Let the fog lift and the creation begin

I'm a busy girl.  I teach preschool, I'm a photographer, I'm a writer, I'm a Damsel in Defense  Independent Pro, and an artist.  You can see that it's really hard to hold all of the balls in the air, especially when I'm also a wife and mother of four daughters.

Winter time is not a time of creation for me.  It's a time of busy family hustle and bustle, short days, cozy hoodies, hot cups of coffee, and catching up on my favorite shows, because by the time the preschool day is over, it's dark.  My creation pretty much revolves around my preschool class and magnitude of sensory bottles that seem to fly off the virtual shelves all winter long.

Then something happens.  The sun peeks out, the clouds are thinner, and the days begin to be longer.  Suddenly all of the things I've hoarded all winter long begin to take form.

Let's all wave a big BYE BYE at winter as spring makes its way through the darkness so we can GET ON WITH THE ART!

May's Sister to Sister class is making marble magnets

Two-and-a-half months ago, the ladies at Metro came together for the first Sister to Sister class bringing women together and supporting the Women's Vocational Program in Ghana.  So far we've upcycled tee shirts, made candy dishes, and on Tuesday May 22 at 7pm we'll come together again and make marble magnets! 

There is no cost, but you will have to bring some glass marbles-the kind with the flat bottom that you can get at the dollar store, magnets, and we'll need donations of scrapbook paper (can be leftover scraps) and old magazines! For a better idea of this craft, check out Running With Glitter's blog post.

Also, we ask that each person donate $5 to the Ghanna Women's Vocational Training program so women who otherwise couldn't support their family can learn a craft or trade and never go hungry again.

This class is open to women of the public from any walk of life.  Plan on good conversation, great ladies, and a fun way to make birthday gifts for everyone you know this year!  

Bring a friend :-)

For more information, you can email thebiblechick@yahoo.com.  

Craft Challenge-May 2012

I hear a lot of people wishing they were craftier.  People think you have to turn out beautiful family heirloom quality pieces in order to be considered creative, but I’m here to tell you that there is a crafty side to all of us.  No matter what level of crafter you are, we are going to challenge you to move to the next level.

Reclaimed Rubbish isn’t only about two giggling girls trying to craft the world into better environmental awareness, we are also teachers, art coaches, and creativity consultants.  This means our mission includes stretching your brain and making you work for it.

The rules are simple.  During the first week of every month, there will be a challenge.  The rules for that challenge will be posted, and please, do look for loopholes.  Your imagination is the limit, and size does not matter.  Work within your space.  If the challenge has to do with a car, that doesn’t’ mean you have to drag one into your apartment.  Work within the limits of your space.  Think micro art.  Think jewelry.  Think household items.  Think yard art.  Think sculpture.  Think canvas.  Think sewing.  Think paper craft.  Think of everything.

There will be a winner every month chosen by us (Thing One and Thing Two), and there will be a prize, but the catch to that is that the prize is even a surprise.  We don’t want the point to be competition.  We want the point to be people coming together and creating things they didn’t ever think of creating.  The only way you can cheat is by not creating your project yourself, in which case, we would give you a big tisk-tisk and ask you to try again next month.  

The reason for only one challenge per month is simple.  We are all crazy-insane-busy people who can’t spend all of our time throwing things together.  We have enough on our plate with kids, school, sports, church, dates, movies…and, well, you get the point.  This should be fun, not overwhelming.

TELL YOUR FAMILY, TELL YOUR FRIENDS, SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS!  THE CHALLENGE BEGINS NOW!  

May’s challenge has very few rules.  

1. You must create something
2. It must convey what your favorite childhood toy is
3. You cannot spend any money on materials

When you have completed your masterpiece, email a short description of what you used and how it happened, attach a picture, and email it to reclaimedrubbish@gmail.com no later than May 31^st, 2012.  The winner will be announced during the month of June along with the announcement of what your prize will be. 

Now, get crafting!!!

Ladie's upcycling tee shirt class was a success

Above all, spreading environmental awareness is the top priority of Reclaimed Rubbish, and tonight we had a chance to do just that.  Every fourth Tuesday night, a group of ladies get together at the Metro Church of Christ building to share craft ideas.  Tonight, we got to teach the ins and outs of tee shirt upcycling.  We made tee shirt necklaces, dog toys, bracelets, tutus, and talked about the reusable tee shirt produce bags that Reclaimed Rubbish will be launching soon. 

I want to give a special thanks to the ladies of Metro Church of Christ in Gresham, Oregon for putting together this wonderful program for ladies all over our area to attend, and we're excited to see it grow.  Not only is it giving women an opportunity to come together, it is helping to raise money for a Women's Vocational Training program in Ghana, Africa where women who might not have an education or a husband to support the family are learning a trade that they can take into the world and keep food on the table. 

Keep checking back to see what craft we'll be working on next month when we announce the information for the next Sister to Sister class.  If you would like more information on how you can help the Women's Vocational Training program in Ghana, please email thebiblechick@yahoo.com. 

Check out the reclaimedrubbish Etsy store for available products.