DIY Challenge - YARN

A Meditative Art Piece - An ideal Handmade Gift - in my Etsy Shop

Last week I told you that I want to take part in some Creative Challenges this year and I'm using the above piece as my entry to the first month in the DIY Challenge at Adventures in Making.

The theme is YARN and I loved the depth and texture the cream yarn brought to this canvas.  I created the letters with a crochet chain base and then used a close knit blanket stitch to cover the chains.  I took my favourite colour, blue, in acrylic and created an ombre effect shading.  I love the resulting calming oceanic effect.

And so, I'm off to post my details off to Rachel at Adventures in Making, and a hop over to Handmade Harbour and check out what lots of other lovely creatives have been up to.

Here's to a Creative Week ahead, and hopefully not too much snow.

Namaste

Catherine

New Year New Word

New Year New Word

Pinch Punch - First Blog of the Month, and the Year.  The above pin sums up my goals for 2015. The words are from Silly Wizard's Ramblin' Rover - a song that brings back a lot of happy memories from my student days or perhaps Student Nights would be more precise.  The Picture is by an old friend whose life was the epitome of the song.  And so bringing them both together brings a phenomenal spirit and promise to 2015.

I intend for 2015 to be the year I curate a Successful Creative Business.  I say "Curate" rather than "Create" because I have put the legwork in over the years and now it's time to bring it all together.

I'll be keeping my Etsy Shop sheeny shiny, regularly updating my website and taking part in more social media interaction on FaceBook and Twitter and Pinterest (not just posting and running away!)

I'm planning to take part in some blog alongs, already checked out The Sewing Directory Year of Handmade Gifts and Adventure in Making's DIY Challenge.  2015 will be all about joining in with the Creative Community.

And talking of community I'll be building on my local connections through my Paisley inspired Creations and sharing my intention of putting the pattern back in Paisley, one piece at a time.  (More on this later in the week).

I'm throwing away the rule books - and sticking with the well proven phrase "There are no Rules - Only Guidelines" (unknown) and looking forward to a Creative and Satisfying 2015.

I hope that your 2015 turns out to be just as meaningful.

Namaste

Catherine x

Creative Marvelling

You can see my Art Work at Etsy

I’ve been doing a lot of work on my textured art lately, the latest collection I’ve put together incorporating words and embroidery.  As I worked on the above piece I found myself stopping quite a lot as watching its coming together. Which led me to the question:  Does the creative process take longer because we marvel at the work coming together?

This is one closely followed by the beauty of the back of thread work – I’m not the only one that see’s the beauty there, right?

Here’s to a happy weekend.  I’m looking forward spending some time at my local park, Barshaw, giving some love to the overgrown peace garden.  If you’re local why not join us.

Namaste

Catherine x

Something Old - Something not so Old

Giving you some old stuff while I'm engaged in creating the new

I’m taking this week out to get some art together and get my Etsy shop up and running again, along with a brand new Society 6 store.  Rather than leave you with another blank week on the old blogosphere I’m revisiting some of my previous posts.

I stumbled on this one – thinking Tuesday and Treasury and returning to Etsy Land and got quite the surprise when I found a whole different type of treasury – look for yourself.

Today is an ideal day...

Namaste

Catherine

Imperfect Perfectification

When I say ‘look what I made’ this week, my ‘mades’ have been around for a while.  In keeping with my pledge to wear a fashion garment or accessory made or transformed  by me throughout May.  This week I chose to wear some of my ribbon jewellery; Thursday I wore a cream necklace and bracelet; Friday I wore one of my favourite creations a black and brown chunky link necklace; yesterday I wore my multi-coloured link bracelet and Sunday I had a lazy day and stayed with my jammies so no garments or accessories for Sunday.  I’m looking forward to cracking out some different pieces this week.

My first few days of Me Made May '14

In uncovering these pieces I was conscious of having had them in my Etsy Shop for quite some time – and without an Etsy sale.  I closed my Etsy shop toward the end of last year.  There were a number of reasons for this, not least of all the lack of sales.  The reason for my lack of sales?  I’m not really sure. This MeMadeMay journey has already brought some answers and given me some modifications I can make both in products and marketing as I move forward.

What I do know to be true is that everything happens for a reason.  And as my print says – mine is not to question this truth but to believe and grow.

 I have surrendered to this truth and got on with the growing, and look forward to revealing just how much here on Wednesday as I introduce my new, using what I’ve got and adding texture, venture.

Until then I’ll be checking out all you creative folks participating in Me Made May and checking in at Handmade Harbour and JamieRidler’s Studio to see what Craft Therapy you have all been indulging in.

Namaste

Catherine

The Return of Authentic Weekly BS with some Handmade Monday on the Side

So, I've swithered over this decision for a while now.  I started the month joining the August Break, and I managed to get to day 15.  Did I enjoy
the experience?  Yes, thank you Susannah Conway for bringing so many creative folks together.  I really enjoyed seeing what other folks brought to the screen, especially the Brandi Girl Blog colour palette for each day, and I shall continue to follow and share the great finds.  I've come to realise that I really am not a joiner, never have been really.  I only lasted about 6 weeks in the Brownies.  And my track record hasn't improved much since then.  What I do enjoy is sharing?

