Crafting up a Storm!

I am doing well on this round of chemo, my energy levels have been good.  I have been able to hang out with my super cool family and craft up a storm.
The weather here in Arizona has been warm, then cold and rainy then warm, then cold and rainy.  It is a bounty of weather when we usually see clear skies.  I love the variety and we are having fun taking little walks out to explore the wet park and neighborhood.  Luci is less sure about the rain so we have to reassure her regularly that the sky is not falling.  Our winter will end soon so we are enjoying the chill.

On to the crafting storm!  I have been inspired by several creative ladies and I want to mention them because  they lift my spirits on a regular basis.
One amazing creator is Geninne from Geninne's Art Blog.  She takes her inspiration from nature and shares that regularly.  Geninne taught me to carve stamps with the detailed tutorial available on her blog.  She even wrote a book about carving stamps called Making An Impression.  Geninne is an accomplished painter as well as a gifted photographer and she shares her work with a humble pride that I love.

I recently found incredible crochet inspiration from a lovely lady named Lucy on her blog Attic 24.  Her style is so vivid, she chooses the best color combinations and creates beautiful and fun crochet projects.  I used her tutorial to create my tiny bunting and I also used her patterns to create tiny flowers, stars and hearts.  Lucy's blog is full of unique crochet and beautiful photos of the English countryside where she lives.  I love seeing what Lucy is up to, she inspires me to continue crocheting.

I thank both Geninne and Lucy for the work they do to share their lives and their art.  I feel like my crafting is better because of the influence of artists like these bright ladies.

Let me show you what I've been up to lately.

I've had the urge to work with clay, but since I am a novice I did not want to spend a lot of money on my first practice creations.  I found this great air dry clay at Target of all places.  It is Crayola brand clay that came in a nice size tub for just over $3.  Yea!  I wanted to make some small little dishes to hold my bits of nature, so I tried an experiment.  I took bits of the clay that I warmed up in my hands and smooshed them against some medium size rocks.  I like the way they turned out.  You can sand the dried clay, but I liked the rough look with unfinished edges.  I painted one silver and I like how you can see the texture of the rock, the rest are unpainted.  The clay is a bit chalky but I liked it and will use it again.

 I crocheted this cute little grey bowl to hold my crochet stones.

 I crocheted this bowl and put one of those artificial candles inside, it makes a soft glow at night.

The red thread I used for the flowers is called "Liberty", what a great name.  The company that made the blue was not quite as creative with "Dark Blue".  Funny.

 This is a leaf I made with a pattern from an online library book, I just can't remember which one.  I love the Greater Phoenix Digital Library.

I crocheted a few hearts, they are bumpy and will look nicer after a light pressing.  I asked Isabel is she would like tiny heart bunting and she said "Only if they are black."  So I am going to try some black hearts, I'll let you know how they turn out.

I crocheted this tiny owl.  I love the color of the yarn, it has brown, orange and green shades.  Who?

I made these clothes pins into tiny arrows for my bulletin board, they are sweet and add a bit of sparkle.

I love small projects and have had a great time crafting these little things.
I go again for chemo on Thursday, I get a little nervous a few days before, but everything always turns out fine.

I hope your week is going along well and have a great Valentine's day.