Homegrown Hospitality

Happy Halloween

This year we are just not in the spookish-mood...We do not even have a .....pumpkin! (but I have a photo from last year)

I did not even make anything..but I have a few photos from last year..and the years before

 

 
 
wow..I even made a layout last year...
 
and..gulp...I did not even throw our annual pumpkin carving party...(but I have a photo from last year)

 
just not in the spooky mood I guess...

I even forgot about cute lil' Charlie

 
Go on..you can sing it..

"Every party needs a pooper that's why........."

but I promise, I will be better for the coming holidays...and I wish you a happy and safe Halloween!

T.G.I.F.

Thank you God....

for Fridays...

for drivers that drive careful as they drop their little love bugs at school and obey the traffic control girl with the BRIGHT gold vest on (that would be me)

thank you GOD for kids that will wake up pleasant, happy and on time today because it is Friday and they are just plain ol' happy that the weekend is in sight..

thank you GOD for inspiring Martha Stewart to make glitter so fine that even if you do not spill it anywhere...it seems to be everywhere...and a husband that doesn't mind me telling him that he has a little on his face...

and Thank You God for Christmas, for your Son's birthday in 66 days...so that we can celebrate his birth, sings cozy seasonal songs in our car, can feel and spread the love and excitement of the holidays and make cute things from red, cream and green colored things with shiny baubles and lots of felt and buttons...

Thank You God for your gifts and your Love for all of us...

 

The Amazing Journey Thursday

When you are taking a shower, maybe driving (without the radio blasting or the phone ringing) or heck, folding laundry....and you get a "feeling" maybe, an idea that you NEED to do something for someone...It is GOD talking to you, duh..so, listen.. 

• Don't wonder "Did He really mean for me to do that"?..

ut um..yes.

• Do not rationalize about it..."Wait, was He really talking to me"?...

come on...it does not have to be a lightning bolt!

• Do not spend a bunch of time thinking and re-thinking about it and do not put it off..


that is the indication that there is a little RED figure with horns and a little flame sitting on your shoulder saying.."Nah, you don't have to do it right now!

 

just do it.

 

Word Filled Wednesday

Just when things are blurry, unfocused and (to put it bluntly)..unstable....GOD carries me right over the mud puddles and then sets me down to continue on my creative journey.

There have been some changes in my direction the past month or so, some you will notice and some you will not, and regardless of anything that happens...I remain grateful that I am a blessed girl to do what I love for a living and to be able to remind and share with you without hesitation. 

I have realized that even though sometimes, or maybe more than just sometimes, I do a little bit too much....I remain "semi"balanced because of my "center" (note: the cross around my neck, duh!) see self-portrait below.

 
I am so grateful for a GOD that knows me, a family that loves me and and amazing friends that surround me..even when they bring me flowers for something that they thought I was doing for them when actually, the flowers were just what I needed at that exact moment....though I am simply complicated, can NEVER pick where to go to lunch on Wednesdays, giggle during out loud prayers, "disappear" to go to bed during later night gatherings (like at 9pm!) and am often napping on the "house of couch" when they come into the gara-mah-hall..or...folding laundry....

or they always push, I mean, remind me...that my skills lie in doodling....thanks, D!

which brings me to the first "something new". 

I have developed wonderful friends through this blog.  Last week, during a jet-lagged, Nyquil induced coma...I was invited by my friend Lori to be part of a WONDERFUL site and I invite you to go over and take some time to enjoy..there is a little something doodlicious for you (I think I just invented a new word...)

GOD is good...just sayin.

THIS JUST IN....from a FB friend:

A quote from First for Women magazine. "According to British researchers, doodling and coloring instantly revs mental energy, concentration and focus by 29 percent. And all the study subjects did to get that brain boost was shade in shapes for 2 1/2 minutes. The repetitive precise motion stimulates the brain's alertness center."

Make An Investment

  

 

Baby Lock Amore

Here is the info on what I have...

Q: What do I have?

A: My machine is a Baby Lock Amore. You can read about it here: http://www.babylock.com/ftp/whitepapers/EmoreEllurePlusEllureSpec07.pdf and if you live local, here in So. California, email me and I will give you the info on a GREAT store.

