Fits and Starts

I am noticing that blog entries tend to come in spurts. Seems like I have very little creative brain activity for a while and then suddenly the bug bites and the creative juices flow again.

I love those seasons of creativity. It is so fulfilling to make something from nothing...I don't care what medium. I love to take a dirt patch and fill it with life. (although my gardens have been terribly neglected this year....seems like the creativity in that area has run thin of late. I'm looking forward to 'putting them to bed for the winter' because everything looks spindly and scrawny.)

I love to choose fabric and sew it into something useful and/or beautiful. I so enjoy putting pen to paper and writing to a friend...or typing thoughts into cyberspace, producing a "published" work of my cogitations! Even rearranging the living room furniture gives me that great outlet for my imagination...even tho' the configurations are quite limited! Cooking and baking satisfying to me in more ways than one. Singing comes under this artistic heading...so fun!

Call me crazy, I am even looking forward to painting the outside of our house this fall (or maybe in the spring if I don't hurry up and beat the cold weather!) Can I call that creativity?T

The thing about these spurts of inspiration is that something gets left in the dust....like now, for instance, Mt. Washmore, (my laundry pile - it is really not a mountain right now...more like foothills...) is calling me. But I must ignore it if I am to finish these thoughts! When I am doing a sewing project, seems like the family dinners are relegated to grilled cheese or eggs. When I choose creativity, I say no to the mundane. Hmmmm. I'll be thinking more on this.

I am reminded of my brother, Lee. Okay, the guy is a genius. His brainpower never ceases to amaze me. He is always inventing or thinking of inventing. He is always studying about something - usually the subjects of his study are quite obscure and so very interesting! Seems like his 'creative radar' never switches off...he's always collecing things that he plans to make into other things. He is the master of using something unconventional to problem solve. An amazing man!

I wonder if this is universal...does everyone love to make something new? Is this one of the ways we can see the Image of our Creator stamped upon us? I do believe He specializes in newness and freshness and originality.

For me, that sweet satisfaction that comes from creating can be summed up in words from Genesis 1: 31 - it is very good.

"See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you." Isaiah 42:9

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. " Isaiah 43:18,19

P.S. The quilt in the pics above is one that Bree made for her sweet friend Kiley's graduation. ( I helped!) (Have I put these pics on this blog before? Can't remember...)

End-of-summer-vacation-creativity

School starts on the 13th for us this year (yes, the 13th of August). Seems like we are starting earlier and earlier. I am feeling that end-of-summer-urgency to have fun with our kids! Since we do not have piles of cash lying around, we are trying to think of jolly things to do together close to home!

We had a day of tie-dying last week. MAN, did we have fun. We bought a couple of white shirts and bandanas from Walmart, some dye and rubber bands from Hobby Lobby. The night before we dyed, I looked for diy instructions on youtube. I found LOTS of helpful videos and some interesting history. We used our rubber bands to 'tie' our shirts We boiled water (incidentally, we did this on one of the hottest days. Next time we tie-dye, which we hope will be soon, we will wait for a cool fall or winter day!), added the dye. We had three colors: pink, red, blue. We dyed for a few hours. It was a BLAST. We dyed old nasty night shirts, socks, towels, even undies! We were scouring the house for whites to dye. My mom dyed a red shirt on which she had accidentally spilled bleach...she dyed it blue and it turned out so cool. We learned how to make a plaid pattern. We learned how to make circles within circles. We even figured out how to make hearts. We WILL be dying again soon. (Our camera is near death, so I cannot post any of our own pics right now...)

Our other project that we did today and also a couple of days ago: homemade silly putty and homemade flubbery blubber. Here are the recipes:

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SILLY PUTTY:

3 T. white glue

4 T. liquid starch

food coloring (optional) (red will stain your hands!)

Mix together and then knead and knead and knead. Store in an airtight container.

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FLUBBERY BLUBBER

Stir in bowl #1:

• 2 T. warm water


• 3 t. white glue


• food coloring (optional)

Mix in bowl #2:

• 2 T. warm water


• scant 1/2 t. Borax (found in the laundry section @ the grocery)

Add Bowl #1's contents to Bowl #2. Mix until solution becomes rubbery and forms a ball. Knead until smooth. Drain any excess water. Store in airtight container.

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These are similar, but the blubber is more stiff...we think the Silly Putty is more fun! Now I am on the hunt for more out-of-the-ordinary, inexpensive projects for this next week!

"Ell-tography"

I just have to share: our daughter Elly is AMAZING. She has an artistic eye that I admire so much. When I do a sewing project, I always feel more comfortable when El helps me pick colors...sometimes she picks fabrics that I would NEVER in a million years choose and her choices consistently look fabulous. How does she do that???? Her ability is a gift from the Lord and she uses it well.

Elly has a passion for photography. This needs to be the year that we get her a wonderful camera. She's been snapping away with our cheesey little Kodak Easy Share and getting results that are beautiful. The pictures above are hers. I've been telling her that when she gets famous for her photos, I expect her to support her dad and me!