Military Musings

Once a military wife, always a military wife! And as a (retired) military wife I enjoyed reading the musings of Amanda, author and owner of the blog: Confessions from Household6. As soon as I read her subtitle, "life from my quarters to yours" I felt a connection. (For those of you that aren't military, our "quarters" are our homes especially when living on base in military housing.)

I don't know Amanda personally, but many of her stories made me smile as I reminisced about the good ole days when our kids were still living at home, and our life was full of moves, TDY's (involuntary separations due to Temporary Duty assignments), and ways to have fun without spending much money like BYO (Bring Your Own) meat BBQ's and neighborhood street parties.

Even though, because of PCS' (Permanent Change of Station), friends came and went as if through a revolving door, the friendships we made with other military families have lasted through the years and long absences just make the cherished reconnections by phone, email, facebook, and real life visits all the more precious.

If you'd like a glimpse into military family life that's told with a sense of humor, and yet smacks of a reality show, you might want to grab a cup of tea, stop by her blog, and settle down for a good read. But if you only have time for a quicky, I suggest her one (1) paragraph story entitled "Busted". Amada is a creative and disciplined blogger who takes her digital scrapbooking seriously and posts a new article virtually everyday.

Families of our military also deserve our thanks and our support. You can give her a boost, by leaving a comment under one of her blog posts. As a fellow blogger, I can tell you that it's always nice to know that someone read what you spent time writing. And, if Amanda ever turns her musings into a book, you can say you were reading her stories even before she became famous.

And speaking of supporting the families of our military... The next time you are in need of a present for a special occassion consider buying something handmade from a Homefront Artist. Homefront is a support community for the artistically talented military spouses of active duty, reservist, or retired United States Service members who are selling their artwork on Etsy, Artfire, or 1000 Markets.

I'm a member of the Etsy Homefront Street Team and our motto is: "We keep the homefires burning for our uniformed service members worldwide." To learn more about this group of artists, visit their blog by clicking here.

When you make a purchase from a member of Homefront, you are supporting a military spouse. Most Homefront Etsy artists have tagged their items with the words "Homefront Team" in order to facilitate a search for their items. However, the quickest and easiest way is to just click on one of the buttons below.

To Shop for Homefront Artists on Etsy.com

To Shop for Homefront Artists on ArtFire.com

To Shop for Homefront Artists on 1000 Markets.com

And, if you know of another Homefront group, please leave their link in the comments below.

Extraordinary Work Space

While out cruising the web this Sunday afternoon, I saw something that made me stop and take a second look. A couple of weeks back, Kim, of The Polka Dot Press, gave us an inside glimpse of her workspace and cited the source of her inspiration as the magazine "Where Women Create."

I'm not usually the jealous type, but seeing her space made me think about revamping my own. I could take my ordinary space--a studio with a cement floor like a basement or garage and lots of shelving and flat counter tops made of plywood--and turn it into something extra ordinary.

July sounds like a good month for that type of project. Maybe I'll take some before and after pictures to share. Maybe I should get a copy of that magazine and read it first. Or at least I should dream about it for a few days... I sure would like to work in an environment that was comfortable, esthetically pleasing, and inspiring rather than just utilitarian or functional. Thinking cap on...

How about you? Any ideas??? Don't hold back. I may just incorporate your suggestions into my revamped space. So open up a comment box and tell us about the best feature in your workspace? Is there anything about your space that motivates or stimulates your creative process? Do you have a unique organizational system for storing your supplies or finished pieces?


Petty Cash Box photo courtesy of TippleandSnack of Etsy

Felted Pencil Cup photo courtesy of CozyCottageCreations of Etsy

Writing for HandmadeNews.org

I highly recommend HandmadeNews.org as a great resource for both buyers and sellers in the world of handmade. It's a comprehensive site, with a dynamic staff of columnists and editors writing for 14 sections or departments including:

Main Feature
Craft Techniques
Guild & Teams
Just for Fun
Craft Trends
Marketing
Business Tips
Inspiration
Green Wise
Featured Artisan
Item of the Day
Crafty Kids
Front Page
Most Popular

This site was launched on June 8th and is quickly growing in popularity. Some of the articles I've found most interesting include:

Create Your Own Seed Paper
An article about making seed paper that you can write a note on and
then the recipient can plant it rather that put it in the trash

Vetrazzo-The Ultimate Example of Trash to Treasure
An article about a company who makes gorgeous counter tops out of recycled glass
that competing as an elegant alternative to more expensive granite

Snow Globes For Any Occasion
These would be a great craft project for kids--even teens, a fabulous table decoration for a fundraiser or as a wedding favor or a get well present for someone stuck in bed.

Sock Coffee Cozy: A Craft Supply Challenge Project
You don't even have to be crafty to do this project. All you need are a stash of lonely socks who lost their partner to the hungry monster in the washing machine or dryer.

Recrafting Yourself in the Second Half of Life

Some of you may not be there, but at 50+ and in the second half of my life, all I can say is, "Amen!"

