My little girls keep me busy, but I always find time to sneak away to the craft room. I am dabbling in many mediums to find my true calling (but I have an inkling it will always involve fabric)...
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Tuesday July 27, 2010
Ahhh, that vacation did me good. :) All we did was lounge around on the beach all week and worry about nothing. We lucked out with beautiful weather too. There was a storm coming nearby that didn’t quite hit us, but it made the waves huge (just perfect for boogie boarding!). We even got to expand our collection of sea glass.
Now that I’m back, I feel a little more confident in myself and a little less stressed. I have a few challenging swaps to finish up this week. I’ll be creating my first fabric ATC and a new plush. See, I knew SwapBot would be good for me! lol It’s forcing me to create more, which is what I need right now. :) OH, and YES, I did finish up my daughter’s monkey before we left for vaca! Yay! I’ll take a pic later and get it posted (she’s taking a nap with him right now! he he).
On another note, one of the gals from SwapBot is doing a personal challenge that has inspired me somewhat. She has vowed to create one ATC everyday for 365 days! Check out her blog HERE. I love the thought of doing a challenge like this, but it scares me! I would love to challenge myself with something, but I need to think more on that. Not sure if I could ever do something EVERY day for a whole year! lol Especially since I plan on having another little one this year. :) I need something though… I need to force myself to explore, free myself, and create more. I’m on the hunt for what I like to create, and what I’m good at, but I can’t find it if I’m not trying anything! lol
Wednesday July 14, 2010
Yeah, I’m still lost. I feel like a lost soul right now. lol I have no idea what I’m doing in my life, and I’m pulling myself in so many directions its causing me to be lazy and unmotivated. So, to say the least, my craft room has yet to be cleaned up. I did try to start on one project, a plush monkey for my daughter. But of course the pieces are still all over my sewing counter unsewn.
All I have gotten done day after day was to write and rewrite to do lists a mile long. That doesn’t seem to be helping much. lol I did finish up a few fun swaps over at SwapBot which helped me to get a little crafty. Plus, I’ve been pouring over my Somerset magazines, marking which projects I want to try. I just don’t know what to do with myself. I need to continue making money to help support my family, so I can’t give up any of my work. But, I need more time to free myself and do more free style art. I’ve been saying this year after year, and I still have yet to find a way. Perhaps its because I have more than one business, perhaps its a lack of being able to focus, or just a lack of time to get down in the office since my daughter is home from school now. I dunno…
At least I have a week off to mull it over. We’re leaving for a week long vacation this Saturday to a RI beach. I’m going to bring along some craft supplies and start on a journal about myself for a private swap. Perhaps being forced to journal about myself will help me discover more of myself, who I am, and what I want to do. I can dream anyway.
Wednesday May 12, 2010
Yesterday was horrible… I dunno maybe I’m just overall stressed. I was looking forward to getting back to my painting, and it just didn’t go too well at all last night. I just wasn’t feeling it, plus I didn’t have the right paints; I just got so frustrated. I had to leave… so I decided to go to JoAnns to pick up some fabric for a wholesale order, and what do you know they stopped carrying homespun fabric! I was so upset by the time I got home, I just showered and went to bed. But my mind wouldn’t rest. My mind just feels so heavy lately. Perhaps it just the combo of my mother being in the hospital, trying to pack up their house for the move, keeping up with business work, and trying to handle my new found lost of how to handle an 8 year old girl. (More on that last one another time! lol) Plus a million other things that are still waiting patiently on my “to do” list.
Anywho, today seems to be looking brighter. It really helps to lift some weight off my mind when I write everything down and make a list of what I need to do. Also, my mom is finally leaving the hospital, although they’re still not sure what’s wrong with her. Her digestive system just doesn’t seem to be working properly and they can’t figure out why. We’re still waiting on a few more test results, and they’re going to start trying some experimental treatments until they find what works. She’s so happy to be going home though, she’s been stuck in that room for weeks, she couldn’t even go outside!
I also got my first sale on my TwiddleLee etsy page today! YeeeHaaw! I wasn’t expecting my first sale through there for a while, because I know how long it takes to create a presence on etsy, so I’m so excited! I need to get some more goodies listed, I’ve been slacking because of the lack of good weather for photos!
I’m also getting excited about buying a new sewing machine and starting up quilting. I’ve made rag quilts in the past that don’t require actual “quilting”, and I’ve also made smaller wall quilts, but I’ve never had a chance to conquer a large quilt. Partly because I could never figure out how to free motion quilt on my machine. I’ve done some research, and what I really need is a new machine. I’ve been sewing for many years now, and have made a business of it, but I have yet to buy myself a sewing machine. I know, sounds crazy, right? lol My first machine was my grandmother’s. I used that for years, until one year my mother in law decided to buy one for me for Christmas. It was a great gift, but I was sad to give up my grandmother’s machine, since she was the one who taught me to sew and she is so dear to my heart. I wish now that I still had that old machine, but I had given it to my cousin when I heard she wanted to learn to sew. Anyway, so the machine I’m using now is just a “cheapy” White machine that is very limiting. I guess it gets the job done, except now when I want to start doing free motion stuff. I’m sure it will be a while yet before I can afford the machine I want, but its fun to get excited about it! he he
What got me excited again about quilting was this tutorial I found: How To Make a Vintage Sheet Quilt. I am in LOVE with her quilt! I want one of my very own to snuggle in! I recently fell in love with crafting with vintage sheets as you may have seen from my recent projects. A pile of lovely vintage sheets just makes me all warm inside and reminds me of my childhood. I can only imagine what it would feel like snuggling up to a vintage sheet quilt! :)
I must get back to work… just breathe kristal, one step at a time! I must cross something off my list today!
