Peek at My Week (Nov 15-21)

My creativity has been kicking in this week, and I couldn't be more thankful for the distraction. 

Sunday began beautifully. There was a bit of a hazy fog that diffused the sunrise and gave the morning a lovely glow. 

Back inside, I collected a few of the projects I had begun on Saturday.

Coffee-dyed papers were laid out across the kitchen island drying.

And, a copper washer was finishing up its patina process. Once I had it cleaned and sealed, it went straight into the last compartment of my Bead Box. Hopefully, I'll have version 10 to share with you before too long!

Before the day got away from us, we met some friends for a hike at Blakely State Park. Along the way, I collected colorful leaves to create this super cool rainbow of fall foliage as inspired by Rachel on Instagram. 

I have to admit that we got a little lost on the hike and ended up walking about five miles - much more than we had anticipated. And, we were exhausted for the rest of the day. But, it was so good to be out enjoying the fall weather. 

I found myself a little sore on Monday and took my time to get things done. While doing our grocery shopping, I couldn't resist this pile of satsumas at the farm market. 

These are some of my favorite fruits and ones that we wait all year to come into season locally. They're so good! One day our little tree will finally fruit. And, we're hoping to plant several more. We really do love them. 

Most of Tuesday was spent at the craft desk. I aged copper wire for some of the designs that were packed into the bead box.

And then, I got started on making the bead box designs. I ensured that the first few compartments held pieces that would fit into a couple of the November Challenges.

I also spent some time editing videos to share with you. 

Each evening, I go out and close up the chicken coops. I couldn't help but stop and capture these sleepy cuties as they watched the twilight ease in.

Though I had a box FULL of designs to work on, I was compelled to cut out both a few templates for tin and some tin on Wednesday.

That kept me busy most of the afternoon! In the evening, we discovered The Great Pottery Throw Down. It's a BBC program that we're able to watch on HBO Max. It's just like the Great British Bake-Off but pottery instead of cakes!

On Thursday, I happily worked on sanding and altering my little tin pieces while watching YouTube videos most of the day. 

My sister-in-law came over to help my husband with the roof of the shed. And, while I was out greeting her, the blossoms on the loquat trees caught my attention. I was trying to take a picture when a butterfly landed on the flower.

I became enamored with watching all the bees and butterflies flitting among the blooms. It was mesmerizing. Fall in the South can be pretty amazing.

But, I did have loads to do including running a few errands in the afternoon, and somehow I found myself in a thrift store. (I have no idea how that happened ;) Ha!)

On Friday, I did a little pampering before starting my day in earnest.

From there, I finished working on my tin, and we had a fire in the firepit in the evening. It was the first of the season, and I think we could have sat out there all night. I just love watching a fire, and found a dragon in ours.

Do you see it too?

I spent most of Saturday morning playing with paper techniques I had seen on the videos I watched through the week.

While I'm not a huge fan of bleach in general (the smell, the stains...ugh!), I was smitten with Aimee Bishop's results in Stamping with Bleach and had to try it myself!

From there, I went in another papercrafting direction.

I've been wanting to try the alcohol ink on the Gelli Plate technique from Birgit Koopson ever since I saw her share a peek of it on Instagram. 

In the afternoon, we watched the Alabama football game to finish the weekend.

While I didn't get many completely finished projects, I stayed creative for most of the week. And, that makes me happy. I hope you've found your creative groove this week too. If you're looking for inspiration, he's what I've found this week. 

• Moois Van Me had a couple of earring tutorials that caught my eye. First, these Balance earrings have such a neat design that I'm sure has some great movement. Secondly, the Ava Pearl earrings have a similar wire idea to them, but done quite differently. You'll have to go take a look to see what I mean. 
• My Modern Met has a list of 10 Art Books that will Nourish Your Creative Soul this Month. I always love hearing about inspiring reads!
• Though it's not quite Thanksgving yet, I'm really enjoying seeing some of the DIY ornaments out there. This Vintage Butterfly Ornament is no exception. 
• Julie Fei-Fan Balzer has released her #CarveDecember prompt list if you're interested in jumping on the handcarved stamp bandwagon. And, you don't HAVE to use her prompts or even carve everyday. But, it's a fun challenge all in all. 
• Nunn Designs has a tutorial on How to Turn Your Images into Beautiful Resin Jewelry. I'm thinking those could be great gifts!
• I just have to share this Freddie Mercury Marionette for its pure awesomeness. 
• Here's another of the videos that I binged this week: Quick and Easy Leather Journal Tutorial. 
• The Graphic Fairy always shares a ton of fabulous printable images. Here are 50+ Best Blank Labels (Vintage). 

And, that was the week for me. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead. Let me know what you're doing to stay busy and creative.