Part of the reason I chose to do the August Break came with the title, thinking it would be a break.  I'm not really one for taking pics every day so it was really becoming more of a chore than a break.  That and as I seem to be getting my creative act together,  it's important I find my voice here on my blog. In order to do that I need to write and get my stuff out there.

  So the thing that I was most sure about was my Sunday BS.  My Sunday BS is a great tool for me.  I get to review the week gone by, plan for the week ahead and share some of the great stuff I've found on my journey.  And it feels right to bring it back tagging on to Handmade Monday with a look at my and others' crafting antics.

I could review the 3 weeks gone by in depth or just give the cliff notes.  It's been an eventful few weeks, we discovered that my son has aspergers and that my depression is more work related than I've given credit to.  To be honest I don't like to give much thought let alone credit to my 'day job'.  I think Lisa Esile summed it up when she wrote about her depression.  She's begun to see it as a call for change.  Don't get me wrong I know there is the whole chemical imbalance thing going on but if you can get yourself to a place of acceptance - no, acceptance isn't the word.  If you can make peace with yourself, give yourself a break and realise that some days will be harder than others to deal with.  And 'yes' there are some times it's best to give in to the dog, save the energy you would use for the fight and recharge your batteries.  If it seems like I just skimmed over the whole aspergers thing believe me it is way up there in playing the starring role over the last year and a half of our lives, but it is something that really opens a whole new avenue and not one that can be covered in a few lines.  I'm sure I will write lots about it as time goes by and as my knowledge and understanding improves.

On the old Feedlysphere I have quite a backlog of posts to read/skim through.  I would say my major find was Miki Strong's Unemployable Woman.  As much as I relate to Maya Angelou's Phenomenal Woman now and again I definitely resonate with Miki's Unemployable Woman. I am loving the whole Connection Collaboration and Contribution vibe echoed at Handmade Harbour and most recently at KnitnRun4Sanity  with the introduction of BloggingBuddies.  Sometimes I just want to smile out loud with how much I love the blogging community. (that's a tweetable)

And I am not blind to this serendipitous arrival as I have been spending time getting myself organised at linkedin and people per hour.

My crafting this week has been a little sparse to say the least as I've been doing so much organising.  I've arranged a display of my Unique Handcrafted Ribbon Jewellery as a reminder, to me, of what I can do.  I'll be adding my textured art soon.

In the meantime I'm off over to Handmade Harbour to see what all you other lovely creatives have been up to - and then a 'quick' cuppa as my Crafty Mag has just arrived.

Namaste

Catherine

xxx

Handmade Monday - I'm back on Etsy

This is a short and sweet piece to announce my return to Etsy.  It felt appropriate to make the announcement on a Handmade Monday.

I've changed things up a little.  I'm using the same logo and banner as here for my shop header and renaming it Catherine McAtier.  It's the label I was born with and is one thing that has definitely stayed with me throughout good times and bad.  So I thought I'd give myself some recognition.

Taking baby steps at first I've only added 12 pieces so far, some of them you may recognise already.  The plan is to get the content right and work the bejeesus out of the promoting - that is way up on my list for this week.

Using advice from the Etsy Site itself and knowledgeable sources like Craft Blog UK I'm feeling pretty chuffed with the whole thing.  The proof now, as they say, will be in the pudding.

I would be delighted to hear your comments on my shop - descriptions, pictures, pricing - all comments welcome.  Nothing like a little constructive criticism to start the week off. 

In keeping with the Handmade Monday ethos I'm dropping over to Handmade Harbour now to check out what you other lovely creatives have been up to.  You should check it out if you haven't already.  And anyone who knows me, knows I'm not really one for 'shoulds'.

Lots of Love

Namaste

Catherine

xxx

Monday is for Making

So, this week I’m organising things here at The MacsX, even looking at name changes.  And a some simple branding changes.

I’m restructuring, or should I say finalising the structure of my blog.  I’ve been examining why I set this blog up in the first place  - ultimately it was to decompartmentalise everything and to make a difference.

As of now, Monday is for Making.  I love checking out all the creatives over at Handmade Monday, and I love being creative and working on building my Portfolio and increasing the stock in my Etsy Shop.  Giving some focus to all this on a Monday can only add positives – structure – dedicated time – consistency.

I’m hoping you’ll be encouraged to stop by and see what’s going on.

This week I’m loving the latest Crafty, I feel like I truly know a whole lot of the contributors this month.  If I were to get published in one Craft focused magazine this would definitely be my first choice.  And I’m working on some more Unique Ribbon Jewellery, using this and next seasons key colours.

And so –

To work.

Happy Monday

Catherine

xxx

That was the Week that was - aka the Usual Sunday BS

It's been quite a week.  This was meant to be the week where we got a final diagnosis at the children's hospital and would finally get our lives in order - or so we thought.  Strangely enough I'm sitting here smiling (no alcohol inducement) I guess because I've finally learnt the art of 'letting go', of recognising what I have the power to change, realising what I've got  and saying 'thank you'.

