30 Day Creativity Challenge: Day 7

Inspiration can come from anywhere at any time. Your imagination, riding the bus, doodling, nature, poverty, need, to name a few.  I'm so grateful that I was raised by parents that read to me, sang me to sleep and didn't pressure me to be anything other than myself.  I think it allowed my mind and soul to develop in such a way that I let things be absorbed, no matter how odd they might seem to someone else.

It's totally normal for me to see something IN something else, that others might not see.  I have these tiles in my bathroom.  I love them.  I picked them out when we were building the addition to our house.  They're very amoeba-like.  I see something new in them every day.

Exposed varnished brick chimney in my house

Dried Sea Oats from my garden

Old Pottery Shard in Moss 

I love textures, patterns and combinations.  They inspire me.

I've been crocheting this green string on and off for a couple of years now.  I'm not a great crocheter.  My grandmother, mother and sister all took a turn, at one time or another, trying to teach me to crochet when I was young, but I couldn't catch on.  Then one day at work I asked a co-worker (who was happily crocheting away at lunch time) to teach  me.  We got a little workshop together and about four of us learned how to crochet together.  I've been hooked ever since!  I certainly do love to do it!  I've made some scarves for myself and my kids, but for some reason I just really love to crochet this damn green string! And I'm not interested in turning it into anything other than roping.  I've made yards and yards of it!  Weird, I know.

I just love it wrapped around these old spools!

30 Day Creativity Challenge: Day 4

I'm finding out very quickly that my energy levels need re-charged after work every day, before I can tap into my creative side.  I took a nice nap, packed up a shipment and looked around at my stuff.  There was something that caught my eye.

I spied a Trouble Light cage.  It was in my Etsy shop for awhile, but it didn't sell.  I had a thought...  

I love nests.  Always have.  So I mixed some cool nesting materials together added an old ceramic bird, and tied the cage up with raffia. I like it!

Happy Wednesday!  We're half-way there!! Yippeeeee

Driftwood Under the Hood

My first blog. My first post on my first blog. No pressure. Oh, maybe I'm supposed to say Hi to everyone first. Nah,that's cheesy. I don't do cheesy. Hmm, feels slightly intimidating. I feel nervous.  Nah. YES! No. It's no big deal. It's therapeutic, and people tell you you're funny. People have always told you that you're funny. Funny is good for blogging. Heck,funny is good all the time. Well,not according to Mom, she says "there's a time and a place...bah, blah, blah". But according to ME we need more funny in the world.  Funny is what got me through.  Funny got me through it ALL.  So, be yourself; be your silly, funny, sometimes inappropriate self, and make someone laugh. It's what you do best. So be your best.  

OK people, I'm glad that's over with.  Now I can be myself.  Now it's on, like Donkey Kong.

Gedeon

I was not going to do a Blog! Too time consuming, or so I thought. I started checking out other people's blogs and they typically posted once a week.  I could handle that. And as far as time goes, I have lots of extra time now. My kids have gone off to college. It's just my hubby and I and our animals. Oh yeah, and one gazillion things that I've collected from the woods, beaches, stream beds, thrift stores, flea markets and antique stores; and dragged with me from place to place since I was about 12 years old. And come to think of it, Grandma also supplied me with quite the stash of natural materials from her own jaunts.  So that kicks my total up to a gazillion and a half. 

Grandma didn't mess around. She had quite a cache in her basement. My Grandpa was not her biggest fan when it came to that "stuff". She would make him strap huge pieces of driftwood to the luggage rack on the way home from vacations. My Mom told me that one time Grandma even made him stick a piece under the hood, because not only would it serve as a good place to put it for the ride home, but it would dry faster there! I can just picture my Grandpa rolling his eyes and sighing. Grandma was the bomb!  

So there you have it. That was the beginning of my way of life.  Picking my way through forests, beaches, streams, thrift stores and your garbage pile, and turning it into something unique, if only in my own eyes. 

Some of Grandma's Creations (age of 80 +)

Some nice finds from this week...