Doing What I LOVE to Do

I love the spring and it is on it’s way.  It means there will be lots of art festivals.  I love working at the festivals because I love meeting new people.  So, it’s a very happy time of year for me.  :)

Cleaning in my Studio: My Button Box Tells a Story

Hi Everyone,
I’m a little obsessed.  Well let me be more specific, because I’m obsessed with a lot of things.  My intention here is not to talk about all of them all.  It’s to talk about one in particular.  I’m obsessed with sorting, purging and organizing things. I read something very interesting recently in a little book about clutter management. It was a passage that explained that if you love buying items intended to help you get more organized then you may need to consider that you are possibly a bit of a hoarder.  Not sure if I buy that analogy but when I read it, I must say, it gave me a bit of food for thought.  I mean I do love buying items that help me organize things like drawers and closets.  Is that so wrong????

I think not.  Anyway, I want to tell you about the fact that I’m obsessed with cleaning up and organizing in my studio.  I’m not sure if it’s that I like doing that part necessarily.  But, when I feel a little stuck and basically just not really in the mood to sit down and create something, I like to go into my studio and tidy up.  I feel all the good mojo in there whenever I’m in the room.  So, it’s a way to soak that up and feel like I’m at least being somewhat productive.

I started simple purging mostly envelopes and papers that had been lying around for years in my closet.  Soon a bag was filled, then two, then three.  You get the gist.

Then I dug a little deeper.  I looked inside the plastic boxes I keep in my closet. The button box was out of control because I have quite a stash of buttons: 1,000’S of buttons.  Hmmmm… hoarder?  Do people who are not hoarders keep 1,000’s of buttons on hand?  Well, in my defense, I do use them for my jewelry creations.  I love my button necklaces and I fully intent to make more - thus the problem.
  

I found a button attached to a cute little tag that I totally remember keeping because I thought it was a cute tag.  I looked on the back of the tag.  Size 7???!!!!!  Uhh, I think the last time I was a size 7 was maybe when I was in the 6th grade.  Okay.  That’s it.

 Hello, my name is Marcia and I AM A HOARDER.  I just realize that now.  Who keeps a tag that long because it’s cute?  Even worse – now I don’t want to get rid of it because I like remembering that I once was a size 7.

You know what else I found in that stash with all the buttons?  I found a pair of google eyes!  Nope.  I’m not too mature for a fine pair of google eyes.  I love them!  I’ve been known to use them around the house, at times, putting them on anything and everything, especially during Halloween.   Good times.

Now, let me be clear.  The reason I’m trying to write a blog is to help keep everyone motivated to create.  I guess the gist of this one is to tell you yes. I get stuck all the time when it comes to being creative.  There are many days that I just don’t feel like making things.  But, for me, cleaning up in the studio is still part of the artsy process.  Next time you feel stuck, I mean if that happens to you, don’t stress over it.  Take the opportunity to just hang out wherever you create and tidy things up a bit.  It really works for me and I bet it will work for you too.  Maybe, if you try this, if you’re really lucky, I mean if all the stars line up just right, you too might even find pair of google eyes.

Wonder if I have any more in there anywhere?  I’m gonna’ go clean out a few more boxes and hope for the best.

Thanks for reading.
Marcia

Wrapping Paper Tutorial

 
If you’re like me when you wrap a gift you want it to look…well….adorable.  I don’t know what it is about wrapping presents but typically I really get into it.

This idea came from the amazing Alisa Burke.  I want to be sure to give credit where credit is due.

First I started drawing flowers.  I’m totally into flowers right now because I’ve been following Alisa’s blog and am feeling seriously affected and inspired.

 Then I started adding color with water color paints.  I love working with water colors.

 Ultimately I added a little more definition with the Sharpie Pen and a few colored pencils.

 I took my finished piece and photographed it in the sun to get as bright a shot as I could.

 

I uploaded the image into Photoshop and started manipulating it by mirroring the image and then mirroring it again until I was able to make it the size it needed to be in order to upload it to the wrapping paper web site.

  

I uploaded it to a web site called "Spoonflower" and ordered a roll of wrapping paper made out of my image.

 

Arrived:  My own personal floral wrapping paper.