Treasury Time Again!

Some of my favorite Etsy treasuries have been ones that included one my items in a theme that I wasn't expecting to see them in. AsCuteAsaButton2011 made me smile with Braveheart treasury that includes my Freedom Quilt. I will not be able to look at this quilt again without hearing Mel Gibson's voice. :)

This treasury inclusion was less of a suprise, but still much appreciated. leighswiccanboutique included the  Slumber Incense from Harvest Moon Herbals in her collection titled "This is what dreams are made of".

Until next time!

A Few of My Favorite Things

A friend asked a very good question the other day, one that I hadn't given a lot of thought: "Out of everything you've ever created, what are your favorites?" To which I responded: "Why do my friends always ask difficult questions?"  To be more precise about it, I should have said "Why do my friends ask questions that I find difficult to answer?"

I could have shrugged and said "I dunno."  Or I could have gone the noble route and decried "Favorite?  How can I chose a favorite among these creations?  They are my children.  I love them all equally."  Well, no, actually, I don't love everything I've ever made.  Thinking about it, I realized that I do have some favorites among the works that I've done.  They aren't necessarily my best works or the ones that have brought recognition or monetary reward.  My favorites tend to be those peices that have given me the greatest sense of accomplishment or in some way appeal deeply to my own tastes.

After some thought, this is what I came up with... eight of my all-time favorites, in no particular order.

These are (starting clockwise at the top left corner):

1. Logo for my online herbal shop. This was a utilitarian piece, obviously, created because I didn't want to buy a pre-made avatar.  I won't claim that it's a great piece of art, but I loved the process of transforming a badly snapped shot of my garden and turning it into something unique.
2. Beaded star necklace.  To be techinical, this was the first one beaded star that I created and it took hours to get it right.  What a great feeling of accomplishment when it was all done.  
3. Butterly mobile.  I've been creating butterfly suncatchers from recycled plastic and clear paints for years.  It finally occurred to me to make a mobile out of them.  It's impossible to be unhappy when working on these.
4. At Scythe Point.  This novel was the product of my first attempt at National Novel Writing Month.  I am incredibly amazed at my own capacity to write an entire, mostly coherent novel in thirty days.  Creating it was an absolute rush.
5. Favorite photo.  I take pictures everywhere I go and doubly so if there's an old cemetery, but this one is my personal favorite. 
6. Dream quilt.  This was my first (and probably next to last) attempt to make a full size quilt. 
7. Seaglass necklace.  This piece was created by me for me.  The seaglass came home with me from a trip to the Carribean several years ago and finally found a home as part of this peice.  I'm particularly sentimental about it.
8. Fall broom.  Autumn is my favorite season so I am perpetually making little fall decorations.  This one is my favorite, well loved enough that it hangs inside the house the other three seasons.

So there they are, a few of my favorite creations.  Give me a few days, a little creative time, and I'm sure I can add to that list.


 

Works In Progress - Stars, Blogs, and More

Winter is usually my slow time, but I've been fairly busy this year trying to catch up on some creative works. Here's a run-down on what's been happening.

The latest projects for Harvest Moon Designs are shown here.  I've been working on some variations of  the beaded star necklaces that I initially created last year.  I've been playing with colors and bead types and having too much fun with it.  As soon as I can free up a bit of time, I'll be taking better photos of these so that I can get them posted in the shop.  The earlier versions of these, all in variations of red, orange, and yellow, have already found good homes.  

I've also managed to get some writing accomplished, although it's mostly in the form of blog posts.  I'm trying my hand a travel-related blog at the moment, although I haven't entirely decided where I'm going to go with it (no pun intended, I swear).  If I ever get it whipped into something readable, I'll post the link here.  I've also been busy adding chapters to the online version of At Scythe Point.  That's more of an editorial/IT project than actual writing and a boring one at that.

In the works are several more wands.  By in the works, I mean that I have the materials purchased, but they're sitting on the shelf collecting dust.  I thought I'd be able to get through them in January, as I had three long weekends off of work.  Unfortunately, the crisis with my feline and then a terrific cold kept me sidelined the entire month. 

More later, as I have time.  Until then, hope that you've been able to get some creating of your own done.