create

I made these magnetized origami boxes to help make it easier to have a place to put all of the little corporate donation-thingies that we use at school (Box Tops for Education, Campbells, etc.). Before I would just throw them in the garbage because it was too much effort to keep track of them. Now, I can cut/rip them out and put them in the little box on the fridge. (Lilyfairy, the black and white one is for you if you want to contribute!!) If I can find more strong magnets I will put them inside, but the ones I have right now are wussy and so they will have to go on the outside. Still cute, though.

I like dreaming up stuff and making it. My most recent project was to help my BF organize all the drill bits he got from his dad. So, he got this scummy baggie all full of these random bits. I sorted them all out, and then started to think of how to organize them. I came up with this organizer. I learned a few things from this project:

1. Not as many places sell vinyl as you might think.
2. To sew vinyl, you need to put paper over where you are going to sew or the vinyl sticks to the machine foot.
3. My boyfriend has a grommet kit. What are the chances?
4. Grommets are easy, but you don’t want to pound too many times to set it because you can cut through the fabric with the grommet itself.
5. Drill bits weigh a lot when you put dozens together.

I also decided that rather than writing the sizes directly on the organizer, I would make a tiny pocket for labels along the bottom edge of each pocket. This was good, because I had to mix up the order of the sizes a little in order to fit some of the numerous bits in bigger pockets. Since the sizes were written on little slips of paper in these mini pockets, this was not a big deal.

This whole project was made from secondhand materials, too, so I’m proud of that. I bought nothing new for it. It took me three hours to make it, but if I did it again it would go faster.

Now my dear BF will never need to buy a drill bit again (or at least not for a while), because he has them all in one spot and has at least one of each size.

A beaded necklace. It took me a while to figure out which clasp to use and how to actually put it on, but it was worth it.
Did some designing and sawing for a few wooden pieces I want to complete. Have to make use of the later sunsets to get some hours in after work.

Whenever I start to talk about what I want to do with my life the first word that comes to mind is create. Yet I hesitate to use that word out of concern that others will misinterpret what I mean. For me to create is apart of every day life. We all create. But as an artist, I feel that my creations should be intentional.

Today I made some cupcakes. They were easy to make and they taste pretty good. In fact, I had an unusually productive day. I (sort of) cleaned my car, I had lunch with a friend who helped me to study Japanese at the same time thereby combining making an effort socially and constructive learning, then I came home and made cupcakes and then I did another social thing and saw a movie with another friend. 2 social outings in one day! Amazing.

Yesterday, I made some vegetable stock from scratch. I always have this slight (and unreasonable) guilty feeling when I’m making something and the recipe says stock and I just pour in some from a carton. So I made some of my own and put it in the freezer in small portions. I’m not sure if it was a success or not; it seemed to taste weaker than bought stock. I suppose it might take some experimenting to get right.

Anyway, I have a (vague) sense of achievement for making something (potentially) useful.

child away for the weekend i had time to spend an entire 8-hour day working with my hands. spent the day taking a class working in silver clay… in other words making jewelry, my favorite thing of all. silver clay is so amazing, it’s made out of reclaimed silver from old film and x-rays, then put into a form kind of like modeling clay that once you’re done messing with it gets fired in a kiln. it was wonderful to have a use for all of those little objects my house is filled with: beach glass, dried poppy pods, swirly shells, old ancient lace… i pressed it all into the clay and out came these wonderful little textural pieces. one for my boy. one for my mom. even one for me… something i never do. it was really fun and felt so good to create.. to produce something. i definitely need to carve out more time to do things like this. it was really good for me (and for my jewelry-toting family members too).

I finally finished my scarf..ahem thingy.
The result wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I made it wider than need be and I’d run out of yarn and it was a colour the shop no longer stocks. It had taken me so long to get this far that I would have just been happy to call it a day in the name of experience. However, this afternoon, after casting off I decided to turn it into something a little different. I remembered I had some buttons which would match perfectly (green/black, a wee bit retro) so sewed them on and it’s now a collar/scarf thing (I’m sure there is actually a name for it) and I’m actually pretty happy with it after all. Think I’ll even wear it out in public. I have it on now and it’s rather cosy too.
However, I think my knitting days are over. I just don’t have the time nor patience for it.

_{Excuse the zits in the photo…I’m off to review my ‘look after my skin’ goal…}

I made these necklaces last night. It was fun making some jewelry again, I haven’t done any for ages!

my new handcrafted earrings, which I made this weekend.
They’re simple, yet earthy.
Need to take a photo.