Ok, so maybe “fun” isn’t the word most people would choose… but, for me, it was rather fulfilling in a fun sort of way.  Actually, creative projects are what I deem “fun”.  This is what I did Friday night.

I realize this does resemble my recent encaustic painting a bit,  but, what can I say?  They came from the same person, plus this just fit what I was trying to do.  My recipe:

1 good sized Canvas (18″ x 36″) with small hole - unsuitable for a painting

+

Piles and piles of Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple magazines desperately needing to be thinned

+

1 creative with pack-rat tendencies not wanting to let so many lovely photos go.

Select pages with favorite colors and objects, slice thoroughly.

Add a bottle of brown paint, a dash of decopage, plus some matte acrylic medium to finish it off, and

Shazzam!

Instant wall decor.

A close-up. Ok, so it took a few hours.  And, I started collecting pictures a few months ago - but, it didn’t take as many as I thought it would.  Oops, maybe you can see a spot I missed.

 Creativity Question:  Do you ever feel like your idea fountain is full, or is it more often thirsty?

I am always thirsty, it seems - even when I already have sketch books full of ideas.  It just never seems like enough.  Not to mention, that there are more things I want to learn than I could possibly fit into one lifetime.  That’s just how I am.  Rarely content, I guess.  A gift and also a curse.

Ps - I’m still planning on adding the hooded towel tutorial - when I get to it - heh.

Let’s face it, babies at bathtime are already adorable.  How about wrapping up with a fun hooded towel to top it off?

I often make these for baby shower gifts, and this time it was for twins!  These plush towels are larger and fluffier than the typical store-bought hooded towel.  Everyone seems to love them, plus, I’ve heard friends say their children use them for years.

I used striped towels for a little zing.  Recently, I’ve started adding hang-tags to them.  Previously, I have sewn a length of wide grosgrain ribbon along the back where the hood joins the towel, covering the seam, and left a little space un-sewn for the hang-tag.  For these, I thought I’d experiment and put the tag on the top in an accent color.  Spunky!  I wonder if my friends appreciate me experimenting on them.. hmm.

My husband says I should sell these on Etsy.  Thinking about it…

Creativity Question:  Do you ever use creativity as an escape or a means of comfort?

For me, it can be both, at times.  I remember writing poetry when I was younger - to encapsulate emotions I couldn’t contain.  And, I certainly prefer doing something creative over cleaning my house, so in that way it’s an escape.  But, I have also found painting, drawing, etc - immersing myself in something creative for a while helps to heal, comf0rt and console.

Ok, so I’m a bit late posting this, and I didn’t take a lot of photos of Thanksgiving - this is it, really. It’s difficult to play hostess and photographer simultaneously. Anyway, I did, at least have a little fun with the food. See?

Cherry pie - not with canned pie filling, mind you. I used frozen cherries. It was really tasty - I’d probably try a little less sugar next time, for that extra zip of tart.  I cut the swirly shapes with a knife, the leaves with a mini-cookie cutter.

Homemade cranberry sauce. I don’t know why I keep making it. It never gets devoured like everything else. I like it, though. Maybe I should just reduce the recipe next time. It has fresh cranberries, orange juice and zest, and sugar. It simmers together until the cranberries burst and it coagulates a bit. Yum. Way better than the canned stuff, in my opinion. I like to put it on my rolls instead of jelly.

No photos of these, but I was quite domestic this Thanksgiving. I also cooked a huge turkey. The roaster oven made it easy, and boy, did it cook quickly! Only two hours for the nearly 19 pound bird - I was astounded. Also: real mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, stuffing, homemade rolls, honey butter, broccoli slaw, sweet potatoes, the cranberry sauce, the cherry pie, two pumpkin pies, a pecan pie, a french silk chocolate pie, which Hana decorated, but I neglected to take a photo of (grr), and non-dairy brown-rice pudding. Some of the guests brought a few other things, but those are what I made.

Whew! It was a lot of work, but it turned out so nicely, and everyone enjoyed themselves. Even me. And so, it’s worth it.

Creativity Question: Have you any creative Thanksgiving traditions? Meaning, something you make or create either yourself or as a family? Or something you did this year, if it’s not a tradition?

I didn’t do any crafts, and I don’t decorate for Thanksgiving, aside from the table and serving areas - my decor consisted of wired ribbon (I, the ribbon addict, already had it) in a deep burgundy color with gold accents, a few pine cones, some of them gold, and some other little earthy things I had in my stash - oh, and the 6 ears of Indian corn for 50 cents. It doesn’t take much to make it look nice. In the center, iron scroll-work with a white serving dish filled with rolls. The tablecloth was way too big, so I bunched up the parts that fell to the floor and billowed them a bit and pinned them around the four legs, then tied with ribbon. I was going for “I meant to do that” rather than “oops, the tablecloth is too long and I don’t want you to trip”. I think it worked. I suppose for Thanksgiving, my creativity tradition is homemade foods and inexpensive but nice table decor which I usually throw together last minute. BTW- eating on real plates was sooo nice! 

So tell me YOUR traditions - probably much more interesting than mine.