Peek at My Week (Nov 29-Dec 5)

It's been one of those weeks that absolutely disappeared on me. Maybe this review will help me remember what I did with it.

Sunday was a complete loss. It rained almost all day long. I spent the time inside packaging orders and doing a little online Christmas shopping. I was thankful that after a rainy, dreary day I had bright and yummy pork ramen on the menu for dinner.

After the rain, the temperature began to drop on Monday. I knocked out chores, packaging more Etsy orders, and the grocery shopping. And, we found a reason to celebrate.

Tuesday was the first of December. It took me a little waking up before I realized that also meant it was the first day of Carve December! I'll share each day's stamp a little further down in this post so you can see them grouped together. I worked on and off all day and finished it with a disaster of a desk. I'll spare you the pictures and instead share our yummy dinner.

Getting potstickers to turn out always excites me. They're a little fussy to make, but not really hard at all. And, they're so tasty!

We woke to freezing temperatures on Wednesday. 

You can see that my app said there was snow - there wasn't, thankfully. I'm a beach girl at heart and can't handle the cold and snow. It's pretty and all, just not for me. 

The freeze wilted a lot of our delicate plants and even most of our ferns. But, I discovered this one that was working on clinging in there.

I spent the morning working on several business tasks. Once it warmed up, I helped Pat paint primer on the shed until we rain out of paint. This is the before.

I was exhausted from painting and convinced Pat to order out for dinner (woohoo!)

We thought we might get more painting done on Thursday, but rain was predicted. We did take a look at the paint swatch on the shed.

Since the shed is now near the pool, we're going for a beach/poolhouse vibe for it.

Before trying to head out to shop, I noticed that the camellias were blooming. I had to stop and admire them.

This is my only bush on the property. It's HUGE and took a hit when a tree fell on it during the hurricane. Fortunately, I think it's going to be okay. From there, I had some car issues that took a little while for Pat and me to resolve. But, once that was handled, I headed out for a little Christmas shopping. I even got Pat to come out with me so we could shop for the Giving Tree Child we sponsored. It felt nice to be doing something for someone else after the year we've all had. 

On Friday, I handled a few tasks at home and ran to the Southern Antiques and Accents to update the booth. 

After that, I spent the whole afternoon knocking out more Christmas shopping. While I hate putting myself at risk out in the public, there were just some things I couldn't purchase online. 

Since most of the shopping was done, I spent some of Saturday decorating in the house.

We still haven't decided if we're going to get a tree this year or not, I feel a little more festive with at least a few baubles out. I'm hoping to make a few things too if I can ever decide what!

I also decided to begin Kasia's Advent Calendar course from Everything Art. And, in true "me" fashion, I first created a new journal.

I'll likely just be sharing my work from this course on Instagram. But, we'll see. 

While I did that (and a few other things on my to-do list), Pat and his sister were outside tearing the tin off one of the lean-tos attached to the pole barn. Somehow I was able to get out of that task!

Here's a look at the stamps I've carved each day this week for #CarveDecember.

The prompt for Day 1 was "Love", and I really tried to work with that prompt. I scrapped several partly-carved stamps and became overly frustrated before finally just letting myself play.

"Float" was day 2's prompt. I chose to do something that resembled water ripple reflections. I found myself in a better place for creating and was quite happy with this design.

It took a little thought on how I wanted to use the prompt of "Layers" for Day 3. I kept coming back to that line from "Shrek" about onions and parfaits having layers. I don't know what that has to do with my stamp, but it worked out.

I seriously fretted over what to do with the "Insect" prompt on Day 4. It finally dawned on me that butterflies are insects, and I went from there.

The "Bird" prompt for Day 6 also had me befuddled until I recognized that owls are birds. What the heck is wrong with me!? In any case, I was able to knock out this little cutie after a bit of doodling to find just the right owl shape.

And, that was my week! 

I stayed so busy that I didn't have much time for other inspiration but did find a few things that might spark your creativity.

• As I said above, I'm feeling the ich to create some Christmas decorations and keep stumbling on great tutorials. Here are 21 Free Patterns for Felt Ornaments. 
• Jen at EPBOT always finds the best stuff. She recently shared 10 Christmas Crafts that Inspired Her. 
• If you're looking to make some of your gifts this season, Sadie Seasongoods has a list of 150+ Creative DIY Christmas Gifts. 
• For good measure, here's one more ornament pattern. This time, it's embroidery hoop ornaments. 

Alas, that's it for this week. I hope you've found some tasks to keep you busy and inspired. Let me know what's keeping your spirits up right now. 

Peek at My Week (Nov. 22-28)

Another week in the books! While there have been projects on my desk all week, it wasn't as productive a week as the one before. But, it was a holiday/vacation week for us and I spent the bulk of my time working on promoting the sale in the Etsy Shop. However, I did squeeze in some fun too.

