Cabinets, Trunks and Other Old Things

Oh my...the list goes on and on....

 

 

My husband's aunt had an auction as she is moving in with one of her sons and therefore needed to get rid of a lifetime of stuff.  I bought this little kitchen cabinet with granite top for 12 bucks...I know it looks rugged but THIS is after I cleaned it up some...you should have seen it before. The inside bottom board was rusted from cans of old paint. I plan to paint it but haven't managed to get that done yet!  This picture below shows the inside after I removed all the old wood with rust attached and put down a shelf liner....I'll probably put in a new board at some point! 

 

 

Next we have my next crazy purchase of the day.......TWO very old trunks that are in pretty bad condition on the outsides!  The insides are really surprisingly in pretty good shape.  Can I redo these?  I'm not sure....Oh, Pinterest....I'll have to visit you soon to see what might be possible.

The one on the right is actually in the best shape, inside and out so I plan to redo that and see if I can use it near my front door. Will have to see what it looks like when I finish.

 

The material is sort of a thin metal covering so perhaps after I sand it then it could be painted or covered with something (contact paper, fabric?) I believe both date back to the late 1800s so I shouldn't be surprised at the condition plus they were stored in a shed.

 

You can see that the wood on the inside is actually in pretty good condition.  I bought both for 25 dollars so even if I can't manage to get them "pretty".....I haven't wasted much money!

 

I hope to be back soon with some AFTER pictures....or at least some completed project...otherwise this to do list is going to get out of control!

What I Created This Week

Being creative is not just about pages in a book. This week I took my creativity outside. Together with my husband, I created a garden table. It's just the perfect height for tending to the plants. We have added our tomato plants and bell peppers, mini sweet peppers and cilantro so far. I love this table.

Here's my koi fish that was old and rusted...and I got him for FREE....then I spray painted him. Spray paint after all is a girls best friend!  He is just the right touch of color in the little corner garden behind the garage!

Let's recycle....a wine bottle tree. I still need to add more bottles but I'm waiting for some different colored ones!  I'm also creating a wine bottle border on one of the beds so ....hmm.....guess we better get to drinking!

Creativity and Your Daily Planner

Oh all the creative people have been doodling in their planners for years and now it's becoming another "must buy" option. Simple Stories came out with an awesome planner set this year. It's binder based and has all the bells and whistles!  I love it and I had planned to buy it!  Enter shipping issues (some problem with a strike on the dock delayed shipment of said planner items until almost the end of January)


Anyway I needed a planner so I bought a simple one at Walmart for 7.95. It's spiral bound and has lots of room! There are monthly calendars along with weekly pages after each monthly calendar. Does it have all the bells and whistles? No. Does it do the job? Yes.








I use my planner weekly sections for not only appointments but also as a sort of journal so when I "look back" I can remember what was going on it life at that time!


When I found out the Simple Stories planner was available....I went to a web site to order it. Oh the lovely possibilities. After putting everything in my cart (and I didn't even add ALL the items) It was 80 dollars plus shipping. When you look at planners overall 80 dollars isn't horrible as most of them are in the 65-75 range in the office supply stores!  Hmmmm. I hesitated before hitting the order button. What will I do with the spiral bound planner I've already started?  Will I go back in time and fill the January things in if I buy the new planner set up?  Do I need all of that to do what I want to do?  It was hard but I backed away from ordering the set. I'm not saying I might not order it for next year but for this year I'll stick with the simple one I have. I realize that the Simple stories planner is designed to "do it all" That is be a calendar, a to do list, a menu planner, as well as a scrapbook. Don't get me wrong...I still LOVE it. I just don't feel like spending 80 dollars for a set up when I have something in place that's working! I hope to be able to try it in the future and see if it adds to my planner "joy" ....sigh.....that darn strike cost me the adventure for this year.


P.S. I do have several Simple Stories Snap albums that I love for photos and December Dailies and other awesome things!  It's a great line of products but I just couldn't justify the cost after setting up the 2015 planner I already had!

Create 2015

Let's face it ....2014....had its ups and downs with my creative endeavors. You'd think it would have been easier in the fall since I retired and didn't return to work but there always seems to be 101 things to do and setting aside time to be creative just seemed to take a back seat. So when I woke up this morning and realized it was time to post on The Creative Spirit blog....it felt like a chore, I had nothing "new to share", nothing new to say....I was a sham.

At first I thought I'd write about goals for 2015...and then that felt like setting myself up for "failure" again! Last year I started out with an art journal I loved but by May, I felt "behind". How can one be "behind" in an art journal? Well part of the problem was I decided to do a "system" in my art journal. Here I'll show you.....

 

I wanted to create a calendar each month and then behind the calendar would be any art pages I created that month. It's not a bad idea but here's what happened....

 

By May I came to a screeching halt....I HAD to make the calendar for the month before I could create other things that I might be thinking of or wanting to do. I had created prison bars rather than creative expression. I still don't have June-December done....although I loved making the calendars and jotting down memories. I actually still want to go back and do them. I won't worry about art work pages behind them because honestly they wouldn't be in sequence anyway but the calendars are still fun to make and a great way to document life. I have my planner so I can easily fill in dates of major things!

In 2014 I also "tried" penciling in time to create daily. Didn't seem to work for me because again either I would be so busy with other things or "not in the mood."   It just seems like when I set aside time then I draw a blank, can't think of anything to make, call it artists block but it seems more like an "assignment than creativity. I guess I'm just difficult. LOL  I know that as I started thinking about 2015 I felt frustrated because creating is fun and it helps me grow!

 

Then it dawned on me that creating is just not visual art. There are so many creative endeavors that I did do in 2014 ...they just aren't on the pages of an art journal.

 

1. I created my little shelf in the bedroom that I change up each month. It's like a little spot of art in a sometimes VERY messy room. Every morning it makes me smile to see this cute little display.

 

2. I blogged like crazy....writing is creating.

 

3. I took tons of photos.

 

4. I mused and reflected and meditated (there's no visible end product but its definitely creative)

 

5. I planned parties with tablescapes and favors and all manner of creative dishes.

 

6. I created a faery garden

 

7. I spent "cooking" days with Kelsey trying all kinds of new recipes

 

8.  I did a "Painting for a Cause" painting

 

9.  I made ornaments during the North Pole breakfast

 

10. I set up and completed some pages in the December journal.

 

I'm sure there are others, those are just the ones that popped into my head.  The point is if I follow my creative muse does it really matter if I have "pages" or canvases to show for it?  BUT with that being said I still crave time to create so I am wondering if sitting aside a "creative day" is better than a "creative hour" or two?  I don't know....sort of like a Creative Retreat. Yet I like the idea of "creating daily" so I'll need to spend some time musing about what might work for me. I also HAVE to get my creative space re-organized. I have started this large endeavor but still do not feel like it is at the stage I want to be. Of course, this is always an ongoing process so it's no surprise that I'm still fooling around with it!

 

Well I'm off to create something this morning....not sure what yet.....but I'm sure it will al unfold exactly as it should!