Craft a Rebellion: It Doesn't Always Have to be Storebought

Thursday, March 31, 2011

It Doesn't Always Have to be Storebought - Handmade Gifts

Handmade gifts are always best & I have a few from friends & family.

A friend made these metallic painted handmade little clay creations for the tables at her wedding (pictured with the green background). (An artist in her own right.) She wanted something original that she made to be a part of the decorations. They had natural variations in the process of hand forming each one. (Some of them has little hearts with her husband-to-be's initials. Mine is not one of them.) It's great to catch little things like rings and earrings or a delicate necklace. (Some of them had had little candles in them.) One of the best things about these - she did something her way and celebrated her art, incorporating it into her special day.

I grew up involved in community based groups (such as 4-H and Girl Scouts), that often put a great importance on volunteering and being a positive part of the community. It may sound corny or idealistic to some, but I would like to think it did help shape elements of my ideals and instill a sense of responsibility.

Napkin Holder

As a Girl Scout, one of these involvements included "adopting" a "grandparent" at a local nursing home we often visited. (Pretty typical community involvement project.) I got a feisty woman who liked to work on plastic canvas needlepoint, including a house design napkin holder (pictured) that she gave me. It's something that years later, I still have and still think of her fondly when I see it. It was something she shared with me.

The photo album was a birthday gift from aunt this year. She has really gotten into scrap booking projects and card making. She embellished the cover inside and out for a personalized birthday present (to go along with a handmade card and cookies from a nearby bakery).

Photo Album Cover

Inside Cover of Album

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About the Author

You might be curious to know about me and about and my creative background. I grew up with a other who sewed and taught me to sew by the time I started kindergarten. We grew up learning how to make paper flowers and foll houses from boxes and old magazines. It seemed as if there was nothing we couldn't come up with a way to do.

I grew up as a Girl Scout and then 4-H when I became old enough, in which I took everything from cooking to woodworking to clowning. I started in theater at a young age helping build costumes for a college production when I was still only in middle school. I learned to take on new creative challenges with a type of fearlessness than many are cautious against. I found not just a love, but also a need to create whether it was something made, something written, or something performed as I took on and played an instrument as well. I learned that y own creativity could take e to places that do not or cannot exist any other place.

In later years, theater has become an even larger part of my life than even when I was younger, both onstage and offstage. y love of costumes has only deepened as I have constantly learned a true love in the arts and of creating something out of nearly nothing. (Which seems to happen a lot in smaller theaters where budgets are small or non-existent.) I supervised and taught Arts & rafts at two different summer camps into my early twenties. I get the joyous task of being able to continue to share and teach and constantly learn. I have volunteered and been a part of outreach projects, as well as write hoping to never loose the desire to create.

Rebel against that which keep us down and make us loose touch with ourselves CREATE SOMETHING!

Favorite Quotes

The reluctance to put away childish things may be a requirement of genius. ~Rebecca Pepper Sinkler
Coloring outside the lines is a fine art. ~Kim Nance
When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college - that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?" ~Howard Ikemoto
Art is the only way to run away without leaving home. ~Twyla Tharp
Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one. ~Stella Adler
The world today doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do? ~Pablo Picasso
Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen. ~Leonardo da Vinci

Craft a Rebellion

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Thursday, March 31, 2011

It Doesn't Always Have to be Storebought - Handmade Gifts

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