:: Serendipity Muse :: Posts

May 22, 2012 / / Crafting

My Muse has been working overtime lately. Now she’s decided to give me just a hint of an idea for decorating my soon-to-be crafting studio. I have several old dressers and a small cupboard which are all mismatched and unattractive, but functional. And, since I already have them, they won’t cost me anything to use them for storage in my studio.

May 19, 2012 / / Crafting

Back when this blog was mostly about my quilting projects, my fans (all both of you) may remember my links to one of my favorite quilting blogs, The Bitchy Stitcher. Well, if any of you followed that link at some point, you might have found her fund-raising project: a calendar of shirtless men with quilts and spicy burritos, also know as “The Quilter’s Shirtless Man and Spicy Burrito Calendar” (QSMASBC). Here is an example of the sort of image in this fab calendar:

May 7, 2012 / / Crafting

Just when you think, “Yep, these are my only choices”, along comes Inspiration to bash you in the head with her little wand, and prove that, indeed, there are more choices, more options. Things you’d never thought of before, explode, fully grown, from your head, like the birth of Minerva/Athena.

May 6, 2012 / / Musings
May 6, 2012 / / Musings

Well, I suppose this counts as a “creative” project on two levels: first, I am designing a small workspace; second, it’s for my creative projects. This will eventually become my “studio” for all my crafty pursuits. I even hope to put my laptop down there, and use it to work on some digital art stuff once in a while.

April 21, 2012 / / Photoshop

Today I figured out how to make an image that looks like hair or scratches using Photoshop CS4. So, I decided to share with all my friends and fans (both of you).

First, I’m not sure if this will work in any other version of PS, so YMMV [1]. If you know of a different/better/easier way of doing this, feel free to share!

Also, I’m assuming you have some familiarity with PS. If not, no worries, this should be easy enough for you to understand, too.

April 17, 2012 / / Musings

Moving from one home to another can be a stressful time for anyone, but it can be especially stressful for creatives who work with lots of different materials, or materials that need special storage.

My family recently relocated from the West Coast to the East Coast. Unfortunately, most of my crafting supplies, tools and equipment are now in storage, waiting for me to find space and set up a work area in our new home. Due to space constraints (our new home is about 2/3 the size of our last one), my new workspace will likely be in the garage, which isn’t really suitable for storing vehicles anyway.

April 15, 2012 / / Crafting

Today’s tutorial is on how to create a button bouquet. Button bouquets have become a fun alternative to fresh flowers, both for weddings and for general decorative purposes. The benefits include the ability to mix and match specific colors and the fact that they don’t wilt. You won’t save money by making a button bouquet over a fresh flower one, but it will last much longer.

I have seen some button bouquets in a single color, a limited number of colors (generally 2 or 3), and a whole rainbow of candy colors. I have even seen several done entirely in sparkly rhinestone buttons. The beauty of this crafting technique is its versatility. You can make it as formal or casual as you like.

April 14, 2012 / / Crafting
April 8, 2012 / / Crafting