We spent another Sunday in the woods of Blakely State Park. This time, though, we kept an eye on the map and didn't wear ourselves slap out. After that, Pat and I ran errands and worked on a few things around the house.

The Big Green Tree Machine showed up earlier on Monday than we expected. But, we couldn't complain. We were glad to see them and get the downed trees out of here. 

We toasted to their removal in the evening!

As I mentioned above, this week was a "vacation". This just meant that Pat took the week off to get some tasks done around the property. The main thing was to replace some of the shed which he started in earnest on Tuesday.

It took him much of the week. This one side was the hardest, and he needed my help a little to get the board in place. I alternated between chores and online work.

And, as I became increasingly frustrated with the lack of pockets in the pants I was wearing, I tweeted this.

I'm serious about this. I don't plan to buy ANY more pants that don't have adequate pockets. And, for that matter, I won't be buying skirts or dresses without them either. Are you as frustrated as I am? Have you seen the size of pockets that guys get? Grrrr!

I started Wednesday morning by making sure I shared about the sale in my shop. 

From there, I decided to center myself a little by working on an art journal spread.

After that, it was off to my mom's to help her with some of the Thanksgiving dinner preparations.

I mostly made the sweet potato pies, helped with the pecan pie, and assisted my mom in getting other tasks sorted. But, look at my pies!

I never make pies, so even as ugly as these are, I'm still pretty proud of them.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. And, is usually the case, I was too busy visiting to take any pictures. It was a small gathering of just my mom and step-dad, my nieces and their boyfriends, and Pat and me. So, I felt pretty safe with that arrangement. And, it was quite bittersweet as we were all missing my grandmother. 

I did get a quick shot of my niece's cat, Milo, and his shenanigans while we were eating.

Isn't he a goober?

Friday is my main housecleaning day. After the chores were tackled, I stayed in the craft room for most of the day, working on technical things. In the afternoon, I started focusing on making.

I feel like I spent all of Saturday promoting. It was Small Business Saturday and I wanted to share as many of the small businesses that I follow as I could in my Instagram stories. In the afternoon, we watched the Iron Bowl while I doodled. 

As you can see, I did infuse some creativity throughout the week as it snuck its way into each of my days. I hope you're finding ways to stay inspired too. Here are a few of the inspirations I found over the week. 

• I've been playing with my gelli plate and alcohol inks some, so this list of 12 Crafts Created with Alcohol Inks caught my attention. 
• Art created with found and reclaimed objects is definitely one of my favorite things. Check out this collection of pieces from Artist Nari Ward. 
• Rings & Things shared a tutorial on How to Make a Large-holed Bead and Multi-Strand Leather Choker Necklace. 
• Mindful Art Studio shared their 2020 Book List. 
• Learn to make a pair of Ombre Autumn Earrings at Jewelry Making Journal. 
• Here's an interesting Craft-Along Advent Calendar from Sew Historically. 
• You saw my attempts at pies but really should check out these AMAZING Fantasy Art Pies and Cookies. I can't even believe they're completely edible. 
• At Mill Lane Studio, you can discover different materials you can use to Color Epoxy Resin.
• I really love the process that Julie at Balzer Designs takes to create these Watercolor Ornament Cards. 
• This rusty can was upcycled in two ways and also gives you a new way to look at upcycling old stuff. 
• Finally, as a female football fan, this historic moment for women in football had me a little choked up. 

Alrighty, that was the week for me. I hope you're finding some joy and inspiration in these trying times. And, hey, it's officially the holiday season! So, here's hoping it's stress-free!!

Peek at My Weeks (Oct. 18-31)

I'm running two weeks behind again. Technically, it's really just a week, but I've got two weeks to share with you. Since there's so much to cover, let's get to it!

On Sunday, the 18th, my eco-prints from the day before had dried and were beautiful!

We worked out in the yard some, trying to get an area clear before we had the shed moved. Pat picked up this shelf from the place where it had been since we moved it. I seriously thought it was just a section of a broken shelf. But, it turned out to be this. 

He called it a baker's drying rack where you slide in trays for the bread, doughnuts, pastries, etc. I can TOTALLY see painting it up real pretty and using it to store and dry papers. Can you see it?  I can't believe I've just left it sitting out in the yard for five years!

Pat's sister and her partner came over to help us move a few things with the help of the tractor. 

Then my silly sister-in-law got in the bucket of the tractor. I couldn't help but snap a quick photo of the two of them. 

Monday was all about running all the errands. I felt like I was busy all day long. Then, I got a happy surprise in the mail.

This was an amazing package from my friend, Ginger, who is currently in Japan. I knew she was sending me something, but this package of awesome just blew me away! Thank you, again, Ginger!!

