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the CEO! Creative Eternal Optimist! Blog
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Wednesday, November 02 2011
I have been designing holiday and home decor items. I love to sew! In the class I taught this week we made holiday ornaments, a whimsical elf in a stocking. I am also preparing for a big event this weekend and so this explains my brief posting at 4am! Are you into holiday creating yet? Follow the JOY, Debra
Monday, October 31 2011
Happy Boo Day! To decorated spaces and haunted places, to dressing up and make believe, cute wee witches and little ghosts may you have a fun fillled delicious treat of a day! Debra
Friday, October 28 2011
 It is Fowl Friday! A little late but we are here Fran & Freda! Freda had a late night, not saying but caught her surfing "Hatch.com" again! Could be trouble ahead as she also has a bottle of red wine hidden away in her corner of the nest!
Well Debra is a busy gal these days getting ready for all kinds of events. We now have downsized as the girls left the nest last year. (Happy Birthday to Amanda!) Soooo a five room apartment as nice and spacious as it may be is not the same as a two story house with an oversize garage! Storage is an issue, we know, our nest is crammed into a corner under a chair! Debra is now storing things everywhere kind of like a large um tall demented squirrel!
Laundry is done once a week so the rest of the week it becomes another possiblity for a storage area. This is how our washer looks six days of the week, can we say "stuffed"! We are hosting our own version of "Storage Wars". Follow the Fowl, Fran & Freda!
Wednesday, October 26 2011
It is the season for spooktacular creations! STYROFOAM brand foam lends itself to all kinds of delightfully scary projects, quick and easy to make. This group of whimsical characters by Plaid Crafts are ideal for decking the ghoulish halls! A ball and a cone shape, so many combinations!
(photo courtesy of Plaid Crafts)
A new magazine has just been released. I haven't seen it yet but the snippets I have seen are gorgeous projects combining sewing and crafting, two of my top favorites! Look for inspiration in Stitch Craft Create. The creative life is an inspired one! Be inspired today and follow the JOY of Creativity! Debra
Monday, October 24 2011
It was a whirlwind weekend filled with creativity. Creativity is defined as
the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: (Dictionary.com)
From the Roller Derby Fashion Parade at my daughter's game, my other daughter's delightful and delicious cupcakes and the kids crafty camp afternoon creativity was overflowing. Fishnets to tutus and every combination of animal print possible the Roller Derby gals and many fans were rocking some wild style! I "tricked out" a Capitol City Roller's T with glitter, gems and a new off the shoulder neckline and a "Derby Mom" logo on the back.
My kitchen hosted a full day of yummy and fragrant aromas as "The Enchanted Cupcake by Kate" baked up delicious speciality cupcakes, Chocolate Bliss, Vanilla Dream and Lemon Locks. The delicate frosting looked like roses as Kate piped a mix of two colors together.
Sunday afternoon was more t shirt and costume fun with my kid's crafty camp. They are delightful and there was paint and glitter everywhere. I showed them how to stamp, stencil and screen print with fabric paints. The screen printing was their favorite. Using a piece of sheer curtain fabric under plastic or adhesive stencils securely taped down worked really well. A line of paint was added across top of stencil and pulled across stencil with a credit card. This was their favorite technique. Their enthusiasm and confidence in their design approach is wonderful. I am always re-inspired after a day with the kids.
Now a new week begins and more crafty goodness is coming up. Fresh Vintage Blog Hop with more new dies by Eileen Hull for Sizzix on Tuesday and Thursday. Thursday I have another creative class, sewing up some whimsical holiday ornaments. I have the best students, class is always fun and full of wonderful designs. The more my students create the more ideas flow for something else. Last week they created some pretty holiday cards, the tree themed ones very festive with a whimsical touch!
What I have learned is creativity is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it becomes. Slumps, blocks happen but just diving in with something simple like a few markers and a journal, just playing for awhile will be very beneficial to mind, body and spirit. How do you handle a creative slump, just leave a comment with some of your ideas for kick starting creativity. Debra, Inspiring the JOY of Creativity!
Friday, October 21 2011
It is about time for Fowl Friday! Debra has ignored us lately. We have kept busy though, Freda and myself have been decking out our nest for the big night, Halloween! Debra has her ideas of how we should display for Halloween see immediately below. How booooring!
