BACK TO CRAFTING!

 Hi everyone!

Coming in a bit late today. Actually, I hadn't planned on posting at all. Bob leaves tomorrow so I'm doing little things while he gets his bags ready.

So while he's doing his thing I thought I'd show you what I've been working on.

I didn't complete a single challenge with Dear Julie Julie last year. I'm surprised she still has me on her design team. I just couldn't get a foot hold last year. The studio was (still is to some extent) a disaster and not conducive to creating.

This year, I've already completed the first 2 mini challenges and am excited about doing journals. 

I have a plan.

This year, each of the challenge journals I make will be my personal journal for that month. Which means I'm going to have to jump into the challenge each month from the beginning. This month I'm lagging because Bob has been home and I've done very little creating - except for the two groups of tags above.

Each journal will be hard cover, using similar sized books from the $Tree.

For this month, I'm going with winter blues/ snowmen/ snowy theme. Incidently, we finally got our first real snow of the season last Saturday. GORGEOUS! I'll try to remember to show pics for PHOTO FRIDAY.

We are doing a JANUARY JUST JUNK JOURNAL CHALLENGE - Here's the video link to check it out:

For Mini challenge in the challenge 1.1 we were to make 4 tags using any size/ shape for our base. Add a journaling/ word/ playing card, a tiny tag, sticker sheet (preferrably from one that's been used from), washi tape, scraps from our kit and metal pieces such as bulb/ safety pins, paper clips, etc.   Anything left from the sticker sheet and the washi tape could be moved to our kit.

I made round tag bases to represent sowballs cut from Christmas cards in my kit. the word/ playing card is actually a round card from a game called 'Snowball' that I picked up in IA last winter (2020) when I went up to see Kassie before the twins were born. The mini tags were cut from SU Balmy Blue with a retired SU die. I used 2 blue and 2 white safety pins I'd purchased from Spectrum Art Creations live sale last fall. (psst.. I also bought red ones as I was thinking ahead to my July journal LOL)

So Mini challenge in the challenge 1.2 was to make 5 tags. I made 6 so that I'd have an equal amount in each of the 2 signatures. You cut out tags from (in my case 6) diffent papers then piece them back together with a different pattern on each tag base.  For this challenge we could use ANYTHING to make our tags... which means I could bring in some bling and scrapbook papers. I had some lovely patterned papers from a DCWV Holiday paper pad.

I used my Team Holtz tag die to cut the tags and the hole reinforcer from the same die set. The ribbon at the top is from scraps from my kit as is the darker blue puff in the corner. That's actually a body poof. Did you know when you toss those in the dryer, they get really shrinky? LOL You know, as you use them they get all loose but toss those puppies in the dryer and the edges shrink right back up! I used a dark blue pen to create faux stitching then added a blue snowflake confetti with a clear bling center. Anything we used, we could move over to our kit.

The rest of my week is about getting my planners in order - especially my social media planner. Rather than purchase 5 Slim Classic Happy Planners, I found a link for printables on Etsy so I need to print/ punch those out and put the planner together before I go too much farther. 

What are you working on? Share links in the comments below or tag me on Instagram @KellysCreativeDreams

Creative Blessings

~ Kelly

TANGLED THREADS & TECHNIQUES - Row By Row Experience

I make frequent visits to my local quilt shop, The Hideaway Quilt Shop, in Birch Tree MO. The owners and I have become good friends over the years. When I stopped by yesterday Jean told me about a new Shop Hop to take place from June 21 - September 8. What a Shop Hop this is going to be!

If you are not familiar with a Shop Hop, here's the quick scoop. A group of quilt shop owners plan an event to take place over a set time period. Each shop offers individual specials, and spotlights new fabrics and products. Often times there is a prize if you have your 'passport' validated at every shop involved.  I traveled through a Shop Hop back in 2011. You can see my post HERE. 

But this Shop Hop is going to be different from any I've ever been on. Row by Row Experience began in 2011 with 20 shops participating and has grown to include over 2500 shops covering all 50 states and some in Canada!

Each shop will have a FREE pattern for a 'row block' they've designed. Many will have kits for their unique block available. 

