I finally have a chance to post about my week off. There was much catching up to do after being away from work for 10 days!
Day 1: I jumped right in by going to Gastonia, NC on Saturday for a shopping outing. A good friend of mine used to live there and has raved about Mary Jo’s Cloth Store since I’ve known her. There was aisle upon aisle of fabric, 40,000 sq ft of fabric, I’m told. I had specific ideas in mind and it was still overwhelming! I was able to get all the fabric I needed for half the price of what I expected to spend.
Next stop was Hobby Lobby. For someone who had no idea what she was in for, this was also overwhelming and by overwhelmed, I mean I was overwhelmed with delight. I was able to pick up several tools I have needed that I was only able to get online (as in, Michael’s doesn’t carry it and that’s all we’ve got in Lynchburg!) and at great prices too. Here’s Kim & Leslee browsing some of the home decor items Hobby Lobby offers.
Day 2: Sunday was spent using my new tools purchased at Hobby Lobby. One of things I picked up was a new soldering iron. This soldering iron is meant for stained glass (which is basically what I do on the glass charms I make) and oh my goodness, the difference it makes! My solder lines are so smooth and shiny and pretty. I spent most of the day soldering up all the charms I’ve made that never got finished because I was fed up with my old soldering iron and then I slept for a very long time.
Day 3: Collage. Solder. Nap. Collage. Solder. Nap. Nap some more. (Napping allows time for glue to dry).
Day 4: Realizing that Day 3 did not include any consumption of food because there wasn’t much to eat, I went grocery shopping. I also worked on some collages for a series of charms I’ve been thinking about for a while now. Then I napped (more glue to dry!).
Day 5: Finished soldering and polishing the series of charms. I’m delighted with how they turned out. They are presents so I went all out and used an actual photograph in the collage. Usually I use copies but these are special. I can’t share pictures yet because the recipients have not been gifted yet!
Day 6: I went to Bloom, a craft ministry at my church, in the morning and worked on some more collages for charms. Afterwards, I got to hang out with Amy and we checked out Estate Specialists and The Art Box, both in Downtown Lynchburg. We had a great time and I believe afterwards I napped.
Day 7: I have been invited to be guest contributer on Crafty Daisies while one of their regulars is out of town. I thought I would do a tutorial on papermaking so I spent the morning doing a test run of techniques. I met my friend Maria for lunch. She said I looked well rested. I can’t imagine why. I spent the rest of the day finishing up the papers I started.
Day 8: Worked on a collage for The Late Virginia Summer’s show on June 10th. It’s at the Starlight Cafe in Downtown Lynchburg. You should come. It’s free. The evening was spent at the Wood’s for a cook out. Great fun and food was had by all.
Day 9: Ms. Hartt graced us with another visit. We spent the afternoon shopping in Charlottesville.
Day 10: Day was spent recovering from the effects of Explosive Creativity and constructing cd sleeves from Tyvek envelopes for The Late Virginia Summer’s box set. I broke out the sewing machine for this. In the process of moving, the manual for my sewing machine has gone missing. The first thing I always forget is how the thread it. To help, I took a picture of it (and who knows, this could be wrong too but it does work!)
And so ends Artistic Endeavors Week. All in all, I’d say it was time well spent.
