Homegrown Hospitality

Monday Morning Color Play..

on a Wednesday.

That is how summer rolls..as it happens.  I know I mentioned Christmas yesterday and the sampler with all of the trims, but things are a little backwards and because I had a little Monday Morning Color Play ready for ya, just not posted, I thought, what the heck, I can change my own no rules-blog post.

So, along the "Do What Ya Love" summer tour, my very first carved stamp broke in 1/2. It's okay, I usually cut up my stamps so it did not phase me.  It is still totally usable and still totally my favorite.

Here is what I did...

I grabbed a handful of little manila hanging tags (because everything is so much more cute when it is a small version) a black stamp pad, my broken stamp and a handful of markers.

OH: remove the tag strings before stamping.  I know you probably know that but many a-time I have not done that. duh.

When I stamp smaller things on a bigger stamp...listen to me...I stamp the stamp pad onto the stamp. I don't try to maneuver the large stamp onto the small stamp pad.  It is a messy disaster.  Then I place the small paper (or tag in this case) onto the ink'd area of the stamp. Just use your fingers to apply pressure to the tag to get the stamped image onto the tag.  Whalah.

I stamped my handful and then lined them all up and looked at them.  I do this alot.  You can skip this part, but sometimes, I like the look of just an image stamped on manila without color.  It could be done at this point and all you would have to do is add the strings back on, or you can add color. I colored all tags, one color at a time, starting with greens.  Color in all of the leaves. Add the next color... and another... and so on.. and so on... Once I had all of the shapes colored, I added in the background color. and finished them all up. I did add a little white here and there, but for the most part, they are done, and i love them.
love love love them and because you are probably wondering, now what?  Well, I don't know but I am just going to throw it out there.

I see fabric.

Maybe it is just my eye and 9 times out of 10, the way I see things or the way the way I think they should be seen is not how things end up, but I am going to say it again...

I see fabric.

Fah Lah Lah Lah Lah.

I have been MIA because out of nowhere...BOOM...sick.

Right smack dab in the middle of my summer.  Down for the count and I know when I am sick because I don't care if the floor is dirty, I don't have that "hurry up and start doing something" feeling..I pretty much just coughed and slept and coughed and slept...and now today, although the cough is lingering, I am up and moving.

whew.

YOU have been on my mind because I have had something lil things to share, like my CHA projects for Tim.  He knows how I am about Christmas, how I love all things red and kraft so when I got a box full of fah lah lah a month or two ago, I went to town.   As always, with 99.9% (minus the butterflies, sorry Tim)  I am able to create non-stop with the things I get my hands on, and this release was no different. 

This project is one using the new little burlap canvas panels.

Thing is, I tore off the burlap, flipped the panel over to expose the wooden frame, girl MacGuyver'd the burlap a little and then nestled a little wreath and a bow on the inside.  The wooden frame was the perfect place to add one of the new metal plaques, this one reading, authentic. Then I had to figure out how to hang it.  Not a problem. I used the tiny little hook and eyes, screwed them to the outside of the wooden frame and added some trim.

I KNOW!!! it is all rustic & ragged and right up my Christmas alley.

See the trim?  I KNOW!  one of the many new ones and here is a lttle peek at the sampler I made using lots of the trim..
I know!

Fah Lah Lah Lah Lah!

Project Life Buffet

Four friends + four different Project Life Core kits + two eight foot tables = a Project Life Card trading party.

We all purposely bought different core kits knowing that there were 10 billion cards in each one. That is when we decided that we would trade cards.  Ya know, kinda like those cards kids trade?  I keep calling them Mr. Mi-ag-gee cards, but that's not what they are called.

Anyways, each one of us organized and stacked our cards:

and then just trick-or-treaters, we went around the tables and picked up a few of each one.  It was like a Project Life buffet.

We had a blast and it was super fun but for me, once we were done, I was WAY OVER STIMULATING.  So much that I shut down.  Dang it!

For others, it was just the start and I have to say. it was so much fun to watch my friends just go to town with their scrapbooks and others just smile at stacks and stacks of patterned 3 x 4 cards.
Back to my shut down...the very next morning, I came across something I worked on probably two years ago, using my older Project Life cards and it ignited a thought.  Actually, a reminder of something I tell people over and over in my classes and here on this blog.

DUH!

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CREATE THINGS EXACTLY THE WAY OTHERS CREATE THINGS.  CREATE THINGS THE WAY YOU WANT TO CREATE THEM BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU HAVE TO GO HOME/LIVE WITH THEM.

DOUBLE DUH.

What I came across was a ring holding together a few of my favorite bible verses and a whole bunch of Project Life cards with photos attached to them.

