REINDEER CLUB RETURNS! & ONE LITTLE WORD aka OLW

 

Good morning, everyone!

I hope everyone had a blessed day yesterday. Christmas day was quiet here. I did the video I'm linking below, cooked a small Cornish hen with all the trimmings and watched a couple of Hallmark movies. I was even blessed with a text with a GIF from dear friend in the country music industry. While we're not the kind of 'call on one another friends', he put his number in my phone and that's a biggy. 

Evolutionary Consistency

A couple of weeks ago, I chose my word for 2023 - Consistency. A spirit guide suggested we add Evolving or Evolution ahead of our one little word. Why? Because as we focus on that new word for our year, we will evolve with the changes we incorporate into our life as a result of that word. 

I want to be more consistent with my postings, my creative goals, my writing, etc. I sat in on a replay of Ali Edwards and her Team. Each member offered an insight as to how/ why they chose their word for 2023. The video is just over an hour long but well worth the listen. Here's the LINK

While I listened to the video and took notes, I pulled out my Creative Planner (Planner video coming later in the week) and put little reindeer stickers I got from Hobby Lobby Christmas clearance on the 25th of each month.  I've also created stickers to fit in my HB90 Daily planner so I'd remember. 

On New Years Day, I'll have another video for you. I want to start my own challenges on my YouTube channel this year in hopes of growing my channel. In the past, I've found many of the challenges do not allow me the FREEDOM to play with all my toys and the way I want to create. I'm hoping my challenge opens that gate for you. 

I have the January theme set so I plan to spend part of today setting the remaining 10 themes (We're taking December off) so I can create the stickers for those. I will post that info & video here on New Years Day, but if you want the details a little early, then I encourage you to subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell. The video will be a premiere at 11 a.m. EST New Years Eve  so we can be in the chat sidebar, giving you the opportunity to ask questions and offer suggestions for future challenges. 

My GOALS for the challenges are:

1 - To fit within YOUR creative wheelhouse while offering the opportunity to maybe learn something            new

2 - Offer you the opportunity to create the way YOU want to create - but with in the minimal                         parameters

3 - To be FUN!

Above all, I know that without consistency and sticking to deadlines, neither of my businesses can grow.  I work from home. It's time I treated this as a money-making venture, and not a leisure activity.

Here is the Reindeer Club Introduction Video:

Tell me... Do you have a One Little Word for 2023 - share if you'd like. Let's support one another on this Evolutionary Journey.

Creative Blessings

~Kelly

WOYWW #618 - In Between Projects and Lost Keys!

 Good morning, crafty friends.

I'm going to preface this post by saying I had a fabulous day yesterday. After getting a few blog posts written, I took off for a lovely day of bill paying and shopping. My main goal was a stop at a local quilt store called The Rusty Moon & Quilts. I love his shop - yes you heard me right. The shop is owned by The McKinney family. Kurt is the prominent figure in the store. He can help with everything from helping you select fabric to running the long arm (which is really his primary duty).  

If you need a shopping cart - and I mean, who doesn't when you enter a quilt store?! - this is what you will use:

Tool cart from Harbor Freight

I new the Rusty Moon carried Tim Holtz fabrics. Tim is revamping everything about his product and is using a different company for the new fabric line being released to stores this month. I still had a few of his original line that I didn't have. Kurt had five of them. I'm still checking other stores to see if I can pick up any more.

On the drive there I heard a radio commercial for a yard sale in the town I was headed to. When the announcer said 'vintage linens' I knew I'd be hunting up that sale! I came home with lots of yummies. Several I'll be using in journals as well as sharing in my Etsy shop in the coming weeks.

Aside from paying a couple of bills, I stopped at ACE hardware to visit with one of the gals I've made friends with there, a bakery to set up an interview with the owner for my current book in progress, a thrift store, the yard sale (which was more of a huge church rummage sale) and had the opportunity to snoop through this for research on another series:

While this isn't an official NASCAR tour bus, the bus is owned by a local hardware store owner. He and his buddies used it for a tailgate party bus at Nascar events. I had the opportunity to go through the bus, take tons of pictures. Mind you, I've been on a lot of tour buses doing interviews in my career as an entertainment writer but this is the first time I've been able to really look in all the nooks and crannies.

I'm thinking somewhere between the church and this sale lot is where I lost the ring of keys that held my house, storage and mail box keys. I didn't realize they were gone until I'd stopped closer to home for supper.  Not a major thing. All the keys are replaceable and relatively inexpensive to do so except for the mailbox key, it's just not knowing where they are LOL.

Oh... and here's what I'm leaving behind as I go on the hunt for those keys:

Remnants of my card for the color challenge yesterday, the quilt that I film on is rolled out of the way as I was doing some last minute gluing. and a general mess of stuff I really need to put away. I'll throw a white sheet over the lot this morning and film the haul video so that can be uploading while I'm out between raindrops looking for those keys.

