An Artistic Bent

A Peek Inside

2012-01-20T22:28:00.000-05:00

I have to say that moving my craft room from the basement to the main floor of the house was one of the smartest creativity inducing moves I've done over the past couple years. Even when I'm not crafting I spend quite a bit of time in here. For instance, right now I'm sitting in here in my lazy boy writing this post. It's also my go-to place when I need some quiet me time.

So, since this is 'where all the magic happens' I thought I would take you on a little tour of my crafty space. :) Although I am continually moving stuff around and reconfiguring working space depending on what craft I am working on, this is the general layout at the moment.

Welcome...

Your view as you first walk in the craft room from the front hallway of our house.

My wonderful Ikea cubby unit which houses a great many crafting tools and supplies. To the right, my new photo box (the perfect Christmas present from my hubby and son) which I am learning to use to take pictures of my creations.

This second door leads to the kitchen where I can grab a quick bite and refreshment when my energy needs a little boost.

My wonderfully comfy lazy boy chair where I can sit and relax or work on my laptop while enjoying the beautiful view outside. Behind the chair is where I store all my supplies that I don't use on a regular basis - yes there is a lot of that. Too many years of too many different crafts. ;)

More supplies...and a view of my front yard.

And almost back to where we started.

A New Year, A New An Artistic Bent

2012-01-18T14:53:00.000-05:00

Three Years!? Has it really been that long since my last post? Wow, the time has definitely flown by. Unfortunately the only excuse I have is to say, life happened. Not a great excuse I know, but there it is, all it's cliched glory.

There has been a lot happening, both crafty and personal, since I last posted. During that time I realized that I had too much on my plate and that something would have to go in order to save my sanity. Unfortunately what had to go was this blog. Although I knew I'd be back at some point, I just didn't know when.

So, what have I been up to in the last three years you ask? Well here's a very short synopsis:

My good friend Holley and I became demonstrators in 2009 for a rubber stamp and paper crafting company. We now sell our ready made cards, teach monthly cardmaking classes and have a wonderful clientele. www.stampindivas.wordpress.com
My husband and I went through multiple rounds of IVF and in February 2011 I gave birth a beautiful baby boy named Kieran. He has blessed our lives and I can hardly believe that he is going to be a year old next month.
For the last year I have been at home on maternity leave and loving every busy minute of it. Whoever said that stay at home Moms don't 'work' has never done it.
I moved my craft room out of the cold basement and in to a beautiful sunny room on the main floor. Even my husband says it's the best piece of real estate in the house. :)
Figuring out my professional bliss - still a work in progress...

Now I'm back with a revamped blog and a new outlook for An Artistic Bent (AAB). New outlook? That's right. Previously I was concentrating on anything sewing related as the original blogs had originated from my my wallet and apron creations. But now I'm focusing on all things crafty, which if you know me and have seen my craft room makes much better sense. I'll be sharing with you different items I make, beautiful things other people have made that I come across both in person and online, discuss different techniques and futher on down the road hopefully post some tutorials. So I hope you join me in my new An Artistic Bent journey. It may take me a bit to find my AAB footing again, but I'm looking forward it and I hope you are too!

2009-05-31T21:41:00.007-04:00

And the Winner Is....

Comment #97 - Stacy!!! Congratulations Stacy!!

Thanks to everyone who entered!! I really enjoyed reading all of your comments and I hope you'll continue to follow me along in my crafting adventures.

I want to give a big thank you to Sew Mama Sew for putting this Giveaway together - it was a lot of fun! It was my first giveaway and I'm sure it won't be my last.

Thanks again to everyone who participated. Enjoy the wallet, Stacey!!

2009-05-28T06:52:00.003-04:00

Follow Up

I just wanted to follow up with a few items with regard to my wallet giveaway below.

First off, I just want to say WOW, I'm am overwhelmed by the amount and positiveness of the comments I have received so far! Over 200 in the first day! Secondly, I just want to apologize for the the fact that your comments were not showing up immediately when you posted them. I had not realized that the blog was set so that I had to approve each comment before it was published to the blog - a blog newbie oversight. ;) This has now been fixed and I did a bulk approval so that each comment was published in the order that it was received. Your comments will now show up immediately, so keep them coming.

I also want to clarify a couple things and answer some questions I have received so far:
- The contrast fabric used in the wallet is a pink color. The pictures on the blog don't quite capture it properly.
- I currently do not have a tutorial for this wallet, but may look into it in the future. I'm not really experienced in tutorials, but may give it a try later on.
- The billfold will be posted to my website An Artistic Bent by the end of today, for custom orders. I don't have any of this design ready made yet, except the one I'm giving away, which is the first one. But will have some in the near future. Custom orders are welcome though. :)
- Unfortunately I don't know what the name of the fabrics are that I have used for this wallet. I've been able to find small amounts of it in the stores, but it never has the designer name on it. As soon as I find out, I will post. Or if any out there knows, please feel free to let me know.

Thanks again to everyone who has posted and don't forget to check out the other giveaways listed at Sew Mama Sew. I spent most of last night going through the other blogs and I'm not even half way through! There is some really talented people and lovely stuff out there!!

