Front of Postcard

1913 Postcard - front
This is a front view of the card below.

A Family History Quilt?

1913 - Family postcard from my Great Great Grandparents to my Grandfather when he was 9 years old.
A new idea occured to me today. It had to do a lot, I think, with having browsed through Turtle Moon Quilting's website yesterday. I had bookmarked this site in the past but I ended up there once again following links here and there in a convoluted manner. It is really quite the inspiring website. And I also was drawn to the link to Jame's Accord's Leather as well. Two obviously talented people.

Anyway. I am in the lucky posession of a postcard album. I will scan the cover another time. It contains hundreds of postcards that represent communications between my great-great grandparent's generation down to my grandfathers generation. The amazing collection cronicles, in brief tidbits, the lives and times of my father's family. It provides a precious look back at the tradition of letter writing. It is also precious to me as Genealogy is a serious love of mine.

With the influence of Turtle Moon quilting, among the other sites I have visited lately, some of which are involved in back-tack, I suddenly remembered the postcard album and thought how amazing and reverent it would be to scan all of those cards in order of date and print them onto fabric and make the collection into a quilt in honour of the album. Could I actually accept that task? And complete it? I will think about that one for a few days. I don't quilt, so right there I know it would be non-tradtional.

Still, what a joy it would be to hang that quilt (it would be quite large considering the quantity of cards and that I would want both front and back showing) and be surrounding by all that history.

Struggling with ideas..

And I don't mean I am struggling to find ideas, I mean I have sooo many I don't know what to do with them so they won't be lost. I have a creative journal that I have been keeping for about 4 years now. If it is near, I'll grab it when one of those creations inspirations hit and I'll sketch a picture and jot a few rough notes. Every once and I while I pick the journal up and start at the beginning and read through. I've noticed a few things. 1. I am more creative in the spring and fall. 2. even the roughest of sketches will usually bring back the idea full force, visuals and all. 3. I still think the vast majority of ideas are still things I would like to try. 4. Many times ideas I have thought about have later appeared in publications at some point.

I wish I would get off my ass and publish a todo book and finally see whether these ideas are of interest to others too.

Anyway, I came back to jot down an idea because I don't have my creative journal here with me at work today.

I have a large bubble envelope sitting by my garbage can here, I was listlessly dreaming of being done work for the day and I began to wonder how I could recycle that envelope other than to recycle it for mail. Then I thought, what if I could take a syringe and fill those little bubbles with paint. What would that look like? Then I thought, what would have if I filled a bubble with more than one colour? Then I thought, how much fun it would be to fill the little bubbles with different coloured paint, put the envelope on a tarp or garbage back or something, and jump on it. Foot painting? Random splatters all over my legs? Therapy? L would love it. We could use our splatter feet as stamps and make some cards. We could press paper onto the splattered bubble wrap and make stationary.

It may not make much sense to actually carry out, however, the thought of jumping on all that smooshy paint brings a smile to my face. It would be a 7 year old's birthday party dream! I can hear the giggles now.

Noobs!

Noobs!
Thanks to Not Martha for the link to these design student concepts for new candy. I could use a noob right about now! Just scroll down their page to check them all out.

I am really not here.

See! I really should be working. And what am I doing? Blogging. And I am not even an addict (yah OK, is denial not the first sign?).

Anyway. Just before sitting down to enter yet another Visa receipt into Simply Accounting, I take a moment to glance at birdinthehand's mother's blog (Hi my name is Ria and I am a Link-a-holic) and find this:

'That Thing Going Around on the Web Ring
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you

Art Objects: Essays on Ecstacy and Effrontery by Jeanette Winterson. From the essay: The Psychometry of Books:

"The pleasure in a book is, or should be, sensuous as well as aesthetic, visceral as well as intellectual."'

I am not a member of that ring however, if I am not brain-dead when I get home tonight, I want to do this. After all, if I did it here I would be grabbing either the phone book, or the "Houghton Mifflin Canadian Dictionary of the English Language". Oh wait, there are a wack of Native oriented ecology and traditional knowledge books in the back. Give me a second........ ...... .....

Ack! It didn't work. Page 123 of "Earth, Water, Air and Fire: Studies in Canadian Ethnohistory" is a page devoted to footnotes. So unless I can gleem some sort of spiritual enlightenment from "5 Edward Mortimer's 1801 response to the government, quoted in Patterson, A History of the County of Pictou, Nova Scotia, p. 193" then the time I just wasted was really a waste.

Wait wait! On my third (second try produced a set of figures on some table of relative fish abundance) try I came apon this "The Manitous: The Spiritual World of the Ojibway", By Basil Johnston.... Page 123 Sentence#5 "But suitable as this arrangement was with his wishes, the young man found his situation a virtual prison, his life a bore, and the outlook bleak."