On Tuesday, I worked general business-y tasks before pouring myself into an art journal page. 

And, our new TV was delivered!

In the afternoon, I helped Pat get prepared for the shed to be moved. 

This included taking apart our fire pit since it was in the direct path of where the shed would be traversing. 

After a busy business day on Wednesday and a new quote for the tree service that we're still waiting to have done, we had the shed moved. It was creepy and cool to watch two guys with a "mule" move it across the yard.

Thursday and Friday were spent with my niece in Mobile while my mom and step-dad went up to Birmingham for him to have a procedure. Meanwhile, my niece was running a slight fever as I freaked out that she might have the virus. After we got her a doctor's appointment for Monday, I spent much of Friday trying to find out where and how to get her a Covid test. Fortunately, that came back negative and my step-dad's procedure went well also. 

Saturday was my birthday. I really didn't do much. I had previously purchased some tube watercolors and spent part of the morning getting them into an organizer for easier use.

In the afternoon, we went to friends' to watch the Alabama football game before returning home for a little celebratory cake.

Tiramisu is my favorite!

On Sunday, it was back to yard and housework. While Pat fiddled with something on the tractor, I gathered a few found objects for a little assemblage.

Monday meant more errands almost all day. On Tuseday, apparently, I knocked out loads. However, I have no idea what that means, it's just what I told myself in my journal. I believe I also shared my Halloween lampshade on Instagram.

We had a delicious tofu ramen for dinner. I love that there's so many options for toppings!

We should have been prepping for Hurricane Zeta on Wednesday. But, I did my best to try to ignore the fact that another one was headed our way. Instead, I worked on getting my Gothic pieces finished and the blog ready to go in case we lost power. (We did lose power for about 11 hours) The storm was a lot of wind and rain, but definitely less scary than Sally. I hate that I had to send Pat out in it to pick up my niece from work, but fortunately, they both arrived home safely. 

On Thursday morning we assessed the storm damage. Fortunately, the only real damage was a large limb down.

While the power was off, we went ahead and started up the generator for the essentials.

Coffee and phone charging!

And, I did a little doodling to keep myself occupied.

The power was back in the late morning so I was able to get back on track before long. We did lose it again on Friday for about an hour and a half. After that, I ran out to Fairhope Brewing Co to pick up a treat for myself.

Thay had a special flavor release of my favorite Judge Roy Bean (Coffee Stout). In addition to the Tiramisu and Salted Caramel, there's a Thin Mint and a Cocoa and Cayenne. I knocked out the household chores when I got back to the house, keeping the beer as a reward. Once dinner was finished, I dipped into the the beers while we watched The Mandalorian. I tried the turamisu and cayenne ones and enjoyed them both. I'm looking forward to the other two as well. 

Saturday was Halloween, and I stayed busy all day, ending up at my mom's to watch the Bama game and help hand out candy to the few trick-or-treaters she had. And, that ended my last two weeks. The days have been busy while it seems I've accomplished nothing. Ah well, on to the next!

And, if you're looking for inspiration here's what I have for you. 

• These earrings from Moois Van Mie are stunning and sparkly. And, she shares how easily she made them too. 
• This list of Fall-inspired knitting and crochet patterns makes me long to know how to do either. Fortunately, there are links to learn too!
• I can't believe I've never thought about making rusty pumpkins before. Here's a tutorial on making a topiary of rusted pumpkins. 
• I cannot get over how adorable this assemblage Frankenstein's monster is. I love him!
• The use of jewelry bails to create these spoon windchines is a smart idea. 
• Oh, please get a dose of cute with these squirrel photos. 
• I can just imagine a ton of ideas with this drilled pumpkin light as the starter inspiration. 
• Lifehacker shared some tips on how to spark your creativity when you're in a rut. 
• I love most everything Jen at Epbot makes, so this dollar tree $5 cloche for Halloween caught my attention. 
• Julie Fie-Fen Balzer shared some video inspiration on Daily Practices and making time to create. 
• Here are ten tutorials on how to embroider letters. 
• These chaotic times have us all a little out of sorts. So, here's 5 Hobbies to Calm.
• And, here are three ways you can preserve fall leaves when you find some spectacular ones.  

Whew! I hope that's plenty to get you inspired for the week ahead. Here's hoping it's a good one. And, if you're in the states, make sure you get out and VOTE if you haven't already!!

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Peek at My Week (Oct. 4-10)

 It's been a roller-coaster of a week! Take a peek.

At some point last week, I decided to actually try the technique of drawing with my left (non-dominant) hand. Apparently, it's a method to make you looser and free up your mind. It TOTALLY worked. In fact, I tried switching hands a few times and discovered that I really preferred the sketchy left-hand-drawn results. 

