craftraven

I know why I've been experiencing big emotions over the last few weeks. I understand why they crop up at moments that seem too small for them to be an appropriate response. I know why they catch me off guard when I am unprepared. What I have been trying to tease out is why I haven’t processed or managed them more effectively yet.

The first month after losing my sister was black. Thankfully, it has become a blur overall with time, and I don’t remember it as specifically as I used to. I have the impression of the pain, but I can no longer recall the sensation in my body. I am grateful for this beyond measure. 

Life is full of people who talk at us, expecting us to be an open vessel for their monologues. They might ask how we are, but it seems as though they aren't listening to our response. It often feels like they're just waiting for us to finish so they can express what they wanted to share before they asked, rather than genuinely caring about our answer.

My Mom and I have visited around two dozen quilt shops this summer. It has been delightful meeting so many new, creative people. No two of whom look at a piece of fabric and think of using it for the same project. Immersing yourself in so many creative environments with diverse ideas, you cannot help but feel inspired.

I wanted to share an update to my Acrylic Paint Markers: Sharpie Creative v Posca post (if you haven't read it, you can do so here). I purchased Sharpie's new earth-tone set of their Creative markers. These are bullet-tipped, which allows me to comment further on the comparison of the two brands.

I have, what some might consider, a problem of too many markers. In contrast, I believe this is an issue of inadequate storage for an amount of markers.

Today, while cleaning up my office and craft space, I took a new approach to UFPs (Unfinished Projects). Nearly all artists and crafters have these art or craft ideas that sit unattended for months or years. Our nuggets of shame that we’ve left incomplete for…reasons. Perhaps we lost interest, maybe it wasn’t going the way we wanted it to, or life got busy, and we never went back to what we were working on. Often, in my case, I forgot I was even working on it.

June was a little bit different from the previous five months of this year. Having spent six months building craftraven, designing the website, working on blog posts, Pinterest pins, craft projects, shop items, and numerous small details, I realized I had accomplished my 2025 goal. I decided that my goal for June would be to determine how this business would operate on a day-to-day basis. 

It has been over twenty years since I last regularly worked in a sketchbook. When I have drawn or painted, I have sat down with a clear idea and reference photos to produce a finished piece. Color me curious when I picked up the itch this month. 

With craftraven up and running, I can pour more energy into creative pursuits.

As a woman in a world without standardized sizing, I think about fast fashion quite a lot. I have no interest in fashion other than wanting to be comfortable and have appropriately sized pockets. My wardrobe consists almost exclusively of t-shirts and jean pants. So why, with such low standards for my clothing, do I think about fast fashion so much?

Ten or fifteen years ago, I consciously decided to stop saving “the good stuff” for special occasions. We got rid of our Wal-Mart-bought plates and began using my great-grandmother's tableware, which I inherited. We started using the “guest towels” in our everyday lives. We sold our flatware and used great-grandma’s silver instead.

PSA #1. I am not a seamstress, and # 2. This is not a tutorial. I have just enough knowledge about sewing to get into mischief. For some reason, things always work out in the end. Perhaps it’s because I don’t mind the imperfections and am just pleased to have finished. Either way, it all started with a pair of thrifted jeans.

or as long as I can remember, I have tried to draw things the way I see them. I do this nearly always while looking at photographs, which are unchanging images. Photographs allow me to compare my work directly with them, a benchmark for accuracy. I have never looked at art and asked, "What am I trying to say? What does this mean?" For myself, it has solely been a technical ability to draw realistically.

My long-term goal for May was to polish some final pieces of the website, prepare it for the shop launch, and launch it. Goal accomplished! Thank you to all who visited and checked out the blog, especially those lovely individuals who made a purchase! You all warmed my heart <3

Sometimes, when I sit down at my computer in the morning, I feel like there is too much information and too many ideas, and I begin to feel frozen as to what to do next. Here is how I process, organize, and move past that sensation.

A very good friend of mine pointed out that I have been remiss in not sharing one of the highlights of my journey of seeking joy and spreading kindness over the last few years: Organizing a group litter pick up.

For years, I have been buying digital copies of books 1) to save space on our overly crowded bookshelves, 2) to save money in our never-overflowing bank account, and 3) to save the world. Then, in 2025, some digital book sellers decided to remove our limited “ownership” of the material. So what’s the alternative?

Today, craftraven launches its very own shop! You'll find a selection of things I've worked on while building craftraven. Several stickers were created from the Understanding Through Artwork project. You can find prints of paintings I have done. Two shirt designs were created from my digital tomfoolery, among other items.