2009-05-26T22:48:00.019-04:00

May Giveaway Day - New Billfold Wallet Debuts!!

Here it is! My new billfold wallet design is finally finished and I'm giving away my first one as part of the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day event.

The Billfold is made of 2 beautiful coordinating fabrics and has a snap closure.

A change compartment is located on the outside back of the wallet.

The inside contains 6 cardholder slots which hold approximately 16 cards,

two small compartments for receipts (beneath cardholder slots),

and one large compartment for bills.

So, how can you win this wallet, you ask? Well, leave me a comment on this blog letting me know what you think about the new design. I will then take the total number of comments posted from May 27th to 31st and input that number into a Random Integer Generator, which will provide me with the winning comment number. The person who wrote that comment will win the wallet. I know, I know, it's not creative at all, but I'm really tired right now and I can't come up with a creative question at the moment. I promise that if Sew Mama Sew does another Giveaway Day I will come up with a much more creative way to choose the winner. :)

The Giveaway will be open until May 31st, I will post the winner on June 1st and items will be shipped out to the winner by June 3rd. I will ship internationally, so come one, come all!

For more info on my wallets and aprons, visit my website - An Artistic Bent.

Also, free to check out Sew, Mama, Sew for all the other blogs giving away great handmade items.

2009-05-26T11:13:00.002-04:00

New Design for May Giveaway?

May Giveaway Day is tomorrow! I'm really hoping to finish my new design tonight so that I can debut it as my giveaway tomorrow.

Tune in tomorrow to see if I was successful and enter for a chance to win the item!

2009-05-19T23:09:00.010-04:00

Fabric Excitement!

I received my latest fabric order and I am so in love with the new designs that I had to share them. I have not purchased fabric from these 2 designers before, but I can tell you that I will definitely purchase more of their fabric in the future. The colors are vibrant and the fabric quality is amazing! My pictures don't do them justice. These gorgeous pink sunflower fabrics by Valori Wells are for a custom apron order.

These beautiful fabrics are by Dena Design and I plan on making an apron or two out of these as well.

I am so stoked about these gorgeous fabrics that I can't wait to start them. Once the aprons are completed I will post pictures so you can see the finished products. With these fabrics they are pretty much guaranteed to be gorgeous! At least I hope so.

I'd also like to mention the online store that I purchased the fabrics from - honeybeehumble. I don't plan on mentioning every store I purchase fabric from, but there were a couple things about this order when it arrived that I was very impressed with. Each fabric was cut perfectly with pinking shears and then folded beautifully. Most fabric packages I receive are pretty well folded, but I have to say that some of the cut edges are disgraceful. It makes you wonder if people have their eyes shut while cutting. Honeybeehumble's package however was a lovely surprise and you know that this is someone who truly loves fabric. I will definitely be purchasing from them again in the future.

2009-05-14T08:54:00.019-04:00

May Giveaway Day - May 27th!

That's right; you heard me, 'Giveaway'!!

I came across this fun event through one of my favourite blogs (Oh, Fransson!) and thought it looked like a great event to be involved in.

Sew, Mama, Sew is hosting the Giveaway Day and they will be posting a list of participating blogs on May 27th. The Giveaways will be open until May 31st and items will be shipped out to the winners by June 3rd.

Make sure to check back here on May 27th to enter my Giveaway!!

2009-05-04T22:25:00.000-04:00

From Apron to Potholders.

Last Friday I had a very clear plan of what I was going to get accomplished, but like many well-laid plans, things can quickly run amuck. My original plan was to make an apron for my very creative cousin (she designed my ‘An Artistic Bent’ logo) and get it mailed off to her by the end of the day. Earlier in the week I had made my final decision on what fabrics to use and had them all ironed and laid out ready to be cut. I was set to go.

I measured the pieces for the skirt section of the apron, measured again to be certain and then proceeded to cut. As soon as I made the last cut, a little voice in my head told me it was wrong. I looked down at the piece and knew it was too small. How the heck did I do that? I measured twice?! Then it hit me, the measurements I had used were for the skirt without the allowance for the gather – 4” too short! Apparently I wasn’t completely focused when figuring out the dimensions. Darn it!! Okay, so how to proceed? After taking a look at what I had left of the desired fabrics I realized that I could cut another skirt section out (this time the correct size) and use the piece I just cut out to make the top section of the apron. Okay, no problem, right? Not quite.

Once again I laid the two main fabrics down on top of one another and made the measurements (this time with the 4” included). Again I measured a second time to be sure. I made my cuts, and picked up the pieces so that I could pin them for sewing. That’s when I saw that one of the fabrics was about 2” shorter than the other. Complete rookie mistake. When laying the two fabrics on top of the other, I didn’t double check that the fabric on the bottom (the shorter fabric which should have been on top) covered the complete area to be cut. I seriously could not believe that I made such a ridiculous mistake, especially after the initial cutting screw up! Okay, back to the fabric remnants, did I have enough?? Nope! How could I have made two such basic mistakes in the matter of an hour?? How was I going to make the apron now?? Were the Gods trying to tell me it was not a day to be sewing? After about 15 minutes of muttering (okay, maybe it was a bit louder than muttering) about what a stupid mistake I’d made, I had a light bulb moment. That’s what I’m going to do! I had seen an article or blog (can’t remember which) about a week previous on making potholders out of pretty fabrics. That was it! If I couldn’t make an apron out of the pieces, then I was going to make something else that I could send her until I could order more fabric for her apron.

