mentallystrong

Creativity in the Face of Adversity on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

For all my US readers...well it's been a week, hasn't it? No matter what your political views, I'm sure
I'm not alone to say, this week has been A LOT. Raise your hand, if you've had enough politics to last you four years? Living in Pennsylvania, it's been kinda like being the most popular girl at the dance. THEN living in Erie County, just doubles that. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, the saying goes in the political world...the way Erie County goes is the way the country will go. We've picked the ...

added by Nina Marie 1 month, 1 week ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , rants

No You Don't Suck on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Okay, since I've had a big day that started at about 3:45 am...I'll make this short and sweet. You do not suck. You only think you suck, but trust me, you don't.

As in most things, the internet is a blessing and a curse. It brings us together as "makers". It helps us connect and finally we feel like we fit in. It's like we're with a tribe that understands why we take $300 in fabric, spend hours cutting it all up, only to take hours to sew it all back together. You ...

added by Nina Marie 2 months, 4 weeks ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri

Learning to Fail on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

So last week, I was talking to a friend of mine and she said, "Ohhhh I don't have a creative bone in my body." If I only I had a dime for every time I heard that. I do believe people are born with strengths and weaknesses and there is no reason that you need to be strong in everything. HOWEVER...I believe that everyone can enjoy the joy of "making" no matter what their talents. I mean think about it. How many kids don't like to color and draw? Hardly any. It's only when they hit ...

added by Nina Marie 9 months, 2 weeks ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , quotes

Build Your Own World on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

(The following post comes with a "My Opinion Only" Warning and you are more than welcome to disagree)

Look, I know artwork like everything else goes in and out of fashion. But lately, I've noticed a LOT of art quilt work that is more derived from rather than inspired by another artist. Now, I'm not talking about direct copying and using for profit as this article shows. More like I see art quilts that look more like they were done by the same artist when they haven't been.

You can see where this can easily and innocently ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 3 months ago. under likedislike , mentallystrong , off the wall fri , rants , steallikeanartist

Do You Need a Website? on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Paul's latest coffee Table

Shhhhhhh, can you keep a secret? My husband, Paul is turning 58 this week and I decided it was

The man, the myth

high time he got his own website. You see he became a full-time artesian woodworker when he retired a couple of years ago and he really needs an online presence. So with a lot of help from my daughter, Tessa, we put together a portfolio site. A portfolio website is a site that is primarily there to showcase you and what you create. Not only can it include a gallery of your ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 8 months ago. under family , mentallystrong , off the wall fri , social media

8 Not Sew Good Habits on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

All this back-to-basics sewing around here lately, has got me thinking about when I was a beginner quilter. I began quilting on a fluke, not because someone I loved taught me. So it was kinda doing whatever works at the moment kind of thing. Along that journey, bad habits were formed. So the first step to improvement is realizing there is a problem, right? Some of these are practical, some are mental, and some are just, "I should have known better". So if you recognize some of these, shhhhhh it's okay, your secret is safe with me!

8 Not ...

added by Nina Marie 1 year, 9 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri

7 Ways to Create in Happiness on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

This week I read an emotional social media post made by a friend of mine from high school. They are and always have been a truly unique, special individual. I knew that from the moment I met them when we both were 14 and I said, "Hey, you want a Pez?" The post spoke finally of their acceptance of the fact that they did their art for the love of it. Not for the money...not for the accolades...not for the "likes".

I read it and I thought FINALLY!

I knew from the start that their art wasn't ...

added by Nina Marie 2 years, 4 months ago. under likedislike , mentallystrong , off the wall fri

Musings on Mosaics on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

The moment when you realize you've let things get too complicated

So today I took the afternoon off to sew. It isn't a great time to take off since all of a sudden, the country has decided it's actually summer and they want to buy, buy, buy their summer clothes. It's been kinda crazy at work and with summer here, crazy on the social front. All of that adds up to no time to sew. So I did it. I took the afternoon off to finally finish up Tessa's Mosaic.