There you have it. I have satified my urge to respond to this challenge and I am now left to wonder what higher power directed me to that book (my eyes were closed) so that I could worry about the meaning of choosing that passage.

Oh I know. Even though I chose this type of employment, I am bored. My outlook is pretty bleak, and I am trapped here in this virtual prison until at least at 10 pm tonight and I am coming to realize that I can't have this work done in time for tomorrow's deadline, whether I blog or not!

(sigh) bye.

I know I know!

OK Guys it was meggiecat! Thanks meggiecat for the link to the typedrawing!

Yawn!

So I finally left work at 10:00pm last night. Drove home thinking I would fall asleep at the wheel and knock out some poor unsuspecting deer on the way home. Tired as I was, I brought work home with me and managed to organize a few things for this morning. As bad as I have been treating my body (ate out for lunch and dinner yesterday)., I forced two gin and tonics down my throat to ensure I would actually sleep last night. It worked. I peeled my eyes open this morning knowing that I had been unconcious all night.

Geoff if you can hear me, I am really gonna give you a hard time next week during the audit. Man you better bring TWO green pencils!

Phew, OK rant over. At the end last night I was resorting to rewarding myself for good behaviour and for every hour I worked I blog surfed for 5 minutes. So, thanks to (crap I was so tired last night I didn't keep track of who I should credit for this. I'll find it - credit goes to someone out there) for this link I fooled around with typedrawing for more than my alloted 5 minutes.

Joining back-tack has been one of my best ideas in the last while. Just for the links to all the wonderful artists and crafters I have not encountered yet. You guys rock! I have been surfing your blogs and so far, even though I was worried about it, I think I may get through this next week with my creativity intact! Thanks.

So I was thinking of fooling around with this awesome little tool and making a logo for this blog out of it. I browsed some of the work others saved and I would like to have a little more time to devote to playing around with it, but I really can't or I'll never get home again.

And the world goes round and round and round and the world goes round and round...

I'm really in a pickle now. The auditor called yesterday (for work). I have until Thursday to send my Ledgers, etc. out to him. My annual audit is now scheduled for next week. So my hubby is picking L up from daycare today and I ma stuck at the office til 8 or 9 tonight anyway. Same thing for tomorrow. Although I need to be home to watch the next episode of America's Next Top Model with L. She counts on it.

I've been sooo creative lately. I am scared that this deadline is going to derail that. I was really on a roll. OH well. And the world goes round and round...

So this weekend, if the weather holds, hubby is heading down to Shannonville for the first race of the year for the Race Superseries. It's funny, he and J are not racing this series this year and they had a chance to go and just spectate and what do they do? Offer to get the SV650 together for another guy (who has not raced in several years) to race. They just can't watch can they? They have to be an active part of the pit area. Oh well, they should have a good time. I am staying because L has a birthday party to go to. My mom emailed yesterday to ask if I can go to Ottawa to meet up with my Aunt from the Northwest Territories (she has a conference in Ottawa). Hmmm. What to do.

Next weekend our neighbourhood hosts it's bi-annual Yard Sale. This will be my first time participating. But it's time. Since hubby and I will not be having any more children, it's time to get rid of the baby stuff. L is 6 years old now. I am saving for travel this year and the garage sale should give it a major boost. Hubby will hopefully be there and roll out his S10 so we can try to generate some interest in it. It was a project of his for several years but he has lost interest in it since returning to motorcycles and starting to race. If we could get rid of that, he would have alot more room in his garage for his motorcycles.

Oh yah, one last note, I am note sure I mentioned it but L is riding her dirtbike (Honda CFR50) all alone now. She got out on April 9th and has not stopped since. Yay L! I am so impressed. She must have put in about 200 laps around the house and yard so far. The neighbours are really amused (or not) now. Every time they turn around there are motorcycles in the yard, motorcycles starting up in the garage, motorcycle zooming down the street. Our yard is seldom boring.

Back to work. Feel sorry for me please (big pout inserted here) - accounting is the most boring job in the world for me and I fear falling into a listless spell of boredom that will suck all of the creativity out of me!

Sticks!

I saw this company in a magazine years ago and every once in a while I stop by their website to see what's new. I was even inspired by them to by a woodburning iron and give woodburning a try. So I was browsing some of my older links today and stopped in for a look at their site. Low and behold they have pillows.

Crap! I am inspired again.

Way to go!

slinky malinky
Ohh I love I love! I am very inspired by skinny malinky's dolls. You have to check them out. So creative! I'd call them Punk-Folk!