I found myself drawing those faces over and over and, it took a while to get motivated to much else on Sunday. I finally broke down and cleaned up the craft room some so that it wasn't making me crazy. Pat worked out on clearing out more of the fallen trees.

It kills me that this big, old magnolia didn't make it through the storm. 

With a clean craft room, I actually accomplished a few things on Monday. And, started on something in one of my art journals.

This bit of collage, gesso, etching, and texture paste was just the beginning of the page. But, it kept me busy and distracted as we began frantically watching the Gulf as Delta had us in its cone. 

An impending hurricane meant that my mood deteriorated into panic, disbelief, and on-the-verge-of-tears on Tuesday. I distracted myself with chores and got the oil changed in my car in case we needed to evacuate. We also made sure the chickens were fed and watered. While outside, I noticed that the popcorn tree was in the state that gave it its nickname.

Weird, right?

In the afternoon, I distracted myself by finishing up my art journal spread.

It's a bit chaotic, much like I felt. 

By Wednesday, it looked like we might be in the clear for the storm, though I was concerned about the Louisiana residents that have just suffered through Hurricane Laura. But, knowing we were likely safe helped me relax a little. I turned my attention to business and took a few new items up to the booth at Southern Antiques and Accents. 

And, I had the itch to carve a couple of stamps and try punching their impressions with a circle punch. So, I did that too.

After that, I focused on actually making jewelry for the rest of the afternoon.

I awoke Thursday with the inspiration to combine watercoloring and collaging with tissue paper. However, I made myself wait until I finished all the pieces from Bead Box 9 to try it out. Before making dinner, I played with the idea.

This isn't exactly what I had in mind, but pretty close!

Getting jewelry pictures taken had been on my to-do list all week, but that's part of the reason I made myself finish the bead box. I knew it was supposed to rain Friday afternoon so I took advantage of the overcast morning to finally get that knocked off the list.

After that, I did a few chores that just had to be done.

Saturday was super lazy. I was pretty much home alone all day as Pat had a gig and the niece was out of town. We got one of the bands from Delta that morning.

And, for the rest of the day, I simply puttered around the house doing a little art and watching college football. My main obsession was making these doodle roses that I learned in one of the Life Book 2021 Taster Sessions. 

Pat made it home just a bit after the kickoff of our Alabama game. It was a hard-fought victory over Ole Miss, and we were exhausted after watching it. So, that ended our week. 

I'm happy I'm starting to find my creative mojo and hope I can gear it toward more jewelry-designs soon. Here's some inspiration to get your creativity flowing. 

• Y'all know I'm all about the art journals and junk journals. I'm digging this tutorial on how to make a Quick and Easy Altered Book Junk Journal. 
• This tutorial is in Dutch, but it should be pretty self-explanatory. Just look at the pictures of this DIY Fall Cake decoration made from wood slices and I'm sure you'll figure it out. 
• Divya from Jewels of Sayuri explains the Different Types of Pearls. 
• Pictures of abandoned places always capture my attention This collection of photos from Matt Emmett is no exception. 
• Nunn Designs shares how to use Ribbon End Leather Conectors. 
• Here's a great round-up of Upcycled Halloween Decorations you can make. 
• The detail in these landscape embroideries from Victoria Rose Richards is phenomenal. 
• Lynda at Fresh Baked Designs has shared a beautiful Earring Frame Tutorial. She makes it look so easy too! 
• Julie Fei-Fan Balzer is one inspiring lady. In this YouTube video, she explains how Creativity is Self-Care. 
• I had absolutely no idea that you could cut polymer clay in a die-cut machine. However, this tutorial for a Scrolled Curio Pendant explains how to do it. (There are also instructions on how to cut the design without the machine too!)
• There's something about stitches on photos that's enthralling. Check out this collection from Victoria Villasana that honors icons.  
• This simple Embroidered Cuff Bracelet tutorial looks comfy and fun to make too. 
• Moois Van Mie has shared another earring DIY. This Tess pair looks almost as if I made them (the colors are SO ME!)
• I love the subtle colors of these $1 painted pumpkins. What a great reminder that Fall decorations don't have to be in-your-face orange!
• Craft Gossip has a great roundup of ideas for a Harry Potter Party. 
• I definitely consider myself a bit of a book nerd. So, this list of some of the World's Strangest Books caught my attention. 
• Here's the link that caught my attention for the Fairy Skeletons that I've already made. Y'all...they're so easy and so cute!
• This tutorial on making Tissue Paper Pendants is pretty old, but the technique is solid!

And, that's it for the week. I'm pleased with how much I crossed off my list last week and only hope that I can stay motivated this week also. But, I'm already running behind. Here's wishing you a week of inspiration and motivation too.