creativity.

the big blue and greenish pillow is one of the three I made...they are all the same.

the material was $6 a yd on the clearance rack and I'm one of the only people who, I'm sure, has even touched it (let alone bought it)....but I loved it so much I didn't even know what I was going to do with it I just bought two yards.

I had two big pillows that needed a new life anyway and I found another one at a yard sale.

$12.50 = three humongous, comfortable, bright and happy pillows.

(have you priced pillows lately!? geez!)

I followed this tutorial for the flowers, I need more but I'm sure the fabric is still there so no worries ;-)

and now the dresses, shirts, square things.....

that I am renaming: Super Girl Capes.

'cause that's more what they look like.

when I made them anyway.

(no close ups of my 'lines'...you'll just have to imagine that every where there's a stitch, it's a laughable picture)

they were made for...

...squatting on bridges:

 ...hanging over bridges:

 ...crossing your arms:

 ...climbing on bridges:

 ...wearing with day old tat's:

 ...rescuing your sisters shoe from the stream below the bridge:

 ...walking to the bathroom:

 ...they were definitely made for monkey bars:

 ...and catching bugs:

 ...swings, for sure:

 ...no doubt, running:

 ...leaning back:

 ...and posing:

ok.

so.

maybe my lines weren't straight.

and maybe I had to beg, bribe, threaten and coerce all four girls to wear them at the same time.

and maybe they look about three hours longer than they should have.

but they sure made for some fun pictures, right?

(oh, and the girl I had to force beg to wear hers the most is the only one, several hours later, who still has hers on....yes, this is a house full of girls, just in case I forgot.  thanks for the reminder Sophie)

speaking of creative juices.

let's just write about that now and cross it off my list from the other day.

Other than the school room (which doesn't have a lot of creativity in it yet) and the coffee table and a very few things here and there....I've been lazy in this area.

A couple of reasons.

1.  We didn't know how long we'd live here.

They said, anywhere from 1-6 years.

So, I didn't want to sink a lot of creativity into a home that I was going to have to change 12 months later.

But, it's been 15 months and now I'm ready. 

We still have no idea how long but I just can't keep looking at things that need to be done and not do them!

2.  I kept coming up with bad ideas anyway.

You see, in my house, I'm actually not the most creative one who lives here.

My Air Force, pilot, officer, Academy grad husband is.

Who knew!?

And I don't dare sink time, money and effort down into a project until I've brought it to the master ;-).

No, he's not controlling...HA ha HA ha...you're laughing with me if you know him!

And all the projects that need to be done are large, which is where I consult and get direction from him...in the large stuff.

And I kept coming up with hokey cookie cutter ideas....which he despises, rightfully so.  It's not us.

They were all easy and cheap ideas so I just wanted to do them to do them and get whatever space was needing attention done.  He's the most creative, I'm the most impatient and I'm a finisher.  I like things finished.

So, after a string of bad ideas and no go's from Jake's perspective, I just quit coming up with stuff for a while.

But I'm back...and so is he...and we are on a roll with ideas!

3.  Homeschooling.

it kinda takes a lot of time.

nuff said there, right?

4.   Once again, we got a house that needed serious yard work and I have been doing a lot outside.

Which is good because I stink at that stuff and need more practice!  I'm getting better...if you don't count the butterfly bush I almost killed this season.

5.  It all takes money.

Money that can be used for so many other purposes...eternal ones.

I still toss this around every time I make a crafty purchase.

But, we do use our home for ministering to others.

And, I do believe we were created by a Creator, who loves to create and created us in His image, which means we love to create and we should (whatever create means to you) and sometimes that means I need to buy things...sometimes that means I need to use a stick from the back yard....

or an 8ft. tree limb...which is a piece of one of our next projects.

6.  Creating with the girls hasn't stopped but boy have I toned it down.

I don't do clutter and where o' where are you supposed to put all those projects!?

Still working on this one.

I want the girls to be in love with their creativity and we do still do things but I'm much pickier.

This past year (and this wasn't planned, it just happened) we seemed to use all our creative juices on themed parties.

Cinco de Mayo, Butterfly birthdays, Tie-dye Patriotic...etc...

that way, we could give it all away/throw it away when it was over and it wasn't so sad.

I did let them color on rocks the other day, which turned into coloring rocks for four days.

I called it a craft and they never knew the difference!

so.

I just wrote an entire, long and ridiculous post about crafting.

aren't you glad you visited today?!

deep stuff I tell ya.

but somehow, for me, it has been.

It's all been part of a de-clutter that I've been going through physically, emotionally and spiritually for two years now.

It all started with the basement in our house on base in Nebraska....

less.

of everything.

less crafting....better, pickier crafting.

it's cheaper that way.

and it means more to us....

ok.

done trying to articulate why this is deep inside me.

it just is.

and you may start to see a few more crafty things on here again.

it's been too long!