Black and White

Black and white “Tube Bead” from Club Creative Studio
http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

Club Creative Studio is no doubt in love with creating art items using bright and vivid color combinations.  However, this does not mean that anything created in neutrals of black and white are tossed to the side.  NOOOOO, far from that idea.  I also create using black and white in polymer clay and glass.

Hand-made bracelet by Club Creative Studio. http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

I love creating in black and white because of the contrast it lends us visually.  Black happens to be my “favorite color” so, to combine black with any other color is always aesthetically pleasing  to me.  I use black to define and separate areas.  The outlines become just as important that the other elements in my clay bead designs.

Club Creative Studio creates one-of-a-kind art. This is a hand-made necklace featuring a hand-designed black and white crystal pendant with unique elements.

The stark contrast when using black and white draw our eyes into focus of the division of shape and that seems to attract and keep our attention.

Club Creative Studio creates black and white beads for high contrast focal beads.

I am blogging about black and white today because it is “Cow Appreciation Day” today.  Being from the midwest, cows are pretty important.  I will celebrate them today by creating more black and white beads to match the common milk cow, and the abilities of black and white in art to stand out from the ordinary.  Do you like black and white contrast colors together?  What do you like about black and white accessories?

Club Creative Studio Black and White hand-made cuff bracelet.

Club Creative Studio guitar pic earrings. The black and white contrast is what I love in this design.

The next time you see someone wearing items that are designed in black and white, try to determine why you are drawn to that combination.  They are striking for sure.

The Waiting Game

Smile during your creative process.

Today’s TNT (This-N-That) post from Club Creative Studio is about technique in your creative process. I often find myself playing “the waiting game”.  You know what this means to an individual on a daily basis. We wait in line, we wait for the mail to come, we wait in traffic, we wait for the dryer to signal the clothes are dry. We wait for the text response, we wait for something to download, we WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!

But wait there is more waiting if you are an artist!  It is what we do with that “wait time” when we are creatively working that is important.  When an artist has down time, time in which we have to wait for something to dry, wait for something to stick together, wait for something to cure, melt, mold, bake, even sell… we need to also occupy that time to be productive.  And guess what?  An artist usually fills their wait time with something that takes even more time to wait for, right?

I often find myself doing tasks in the studio that involve multiple skills, steps or focus.  It is just part of the nature of the beast of putting constructions together, that forces us to wait for one step to be completed before another is started.  Multitasking is nothing new.  Multi-focus is the skill that is in question.  Being able to move from one task to another quickly is productive if you are organized, goal-oriented, and patient.

Organize your stuff!

Organization

When your supplies and work space are organized, your efforts become smooth and there is less time dealing with details that waste time.

Organization offers the flow of creativity because you can see more clearly and tools are readily at hand where you expect them to be.

Order in your space allows you to see the process in front of you without distractions.

Striving to be more organized can form habits that are productive in day-to-day activities outside of your craft.

Set your goals.

Goal-Setting

Being goal-oriented means you have a focus and outcome in mind.  Sometimes in art, that has to be general since we want the over-all outcome to be creative, not totally predicted.

Knowing what you want to do at the start of a process stems from being organized and also grows out of having the foresight of knowing what supplies you need to begin step one.

Inspiration and goals can be used together to give you a mental snapshot of where you want your project to head.  Envisioning the plan and product together sparks creativity.

Patience

No doubt about it deadlines and creativity sometimes do not mesh well but, being patient does have its rewards for reaching a time related task.

Setting the pace for creativity will manage your time more effectively.  Leaving room in the day for trial and error accounts will be less stressful and more successful.

I practice being patient by moving from one task to another.  I try not to get too frustrated with various steps of a complicated or intense project at hand because of those little breaks.

Take into account what your starting point and ending points look like.

Are you organized?

Do you know your goals for your creative process?

Are you patient?

I would like to end this post by sharing one idea that helps me pass time in between projects.  The focus on the REWARD, which is different from the word GOAL.  As a “reward” to myself as a job well done creatively and in celebration of an accomplished task, I take time to savor.  Chocolate and tea work for me!

My “pick-me-up-reward beverage” choice is sweet tea!

Let us know what you do in your daily “waiting game” challenges.  Do you have a routine or helpful hint for others that explains why you can be more creative during the times you have to wait in between steps of a project?  We’d love for you to share your thoughts below in a comment. Thanks for stopping by the blog,  Good luck in your creativity today!

