August Crafting

August was an amazingly creative month with lots of crafting, traveling, site seeing and art ventures.    I settled in more to my creative space and celebrated my one year anniversary 'living la vida beach!' I have lots of ideas manifesting now and I'm enjoying the creative process.  

Today, I've made space in my narrow and small studio for a long folding table.  This clean virgin area holds many creative possibilities.  Should I continue dyeing and stamping fabric, quilt or sew, paint or collage, weave (now that I made room for my loom at the other end of my studio).  What's a girl to do?  I have space to work on my computer projects, my good sewing machine is finally fixed.  So many options.  I think for today though, I want to enjoy this blank canvas. (uh table?)

Exploring Asheville

After a nice trip I am now sitting peacefully in my colorful island cocoon.  A few weeks ago, after searching high and low (north, south, east & west) for the last 21 years, I finally found my 'Shangri La' in Asheville, NC.   I have been on a quest for a town that my heart and soul resonated with.  I experimented with Arizona, New Mexico & Colorado.  Looking for areas that were creative, artistic, spiritual, mountain living, Native American influence, culturally diverse, free thinking, environmental, wellness centers, hippie dippy, still elegant and sophisticated and a days drive to the ocean.  I'm an adventurer an explorer by nature.  Growing up as a military brat turned me into a restless modern day gypsy.  I've never felt grounded or at home anywhere.  I've had immediate connections to places, but not a sense of 'Ahhh!'  I'm now ready to explore the possibilities that Asheville could provide.  I'm not going to hop right in and make something happen.  I'm going to let God and my inner wise voice (my heart) guide me.  Not my head.  I'm in my second half of life and time is moving rapidly.  The moments are to be savored and enjoyed.   No longer plowing and trailblazing through life.  I don't have to plant the flowers, I can take time to smell the roses already there and finally enjoy the journey.  It doesn't have to be home, it could just be....

Building a Life and a Business at the Beach

Here's the story of Year 1 of Island Living!

When I arrived at the beach last August, I was numb.  I was slowly recuperating from a five year personal and career crisis due to illness, grief, financial & legal issues and hopelessness.  Moving to the beach was not my first choice.   My original intent for having a beach house was to have a vacation place where I could walk out my dreams of being an artist and teaching craft workshops in the summer to pay for this lifestyle.  Due to unforeseen circumstances when I sold my main home I began a journey of rebuilding a life.  I relocated from the Wash DC area to the Chicago suburbs.  The beach kept calling but I ignored it.  I left Chicago after a few months and temporarily moved to Durham, NC to get healthy and heal.  It was close to the beach, but I still wasn't healthy enough to get to the cottage that I had purchased two years earlier.  During this year I made a trip to Asheville, NC to participate in a training seminar.  My soul-sister friend who also lived at the beach attended this seminar with me.  I was using a walker and still not getting around well.  I felt shame at my physical condition but I was determined to participate in putting myself out there in the business world again.  I met a group of wonderfully supportive women entrepreneurs who I began to connect with on social media.  This gave me the mental and physical energy to go checkout my beach cottage.

I felt that I had to make a decision whether I was going to keep the cottage or let it go.  When I got to the beach that Memorial Day I reconnected with old friends and acquaintances.  This led to new introductions and my old goal of teaching crafts in the summer were realized.  I came back in July to set up a craft camp for vacationers at a local real estate company.  I planned on making my final decision at the end of the summer.  We had a hurricane in July which brought out all of my fears of being ill and unable to physically handle any emergencies that might arise living out on a sand bar in the middle of the Atlantic.  Instead, I met my new neighbors, connected with the community and had a great summer.  I still had a grey cloud hanging over my head which was pulling on my energy, (long-standing legal issues and my illnesses).   But, I was getting stronger everyday physically, spiritually and emotionally.  I was just getting ready to establish a more permanent residence in Durham when I was notified that my landlord wanted to sell the house I was renting there.  I was upset for a minute and didn't know what to do.  So, I 'Let Go and Let God!  I packed up once again for the 3rd time in a year and a half and moved to my beach cottage.  Enrolled my youngest in school, waved good bye to my son as he embarked on his own adventure and settled in.  My intent was to focus on getting healthy and putting myself on a fast track to wellness.  Then market myself to local businesses as a creative arts educator and business coach.

