Artists...might be strange after-all

You know you are an artist when...you go out and you are always stopping to notice the things around you.

I hate taking a dog out for a walk. Any type dog, on any length of a walk. I like the outdoors, I don't mind a stroll around the block. I HATE a constant stop and go motion of walking a dog though. If a dog likes to take one step, then stops, then takes another step, stop, sniff, take another step, stop, sniff, look around, go, stop etc. I go crazy! Get the picture?

However, if someone does not know me and watches me walk with my family...anywhere...I act like that same dog that I hate. I am the one that has to always take a small step, look around, take a photo, go in closer for another look, stop to feel, appreciate the composition of an object and tag way behind. No one likes to wait for me. Everyone is embarrassed to see me take a photo of something that is seemingly so ordinary. My family is sort of used to me after all of these years. What I might find interesting will never hold the same interest to them. So, they chalk it up to the "Artist" in me and leave it at that. Even if I explain why something has caught my eye, the experience is in the eye of the beholder.

Artists have a different mind-set. And I think that instead of explaining that fact, I will just continue to be me and have others continue to wonder what it is that makes me think that things like taking photos in the car while going through the car wash is so darn visually interesting because of the patterns the water and soap combine to make on the windows!

Giving A Hand-Made Gift

Club Creative Studio offers solutions to a person who is looking to give a gift that has hand-made and unique qualities.

It is a tradition for some to recognize a certain time of the year for a majority of their gift-giving ventures to occur. But, I am writing to tell you something that you may or may not know...gift-giving has more than a season. Everyday in itself is a reason to give someone a gift. The gift can be given to yourself as well as other important persons in your life. We generally give gifts to people who have value to us.

When I sit down to design beads or jewelry, I really like to plan and I think of what someone may like. I plan the colors and the designs with the general public in mind. I may also have a specific custom request desires in mind or I may have a general look in mind that I create to appeal to an established fan or someone not familiar with our work yet.

The main reason of TRADITION is what we may be most familiar with in terms of why we buy something for someone.

It may be your tradition to give a gift for other reasons or to give a gift for no apparent reason. Both great habits to have.

Gift giving and giving something that is hand-made in particular provides an opportunity for one to creatively affirm personal bonds to their special friends or to people who appreciate the value of owning something unique. For me as an artist, it is a way of sharing my skills with others. I love to give gifts of my designs and I love when others do so as well. When you give a hand-made gift, you indicate that you are willing to put in the time and efforts for that person. If you give art as a gift that was created by an artist, you share support of that artist that created the unique item for your gift-giving occasion.

You may have been on the receiving end of being a customer who has been gifted a token of appreciation. Maybe you have received a promotional gift from a business in appreciation of your support. Companies share with employees for valuable contributions at the workplace. It is a great reason to share in the gift-giving spirit, especially if not expected.

Gifts also mark milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, special calender holidays, religiously recognized days, and other such occasions like special events including graduations, retirements, promotions, etc. Gifts are given for accomplishments. Winning the spelling bee, breaking a personal best record or reaching a long fought after goal. A gift is a great way to reward behavior. An additional opportunity for gift-giving is to give a gift as A CAUSE. We may be fortunate to have all we need and a comfortable life but, what about those who are not as fortunate? We can use the gift- giving occasion to bring ease to someone in a difficult situation.

Continue to have the gift-giving spirit. Your actions do not need to be extravagant or costly. Online shopping makes this option very convenient now-a-days because the payment options are easy, and the delivery can be done quickly for you. Club Creative Studio also considers the importance of their product presentation. We supply the added special touch by including a hand made, one-of-a-kind, protective fabric pouch for the safe-keeping of your purchased art. The gift bags that hold your treasured hand-made beaded item is also color coordinated for your completed visual gift.

The photo attached to this article is an illustration of a recent gift I made for a friend moving away from my neighborhood. The sea glass used was a valuable item I used to in turn make her a beautiful gift by which she may recall her times spent living by the east coast. Farewell and following seas to my friend and her family Keep in touch!

I Make it, You Love It, You Wear It

This is a great example of a necklace made from Club Creative Studio that would look gorgeous with a lacy, white top for instance. Because it is dotted with a splash of colorful beads and sparkle sequins, it gives punch to a simple over-all look.

Wearing "theme jewelry" (as pictured below) gives one a festive and purposeful feeling to their fashion statement. Here, there is no question in your mind that the person wearing this appreciates ocean critters and they want you to know that!


To accent a top like a flowing tunic, there is a matching style that seems to compliment very well; anything with length.
When you look at jewelry, you get an instant reaction. Most of the time you decide right away if something fits your taste or does not. When I created this piece, I should have noted my personal mood. To me, this is reflective of a playful style and feel. It would look great wearing something casual, funky and fun with a go-with -the-flow evoked feeling.
A big-bead necklace may add an extra dose of color to a patterned wrap top. The accent color often blends with a pattern even it it is a "busy look" in your mind. The chunk-style necklace is always fun to wear because it shows a bit of boldness.



There are many opinions in the fashion world. We all draw upon what the experts suggest on the run-way and from what we end up seeing in the department stores we frequent. The fact remains that we buy what we LOVE. Generally speaking, we LOVE what is comfortable and eye-pleasing. Use the few ideas I mentioned with each of our photo examples. You will allow yourself to test if a certain style works for you, and agrees with your own personal taste in wearing or sharing our jewelry.




Thank you for wearing and sharing our Art That Sets You Apart!

