WOYWW #779

 Good morning, crafty friends!

Wednesday is making an appearance once again... as are the rain and storms. We're forecast for more this afternoon then I think we get a couple of days break before we're looking at rain every day next week. 

Before I forget, I'd love to ATC swap with you. Please send your email to KellyH (at) artlover (dot) com

Please do NOT use the contact for on the blog. I seldom check that LOL

I have two desks to show this week.

The actual desk:

Not super exciting. Just my art journal on top of my new mixed media mat I picked up at a church rummage sale last week. I've been tearing pages from it to work on various projects in the Art & Junk Journal on-line retreat this week. Today is the last day for the Free Pass but I bought the All Access so I have the All Access Pass Extravaganza yet tomorrow. 

Here's where I've been doing some of the work:

This is the ironing board platform at the end of my work table. I've been doing most of the wet stuff here. The bat at the bottom is actually a silicone baking/ pastry sheet I picked up at Menards (home improvement) for under $4!!!  I have tissue papers pulled to redo the collage class. I'm discovering I am just not a collage person  - at least not in an art journal standpoint but I'm going to give it one more go. 

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

WOYWW #735 - ATCs have arrived!

 Good morning, everyone!

Whew! It's been a busy couple of weeks with Bob home. Not used to him being gone, then home, only 2 weeks. He was supposed to leave this morning then got a schedule change last minute yesterday... so he's home for another week. I think his retirement is getting closer. 

I'm not showing my desk this week because the surface has been recently cleared for a full day of crafting/ video production. However, I'm not coming empty handed.

For starters, I'm featuring Christmas in July projects all month long across my social media. I'm doing themed videos 6 days a week. aka very early morning hours/ long days.

Here's the tag I created for Week 4 of Tag Tuesday, yesterday:

You can see the video HERE where I linked the inspiration from Pinterst in the description box.

Monday's are all about Christmas cards. Keep in mind, card fronts make great journaling cards, tuck spots and pockets in junk journals.  The blog post is HERE, which includes the video link.

Okay... now, let's show off the beautiful ATCs I've received. (Susan, yours is going in the mail tomorrow now that I have an address.) This was our 14th year of blog hopping and making friends (though I've not been with the group the whole time)

Like card fronts, ATCs can serve dual purpose. Here, Susan applied a ATC clear pocket to the front of the card then added the ATC. Great dual journaling spot!

Susan

Our fearless leader, Miss Julia, created this one. She even made a pin for us! Thank you, dear friend.

Miss Julia

Jan made this lovely card & pocket. No project from Jan would be complete without fabric included!

LJJ

Nicely folded multi-pocket configuration. Angela also included a couple of patterned paper for me to use. I think I'll be learning this pocket fold, reminiscent of the wallet pocket.

Angela

This adorable ATC came from Tracy. She is an amazing artist and has her own line of stamps. I'll be featuring her all month long in August on my  YouTube channel and on August 31st, we'll take a tour of where she creates these fun pieces!  I am waiting anxiously for my stamps to arrive.

Tracy

This last one has me stumped. I can't read the signature on the back and there was no return address. If you see this, please let me know who you are. I love the art work! 

unknown

Finally, this is the ATC I created and shared. I still have a couple left. If you would like one, just email me. My email address is in the description box of all my videos or ask Miss Julia for it.

Mine

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

WOYWW #728

 

Good morning, friends. 

Wow! 14 consecutive years of a blog hop is pretty amazing. I've made lots of friends. I can't let this anniversary without a Thank You to the woman who brought me here - Shaz Silverwolf. Sadly, she is no longer physically joining in each week but she will always be with us in spirit. 

Friends have come and gone. We've met new deskers along the way. Some of us (cough) haven't been here every week but the weeks we are we are left to question "What took us away?" and we're always glad we found our way back. Miss Julia made a comment this morning about being a Brownie Girl Guide. I am a Lifetime member of GSUSA. Her comment had me searching for this very appropriate song for this week's post:

Okay.. 'nuff of that. Let's get on with this week, shall we?

It's been a week. I've been working hard on the studio. In fact, I finished the work table... I'll show that next week with the new set-up. I also went through the 2-drawer filing cabinet and the paint shelf. Pitched a lot of stuff I've not used since the initial put-away when I moved into the studio almost seven years ago. Time to pitch and make room for the supplies I am using. 

So here's my desk this week:

You'll see remnants of the next round of cabinet cards that will post in today's video, as well as a selection of trims on the left I've been using for the project. Tucked just underneath the cards on the right was the scrapbook layout sketch that inspired the layout. Today's card is the one on the top. There's a sheet of stickers from Japan just above the photos. That is where I cut out the bundle of letters as well as the ink/ quill from in the bottom right of today's card. Here's a close up:

I'm working on ATCs. I make them in sets of 12 and aside from mine, a couple are already spoken for. I  will have a total of 9 left to trade. If you're interested, let me know in the comment below.

Bob's friend that had the triple heart bypass is home and doing well. When Bob gets off the boat this morning he's headed there to check up on his BFF and spend a couple days with him. Kevin is used to being active and I'm pretty sure he's going stir-crazy already LOL

No new flower pictures this week. I'm so glad I planted Clematis. I absolutely love them. 

With all the rain we've had, I've not done anything about a garden this year but I did spend some time weeding in the front flower bed in hopes of getting flowers for there. They didn't make it last year. 

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

WOYWW #520

Good morning, friends.

WOW! I can't believe some of you have been doing this for 520 weeks! I feel so  blessed to have been welcomed into this circle. Thank you each and every one who take time to comment. You are loved!

