Moving

I have been away - busy as can be. Something wonderful fell into my lap! I have taken my craftiness to a new level. I bought a craft store! Three Crafty Ladies has been on Sanibel Island for 35 years and is an institution on the island and the only place to by art and craft supplies. It is also a fantastic quilt store. Fabrics to die for!! So when I found out the owner wanted to retire I took the opportunity to roll everything that I like to do and want to do up into one gigantic expedition. I couldn't be happier.
The staff and customers are so creative and friendly. I have always loved Sanibel. And I am a business women and longed to get back into that area. Voila!

I will be putting more time into creating a website. It will be here eventually. I will also have a blog and you can find Three Crafty Ladies on Facebook and Twitter.

So exciting!!! Come along!

Relaxed and Refreshed

No posts for the last week means I was on vacation. A relaxing week was spent in a casual, tropical setting among kind, creative people and a laid back attitude. Love that.

Sanibel and Captiva Islands on Florida's Southwest Coast is a fabulous place to visit. I almost hate to talk about it to others for fear of making it popular and crowded. It is a tourist destination, having been listed in many 'top beaches' lists in books and magazines and the Travel Channel. The islands are chosen for the reasons I mentioned and the fact that the beaches hold an incredible bounty of shells! Beach goers are constantly walking along the coastal waters bent over searching for beautiful specimens, causing islanders to name this posture 'the Sanibel stoop'.

During our trip we are treating to the typical island scenery - colorful shops and restaurants, houses painted in candy colors, many with pretty mailboxes and signs carved and painted with the creatively personal name of their home (Pair-a-dice, Sea-renity). For nature lovers, wildlife is abundant. We have spotted American Bald Eagles, who thankfully are no longer endangered and nest behind the local Dairy Queen), alligators, armadillos, dolphin, and scads of tropical birds. Local nature centers provide information and tours, by foot, kayak, or boat. Art lovers can visit many galleries, the communities' BIG arts, local theatre, and annual art and craft shows. World famous artist Robert Rauschenberg resides here.

The crafty person in me sees the shells as free craft material with unlimited potential. I share this with a large contingency of artists and crafters on the island who meet for a weekly shell crafters club meeting and crafting day and help put on a well known Shell Fair every year. There are shops around the island that sell all the supplies one needs to make shell covered boxes, mirrors, holiday ornaments, shell animals, jewelry and more. And if you don't find the shells you need or want to add different types, they sell those too. Shell crafting is a terrific family craft. While I created a mirror with both found and purchased shells, he covered a box and made shell buddies by gluing on google eyes.

I'm glad to be back (kind of), and am relaxed, refreshes, creatively inspired, and ready to start gluing shells (and more mosaics - but more of that another day).

Crafting on the Road

I have the desire(compulsion) to craft something every day. Or maybe I just like to craft and that is what relaxes me and brings me enjoyment, like others who read a lot or play music. I have so many crafting hobbies that my craft room looks like a twister went through despite my constant efforts at organization. There are currently projects with jewelry (always), decoupage, sewing, and crochet. Eventually I will post what I made each day. Maybe others will post what they made each day. Which brings me to my topic..

I was away for the weekend and brought my crocheting along. I am new and attempted for the first time to follow a pattern. I am bent on eventually learning how to crochet cute amigurumi animals. I picked up a few books, along with yarn and hooks and have been trying. I am successful at basic crochet squares and granny squares. I bought fancy, ribbon looking yarn at our local Rag Shop that is going out of business (sad) and am attempting to follow the pattern on the label for a scarf. It looked simple enough but with 200 stitches before you turn my gage and pattern just don't look right. Practice, practice, practice... I have been reading the online tutorials that were linked to me by Craft.to a site called Craft Daisies. Of course they are a little quick for me. I have managed to get through lesson 2 or 3. The tutorials are good if you are interested in learning how to crochet.

I chose to learn how to crochet because I wanted to have a craft I can take on the road with me when I travel. Most of my other crafty diversions are too messy or bulky. I have brought jewelry projects along in the past only to find beads and findings rolling away. Crochet is the perfect portable past time because one can easily start and stop, put away and take it out. They even have plastic crochet hooks so you don't set off any buzzers in the airport. I even bought a yarn and thread 'pendant' that takes the place of scissors so I can cut yarn.

I am now home with my new stash of tropical themes fabric fat quarters that I purchased at Three Crafty Ladies on Sanibel Island. It should be called three very smart and crafty ladies, as it has the most amazing selection of tropical themed craft supplies for such a quaint little shop. Stamps, shell crafting supplies, paper and stickers - even scrapbooking paper that says Sanibel Island on it, and a huge selection of quilting fabric, notions, patterns, and kits. Since I recently bought my first sewing machine I couldn't resist adding to my fabric stash here. I also picked up a pattern for a small quilted bag made with fat quarters. This way I can justify all of the fabric I have been buying - 'intent' to create a quilted bag.

More to come on my variety of projects and all of the cool links I have been finding.