Chunky and Funky

The chunky style.

 I am feeling chunky today.  Not because I ate too much, it’s because of the great style choice known as fun chunky jewelry.

It is not often that someone would actually appreciate being associated with the term of being called “chunky”. It is a negative counteraction for the most part, and can have health risks associated with the term as well.  Sporting and enjoying a “chunky look” when wearing  jewelry however, is a fun term.  It’s a way to slim down your need for layering or wearing many other jewelry items at once.  This Thursday TNT (This-N-That) post brings attention to the lasting trend in jewelry fashion.  Do you enjoy chunky and funky jewelry fashion?

Club Creative Studio. Hand-made beads incorporated in a chunky style necklace design.

When you wear chunky jewelry, it speaks for itself.  It is known and appreciated as being statement jewelry.  The chunky look is bold and substantial.

I have often shared photos of Club Creative Studio art that fits well into the chunky style category.  I enjoy creating jewelry and offering items with personality.  A festive and funky chunky necklace or bracelet generally contains more beads in its creation, so the chunky look can be achieved.  Adding more beads gives the wearer a deeper appreciation a love of the variety and over-all collection of beads that combine to form one piece of art.

Club Creative Studio Art. http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

Chunky style jewelry does not necessarily have to be heavy in weight to wear because of the amount of beads it contains. Chunky yet light-weight beads can be made from clay, leucite, plastic, acrylic, shell and resins and still maintain their comfort associations while looking substantial.

Another fun chunky-style necklace by Club Creative Studio with hand-made clay beads.

Glass, ceramic and wood beads can sometimes add to the overall heaviness of a piece but can still be comfortable to wear.  The comfort you prefer when you chose to adorn a chunky neckline can be decided from the length and weight of the beads in your jewelry.

Although personal style sometimes will supersede how comfortable you really are, a statement piece does not need to weigh you down.  If you do not have many items that are chunky on their own you do have the option of wearing several necklaces or bracelets together at once.  This method is great to utilize your jewelry in different ways and mix up your won combinations.

Triple strand necklace designed by Club Creative Studio.

No matter what your method is for obtaining the chunky look, when you add more jewelry instead of added calories to your body frame, you get noticed for favorable reasons for the most part.  Chunky jewelry does not add calories to your life-style and your figure, the last time I checked.  Enjoy having fun wearing chunky jewelry.

You can happily view and purchase one-of-a-kind chunky style and other varieties of hand-made jewelry and beaded items at http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

Triple strand chunky bracelet by Club Creative Studio.

Join us on Facebook to follow the creativity and enjoy seeing occasional sneak peeks of designs before they hit the online storefront.

http://www.facebook.com/ClubCreativeStudio

Let’s hear it, why do you enjoy wearing, seeing or creating popular chunky style necklaces or bracelets?

Related articles

• “D” is for Dare To Be Different (clubcreativestudio.wordpress.com)
• G is for Gain Great Looks 5 Ways (clubcreativestudio.wordpress.com)

Z is for Zen Zone

Z is for Zen. Achieving the state of calmness in self and environment that everything is “right” and aligned with self and the universe means total zen to me. Don’t we all want to enjoy that feeling?  I find my Zen Zone in beading. Now that my first A to Z blog challenge is complete, I have realized “my creative zen”.  OMM!  What will you do to reach the state of creative bliss?

Club Creative Studio hand-made beaded zen necklace.

It has been a delight to share information  and art with you from Club Creative Studio.  It has been a wonderful challenge to use the alphabet as a creative prompt for that venue. Thank you to those involved with brainstorming, maintaining, supporting and promoting this blog challenge.

When one creative project ends that is not the end...

Thank you for following  Club Creative Studio’s posts and the journey through the alphabet with a focus on CREATIVITY!  I will surely take part in this challenge again.

This does not mean that the blog comes to a halt.  Please stay tuned for more information that deals with the theme of creativeness.  If you are new here, and as a reminder, I try to blog a few times a week.

Follow the creativity!

On Tuesdays, the theme is called: Two-Cent Tuesday. I focus on sharing a low-cost idea, or activity.

On Thursdays, the post is refered to as:  a TNT post.  This means it has a wider topic range and fits nicely into being called “This-N-That”. 

