And They Call It The Stash Game

A 'stash' is defined as a secret store of something. You can also refer to it as a cache, hoard, stockpile, accumulation, collection, or reserve. These terms can be applied to just about anything that you can amass in quantity. Including fabric. Although, as someone who does, in fact, have a rather substantial stash, I prefer to think of it differently. When referring to my personal stash, I like to use the following quote:

'THE STASH is your 'home base, your security, your legacy.'
(Some poor souls think it's a nagging reminder of what you haven't done yet...)
WE, on the other hand, prefer to regard your PRECIOUS STASH as your Potential for Creativity!'
~Lindy, The Silver Needle Newlsetter, 5.12.09

Perfect description. :D My stash is indeed a glorious thing to behold.

About a week ago, I posted my Anti-Journal and in that post I talked a tiny bit about the Stash Game. Twice a year, the women (there have been a couple of men, but mostly it is women) of SewingMamas participate in what we call 'The Stash Game'. It is completely voluntary and we all work on the honor system and what we call 'Sew N Show' to report our stuff for the game part of it. We collect points based on the yardage we sew and things that we use (elastic, buttons, etc - these are commonly called notions). We can also accrue points for fabric that we sell or give away/donate. Although, I'm not sure that anyone banks a whole lot of points for giving away fabric, most of us are pretty dang attached to our stashes. LOL And, there are prizes to be won as well.

I find it to be a good time to make things like pajamas and clothes for the next coming season and things like that. And, with two nearly grown children, it goes thru a fair amount of my stocked up fabric stash as well. Which banks me some point. :D This is the first stash game in my nearly 7 years on the site that I have actually participated for more than a week (hello! Not exactly a commitment minded individual here.) I have participated a couple of days here and there in the past, but always started. Never finished. We just submitted our week #1 totals to the 'StashGoddess' and haven't found out where we are in the rankings yet. But for the first week, I logged some serious sewing time and that added up to a grand total of 218 points, which translates to 22.5 yards of fabric sewn, equaling 3 tops, a nightgown, a dress, and a scarf for the youngest, 6 pairs of pajama shorts for the oldest, and 5 pairs of pajama leggings for me.

Now that I have those basics out of the way, it has been going to bit slower as far as the sewing goes. But, I'm excited to see what I end up with at the end of it all. So far, I am well on my way to completing my goal of sewing thru 200 yards of fabric by the end of this year. And that is exciting to me. :D Trust me. 200 yards will barely make a dent. But I will have accomplished something I set out to do and that is well worth it to me.

I will update here as soon as I know how week #1 pans out - where I stand in the rankings, etc. And I will continue to post updates as the game goes on.

Excitement Abounds

It's no secret that I am a HUGE fan of the Women of Wonderstrange. They're fun people and fantastic artists. All around decent females. :D Anyway, a while back, on her Facebook business page, Sarah, the Wonderstrumpet, posted an announcement for a giveaway once that page of hers reached 150 likes (seriously, if you don't already 'like' her page, get over there and like it RIGHT NOW! 'Cuz she's awesome and I said so. Do it. Do it NOW!)

Well, that number was reached on January 23rd and to enter the giveaway for a $30 gift certificate to her store you had to comment on the post and then mentioning the giveaway on the social media site of your choice would gain you an extra entry.

Being someone who literally never wins anything, I almost didn't reply. But, I figured I would throw my 'hat' in and give it a try because what could it hurt.

AND I WON!!!!! I am so excited and very thankful that I even had the opportunity.

Thanks so much to Sarah for the giveaway (seriously, check out her stuff if you haven't already.

Pretty sure that I'm going to be giving this skull potholder by Ann a try next (yes, I know it's a Magic symbol of some kind from the card game. I just think of it as a skull though because I'm unfamiliar with the game.) It's all kinds of AWESOME!

50 Canvases in 2014 -- Canvas #4

HA! Canvas #4 is finished many, MANY days EARLY!!! It helps that I started working on it while I was working on Canvas #3. What can I say, gesso takes a long ass time to dry.

