Get yo Crafty Goggles on....

        Ok , these aren't really  "crafty goggles"  this is just my dog Tofu wearing an awesome Halloween party favor.

         What I mean when I say craft goggles, is simply just to look around you on a daily basis and try to see things in a different light. I'm pretty sure that artists and crafty folks of all kinds learn to do this quickly. I think that the ability to look at something or anything and imagine what it  "could be" instead of seeing only what it is, plays a huge role in the creative process, problem solving and the obstacles we overcome everyday.Not only creatively , but I think this applies to our normal everyday lives. Perception IS everything and if you can learn to change the way you view a certain thing,whether it be an object or situation. Then you have the  POWA !!! who do ? you do !  and Tofu and I loves you for it.

One thing I've learned is to never underestimate the potential awesomeness of anything. Keep your eyes peeled, I find cool stuff I can use for art/crafts/scrap booking all the time.Some of the things I like to look for and keep around :

Leaves, Old Dolls , Magazines, Acorns, Feathers, Cigar Boxes, Old books, Twigs,  Dead Butterflies/katydids, Yarn, Charms, Gemstones, Cool lookin pieces of metal, Coins, Ribbons, Wood scraps,
Flowers, Scrap paper ,Old jewelry ,Puzzle pieces,Sea Shells, Beads, Fabric ,Scrabble pieces ,Old picture frames ,Felt ,Vintage Fabric, Sheet music,Stamps rubber/postal, Stickers,Shadow boxes, Bottle caps,      Lace, Buttons,Post cards ,Cookie Fortunes,Old socks(to make sock creatures) ,Newspaper, Small Tins ,Old letters,Wire,Small Boxes, Pictures ,Moss. Basically anything that catches YOUR eye.

Now if you  start collecting all this crap,you better get ya some Rubbermaid or else your house or crafty area will turn in to that of hoarder. ( Kinda like mine does from time to time)

I like to use organic stuff  In crafts a lot. I love nature so yeah,  It's nice. Some of it holds up better than other things .Like flowers for instance, some of them dry wonderfully,some of them are sucky and just shrivel down to practically nothing.Most of the time I don't even know what I'm gonna use something for when I pick it up. I just know that I like it and I want it.

We went mushroom hunting the other day and I found a piece of a birds nest, some lichen moss and and awesome feather. Neat !I love birds and finding a feather is a special treasure! I am also in love with moss.It stays pretty and green for a long time after it dries.Good for making fairy houses and fairy jars!

Another nifty natural crafty material I've got my eye on lately is Artist's Conk. My hubby being a mushroom hunter, I've learned all kinds of cool stuff about fungus .How awesome is this stuff! http://mushroom-collecting.com/mushroomartist.html