Everyone is born with creativity. But those people who appear to be super creative have a secret. They know that creativity has to be developed and exercised to come easily. I am on a quest to immerse myself in creativity of all kinds. I hope you will join me!

I have a giant pot of beads. Bead Soup. For the last couple years, I have used bead soup for some interesting ministry opportunities. It has been a fund raiser for mission trips. We take it sometimes to make bracelets at Girls Night In at Grace Centers of Hope. Last summer, we took 16 pounds of beads from the soup pot with us in our suit cases to Germany where we made bracelets with the women of the Air Force base.

Another use for the bead soup ministry was presented a couple weeks ago.  We committed to make 200 beaded bracelets for a ministry called My Sister Song.  My Sister Song ministers to women in the sex industry in the Detroit area. They go into strip clubs and brothels to visit with the girls who work there.  They take goodie bags for the girls, help them with resources they might need to change their lives, and offer them a link to the outside world should they choose to accept it.

It is a faith based ministry. Their vision is for women to understand their great worth and realize that God has a purpose for the life of each woman and every woman has a story that matters. 


So, we asked if we could pitch in 200 bracelets for the goodie bags.



We sorted beads, strung them, attached charms and got 106 bracelets finished tonight.

It has become important to me to use the skills and resources that God has afforded me to serve others. I know many artists that look for avenues to do that same thing. I have read stories about random acts of art, where artists leave notes and small bits of art in public places for others to find, hoping it will be meaningful and brighten someone's day.

That is a fun activity, but I wonder if an artist is going to that much trouble, wouldn't it be more gratifying to use art to serve someone else whom you know for sure will benefit?  I love encouraging artists to do just that. It is more gratifying that you can imagine.

Gather a group of women who crochet, sit together, and make scarves and mittens for homeless folks who need them. Have an art sale, give the proceeds to a rescue mission. Teach simple crafts to women in the battered women's shelter.

I think every artist can think of ways to make a difference in someone else's life.

Think about it. It will bless you.
And take a double dose of Vitamin C!

 Continuing to work on thin metal bangle bracelets, this bracelet is simple to make in just a few minutes.


 Materials you need are a thin metal bangle, 24 gauge craft wire, and two colors of mini pom pom fringe. I added the penny to the photo so you can see the size of the pom poms.  Three can fit across a penny.  It is so cute and tiny.

 Hold the turquoise fringe on one side of the bangle and lime on the other side.  Tightly wrap the wire between the pom poms to hold them to the bangle.    I separated the poms so you can see the wire. But, as you can see on the right side, when pushed together, the wire disappears.  Much better.

Wrap all the way around.  Trim wire and fringe.  From digging out the materials to photography, I spent only 10 minutes.

Start watching. I saw a lot of this mini pom pom fringe at market in January. You will start to see it this year on finished gifts, housewares, and clothing.

Take Your Vitamin C!

It took me 2 minutes to make this cute polka dot bangle.

 I found these great new shoelaces at Michaels this morning, called Crazy Laces.  They come in several styles for $1.99.  With the shoelaces, you get instructions on how to lace your new shoelaces in a fancy way.  Each package has instructions for two different lacing designs.

The shoelaces alone would make a cute gift, but we can't leave it at that, can we?

 I had this plain wood bangle in the stash.

 Why not lace up the gift bag, too?  Cut a 3/4" wide piece out of the front of the gift bag.  Punch 6 holes on either side.  Use a hole punch or poke holes with a pen or pencil.

I used the instructions for "The Ladder" method of lacing to put these gorgeous organza ribbon laces on the bag.  Then, I added a charm for good measure.

When you take the ribbon laces off the card, they are wrinkly. If you would like to iron them, put the iron on the lowest temperature.  With the iron standing up, rub the lace across the bottom.  Works great.

I know that is will give you ideas of things to do with these really cool shoelaces.  Please share!

Take Your Vitamin C!

I have these metal bangles on the brain. Last week I used a thin metal bangle as a base for a button bracelet.

You know those thin metal bangles that come in multiples and you wear them all at once and they make that tinkly sound?  Those.  I have an armful of them, but I never wear them. Maybe they just seem too pedestrian, too everybody has these, or maybe just annoying.

I have some rhinestones by the yard.  Get them at a fabric store.  These are very pretty, love them.  I attached the rhinestones with 1/8" green satin ribbon.

Tie the ribbon to the bangle. Lay the rhinestones on the bangle.  Tightly wrap the ribbon between the stones.

 I saw this painted on a sign someplace a couple weeks ago, and I have been chuckling about it ever since. Get it???

 So, today, I made this tiny little moustache bead.

I printed the words on the computer, Mod Podged them to the smooth side of my Scrabble tile (after I drilled a small hole at one end), and wire wrapped the bead into the hole.  Then I hot glued the ring back on the backside.

Still chuckling...
Take Your Vitamin C today!

Have you joined Stumble Upon?

This place is fun and dangerous. It can be worse than facebook for stealing time from your day.  But, it is more productive and can inspire creativity.

Set up an account: free.  Determine which areas you have interest, and click the button.  Every time you click, it randomly takes you to a site or blog in one of your areas of interest. You can join the community and chat with like minded folks. There is so much there, it is mind boggling. It pulls from everything online. There are many creative minds out there in the world.

I found this today:



You might find your daily dose of Vitamin C on StumbleUpon, who knows? GO!