Playing Catch Up

Well as you can see, nothing posted the whole time my granddaughter was here. I wound up with a head cold and didn't do much of anything the whole time she was here except watch Bambi, Cars or Nemo over and over and over and ... well, you get the idea. Lots of snuggling. Lots of napping when Grandpa could take her out to blow bubbles and hike in the woods. She loves to take timber walks.

She left on Sunday and hubby left on Tuesday. I feel better but I spent Tuesday, Wednesday and part of Thursday finishing up 2 swaps. One was a 6x6 Tea Time Recipe swap. I created recipe cards for 2 categories - Vegie salad on toast points and mini Eclairs. Wouldn't you know it, I put both in the mail without taking any pictures. So I'll have to post those when the swap comes back in a couple weeks. I'm only signed up for 1 more swap between now and June. I don't plan on playing in any others. I have plenty of other projects I want to work on - not 'have to get done' things.

I got the kitchen curtains made. I'm hoping to get the blog back on track on Monday and keep it up to speed. I'll have 2 weeks to practice before Bob comes home and we tear into a living room remodel. LOL

Isn't it always something?

What are you working on?

Stylish Blogger Award

I LOVE Happy Mail!

Who doesn’t right? So imagine my surprise Wednesday when I opened an email from my bestest buddy, Carla. She has given me the honor of the…

Please check out Carla’s Blog. She is an amazingly creative woman!

Deciding what things to share with you that you might not know about me is proving difficult. So is deciding who to share this award with.

I’m going with the easy one first. I have four blogs I check frequently… beside’s Carla’s. hehe Each of these talented people are listed for their individual and varied styles.

Please make sure to visit:

Curt

The first time I visited his blog I felt ‘at home’. He’s fun, funny and overflowing with talent.

Michele

Michele is one of my buds on the Stamp2Spend thread at Splitcoaststampers. Her generosity towards others is inspiring.

Michelle

I’ve known Shell about 5 years. She is such a talented designer.

Soni

Over the past twenty years Soni and I have been friends and co-workers. I’ve watched her talents emerge. She’s slow to give herself credit when her work deserves so much more.

Okay… now what you don’t know about me. This one is tough!

1. I love water but am petrified of being in a boat

2. I twisted my ankle at a charity event and was carried to a chair by Tarzan (actor Miles O’Keefe)

3. I would love to visit Italy

4. I used to be afraid of voicing my opinion to a group (really!)

5. I’m self-taught in everything I do except One-Stroke painting. (thanks Carla!)

And it's still raining...

... though I guess I shouldn't complain. I could be living in Nashville with my daughter. Her work and living arrangement were unaffected by the flood but I guess everything in downtown is a real mess.

My creativity has still be spent in the yard. I've added a new rose bush which is just gorgeous. The roses start out a very pale yellow at the base but the more they open, the softer white they become. The garden (all I'm doing this year) is in. I've planted 20 Big Boy tomato plants, 4 Big Bush tomato plants and 4 Brandywine tomato plants. Brandywine are an 1885 Amish Heirloom tomato. They look like they'll be big slicers for buns and very meaty. I also added 2 cucumber plants... salad type, not pickles. The strawberries are going gangbusters. They are early this year and I'm picking almost a quart every other day. Adrian has discovered the difference between the red and green ones. She loves to go pick her 'snack'. I still need picks of 'strawberry face' for her Many Faces of Adrian album. The carrots don't seem to be doing very well, but the beets look good. The first dry day we get, I need to get them thinned. I have to do that while Adrian is napping. I can just see her watching me thin them out then going behind me and pulling the rest of them up! LOL She just likes to do what grandma does.

Bob will be home on Wednesday. I'm already looking ahead to the weekend when I'll have time to play and upload pictures. I've finished the Christmas Cards for the March CCC at Splitcoast. I haven't decided what I want to do for the April - and now May - cards yet.

