Sometimes I just want to create something & I can't decide what to create with! I mean, really, I have SO many options available to me..., fabric, yarn, paint, & paper...
It's this last one that drew me in yesterday. I didn't want to create scrapbook pages but I sure wanted to create something!

I then got to staring at the bowl on my dining room table. The one that holds the Christmas card ornament I made form this tutorial:

I decided it would be kind of cool to have an entire bowl of those ornaments.
So, I dug out some old birthday & anniversary cards I had saved to make a couple more.

I really enjoy those old cards much better this way - we never do actually go back and read them anyway. Rolling these little paper ornaments around in my hands I enjoy the color, the texture, & the sentiment everyday. I am looking forward to more cards & more ornaments - I think a big ol' bowl of them will just give me a big ol' smile!

While I was in the middle of my ornament making I decided I could pull out a few more supplies & keep my creativity flowing by making a few cards.

Nothing spectacular, nothing fancy, just a favorite punch, a few favorite stamps & some scraps thrown together. Making me so happy just to be tuning out the world & tuning in my creativity.

What do you do to tune out life & tune into your creative space?

Lots of other Creative Space haps going on right here!

Calling all organizing gurus!
My kitchen table & scrapbooking supplies are calling for help.

I am normally very good at organizing things. Just ask my mom who claimed I was a slave driver when she wanted help organizing her cd collection.
But, for some reason the organization of scrapbook supplies eludes me. Just when I think I've got it all figured out I have to take it all apart to use it. Or, I accumulate new things that I have no idea how to incorporate.

I should also say that while I have a designated area for my crafting, my scrapbook supplies tend to get used on the kitchen table - in a whole different part of the house from the other sewing & crafting stuff. I also like to be able to transport supplies for crops that I attend - I have a thing that looks like a piece of luggage for such occasions. Although, I also have a hard time deciding what to take & what to leave & usually end up carting everything in boxes so as not to be caught at a crop without a much needed sticker, or pen, or stamp. I really do need to streamline this whole mess...

So my supplies and I are calling for help...
How do you organize your scrapbook supplies?

One of my favorite things is finding something new in a place I had been taking for granted.

We took the kids out for a walk this week.
A normal kind of thing, in the same place we almost always take them to walk - the natural area by our house. The only difference was that this time I took my camera, & this time I decided to keep track of my activity.

There was beauty to be found - & captured with the camera - even in winter.
My little family & I having a time out just for us. Holding hands, stopping to watch the ducks & a hawk soar, chuckling at the funny antics of the dogs, Tromping in snow, squishing in mud, sliding on ice, cleaning our shoes in the dead grass...every step was a gift.

When we got home I mapped it just out of curiosity, only to discover we'd gone 2 miles!
Our little walk was a healthy little victory.
Love that.
Love discovering.

Ah, the luxury of naps...
Hope your weekending is lovely!

Monday afternoon (& evening) I got my butt in gear & cranked out the last four of Grandma's purses. Each one is a little bit different, although they all have the same lining fabric per her request. I am pretty pleased with the way they all came out, even if all the fabric + handle choices were not exactly what I would have picked, they'll suit Grandma just fine. It took several hours even with my assembly line production process, but I got in the zone & even forgot about dinner - which burnt just the tiniest bit. Thank God for an understanding husband who pretended not to notice! :)

Or two...
Or six... in progress.

I was commissioned to create six new purses for my hubby's Maternal Grandmother. I had made her a purse last Christmas because she had oohed & awed over the one I was carrying at the time - my Dick & Jane bag.

I saw a sample of this bag made from the book Sew Pretty Homestyle in my favorite local quilt store & decided maybe I could make something similar without a pattern.

I improvised the shape & added inner pockets & played with the look a little bit with each new bag. Grandma wanted one in every color & went to the fabric store to pick out her fabric & handles. She bought enough supplies for me to make six bags, & I've completed the first two.

Ironically, around the same time my hubby's other Grandmother also asked me to make a bag for her to send to her cousin as a Christmas gift. So, I've gotten lots of practice recently at making this great little bag! And, I still have four more to go!

I love when I find a simple idea that can be used to create lots of fun finished projects all a bit different than the last. By adding a rosette or two - or no rosettes at all. Using plain wooden handles, painted, or bamboo, in circles, ovals, squares. Adding buttons or pockets, embroidery, dangles, zippers, whatever you can think up!
An easy, quick sew with tons of possibilities & lovely results.
These are my kinds of projects!

What projects are floating around your sewing room the week?

I picked my word & now it's time to set a few goals for the new year...
It has taken me a few days to come up with things not so specific that they really aren't yearly goals, & not so broad that I won't know if at the end of the year if I've done anything to work towards them.
Here is what I came up with, in no particular order...

1. More vegetables. Less meat, less sugar. (because I am not 'dieting' but striving to make better, more healthful food choices)
2. Activity 365. (whether it's the Couch Potato to 5K Workout Plan I'm doing, a hike, or a long walk with the dogs - do something active everyday)
3. Walk/Run a 5K.
4. Learn to knit in the round.

I could include several more crafty type goals here...about quilting, about knitting, about embroidery, or sales, or cooking, or painting...but I chose my goals more for lifestyle changes than for craft style changes.
Why?
Because craft stuff is easy for me & I feel like my goals should be a challenge to be met. And, I know from personal experience when I tell myself a crafty something I *have to* do I automatically do not want to do it. I'm just wierd like that.
I did include the knitting in the round because it is a step up in my current knitting process & intimidates me a little. And, not to say that I won't be learning just tons of new crafty things throughout the year, but it's nice to have a learning goal for myself.

Do you set yearly goals?
This is actually my first time really writing out some goals & really working towards them. I'm pretty excited about it...of course it is only Day 5 - so I am praying my excitement can be sustained longer than a week! :)
Onward!

A friend of mine introduced my to the One Little Word concept last year. And, while I didn't participate last year I've been thinking about how to incorporate it in into my 2011. Here is a post to give you the inside scoop if you are interested. Basically you pick a word you want to inform your year, a word to speak to you, a word to focus on, a word to challenge you, a word to inspire you.

For 2011 my word is Bloom.
Why Bloom?
Well, I knew my overall goal for 2011 was to be working towards healthy. But, healthy just didn't quite capture the true meaning of what I want to strive for. I want to feel alive inside, I want to feel proud of myself, I want to work towards the me I was created to be....I want to Bloom!

~a flourishing, healthy condition; the time or period of greatest beauty, artistry, etc
~a glow or flush on the cheek indicative of youth and health
~to flourish or thrive

Have you thought about picking a word for the New Year? What might yours be?