That's a sampling just to whet your appetite. New articles are published every day in each department. Now that I'm a columnist in the Guild & Teams department, I don't have as much time for perusing. So, why don't you go to HandmadeNews.org and read an article for me. If you really like it, use the comments below to recommend it to the rest of us.

Enjoy!

Nature's Best and Giveaway #5

I'm intrigued by the NaturalKids team on Etsy. They have their own blog and their own store front where you can shop by category. But I had never heard of them until I read about their giveaway on a blog called Woolies-Woolies. The specific prize was not announced, but browsing through their items, I'd be happy to win anything.

To enter, all you need to do is visit two of their members' etsy store and pick a favorite item from each and mention them in a comment at the end of the Natural Kids Giveaway #5 article. Hope you have as much fun as I did.

One of their members named Sara is the author of Woolies-Woolies. She is an artist and avid knitter who has two shops on Etsy: Woolies & Buster and Boo. She creates knitted shawls, baby items, stuffed animals, as well as jewelry and accessories.

Here is one piece from each or her shops to whet your appetite. (Click on the image for more details.)

Diamonds for Your Shoulders

Photo courtesy of Woolies

Vintage Typewriter Key Necklace, the letter H

Photo courtesy of Buster and Boo

Enjoy!

Is Life Art?

I have no clue which Ernst Fisher gave us this art quote of the day, but his words could have been my words:

“I don’t want life to imitate art. I want life to be art.”--Ernst Fischer

I believe there is an art to enjoying life. No one ever gets to live a fairytale life, for each of our lives is full of “curve balls” and every once in a while we are dealt a bad hand. I’ve come to realize that the secret to life is not in getting the right cards, or even the best cards, but it’s in how we play our hand.

A good poker player can beat three of a kind with a pair of deuces. I saw that happen once. And, I’ve heard a friend who lost their job tell me that he and his wife decided to take an evening stroll instead of their usual Friday night dinner at a fancy restaurant, and ended up having a wonderful time. They took lemons and artfully made lemonade.

Life is art, when we enjoy the people we love and the beauty that surrounds us. My life is living art when I take the time to sit with my husband at the edge of a lake, and we open our senses to the natural beauty that is before us just waiting to be noticed.


As we sit there, we soak in the beautiful changing colors of the sunset. The dazzling diamond like sparkles of light bouncing on the rippling water mesmerizes us. We are lulled into a relaxed peacefulness by the soft lapping sound of baby waves. A hint of pine from the forest just behind us fills our nostrils as we breathe in slowly and purposefully. We are caressed by the feathery touch of the gentle breeze. Two birds frolicking in the air just above our heads provide entertainment, and we giggle over the frog that has perched himself on a nearby log and watches us with curiosity. We share the secrets from our day intermittently with moments of intimate silence. We experience life as a taste of heaven and life becomes art.

Unfortunately we can’t stay at the edge of the lake forever. But we can continue to live our life in an artful way. A good artist uses their medium to create a piece of art that stirs our souls into seeing something in a new and appealing way. We become the artist of our lives when we not only look for beauty in every person and situation but when we open ourselves to really take in that beauty and experience it in a new way.

Please leave a comment about a time when you experienced life as art…

Award Winning Blog

ByCoco's Art for Everyday Enjoyment is now an award winning blog thanks to Studio618. That blog received this award from MandiBeads who received it from from Anna of Life, Craftiness, and Everything Else who received it from Leslie of Shrimp Salad Circus... You get the idea...

I'm thrilled to have received it, not only because it's my first award, but because I really enjoy passing along good things and this gives me the opportunity to do just that--sort of like playing Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.

Let's see, while envisioning myself as One Lovely Blog Award Fairy, whose blogs come to mind?

In my humble opinion, I think these fellow blogs also deserve this award because... Well check them out for yourself.

Artfire Cafemom Team
Etsy's Homefront Team Blog
Etsy Maine Team • the way handmade should be
Folk Art and Primtives on A...
Military Spouse Web
DjStoreRoom
Spirit Essence Art
Bows for Baby
Resweater
Dose of Creativity
Half an Acre
LoopDiLoops
Mother Goose and Gear
Crochet Thoughts
Spa Goddess Speaks

Cheers! & Congratulations!
This is one of Studio618's jewelry pieces for sale on ArtFire.

If these blogs choose to accept this award, they should post it on their blog along with my name and a link to my blog and then pass the award on to 15 other blogs.

Thank you, Studio618 for passing this award on to me for this blog and for the opportunity to introduce my readers to these other noteworthy blogs. Hope you had fun checking them out and I hope they enjoy passing on the honor by recognizing other blogs.

I can't resist showing off one more piece of Studio618's jewelry. This wire pendant with turquoise beads is for sale in her Etsy shop. I thought it was both unique and intriguing.
Click on the picture to take a closer look and get the details about this piece.

