rAnDoM fabric, buttons and monkeys.

rAnDoM thoughts about fabric, clothes and buttons.

I’ve got fabric. LOTS of it. NOT from a store mind you. But from my closet. I can’t afford fabric, (maybe a few fat quarters here and there) because I’d want to spend the money on scrapbook supplies or coffee. So I’ve learned to hoard clothes.

In the process of TOO much clothes purging. I’ve accumulated about 4 garbage bags. 3 laundry baskets, and 4 other random containers FULL of clothes of some sort. Holy hell. AND note that the sewing area is the LAST to every get cleaned. EVER. Since it’s the last on my list of art to do, it’s often the dump room, and disaster zone.

Today’s project, and for the last few days is pulling OUT all that fabric, covering my washer and dryer in folded piles. AND putting on the shelves.

Now I need to go to Pinterest to find out WHAT to do with my kids adorable clothes I can not part with. How to create a blanket of my old t-shirts. What fun I can create with Ed’s 8 pairs of old corduroy pants and his 42 blue dress shirts.

I’ve taken the painful process of de-buttoning ALL the clothes. Men’s dress shirts have approx. 10 buttons per shirt. I’ve got a little glass jar, JUST for these things. For future mending! Brilliant I know. The fun kids buttons go to the scrapbook area.

I’ve got some fun pajama’s that have cute prints on them. I’m thinking holiday ornaments? Garland? Either the Whimsy Christmas trees or the monkey ones.

I did a post way back, “What do we see here” on cutting off the super cute (unstained) parts of kids clothes for scrapbooking. I’ve got a basket of those to cut up.

Stupid Sock Monsters were a thing I did a few years back. SUPER fun. I like to make ugly messy funny monsters. Alex STILL has his, and loves it. That weird red mess became Mia’s. AND I did make a super cute one (when I got much better at it) for my sister Susie’s 30th Birthday.

 

 

 

 

I have learned that I like to sew with reckless abandon. I think I learn best this way. And it helps that I’ve got 5 shelves FULL of clothes to cut up and tinker with. I’ve got to post some pictures here when I’m done organizing my sewing space. Here’s before… now this is somewhat clean. As in, I can sit in the chair clean.

It’s even cleaner then this now. I’ll keep you all on your toes and post when I’m all done! Oh, maybe a video tour!

JCat McGack

4x4 caddy

Well it’s about time I start to MAKE things that I love to pin on Pinterest.

I saw this, LOVED it, and said the famous crafters quote “I can make that!”

So I did.

I first followed the pin to the persons blog site to see the project, to find she wanted $11.99 for the template. Now don’t get me wrong, good for her for trying to make a buck. But seriously, easy peasy projects shouldn’t require a template.

Booya, I did it myself.

AND I’ll share it with you for one easy payment of a comment of what you think? Fair? I think so!

I took felt pieces, I had small pieces so we had a multi patterned look here. I cut the felt into 4x4 squares, you need TWO pieces for each side (one inside, one outside) I went with white for the inside.

I added these cute little pockets that are 2x4. If you want them to be divided sew that before you sew the 4x4 outside and inside together.

AND my inside and outside pieces have a 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 piece of cardboard inside for stability.

Sew it up. I hand stitched the sides together, and a bottom to it. I added a handle for carrying convenience. And wala after about 3 hours you have a cute caddy for anything from art supplies, to make-up, maybe a few office supplies, or toys.

This one went to a good home at my Mom’s the Queens house. She always does for me so I made for her!

Thinking for Easter I could make the kids baskets, and you can do this in whatever size you want, I just started with this and will go from there! Thinking dividers inside next time?

So what do you think?

JCat McGack

Arts... or crafts?

While at a meeting last night with the Art Council, at the new Art House, discussing big plans for the 'Art Show' fundraiser coming up in 11 days. They brought up the topic of an older women coming to the art house saying she loves to do art. She crochet's potholders, and makes those eggs with designs in them that you can see through. They said that is wonderful but after the women had left, some of them said no way.

They say 'NO that is crafts. It's not art'...

This offends me, and I know they meant no harm to me, but to realize that 'artists' who draw with pen and paint consider themselves better? Then crafters? What makes the difference between art or a craft? See I do both.

For 4 years in High School I took art classes. And during summer I'd take drawing classes where I could. So sure I consider myself an artist. I doodle, I paint, I love paper mache, and clay.

But I was raised by a genius crafter. My mother is a sewer, a card maker and just into ATC (artist trading card) making. She has always called herself a crafter. And I've been so proud that she's as talented as she is.

I crafted as a small child, grew into pencils, paper and art. I've never loved one more then the other. I love to do what I do. Depends on my mood. I'm in an artsy mood one day, or a crafty mood the other. Doesn't make me more or less of an artist on which one I choose to do.

