my crafty beginnings

A little background info, going back to the beginning and bringing us to this point in the journey. I am the middle of three sisters. Navy brats we were, moving every year or two throughout our childhood. Our maternal great grandmother was a wonderful sewer. We still have a few (now tattered) baby blankets and aprons that she made. My grandpa on my mom's side and also my dad enjoyed woodworking. I love the smell of sawdust and would love to learn the craft someday. Our mom used to sew clothes for us when we were little. I wish I had handy a picture of the three of us wearing these matching Holly Hobby dresses and bonnets that she made. More than a picture, I REALLY wish I still had my dress. What a treasure that would be. She also took a tole painting class when I was in high school. When we were younger, both of our parents painted ceramics as a hobby. My sisters are also wonderfully crafty in a variety of areas.

I have always liked to doodle and get creative with lettering. Arts and crafts was always a favorite time in school and girl scouts (I was a Brownie). I loved doing crafts and coloring in coloring books, but wasn't so good with a blank piece of paper. I think I was in college when I first started creating a few things from my own imagination. I remember these fabric Christmas trees I made as gifts one year, and then some yo-yo flowers in tiny pots for Mothers Day. I started sewing more after having our first baby. I wish I was proficient in sewing clothes for the kids, but I mainly make blankets. I counted one day and tried to remember all the people I've made blankets for, and I think it was fifty something that I could think of.

I also started scrapbooking after becoming a mom. The blank page was less intimidating with photos and fun papers to play with. I'm way behind now on our albums, but I love telling the stories and reliving the memories that go with all those sweet pictures.

It's been just in the last six months or so that I've had a longing to paint. I always thought it would be fun, but since I don't consider myself to have much skill with drawing, I didn't think I'd have much success with a paintbrush either. Enter mixed media painting! I started seeing some mixed media work in pictures online, and my brother-in-law Eric has created some amazing pieces. My husband Joe is a tattoo artist and a great watercolor painter. He bought some acrylic paints a while back, and we got some canvases for the kids to paint on, so I decided to go for it. My first ever painting was a just before Christmas 2008, which I ended up giving to my sweet friend Peggy in Minnesota. (sorry for the blurry photo)

She then wanted me to paint something for a giveaway for a women's event coming up at the church, and so this was my second painting. I liked the style of this one and wish that I'd scanned it before giving it away so that I could make prints, but maybe I'll recreate it one day.

Since then I've done a few more that I've gifted to friends for birthdays and such, and I painted the series currently in my etsy shop for a women's event at our church here. I sold my very first original painting to my dear friend Sandy and also got my first commissioned sale that day.

There was an art show/ grand re-opening at the tattoo shop where Joe works a couple of weeks ago, with art from various artists in the area. Joe thought our whole family (minus our one year old Judah) should enter pieces in the show, so we did.. photos of that event coming soon.

More ideas brewing and hoping to get onto a canvas soon. I have one painting in the "studio" now in progress, and one that I started working on at Mati's studio (more on that in another post). And I'm doodling more these days, getting inspiration from things all around me.