My daughter made friends immediately at her new school and began participating in school activities.  (Ok, check!  Happy teenager)  She came home one day and said that her friend's mother owned a gallery and was looking for a knitting teacher.  She urged (nagged) me to call her.  I was hesitant because I was still recovering, still needed a walker and not sure I could follow through because of my health issues.  I set up an appointment with Jennifer Johnson, owner/artist of Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn.

The rest is herstory!  If you've been following me on social media and my blog you will know that I have had a Great day everyday since I decided to listen to my inner wise voice and 'Let Go and Let God!'  My Beach Dreams have been manifesting themselves one-day-at-a-time.  I am so very grateful to my new community of friends, family and neighbors.  Thank you for your encouragement and support during this transformative year.  I'm looking forward to seeing what miracles this next year presents.  Peace!

Click on link to watch year video of workshops:

http://animoto.com/play/kmdQkuH0VAfnygdy3xE0AQ

Mom & Me at Camp Crafty Diva

Awesome morning on the porch at Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn.  We had a Mom & Me group making and creating beach memories at CAMP CRAFTY DIVA.  Three generations crafting fun and fabulous fashion accessories.  It was a joy to work with such lovely ladies and girls.  Didn't they make wonderful projects?

Camp Crafty Diva

We had lots of fun this morning at Camp Crafty Diva.  A young teen visiting her grandparents came in to craft today.  She made a beautifully handpainted and stamped matching backpack and skirt.  She's ready to go back to school and show off her art-to-wear fashion.  Such a lovely young lady and hope to see her again next year.  My studio assistant Avery and I made scarves today too.  All in all a great morning crafting on the porch at Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn.

Surface Design

I love hand dyeing silk.  I use the plastic bag, microwave technique.  I squirt on color and squish the colors together to form a pattern.  I let go of the outcome and trust whatever is revealed later.  If I don't like the color I can put it back in a bag and change it or intensify the colors.  Later I add texture by block printing with black or discharge paste (bleach).  Still if I don't like it I can add more and more printing.  This technique is called surface design.  ( tie dye, shibori, ombré, block printing, stenciling, fabric painting)

Knitting Group

Anyone who has met Amy knows how much her family means to her.  She loves her daughters and grandchildren very much.  She's also a devoted wife and daughter.  It has been such a joy to teach her how to knit this year.  She has been making handcrafted gifts made with LOVE for her family.  I'm so proud of her accomplishments and look forward to more knitted projects from her and made with love.  Look at the two gorgeous modern bags she made for her daughters.  LOVE THEM!!

Colors of the rainbow

Last week a day before the Blue Moon we had a short rain storm early in the morning.  It felt different, I could feel the magnetic energy surrounding me.  I didn't know what it was.  It just felt different.  Later on in the day my neighbor and other Facebook pages posted this great rainbow over our neighborhood.  I told myself that is probably what I had been feeling.  Two days later I decided to finally start working on a project I have put off for years.  Dyeing , stamping and painting silk prayer shawls.  Yesterday, Sunday when I began the weather was humid yet gorgeous.  The sun was shining so strong.  It was a great day to dye fabric and let it dry in the summer breeze.  I had a lot of fun and loved how the colors came out.  I didn't plan on it but they had a tie dye effect.  Today I finished the rest.  It was raining all day and was damp and breezy so different from yesterday.  The fabric came out differently.  Drying in the sun made the colors pop more.  I still have more processes to go to finish these shawls but, step one is complete.  It wasn't until a few minutes ago that I realized that I had been inspired by the rainbow over our neighborhood on Thursday.  I love to dye silk and I love the colors of the rainbow!  These scarves feel magical.

July Crafting

July was a very productive and creative month at Crafty Diva Cottage.  We started off with a fashion shoot for @Arttowearhouse using the Cottage and Crafty Diva Accessories for the backdrop and props.  Had a great week with Sheila, Kim and Maddie knitting and laughing and having a great time visiting the OBX.  I was knitting, crocheting Totebags, scarves and making photo collages.  Finished off the month crocheting a fab tote during the Blue Moon.  I'm satisfied and spent at the same time.