Is a craft a kit you buy in a store? An Art is something your born with? I personally think everyone has a bit of an artist in them. Some are just more willing then others to tap into that inner resource. I mean sure painters are artists, but then what about a paint-by-number kit? That's art to me, but not to some? Is it because your being told step by step how to do art? Still turns out pretty right?

I scrapbook almost daily but sometimes one page, covering one photo will take me 4 hours. I paint, doodle, and make it my art project for the day. So is that art and the scrapbook pages that take me 20 minutes are those crafting? I personally don't see one over the other being a better page.

I use 'craft' supplies in my art, and for sure use art supplies in my craft. I spent 6 years (2004-2010) selling, demonstrating, and loving Stampin' Up!'s rubber stamps, scrapbooking supplies, and all the card and scrabook, 3D paper crafting, and mini books I could get my hands on. It's for sure an art, the amazing things I've seen women create.

So while writing this out, I look over and see the Disney Family Fun Creepy Crafts book I just got at Target. Now sure these projects are focused on milk cartoons, pipe cleaners, tie-dye pumpkin shirts, and tissue boxes. Crafting? Yes.

BUT. Those are everyday things you find around your house right?

So when an 'artist' takes a pile of paper plates and cuts and glues and make a BIG 'art' piece, that is now art? But made with the same everyday tools found in this craft magazine? I'm confused what now makes this an art project and no longer a craft.

I mean I've seen my best friend, destroy a styro-foam cup and make art with it at meetings. Just using her hands, and the nearby pen. So again it's art. But if she had seen directions on step-by-step how to destoy a cup with your hand and a pen does that make it a craft project?

I've seen talented painters copy right from a magazine, and I've seen talented crafts copy from a magazine.

Please weigh in, because I'm in defense of both
is this art? Or a craft? Isn't your art your craft?

So to hear these other artist laugh about the lady with the potholders and the eggs saying that they need fine art makes me wonder who is the judge who says what is fine art, what is a craft, and what makes it then art?

JCat McGack

Your Own Worst Critic

I read this today from my friend Sass's FB page, and I swear she was in my head. I think I've told you, if not I will about my Sock Monsters. They are amazing little creatures, I make them out of... socks. And odds and ends. Like ribbons, or buttons, and bells, bells are fun inside tails.

They are something I can create, and have made about 7 so far, and I like them. I'm getting better at them, and even the one that I TOTALLY messed up (he has not tummy, I cut his legs up to his neck. But it was my 4 year old daughter at the time who said "Finish it Mommy. I'll love it"  See when your an artist of ANY kind. From paint and drawing, to journalist, gardening or a baker, it's all an art and as my teacher told me, and I think every teacher should tell their art students.

"You will ALWAYS be your own worst critic"

So true. It reminds me to ask others, to walk away from my project. Come back later, maybe a day, week, or a month later. You might just look at it from an outside point of view. And the quote above, from Sass, is what I need to read over and over and over again. I quite when it gets to hard for me. I won't lie. I know I try to take the easy way out. And when it's your own project you can quite. Easy. But for me those projects are still remembered as things I wish to finish. Try harder.

See there is scrapbooking. And I do it well, very well, I can rubber stamp and create with paper easily. Cards, stationary, boxes, I can do it. BUT it's the other things I love, sewing, painting, paper mache and clay. THOSE are things I haven't done in years, but wish to get better at them again. I just need to keep tinkering with them!

I was once at a seminar for Stampin' Up! a wonderful rubber stamp company. I did demonstrations at people's homes, I mostly focused on classes in my home. So at this seminar, I was sitting in a business class, and we were told, if you look on our business side of the website we could see on a map how many demonstrators were out there. And scary enough how many were in our area!

I live in a small village but there was at least 10 of us in just a 10 mile radius! Imagine if you lived in a bigger city! I mean it's selling rubber stamps, it's NOT exactly a home staple, and NOT that many people do paper crafts in my little town! But they said the percentage of those that are demonstrators, so few actually PUSHED their business like they should. YOU could be THAT person that is the stand out demonstrator. THAT is what stuck with me. With my life, with art. That I could be the stand out artist.

I do need to keep sewing, painting, gardening, and creating. All to better my craft, to be amazing at what I do. Sure I rock at paper crafts I've been up to my eyeballs in paper and rubber stamps for the last 8 years straight! I need to balance my arts, so I get to enjoy them all.

On this not I will leave you with a great quote I heard on Glee last night. I mean talk about loving art! Theater and music have always been a favorite of mine, so what better show to quote from?

The scene is with Mike Chang, who has just received what they call an Asian F, an A-. His father wants him to quit the Glee club to study harder, and Mike is torn about it, being that Glee is what he loves more then anything. After fighting with himself, over to keep doing what he loves or make his father happy he says this...

