Homegrown Hospitality

Work In Progress

Don't ever try to figure me out because it is impossible.  I, like you, am a work in progress and sometimes you just have to roll with the changes.

Just call me Simply Complicated,  I know.

So, first I was whining about Summer ending and now I am so happy to have Fall & Winter right at my doorstep..now if the 100 degree weather would subside that would be awesome!

Anyway...

Yesterday kicked off Soccer season so I made up a little "Center Console Stitching Kit" to carry around with me in the car and on the field and I got that ol' lovin feeling back...

So what is in my "center console stitching kit" you are wondering?  Right now it is die cuts of "Tattered Florals" in Muslin and cream embroidery floss..well and needles and scissors...and my glasses!!!

Oh, and speaking of the Tattered Florals die, a while back I adhered "Heat-n-Bond" to a ton of my felt scraps and adhered those onto a large piece of felt and created this 

and cut more flowers from it...

I know!

What am I going to make with these?

I do not exactly know, but I have a few ideas....

Happy Sunday!

Bigz Die - Tattered Florals

InLinkz.com

Hi, My Name is Stephanie Ackerman**edit 2011**

WARNING....this is a LONG POST..maybe my longest ever!

This is me:

 
This is NOT me

http://spellbinderspaperarts.com/blog/2011-spellbinders-design-team-finalists-round-one/

I am on the Prima Education Team, I design red rubber stamps for Purple Onion Designs and Dies &Embossing Folders for Sizzix and well, speaking of dies, here is an example for the my shapes you can cut from felt (yes, you can cut felt) 

 
no, they are not hacky sacks, but I am thinking that if you filled them with kitty litter or rice, they probably could be (dang cute ones, too!) No, they are pin cushions...

anyways...apparently there are TWO Stephanie Ackermans in this industry and plenty of room for more, but....I am me, and she is she (a little Dr. Seuss for you!)  I don't know her (but did get a little email from her once) and I am not sure about what exactly she does...but congrats to her on being a finalist for the Spellbinders team!

and well, just because I know you are dying to know...here is a little about me:

1. I started out Stephanie Knudtson at birth (no, not this big, this was me on the 3rd birthday!)

 
and a handful of my Facebook friends knew me as like this from the Class of 1987..whoot whoot!

Although I never had a "glamour shot" photo session, I really should have with those nails and I feel pretty confident that many of my readers had highly flammable "aqua net" hair and shoulder pads.

2. I was Stephanie Tafoya for 10 years

3. I had two stinky lovely boys (well, I mean I still have them!) and they are growing up way to fast!

4. I love my home and rather be there than anywhere...except for Maui

 
at Lara's in South Africa 

 
or on the streets of Huntingdon PA.

 
5. We have a dog, "had"a rabbit, and have had the same carnival 10 cent fish for a LONG time because he swims in bottled water....apparently he is the Real Orange County Gold Fish.

5. I was once I mean, TWICE President of the US, I mean PTA, drove a mini van (which I LOVED and still would drive one today)

6. I ran a marathon , went to church, volunteered at the school, worked at the school..spent alot of time at the school..while traveling through divorce

 
7. I have traveled to many a skate park and sat in beach chairs on the front curb with the GND (girl next door) for many an hour..Now the kids are sitting on the curbs with their friends and there is no room for the moms....and the girl next door moved away...

 
8. I have worked in an office, catered and served many a drink the several of the REAL OC housewives (and have never been a waitress!) went into the category of Self Employed, baked 100's and I mean HUNDREDS of cakes and cupcakes...painted 1000's of snowmen on ornaments

 

9. In 2006 I dove head first into the Paper Crafting world after several dreamy talks and a visit from a girl..my creative life took a turn and have made the most wonderful amazing friends...

  
 

   
 

 

fast-forward...

10. Re-connected with the first boy that I ever loved (when I was 15 and we worked at McDonalds)

  

11. Surrounded by my family and my best friends, became Stephanie Ackerman in 2007

  
 

12. just a few months after that, this was published...

  
followed by three more...

 
and I did this, that and the other..here and there..traveling, teaching, designing, gluing, cutting, coloring, doodling, blogging..learning...failing, crying...laughing....

13. I call myself "god's Crash test Dummy" because sometime I do things...well, once I took the guard off of a die cut machine and wound up rolling my finger right through it (yeas, I had to roll it back out so I could be taken to the urgent care!) and yes, of course I have a picture...you don't want to see it!

14. I take GIANT leaps of faith (because I like to stay at home) and have traveled the streets of Downtown Los Angeles to find creative treasures

 
and have traveled around the world to South Africa where I met up with my best Creative Soul Friend and found my home on the other side of the globe..and did it again two years later year....

 
15. I pray ALOT...and doodle about it

 16. I am blessed to have an amazing family 

 
17. some super cool friends that get my dorkyness and love me anyway

 
18. I have some amazing friendships that have bloomed from this wacky world of paper..and my own vuvuzuela

   
19. I belong to a REALLY amazing Church  and give all the credit to GOD for my wildly creative amazing life....

and am blessed and HONORED to be working on a new project for our Women's Ministry with a super team of women that I can not wait to share...coming in the fall of 2011...eeek!!!!

20. Our house...is in the middle of our street...and it is really super fun where we live....sometimes more like a campground.  We have said "Bon Voyage" to too many neighbors (if you ask me) but have welcomed in some amazing new neighbors...and I have a new girl next door that I look forward to sitting on the curb watching her kiddos someday...not quite yet....all the newbies are sooooo young...makes me feel...really...."mature"!

  
oh yeah..I LOVE to make things....alot!

whew...that's all I have for now, because I am bored and sure that you are too....

oh, did I mentioned that I LOVE Bon Jovi? 