Two more cases 

More Cell Phone Cases

I have since made two more cases with I like better. They are posted above. I posted them at Craftster.org as a way of finally coming out of lurkhood. I have spent many hours at the site enjoying everyone else creativity and I feel I owe the site some contributions. I will be posting a tutorial as well. Not sure if it will be here or there yet.

Another view of the case

See what makes it so compfy? The sides are crocheted and the leather is one piece wrapped around. An easy (once you get the prototype for your phone) evening project and very satisfying.

Cell Phone Case

My first attempt at a cell phone case. Phew! It took 3 or 4 tries before I made one that fit my cell perfectly. It is made of deerhide and eyelash yarn. It is very compfy to hold and has an 8 inch strap right now. It is almost where I want it to be, not quite though. I will more than likely rip it out again tonight and try once more. I want to make a choke for the strap so that it can be worn on the wrist. The strap needs to be shorter too.

Buggy Hairclips

Buggy Hair Clips Anyone?

These are not only fun to make but sell at one of our annual craft shows. They are $5.00 / pair. I will get a simple site up by weeks end. These will be on it. Can you "read" the determination in my font?

Icycles

Icycle

So I made another icycle the other day. It's like the ones I made for my mom for Christmas just past. It started me thinking about having an online store again. I really do have to finish that off. It just seems that I can't be satisfied with any site I create. I've done it a few times. I just want something simple. Yuk. Someone do this for me?

Organization

Okay, lurking in other peoples blogs has become a way of life now. I can't start me day off right without seeing what other creative peoples have been up too. It's an addictive drug. Things are starting to blur though. I have a hard time keeping what I read straight and I have led my mom on a few wild goose chases looking for "that amazing picushion". Which blog was it? Damn.

So hopefully I solved it. I started keeping a visual journal of a kind and developed an easier way to keep track of some of the inspiring things I come accross. Before, I kept copies of pictures I found, printed them out and kept them in binders. I have no intention of posting other's pictures as mine own or anything, It's just that I am a visual learner. I can usually figure out how to make something just from looking at a picture. However, when there is a good idea on someone's site, usual that means there are more and pictures don't tell me where they were originally from and I have always regretted not having a complete record for these things. So I have a Word document where, when I find something interesting, I post the picture in there complete with: date of search (helps when trying to refer back to someone's blog), name of the picture file (backclick on a photo and look at it's properties), subject area (to help with sorting), web-addy, Site name, and comments. I actually have a different Word document for each subject area. It is organized into tables and it's wonderful. Now I know who created the wonderful item, I can go back to their website and check for updates, leave a comment or ask permission from them to mention them in my book (if and when I ever get it completed). Much better. And being a research junkie, much more perfessional and satisfying. It's like keeping a scrapbook of newspaper articles and writing the date and newspaper on the top of the article. It just makes sense later on.

Another try

I started another bag, this one is entirely crocheted. The colour here is off. It is actually a light mint green. The yarn is finer and has a beautiful sheen to it. I think I will work this one into a full sized sachel.

Progress

Progress

So I worked some more on this bag. I understand now that I was doing tapestry crochet (not with colour changes) The yarn is too heavy for the size of the bag but it has a good sturdy feel to it. I would use this weight (I'll have to look it up) for a larger full sized bag. This bag's bottom is about 3.5 inches in diameter and it is about 5 inches tall right now. I am going to try to work in leather strip around the top with a leather drawstring.

Crochet bag
I started a crochet bag last night. It will hopefully be about 6 - 8 inches tall and have a drawstring closure. I ripped it out about 5 times. The wool I am using is too thick and I find it is too stiff for the size of the bag. I have a feeling I will rip it out again tonight. This is a prototype after all. I want all the maximum learning to take place here so I don't waste time later.

I might put this aside to think about it for a day or so and try a cell phone case. I hate cell phones, but I do have one and it does need a case.

Great Murals

Before I forget. I love these mural/papered walls by Clipso-design. The kids rooms are so "now". I like the circling figures on the ceiling. Thanks to Erica Mulherin for the link.

Dreamcatcher Earrings
I used to make these earrings (they are actual size) when I was in College, they helped pay my way. The are inspired by Native Dreamcatchers and Native Art. These are fragile and old (about 15 years old) but I have always loved them and may start to make some again. When I get my store up and running they might show up.

Embroidery

The pictures in the previous uploads are details of a large embroidery I started years ago. It is a collection of the 52 (?) state and territorial flowers in the States. I came accross it when I was cleaning out my craft room. It's time to finish up all of these projects. Old is new again.

Paper Creations

Thanks to Kraf-O-La for this wonderful link. I wil be trying these out and creating some of my own. A wonderful inspiration.

I love things made with paper. Little boxes, little packages... and I love Marilyn Scott-Waters' style. Check it out!