This time around the challenge was issued to Let it Drip. And there was a audible sigh heard 'round the world when I read those words. If anyone remembers the non-success I had with the whole free form watercolors thing from Anti-Journal Week 2, you will understand why I sighed. LOL Again, time to (wo)man up and embrace the adventure. :D I did, however, go about the whole 'drip' thing in a different way this time around.



I really like her. Her wild, pink hair, the dripping 'rain', etc. The only thing I'm not super fond of is the words. I like them, I'm don't love them. I wish that the pictures showed more true to the actual painting. She's really pretty. LOL

Anyway, there's my Canvas #4. Finished. DAYS ahead of schedule. :D If you would like to join in the 50 Canvases Challenge with me and the others that are participating, just check out the post on Wonderstrange for details.

I can't wait to see what's next!

50 Canvases in 2014 -- Canvas #3

So, I learned a few things about myself with this third canvas. The challenge was to do something dimensional. Sarah's example is AMAZING. Mine, not so much. I like it. I don't love it. I may work on it some more. Maybe. I'm just not a huge fan of it. I was, however, a huge fan of using up some of the 'stuff' I have laying around here. That was awesome. Destashing feels great sometimes. And, BONUS, I have completed 3 canvases :D



It needs more of something. I've haven't figured out what yet. I'm thinking some black paint and maybe some glitter. Hell, everything's better with black paint and glitter. Pretty sure I might just be seeing what that does for me tomorrow. Yep. Pretty dang sure.

Anyway, if you would care to join in on the 50 Canvases in 2014 Challenge, you can check out the details HERE on the Wonderstrange blog. And I will definitely be posting the end result of my alterations to Canvas #3 when it is finished. ;)

Anti-Journal Week 3

((I typed out an entire blog post and this stupid f'n site DELETED the entire thing. GRRRR!))

It was difficult for me to decide what to post tonight because I have about 4 blog posts that I need to type out and get on here. I decided to start with what is relatively the beginning and get that out of the way. LOL (And, yes, I am just as bad at journaling with pen and paper as I am at this. I can just type way faster than I can write so this is actually easier.)

First of all, Kids Clothes Week was an EPIC fail for me. I was not feeling well for most of the week, so I managed to get a grand total of 1 thing finished. I am, however, currently participating in the Stash Game over at Sewing Mamas and am working my way toward my goal of 200 yards of fabric GONE by the end of this year. But more on that later. :D

Week 3's Anti-Journal was difficult for me. Sarah, the Wonderous Wonderstrumpet of Wonderstrange, posted a Master List of prompts for us to choose from and anyone that really knows me knows that A) I am not super great at choosing for myself and 2) I do not respond to change well. However, in the spirit of this year of Adventures, I decided to embrace it and just go for it. Sarah's Chronicles journal spread for Week 3 is awesome. And she posted a video about making journals that's worth a watch. ;)

Week 3's Anti-Journal


I really like creating these multiple page journal spreads. It lets me to include more that what the normal 2 facing pages would allow for.


Inside that envelope is ephemera from the trip to Tennessee that the girls and I took last year on Spring Break.


Two more drawings from the 100 Things to Draw When You're Bored 2014 list. #15 Ninja Banana and #61 A Shark Ate My Homework. And a cute little smiley moon guy :D


For my artwork this week, I chose to create some Found Poetry. I used to do this kind of thing all the time. In fact, it's probably my favorite thing that I create. It's always dark, usually twisted, and soul cleansing.
The poem reads:

They call him Candyman murdering eater of souls
unwavering dead eyes and black gloved hand
slab of onyx on porcelain

white angel screaming
dancing through veins like a real ballerina
breathing with a hatchet blade stuck in the throat

tender white neck
lightly kissed on the forehead
agonizing sighs but I love you would shatter his skull

up all night
hearing bones crack screams peeling wallpaper
cry cry cry gushing tears bloodred on the carpet

Don't make me go back there
sit right here in the dark
spinning my broken shame in the moonlight



And I tried to take a picture of this cute Jane Austen card that I put in here, but it turned out all blurry. LOL

So, that's my week 3, and I'm really pretty pleased with it. As usual, following thru and just going with things in the spirit of adventure has taught me a lot this week. About myself and what I can accomplish when I follow thru. :D

((The first f'n post was better. I HATE this thing right now.))