 

Creative Recap & Roll Call

Today is all about a whole lotta this, that and the other.

I am heading up the 5 Freeway North to class tomorrow at Scrapbooking Made Simple in Valencia, CA! The Valentine is going to be my carpool partner and car unloader...lucky him!!! Here is the project we are crating using all of my Sizzix  dies....

 
and speaking of dies...

I am working on a brand new collection due out sometime in 2012...so until then we will continue to play with these

 
 
and speaking of new collections...

even though I had to set aside my paints to kit for class, I sent off a new set of ideas to my favorite place in the USA (besides Maui!) and we are working on dates now...oh, alright...a little hint...

 
and I have pretty much created a whole new font (seen in the photo above) that will be part of Doodle 201

and speaking of Doodle..

there is ALWAYS time to get down the basics of how I doodle with Doodle 101...it is a self paced, work when you want kinda class...all right there for you...click HERE for the details

and speaking of details..

Donna Downey gave me a great, quick little surprising shout out on her "random blathering" the other day and mentioned that the mini workshops for Inspired are now up...go there and check them out...oh, okay...here it is too...

 
 
I kinda LOVE these and I think that you will too...

and speaking of love...

I LOVE love.

 
and Maui!

Cultivating Change & Creativity

 
are you ready for a self intervention on you? This doodle was inspired by the lesson at church yesterday and it absolutely coordinates with what we are doing in the Brave Girls Soul Restoration class.  A "self-intervention" and it is good...tough in ways, but good..and needed.

I am going to suggest to you all that you save the change you find in the bottom of the washing machine and by April, when they release this class again, you use all of that change to take it the Soul Restoration!

 
In Creative news...I just finished working out all the details for the first two classes of 2011 that I will be teaching.  I will be at Scrapbooking Made Simple in Valencia, CA on Saturday, February 12th teaching TWO classes..

The first class is called "Love & Adore" and we will be using the Circa line from Cosmo Cricket.  Come create & play with just about EVERY one of my new Sizzix die's...as well as glitter...burlap..ink..cardboard...tags...trims.. 

 

 
The Second class is called "Our Life" and features several of the Teresa Collins lines all combined together to form an accordion book that we adhere to a block of wood...I taught this in Pennsylvania in November and LOVE this class.

 
I will be sending out a newsletter this week so be sure to watch for it (or sign up if you want to get the info!) okay..off to start a brand new week...glad you are starting it with me!

Cultivating Life...

one stitch at a time.

I had an idea last night...out of nowhere....well, not exactly, but you know what I mean...and so I plugged in the iron....grabbed a little of this and that (because I have ALOT of this and that!!!) and sat down and stitched (I know..how strange!)

I created a page for one of my Brave Girls projects and was thinking that I just might make up a few kits like this....

 
and one of the best parts about this photo above (besides the fact that I am in my jammies) is that all of those felt letters came from "the dies" and I ironed them all into place before I started to stitch (I know!!!!)

 
Thank you LORD...for great ideas...and for great friends that send me little thimbles to protect my fingers!

I Heart...

I know you know, but just in case you forget, I LOVE felt...and die cuts..and buttons...and thread and stitching...well, and hearts...so when I combine it all together to prepare for a class, or two...I love that too!

What about you? Would you want to stitch...you know..if it was a class???

 
say at Inspired 2011....or maybe ArtFull Horizons...or Scrapbooking Made Simple...or maybe all three????..or hey, maybe in Pennsylvania....I think it is time to head back there..right in time for a real WINTER!

   

Q & A Tuesday:Sizzix

Thank you all for the great responses in regards to the new line from Sizzix.  The original concept was "doodled" long, long ago and then this past summer in Chicago, the line debuted and for the girl who never even used die cuts, the entire display gave me "butterflies" and still makes me smile.

 
 
I love these because as I look at them, each one reminds me of someone or something but I also love them because they cut paper (of course!) and burlap...and chipboard...and rubber...and foam...and fabric...and felt! Here are some visuals of just a few of the things I have been creating as the dies started to trickle in:

  
and THANKS for the great response to the little Valentine Mini Kits...They are all gone but I PROMISE that there are MORE to come!!! Make sure that YOU are subscribing to my Newsletter to get the info as the MIni Kits as they are released!

The Happiness Habit

Cultivating my habit of embracing happiness...one day at a time by using my Log Your Memory Journal....have you opened your journal yet??...it is time!

                                                                                                                      Log Your Memory & One Little Word

and FINALLY the beginning of January meant that the wait was finally over for these (more on this next week!) and the others in the collection are coming soon!!!! promise!

 
You can check them out here.

 

Red & Green...not just the colors of Christmas

There was alot of creative buzzing around here this weekend and I am poooopppeeddd and I still need to go update the "Countdown to Christmas Twenty Ten" blog with my Dec 3,4,5 pages so here is a little look at a look at a few "new things" that are in my favorite "Life Colors" (red & green...not just for Christmas!)

Glittery initals to hang from "brown paper packages tied up with strings..."

 

Felt "negatives" in specific initials that need a little stitching and then will be hung from treat bags for some friends...

  
New wool sleeves from PA to cozy up Ball Jars full of holiday snacks

 
new embroidered words to stitch onto felt that will cozy up Ball Jars

 
and an early Christmas gift from the Valentine...something that I have had my eyes on for a few YEARS and could never justify spending that kinda of $$$ on..and then...just ONE HOUR after it showed up in the local home consignment store and WE were just browsing through....(insert angels singing) The Pottery Barn Cabbage Rose rug now calls our living room home...

 
Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night.