#44

Challenge 44: Make something that lights up.  Work with an existing lampshade or put a small electric light or candle inside of something you make.

So I looked around at my boring lampshades.

Not so bad to have something plain when you have one or more (mismatched) patterns in a room - but I decided to jazz up this shade anyway.  With a few buttons and some glue:

I like the result!  Using various colors of buttons in a specific pattern made this look great.  Now I might want to change the color of the base of the lamp with a little spray paint, something in a brown tone, I think.

Falling off

My month of ceramics studio time expired at the end of September, followed immediately by a craft sale with pals the first day of October.  It was unseasonably cold again this year (as in, high of 50 degrees!), but the sun peeked out in the afternoon and thawed us enough to gain some feeling in our extremities.  Here are a couple pictures of some of the pottery I made:

I sold a few pieces, kept a few for gifts, and am still looking for happy homes for a last couple pieces.  I had a great time throwing pots and would do it all the time if I could!  I spent a lot of my free time at the studio during my membership to maximize my time, which is why I didn't get around to post too much.  I'm done with craft sales for the year, except for a couple sales that friends and family members have offered to sell my stuff at.

Running craft sales with friends is a great time!  We chat, usually crochet or knit at the same time when it's not too hot or cold outside, support other local craftspeople when we make enough money ourselves to give back, and always end up with great stories of people we met or strange/wonderful things that happened.


Fall is in full force in Michigan these days, and I love it!  I hope to get back into the 365 projects soon, now that I have a little more time on my hands.

Challenge 43

I did a lot of creative things this weekend!  I stayed inside with my sister and the kitties and tried out some new projects, just kinda seeing what's possible with the materials that I have right now rather than going out and purchasing anything new.  This tied very well into the next challenge, number 43: Learn something new.  Ask a friend to help you do something using a technique or skill they're good at.

I didn't so do much of the "ask a friend" part, but here are a couple new things I made:

A hair band that combines a felt piece with crocheted ties.

A scarf!  I've made plenty of hats before, but scarves are new to me.

For both of these items, I applied skill that I already have to come up with something new - with a few trials and errors, but mostly careful planning.  I plan on making more hair bands and scarves and selling them at the next craft fair I'm doing with some pals on October 1st.  

Exciting news: my fabulous fiance bought me a membership to a local pottery studio!  I have a full month to make clay works again, starting on Tuesday.  I can't wait to get my hands dirty!  It is my dream to have a pottery studio of my own someday.  I haven't worked with clay in over 4 years, so I cannot wait to get back into the swing of things.  

Challenge 42

Today's challenge: Turn today's junk mail into something much more appealing.

My initial thought was something papier-mache with ads that come in the mail, but I didn't have time for that!  So I decided to try my hand at a blackout poem, in the style of Austin Kleon.  Here's the result:

It's a letter to time!  It says (with some added punctuation):

Dear time, you're terrific.  You love to get e-mail and photos, time.  Also, space.  Take advantage of the benefits of waiting.  Sincerely,

This task was more challenging than I thought it would be.  I bet this kind of thing takes a bit of practice and is more fun with newspaper/magazine articles and book pages than some crummy letter announcing terrific internet and cable deals.  It would be fun to get friends together to make these sometime and see what happens.

50!

This is my 50th post!  Awesome!

I've been back from vacation for nearly a week and have been getting back into the swing of things.  I drew a colored pencil picture while on the beach of Lake Superior:

I had a great relaxing time, and am looking into the possibility of renting studio time at a local pottery gallery/studio.  It's been a while since I've thrown any pottery!

I haven't completed a 365 challenge in a while, but I hope to get back into more of the challenges soon.