For inspiration I sat and went through all my back issues of stamping/paper craft magazines this week. I put a little post it strip on every page showing a card or technique I want to try. When I do get to sit and play, I won't lack for ideas to channel the creative juices.

So this week I challenge you. Pull out the oldest copy of a scrapbook/paper crafting/stampng magazine you have and select a project. Make sure you let us know where you post pics so we can give you some love!

Creative Blessings!

JustRiteStampers

It seems as if I've had this head cold for ever though in reality it's only been a little over a week. I've had stamps and playthings sitting here on the table to work with and no energy. I've spent the biggest part of my time either in my chair watching TV or here at the desk chatting with creative friends.

Thursday I began a 3-day tour of 88 blogs featured by JustRiteStampers... 88 extremely creative people from all over the world. The designs they were to create had to feature Jan/Feb release stamps by www.JustRiteStampers.com and SpellBinders.

Along the tour I saw a lot of innovative cards and other ideas filled with color and embellishments that were spot on... nothing too over the top. Every item was a representation of why these designers were asked to participate.

If you go to http://justritestampers.typepad.com/justrite-inspiration/2010/02/introducing-beautiful-blossoms.html and look on the right hand side of the page, you'll see 3 2" Buttons labeled Day 1 Day 2 and Day 3. Within each of those links you'll find links to over 25 designers and the items they created for the Hop. I don't know how long these will be valid so you don't want to delay in your journey amongst some awesome examples of stamped creativity. The Blog Hop and Prizes part is over. It ended yesterday, but the links should be archived for awhile so you can visit.

Beginning next week as part of the Creative Souls spotlight, I'll introduce you to some of the gals whose work really caught my attention.

What did I learn from my travels? That I really need to step up my game and just let the creative juices flow. I've been keeping it really simple while my play time is limited but that won't last forever... or so my daughter tells me. ;-) In the mean time, I have an order with JustRiteStampers to place ;-) That 20% off Sale is too tempting to pass up.

Creative Blessings!
Kelly

It's all in the colors

When I was little I was fascinated, as most children are, with the colors of Christmas. My first memory is of the old fashioned colored lamp casting it's rainbow upon the aluminum Christmas tree. Later, it was the big bulb lights and the bubble lights. As decorating yards for the season became the rage, I loved riding around in the old station wagon with the backward facing back seat to see all the light displays.

Carnivals are a huge attraction for me. My earliest recollections are from the mid 1960's and Longmont CO. Mom or Dad would take me at night when everything was lit up. Walking along the midway, I could feel the energy of every colored light from the rides and booths.
4th of July would find me sitting on a blanket at the park in Longmont oohing and ahhing at the firework display

As a teen, I lived in rural Platteville Co. Our house sat on a hill - the highest point in the county We could see for miles from the outer reaches of Denver where DIA now sits, across to Boulder and all along the front range and back to the northeast and the city lights of Greeley. I would sit on the picnic table in our yard just watching all the twinkling lights. Often times I could detect the flashing blue/red of an emergency vehicle. The view was incredible.

As I grew older and really got into crafting, I always blamed my varied interests on being a Libra... a creative soul. I love to sew and quilt. I can wander for hours among bolts of fabric. For awhile I was an UndercoverWear lingerie consultant. It wasn't so much the clothes that attracted me as it was the fabrics and the hues that drew me. Cake decorating wasn't so much about the creating as it was all the colors of icing I could play with. Floral arranging in high school again, put me in the heart of natures colors. Don't even get me started on Polymer clay colors and the possibilities with canes. Then I was introduced to stamping and paper crafting. Oh my! Between the inks, papers, cardstock, embellishments, chalks... I was in color heaven!

It took me a long time to realize it wasn't so much about wanting to try everything as it was the colors and all their variations. I wanted to play with anything that put me in touch with the colors. For Christmas I asked (and received) the Crayola 120 count box of crayons. Now if I could justify purhasing the 160 count tower I saw at Michaels last week! :-D

My rainbow is full of color. What color is yours?