LESSON: It is not that I "shut down" after trading cards, but really, it was the time I needed to be quiet, calm down and be open to ideas.  Once I settled down, I was happily reminded by my own work, that I can continue creating just the way I do, and with friends.

p.s. the trading cards are called Pokemon cards. (I like Mr. Mi-ag-gee cards better)

Process: One Thing Leads To Another

While sitting in a Las Vegas hotel room with my friend Lisa last weekend, my pal Lain did a little impromptu interview with me on several topics.  One of then was about my creative process and while I just talked through it, when I got home I felt a little something coming on, so I decided to pay a little attention to it.

My creative process is pretty much "one thing leads to another."  This is a good/not so good thing because ya never know what is going to evolve.  While I embrace my "work flow" it leaves me with ALOT of finished things that I don't know what to do with (and that = piles.)

On my return from Las Vegas, I wanted to carve a few new stamps for my upcoming classes in Oklahoma and at Handmade U so I decided to do just that, carve and this is what I ended up with: The next day as I was putting away my supplies,  I happened to pick up (and was going to just move) a scrap of plywood. (because why wouldn't I have a random scrap of plywood laying around.)

INSERT: LIGHTBULB

I grabbed the wood, some acrylic paints, a few brushes,a sharpie and that stamp I carved. Now, you can be inspired by something (in this case, a rubber stamp) and create something that may or may not come out like the original inspiration piece.  Just embrace the flow of one thing leads to another and see what evolves.  You just may suprised or, you may just become frustrated, which in that case, you can trash it and continue doing what you were doing before you became inspired.

Anyways, I looked at the stamp and then lightly drew out something similar on the wood: REMEMBER: you are being inspired by something so it doesn't have to look exactly like it.

First thing I did was lightly paint on my design using Gesso.  You can use white acrylic paint, too.  Basically, I just wanted to get my design down in white so I could visually see it as I added colors to it.I decided to only use a few colors of paint.  If I stick to just a few colors, I don't end up with "muddy" colors as I blend them.  I am a little to impatient to let colors dry before I add additional colors which sometimes = mud.  

Using light blue paint , I roughly added it to the background of my piece to fill in the areas around my white shapes.  This helps me keep the design in focus.  When I look at something for too long, it all seems to blend together and this is just my way of keeping it clear.  Do what works best for you. Just like when I add color to doodles, I started with one color and added it here and there throughout the piece.  In this case, green for the leaves: Then a little yellow and red (which = orange, which ended up being an additional color in my piece)  Using these colors gave my piece the foundation to evolve. 

Now like my mixed media projects, I wanted to add that same dark blended shadow to my shapes to add dimension so instead of using black or grey paint, I started with a grey watercolor pencil to add in shadows and then a wet brush to blend.  To my eye, it was too light and did not blend the way I really wanted to...
So I grabbed the black watercolor pencil, repeated the step and it started to bloom. Now, once this step was done, I did use my fingers and some of the leftover paint to smudge colors here and there, but for the most part, it was done.

TRUTH:  I don't love it but I do like it.  For me it is all about the steps I took, the process of one thing leading to another and the practice I got on using different mediums. 

This is the point where I sit and look at it at random times during the day and then place it on the pile to wonder what to do with it next.
Today, I encourage you to pay closer attention to your process, how you do things and how quite possibly, one thing leads to another.

Do What You Love: Stamping

Bus throwing exercise: I am a sucky "stamper."  I do not love to "stamp", but I do love to carve stamps. 

I can design one, I can carve one and well yes, I can "stamp" one on a paper and color it, but when it comes to "stamping" in a specific spot, for a specific reason, I sorta suck at it.  Good thing I don't specifically stamp things and good thing there are design teams that can.

whew.

I was recently asked the question, "How can I expect to sell stamps when I am teaching how to carve them or how can I expect to sell classes when I promote selling already made stamps?"

easy.

While I know I can not please everyone, I am pretty sure I have covered my stamping bases because while some want to learn to carve, some don't and while some don't want to learn to carve, some want to buy.

whalah.

Like I said, I love to carve them because it is relaxing and yesterday, while I should have been unpacking from the weekend, I carved

and stamped

and colored.
Today, take a little time to do what you love to do. 

 

Unity Day Two

Thank you all so much for your love, comments and emails on the new line.  I am so happy to know that you love them...I kinda do, too!

As promised, here are a few more ways I have been playing around with the stamps, and for those of you who know me or have taken a recent class, I always admit that I am a sucky stamper....BUT with these, it is almost a no fail because you may notice that all of these designs have lots of "white space" to play with.

Take a look at the stamped image:

and then start looking at how and where I have added dots, lines, stitch marks and boxes to create something quite different than the original.  This is what makes these stamps so versatile.

