Saturday, October 30, 2010

camel complete!

FINALLY finished the stitching on the camel! Also did the tiny bit of beading on the three wisemen and camel. Funny, Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds didn't have any jewels on them. :) So now there's nowt but the making up to do. Kinda terrifying. Really hesitant to do that ... largely because I don't have a lot of faith that they'll stand up, etc. I'm putting them aside for a tiny while... to give myself a break from them.

Also put together the basic "envelopes" for my NYC album... though I had a very hard time setting the grommets. One didn't work, and needs a brad instead. Which will be fine.

I would like to do some brainstorming -- what "art" will I create every day in November? I think I have a number of projects I should work on.....

1. B&K minifigs - need to sketch the features, paint
2. B&K pillos -- need to get the "right" pictures, print, sew
3. birthday calendars -- need to choose the 12 pictures, get prints, trim, put together, and get ready to send

Those would be fantastic. And, of course, there's poor Hare, waiting for his leaves to be stitched...

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

unplugged again!

Funny that the last day I posted happened to be my first day at my new job! I love it most of the time -- really, probably 97%, which is about 92% more than I loved my last gig! -- but it's been a steep learning curve and I tend to come home feeling mentally exhausted.

I do get to be more creative at work, however -- I write blog posts, I create Facebook status updates, I write descriptions of running shoes and apparel, and get to weigh in on design and brand ideas. All that and it's been less than 2 months. So that's good.

And I have also been somewhat creative at home -- a bit of scrapbooking (of two half marathons and a fundraising run), creating three different charm bracelets (a "life with Wil" bracelet, a running charm bracelet, and a very sparse "raced states" bracelet). But nowhere near what I would like to have been doing. Perhaps it's the running, the fundraising, or whatever. But I haven't been creative enough.

That's why I was thrilled to see my pal Sylvia's status update about Art Every Day Month -- creating art every day in November. Sort of a "NaNoWriMo" but more broadly based. I signed up and will be posting my efforts to this blog.

Of course, a few things will complicate this. 1. I am still not buying craft supplies except for as needed to complete projects. (Yes, I know, I've broken my own rule more than once this year. But I certainly haven't bought as much!) 2. On November 5 I'm going to be heading to NYC to run a marathon, and I'll be there for several days. But I suppose running an awfully long way in a beautiful city is an art, right?

So. What is left to do in October? I'd like to finish the outlining on the camel... that would be a huge step. Then there's just a bit of beading and some tiny little tassels to make. Dreading the making up of the pieces, but it would be silly not to stitch them up after all the work of the cross stitch.

I would also very much like to get more stitching done on the Hare pillow. I do think I could do most of the stitching this year... if not the background.

Bring on AEDM!!!