 
Q: Is it easy?

A: I would say so, because after 303 day of NOT using it (SHAME ON ME) I turned it on and went to town....embroidery town, that is...and I only do the VERY BASIC stuff.  This little lovely has a TON of things it can do..it is like my own little three ring stitchin circus!

 
and if you ask me, what the world needs is...

 

Have I mentioned I love stitching and felt?

I do.

alot.

and ready to gasp?

CHECK THIS OUT....

this is my mother-in-law's thread-holder-thing-y in her sewing room...

 
Happy Monday!

p.s..look at the date...two months to go...ho ho ho!

Felt Raviolis 2010

There has been something on my mind now for the past few months...

Remember this:

 
The amazing surprise gift from my valentine, his parents and my parents....This photo was taken on Christmas day 2009...303 days ago. 

Besides playing and dreaming about playing with my machine, it has been sitting quietly & patiently in the ol' shead-teau..just waiting for a little attention...

until yesterday..

Scoot over Felt Raviolis of days gone by...the new girls are in town.

 
and just like the 100 paper roses I have made and do not know what I am going to do with...the same goes for these little lovelys but really, it does not matter because they make me very happy.

 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart"  Col. 3:23

p.s. look at the date today....change month "10" to an "11" and heck, a "12" time to start planning....just sayin!

fa lah lah.....

Classes, classes and then...

some more classes.

I have LOTS to tell you about and this post ended up being REALLY long, so before you read on, here is a quick look at what is coming up...

Saturday, November 12th, Grove'sin Pennsylvania.  Two classes..one day! Click on the link above and then on "Stephanie Ackerman" button for all of the creative details...

 

Join me at the "The Paper Vineyard" for the first annual "Homespun Holidays" December 3 & 4th at the Paper Vineyard in Chandler, AZ.  Click on the link above for all of the information..

 

 

and then this....

For the past few days I have been tweaking, typing and finishing up on instructions and technique sheets, editing photo after photo and scheduling classes for the 2011 year, which I hope to post soon..for now I want to tell you about this...

First, if you are a subscriber to my newsletter then you know that I sent you an opportunity to purchase the "Countdown to Christmas Twenty Ten" Kit and I am blessed that the demand was overwhelming!!!  THANK YOU for those who signed up and ordered.  I am excited and sad to say that they are SOLD OUT!

please note - if you have placed an order BEFORE this morning 10/23..you have a kit & will be getting a confirmation email from me today!!!

anyways...please do not panic...there is another option for those who want to create a journal...

You see, I happen to know from personal experience, that you might have soooo many supplies that if you never bought another piece of paper, you would still have too much..so with that in mind...I am offering YOU the "Countdown to Christmas Twenty Ten" Instruction & Technique Sheet.

It goes creative "blow by blow" on what I used and how I used it to create my "Countdown To Christmas" Twenty Ten Journal..down to the dimensions (in inches so for my International friends..you will have to convert!)

 
"Countdown to Christmas Twenty Ten"  Instruction & Technique Sheet $10.00

All PDF orders will be emailed the first week of November (or sooner!) and here are a few more details..

 

The paper "pages" for your journal will be approximately 6"x 9" in size and additional pages can be created by using various parts and pieces including felt, canvas, card stock, envelopes, etc.  & will ultimately be bound together with three book rings and chipboard covers...or a binding system of your liking..it is up to you because YOU get to use what you already have!

What you do with your "Countdown to Christmas" journal is all up to YOU but you will be invited to follow along with me day by day in December on a private "Homegrown Holidays Blog" (user name & password will come with your order!) 

The key to this project is to STOP 5, 10...even 30 minutes or so during the busy days of December so that you can  look around, record your thoughts, snap a picture...and journal about it".  You can also use your book as an art journal, maybe a "holiday" to do list, or even as a holiday card holder/display...whatever you want!

 

Trailer Park Martha

Please correct me if I am wrong but the title of today's post sounds like a GREAT Discovery Channel show...well, maybe a D.I.Y channel show or heck, let's dream big, shall we...an HGtv show (so if you work for one of those networks, please email me..let's make a show together!) Just sayin...

anyways...

