Peek at My Week (Oct 17-23)

 It's my birthday today, so I'm hoping to make this short and sweet.

Last week began beautifully with a fun day with a friend exploring the Daphne Jubilee Arts Festival and then having lunch.

On Monday, I was determined to try to get some work done, so I gathered all my treasures to find some inspiration.

Tuesday included a few fun bits. Of course, there was laundry duty too. Artemis was no help as she climbed into my basket.

She's lucky she's cute!

I had won an Amazon gift card and bought myself a little treat that came in late in the day.

This Himi Gouache set was on sale.

I didn't have time to test them out before I ran to the library for an event.

We made pumpkins from old books!

Back in the craft room on Wednesday, I created some mark-making tools.

These are for The Magpie's Nest, a workshop from Aimee Bishop on Jeanne Oliver's site. 

I finished up several earrings for the booth on Thursday as well as went about my day. Once again, a cat got in on the act of my chores. 

Rosalina insisted on staying in the bed when I made it. lol!

I took the new pieces to Southern Antiques and Accents on Friday morning.

From there, I headed to Mobile to visit with my mom for a little while.

I also announced a giveaway on YouTube for reaching 2,000 Subscribers. 

Saturday was a bit slow, but I busted out a few tasks I needed to work on like the You, Me, Same 3 for October. I'll share that reveal on Saturday. But, I also spent some time in the yard and admired my little collections from this week. 

In the evening, we watched football. And, Zoe crashed out with us on the couch with her own ball. 

And, here are some links I found inspiring this week. 

• DIY Earrings with Wire and Ceramic Pendant
• Ten Activities for a Creative Autumn
• Beginner Floral Embroidery Pattern
• DIY Halloween Garland with Free Printables
• Flame Cut Wood Decoupage Jewelry
• Abstract Art Journaling Techniques from Tiffany of Southern Gals Designs
• Real Life Horror Film Locations you can visit
• Easy Yarn Tassel Ghost Garland
• How to Make a Spiral Pendant Necklace

So that was the week. What do you have planned for this one?

YouTube Subscriber Giveaway

I reached a small milestone on the CraftyHope YouTube Channel and now have over 2,000 subscribers. To celebrate and thank those who have decided to watch my videos, I'm having a little bit of a giveaway!!

Pictured above is some of what I'll be sending out to the winner. 

There are several hand-carved stamps.

Old photos, paper scraps, and bits of fabric from my own stash were thrown in.

And, I created this pocketful of paper ephemera. 

(I'm actually going to start offering ephemera and paper packs in the Etsy Shop before too long, and this is the first iteration of those.) 

The winner also gets to pick out a couple of my ICADs to have as their very own.

Since this is a YouTube giveaway, I've got a whole video showing the prizes and going over the guidelines for entering.

Make sure you head over to the 2,000 Subscriber Giveaway video to watch, subscribe, and enter there! If you're already subscribed, Thank you.

And, Good Luck!

Reveal for SJ September Honey Do List

It wasn't until the beginning of this month that I saw the inspiration photo from Sarajo and Eric for the September Honey Do List on the SJ Designs Jewelry blog. And, when I saw this beauty of a photo, I knew I had to make something. It has so much of what I love: layers of moss, old wood, rusty bits (if you look close), and metal. Take a look!

Inspiration for September Honey Do List

It took a day or two to gather my thoughts as I kept the image open in my browser. I finally gathered a few beads, a piece of tin, and a couple of charms. I set to work punching out tin circles to make bead caps and distressing large wooden beads for a more aged look. Alas, that design just didn't work. But, the elements I had assembled stayed on my desk for a day or so until inspiration struck again and the black metal hinge with the rusty washers in the photo caught my eye. 

I was tickled to pull this pendant together. The green and yellow tin are like the bits of moss on the door while the darkened tin is like the hinge. Rusty washers, small tin discs, and rivets completed the pendant by looking like the bolts on the hinge. 

