I've had a personal blog for about five years now. It's mainly private and I get my feelings and emotions out in it as well as update on my day-to-day. After meeting my friend,
Katie, I found her blog and a community of bloggers who write specifically about their crafts. I find this to be exciting, because I love talking about embroidery, baking, cooking, etc. Not many people in my real life get as excited about these things as I do. I've been silently following Katie's and other blogs and now I've decided to start one of my own. Even if no one reads this, it will be a place to catalog my projects, recipes and ideas.
Sometimes when I start something new, I dive right into it and then after about a month I lose interest. With a little inspiration and motivation from my friends, I have started a new hobby and hope to continue it. Lonnie, Dayna, Katie and I meet usually about once a week and we call ourselves "The Crafty Cupcakes". It's a lot easier to be excited about a project when someone tells you how cool it is!
Currently I am working on my first embroidery project. It's a pillowcase (the first piece of cloth I picked up) with a light house scene on it. I'm having fun trying out different stitches and finding new ways to add texture and color. Katie has helped a lot with that. I have books and diagrams, but it's so much easier to have someone demonstrate a stitch to you! I have a few rocks to stitch on there, and I should finish the piece tonight.
I have also decided to make a few things for Christmas presents this year. I found some free patterns online for a tote I will make for my best friend, Girl Kris. I will be using a gnome and fairy pattern my boyfriend, Corey, bought me for my birthday from SublimeStitching.com to make an apron for my best pal, Telisha. I also have a few patterns picked out from that website to use on some tea towels for my aunts and mother. As soon as I get paid on the first, I'm heading to HobbyLobby to pick out some materials! I'm pretty thrilled about it.
Hopefully I'll have a picture of my completed pillow case for my next post. Until then, I'm going to work on making this blog look snazzy!
Valentine's Day was so fantastic this year, I can't even begin to describe it. Basically Corey and I just got to chill and relax without interruption. We only left the apartment to browse the bookstore hand in hand, eat and grocery shop. We also exchanged gifts, something that we previously said we wouldn't do. I bought him a man-bag on Etsy since he previously carried his work folders and notebooks in his hands. He bought me Wreck This Journal, a journal/art project I've been coveting for a while. I started it today, only completing three pages so far. 
It reminds me of The Writer's Block some of my literary inclined friends used to have. When you can't think of anything to write about, consult the block (a small, block shaped book with 365 pages) and find an assignment. It's so much fun and forces you to be creative. 
If you like to write in paper journals, but can't think of anything to write about, this is a great book to buy. If you are an artist with a creative block, get this book. If you just like to burn, rip, or generally destroy things, buy this book. I can't wait to spill coffee on some pages, rip up some pieces of the journal and rip off the cover. It will be somewhat scary for me since I like my books in pristine condition, but it will also be somewhat liberating.