Bit of a cool morning lingering after storms yesterday. Weather forecast says we'll heat up today and get sticky sticky - ahead of yet another round of storms. I have the windows open enjoying the fresh air while I can before I have to turn on the AC.

My desk isn't very exciting. I've had to pack electronics up and tuck them into my hidey hole in the basement ahead of severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings the past couple of nights.

The new Paper Pumpkin from Stampin' Up! waiting for some play time. That's first on my list this morning. At the top right you'll see a single red rose. Plucked that from my garden yesterday before the storms blew in. Just below that is my daily sheet from my workhorse planner, my pink personal that I'm now using again for Stampin' Up! as we don't have a new one in the catalog this time 'round. I'm okay with that. I bought this little Recollections when I started with SU two years ago just for this purpose. Like reuniting with a former co-worker. Bottom right corner you'll see a card I made on Monday from the Stampin' Up! Everything is Rosy medley. Man, that medley has some gorgeous play toys. If you've not seen this special edition, you'll find lots of pictures on my SU blog as well as our current journal project on my KellysCreativeStamping YouTube channel. 

Also, I'm still playing in Junk Journal challenges. If you want to see those pics, check out my Monday posts. Mixed Media Monday

A couple quick pictures.

Spirit decided to keep me company during some video time the other day. He can be such a snob most days and as a 7th generation panther, he does have his mean side but he's still my sweet boy regardless his mood.

Lastly, 

This is one of three Clematis I planted last year. This lavender hue is called Little Duckling. That is only about 1/3 of the blooms that have opened so far. 

Only ten days left before the grandgirls will be here. So much to do, including finishing up my ATCs for the swap. A design finally clicked with me so that's on my list for tomorrow. Must finish putting the new SU stuff in place first. I have 4 left so if you'd like to swap please let me know in the comments so I may add you to my list... as soon as I remember where I put it :-)

 That's it for my desk 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

Recycle Wednesday

Okay, so this isn't really a 'recycle' project but it did use up things from my stash and allow me to play with ATCs, which I love. There is so much artistic freedom in a 3.5"x2.5" space.

This is my final swap (at least until late fall) for this year. Our Sho-Me-Mo-Rubber stamping loop has been hostessing a rotation of ATC swaps and I can't resist them. This one was to incorporate a 'sewing' theme. First off, have you noticed how much sewing is creeping into the scrapbooking/ stamping area lately? Take a look at the new line by Jolee's called 'French General Collection'. If you have a love affair with all things vintage you will LOVE this new collection. It was really hard to resist all the scrumptious new goodies on the Michaels display last weekend. Recollections has also brought out a line of embellishments along the same lines.

I knew when I heard the theme for this swap I wanted to play. When I'm not writing or stamping, I'm in the sewing room and I have a wide assortment of stuff perfect for this round. The first stamp set I found was from TPC Studios - a division of The Paper Company. A nice collection of sewing-themed stamps. Then while I was in the Michaels in Paducah KY last week I came across a new collection of clear stamps (packaged like Studio G but avg around $2.99 in price). It's Cosmo Cricket stamps from Hampton Art.

I only needed 9 for the swap but I always make my ATCs in sets of 12. I keep #1 and any extras are for sharing/ trading. Here is a picture of all 12.

And a close-up shot of a single so you can see more of the details.

For this group I stuck with a 'vintage' theme and reached for those reproduction 1940s fabrics I got at the quilt shop hop last fall. I used a different print on each of the 12 ATCs. Then I reached into my stash for a scrap of coordinating solid. Some of these solids were thinner than others and didn't cut well with the pinking shears so I wound up using WonderUnder so I could cut them out easier and then use the fusible web to adhere them to the ATC. The pattern envelope image is from the Cosmo Cricket set I bought. Isn't it cute? The 'spool' (from TPC Studios) of thread is stamped on Early Espresso (SU) in Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I cut it out and wound them with a coordinating color of embroidery floss. The sentiment is also from TCP. I stamped it on twill tape. Because I have a habit of sticking my straight pins in the top of a spool of thread, I thought a ball-head straight pin done the same way was appropriate. The point is stuck behind the spool between the layers so it won't poke anyone. For finishing touches I added a coordinating color and a white button plus a small snap to each one with glue dots.

It was fun playing with these ATCs and they turned out pretty much what I had initially envisioned - which as artists, we know that isn't always the case.

Creative Blessings!

Hello Spring

I recently made a set of 12 ATC's for the MO stamping loop. When I heard the theme was SPRING, I knew instantly I wanted to use my favorite retired SU set - Hello Spring. With the help of chalks to create the background, my Stamp-a-ma-jig to position the tulips across the bottom, it took no time at all to put these together!

Ink Spot ATC - June

Our theme for the ATC swap at the Ink Spot in Kirkwood MO was Medieval.

I had the idea to do a shaker ATC. I used a retired set from Stampin Up - www.stampinup.com called SnowGlobe. I couldn't find small enough stamps for the dragon or knight images so those were pulled from my PrintShop program. I used SU chalks to dust the background and SU inks for the stamped images.

Food and Art

This month's theme at the Ink Spot is Food. Deciding on the design for my ATC was easy. I love chinese buffet. A friend of mine and I once made a trip to OK City from Peoria IL for a writers conference. When it was time to eat, we managed to find a chinese buffet for every lunch or dinner stop we made. There was even one right across from the conference hotel where we were staying. I can eat at a chinese buffet seven days a week.

For this ATC, I took my color cue from the take-out menu of our local chinese buffet in West Plaines MO. - Diamond Head. They've been rated the Top 100 Chinese Buffet's in the country.
I used red and black. The dimensional items are from my Photoshop program.

Blogger is arguing so I will come back and add either the actual photo or a link to where it can be seen. Thanks for stopping by.