Feature Friday is the day where I normally highlight something new or interesting from the design table at Club Creative Studio.

I welcome you to also follow the creativity on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ClubCreativeStudio  and on Twitter @ClubCreativeArt

And, certainly, I’d love for you to visit the online storefront with more unique items available in the ever-changing inventory at: http://www.clubcreativestudio.com

Take the steps to create your place of creative zen today!

Paint From Your Kitchen

March National Craft Month Logo

Do you have a good excuse for not being creative?  Maybe it is lack of ideas, supplies, time?  Does it take a national holiday to declare a day to set aside to create?  How about a whole month dedicated to crafts and crafting?  Well, look no further because March IS national craft month!

Aren’t you glad that Club Creative Studio informed you of this special month? Today’s post will give you a few ideas on how to create paint from kitchen or common home supplies. Give it a try and see how you can incorporate paint into your March crafting.

Nothing is quite as satisfying as making something with your own hands. Taking your creative thoughts from point A to point B.  Open your heart to Creation.  It doesn’t matter what your age or skill level, you can take steps to express your creativity and love of art or crafting.  Because crafting is such a well-liked pastime, the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) has dedicated the entire month of March to celebrating all that crafting has to offer.

So, check out your stock of supplies. What do you have in your “craft tool box”?

What craft supplies do you keep close at hand in your tool box?

I want to dedicate the following recipes to a cool ”little craftier” a boy named Ronnie who appreciates art at the young age of seven. Maybe this can be a home project or he can teach his classroom how to “make paint” in one of their rotating “centers” at his school. Happy crafting and creating, Ronnie B.

Liquid Starch Finger Paint

1/4 liquid laundry starch

2 drops food coloring or 1 tsp. tempera paint

Mix in small bowl until blended.

Cornstarch Finger Paint

3 tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 cups cold water

Food coloring

Soap flakes or liquid dishwashing soap

Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan over low heat. Add cold water and stir until mixture is thick. Remove from heat. Divide into four or five portions (in muffin tins or cups). Add a drop or two of food coloring to each portion and a pinch of soap flakes or soap. Stir and let cool. Store in airtight container.

Condensed Milk Paint

1 cup condensed milk

Food coloring

Mix one cup of condensed milk with a few drops of food coloring. This makes bright glossy paint!

Frosting Paint(non-edible)

1 cup powdered tempera paint

2 tbsp. wallpaper paste

1/4 to 1/2 cup liquid laundry starch

Mix tempera paint with wallpaper paste. Add starch, mixing until thick enough to spread – like frosting. Place paint on a plastic lid and use popsicle sticks to spread.

Happy Birthday Ronnie B.

From: Ms. Veronica at Club Creative Studio

12 Days of Creativity

Holiday bracelet made from several collaborating friends.

 This post brings to light a fun idea that can be transferred to any holiday celebration or life event with a theme in mind, and a few supplies. This post also fits into the TNT (this-n-that) theme. Being creative might be easy for some yet for others it may seem to take extra effort. No matter if creativity is instant or requires planning, it can be…shared.  Sharing creativity gives you an opportunity to use your skills and display your talents.

This post highlights the efforts of many creative persons. This time, the focus is on a group of persons and a special project.  I’d like to reflect on a recent holiday project that was based on the Christmas carol song: The Twelve Days of Christmas. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is a cumulative song, meaning that each verse is built on top of the previous verses.  There are twelve verses, each describing a gift given by “my true love” on one of the twelve days of Christmas.

Using this song as inspiration, a group of nearly twelve members created hand-made charms, then gathered for the “big reveal” which included sharing the creative process and exchanging their charms within the group so that each walked away with a unique jewelry keepsake. Some group members collected their charms for a bracelet. I incorporated my charms into a necklace. The group agreed that this experience was worth repeating and they enjoyed the learning process as much as the expression of creativity.

Some group members collected their charms for a bracelet. I incorporated my charms into a necklace.

If you recall from the popular song, the first verse runs: on the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…a partridge in a pear tree and on the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…two turtle doves.  Other mentions in the song and items included symbolically in the project are three french hens (ooh la-la), four calling birds (on cell phones of course), five golden rings, six geese-a-laying (comfortably on a pillow), seven swans-a-swimming , eight maids a milking (got milk?), nine ladies dancing, ten lords-a-leaping, eleven pipers piping, and twelve drummers drumming.