That's it for my desk (and story) this week. Who's Miss Julia and why am I here?  When you are done visiting me in the Ozarks, please hop on over to Stamping Ground  for all the details. Miss Julia has a long list of other studios you can peek into. No standing on an up-turned milk pail to look in the window. We open the doors wide and welcome you.  Please leave your number and you'll be among the first on my list. 

Creative Blessings

~ Kelly

 

HITTING RESET - Good Changes Coming!

Today's post is all about that big red button. Kind of reminds me of Red Nose Day from Walgreens. 

I've sat for over six months,  not doing much of anything. Not even completing most of the journals I have started through Julie's challenges. Why?

Well, the reason finally came to me last weekend. I haven't been using my blog/ editorial boards or my planners since the end of February... when I started the reorganization of the studio/ office.  

I am a VERY visual person. Even during my days of selling Christmas Around the World, House of Lloyd and Undercover Wear whenever there was a promotion, I would buy a sheet of poster board and create a chart to track my progress towards a goal. 

Saturday, I pulled out mynotepad and decided there were changes to be made. 

1- work only with blogs that bring me joy.

I had six blogs. I made the definitive decision to close the Living Through Weightloss. 

I find being motivated hard on the blog when there are no responses to posts... and only a hand full of readers. I thought that through my journey I could inspire others. I've gotten to the point where my time is too valuable for something that is not having any affect on me or others. As of today, that blog will be closing by end of the month - with the last post being today. 

2 - Still In Debate

I started the Ozarks Journal blog back when I first met the Polish Sinfonia and needed a place to post pictures from the grade school students so that the orchestra members could all go look at them. I still like the blog idea but I'm making a couple of changes.

I want to keep talking about prepping, my garden and household. I was talking 'household' on the weightloss blog, after all a clean house does make for a better self-journey but something in me decided I could keep the household with the Ozarks Journal. I mean, I LIVE in the Ozarks. LOL So OJ will be more about my corner of the Ozarks and our home here.

3- Staying on Task

This required evaluating what I really want to do. 

I want to write

I want the Etsy shop or some other sales form to destash my stuff and let it bring joy to others.

For that reason, I am putting a more solid YouTube stream in place, getting my shop open and keeping THIS blog but with a few changes. I'll be talking about those on Friday.

4 - More time to craft and to write. 

I still have book series I want/ need to write. I'm starting back to a regular writing schedule next week. Hopefully, by the time Bob comes home I will have a routine where even if I only take thirty minutes, the words will flow.

Overall Goals

To create beautiful things while destashing our home

To stay more on Task

To write more books 

To have a financial plan in place that has the house paid off in two years. 

I'm not saying these goals will be easy, but with visuals in place  I have a much better shot

I'm spending the rest of this week getting posts written/ scheduled, batch-recording videos and putting the office back together from company last week. 

I will see you back here on Friday (September 11 to talk about the new schedule and give you a final flip-through of my Ausgust Assembly Line Junk Journal Challenge journal. 

until then...

 

MIXED MEDIA MONDAY - Crazy Brave

Okay, so the pages are totally out of sync from the month they were supposed to be. POWERFUL was actually the March challenge but somehow they didn't wind up in my book in the correct order. I think I'll try something different next year.

But anyhow... I like that this spread is about choice. That having GOALS, knowing what I want to accomplish is one thing. Regardless, there will always be obstacles or nay-sayers. How I CHOOSE to work with them is entirely up to me. 

While I'm not crazy about how this spread turned out, I am happy with the message to myself

I CAN exceed Expectation, I can determine how I work with my strengths and weaknesses to ACCOMPLISH my GOALS.. and I need to GET TO WORK if I'm to meet those goals.

Bob is only home a few more days so I'm off to be Crazy with him while I can. ;-)

Creative Blessings!

MIXED MEDIA MONDAY - Crazy Brave

Somewhere along the line, when I put the book together, I got calendar pages out of sinc. This was supposed to be February's prompt. Given the subject though, I think the challenge fits any month of the year.

New Years resolutions are great when we make them. Goals are even better. The plan is to make this year the one where I am UNSTOPPABLE. Even though I may drift from my goals, I don't have to abandoned them all together - I pick myself up and get back to work. Falling off the wagon doesn't have to be permanent - unless I CHOOSE it to be so.

Well, I DO NOT choose that path. I'm stubborn that way. What I want to achieve may take a little longer but I believe in accomplishing what I start out to do... no matter how long.

