make.  I can't wait to get started on my next one.  I have some ideas...just have to find time to make it.  I can't wait!!!  :-)