Not Just a Mom: My Hobbies

This month our Not Just a Mom group is looking at our hobbies!  I have LOTS of them so buckle up; it's going to be quite a list.  If you are a frequent/older reader of my blog you may recognize part of this post taken from one I wrote in May of 2019 (My Not So Secret Talents). I've added to it though so it's not just copied and pasted.

Creative hobbies:

I'm crafty and artistic and have dabbled in most every form of art throughout my life

I began taking art lessons at a very young age, around age 5 or 6,  with my grandmother and older sister and became quite comfortable with paint and canvas; even keeping up my painting well into college.  I toyed with the idea of becoming a children's art teacher but was talked out of it by a few guidance counselors and teachers.  I have several of my works framed and shown throughout the house.

We recently cleaned out our garage and I found a tote with some of my old art works in it:

I'm pretty sure I painted this in middle school because the wooden frame around it was definitely someone's (but probably not mine!) woodworking shop project in 7th or 8th grade. 

When we built our house I turned those skills into painting little touches all around the house including personalized murals for all the boys' nurseries and rooms.

For Ian's room I hand painted cat tails and stamped frogs, butterflies, and dragonflies all around.

Evan's room had a barn and farm animal theme.

Alec had a jungle mural on one wall that he kept well until his 8th or 9th birthday!

I don't just paint though as I also like to draw, sketch, use chalk pastels, watercolors, etc. and have dabbled in everything from silk screening to etching to metal stamping. I've painted on nearly every surface you can too-- canvas, wood, fabric, slate, glass, etc. 

Watercolor mountains in the mist

I also taught myself to re- purpose and re-decorate things we find.  I took these two old ratty chairs and turned them into something quite functional that we've reupholstered a few times.

I had quite an interest in fashion in high school and since my mom was a talented seamstress we worked together to make my prom and semi-formal dresses.  I still have a sewing machine and other than a few alterations rarely use it anymore.  But there is something so satisfying about taking a flat piece of cloth and making something out of it! 

My junior prom dress was a strapless drop waist dress; the front stopped at the knees and the back went to my 

ankles so I played that up with a white lining.  We had a white bow in the back with tails that were long enough to reach the end of the dress.

My senior semi-formal dress was green velvet with pearl trim and we

 found matching ribbon to make a criss-cross backing.

My senior prom dress was designed off a knee length dress pattern we had.  We lengthened it,

made it out of deep blue satin and used rhinestone strapping for that added touch.

I do make other cloth gifts and crafts though; I enjoy making fleece pillows, blankets, and scarves.  I used a tank top to make a cute little hand bag.. things like that.

Around the time I was moving out on my own a friend had been invited to a Stampin' Up party and dragged me along.  One class and I was hooked on paper crafting.  I began making all my own cards and it naturally segued into scrapbooking.  I even became a Stampin' Up demonstrator for quite a few years.

Some of my favorite scrapbooking pages are from our many Disney trip and even our Sesame Place trips from when the boys were so little.

I enjoy working with glass and beads too and have dabbled in glass etching, making my own jewelry, glass fusion, and stained glass projects too. 

Glass etching

glass fusion

Some beaded bracelets I've made (and I usually make matching earrings too)

I always loved helping out in the kitchen and took over cooking dinner for our family at a pretty young age. 

 I was well prepared with lots of recipes by the time we got married.  I loved experimenting with new foods and recipes but had always shied away from baking.  Then I inherited a cake decorating set and took off making some truly fun cakes when the boys were little!  Then when Alec started showing interest in baking and making everything from scratch we learned a lot of new techniques and things together. 

I often make fun foods/themed foods for the family or parties too.  We've had snowman, candy cane and even a BB8 pizza, we've made watermelon and fruit salad baskets and monsters, etc. I loved making themed food and snacks to go along with each kids' birthday party when they were growing up.

I put most of my hobbies on hold when the boys were little as all my time was consumed and it's only been in the last few years that I've started getting back into doing crafty things.  I enjoy making wreaths of all kinds for our front door and have been working with my Cricut to embellish clothing, drinking glasses, wall hangings, and just about every other surface I can think of.

Vinyl on wood blocks

Iron on vinyl on fabric

On plastic, metal, and glass

I often make some little handmade gifts for the family for Christmas-- we don't technically exchange gifts between the adults but since I can make some things so economically I try to have just a little something for everyone.

The only thing I had to purchase for this gift was the 3-d frame; I had all the other supplies on hand!

I've always wanted to be a writer and while the blog satisfies that yearning I was thrilled to find old short stories, poems, and other writing samples in that same tote in the garage.

I've been pushing myself to get back into painting and even broke out my watercolor and calligraphy pens this summer.  I feel so rusty at what I'm doing but enjoying the process just the same. 

I've gotten into photography; especially nature photography just in the past few years and the more I practice with the camera the more comfortable I feel with it. 

Mental/Spiritual hobbies:

I can't not mention reading as that is a HUGE hobby of mine; I often read around 10-12  books a month. 

Puzzle making

Word searches/ brain games of all kinds

Physical hobbies:

I also consider hiking/ walking to be something of a hobby.  I try to get out and walk or hike in nature each day. 

Yoga/ Pilates

Roller skating-- though I only enjoy this in indoor rinks and don't get to go as often as I'd like now that my kids are passed that.  We used to roller skate one Friday each month with our homeschool group and I was one of the only moms that not only brought my own skates but skated the whole time!

I'm sure there are others because, like I said, I love to try new crafts and things and am always looking to learn new skills as well.  But this post is long enough and I need to get going.  

I hope you'll join us next month when we look at some of our favorite money saving tips.

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