It took me another day or so to realize that I just needed wood beads to complete the necklace. 

Since the holes in wood beads are often large and swallow the wrapped loops, I added Czech matte glass seed beads on either side of the wood beads. And, darkened steel wire reflects the hinge. A gunmetal clasp closes the chain. 

Before I cleaned all the gathered pieces from my desk, a pair of almost-matching earrings fell together too. 

Because of the wood and the tin, both of these pieces are super lightweight.

Thanks to Sarajo and Eric for the gorgeous inspiration. My apologies for running behind on this one, but I HAD to give it a go. You can see what Sarajo made for her September Honey Do List reveal and/or check out the photo inspiration for the October Honey Do List to get started on their newest challenge. 

Peek at My Week (Oct 10-16)

 It was a a week, y'all! I'm already running behind on this new one. Take a peek!

To get out of the house on Sunday, we took Zoe for a walk at a local park and checked out the new disc golf course there. You can tell how excited she was about that (the walk, not the disc golf). 

Since her picture turned out so well, I decided to capture Artemis' good side too. 

I also made a little time to play in an art journal after some inspiration from The Ugly Art Club. 

Monday began beautifully as I decided to go for a morning walk and watch the sun rise. 

I pretty much stayed home and worked on a few projects all day. In particular, I gathered papers and other bits for the giveaway I'll be having when I reach 2,000 YouTube subscribers on my channel. I'd love it if you'd follow me there too!

On Tuesday, I ran my usual errands of grocery shopping and whatnot. The local farmer's market had out their impressive display of pumpkins. These are just a small portion of the pumpkins that run down the side of the whole building.

It was also our wedding anniversary, so Pat and I had a nice dinner out on the deck at The Little Whiskey in Fairhope. It was a real treat!

On Wednesday, I worked on a variety of tasks. But the big event of the day was the four hours we spent in the evening painting the floor of the new building. 

On Thursday, I headed to Mobile to visit with my mom before I did a little estate sale shopping. I really scored big! You'll have to watch my October Thrifty Haul to really see what I bought. 

Friday morning, I treated myself to some yummy cheese grits topped with (PRO TIP) leftover taco toppings and a fresh fried egg. So good!

That evening, we got to enjoy seeing the Spin Doctors at a local outdoor venue. I was thrilled!

While Pat worked in the building on Saturday, I wavered between checking in on college football games, getting some jewelry made, and exploring the property. I discovered bees buzzing all over the blooms on the loquat trees. And, somehow captured this butterfly with its tongue out!

I was inspired to try to experiment with creating a tin and bead mushroom. Though, I understand that not everyone sees it as a mushroom. I guess I need to work on the design some more. 

As if that wasn't enough mushrooms, I stumbled across this interesting one in the woods.

And really, that was the week. It was busy, but full of joy.

I only found one thing to share and it was this blog post from Autin Kleon with an inspiring Ann Patchett quote.

I'm not sure what the week ahead holds, but I really do hope it's a good one! Here's wishing you a wonderful week as well. 

What's New on Etsy

In case you haven't taken a look inside the CraftyHope Etsy Shop lately, I thought I'd share a peek at some of what's new. 

Blue Scrolls Earrings

Button Collections Bracelet

French Bubble Necklace

Garden Tassels Earrings

Locker Tag Bracelet

Amethyst Dangle Necklace

And, that's just a few of the pieces you'll find in the Etsy Shop. Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about the above items or anything in the shop. I'm happy to help!

October Challenges and Inspiration

Finding new design challenges has been a bit of a...challenge in itself lately. But, there are still a few out there that I can share with you if you're looking for inspiration.