We meanwhile tagged along to the local dollar store up the street and with our meager allowance we were able to score big time! See below below, now that screams Halloween, don't you think? Voting is welcome, especially Fran & Freda fans, these chicken lips are smiling peeps! Follow the Fowl! Fran & Freda!
Thursday, October 20 2011
The time before Halloween is passing quickly. I am teaching a fun kid's workshop this Sunday where we will be making costumes, fabric painting and glittering of course!
There are so many cute, scary fabulous decorations easily concocted with STYROFOAM Brand Foam. I decided to make a few pumpkins. I had picked up some soft pumpkin shaded corduroy and brown polka dot. I took a 6" foam ball cut off a thin slice from both the top and bottom. The corduroy is wrapped around ball leaving a 1" overlap and enough on either end to meet in center. Trim off excess. Glue the overlap first and then fold fabric over both ends gluing.
Make hole in center top of pumpkin. Roll a 4" by 10" strip of brown polka dot around a 5" piece of narrow dowel. Glue dowel 1" bare end into top of pumpkin. Cut a leaf shape out of green felt to glue to top. Tie on some raffia or yarn. Add a rusty leaf and you have a pumpkin! So quick and easy you can make a whole pumpkin patch! (I orginally added to the bottom a flat piece of fabric covered cardboard but it isn't needed unless you cut your fabric too short!)
I added silk leaves and made a few pumpkins to use as a centerpiece for our Canadian Thanksgiving. Smaller ones would make a take home favor after being used as a place setting marker. Just add a name tag to the stem. Always follow the JOY of Creativity! Debra
Tuesday, October 18 2011
Today and Thursday and for the following couple weeks until November 3rd, the Fresh Vintage Blog Hop continues with a new die line by Eileen Hull for Sizzix. One of my favorite dies from the collection is the dimensional bird. Sharon Currier of Crafts n Coffee designed the cutest wedding cake with the birds as a bride and groom topper. Want some inspiration, check out the creations by the industry's top designers! Follow the JOY of Creativity always! Debra
(photo courtesy of Crafts n Coffee)
Monday, October 17 2011
Just a reminder of the DCC Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop for October featuring Westcott Brand Cutting Tools. Many of the designer projects are up for auction with proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, please check them out, there are so many cool designs! The give away of a large assortment of their awesome tools is ongoing. You have the rest of the month to enter just by leaving a comment on their blog post http://westcottbrand.blogspot.com/2011/10/designer-crafts-connection-charitable.html
This month I started teaching some craft and sewing classes and workshops. Next weekend is spooky fuin with the kids, making costumes, using fabric paints, glitter and lots of glue! In the Thursday eveniing class two of my students, best friends were very pleased with their Holiday centerpieces. I provide the guidance and illustrate some techniques along the way. Once the students were immersed in the project their unique creativity began to shine. They were so pleased with their finished design, that makes teaching so rewarding when someone who does not believe they are creative leaves at the end of class knowing "I can do that!"
This week's class is card making, we will be embossing, stamping, glittering, using die cuts and embellishing to create four to six cards. There is still room in the class if you live locally and want to make some cards for the holidays coming up! Keep creating! Debra
Saturday, October 15 2011
I spend time on the weekends wandering around my town Fredericton, NB, I love the historic homes, tree lined streets and there is always something happening in this creative hub. I had to redefine my mode of travel as my daughters have threatened me about using the word walk all the time so I now will "wander" on the weekends!
This weekend was the Elm City Quilt Guild's Annual Show at the historic St. Paul's Church with its high ceilings and balcony provided the perfect backdrop for the stunning display of quilts, wall hangings, wearables and bags.
On my way to the church there is an elegant array of ghosts, bats and tombstones in keeping with the stately home they occupy.
The quilts were arranged in themed areas and tastefully accessorized which added to the overall warm, tasteful ambience. The tea room was decorated with a clothesline filled with bright cheery pieced, patterned placemats.
Upstairs were some quilt supply vendors. I was so pleased to a see a friend Gerri Richards of Cool Craft Creations up from Saint John. Her lovely line of bag and purse patterns are bold, bright and make a dramatic fashoin statement. Congratualtions to the Em City Quilt Guild for an inspiring,
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