Thoughts on Creativity

We all have the abiltiy to produce creative works in our daily activities.  Creativity can be used to find solutions to everyday problems and add joy to our lives by developing new ways of approaching the problems and goals.

You've heard the phrase "think outside the box?  I ask, where are the walls of this box and how do you get your thinking outside of that?  The box is what you know. 

I like to make a hobby of thinking up new ways to accomplish projects and goals.

Look for inspiration and be creative in your own way, and put your talents to work.

"Life isn't about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself." George Bernard Shaw

File Folder Games 1

A few years back I made some file folders for my grand daughters and always planned on making some for the other grandchildren, but I never did...untill now...I made these for Zach and Connor.

Riley and Asher, I haven't forgotten you guys. You are next on my list!

Wesley, when you get a little older I will make you some too.

File Folder Games 2

I am not pleased with the Plan of Salvation file folder, so I think I will make it a little different next time.

Slip Covers for Christmas Stockings

This year I decided I didn't like my stocking and wanted to do something with them. It was on a whim that I decided I was ready so I went to my fabric remnants and picked out some coordinating colors. I traced the old stocking to make a pattern then went to cutting and sewing the new stocking. I then decided to just make them as a "slip" stocking and slipped them over the old stocking. Then I just sewed a band for the top and added a bow here and there. I loved the way they turned out and when I am ready for a new look, I can slip them off and slip on a new style. The old stocking is made out of a denim type fabric so it give a nice sturdy support for the slip stocking.

Shower Curtains

Sometimes I find a good deal on a shower curtain that I like for various reasons so I pick them up for future use. The green shower curtain had a top I loved so I cut it off and used it in our stairwell. The rest of the curtain was then used on the bottom of another shower curtain to add a little length and spice to my present shower curtain. I had some trim and I just glued it on to add a little detail.

We also framed out our mirror a few years back and added a shelf in the upstairs bathroom.

Kitchen Update

We have been trying to update our kitchen little by little. We have painted the cabinets and added trim above and below them with fixtures. We also had to replace our appliances. We couldn't afford new counter tops so I did some practicing and painted them as a temporary fix. The wall paper was put up right on the sheet-rock when the home was built so it wouldn't' come off without tearing up the wall. So I textured the wall then painted it. The floor grout needed a cleanup so I tried to re-grout, but that didn't work well, so I ended up painting the grout. We also changed the light fixtures. I wanted a cool tile for the backsplash but again didn't have the money at the time so I am still in the progress of working out what I really want. I put up a paintable wall paper and I am still working on the outcome I want to achieve. Our dinner table has been through a few transformations too. My husband built it years ago when our 6 children were still at home. When he made it he stained it. Then we moved into this home and the it really stood out so I did a white wash on it and painted some white to blend in with our countertops and cabinets. After we painted and changed some things, I painted it black.




Counter top practice.....





Backsplash practice...still working on this...






Grout cleanup....




Kitchen Table...




Table Lighting...





Before pictures of parts of the kitchen....

Curtains

This is the curtains I had up in the family room but wanted a change.



I wanted a neutral color so I found some curtains for cheap but they were too short for what I wanted ..so I had a shower curtain that I had picked up from a thrift store that was very nice with a printed design on it. I cut it up and sewed it on the top of my bought curtains. Then I took some left over material that I had left over from another project so I made them into swags and I love the result. I wanted something where I could switch out a color when I wanted and the swag will allow that!



These curtains were in my bedroom at one time but I remade the a little and they are in our office now. The top part is the backside of some curtain panels I found cheap. I didn't want to use the "right" side so I just flipped it over and decided to use the backside. The red part of the curtain is actually a tablecloth. It was cheaper than curtain panels or material. Love good deals. I can't wait until I can paint this room.




Bedroom Curtain in progress...

I wanted to change my bedroom to black and white with a pop of color. I am not sure if I am going to keep these as curtains but it was a good try. I found a Duvet cover at the thrift store for $2. I saw it as some great material, so I bought it. Then I decided to take the sides and one end apart and use them a curtains. The different prints come from the two different sides. I just opened the Duvet up, cut for the length and then hung. I had some remnant trim that I had found at Hobby Lobby and just stuck it on there. It works for now.



The Piano room curtains...

For these I just bought 3 panels at Ross, took one apart to add to the length of the existing panels, added some trim and I love them.



These curtains were up in the kitchen before the change.

Wood Working

My husband made picnic tables for our grandchildren. The yellow one is smaller than the red one. He also put a hole in the larger one so we can stick a umbrella in it. The yellow one has a clip on umbrella.





Shelves...

My daughter wanted some shelves for toy storage so he also made these for her and a friend of hers.



End Tables...

I wanted to get involved in the fun so I tried my hand at some end tables. I had to buy some wood but tried to make most of it with wood we already had on hand. I didn't like the way it look stained (was different because of the different types of scrap wood) so I ended up painting it. Made 2 for my daughter and a white one for my granddaughters.

Guest Bathroom

This bathroom had wallpaper on the sheetrock so I textured the walls, removed the flat mirror and replaced it with a mirror we had that was gold. I painted it to be a darker color, we replaced the lighting added new toilet paper roll hanger dealy and towel holder and then I replaced the carpeted floor with some temporary laminate wood flooring.