We Love to Make Things

   It has felt like crafting central around here lately. We have a Retreat coming up at church this next weekend and I am a directing a kid's play for it on next Saturday afternoon. It is the Story of Esther. Megan wrote the script for it and volunteered to be in charge of the costumes and set and so this last month our house has been a center of creativity. We do also like to have other projects going on because that is just life for us. On Tuesday I went around taking pictures of things that we were currently working on or just finished. There are also in here a couple of pictures from a few days earlier.

The Crowns for Xerxes, Vashti and Esther as well as Xerxes scepter.

A backdrop for the Harem. Megan copied a Mosaic that she had found in her research of Persia.

Not associated with the play but a project that I have been working on. I am nearly done knitting a pair of mittens. These stay by my piano and when I am teaching lessons I often have a few minutes here and there to knit a bit.

A decoration for the Palace. Megan paper mached a 2 headed Bull. This came from her extensive research on what decorations would have been like. I am sorry I didn't get a pictures after it was painted as it looks pretty cool. 

This photograph is hard to see but Megan had watched a video on how to make a pattern that fit perfectly and so she went about drawing up a pattern and is working on something for herself. I think she is making a prototype at this point. I am so grateful to God for her desire to learn new things and be willing to step out and try things.

I am working to make pointed toe slippers for the cast. I am hoping I can actually get this done because at the moment I am not sure that I have time to do this and direct the play as well. I get a limited amount of time with the kids and I need to do some more measuring to make this fit so we will see if this actually gets done or not.

I am working on a rag rug for the new bathroom in our basement. My goal is to have it done by the time company comes on Friday. We shall see!

A week ago today this was my project. A birthday present for my nephew. He is into eagles just now.

It was a really fun project and I liked the way it turned out. I used white felt for the base and I had thought I would use brown felt on it but I didn't have enough. So I used other fabric scraps instead and I actually think that it looks cooler that way anyway. Mara helped my some in the cutting out of the feathers.

My nephew was pretty excited about it too. :-)

Megan making goblets for the play.

  I wish I would have taken pictures of some of the cool dresses and robes that she has sewn for the play but I guess I will try to do that later. They are pretty creative.

   I have some thoughts that I would like to share to go along with this post. When some people see the things we make and like to work on they sometimes make comments like: "You are so talented, I wish I had some of that talent" or I hear comments about thinking it would be fun to do more crafting but it is so expensive or they don't have time or whatever.

    Here is the deal..... if you actually want to do creative things don't make excuses - just do it. Obviously having a home that is crafting central is not for everybody. Some people think it kind of looks fun but it isn't truly something that they find fulfilling or a good way to use their time. That is fine, accept that and go ahead an admire what other people do but don't put yourself down in the process - you do what God has created you to do.

But if you truly want to make things and be creative - do it!

The only reason Megan and I (and all the other super creative people I know) can do things like sew a dress, knit a mitten or create a paper mache 2 headed Bull is because we weren't afraid to try. A lot of the things we make are a long way from perfect but as we keep trying we keep getting better at things and projects become much easier as well.

 Concerning the expense - Our projects rarely cost us much of anything. Here is why:

For things like props - they often can be made from Cardboard that we easily can get free. We have painted a lot of them from leftover paint from our home and from paint that we picked up for free from the dump. Check that out if you are needing paint. I think most dumps set aside partially full cans of paint. 

For fabric things we have made a ton of them from old clothes which we easily can get for free just by saving things that we ourselves wear out and then if you ask around people will start donating gladly.

We have also gotten fabric scraps very inexpensively from Anderson Fabrics a place in our area that does a lot of commercial sewing. Check around your area to see what you can find for crafting deals. 

Once you start doing a lot of creating and people find out about it at least in my case I get offered crafting stuff over and over since they know I use it. So our crafting closet is overflowing - not because I go shopping - but because I say "yes" when people offer my things that they no longer want.

  When you go to create things - always first ask yourself "How can I make this from what I already have?" NOT "What do I need to buy at the store?".

   Crafting from things found in nature (pinecones, birch bark, sticks, grasses, etc) is a great way to craft on the cheap.

Also you probably will have to buy a few things but in general our crafting budget is well under $50 a year. We use a hot glue gun and glue sticks a lot in our crafting. I have asked for glue sticks for a birthday presents before but I think I have only received them once. So that is an item that I do have to buy occasionally (in 5 lb boxes off of Amazon). We have also given Megan things like Gold and Silver paint for birthdays. So if you have a crafting child - crafting supplies can make good presents.

  Concerning time - I don't have a lot of it either. I work a part time job, run two businesses, have 3 kids at home - 2 of whom I am homeschooling and am very involved at my church. But creating is important to me. So I have projects that I will pick up here or there when I have a minute or two. And sometimes I will devote a whole evening to it or some time on the weekend. If you get to ride when you drive places that is a great time to crochet or knit. A few minutes here and there can actually get a lot done.
 

   I am so thankful for the many, many ways that God has blessed us in being able to craft and make things. It is a fun bonding activity for Megan and I. I would love to hear about things that you all are making at your houses. How do you find time for crafting? How to you do it economically? 

Some Violin Videos from January

   This year a fun goal for me that I decided to work on was to record a song (or songs) on a different instrument each month. And no, I don't actually play 12 instruments. So this is a challenge for me as well. I think it is good to try to stretch myself so this is one way of working on it this year.

   I did start of rather easy as I have played the violin since I was 12. I was working and stretching myself with playing a classical piece that I never managed to get recorded. My phone didn't have the space for that long of song and I didn't manage to get it done on another camera. I was going to still try to do it but decided that now that it was March I should just not worry about it anymore and work on the other instruments. So the two I did get recorded are a Hymn and a fiddle tune. I hope you enjoy them!