Not the best picture. I just could not seem to get things in a flow yesterday. May have something to do with my first Monday with Bob back home. I did find my larger doll stamp and used her this time on a 2-page spread. My husband was quick to point out that my shoes are going the wrong direction... well, they weren't for the stamp! LOL Maybe I'm going to make this journey backwards. 

The shoes mark the path along the calendar year. You'll see that I have a GOALS image along the way - reminding me that if I'm not where I thought I'd be, I can readjust and KEEP GOING! There are several signs along the way reminding me DON'T Stop. This is part of My Story at the end of the year. The SUCCESSES, Stumbling Blocks and Drop-Off's along the way all make up MY STORY. 

You'll see a rainbow in the top left of the My Story image, then there's a smaller sticker. This is left over from my UndercoverWear days... a motivational sticker by The Booster.  The sticker says:

LIVE YOUR DREAMS

After I had all of the elements in place, I just played with my Recollections Watercolors. 

This isn't one of my best spreads but the message is there in spite of having an off day. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Welcome to 2018!

Are you ready? Have you made resolutions? Do you have Goals you hope to accomplish in 2018?

Boy, do I! No resolutions other than to really use my planners this year. The rest will fall into place.

I hereby set the resolution that I will do my weekly planning on Sunday's as part of my Self-Care regiment. 

I'm taking this week off to finish putting the planners in line and get some projects lined up so that I can kick off next year on track - rather than feeling like I'm behind before I even start. 

Not this year! I took my life back in December and now I'm going to work the plan and ENJOY creating again.

Do you make resolutions? Set Goals. What do you want from 2018?

Leave a comment below to be entered into a Mystery Grab Pack of goodies. Also tell me if which Mystery Grab Pack you want:

Yarns/ Fibers

Stamping/ Paper Crafting

Mixed Media

Drawing is January 25th - this gives you plenty of time to Comment and Share this post.

If the person commenting is NOT one of my regulars, I'll be asking who they heard it from. This could get you extra entries... so SHARE!

Creative Blessings!

Kel

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hello Everyone!
I wanted to take a moment to close out 2013 and wish everyone a very Happy New Year!
My life has been just crazy the past three months with the impromptu bedroom remodel, having the granddaughters for eight days, hosting a luncheon for the Polish Sinfonia of Krakow Poland, dealing with a chest cold, traveling to TN for Christmas with my daughter and her family, the last we will see them for over a year. Let me tell you, knowing I will not have my granddaughters here in the summer or close enough for weekend hug trips hurts a lot. But I know everything happens for a reason and I will move forward - with a plan.

They are moving to WA state. The West coast is one of the most creative areas when you are talking about Mixed Media. There have been a couple of retreats in the OR area I would love to have attended in the past. But my main goal is to go in as a requested speaker/ instructor. So while I will still be making cards, getting albums caught up ( you know, the ones I didn't do last year) I will also be focusing strongly on art journaling and mixed media techniques. I will need to network with that circle more to get my name and work known.

While my GOAL list did not go as planned, I did make 15 hat/ scarf/ mitten sets for the local Mitten Tree. All of the items go to the local grade school a couple of days before Christmas break. I can do a scarf in a couple of days so my goal for 2014 is to make 1 scarf/ hat per week. I've already purchased the treat bags on Christmas clearance. Each scarf and mitten set tucks nicely into the hat then I put them in a treat bag, stamp a bag header and attach.

To back track, hosting the Polish Sinfonia was amazing!
I totally spaced taking pictures of the buffet. Everything was made from scratch. That's just how I cook. Bob made Chili and I made corn bread, chicken /w homemade egg noodles, dinner rolls, ham, mashed sweet potatoes, vegie tray and fruit bowl. There was Apple Pie (Steven's favorite) and Pumpkin Pie (Bob's favorite) for dessert. A simple centerpiece down the length of the seating table consisted of 5 silver trays with homemade turtles and chocolate cheesecake bites - both of which Adrian helped make.

I could not have done everything without the help of my loving husband, Bob.

Never mind that he was still in T-shirt, gym shorts and slippers when I welcomed International Maestro Steven Byess and his fiance, Sara Graef (an accomplished composer) into our home. They are down-to-earth people and accept us for who we are ~ country folk.

Bob was hard at work cutting fruit. He also hung back after the event to clean up and put leftovers away while I took Adrian to hear the Sinfonia play. They were scheduled for the annual performance at Birch Tree Elementary but school closing changed their presentation to Birch Tree Place, our local nursing home facility. The residents loved the event and hope the group will return next year.

As soon as the performance was over, I said goodbye to my friends and hurried home to load up the girls and head for Nashville. Talk about a crazy day! But I would repeat it every year to enjoy the blessing of family and friends. 

I will be back later in the week to recap my 2013 and talk about the new/ old goals for 2014. Regular postings will resume on Monday January 6th.  

Creative Blessings for the New Year!

Kelly