Trash to Treasure Using Old Plaques

Fellow artist, Sayo Granich-Lee, found some old discarded plaques and wants to turn them into display pieces for her jewelry. In an article entitled "New Displays" on her blog she solicits ideas from her readers. Her article got my creative mind to whirling and believing that the more ideas the merrier, I thought I'd try to direct a few creative geniuses her way.

I'm thinking she should go ahead with her plan to strip and refinish the plaques. I'd do it in a natural wood finish (either light, medium or dark). I would then mount a hand on one, a pair of ears on another, and maybe a neck (with or without a manikin style head) on yet another turning them into 3D displays similar to taxidermy mountings. The protruding forms could be made of styrofoam, paper-mâché, clay, or other easily sculpted material and then covered in a black flocking giving them a velvety felt like finish. Plaques could then be hung on a wall or other vertical surface and rings could be displayed on the fingers of the hand, earrings could dangle from holes in the ears, and a necklace could be draped around the neck.

The remaining plaques could be topped with a raised black velvet pad and placed flat on a table or shelf (like a plate or tray) and Sayo's jewelry pieces could be laid on top. Or maybe...

Oh, Oh, Oh, my brain is racing away with me. Another option would be to affix a cork pad to front of the refinished plaques and a frame brace on the back. Pins could hole the jewelry in place and the plaques could be displayed angled slightly back on a table or shelf. Or she could prop them up on an angle for a more sophisticated look.

Enough of my ideas. If you enjoy transforming trash into treasure as much as I do, why don't you head over to the article on her blog, let your imagination run wild and leave your ideas in her comment section. I know she would appreciate your creative insights as she takes these ordinary plaques and turns them into an extraordinary display for her artwork.

A Memorial Day Thank You

As a retired military spouse, I know first hand the sacrifices required of service members and their families. Some are huge like loss of limb or loss of life for the sake of others' freedom. Some are not that life altering, but still huge, like missing the birth of your child, missing milestones in their life, or not being to together to celebrate your anniversary. Some are small, like early morning PT (physical training), living on a tight budget, or short TDY's (periods of involuntary separation because of a temporary duty assignment).
My husband has been retired for over a decade now, but we still miss those good old days. Looking back in time and reflecting on our time in the military, I can see all the sacrifices we made. Back then, while living it, we were too busy sacrificing to notice. It was a way of life, and a way of life that brought the best out in us and our children.
Anyway, as a tribute to all those who have served, and all those serving, I wanted to say "thank you." So I started the following thread on Etsy.com and hope that you will go there and leave a comment of thanks.
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6160266
I had originally planned to send the link to my husband as a present this Memorial Day, but think I will also forward it to many of our military friends. Feel free to do the same.
When I last checked there were 41 comments. Hope there's many more by the time you add yours.

Proud to be a Mainer and Even Prouder of My Fellow Etsy Mainers

Click here to read all about it!

Fiber Artist Makes Pouches with Pizazz

Had it not been for Jenny, author of Creature of Craft, I may never have stumbled upon fiber artist, Robyn of ShibaNg Designs, who creates these attractive pouches and purses. I was immediately drawn to her use of splashy color on neutral backgrounds and kept hearing the fuzzy texture whisper in my ear an invitation to reach out and touch it. Ooh, la, la.

Robyn’s zippered pouches come in several sizes: a 3.5" x 5" coin purse, an 8" x 5" pencil case, and a 2" x 4" x 8" cosmetic bag. Not only are they beautiful, but they are functional and versatile as well. For, instance, the coin purse is also the right size to keep keys, most cell phones, mp3 players, tissues, rosaries, or individually wrapped hand wipes. Just use your imagination, and fill them with whatever pieces you need to keep protected or bundled together inside a pocket, a bag, or even a drawer.

The process Robyn uses starts with a screen print. Then she applies hand-dyed felted wool to create the flower applique, making each one unique yet in a style that is recognizable as her own. Her pouches feature a vinyl lining for durability and a zipper closure for functionality. In my mind, Robyn takes these ordinary useful items and gives them artistic pizazz, making them extraordinary and a delightful way to keep items organized in your purse.

Speaking of purses, Robyn also makes purses. The purse pictured here is 17”x13” with a shoulder strap that is 25”. To help the bag hold its shape and to add durability, Robyn uses heavy duty polyester interfacing as an interlining between the bag and the cotton lining. This purse also features an inside zippered pocket and a magnetic snap to keep it closed.

If you’d like to learn more about Robyn, her education, and her craft check out Jenny’s May 15^th Artist Feature Friday article on her blog, CreatureofCraft. And while you are there, check out Jenny’s bead weaving. She too is a gifted artist, offering some exceptional handmade items through her store, JMackJems, on Etsy.

Clicking on any picture in this article will take you to that item’s online listing. If you know someone else you think would enjoy Robyn’s pouches and purses, please send them the link to this article. And don’t forget to leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts and reactions to either Robyn and her work or Jenny and her work.