I've been three weeks ...

added by Nina Marie 2 years, 6 months ago. under art quilt , creative process , mentallystrong , off the wall fri , process , quotes

Rules for a Busy Quilter on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

With March comes not just the end of our grey days but ... National Quilting Month!! I always thought spring was a perfect time to renew ourselves into our favorite passion. I mean, really, it takes a special kind of person to cut up perfectly good material and then take hours and hours to sew it all back together right?!

Rules For a Busy Quilter

When you're "In the Zone" the sewing room is off-limits to everyone else. How many times has a family member or a phone call gotten you off track and it's impossible to get right ...

added by Nina Marie 2 years, 9 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , quotes , steallikeanartist

Connections on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

If anything Covid has taught me, is the need for connection. How many of us have taken our
social time for granted right up to the moment when it wasn't there. To be fair, since moving to "Working From Home" 5 years ago, I've been looking for a way to connect. Still there wasn't any kind of sense of urgency. Until...well, ya know....March, 2020. I don't think I really understood how much our year was going to change until the President closed the airports to Europe. Of course, the connections in our lives were ...

added by Nina Marie 3 years, 1 month ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , pinwheels , to-do list

Quilting and Motivation on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

You know I'm quite sure that most people don't realize how much time and effort goes into a quilt. That goes double for a quilt that is an original design. As I've gotten back into the swing of things, I've been thinking over what I want to do next. I have a few projects started that really do need finishing but it's been hard to get myself back in there.

One of the reasons is it literally looks like a hurricane went through from me pulling supplies to go to John C. Campbell's Folk ...

added by Nina Marie 3 years, 3 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , quotes , steallikeanartist

Maintaining Momentum on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

I remember the first time I realized that the amazing quilts I saw in quilt magazines and national shows were made by very human women and not some kind of artistic geniuses. Before that I thought they must have some special gift from God bestowed on them on some higher level to achieve such masterpieces. Well, they did, but it wasn't really what I originally thought. Don't get me wrong though.

These women are all talented artists but their real "magic" lies in the fact that they have discipline, patience and perseverance. Behind every great piece are hours ...

added by Nina Marie 3 years, 8 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , steallikeanartist

Feeding the Inner Artist on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

One thing I've noticed in this year of Corona, is that being in one place is not good for my inner artist. Over the years, I've developed habits that will feed my creative soul and keep it ref

reshed. Needless to say, being held up in small town America might be good for keeping one self safe from a global pandemic but it's creating a drought in my soul. Don't get me wrong. I've enjoyed spending the summer with less social obligations and more time to finish some projects that have fallen by the wayside ...

added by Nina Marie 4 years, 4 months ago. under inspiration , mentallystrong , off the wall fri

Finding a little Creativity on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

Well I'm sorry to report that I got no sewing done this week....zero...zip...nada!! Nope NONE!!

The Covid-19 hit our offices hard and its been all hands on deck. Working from home, it's easy enough to pick up hours and help out. One of my teammates said she felt like we weren't doing anything to help when there are people on the front lines literally risking their lives for others.

But that's really not how I look at it. All of us are doing our part. For me, every lady I help, every order ...

added by Nina Marie 4 years, 8 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , quotes , steallikeanartist

Finding a Little Discipline on Off the Wall Friday from Creations - Quilts, Art, Whatever by Nina-Marie Sayre

I was thinking this week how blessed I was to have my job. It's like a rock that I can cling onto as the river of this virus rushes by. Then that it got me thinking, what I liked about being a sales rep. Its definitely not the pay or the prestige, because it turns out that helping senior ladies catalog shop all day has neither of those qualities. Its the fact that #1....everyday you know what to expect with out it being too boring and #2 ... I've developed the skills to make me good at it ...

added by Nina Marie 4 years, 8 months ago. under mentallystrong , off the wall fri , quotes , steallikeanartist

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