Now I was starting to feel a bit better. With a new direction, I sat down, figured out measurements and started cutting; AGAIN. This time, all went as planned. With the 3 different fabrics, a couple layers of batting and some ribbon, I was good to go! This is also the point where I decided this little disaster story might make a good lessons blog and went to get my camera to document the making of the potholders. And, here’s how it went.

Material needed: 3 coordinating fabric designs, cotton batting, ribbon.

Side 1 consists of one single fabric design measuring 9x9”.

Side 2 consists of 4 strips of 3 fabric designs (2 inside strips 2.25”x9”, 2 outside strips 2.75”x9”). The four strips are sewn together using a ¼” seam allowance. Once sewn together, iron flat and trim sides so that it measures 9x9”.

Align front and back pieces with wrong sides together and 2 layers of cotton batting (each measuring 9x9”) in between, pin and sew through all four layers using a ½” seam allowance. Be sure to leave 3-4” open on one side. Trim seam allowance to 1/4".
Turn potholder right side out through opening, making sure to push out corners fully. Iron flat ensuring the open edges are pressed under.

Place looped ribbon in opening, making sure the ends are tucked at least a 1/2" inside the potholder and loop is the desired length. Edge stitch all the way around the potholder, 1/4" from edge. At desired intervals, stitch straight lines from one side to the other, creating quilted look. Voila! Easy, pretty and functional. Even if they were supposed to be an apron. :)

2009-04-28T10:10:00.000-04:00

Fabric Hunting in Toronto

This past weekend I took a trip to Toronto to visit some family and while I was there I wanted to check out a couple of fabric stores that carry the fabric of my favourite designers. As I am not able to find the fabrics I love in the Ottawa stores, I currently order my fabric from the States but would prefer if possible to purchase from Canadian retailers. Before leaving for Toronto I did some research and compiled a list of retailers that carry my fave fabrics. So, on Saturday with the addresses committed to memory, my Uncle (a great Uncle indeed to wander about fabric stores for an afternoon with his niece) and I headed to the garment district in search of my fabrics.

When I walked through the door of the first store and laid my eyes upon the rows of beautiful fabric lining the walls I was thrilled! There they were; Amy Butler, Sandi Henderson, Michael Miller, etc… Gorgeous fabrics that I could just pluck off the shelf – I was in fabric heaven. I took one roll off the shelf, glanced at the price and that’s where thrill turned to shock and then dismay. What the heck! It was about twice the price of what I pay the U.S. retailers. So, thinking it was just that particular pattern I placed that roll back and took down another one. Nope, same price. Back it went and down came another – same $. As I pulled out roll after roll (trying not to look frenzied) I realized I was not going to find anything to buy here. They must have inflated prices because they are a crafting store, I thought as I left. So, a little disappointed, but still full of hope, off we went. Now the next few stores weren’t on the list, but we were in the garment district and I wasn’t going to pass up checking them out, I never know what I might find. Plus it was a gorgeous sunny day, perfect for wandering the streets.

Overwhelming. That is the first word that comes to mind when trying to describe some of these stores. Piles and piles of fabric rolls stacked above our heads, some with aisles so small two people would have a hard time passing each other. I really wish I‘d had my camera with me to document the craziness of it. Having not found anything in a few of these stores we arrived at another of the stores on my list. Again as I walked through the door a little thrill ran through me as saw a great display of my fabrics (yes, sadly beautiful fabrics do give me that kind of reaction). However as I got closer I could see that they were the same price as the first store. Seriously!? Even the few rolls they had on sale were more expensive than what I could get through the States. Again we left the store empty handed. We hit a few more stores as we strolled down the street in the sun and I even came across a couple rolls of the fabrics I was looking for, but again same inflated price. I finally ended up purchasing a few meters of fabric in two cute designs that were not from my designers, but were the price I was looking for and in the end I felt the afternoon was definitely not a loss. It confirmed that the way I have been purchasing fabrics from the U.S. is absolutely the way to go, I got a little exercise and enjoyed the beautiful sunny day with my Uncle. All in all a very nice afternoon. Now back online I go to purchase some more fabric.

2009-04-24T07:33:00.000-04:00

Here I go!

Well, after toying with the idea of starting a blog over the past few months, I've finally decided to take the plunge. I've been a bit intimidated by all the great craft blogs that I currently follow, but with some encouragement from a great friend (and fellow blogger) I'm jumping in with both feet. This blog will be about my adventures in creating both on the personal side and the business side. I absolutely love creating things and although it might not always work out perfectly the first time I try something, I find that's how I learn and sometimes I'll end up with something new that I like even more. So I hope you'll follow along and enjoy the read and maybe even learn something along the way with me.