Time to Get Creative

I used to be a pretty "artsy" person.  I did a lot of drawing in high school and took several art classes.  My time and interest for art fizzled when I hit college, and I never really picked it back up.  When my oldest son was born, I decided to give scrapbooking a try.  I loved it, and kept it up while we lived in several large parsonages.  I could have a room set aside just for scrapbooking, where I could leave all my supplies and works in progress out, and just close the door when I was done.  Once we bought our own (small) house in 2007, it became too much of a hassle to pull all my supplies out, work on a project, then have to pack it all back up until next time.

For the past several years, I haven't done anything artsy - I've gone to the occasional scrapbooking or cardmaking party, but that's been the extent of it.  I've really missed it, but I just haven't had the time or found my niche in the crafting worldy.  Lately, though, I've been craving craftiness.  (Maybe it's because I've discovered Pinterest...doesn't it make everyone feel crafty?  Don't you love it?)

For several years now, I've wanted to learn to knit.  I dabbled with it once, but never really got past a basic knit stitch.  This past week, I finally did it - I bought myself some knitting needles and yarn, and I printed off a free ebook from Lion Brand Yarns.  So far, I've just learned to cast on, knit, and purl, but it's a start, and I'm loving it!  It's so soothing and relaxing.  Once I get some more basics down, I plan to start with a scarf, then move on a tote bag, and finally to a beautiful throw, like the one below.  (The colors shown here are a perfect match for our master bedroom.)

I've also dabbled with the idea of digital scrapbooking for quite a while now, and I think that my upcoming Christmas break may be the perfect time to dive in.  We have Photoshop...it's just a matter of me learning how to use Photoshop.  It may be a long process.  I really miss scrapbooking, but when time (and money) for buying supplies are limited, digital seems like the perfect solution.

I'm excited about both ideas of mine.  (I'm not sure how enthused my hubby will be, but thankfully they're both cheap hobbies!)  I hope to start sharing photos of completed craft projects with you soon!