Creating Something Every Day

One of my goals during 2010 is to create something every day.  Sometimes the project is simple and can be completed in an hour; and other times I work on a longer-term project (like the sashiko quilt that took several months to make).  The purpose is to carve aside some time each day to be creative. 

This is one of the sets of wool felt pancakes that I sent to HGTV. 

This item in my Etsy shop was selected to be featured on an upcoming HGTV-Etsy holiday special

that will air after Thanksgiving.

Choreographer Twyla Tharp stresses in her book, The Creative Habit: Learn It And Use It For Life, the importance of setting up a daily habit to sustain creativity. Tharp outlines the significance of making a commitment to this habit. She proposes that talent will only get you so far and then you must commit to a daily routine to stay creative.

Set of six notecards.  I made several sets from photographs of Grand Marais (Minnesota) and

images from children's books.  Some of the sets are available in my Etsy shop, Harvest Moon by Hand.

Something I came across which sounds like fun is Art Every Day Month which begins on November 1st.  The artist who started AEDM says she wants to "...encourage people to make something every day, but my goal is to foster more creativity, so if you make just one piece of art per week or just one for the whole month, that's fine with me."

She continues, "The idea is to bring more creativity into your life, not to make you feel overwhelmed, pressured or guilt-stricken. Art is also loosely defined here. I mean art in the sense of anything creative, whether that be painting, drawing, knitting, sewing, cooking, decorating, writing, photography, clay, jewelry-making or whatever!"

It's free to sign up.  Just visit the site HERE.

Bags made from a vintage children's book. I trim the pages using a paper cutter, and then cut the decorative edge at the top by hand.  I sew each bag on the sewing machine for durability. 

This set and others are available in my shop.

What I am making today?  First off is a needlefelted set of math gnomes.  A customer requested a set, so I'll be making two sets - one for her and an additional one for my shop.  Then maybe more needlefelted items...as long as I have those barbed needles and wool out.  I haven't done needlefelting for a while, so it will be nice to work with wool again.