I have had a few questions emailed to me in the past couple of weeks so I thought that I would answer them here, today..right now!

Today we are going to take a look at "HIMI"..

That stands for "How I Made It"

Men readers, okay, specifically..the OC Sheriff's Dept....Not HEMI...as in engine, Dodge, etc. 

I said HIMI.

FOCUS please!

Journals

First..I LOVE journals about as much as I LOVE to make them, usually..for no particular reason. The best thing for me (and let me suggest it to you) is that I create journals way before I need (or even know what I am going to put in them) so that when the time comes, it is ready for me to fill!

Here are a few different journals that I have put together "Trailer Park Martha" style (which by the way, simply means that I have created something with supplies that I already have) No new products were purchased or harmed for the benefit of this post.

Alright, this is a journal that I created using a SMALL three ring binder that I purached from my local Staples.  I filled it up completely with Teresa Collins "Travel Ledger" papers in SEVERAL different sizes (the more the better!) 

The great thing about "binders" is that you can add to them anwhere within your book at any time. 

  
Another Journal I have done, which is a "work in progress" is a journal that I take with me to events that I teach at is an "autograph & photo journal" for YOU to record things in.

This journal has lead a life of its own because it started in a three-ring KRAFT binder that I picked up from the "Grove's" booth at Inspired (hey, did you know that I am teaching at Grove's in just a few weeks?)

 
anyways,,,

I created a cover collage from all of my scraps of TC Travel Ledger and added on some metal letters from Making Memories (REALLY old product!) Once the cover was done, I did what I do alot...

I tore it apart.

"Why?" you ask...

"I don't know" I answer.

I do this ALOT, more than I will ever tell you.

Anyways, its current state is my second favorite format, a 7"x13" bound book.  I created these using the older "Teresa Collins Tabbed Chipboard Covers" and a Bind-it-all. The problem is, my book it is getting tooooo thick, which is a GOOD problem, but the wires only go up to a specific size, and then, welp, I am out of luck...so...we will see how the book evolves.

In the meantime, for your viewing pleasure, here is a look at another journal I made a LONG time ago for Making Memories..and now that I think about it, I never saw it posted anywhere so it may look brand new to you as it does to me (now that I look at the photos, I wish they would have sent it back to me..I kinda like it..pssst...if you work for MM and are reading this...or know someone that does, can you ask them if they still have it?? It was sent 2/09)

 



 
okay, enough journal inspiration for now...Why don't YOU go create "Trailer Park Martha" style today ! I betcha twenty bucks that you can! (okay, and never mind the twenty bucks..it is just a "term"!)

 
 

 

An Amazing Journey

I have missed a few of my Thursday posts because I was away actually on an Amazing Journey to the other side of the ol' globe....

 
Do you have one of "those places" that you retreat to when you feel like you just need to breathe...slow down...again, just breathe...where the air feels lighter, the smells smell better, the sounds sound soothing?

 
The day before I started my journey back to the US, I was treated to a lovely afternoon in a very special "soul place" with two lovely girls...it is one of those "out of the way" places, like a diamond in the rough...a place that not many know of but of those who do, love and cherish it.  I, the American girl, had the pleasure of being treated to an afternoon of shopping, tea & snacks and just plain ol' good girl time. 

The flowers were blooming, the chickens were pecking, the breeze was blowing and the aura of the day was amazing...opposite of what you might expect for "South Africa" where "we" Americans believe that wild animals roam the streets...

 
Everyone needs to MAKE a little time to TAKE a little time to find a little "Sanctum of Peace" whether it be in a quaint little town on the other side of the globe (where the children wear uniforms to their private schools...but no shoes?? yes..I have pictures!) Maybe find a pretty little shop in your local shopping center, take a walk through the garden center of the local nursury or even just read in the quiet of your own car waiting to pick up rowdy kids from school...(i do this daily!)

take time to be quiet...

to listen to the sounds...

to smell the smells...

to stop and just be. 

"Love yourself..accept yourself..forgive yourself and be good to yourself, because without YOU, the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things" Dr. Leonardo Buscagilia

Thank you again Audrey and Lara for a beautiful day full of memories to add to my Amazing Journey album...