Listening to Gavin De Graw and relaxing.

Reading 'Be A Free Range Human' by Marianne Cantwell and getting my 'free range' on

Crafting a great idea for my House of Pinheiro International Craft Swap - this WILL be completed this week.

Thank you so much Vanessa for your beautiful gifts and your unending patience
I'm loving your craft room over at Simple Fibre Life

Shopping - Is it sad I have been searching for these shoes forever? (used to have a pair just like them)

 

Marks & Spencer Outlet bargain

My Etsy shop still remains closed - I have been watching the Glasgow Etsy Team from the sidelines and am aiming at attending the June meet and getting back to creativity.   I am working in the background and through the teachings of Marianne (above) I'm looking at relaunching bigger and better.

I am planning on bringing everything together here at When At The MacsX in the not too distant future - dates have been pencilled in my planner.  I am working on being a Free Range Human or should I say freeing my Free Range Human and documenting my journey - I feel some fibre being added to the framework here.

And going full circle I am looking forward to putting my dreams out there and 'Letting Be'.

by Catherine at WhenatheMacsX

Thank you to everyone who’s helped me through this week

(you know who you are

– and if you don’t believe you helped, you did).

Here’s to a Great Week

It starts with a holiday- who could ask for more.

Catherine

xxx

The Last of the Usual Sunday BS - Putting a Pin in It

Things have been simmering under for quite some time now and I think it's finally time to let go.

I’ve been working on some new designs combining my love of textures and embroidery and my love of words; spoken, written and unsaid.   The piece illustrated blow being one of my current works in progress.  I'm hoping to add this piece to my Etsy shop this week as it really sums up where I'm at right now.

 

 I make no secret of the fact that I have been fighting an ongoing battle with depression.  I've finally conceded to writing in my journal, letting the truth out.  And today's journey has been quite enlightening.  I guess it was inspired by this pin I found earlier in the week and my updating The MacsX in all areas, this week will bring the changes.

Can Be Found Here

So today’s journaling brought me to this revelation.  The first time I fell, I crumbled, I climbed under that duvet cover and did not want to come out - until I switched on my TV and flicked from channel to channel watching a plane crash into the twin towers.  Yeah, I climbed back up out of my first recognised fug on 9/11 or as we say here in the UK 11/9/2001.  It's been going on a while.  The second time was a couple of years later and spurred on by something that happened on this very day 03/03, 03/03/03 to be precise.  I'd been using up all my reserves to fight a battle against an organisation that seemed to have no core values, or if it did they were way out of zinc with mine.  I took some time out and returned to continue the fight.  And the third fall, well that's usually time for a submission and in a way I guess I did because I packed up and walked away.  So, in a pretty fragile state, I decided to step back, jump off the corporate ladder and engage in 'less responsibility'.  When I fell for the fourth time I got some help and learnt how to cope with things, putting some coping mechanisms in place - the word 'STOP' springs to mind.  At this point in the tale I would encourage vigilance, because coping mechanisms are just that, they are not about change, they are about acceptance and we must be careful of what it is we accept.  So when I fell for the fifth time I took some time out, enlisted some truly professional and never forgotten help, and not only rebuilt my reserves but recognised my values and although not fully recovered went back to carry on.  So equipped with  some valuable insights I was a little more prepared when I was knocked down for the sixth time - so much so that I fought the injustice of it all and won a battle but not the war.  So licking my wounds, confidence levels around zero I took the 'self preservation' path and went on to loose track of the 'big picture' and somehow manged to ignore all of the white noise.  When the sucker punch for fall number seven came along I didn't really see it coming but I believe that the work I've done until now has stood me in good stead.  It took me a while to realise, I find it really difficult to sit still and quiet in an environment that on the surface appears to support my core values but on the underbelly not only  goes against but blatantly disregards them.  I have been put in the position to do something about this on a number of occasions but like the man who turned away the lifeboats and helicopters waiting on God to make it right, I've missed the whispers and depleted my reserves. But unlike him I've been doing the work to keep me in shape - mentally if not physically.  I've not made that uncalled for rebellion against supportive medication and recognise my strengths, have rebuilt my confidence and am ready now to take on the war. If some of this seems cryptic or is awakening the buzzers in your brain bare with me because all will be revealed.

My experience with depression, stress and anxiety, my life and career experience with employment law and the many influential and open contacts I have been blessed to meet have made me ready to address the lack of knowledge and ignorance to conditions that exists.  In the words of Lee Iacocca "In times of great stress and adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plough your anger and your energy into something positive."  And I am truly ready to plough.



Today’s post is a bit of a long one and really doesn’t resemble the Usual Sunday BS much. At last I can see the shape of things to come.  And I can see what I've been working toward and am ready to unveil The MacsX   in all its authenticity.

Look out for Spring changes.

Catherine

xxx