
Someone call an intervention! Sit in a circle around me and say "Will you accept the gift that has been given to you today? will you accept help?" and I'll look at you in a blank stare and shout "NO! Heck NO!" and run out the door and straight to the nearest craft store to get my fix!
It's no mystery that I basically live at ACmoore, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby. When I was a teenager I worked at ACmoore and also met my husband there. Awwwww.... a craft store romance <3 Seriously though... some of the ladies that worked there when I worked there, still do. Most of the cashiers know me by name, even the ones that weren't my fellow ACmoore associates. I walk in smile at the front end gal and say "Hi Christina! how are you today?".
Hey you! reading this! stop your laughing! :)
When I feel I have been to ACmoore too much in one week I will hop over to Michaels. I have a sneaking suspicion that somewhere in corporate land ACmoore and Michaels are owned by the very same person. I don't think it's coincidence that the things ACmoore don't have Michaels does and visa versa. ACmoores bead dept. stinks, Michaels is grand. Michaels yarn dept. stinks, ACmoores is grand! I could go on and on. Did I mention that my ACmoore and Michaels sit side by side!? That being said whenever I go to one, I have to go to the other because they balance themselves and my artistic needs as well.
Until now, because...
we... got... a... HOBBY LOBBY!
Hobby Lobby was one of those stores that my mommy in law and I would travel to. We would take a day trip, have lunch out and get our Hobby Lobby fix. For those of you who don't have experience with this store (dear God say it ain't so) it's like ACmoore and Michaels had a love child and then raised it to be a good little store with the influence of Auntie Joanne Fabrics and Grandma Home Goods. It's a beautiful marriage of all these stores. What makes me even more delighted is that they have everything I could want. EVERYTHING! and not only do they have everything my little heart delights, but also about 3-4 different brands of each thing I need so I have the choice of price and qaulity. Ahhh... listen to my heart beat inside my chest. Hear it? it's in love!
This week, I spent ALOT of time in ACmoore and Micheals. I needed this, and that, and a bunch of stuff I couldnt help but bring home with me. Then I would get home look in my bags and realize I forgot one or two things... so back to the stores I had to go. When Friday came along and I had to go and get a canvas for a commission, I thought to myself... that I just can't show my face in those stores again... hence visiting the brand new Hobby Lobby. I thought today I would share with you my favorite grabs this week.
The first is new cutting blades for my linoleum/rubber stamp carving tool. My not so intelligent hair brained self thought that I could wash my old ones in the dish washer... really? yeah... and they instantly rusted. And well, since I cut myself every other move of the tool I thought a new set would be smart and far cheaper than the medical bills I would have to pay for the open wound infection.
After painting so much for so many weeks I have really needed a different artistic outlet. In the past week I have been carving and sculpting.

Below is my first rubber stamp carving :) I have been giving a lot of thought as to what I want to start adding to my Etsy shop come the new year, and one of them is hand stamped note card sets designed with my own original rubber stamps.

My second happy find were these adorable tiny itty bitty baby canvases! Not only are they awesome but they were on clearance for .79 cents a piece! I was sad there were only 5 left because I would of gladly bought more. I plan on turning these into necklaces and brooches. Wutchya think? wearable art? These canvases are only 2 inches squared.

Like I said, I have needed other artistic outlets, and one of those came in the form of sculpting some of my characters and themes into necklace pendants. Again, something different and original for my Etsy Shop.
So purchasing some sculpey clay I enjoyed kneading the dough and working it into familiar shapes. These will be available come January in my Etsy shop as necklaces.

Lately I have been finding inspiration in books and magazines. Looking at these books has really gotten my brain gears turning in the direction of The Sketchbook Project. Here are the books and magazines I have been enjoying scooped up in the past week or two. You'll notice in the pile a "Collaborative Art Journaling" book... I will be trading art journals back and forth from Texas to Unionville over and over again until they are complete with one of my very best friends in the world, Jax from Hand of bela peck. We have been friends and artistic collaborators for 5 years now, yet we have never met... until this month that is! Later this month we will meet for the first time!

Lastly I have been encouraging myself to get excited about The Sketchbook Project, and I finally am! during each craft store visit I would pick up this and that towards my Sketchbook creation. I have decided to re-bind my book. At first the thought was terrifying, but after researching the topic and finding that other participants were just as frustrated as I with the paper qaulity that it's really not that hard and these other artists shared their re-binding photo by glorious photo. I am now pretty revved about re-binding my first book! I will surely share it with you!
Here is my little box of sketchbook supplies that is slowly but surely growing.

Now that I have stolen a large portion of your time I thank you for it. I am grateful for your visits each day, it assures me that what I am doing... this dream I am chasing is real. Thank you.