Monday, June 27, 2022

MAKE IT - MAIL IT MONDAY - Sneak Peek to July!

 Good afternoon!

I'm coming in late but here, never the less

I've had a really busy couple of weeks. As I sit on the sofa writing this, the house is quiet except for the washing machine agitation in the background and Christmas Hallmark movies on the television. I'm currently watching The Christmas Train. 

With Christmas in mind, I'm planning to run an entire Christmas in July series beginning next week. 

Since I've been super busy with travel and family visiting, I've not had the opportunity to work anything new up so I thought I'd go back to one of my very first Christmas card videos. You can also see the blog post HERE.


I'll be back next week. In the meantime....

Creative Blessings!
~Kelly


Thursday, June 23, 2022

CREATOR'S CORNER - Anais Chartschenko

 Good morning, everyone!

Today, I'm launching a brand new series. Because of all that's been going on here at home, I may not get this rolling as fast as I'd like but I hope to introduce you to a creator the 4th Thursday of each month!

Aside from introducing you to a creator, we'll peek inside their studio and see WHERE they create all the things and maybe get an organization tip or two along the way.

Let me introduce you to Anais Chartschenko:


Anais Chartschenko

I had to do some switching around on the guest list and the more I thought about it, the more I thought Anais was the perfect person to kick this off. Why? Because she has just been involved with an amazing children's book project I'll tell you more about in a minute. 

I first met Anais earlier this month through a mutual friend on twitter, Gregg McBride. A man talented in his own right on so many levels. I feel blessed to now only call him friend but to have met this lovely lady in cyberspace, as well.

Here's a bit about Anais:

Anaïs Chartschenko bee-lieves that persistence and enthusiasm can transform into talent and luck. After being told by an English teacher that she couldn't write, she went on to publish multiple books (The Weightless One and Sailing Toward Us). She was advised she shouldn't dream of pursuing something as complex as opera, and so she learned to sing arias in several languages. She was informed quite firmly that being an illustrator was out of the question―yet this is her first illustrated children's book. People also said she would never grow to be 5 feet tall...well, can't win 'em all! 

How Fun!  Anais is the perfect example of "don't tell me what I can't do!" She'll show you it can be done - well, except for the getting taller part ;-)

Let's jump into the Q & A:

What got you started on the creative path?

There was never any other path for me. I wrote stories, drew pictures, and started banging on a piano as a child. I probably gave a lot of people headaches.

How has your creativity evolved?

I learned discipline. Without that, it is very difficult to turn creativity into a long-lasting habit. 


What do you enjoy most about your creative path?

The best part of being on the creative path are all the other artists you meet along the way. I've met other writers I admire like Jacopo della Quercia, JD Estrada, Eva Leigh, and Assaph Mehr.  I've played music with all sorts of musicians. I study opera with Kristina Jones, a world traveled leading lady opera singer. Knowing her has made my life richer, and of course made me a better artist.


What inspires you?

I am inspired by a lot of things, probably the same things that inspire most artists. Art, music, literature, life. For Biron the Bee Who Couldn't, a children's book I illustrated, written by Gregg McBride, I looked at a lot of nature photography. I read and watched everything bee related that I could so that I could design a bee that was unique to our book. I thought about the art I love looking at again and again, like the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman- particularly artists David Mack and Dave McKean- and Yoshitaka Amano's artwork (Final Fantasy, Vampire Hunter D).

I try to blend all my inspiration together to create something new.

NOTE: To find out more about Gregg McBride and their book - Biron the Bee Who Couldn't - check out the feature on them on my author blog - CLICK HERE:


When did you move from hobby to business and what initiated the transition?

My first job as a teenager was painting cars for demolition derby. I painted a giant squirrel on the roof of a tow truck so people in the stands could see it. It was as fun for me as it was for the driver to plan the design of their car.  I've done different jobs in the arts over the years. Part of the reason is that it was the area I excelled at and the other factor is I was willing to do off the beaten path projects. 

What do you love most about your space and would you change anything?

I love that I always have a fully stocked tea and coffee cupboard. I don't have a dedicated office. I set up shop at my kitchen table, a nice round glass table that lets me zone out on the tile below. I like that the room has nice windows, and I have aloe vera growing around me complete with garden gnomes. It is a miniature indoor garden. I have written books there, so it works out alright.

I would like to get a sit-stand desk with adjustable height. I've also seen crafting closets like Create Room which I think would be nice for storing art supplies. 


What 3 things do you feel are important when planning a space?

I mostly think about practical considerations. I want to have enough outlets. I want to have a space to put my tea cup. I want to be close to the bathroom. 

What is your best organization tip?

I'm not very organized. It is something I have to work at. I try to keep all my music books together, all my paints together, and so on. That helps when looking for things. I have a journal I use for keeping track of word count deadlines and that sort of thing. I folders for each book I write with all the content relevant to each book in its folder- character sheets, setting, research, manuscript versions, ect. Having them in groups like that saves time for me.