Gail happily organized twelve friends who agreed to share their skills and talents and come together to make and exchange their art projects.  Today’s blog celebrates the creativeness of her group of friends.  They held an initial meeting to brainstorm and decide on how they would start.  The assignment was for each person to make twelve separate items all with the same likeness and theme based on the number picked that corresponded to the same numbers in the Christmas carol song: The Twelve Days of Christmas.  The deadline was set and each member of the group went home ready to create their twelve items and return to share them. With all of the charms collected we were then free to add them to a bracelet and create our group project.  We collected one work of art charm from each person.

Our final products from the group project.

Contributors in this artistic product were: Marki, Annette, Bri, Amanda, Donna, Melissa, Gayle, Chris, MellaDee, and myself.  We shared time and talent, creating a meaningful item that will surely hold memories as well as appreciation for the creative process. We are now planning to get together to complete a Valentine theme bracelet.  I feel another blog coming from that experience too for sure!

To end this post, I’d like to share the idea that you may want to consider.  Make your favorite bracelet serve you well with a double duty.  Add an interesting dash of bling to your purse or bag with a closely related length of your bracelet size.  Attach it to the top of the rim on both sides of your purse for a fun twist of fashion, and show off your creation!

Consider this double-duty idea for your bracelet.

Camo- the Latest Rage

Club Creative Studio’s TNT Post

You don’t have to work in the military, live in the midwest or be a hunter to appreciate camouflage.  Now-a-days you can look around and see the design in many places.  It’s not just for hiding any longer.  Actually you want to wear it to get noticed!

Recently, while I was a participant in a local craft fair, I noticed a gentleman walking near my booth.  Because I was speaking with someone at the time, I knew he would be the next one in line to strike up a conversation with. He had an interesting look.  There was just something about him…

Don and his interesting camo hat.

Don’t you agree that Don looks like a friendly and interesting guy?  I had to take a “double-take” of the hat he was wearing.  If you look closely, it is quite clever. He did not “explain” his hat, only to mention that he got it in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It is camouflage material formed to be a visor type style.  The area on top is NOT his real hair.  It is faux fur!

Side view of Don's fun camo hat.

Along with the traditional dark-colored camouflage print you will find that it is popular to also see camo print in pink shades.  It is hard to be truly disguised in pink camo though.  Western Carolina University’s 2011 Women’s Soccer Team sported their love of pink camouflage print in special shirts worn during their 2011 Military Appreciation Day.

Pink Camofluge Shirts

And if you are a fan of country music at all, you may already know that there is a funny song dedicated to the love of camouflage sung by artist Brad Paisley entitled: camouflage.  Is it your favorite color?

Sock It To Me

Image: littlemissmatched

Club Creative Studio’s Thursday blog post has a general theme known as TNT.  The TNT post stands for “This-N-That”, and can cover an array of creative topics.  Today’s TNT post has a focus on creative socks…so allow me to “sock it to you”.  I have creative information for you concerning socks!

Socks have become popular in many different ways.  The website called “littlemissmatched” sells their socks in packages of three, and they are made to intentionally be worn in a mixed-matched fashion.  Also, keeping them in stock of three allows for that one sock to go “missing” from the dryer, and it does not matter which pair you grab to wear that day. Children will love them because the do not have to hunt for a matching sock mate, it does not matter in today’s fashion sense.

There are many different types and styles of socks if you think about it.  A few of these on the list were new terms for me but, generally speaking what was “old” often is “new” again in the world of socks.  I remember wearing knee highs as a young person and they were commonly worn.  Knee highs are making a come-back.  The twist is that they are funky and are being worn to not match on purpose.  They are also being worn by people of all ages. Also popular are over-the-knee socks, leg warmers (which are worn below the knee yet above the ankle),  and what is known as footless socks. They are similar to tights but have no fitted foot area connected.

Footless Sock

Arm Warmers

Now, let’s explore another creative way to use socks. When I was younger spending time in the mid-west with harsh winters, I wore thick tube socks for gloves.  Call me poor or call me creative. I don’t care, I was warm and it was low-cost creativity at its best.  Nancy Protectz (TM) designs complimentary decor fashion for furniture.  Furniture feet “wear” the stretch to fit “socks” for floor protectors. With a soft cushion between the furniture and the floor, the machine washable socks are slip resistant.

