WIP Wednesday: Petit Artiste

One of the wee girls I nanny has shown an amazing interest in art recently, so when her birthday rolled around last week I knew just what to get her. Having her own 'real' paints & brushes, a palette, some canvasses and little tote that I sewed up to keep them all in was so exciting for her, and watching her explore it all was just as exciting for me. I'm a firm believer that we are all experts in different fields, no matter what our age, and that we should use the correct 'titles' if you will whether someone is a child or not, so when she told me that she loved being an artist my heart totally melted.

Oh, also? If you're following along with WIP Wednesday, but either blogging about it or taking photos of works in progress, be sure to add them to the Flickr group so we can all take a peek! After last weeks post talking about my craft group I was thinking how lovely it would be for us to be able to get together and share what we're working on virtually, via Flickr. So join up!

WIP Wednesday - Shop Update

Don't get tricked, there hasn't actually been a shop update, despite me promising one oh....about a week or two ago? I've found it so hard to get photos that I'm happy with lately due to all the grey weather, so here are a few outtakes from the past couple of times I tried to get some good shots for the shop. A shop update work in progress. I'm going to try and post something I'm working on, something in progress, every Wednesday here on the blog. Edit: I will tell you that guitar picks and these two Valentines bookmarks are now available in the shop though. More to come, including some new projects I'm excited to show you!

I'm always intrigued to see not just what but how others are making, I love the in between shots. Perhaps you'll join me? If you do, please let me know as I'd love to see!

Resolution Number Five: Create

There is Only Make, by groundwork

I have this print hanging up over my sewing/crafting table in our studio, and I smile every time I read it. I like that it both encourages and challenges me at the same time, and when things get busy and we're busting out orders it is a good reminder of why we're really doing this in the first place.

It seems that most of my 2010 goals have fallen into a general theme of prioritizing and being mindful of my time, and this one is no exception. When I first started thinking that we could possibly start a business selling the things we make, the caution we often got from other crafters was to not end up thinking of the creating part as a chore. I think one of the best ways I can do that is to make time everyday (in theory, ha) to create in one way or another. Be it drawing, food, playing an instrument, etc. I do have a few specific things in mind I'd like to try though, so here is a wee list...

- Make (or alter from thrift finds) more of my own clothes*
- Learn to crochet (I've lost count of how many months that has sat in my 'to-do' list!)
- Attend life drawing classes at Blim with this lovely lady
- Bust out our screen and do some screenprinting.
- Lino cuts and block printing
- Knit a sweater or cardy, for myself
- Finish a quilt
- Potato stamp some fabric and make something with it
- Make soap
- Plant a herbal tea garden and make my own tea
- Plan out and make our balcony veggie garden, including places to sit and enjoy it

Elizabeth over at Birch and Sycamore also has a lovely crafty to-do list, that I found just after writing my own one and includes a making a beautiful bookcase and room shoes! Oh, I really would love some room shoes!

What about you? Is there a particular skill you'd like to learn, or do more of this year?

*This one both excites and terrifies me! Right now my biggest resource for learning how to do this is a couple books and Melissa from All Buttoned Up (who is an excellent resource for sewing tips and tricks), so if you have any more tips, books or the like for me, please let me know!