ARTS & CRAFTS A JOURNEY ENHANCER.. I NEVER DID CHANGE

Except for size and intake I have remained the same .... from my biggest weight and to this date I LOVE LOVE LOVE making dolls .. I make soooooooooooooo many dolls that I lose count and I give them away to kids at the outreach center, to the sick, to the well, to family, friends and strangers alike... I have yet to sell one and do not plan on EVER doing so... I have made hundreds of dolls and their clothes that I have lost count. I am currently working on a batch of dolls for Xmas giveaway ... 

I LOVE MAKING DOLLS!!! I did this wayyyyyy BEFORE WLS and I do it now ... I use/used my awesome hobby during my weight loss journey... who has time to crave food when having fun??? and I give them away .. to friends and strangers alike... my mom RIP made all our dolls .. and I have yet to make a doll as awesome and perfect as the ones my mom made ... I have three of the dolls she made me on display...

I make dolls and I collect them too

I have even made dolls for friends in distress ... like these I made for someone on here......

I love making bassinets, layettes, decorating gift baskets and a couple years ago an OH friend shared how to make diaper cakes and I started making those too.... I have made 3 centerpieces so far ... and I have given them all away... to strangers and friends alike... the bassinets in my before picture are re-cycled by me and given away to the outreach program ... before and to this date I LOVE LOVE LOVE making these and giving them away... it is arts and crafts and FUN.... 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE TO SEW .... I made my plus sized wedding gown when I married my Al and I made my skinny gown when we re-affirmed our vows 18 months post WLS and at my lowest weight... We cried through the whole reaffirmation ceremony... I made all 12 bridesmaids dresses at my wedding too and Al baked our awesome tiered cake...

I made my dress the night before my ceremony...

BEFORE AND AFTER ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE to sew...

I love teaching Spanish and French our community outreach summer camp at church and I love outreach activities period... did it BEFORE and do it now... it is FUN... 

the best fun was painting wooden dolls with the children .... 

and I LOVE LOVE LOVE to paint and sketch... from murals, to portraits to even looking and painting from OH friends avies ... I paint...

Beautiful DS-er Kirmy pre-op on canvas painted by me ...

I LOVE TO PAINT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE ... AND I MISS MISS MISS MISS MY BROKEN WALL AT OUR FORMER HOUSE ... every season I painted a mural on it and shared it on here ... I MISS THAT WALL ...

So see... I NEVER CHANGED AFTER ALL ... except for my intake and size .. my heart is just as goofy as it always was .... and I am STILL on my quest to remake my Jade doll ... that awesome doll my son bought me and my dog chip broke .... in the interim I fired up my kiln and my oven and I made Dedes in poured porcelain ...

I love love love love taking pictures ... ALWAYS DID .... my life is mine and I am living it ... embracing Joy over Misery and making it HAPPEN to me... just like my friend Fini said....

I am crafty, not not artistic in the least, and admire those with artistic ability!

I am curious, who in gods name takes ALL the pictures??

Her handsome hubby, beautiful daughter, and BFF of course!!!  :)

well 'OF COURSE"!!!!

I think it is cool, sane, and normal that you always "knew" who you were and never let your weight stop you from doing what you loved!  I am in a similar boat. I never really saw myself as morbidly obese until I started to have the associated health problems in my late 30s (i.e. back issues, high chloestrol, PCOS & associated skin problems). I think if I had the problems earlier, I would have had surgery earlier. Instead I spent a decade messing around with WW, Jenny Craig, Phenteramine, Weigh DOwn workshop, atkins, and 500 other diets....

On the sewing, I am one panel and hem away from completed my "reclaimed" jeanskirt!  I feel like an eco-chick. 

I also have a velvet skirt on hold. I am at the stage where I pleat and put in the waistband. However, that cant be done until after i lose some weight after the surgery as I am hanging out a 24 US and the pattern is cut for 52 European (Burda style). So basically my hips and waist are too big!  :( 

I also found a New Look "Sew Easy" pattern for skirts and shirts. They start at a 22. I will try to head my weight loss off at a 20 though.

PS. I also collect dolls, swarovski crystal and caroseul horses!  I think it is sweet that you give them to youth!

OMG I can soooooo relate to your experiences ... I did Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig and there was another one I can't even remember ... and several times at that ... but it was not until my DD took a bad fall and I could not make it up the stairs to assist her that my PCPs words telling me that I was morbid obese rang home and I set the wheels in motion....

That 'reclaimed jeanskirt' sounds awesome .. rock that eco-chick ... I have to find the sweatshirt dress that I made out of my old 4x sweatshirt the first year out ... I have to peruse my digital album pics to find it... I also have a recycled jean skirt ... I made an awesome maxi and the good part about it is that a recycled jean skirt can be re-done over and over .... in all the sizes on your way down...

What an awesome collection you have it must be an awesome display..... I crashed last night after posting...