Peek at My Week (Oct. 4-10)

 It's been a roller-coaster of a week! Take a peek.

At some point last week, I decided to actually try the technique of drawing with my left (non-dominant) hand. Apparently, it's a method to make you looser and free up your mind. It TOTALLY worked. In fact, I tried switching hands a few times and discovered that I really preferred the sketchy left-hand-drawn results. 

I found myself drawing those faces over and over and, it took a while to get motivated to much else on Sunday. I finally broke down and cleaned up the craft room some so that it wasn't making me crazy. Pat worked out on clearing out more of the fallen trees.

It kills me that this big, old magnolia didn't make it through the storm. 

With a clean craft room, I actually accomplished a few things on Monday. And, started on something in one of my art journals.

This bit of collage, gesso, etching, and texture paste was just the beginning of the page. But, it kept me busy and distracted as we began frantically watching the Gulf as Delta had us in its cone. 

An impending hurricane meant that my mood deteriorated into panic, disbelief, and on-the-verge-of-tears on Tuesday. I distracted myself with chores and got the oil changed in my car in case we needed to evacuate. We also made sure the chickens were fed and watered. While outside, I noticed that the popcorn tree was in the state that gave it its nickname.

Weird, right?

In the afternoon, I distracted myself by finishing up my art journal spread.

It's a bit chaotic, much like I felt. 

By Wednesday, it looked like we might be in the clear for the storm, though I was concerned about the Louisiana residents that have just suffered through Hurricane Laura. But, knowing we were likely safe helped me relax a little. I turned my attention to business and took a few new items up to the booth at Southern Antiques and Accents. 

And, I had the itch to carve a couple of stamps and try punching their impressions with a circle punch. So, I did that too.

After that, I focused on actually making jewelry for the rest of the afternoon.

I awoke Thursday with the inspiration to combine watercoloring and collaging with tissue paper. However, I made myself wait until I finished all the pieces from Bead Box 9 to try it out. Before making dinner, I played with the idea.

This isn't exactly what I had in mind, but pretty close!

Getting jewelry pictures taken had been on my to-do list all week, but that's part of the reason I made myself finish the bead box. I knew it was supposed to rain Friday afternoon so I took advantage of the overcast morning to finally get that knocked off the list.

After that, I did a few chores that just had to be done.

Saturday was super lazy. I was pretty much home alone all day as Pat had a gig and the niece was out of town. We got one of the bands from Delta that morning.

And, for the rest of the day, I simply puttered around the house doing a little art and watching college football. My main obsession was making these doodle roses that I learned in one of the Life Book 2021 Taster Sessions. 

Pat made it home just a bit after the kickoff of our Alabama game. It was a hard-fought victory over Ole Miss, and we were exhausted after watching it. So, that ended our week. 

I'm happy I'm starting to find my creative mojo and hope I can gear it toward more jewelry-designs soon. Here's some inspiration to get your creativity flowing. 

• Y'all know I'm all about the art journals and junk journals. I'm digging this tutorial on how to make a Quick and Easy Altered Book Junk Journal. 
• This tutorial is in Dutch, but it should be pretty self-explanatory. Just look at the pictures of this DIY Fall Cake decoration made from wood slices and I'm sure you'll figure it out. 
• Divya from Jewels of Sayuri explains the Different Types of Pearls. 
• Pictures of abandoned places always capture my attention This collection of photos from Matt Emmett is no exception. 
• Nunn Designs shares how to use Ribbon End Leather Conectors. 
• Here's a great round-up of Upcycled Halloween Decorations you can make. 
• The detail in these landscape embroideries from Victoria Rose Richards is phenomenal. 
• Lynda at Fresh Baked Designs has shared a beautiful Earring Frame Tutorial. She makes it look so easy too! 
• Julie Fei-Fan Balzer is one inspiring lady. In this YouTube video, she explains how Creativity is Self-Care. 
• I had absolutely no idea that you could cut polymer clay in a die-cut machine. However, this tutorial for a Scrolled Curio Pendant explains how to do it. (There are also instructions on how to cut the design without the machine too!)
• There's something about stitches on photos that's enthralling. Check out this collection from Victoria Villasana that honors icons.  
• This simple Embroidered Cuff Bracelet tutorial looks comfy and fun to make too. 
• Moois Van Mie has shared another earring DIY. This Tess pair looks almost as if I made them (the colors are SO ME!)
• I love the subtle colors of these $1 painted pumpkins. What a great reminder that Fall decorations don't have to be in-your-face orange!
• Craft Gossip has a great roundup of ideas for a Harry Potter Party. 
• I definitely consider myself a bit of a book nerd. So, this list of some of the World's Strangest Books caught my attention. 
• Here's the link that caught my attention for the Fairy Skeletons that I've already made. Y'all...they're so easy and so cute!
• This tutorial on making Tissue Paper Pendants is pretty old, but the technique is solid!

And, that's it for the week. I'm pleased with how much I crossed off my list last week and only hope that I can stay motivated this week also. But, I'm already running behind. Here's wishing you a week of inspiration and motivation too.