50 Canvases in 2014 -- Canvas #2

Oddly enough, I'm not super great on the follow thru when it comes to things like running commitments that have no necessary deadlines or don't absolutely have to be done. I have so much going on that if it is not an absolute must do, I just never manage to stick with it. Which brings me to the WHOO HOO! of it all.
Say it with me -- I FINISHED MY SECOND CANVAS OF THE 50! Unh Huh! That's right!

Anyway, enough of that. LOL For the second week, Sarah (the Wonderstrumpet) challenged us to use something that we have never used before for this week's canvas. You can check out the original post over at the Wonderstrange blog. While you're over there, check out some of the other awesomeness going on. Ann made a cute little crochet headband. The canvas Sarah made for week 3 is AWWWWWWWEEEEESOME! Every single week Ann lists a new way to decorate your house with all the amazing artwork you create. Etc. Seriously, these amazing artists are working their tales off sharing what they know and challenging everyone to be their creative best. As well as operating their own businesses and taking care of their families. They ROCK so hard.

Back to the canvas showing!

This week, for the challenge, I used something I had never used before. Taking inspiration from Sarah's circus family canvas, I used duct tape and tiny trim tapes to mask off sections of the canvas I had prepped with a coat of matte white acrylic. I've never used tape in my painting before and found out that there is a bit of a learning curve. Perhaps I just didn't use the right one, but there was A TON of 'cleaning up' around the edges that I had to do after it had dried because the paint had bled under the edges of the tape. So, using it for stripes that don't need exact definition, probably okay. Using it for crisp, defined lines, not so much. LOL Whatevs. I survived.

And I LOVE my little Goth girl! Especially her little ear :D

The text on the left is a verse from the song 'American Pie' by Don Mclean. I have always loved that song, even with it being 9 minutes and a million verses long. It gives me goosebumps and makes me tear up every single time I listen to it. So, I spent about 9 hours searching thru pages of text for the words to one of the verses (and using cut out letters to make the words that the pages didn't have). It was truly a labor of love and I am so pleased with the way it turned out.


I know the pictures aren't super great (she doesn't look that 'harsh' in real life LOL) but I can't figure out how to make them any different. LOL And, honestly, I get to look at the real thing every day, so I'm good with that.

If you want to join in the challenge (and I seriously think you should), check out Wonderstrange for the details. Sarah posts a new canvas post on Thursdays (Week 3 looks AWESOME, but it is going to be a 'break out of the box' challenge for sure. LOL). They post stuff every day of the week, so there's always something new. Look around, you're sure to find something to join in on. I promise. If you do join in one of the activities, be sure that you go back and post a link somewhere so that I can see it.

On to #3!

HeART Swap for Valentine's Day: An Artist Collaboration on MotherHenna

At the beginning of the month, I signed up for a swap that I found out about on Facebook. You can read about the details on the MotherHenna blog. I've participated in this kind of swap before and I have always been pleased with the results. Admittedly, it has been a long time since I have been able to join in on one of these (I always seem to just miss out on the sign ups). But I am super excited about the returns on this one. It's an amazing group of artists and I just know that I will be pleased with what I receive. Anything created from the heart is always wonderful.

Originally, I had intended to write a blog post illustrating how I went from

this:


to this:


However, I managed to forget to take photos of the steps as I went along. So, all I have are the photos of the finished project. LOL

Each one is a mixed media masterpiece featuring watercolor and acrylic painting, text elements, lots of sparkle, and loads of added texture. I really love these a lot and I'm hoping that the other 19 artists are pleased with them as well. I know they will be because these were created with HeART. Which was the whole point of the project. :D

Aren't they pretty. Yes, I do believe they are.


There are 19 other artists that have signed up for the exchange. If you want to check out the MotherHenna blog and see some of the other artists' work, you can click to see the blog and then scroll down and you will see each artist listed with their blogs if available.

Kids Clothing Week starts next week and so I'm busy pulling patterns and fabrics for sewing up some great stuff for the girls. I also have the 2nd canvas for my 50 Canvases almost finished and plans for the 3rd one. Just wait and see. :D