What is your best tip for anyone wanting to turn their craft into a business?

It as a business. People in the arts are often expected to give away their work for free. They are given the promise of exposure or reminded art is created from passion. But exposure and passion don't pay the bills. Know the value of your work.

You will find Anais Chartschenko by following any of the social medai links below:

WEBSITE   FACEBOOK   INSTAGRAM   TWITTER   YOUTUBE

I'm not sure who our guest will be next month so stay tuned. I may not have blog posts next week. That will be Bob's last week home and we've had almost no time for just the two of us in two months. I do have a special announcement coming up July 1 as well as a slew of projects for the entire month so don't go too far!

Creative Blessings!

~Kelly





Friday, June 10, 2022

STAMP STORAGE - Part 1 - Updated with Photos!

 NOTE!  This is a repeat of Tuesday's post - but with pictures!

Thank you for your patience.

A few weeks ago, I visited Angela @ Crafting With Jack. She shared in her WOYWW #671 post how she was dealing with the stamp sets she's gotten in magazines. 

So I thought I'd kick off what I'm doing with my stamp  sets with the boxes of magazines I have. I don't need the magazines any longer... share them with someone else. But I do want to keep the stamps. Did you know that the stamp sets you receive in those magazines are designed exclusively for that issue? They are not sold outside of the magazine. 

Here's what I started with:


Here's what I wound up with:

From here, the stamps will be divided by category/ theme and placed in their appropriate shoe boxes. 

How do you store your stamps?


Creative Blessings

~Kelly 

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

STAMP ORGANIZATION - Part 1 - Magazine Collection

NOTE!  I'm finishing up this project this morning! I worked all day on the breaking down of magazine components yesterday. The stamp/ embossing folders/ dies have been condensed to one photo box. 

I'm now in the process of copying anything from the magazines I want to keep so I can take the magazines to the thrift store this morning.  

Please come back here tomorrow morning for the final pictures!


A few weeks ago, I visited Angela @ Crafting With Jack. She shared in her WOYWW #671 post how she was dealing with the stamp sets she's gotten in magazines. 

So I thought I'd kick off what I'm doing with my stamp  sets with the boxes of magazines I have. I don't need the magazines any longer... share them with someone else. But I do want to keep the stamps. Did you know that the stamp sets you receive in those magazines are designed exclusively for that issue? They are not sold outside of the magazine. 

Here's what I started with:


Here's what I wound up with:

From here, the stamps will be divided by category/ theme and placed in their appropriate shoe boxes. 

How do you store your stamps?


Creative Blessings

~Kelly 

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

CARA BRANDON CREATIONS - Jump Ahead June Junk Journal Challenge- Week 1

Good morning, everyone!
Sorry about the incomplete post. I will move that to tomorrow or Thursday. I've not done the pictures yet.

In the mean time, here's what I am working on:


In hopes of finally getting my personal BEE journal done, I jumped in to Cara's June challenge to mass make items for future journals. 

This week was all about Pockets & Tucks but I made a boo boo. Not realizing we were to make 'bases only' and that we'd be adding the embellishments in Week 3, I made 10 COMPLETED bases:


Once I realized my mistake, I made 10 BLANK pockets/ tucks:


Since I do everything in threes. I had to make an odd one. The blue using 'waves of the ocean' dsp will go into either my sea or sailing journals. I want to make a sailing journal for a gentleman on YouTube dealing with Lewy Body Dementia. You can check out their channel HERE.

I've posted a video this morning walking you through both sets of challenge items:


I'll try to be back tomorrow with the Magazine Stamp photos.

Creative Blessings

~ Kelly







 

Monday, June 6, 2022

MAKE IT - MAIL IT MONDAY - Belated Card Chicks & haul video

 Good morning, everyone!

I'm back in the office for a few hours trying to get back on track. As I type this I've been up since a little before 5 a.m. and a nap is already sounding good. I'm pushing through til at least 10 a.m. If I can complete the blog posts, I'll consider the morning a win then can craft this afternoon.

Between the head cold, Tabby's surgery and Feline Leukemia diagnosis and trying to get the garden planted - finally, I'm just about spent!

Sue was our hostess for May and sent a really fun kit with the pinwheel die from Sizzix as her inspiration;

I was unable to locate the die on-line but did find this SVG file on Etsy - and it's on sale!

While I'm just getting to making the card, I knew from the moment I opened the envelope I wanted to make a spinner card.


If you've not made a spinner card before (or maybe just need to resurrect an old technique) the spinner card is great for lots of things, line this pinwheel, sledding penguins, butterflies, kites... etc.

Here's a tutorial video I used for my refresher:


I showed the card and details in today's video. I also talk about changes on the horizon and a short $Tree haul with kit items coming to my shop soon.





Tomorrow, I'll be back to show you Step 1 in a new challenge I'm playing in this month in hopes of completing one of the BEE Journals.  

Creative Blessings
~Kelly