• First, let me apologize for the fact that I totally flaked out in September. Sarajo of SJ Designs Jewelry did, in fact, share an inspiration photo for the Honey Do List. And it is a GOOD ONE! Though September has ended, she still has the linky tool open for almost another two weeks in case you want to design something for the challenge. I've already got my wheels turning for this one. 
• The Art Elements October Theme is Skulls. I know I've got a few skull beads in my stash and do love the sugar skulls for Dias de las Muertos (Day of the Dead). So,  I might be able to do something with that. You have all month to submit your contributions to the album in the Art Elements Community on Facebook. 
• The Halcraft Collection Pretty Palette Challenge features an array of colors for this month's "Leaf It All Behind" palette. Head over to their page to get all the deets!
• UPDATE! Sarajo has shared the October Honey Do List inspiration. The reveal date is Nov. 8th, but I'm sure the linky tool will be open for a few weeks after that date. 

I do have another challenge for the month, but it's part of a subscription membership group, so I don't feel comfortable sharing it here. But, I'm always on the lookout for more inspiration. So, if you know of something I've missed, please don't hesitate to let me know so I can add it to the list.

What's been inspiring you lately?

 

Peek at My Week (Oct 3 - 9)

 I'm happy to see that I'm able to make a little time to share what my week looked like.
Take a peek. 

I worked on a few projects on Sunday while one of my nieces and her boyfriend came over to help Pat clean the floor of the new building. I explored the property for a bit looking for the weird and wonderful and found plenty to delight me (above).

There was even this little treasure half-buried under a tree. 

It tickles me so! I can just imagine one of the kids who grew up in our house playing out in the yard with this toy motorcycle.

I also finished up a little needlebook I've been working on based on the skills I learned in the Mixed Media Textile Collage class from Sara Hartmann on the Southern Gals Designs Creative Academy. 

Monday was all about knocking out the chores and finishing several projects. Though, my favorite part was probably the joy I found in watching the birds and squirrels at the feeder we recently hung outside my craft room window!

I piddled most of Tuesday, working on a few things including this resin and tin piece. 

I actually didn't even realize that it looked like an eye until Pat said something about it. Ha!

Really, the day was spent waiting to hit the road for a fun experience. On the way, the sky was glorious! I even spotted a rainbow as we were crossing Mobile Bay. 

Then it was time for the BIG SHOW. Seriously.

KISS put on a concert like none other I've ever seen. It was amazing!

The rest of the week paled in comparison. Here are some of the highlights. 

 - I found a massive sticker book from someone's scrapbooking days at Goodwill on Wednesday.

- On Thursday, I visited with my mom and niece in Mobile.

Most of Friday was spent working on a design I had begun earlier in the week and was desperate to get finished. 

While I absolutely adore how the earrings came together. There are a few flaws with this particular design. So, these earrings are mine (all mine!)

Most of my Saturday was spent watching college football. Though, I made sure to keep myself busy with some organizing, art journaling, and beading on and off throughout the day.

Unfortunately, Alabama (my team) just barely lost their game, bringing down an otherwise beautiful week. But, I'm trying to stay optimistic for the week to come. 

Once again, I didn't find much to share. But, here are a few links for you to enjoy.

• This Quick and Easy DIY Fabric Bunting really does look quick and easy. 
• As it is pumpkin season, this DIY Cottagecore Floral Decorated Pumpkin caught my eye. 

And, that was my week. 

How was yours?

Thrifty Thursday and SAA Booth Update

 I'm rolling these two topics into one because they all have to deal with thrifty shopping. First, it's time for the reveal of my September Thrifty Haul. 

The above tins are just a tiny peek at the bounty I brought home last month. You can see the full September Thrifty Haul video of everything if you're interested in that kind of thing. 

Next, if you prefer to do your own shopping, I added a few new things to the booth at Southern Antiques and Accents! My favorite of the new items is this pair of eclectic reclaimed tin earrings. 

There are also a few other new earrings.

And, a handful of pieces were added to the Bargain Bin. 

Plus, there's PLENTY more to explore in my booth and throughout the antique mall. I should also mention that Saturday is SUPER Second Saturday with events going on in the store all day long. There will be food, demonstrations, giveaways, discounts, and Happy Hour! If you're in the Fairhope, AL area, you don't want to miss this monthly event.