The Hideaway Quilt Shop will be participating for the first time. Jean designed this cute little parade of ducks for her row. She wanted something that would be perfect for even the most novice of quilters. Aside from having the FREE pattern and kits to sell she says shoppers can also select fabrics to make the row their own. 

Another part of this unusual shop hop is the opportunity to collect fabric license plates. Each shop has created their own Vanity Plate that makes theirs unique. Although for example a shop in Maine might have Quilty Pleasure for their vanity plate, the Missouri version belongs to The Hideaway Quilt Shop.

Shops will offer a variety of specials throughout the event. Jean will be rotating 20% off various items and doing demonstrations of techniques.

So what happens when you have all these lovely fabrics, patterns and completed rows? 

Each shop will be giving away 25 fat quarters to the FIRST PERSON to bring in a completed quilt made from a minimum of  8 different rows by October 31st. The quilt must be quilted, bound and labeled. 

While I won't be visiting all of the shops on the hop, I am going to look over the list and see how many I can cover near to me. I've already spied one on the list for Collinsville IL - yet another incentive to attend the stamp show there in July. Maybe next year I can wait til fall for my Texas trip and visit a few of those on my travels. 

If you take part in any of this shop hop, I'd love to hear from you and see pictures of the quilts you make.

Creative Blessings!

Recycle Wednesday - A Memory

Today’s recycle has nothing to do with paper, but everything about preserving memories.
The year Bob and I were married, his dad was diagnosed with cancer. It was a rough time for all of us to hear that word, but especially for Bob. He is the oldest of five and Dad’s namesake… Robert W. Henkins III. Dad had to retire. For a man used to working long hours at his regular job, Dad had a lot of outside interests. One was doing interior house remodels. He was always working with his hands. So he was forced to find something to do with them. He crocheted and someone gave him a muslin candlewicking blanket top of various types of birds.  He couldn’t get into it. And if you’re curious, he eventually began woodcarving and built a dollhouse. We treasure some of his hand-carved miniature gun replicas.

Over time, the candlewicking pattern faded but I couldn’t bring myself to let go of the muslin. I loved my father-in-law and this was a part of his journey I wanted to keep.
One day, while cleaning out my sewing room I found the fabric and a box of my husband’s worn-out Jeans. I knew these two fabrics belonged together. It became a Christmas present for Bob that year. I still have to bind and tack it, but I had to give it to him just the way it was. I just haven’t found ‘the’ fabric to bind it with.  It’s now become a priority for me to finish and get out of the sewing room.

The quilt consists of triangular pieced blocks of the muslin, recycled denim and a coordinating flannel I purchased new to bring it all together. The backing is also of the same muslin. The over-sized lap quilt is 6 blocks by 8 blocks. I’m hoping to find the binding and have it done in time for Bob to take to deer camp this fall. Wish me luck!

What's On My Mind Wednesday

Okay... it's not Recycle Wednesday, but it sounded good. hehe

I took yesterday off to go into the city for the day. A long day which began with getting on the road by 8 a.m. and pulling back into my driveway a bit before 10 p.m. It was a relaxing day. I did some snooping, some shopping, enjoyed lunch with my sister and browsed mixed-media books at Barnes & Noble.

I started off heading for Ava, MO. Remember the blog hop I went on last fall? Dogwood Quilting is where I won the $50 gift certificate. I knew I wanted the solid cotton fabric for the sashing and backing for the butterfly quilt made from reproduction fabrics. We couldn't find a thing that worked! She had very limited supply of the solid cottons. Connie said she seldom has a request for them. Okay... plan B. I see a book for projects using the paint sticks. I've been wanting these but not enough to spend $35+ plus for a 5-pack. Guess what? They were sold out. So much for Plan B.

I did manage to find two quilting books I couldn't live without. One was the Pioneer Sampler by Eleanor Burns. I've recorded the series off of RFD-TV but wanted the book for a more detailed cutting instruction. I also picked up Burgoyne Surrounded - A Classic Quilt Plus Six Variations by Elizabeth Hamby Carlson.

