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I needed some art & craft supplies for some projects so I went down to the local Spotlight store to pick up the supplies and I ended up spending quite a bit more than I originally budgeted for, but even so I felt it was worth it. I don’t generally spend money on other entertainment like Foxtel or video games (though I did used to be quite the video game nutbar in my teens and early 20’s), I also don’t waste money on makeup, smoking or alcohol at all so I figure it’s okay to have this one splurge area in my life where I tend to funnel all my spare dollars (quite often the not so spare dollars…)
The projects I have planned are:
1. Teaching Ben (age 6) colour theory & acrylic paint mixing
2. Teaching a friend how to sew a simple handbag
3. Making a handbag for another friend
4. Making a cute dress for Alexis (my partner’s best friend’s little girl).
5. Making colour charts for all my acrylic paints for reference when painting
So I think I did quite well to get enough supplies to complete five projects. I did forget to get the cushion inserts and buttons I require to complete the patchwork knitting and crocheting cushions and throw that I’m working on. I’ll have to head back at some point to pick them up.
For project 1, teaching Ben (age 6) colour theory & acrylic paint mixing, I purchased I set of Semco paint brushes, a range of Semco kids acrylic paints: Blue, Cyan, Magenta, Red, Yellow, Sun Gold, Violet, Orange, Emerald Green & White. The Semco range are really cheap. Each tube was around $2.25 and the paint brushes for the set was around $4. I wanted to get two kinds of each of the primary colours and one of each of the complementary colours as well. This is all for educational purposes. 😉
As well as that I bought two canvas panels so when Ben progresses he can put his knowledge to the test with a couple pieces of art. And I bought a large canvas paper pad for Ben and I to study our paints with swatches of colour.
Which I guess leads me into project 5, making colour charts for all my acrylic paints for reference when painting. The Jo Sonja paints I purchased as they are the deep colours to the red, yellow and blue and colours that I don’t own. I believe to have a truly balanced palette I require both light and deep colours. I think this study of colour will also really help with pet portrait paintings. I plan to continue painting different pet portraits, as the saying goes ‘practice makes perfect’.
For project 2 teaching a friend how to sew a simple handbag, I purchased the navy blue pattern fabric with the white dots and the white fabric, pictured underneath the navy blue fabric, which is actually interfacing. I had some left over fabric from when I made her a dress (the first dress I ever made) and so I wanted to teach her how to sew and I found the Kwik Sew Pattern: All Occasions Hand Bags Small & Large Pattern K3684, really good to learn with (as a self-taught sewer) so I thought it would be perfect to teach as I felt really confident with this pattern having made a few bags myself, one in only a couple hours.
Project 3, I plan to make a handbag for another friend using the purple butterfly fabric. Her favourite colour is purple so this fabric is so pretty and perfect. Though as I feel I have mastered the Kwik Sew Pattern: All Occasions Hand Bags Small & Large Pattern K3684, I want to try a different style of handbag. But I’ll see what I can do, otherwise these coordinating fabrics will look amazing as the K3684 handbag.
And for project 4, I plan on making a cute dress for Alexis (my partner’s best friend’s little girl) using the Kwik Sew Sewing Pattern: Precious Meadow Dresses and Pinafores K106 designed by Ellie Mae Designs. So adorable!! I plan on making the short sleeve dress with the yellow fabric as the main and the green fabric as the contrast. This yellow and green fabric were the most expensive and why I ended up going over my budget. 😦
I also have fabric already set aside for the pinafore which is white and has little bees and ladybugs scattered on it. This pattern is going to be a real challenge for me as there are buttons and buttonholes which I have not done before and I’m pretty sure my sewing machine does not have the foot to take care of business for me, so I’m going to have to figure out how to do it on my own.
So those are all the projects I have planned so if you’re interested in any of those please check back as I will be posting blog posts and progress reports for these projects as time passes. I’m hoping to start the K106 toddlers dress around the end of May. I’d say the purple handbag I won’t get time until the end of June and I’m hoping to start painting with Ben every weekend before I have to go to bed (I sleep in the mornings because I’m night shift, haha!)
And if you’re wondering what the little black cylinder is with the orange cylinder around it, that is a groove tube. A type of puzzle maze. My younger brother came with me to Spotlight as my pack mule and he kept throwing items into the basket. We came to an agreement that he would put the rest of the items back and he would just get that, which was $3 on sale.
Hope you enjoy your crafting endeavors and feel free to share your plans and goals for your arts & crafts by commenting below.
Kelly's Art Table 