"It's what I love to do. It's NOT a waste of my time" 

JCat 

Dreams of art.

How ironic is it that this was a Mary Englebright calendar tear off page, for the weekend of my Mom’s birthday a few years ago.

The one person who taught me since I was big enough to hold a crayon, that art is fun. She would sew, and I would sit next to her with my Sesame Street magazines, cutting out pictures of my favorite characters with my safety scissors.

I spent my life so far creating. Anything I can try I do.

My youth was crafts, popsicle sticks, glue, markers, paper, and fabric.

I took drawing classes when ever I could. And once in High School my first priority was to schedule art classes. All 4 years, with Mrs. Henize. Not always liking the lessons, still life drawing was horrible (I still have those duck drawings though) but I took the lessons, and worked with them.

I have collages, from magazines. The watercolors, metal embossing, painting, cartooning, clay, paper mache, and our weekly drawing assignments.

After high school, not sure why I didn’t take art at the Junior College I attended… but art still lived on. My mom and I had found rubber stamping when I was about 12. When I was 23 we found a company called Stampin’ Up! and for 6 years I was a independent demonstrator for them. (hosting classes on how to stamp and create cards, and scrapbook pages)

I just left Stampin’ Up! 6 months ago. And it was a great thing in my life, but now I’m enjoying the freedom of creating more for myself. Ugly Sock Monsters are a new thing. Sewing is becoming a good habit and I know my mother is elated (that it only took 32 years to get me really into sewing. Now if only my bobbin agreed with me, I would do it more often!)

Our little ‘Gack and Gigi’s’ booth, is a dabble in the fact that we have space. To first off clean out our houses, but create and possible sell a few things.

I would like to create, and have an Etsy store filled with all the fun things I make.

The big dream?

To have a store. “JCat McGack’s” where I sell scrapbook supplies, fabric, tools and supplies for all art kinds. That is the first floor. THEN the second loft floor, is for tables. BIG tables. That people can ‘rent’ by the hour, to create right there.

I would have sewing machines, die cut machines, a kiln. ALL for them to create with.  The second floor would also have a back porch for sitting. To just read, drink coffee, or visit with friends.

I would have a kids area. (I’ve learned I am good with kids and art work, I have patience there with them)

Well it’s a dream. One I hope to see come true, but that magical thing called money that doesn’t exist, is what stops me… a girl can dream right?

JCat.

What do we see here?

What do we see here? Dirty stained too small clothes? I can't sell them, can't consign them to a shop, and love to hoard all things  hate throwing things away... SO what do you see now...

Exactly... no? Still don't see it? If your a scrapbooker, crafter or a sewer you should see some pretty cool tags to add to any project!! So now that Alex has seriously worn out his welcome in his clothes.

I can use them for a cute reindeer, a best friends tag, "Mommy's Little KING" tag, and a "lil sport" tag. So start chopping up those old clothes... don't forget to check the tags on outfits, kids have some WAY cute tags, buttons too...

Hope this inspired you to look beyond the expensive 3D items in the store, and look around your closet for some great items! OUTSIDE the box people!

Happy Creating!

JCat McGack

Let's start with my first Stupid Sock Monster, I was reading a magazine and found a kit you can buy in stores, so I went a hunting one day on a coffee buzz kid free afternoon.

I came across just what I wanted. John Murphy's Stupid Creatures. I bought it and quickly took it home to play.

The box, which is a great box. Seriously, it's a flip top kinda box, so I can keep it forever, store Stupid Creature parts in it, and what nots.

The box includes a very detailed book, with different Stupid Creature patterns, stuffing, socks, needles, buttons... maybe some other stuff too... can't remember.

But I like that ugly is key. So the jacked up strings, two different sized ears, and such are ok... I made the above guy 13 months ago. For my son, Alex's first birthday.

Sadly I haven't really sewn much since, but I had to go to birthday party last weekend, and so since I am broke, I made another for Gavin's 2nd Birthday...

It took a bit of this and that, LOTS of notes in the book, some socks, ribbon and buttons, but these guys are fun, and getting better as I go.

This mess was supposed to be Gavin's going with the whole 4th of July feeling, but his crotch ended up in his neck... and well I moved on... (he will always have a home in my art room though)

Here is my sewing station, with my other creatures nearby for help, my stacking boxes full of sewing notions and tools.

I had help from my assistant Chloe, she loved the red ribbon

And these two are for future projects, they are $1 socks I bought at Jewel Foods, last winter. I did play with the pink and purple one for my 4 year old daughter Mia, I will post a picture soon. I think the orange one will be for me!

Happy sewing everyone!

JCat McGack