Store It... Don't Stuff It

It is really easy for those who frequent craft stores to get home after their purchase and be nothing but discouraged. It is not that they are unhappy with the treasures they have purchased, it is in the realization that they do not have the same great display shelves or storage capacity a store has. Wouldn't we love aisles, bins, baskets, shelves, rotating displays, hooks, etc. in our home craft areas? The problem for many is that we "stuff" our stuff, and don't "store" what we got from the store. To be productive, you need your supplies readily available.

IT TAKES TIME TO MAKE TIME:
Taking initial time to be organized in your work space will save you time for your creations later. If you are organized at the start of a project, you will have quick access to your items. You will then not waste time trying to remember where certain items are. Color codes, or file and label systems can work for just about any type of craft you need to manage. Once, instead of labeling many mini drawers with individual stickers, I thought that I would just memorize where items were. That was possible for me to do but, when I was tired, the memory wasn't as sharp. I ended up wasting more time trying to recall because it was not a consistent quick process.

BE CAREFUL TO CARE:
If you take time to be organized in your workspace, your items will have a greater chance of staying in a new or working condition longer. Take time to care for items by storing them in a proper manner. Correct storage and containers allow you to potentially avoid situations dealing with broken, torn, dulling, drying, fading, misplaced, or hazardous materials. It is a safe practice to safeguard your investment in your supplies.

RECYCLED REMEDIES:
It is a fact that if you have a passion for a particular creative outlet...you want supplies, need supplies, have supplies, collect supplies, hoard supplies and store supplies. Once we buy supplies, we are not really in the mood to spend additional funds on storage containers. We would much rather spend that money saved on more supplies! I have invested in a few inexpensive methods for my bead storage system. Some of my storage containers are also recycled and that saves on the environment as well. I have taken a few photos to share some of my easy solutions. Maybe it will work for you as well to adopt or adapt the same methods for your storage challenges.

MY METHODS-MY MADNESS:
1. After the spice rack was empty, I converted it into a revolving caddy for the items that I use on a regular basis an need close at hand. The clear containers allow me to see exactly what I need. The revolution of the stand allows me to grab a container quickly. The label is also on the top so I can read what is on the outer side of the caddy with ease.

2. Speaking of spices...I often use whole cloves in my wreath crafts and in home-made potpourri, so when I buy that supply and use it up, I wash the container it came in and take the label off. The one ounce container is great for small items with a low count. The BEST part of it is when I open the lids, I can usually still get a slight scent of cloves! I label the top to identify.

3. The initial idea with the small round favor tins was to hot glue the magnetic strips on the back of that container and then secure the see-through lid on and place it upon a metal sheet directly on my wall. The only problem with that idea was that my items were generally heavier than what the container could hold and it slipped down or fell often. Plan "B" is what I still use today instead. The same bead-filled magnetic bottom tins grasp onto an old cookie sheet. Each sheet holds 40 containers and they stack.

4. Many times I use zip-lock baggies. The snack size are great to grab onto if the content amount is small or if you want to group something by colors quickly. Large quart sized baggies are great for protecting larger items and the larger sizes can even protect papers from liquids.

5. The image that you see with the strung beads is a pipe cleaner with beads on a small section, the ends curled inward. This is my way of organizing my groups of hand-rolled clay beads. I can grab any strand quickly, compare it next to a different bead, remove and replace it easily and best of all see at a glance how many I have to work with. This is important for me since my beads are in limited quantities and I have to plan for the amount I can use.

Maybe you or someone you know uses or stores beads or other small objects. Share this site with them for the tips. I challenge you to adopt, adapt, or announce your storage solutions in a comment to this post. Happy housekeeping!

"What's New" News

Happily, I announce that there will be a new section associated with the Club Creative Studio website. A "What's New" page will allow me to post a few highlighted photos and write about them in a special feature format. This will be a quick and easy way for you to learn more about a specific item, or a special event that is coming up, it may even include photos or quotes of revolving model customers wearing our art!

I am excited for this page to be added because I would like to be able to share more background information with you about inspiration, creativity or the steps that lead me to creating something new. While my designer Raundi, from Epic Web Design works her magic, the site may be temporarily shut down but, rest assured that the time will be brief and the improvements will be warranted.

Another improvement to your shopping experience will be the addition of a few more photo close-up options of each piece offered in the online shop. Currently two photos are provided along with a detailed description of each art piece available. The ability to supply you with an option of viewing a total of up to four images of each item may further bring the piece to life.

With customer suggestions and your needs in mind, I hope to further develop products and presentation to your valued approvals. Thanks for your patience and I hope that you continue to visit the site and online store knowing that you have improved information available!

Special Delivery- Our New Product

Announcing: Club Creative Studio's new line item:



KEEPSAKE RIM TRIM Featuring: Club Creative Studio's, one-of-a-kind, hand-rolled clay beads.Enhance your floral arrangement and transform a common vase into a reusable keepsake. Colors of beads will vary. The beads will compliment flowers used in the initial designed arrangement.

This item is available exclusively as an "add on" item to a floral arrangement designed by Special Arrangements Floral & Gift Shop, Jacksonville, NC, by way of their teleflora services/website.

It is exciting to share this new item line with you! It is both a decorative and functional item for the home. It will compliment your floral arrangement and add an additional splash of color!

Thank you for your interest in Art That Sets You Apart!

FANTASTIC FAN!

AND THE WINNER IS...

Club Creative Studio has recognized a particular "fantastic fan" as being the 110th person to support the arts on our facebook page! More details to come as KAMEEKA has been officially notified by e-mail. I hope that she will share a photo with us in the future.

I appreciate all of those who have spread the word about our art and especially thank Kameeka for joining the crowd.