Once I got to Springfield, I went to Hobby Lobby, Michaels and JoAnns. I found the perfect fabric for the sashing/ backing. I thought it was on sale. Turned out it wasn't, but it was a better price than I'd have found in another quilt store and exactly the color I wanted... a pale mint green. I also took advantage of paper being on sale. Slabs and individual sheets were 40% off and I had a coupon for an additional 20% off. I was disappointed they only had a couple of the new DCWV slabs in... and not the ones I wanted. I did buy a solid slab to use with one of my others for a DCWV scrapbook layout competition I'm hoping to enter this month. It dawned on me I probably didn't want to use SU cardstock for the layout hehe.

At Hobby Lobby, I picked up a package of the CB border folders with a coupon and they had the Paper Studio ribbon spools 50% off. Yeah, had to pick up 10 of those :-) You know, like I needed more ribbon! I've wavered back and forth about the CB border folders until I saw a card recently where the border folder was used to create a separate mat - not for embossing the edge of the card. It was one of those DUH! moments for me.

I didn't find a single thing at Michaels. That store was a disaster! They didn't have hardly any Easter crafting supplies and I really wanted paper mache eggs to do a project with Adrian while she's here. What 4-year - old doesn't like to tear paper and glue! The $1 tower baskets along the front of the store were empty and they didn't have a single new slab of the DCWV. I was so frustrated, I didn't even bother going back to the art department. I do know that for all the 'bad scores' the Peoria Michaels store ever got, our store NEVER looked like this one. I'm not even sure it's worth going back. I can always use an overnight in Paducah where the store is clean, well stocked and friendly staff.

After early dinner at Red Lobster for Lobsterfest with my sissy, I spent an enjoyable hour at Barnes and Noble browsing mixed media books. There were several new ones but I came home with only a Texas magazine and a wood tick! Yep, a tick. Thank you B & N!

I have a bunch of writing stuff due over the next couple weeks so I'm going to force myself out of the studio to get those projects out of the way. So for the next couple of weeks, probably the only posts will be the Magazine Monday. But I'll pop in to keep you updated on progress.

Creative Blessings!

Piece Valley Quilt Shop Hop

A week ago today I started off on what despite a couple of bumps, turned out to be the weekend I’d envisioned. FUN!

Piece Valley Quilters held their annual Fall Shop Hop November 3, 4, 5. I’d been on a couple of scrapbooking shop hops and I’m always playing in the on-line blog hops for authors, stamp companies, etc. But this was my first Quilt Shop Hop and I was looking forward to covering the 10 stores in a minimum of 2 days. I was initially shooting for doing them all on Thursday, thus freeing up the rest of my weekend for NanoWrimo but a flat tire on my truck early that first morning changed the scope of the whole weekend. But it was an enjoyable three days despite drizzly weather on Thursday.

The plan was to visit all ten quilt shops, purchase something at every one (though not mandatory for the grand prize) and get my passport stamped at each destination. If the passport was validated at all the shops, then my name went into the drawing for a $50 gift certificate (one given by each store) and the Viking Sapphire 850 by Husgvarna Viking. My spending goal was to attempt to keep it under $20 at each shop, with the balance of my $200 being spent at my LQS.

The first day, I covered over 300 miles, hitting the stores at the opposite farthest ends of the list. My first stops were the two shops in Van Buren, MO. The Pin Cushion where I found these adorable garden fabrics. I’m thinking a small lap quilt perfect for when I’m sitting in a chair on the porch (still to be built) of my garden shed (existing) while I thumb through garden magazines and enjoy the peace of my twenty-five acres. I spent $17.43

Next was Carol’s Country Quilts where I spotted the pretty fall-hued stripe fabric. I picked up coordinating fabrics. Not sure what I’ll use it for, but I loved the patterns. Total cost: $12.32

Then it was on to Mt. View MO and Calico Cupboard. This is one of the first quilt shops I found when we moved down here. He has a beautiful collection of old sewing machines and hard to find patterns. Because I knew I’d be purchasing floursack reproduction fabrics from my Local Quilt Store (LQS) last on the hop, I picked up coordinating reproduction fabrics from Grandpas Garden and Grandma’s Treasures collections. $18.47

After a quick cup of coffee at the local diner, I headed out of town for Ava MO and the Dogwood Quilting. Found some lovely red fabrics and the brown dot. My first thought was chocolate covered cherries. I’ll add from my stash for a Valentine’s style quilt. $13.69. Despite the weather, I enjoyed the drive to Ava. Good thing, because I’ll be going back soon to spend my $50 Gift Certificate! Thank you Connie!