Friday October 23, 2009
Last week I sent out a personal newsletter to my Rags-n-Tags followers. I thought I would share it with all of you here in case you didn’t get the email….
What I’ve Been Up To
 If you’ve been with me since the beginning of Rags-n-Tags, you probably have noticed I have been sewing less and less over the past two years. Rags-n-Tags started out as a handmade only shop with all of my designs ready to order. This ran its course until I realized it was too difficult to keep up with all of the orders. I became overwhelmed, and tired of making the same items over and over. So, I then branched off to making patterns for my designs, and selling only limited quantities of my handmade items. Which, was a good idea for a plan, but since I became pregnant with my second child, there has been less and less time available for me to create new primitive designs.
Besides now having a baby in the home (which I guess I could now call her a rambunctious toddler – she just turned two!), I’ve also joined our town’s art league, became an avon representative, began planning for two art shows and a craft show, and have continued my other businesses Peddler Graphics and Crafty Avenue. Not only has my time to sew been diminished, but my wandering soul has started yet again to searching elsewhere for creative outlets.
I have always been, and always will be a wanderer; I have come to realize that. A wanderer in terms of my creativeness. Some of you may not see it in me, because I have been making primitive art a long time – about six years now. It has been my longest commitment yet to any medium or style. If you’ve read my bio, you’d know that I have dabbled in quilting, soap making, candle making, basket making, scrapbooking, graphic design, and more. If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you’d see that I’m now starting to experiment with painting, drawing, and collage work. I know I have a creative spirit, but what I do not know is what this spirit wants to create!
Future Plans
I know there are a lot of you out there who love my patterns, and await new ones; which is why I decided to update you on my personal life. I do not want to stop creating primitives, but I am going to take it slow (as I have been recently) and focus my free time on whatever my creativeness urges me to create – whether primitive or not. If you’d like to follow me on my journey, please subscribe to my blog. I’m trying my best to keep that updated.
I know I’ve been trying to do too much at once, and I would probably be better off just focusing on one project at a time; but I’m having trouble letting some things go. My “to do” list is two pages long (typed!). I feel sort of lost I guess you’d say… I don’t know; maybe I’m going through a mid-life-crisis at an early age! lol I need to slow down, and figure out what I’d really like to do with my life. My family is most important, I know that much… What comes next, I’m not sure.
For Sale, and Upcoming Goodies
 With that said, I did find time to create some Candy Apples to add to my etsy shop. They went quick last year, so I figured I’d make some more for those of you who missed out. I also listed two new items on Rags-n-Tags – some Cedar Tips and Dried Orange slices. I love these natural goodies around the holidays to decorate packages, or add to my crafts!
I’m also trying to clear out my craft room to make it more of a haven instead of a clutter room… so, I’m starting to list a few things on ebay. Right now, I have some rusty springs up for sale. Keep checking my ebay account if you want some good deals on craft items!
I have a small craft show coming up this November (which I am still totally unprepared for!). I haven’t decided yet exactly what I’ll be creating, but I know I want to try to make some cute childish stuff because I’ll be doing the show with my eight year old daughter. After the show, I will list anything I have left on etsy (probably under my new TwiddleLee account which will be at TwiddleLee.etsy.com); and hopefully will have a few new patterns too. I probably will not send out a Rags-n-Tags newsletter for this sale, as most of the stuff will be non-primitive; so if you are interested in seeing what I come up with, and photos of the show, be sure to subscribe to my blog! ;0)
I thank you all for your continued support. With out you, I wouldn’t have gotten this far.
Have a great day!
~Kristal
www.rags-n-tags.com
Friday March 13, 2009
I have laughed at myself in the past about packing up my mica flakes, complete with my mask, goggles, and glitter from head to toe. Many of you have begged for pictures… well, here ya go!
My daughter stayed home from school today, and when I went to package up my mica, she said I looked like a mad scientist! lol I said, “you mind as well take a pic since you’re here”… and since I happened to have a pic, I said mind as well share it with all of you! ;0)
But man, was it cold! I packaged up mica for about an hour outside; and my fingers got numb.. there was still a layer of ice in our sleds! Too bad we don’t have a garage… I used to package it up in our basement, but hubby keeps all his music equipment there and was sick of all the glitter everwhere so he kicked me out. So, outside I go! We live in a complex… I wonder what the neighbors think?
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Please Take Note © Kristal Lee (Twiddle Lee)
Feel free to link to me, but if you wish to use any of my text, photos, etc. please ask for my permission first. Thank you
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