Creativity...or what to do when you're out of work and have way too much time on your hands.

So, I graduated in May with my Master's in Library and Information Science. I moved home to California from Boston where I went to school, and I'm currently living with my mom and looking for a job. Someone told me that the latest survey showed that it's taking an average of 6 months for new MLIS graduates to get a full time job. It's only been about 3, and it's driving me nuts. I'm so impatient.

Since I can't be working at my chosen profession, I seem to be obsessed lately with creativity...with making stuff. I spend hours online reading craft blogs, looking for new ideas, and bookmarking patterns and tutorials. I'm really interested in refashioning old clothes into new clothes. I've found some very cool tutorials on making skirts out of things like old t-shirts or sheets and blouses out of old pillow cases or men's dress shirts. Some interesting finds recently are:

A-Line Skirt from 2 T-Shirts
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/46369/how-to-make-a-two-color-a-line-tee-skirt

Double Wrap Around Skirt from a Vintage Sheet
http://www.leethal.net/zine/?p=103


I really like this woman's blog. It's called do stuff! leethal blog. http://www.leethal.net/zine/?p=103

I also found some really great household/decorative project tutorials that look like lots of fun. The first is for Photo Lanterns. These are so cool. You print photos out on vellum, which is translucent, and them paste them over the glass in those little metal tea light lanterns.
http://decor8blog.com/2009/04/01/craft-tutorial-photo-lanterns/

The second is how to make a Fabric Bowl. This is also too cool, and a great gift idea.
http://blog.imaginefabric.com/2009/04/how-to-make-fabric-bowl.html

Finally, I found this awesome video tutorial for how to make a Japanese yukata, which is a type of lightweight summer robe worn to festivals, around the house, and at onsen (hot springs--from what I've read). There's aren't a lot of measurements or specifics, but the instructions are excellent, and this girl has created a visual tutorial with excellent spoken instructions.
http://www.videojug.com/webvideo/how-to-make-a-japanese-gi-or-yukata-for-cosplay

I want to try all of this stuff. I can't do much sewing at the moment. My mom's sewing room is a disaster. We piled a bunch of stuff in there when we had to empty the living room while the hardwood floors were going in and the walls were being painted. It's was cluttered before, but now it's impossible to do anything in there. In the meantime, I've been putting my 4 year-old Italy trip photos in my scrapbook, knitting, and making some jewelry. I took an intro beading class Thursday, and I made this great bracelet out of wood beads and abalone. I'll try to post a picture later.

Well, that's it for now.