For my last stop of the day, I had just enough time to drive to the opposite end of the hop, to Thayer MO. Coffee Cup Quilts was a neat little shop and I adored ‘Bat’, the shop owner. We had a great visit. I found this pebble-looking fabric that is so not me. But it just jumped off the shelf and put me on the hunt for the coordinating fabrics. This is the only shop where I purchased more than a ½ yard of any one print fabric. I was so excited I purchased two yards. $20.99

After dealing with getting my tire replaced on Friday, I headed for Willow Springs and The Stitchin’ Post (I forgot to stop there on my way to Ava the day before!) I found a dark green fabric that would be the perfect ‘dark’ for the garden quilt. Total: $7.27

With only 4 shops left to go, I drove to West Plains. Sew Connection is a great ‘sewing’ shop outside of West Plains. The beautiful drive took me to a well-lit shop with a friendly staff. I spotted more reds for the Valentine quilt and a paisley I’m not sure what I’ll do with, but I liked it. LOL $11.89

Back in town, I stopped at Gammill Sewing Center. They’re not a huge fabric store, but if you need something for your machine, they’ll have it. I wasn’t sure which size needle I wanted to purchase as I keep breaking my #14. We determined it might be the brand I’ve been buying so I am going to try a new one. $4 and change.

Last on my list for the day was Ozark Sampler Quilts. I’ve been in their store a number of times as they are in the same shopping center as my favorite coffeehouse – Heroes Coffee. I found an additional fabric for the reproduction quilt then headed for fluffy coffee and Internet visiting. $7 and change.

Saturday morning took me to my final stop. Hide Away Quilt shop is my LQS owned by Jean and Jim Asberry. They are super people and some of the first friends I made when we began the move down here. I knew Jean had a 12-bolt collection of Floursack fabrics. I picked out ten plus enough white broadcloth for the background squares to use with them. I’ve decided to do an appliqued 1930’s butterfly garden quilt. No two butterflies will be identical. I also found a quilting stencil for the magickal quilt I’m working on next and a large star stencil, which put my mind on track for a new quilting book. $73 even.

I had a great time seeing how each of the stores was different both in atmosphere and selection. I didn’t win the sewing machine but I already know what I’m looking for with that GC from Dogwood Quilts. My grand total for the ten shops was $186.06 I’m already planning to attend the spring hop. Would you like to go with me?

WOYWW

As you can see, my desk is a bit of a mess. The candy items you see should be gone first thing. They are for goody bags that go out to participants on my Cauldron Café thread over at National Novel Writing Month. I always send little ‘survival’ bags at the beginning of the challenge.

If you’re not familiar with National Novel Writing Month – NanoWriMo for short – it is a month long endeavor to write a 50,000 word novel (approx. the size of Moby Dick for you visual artists) in 30 days. This is my 9th year as a participant and the 4th year I’ve hosted the Cauldron Café chat thread.

Once the goody bag stuff is gone, I need to see where I stand on my 2011 Christmas Cards. I’ve already begun co-hostessing the 2012 Christmas Card Challenge (CCC12) at SplitcoastStampers so I need my cards done for 2011 ASAP. Well, that and I try to mail the Monday following Thanksgiving at the latest.

Part of my co-hostessing duties is to send out goody packets every month. For every person who meets their personal monthly goal and posts a link to the card in their gallery, their name goes into a drawing for a goody envelope full of stamped images, designer paper (DP) and cardstock (CS) mats. My co-conspirator, Vikki Jo, draws around the 2nd of the following month and I like to have the envies all done up for the year. All I have to do is put the address she PMs me on the envie and pop it in the mail. It’s worked well this year.

To add to my artistically chaotic life, Splitcoast has a Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) beginning on Friday the 11th. So somewhere between clearing off my table and writing the next best seller, I plan to play with stamps just for FUN! LOL

Oh and if you don’t think my work table is a mess, take a look at my quilting table and you’ll wonder where I plan to work on all that fabric I’m going to show you tomorrow!

Creative Blessings!