TAKING A BREAK AND HAVING SOME FUN!

We all need to do this from time to time.  Sometimes our obligations have a way of getting us stuck down to the grind, and we need to break loose and just play for awhile.

How do you break free?  Or do you break free?

I go upstairs to the studio, rummage around and let my mind take over whatever it wants to do...

I have had a project mulling around in my mind for a long time, after I saw a painting on Pinterest of a sunflower.  For some reason the image stuck with me, and because I don't paint, I started creating my own rendition of the painting in my own style.

Fabric...

To be exact - fabric scraps... the kind and size most people throw out!

I have mine all sorted into bags according to colour, and those bags fill three drawers of a chest of drawers.

So I started gathering my yellow, red and brown scraps, and then I started cutting.  I began laying my scraps out on my cutting board and I got this...  not bad for a start.  After I looked at the picture I took I realized that the center was much to small - easily fixed!

One thing led to another, and the next thing I know I was making this video:
https://youtu.be/B3V9VPnnVko


And after working for awhile longer I decided to pin what I had so far onto the actual fabric of the quilt.  It's going to be a 6 ft wall hanging when it's done - and I have a lot more petals to add before it looks right... but the center is much better!

Then I rummaged some more - cut up a pair of capri's from years and years ago, and made the stem, and pinned that on my piece.

Next I have to add the smaller darker petals that surround the center of the flower.  And make some leaves, and then somehow attach the whole sunflower to the piece permanently and quilt it, and I plan to do a lot of embroidery stitches on the petals themselves to further enhance the piece.  It has a long way to go - but I am happy with my progress so far... and yes, the sunflower is going to spill out over the edges of the quilt- it's not getting trimmed down - it is exactly the way I want it to be!

I have another wall hanging quilt peeking out behind the sunflower one, that one is just waiting for me to get some border material, then I will sew it all together and finish it...

My Play Day turned out to be just what I needed...

And I didn't even make a dent in my scrap stash!

I see another Play Day in my Future!

IT'S UP TO US TO TEACH THEM CREATIVITY !

I often wonder and even worry about the future of activities such as knitting/ crochet/sewing/crafting in the generations to come, and even within the generations now here.

With technology being what it is, and where it seems to be headed, there seems to be less and less interest by our youth to be creative, less opportunities to work with their hands to create, and dare I say, less and less imagination in a generation that only needs to touch a screen to be entertained and challenged.

I feel we are somehow to blame for this - my generation, that is.  We were the generation that introduced much of the technology that rules the world today.  It was novel, exciting, and we jumped on the trolley that we thought would lead us to new places and to a new world.

Boy did it ever!

I'm not sure I have much pride in the technology our generation helped create.

That is why whenever I see a child show interest in a handicraft of any kind, I jump at the chance to fan the fire of creativity.

Last week we were in the city, and we visited our son and his family.  Our little step-granddaughter is 9 yrs old.  I made her a Junk Journal for her 9th birthday and she is so in love with the journal that it really makes me happy.

She has been struggling to find ways to fill her journal with the things she thinks need to go in it.  So I went through my craft room and packed her a full box of supplies and ideas to help her work on her journal.

She was over - the- top excited!

One of the things she loves the most about her journal is the tiny books that I made and tucked and hid throughout the journal.  She wanted to learn how to make the tiny books, but time wasn't on our side.

It really bothered me that I couldn't show her how to do the simple craft she really wanted to learn  - so today I made her a video showing her how to make her own tiny books.

Given the chance, I believe she will be making a lot of tiny books in her future... and why not - who said journal making is only an adult activity?

It can be done by children as well  - I am sure of it - and I plan to prove it with a series of Tutorial Video's  just for kids, on how to make a simple journal.

If you have interested children in your world, perhaps you will follow along and help create some rather awesome journals for the Children in your lives to give as gifts this Christmas...

To get you started here is the first video in the series...

How to make a Tiny Book.

Get out your scissors, paper, glue and lets get the kids creating!

https://youtu.be/jKPhiaq6KxE



If you want to see the journal I made for Zhanna's birthday here is the video where I show you cover to cover of the book...

https://youtu.be/cSeL_fGQya4