...and you can use them on your Project Life cards, too! Okay, one last simple idea..grab your Washi tapes, layout a few pieces on a piece of scrap paper, stamp an image and trim.  HELLO??? duh, so simple and cute...for any or every occasion (and a good reason to but more Washi Tape)

Okay..Off to Vegas I go!  Class at Selah on Saturday and right back on Sunday.  CHA, nope..not going....LONG dumb story....never mind, maybe I will share another day...oh hey, don't forget that Unity Stamp Co. is offering 40% off for the entire weekend!!!

Happy Stamping!

Something New

 

Today is the day I get to share my new collaboration with Unity Stamp Co.!
Together we are kicking it off with 10 big stamps that have everything to do with love, faith...and doodles! 

You can stamp an image and use it as is...or you can stamp it, add your own designs to it add colorand then frame them

There are so many little things that you can add to these stamps, the possibilities are endless...and speaking of possibilities, I will share more tomorrow on the other ways I used the stamps to create art.

BLOG HOP...

Now to go to ANGIE Bloms Blog - She is the first UNITY DESIGN TEAM member up USING MY STAMPS!  HER Blog address is: http://angieblomdesigns.blogspot.com/

To check out all of the new releases, go on over to Unity and check everything oh, and here is the discount code:

 See you tomorrow...and thank you Unity Stamp Co. for welcoming me into your family!

Choices

This isn't about choices in which medium to create in, whether or not to make dinner or go out or when I should clean the bathrooms, but all about the relationship choices I make that make a difference for me and for those around me, personally and in business.  I am human, therefore I am going to stumble. This I know, which means, I should know better and be better prepared for those dang forks in the road.

When I stumble it is because I jump too fast, speak quickly or not slow down enough to get the facts.  I do not take the time to stop, think it out or pray about it. When things like this happen and bad decisions and choices are made, accidents and injuries are likely to occur (EXACTLY like when I crashed on the mountain bike a few weeks ago!)

Yesterday in the second bible study session of Love & War, I wrote down this: NOTE TO SELF:

I need to frame it. 

I need to tattoo it.

I need 100 post its with it printed on it because not 4 hours later after I had written it, I made a bad choice, well actually almost made a bad decision, BUT (and there is always a dang big but) my words and thoughts set things in motion..on its way to destruction.  I made a bad choice because I was anxious, worried, jumping the gun and unorganized.  As a result, I upset someone and in her response, learned a lesson...which means, maybe...I may not have made the wrong choice.  NOTE- The choice I "almost" made doesn't matter, although you are probably wondering "hmmm..I wonder what happened"

During that same bible study session, I also wrote this down: because that is the way God works, regardless of what we do.  Now, don't get me wrong, we can not make bad decisions and choices and just wake up the next day and think, "Yay, all is forgiven, move ahead"

No, it does not work like that. You have to admit, ask and then move ahead.

Once I realized what my poor choice had started, I had to admit, correct and ask for forgiveness.  I also had to take into consideration the comments made from my actions and that is where something shifted.

THROWING MYSELF UNDER THE BUS - Instead of taking the criticism to heart and letting it affect me negatively, I took it, prayed about it, asked God to take away the anxiety I was starting to feel from it, and actually felt, I mean, really felt forgiveness. Both from the person I hurt, from God and..from myself.

This was also from yesterday's session:

Starting today, a fresh start with better choices = better business, better relationships, better me.

Dream It & Then Do It

Thank you so much to Debbie and all of my new friends at The Craft Shack for the great day we had together on Saturday. We spent hours doodling, carving, stamping, stitching and then hours of creating with mixed media.
The Craft Shack is a evolving creative dream of Debbie's and one of my most favorite parts of my trip was sitting and listening to her talk about her passion and desire to offer a place where creative souls can create together.  Dream it and then do it!

Speaking of creative dreams, I have something exciting to share on Thursday.

Have a great day!

Packed & Ready

I am headed to the ol' airport bright and early this morning for a day jam packed with creative madness tomorrow at The Craft Shack. 

I am so happy to say out loud that I am getting better at traveling, mostly because I leave now and will be back on Sunday.  The crazy schedule makes is easy on my heart and easy on my family.  Now, don't expect me to be chatty on Monday afternoon around 2 because I will be napping and then unpacking and re-packing to head to Las Vegas for CHA (which apparently is a different name now?) and a class at Selah on Saturday.

All of this falls into my WHY (something I learned to really look at in last years Hello Business Hello Soul class from Kelly Rae)  Why I do what I do and why I do it. (did I just repeat myself?)

While I can't tote my family around with me, I make it easy for all of us by bouncing back and forth across the country like a rubber ball. Have a great weekend and maybe take sometime to think about your "WHY"

Why do you do what you do and is there a change or a decision that needs to be made to adjust your WHY? (okay, does that make sense!?!)  I think you know exactly what I mean!