Image: apartmenttherapy

Finally, how might we reuse, repurpose or recycle our socks in a creative manner?  Don’t forget the old stand-by activity of creating sock puppets.

Creativity with worn out socks.

Art in the Airport

This TNT post is about anything artful this and that (TNT). Today I would just like to share a few sites from a few airports that I have rushed through lately.  I have always said that art is all around us.  All we have to do is open our eyes and discover what is in our path that is creative. The canvas paintings were seen at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport.

Art From the Airport

More Awesome Art

It may be obvious to you that this art was created by children.  I wish that I could give proper credit to the persons responsible for creating these wonderful, colorful artful creations.  They were not marked with labels or with group acknowledgement so  we are only left with taking the pleasure to admire the art, its whimsy, its youthfulness and its freedoms of the creative spirit in expression.

Colorful splash for Airport Viewers

Art Can Be Admired From the Airport

From the International airport in Chicago you may find and enjoy the art if you have enough time to look UP!  We were in a big hurry to get to our gate but, I managed to snap a few shots of the glass that was designed to almost light up overhead.  I found them to be so beautiful.  I could have looked at them for hours.

Glass designs in front of lighted fixtures in airport.

Chicago International Airport

Mondegreens: Color Me Mad, Not Glad

Enjoy this TNT (This-N-That) post.  It deals with creativity on various matters.  This week, it has to do with hearing correctly.

This is a short post about the creativeness of people who have misheard song lyrics (also called mondegreens). Misheard lyrics occur when people misunderstand the lyrics in a song. These are NOT intentional rephrasing of lyrics, which is called parody.   

My husband is guilty of this very often and it absolutely drives me nuts.  I don’t know if the reason behind the misuse of words is truly because he did not hear them right in the first place or because he knows it pushes my buttons and he does it because he likes to see how long it will take for me to correct him.  He often claims that it takes more creativity to sing the wrong words in a song than to actually sing the right words. Afterall… “Anyone can do that!” he protests.

There are several songs that I can focus on with an example of mondegreen usage but, I will focus on the artist Jimmy Buffett in this post.  His music has a fair share of songs that are often the subject of misused words sung in place of his original written lyrics.

Jimmy Buffett Image: westshoretickets.com

Jimmy Buffett’s Funniest Misheard Lyrics:

 Stepped on a Pop Tart….

Stepped on a pork chop…

REAL: Stepped on a pop top

Lookin’ for my log shaker and saw…

Lookin’ for my log shaken assault….

Lookin’ for my lost Digger the dog…

REAL: Lookin’ for my lost shaker of salt.

If you like bean enchiladas getting caught in the rain…

REAL: If you like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain…

But I know, it’s my own Grandpa…

REAL: But I know, it’s my own damn fault.

But there’s boobs in the blender…

REAL: But there’s booze in the blender…

Cheeseburger and a pair of thighs…

REAL: Cheeseburger in paradise…

Smell those shrimp, I’m beginning to barf…

REAL:  Smell those shrimp they’re beginning to boil.

Some people claim that there’s a worm on the brain…

REAL: Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame…

 I hope that you are not one of the believers that have claimed that the misheard words are the real words.  I hope I added a bright spot to your day by pointing out creativity around us caused by us.

Do you know of a song that comes to mind that you have misheard,  and later found out the real words?

Margaritaville
Nibblin on sponge cake
Watchin the sun bake
All of those tourists covered with oil
Strummin my six-string
On my front porch swing
Smell those shrimp they’re beginnin to boil

Chorus:
Wastin away again in margaritaville
Searching for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame
But I know it’s nobodys fault

I don’t know the reason
I stayed here all season
Nothin to show but this brand new tattoo
But it’s a real beauty
A mexican cutie
How it got here I haven’t a clue

Chorus:
Wastin away again in margaritaville
Searchin for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame
Now I think
Hell, it could be my fault

I blew out my flip-flop
Stepped on a pop-top
Cut my heel had to cruise on back home
But there’s booze in the blender
And soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on

Wastin away again in margaritaville
Searching for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame
But I know it’s my own damn fault
Yes and some people claim that there’s a woman to blame
And I know it’s my own damn fault

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue2-ZVxpVjc

Enjoy the UTUBE video of Margaritaville.