Creative Spaces ~ Beth's Cave

Creative spaces are some of the best spaces in the world. Beth from Being Beth sent photos of her creative space. The Cave she calls it. Doesn't look like a dark, dank place to me, but you can judge for yourself.

Her worktable:



An idea I'm going to steal...Her Wall of Inspiration


Files and Plotting Board


Her trusty computer just waiting for her fingers to fly


Yes, an important element. Creative souls must be able to lock out the world. (Or is it lock themselves in?) Either way, limiting outside influences until you are ready for them is important.


I love seeing creative spaces. Wonderful, magical, mystical, incredible, happy things happen in areas devoted to creation.

Has it really been that long?

Sorry to disappear on you. Thanks to all who've commented or emailed to find out just where I've been. A round of nasty colds in our family, an out of town funeral that hit me harder than I expected, some writing deadlines, and a bunch of commitments at church have kept me away from my blog. I've been blogging in my head. Great blog posts. Inspiring. Creative. Motivating. I'm so sorry you couldn't read them. They were really quite good. Really.

A couple of random thoughts....

I found this quote in a gardening article. It's a what kind of gardener are you type article. Here's what they had to say about someone like me.

Artists, collectors and nature lovers enjoy the process of gardening. They garden because they like the feel of the earth and the smell of the flowers and the sound of birds singing. They have varying degrees of tolerance, but in general their gardens are unkempt, cluttered and inhabited by a host of creatures. They prefer to be outside, so they willingly spend the extra time required by hand tools. They welcome visitors, but love to be alone in their gardens to work and putter and enjoy.

Yes.

Random thoughts continued...

Today, The Pilot Guy and our youngest, The Baseball Guy, helped process and pack Magi Boxes. If you've ever been a part of Operation Christmas Child or Operation Shoebox, this is a similar program. Find a shoebox and fill it with small items like clothing, toys, toiletries, and treats. Our little (but growing) church put together 114 boxes to be sent to children in the Dominican Republic in time for Christmas. Last year, we did 48. Wow.

Despite the growing economic downturn, people find satisfaction in bringing joy to children they will never meet. I'm always humbled and inspired by when working with the Magi Project.

And one last random thought.....

A pithy quote The Baseball Guy found the other day.

I wish my imaginary friends would quit arguing with the voices in my head.

Snort. Snicker. Giggle. Why do I resemble that remark?

Coming up....

Beth from Being Beth sent me photos of her creative space...The Cave. Stay tuned. I'll be posting those very shortly.

Wow, I've missed you all. I'm delighted to be back. Thanks for visiting Creative Soul.

Well...Darn

What can I say? See that little tree?

We planted this tree as a skinny broomstick in our very empty backyard within the first year of moving here. It grew healthy and big, obviously happy.

Three years ago, we noticed it was yellower than we liked, a bad sign. Two years ago, an arborist confirmed our fears. What we had purchased as a Shumard Red Oak was not. It was a cousin, a close hybrid, but still enough different to hate our nasty alkaline clay soils.

The bad news~it was never going to get better.

We chickened out on taking it out last year. How do you gear up to take out the biggest tree in your yard? And such a pretty shaped one, at that. All summer, we enjoyed the shade of this tree.
Finally, we knew we had to do it and do it quick before we chickened out again.


Tttttiiiiiimmmmmmmbbbbbbbbbbeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr!


Some of the rings were a half an inch thick.

Then, of course, came the Homeschool Physical Education Class--teenaged weight lifting.

And....teenaged tree mushing....


I hate taking out trees.

Creative Space

Where do you meet your muse?

Do you have a studio or a designated area for your creative endeavors or do you work where ever?

Sweet P over at Coffee Time Quilt Studio is inspiring me with a recent post. Hop over and take a look at her pretty quilt studio. It will make you want to tidy and make fresh at your place.

The chair pictured above is my writing chair. A view out the window of flowers and birds is essential to my writing. I do a LOT of staring out that window and thinking. The joy of writing is that sitting and staring are valuable creative activities.

My quilting area is not fit for photos yet. I'll work on it and show you some time soon. As for my gardening...well, look out the window.

I'd love to see where you work and why it is special to you. Can you take me on a tour?

Autumn Clean Sweep Challenge ~ Welcome Home Spaces

There's something about fall that makes me want to clean, tidy, and decorate. I love the colors of the season for one thing. All those warm terra cottas, soft khakis, and rich greens are my colors. Add a dash of purple and I'm a happy gal. During this season, I'm also getting ready to hibernate for the winter. Nothing is more pleasant than a comfy, cozy cave for the winter.

With nine weeks until Thanksgiving, I've devised a declutter, clean sweep, make ready plan for me to follow. The key to this is dividing the house into sections and working on one section a week. Hopefully, I'll have a delightfully pretty house for the holidays. Won't that be fun?

Join me if you want. I'd love the company and encouragement. If you have tips or advice, I'm all ears. The hardest part for me will be eluding the call of the garden. The weather is so fine right now.

This week, I'm focusing on the Welcome Home spaces. The areas where we enter or leave our house. The front porch and entry way. The back door and porch. The garage entrance where we go in and out 50% of the time. The goal is to declutter, clean, and freshen. Then, when we enter our own homes, we'll feel that sense of peace and joy that comes from being home.

I'll post some before and after photos later this week.

Happy Fall, y'all!

Fall is a favorite around here. The thermometer climbs down from its summer high perch, the sun pours mellow, golden light every afternoon, and all the plants burst into joyful bloom. Early autumn in Texas is a time of growth and renewal.

As the seasons change, I feel the urge to declutter, make tidy, rearrange and decorate my home, garden, and life. I'm taking scissors to my schedule. Sweeping old priorities into the trash. Rearranging my commitments. Continually searching for the activities which give the greatest pleasure, meaning, and purpose to my life, creative or otherwise.

So....how's growth and renewal going in your creative life? What goals are up for review? What projects are taking their place centerstage? What new or old thing is charging your battery like never before?

Rain on the Roof

Ike brushed by us last Saturday stirring the trees with his rainy breath. While he threw his temper tantrum outside, I cozied up in my yellow quilting area and played.

I started this lap quilt last spring specifically to refresh my skills. Previously, I had pieced the top, then sandwiched it with batting and a backing which required a lot of brain power. Basting came next.

Finally, it came time for the actual quilting. At first, the plan had been to machine quilt. Never done that before and couldn't quite figure out how to adjust my machine to make it work. Because I was cocooning in my yellow room with rain on the roof, I didn't want to take time to call my quiltin' sis-in-law for direction. Instead, up came the small quilt frame I have and out came the thimble and needle for hand quilting.

What a great decision.

A marathon of great chick flicks accompanied me on TV...can you go wrong with 'Sleepless in Seattle', 'Working Girl', or 'What a Woman Wants'?

I have at least a third of the quilt done. My stitches are not as small as they could be, but I worked on uniformity. This quilt is just for me. Practice, yes, but also to snuggle under on the couch during the gray days of winter. The fabric photographs blue, but it is really a deep, rich purple.

The afternoon proved the benefits of hand work as therapy. I felt sooooooo great.

Now, someone explain to me about the cat-fabric connection. All I have to do is lay out whatever I'm working on and little Rascal is there. This photo was taken approximately 30 seconds after the fabric went on the frame.

My memory is full of a long line of sewing enthusiasts cats. Desi, the cat of my teen years loved paper patterns.

Rain, cats, and quilting. It was a good day.