Felt Dolls

What I’m Working on Wednesday Updates #1

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I hope this post finds you well. This week had me getting back into my handmade felt dolls and I managed to finish 2 for this week’s challenge along with one that I shared with you in last week’s What I’m Working on Wednesday.

If you saw last week’s post you know that I was making a little felt Harry Potter doll. My daughter was invited to a birthday party that is Harry Potter themed and I thought it might be fun to make a little add-on present. I purchased this digital pattern as part of a 3 pack that includes Ron & Hermione. If I have time I’ll try and make Ron & Hermione for the party and I also plan to make a complete set for my own collection and I’ll be sure to share them when they are done.

As of the writing of this post I haven’t shared much about my love for felt doll making. It started about 2 years ago when I made a really sweet doll for my oldest daughter. She had been reading about Sacagawea and really loved her story so I found this sweet pattern on Etsy (my favorite and really only source for these amazing patterns). I was so happy with how she came out (so was my daughter when she received it at Christmas). And from there the love grew! I have made quite a few of these little felt dolls along with 3 larger ones and a large felt monkey for my youngest daughter for this past Christmas.

I am planning a little video to share all my collection with you. With any luck I will get that up this month.

I am still working on finishing my crystal box from last week although I did finish up my cardboard buttons. I am still working on editing my video process for how I made these. I modified this video from Jennibellie where she makes the coolest cardboard buttons. I wasn’t as happy with mine when I made them this way so I adjusted a bit and I love how they come out and how much fun they are. My oldest has even started making them-they really are fun and a great way to use up scraps.

I am really happy that I finished up my self-care angel doll too! She was sitting very patiently waiting for me to finally see her face and clothes and I am so happy with how she turned out! Right now I have her on my decorative shelf in the kitchen and I just love the brightness and color she brings to the room. If you are interested in making one of these beautiful creations be sure to check out Tam’s course over on Willowing it’s so much fun!

Outside of the crafting world as I mentioned Monday we are working on re-arranging rooms in our home. I am in the process of painting what was our homeschool room. The trim desperately needed touching up and the walls a nice refresh although we are keeping the same color. It’s a really pretty yellow and since we still have some of the paint left I plan to keep it. This room is going from homeschool room to my and my husband’s bedroom/offices. I am really excited about this change. Initially when this room became our homeschool room everyone had a desk and I thought it would give us some really useful creative space but in many ways it became a catch all and the kids still used the kitchen table. So moving our homeschool supplies to a counter and cabinet in the kitchen wasn’t that hard and now we can make better use of this space as our bedroom/offices.

Right now I have a little creative corner in our current bedroom that I am going to give you a little tour of. It’s a great space and super cozy and I really do love it. I am excited however to be going back to my old spot in the homeschool room which is a little bit larger and more separated from the sleeping space.

So that’s my little update. I am happy I made time to play with all my creative supplies and get my hands covered in paint. I have tons of projects left so no worries about me running out. For each one I complete I find 10 more to start but this series is a really fun way for me to share my projects and to keep the ones I’m working on in the foreground of my mind.

Maybe you would like to join in?

Are you someone who has lots of creative projects going at the same time?

Do you work on one thing until it’s done and the go to the next?

Do you like to share your work on your blog?

I would love to visit your space and see the fun projects you are working on so I created a What I’m Working on Wednesday link party. Pop by on Wednesdays, share what you are working on and have a look at what your fellow creatives are doing. It’s a great way to find blogs to follow and inspiration for your next endeavor. Simply visit the link below and be sure to grab a graphic from my side bar to display on your site. Let’s spread the inspiration!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Creative Spaces & Challenge #3

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How was your weekend? I did struggle to feel productive at first but in the end I managed to get a lot of work done on my second blog and even some painting on what will soon be our new bedroom.

I was hoping to get a little video tour of my creative space done but if I am honest I am procrastinating. Part of me wants to clean it all up and make it look shiny before I share it here but the truth is this is the way it normally looks! I love having all my supplies around me so I can see what I have and be inspired by them. I also never remember what supplies I have if they are hidden away all neat and organized and I usually spend more time trying to remember how I organized everything that I don’t make much.

So I might just give it a normal tidy and then do a little video for you since we may just start moving as soon as next week and I really want to share my creative space with you. At one time in my life I was fortunate enough to have an office and a craft room. It was a pretty craft room that I planned out so carefully and to be honest-I never used it. Instead I used my office that everything out and messy and where I could see it 🙂

Now that my office and craft room have become bedrooms I have a little nook in my bedroom that I use. I think it’s so important to create and to know that you don’t need much space (or even many supplies) to be creative and express yourself. So that’s why I want to share my little nook with you so that you can see you can create a lot in small space.

I also realized that I have been blogging twice a week which feels like such an accomplishment and I am so happy but I also realized I have boxed myself in a bit with Monday being the creative challenge and Wednesday my project updates. So I may just have to add another weekly post where I can say hello and just share general updates with you. What do you think?

Now on to the challenge! Last week’s word was ice cream and I admit when I chose the word I knew I wanted to make a felt creation. I found a super sweet pattern on Etsy here and had so much fun making this little one. Now, you may see that there are 2 ice cream cones in the photo and that is because as I was making it my son came in and asked if he could have it for his felt collection. So of course he got the first one. I then made myself one for my collection. They came together really quickly and I would definitely recommend this pattern.

Once I finished the ice cream cone I decided to make the Popsicle which is so super cute! I couldn’t be happier with her (and yes I did make a second one for my son as well :). So that was lat week’s prompt.

The prompt for this week was chosen by oldest daughter so maybe we can channel our inner 10 year-olds and have some fun with this one. Are you ready?

 

Creative Challenge Prompt #3 is: Cupcake

I cannot wait to see what you make! Please join in the link party below and share a link to your take on our creative word.

Thank you for stopping by to visit my site and I will see you again on Wednesday!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


What Creativity Looks Like

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I have this image in my mind of what creating something looks like.

It’s a very vivid and active image where I am quite focused, creativity and paint just flying out everywhere as the work goes from inspiration to reality before my eyes.

It’s a lovely image.

Often times, however, creativity or rather the act of creating something looks quite different.
It might start with a passing thought. A little idea of, “ooh that could be fun.”
If I am in a position to sit down and run with it then the image described above is a possibility. Usually however the idea just sits inside my mind as I image the making of it.

I might imagine it in watercolors.
No, definitely not watercolors.
I might think about doing it in pencil.
I don’t think pencil will capture the magic I want to express.

Mixed media?
Collage?
Clay?

I might sit down and try out a little something in my sketchbook. I might have a play or a valiant effort at creation. It might work it might not.

I might sit in my chair and just think about the project. Allowing ideas, thoughts, inspiration to flow through until I feel that it is time to actually get down to action.

Creativity can look very different to different people. The most important thing I have learned is to not let an image of what something should look like hinder the experience of what actually is.

Creativity works through me and the energy and joy it brings is something I am grateful for every day. Making space for it daily is my only job. The way it chooses to show up is the mysterious gift that creativity gives me.

Until Next Time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante