Happy New Year!

Just some pictures of what I have been working on. Resolution books. One for me and one for Sister. I will do tots tonight. I have been busy, but also very tired and heading off to bed at the time I was trying to carve out to blog.

Anyway, enjoy the pics.

Monkey Marks

Thanks to my latest Paper Crafts Magazine, I found a really cute project. They are monkey cupcake toppers, set on some sort of little stick.
So I made one for Sister, because she loves monkeys and in middle school new things can be very cool. But Tot didn't want a monkey, so while I was sitting at work I started brainstorming and sketching different animals I could make.

So I made a Panda bookmark. Tot loves it and I think she is taking it to school today.
Blessings
K

Enough Said

Here's to you!

This post is for my friend, and she knows who she is. She came over and told me how interesting my house was for pictures. So here you go! I went through the next morning and took a couple of pics.

So here's to you!

Peace

K

Lil Monster

I made this little guy over the weekend. I think I am in Love. If you would like one of these is a different color, leave me a comment and we can work something out.



I apologize for the terrible pic. I could not get a decent one thanks to some horrid light in my house.
K

Art as healing

When I started this blog, I was personally going through some things. As the year has progressed I have learned a great deal about myself. I found that I could use art and specifically the process of working to let go of alot of the stuff that I was dealing with.

I also discovered many new things about myself and my personal goals. It seems to me that we have lost so much community connection that not only is society fragmented but our own homes are as well. Few things that we seem to be doing connect us as groups. I would love to see that change. And I am pretty sure I know a good starting place.

When I was young, my mom belonged to an art center. It was in the old library of the town I grew up in. We spent alot of time there, I woudl take dance lessons, mom would be in plays. We attended openings and shows on a very regular basis. THe key here, to me, is that we were a part of a community that came together on a regular basis. I know that when my mom was very ill, I stayed at the home of the director of the art center.

My long term goal is to create that same sort of community. A meeting place where members, participants, drops ins, what have you can come and create and share the art that they are using to heal.

i am sharing pictures today of my Angry Book. I made it during a time of struggle. I was very angry about the way I was allowing people to treat me. And felt silenced by these people. I had tried to express my feelings to them and to those that would convey my message. But each time, my message was ignored in some way. It is a very complicated story whose outcome was personal growth for me. I used the Angry Book to put the rage in and then I tried to leave it there. Didn't always work but it was better then nothing. The book itself was a big break from my standard work. It could be ugly. It needed to be ugly. And for me that was a big break from my definitions of what I do.

I am also throughing in some pictures of this weeks project. Christmas tags!!! I am making a ton of them. It is nice quiet work that really feels like I am getting something done.

Have a wonderful Week

K

November already,Time for Christmas

Since it is November, I need to start thinking about Christmas. Which means I am thinking in terms of how to make it awesome for the people I give the gifts to. Last year I thought it would be really cool to make handmade tags for each of the presents that I put under the tree. But I, of course ran out of time to do individual tags for each gift.

So I thought I should get a head start and now have five tags for Christmas.

There will be more to follow for sure. Up next will be the Christmas cards.

I also started a scrapbook page, the first in months and months. I am not sure where that will go. The desk is clean enough that I could totally take off working.
I am going to leave you with an old project. I have long had an attachment to old school address cards. Like the type you have with a roledax thing or something similar. I like the address cards because they have the cut out shapes for the holder and they seem more formal. I find them all the time at Goodwill. And I was looking for a way to use them. I decided to make little motivational cards out of them. They could be used as bookmarks or just little things to tack up at work. I love to make these because they take so little time and could be added to a card as an embellishment or to a page in the same way.

And with that I bid you good night.
K

October 20 something?????

Today I took Little Bit to see High School Musical 3 at the theater. It was a thankflully quiet showing. Very few children. But the show was cute and Little Bit was thrilled to see it. What team? WILDCATS!

I have done very liitle work on my projects this week. I got wrapped up in a novel, which is very unlike me. Additionally, I have been cleaning like a crazy woman. Organizing, tossing, turning... you name it. I rearranged my livingroom. I gutted my desk ( and then promptly covered it up again with future projects). I am going to do a giant free for all through craigslist in the very neat future and would like to make sure I am getting rid of as much of my stuff as I can now.

All that being said, I have gotten some writing done. What I realized is that I tend to write in the fall. Anyway, I am writing again. I went so far as to run away on Friday and write at a local coffe place. Pretensious I know. But I wrote about half of an article that I will be finishing this next week.

So there you go, A whole lot of words (K said words!) to tell you that I am not truly getting anything done.

K

Another wasted weekend

Before I get into what I want to talk about today, I would like to wish my friend Dave a very happy birthday. The above photo is the result of placing many, many candles on a cupcake. I made vegan cupcakes with vegan frosting and not a one of them came home. Anyway, Happy Birthday, Dave!

I have a tendancy to get very emotionally wrapped up in things that I don't need to. That has happened with my work. And because of that I realized that I was losing me. I think that being the gemini that I am I tend to waffle. I will go from very focused and knowing exactly what I want, and then the very next day I am lost.

I did lose my way just a bit. But I realized much more quickly this time how to get back on track. Months ago I found a book in the library that changed the way I see the world. The Artist's Way had put into words what I had been vaguely trying to express. This book insists that you write three pages long hand every morning. That act will focus you. And you then vent all your anger and bile in the mornign. I had thought that writing morning pages would create a situation in which I then held on to all the anger that I put on the pages. But instead it seems that the pages trap the anger. And it no longer is a part of the focus of my day. I am able to move on.

I have found it hard to stick to all of the things in the book. But the exercises truly help me understand me from an artists point of view. Undersand what holds me back and what my inner deeper goals are. I understand more of why I am doing the self defeating things I am doing.


I did morning pages and I was able to work this afternoon. See below for the fruits of my efforts.

The card is for a little one that is yet to be born. Although I do believe he is late. So, little Erick, when you get here that card is for you!

Blessings and peace!

K

Oct 8th 2008

I wish I could think of a terribly clever title. But, frankly, I have been so busy that a part of brain might have died.

I have been working on collaborations with my husband and a friend. Our biggest project is the word project. I am finding it more challenging than I thought. I am not thinking outside the box as much as I had thought.

There has been a lot of emotion in the house lately. And I know that in my case, emotion can wind up taking a negative control of my creativity. Also, emotion seems to have a way of bringing into question all those things you suppress. SO I am finding myself wondering which path to take.

But I still try to create every day. And I did do a huge amount of prep work for the picture blog.
I keep plugging away.

K

Oct 1st 2008

That is the day the new project starts. The photo project. You can link to it from here. I haven't dedicated as much time as I should to A single Picture. I will be getting all my ducks in a row soon.

Anyway, I haven't had much time to do other things either. I really do need to work on my time management better.

For now please enjoy the picture of geese that I took at a wine tasting I went to last night. The winery was on a private lake. We go up there about once a year. But some how I always manage to forget how pretty it is up there.



K

Some catching up to do

First, at the beginning of last week I told you about my little nephew. That picture at the top of this entry, that is him. He is wonderful, completely darling. And while we don't have a complete diagnosis, I will just tell you that he is going to be fine. The diagnosis that his parents have now is much better then we thought. Baby Micah will grow big and strong and will have the faily tradition of pudgy little legs!

We spent the weekend in Washington state. We attended Matt's Grandfather's funeral. And while it was certainly a sad time, it was also a time of connecting and bringing together. Grandpa was ready to be with Grandma. And I know that they are happy together.

Matt's mom had been going through Grandpa's stuff for a while now. She had been setting aside things that she knew a specific family member would be interested in. She had a little box for me. It is a pretty box, but what on earth could be inside?


Grandma Lloydenes wax seal set. Complete with her signature pink, and a rose seal. I didn't have a chance to get to know Grandma. I think I only met her a couple of times. But I remember the pink.

I will be sharing more bits and pieces as time goes on.
Be Well
K

More bad news

In the time since my last post, we recieved news that Matt's grandfather had passed away. We will be attending the funeral and being with family over this coming weekend.

Thank you for the support.

blessings to all
K

Healing Thoughts

This blog entry is for my nephew. I do not know many details at all. But my little nephew, who is just months old is in the hospital with a mass on his eye. My families thoughts are with him and I am sending him healing thoughts. Please feel free to add him to your thoughts and prayers (if that is what you do).

Be well and whole soon little Micah!

Who would be interested

In a year long project I am thinking about? I am looking for two or three people, preferably from differnt parts of the world, but I won't be that picky.

Leave me a comment here if you are interested in getting more details.
K

OMG, I am posting

This is Sissy munchkin. I love the rainbow eyes. And this is why I have been so busy all summer!

I know, I know... it has been forever since I posted anything. But, in my defense, summer got crazy there in August. We had to finish up the Wizard of Oz, hubby took the kids camping, and then we had to get ready to go back to school.

School... with all it's new logistics. I have one in High School, one in Middle School, and one in Elemetary School. Thank goodness they all have an independent streak. They all walk to and from school (at least while the weather is nice).

And since school has started, I will have two days a week of me time. I just changed my work schedule so that I have almost all of Thursday and Friday off. What I hope this means is that I will have time to work in an uninterupted manner. Then I can have things to post.


With all of that said, check out the back to school card I made:

Frankly, I think it is darling.

Let's see, upcoming projects. Lots of stuff to scrap. I am helping a friend with Halloween costumes. This will be a great change for me, as they will be darker than my usual work. But I am so excited about working on them that I nearly ran out today (free time, no kids) and bought fabric to start her skirt. I may do that anyway. Already looking to Halloween cards, and Christmas cards. Had a super fun idea for those.

That is it for now. Much much more later.

K

I found a new hobby

Not really a hobby, but a new outlet for that crazy creative fire that I can't seem to quench. But the pictures above are of a new idea, that I stole from a magazine, Body & Mind, I think.

These are meant to be candy dishes. I went to Goodwill to reclaim dishes that the previous owners no longer wanted. I found little fiddlys to make the handle and there you go. I think they are darling. At the moment I am only charging $20 per dish. I will be placing them on Paypal, hopefully by the end of the weekend. But, and this is pretty standard policy for me, if you are a reader of this blog and would like to talk about me either making something specific for you, or purchasing something I have posted, please just leave me a comment with someway to get a hold of you and we can talk. I want to reach as many people as I can.

I believe in what I am doing with my work and I want it to be seen. I try to make the highest quality things that I can, and I try to keep the price down to very reasonable.

Blessings

K

Here are those photos

Here are the photos I promised.

Blessings

K

Check out the new header

I finally found a picture that I think captures my idea for this blog. These are some tags that I am working on for a different project. But I was having some really good luck taking some photos and thought I would take pics of what I have been working on. These and some of the ones below are what I have been busy with.
The last week has been mostly tag work. Making several smaller tags for a bigger project. I am looking for kitchen ephemera to make a big piece that will be an abc's for the kitchen. I am looking at using things that you would just through away anyway. I like the idea of making art with recycled materials. But I am new to that idea so I will let the work go where it wants to go.

I will post some pics later tonight (technical difficulties and all of that)
Blessings
K

Random Headstones

The girls and I went exploring today. We finally found the Eugene Masonic Cemetary. This cemetary is on the Natiotional Registar of Historic Places. So, of course, I found it interesting.

And it was. This cemetary is in the hills and almost over grown. I fell in love with the walking paths and the peeks of the city through the trees. It was very beautiful.

So the first pic is of a headstone that has chinese. If you know what this says, Please let me know!!!

This next photo is of a head stone that was at the back of the cemtetary, almost lost. I felt as though I absolutly had to take that photo.

Because this is where the city founders, or at least a large number of them are buried, this became a history lesson for the girls. This is a photo of the founder of the city.

I also made two cards today. They will become part of a set.
Blessings

K