live . craft . learn

creative therapy : my dream home

i long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever i find myself. - maya angelou

this weeks catalyst and the maya angelou quote i chose was perfect for me. perfect for where i am in life right now. perfect because for the last year of my life i lost myself. lost myself in ways that i didn't realize until a few weeks ago. i centered my life around something that shouldn't have become more important than my family, than my children, than the life that i lead, right here in this house that i live in. and yet, even though i know better i lost parts of me and i lost sight of the most important things to me.

when i was younger, before having my littles. before i fell in love with mike. i thought my dream home was huge. a wrap around porch. lots of pretty things inside. decorated and perfect. like a magazine. but it isn't. my dream home isn't filled with things and objects that i purchased at target or pottery barn. it's filled with laughter. it's filled with love and trust and support. it's filled with tears and struggles and lessons learned. it's filled with 2 children who love me because i am their mama and they need no other reason. it's filled with a man who has been by my side for 9 years. a man who knows who i am at the core of my soft heart. a man who will put up with my silliness and sometimes crazy expectations because he knows that eventually i see the truth, and i am not afraid to change my path when i am unhappy or when i am wrong. it is filled with my friends who trust me and can be trusted, because they see me, the real me and they ask for nothing more because it is always enough.

so this house. my dream house. it is being built on a daily basis. it gets tattered and worn. it needs strength and support. it receives laughter and love. it spills tears and sadness. but it is real. it is mine. it is everything to me. it is perfect and i will never, ever, leave it untended again.

happy wednesday.
xo

love market friday

urban prairie magazine : refueled finding maddie's self portrait on her new camera new vintage treasures for a new vintage project kit thursday night audible wars with jayney

back to {my} basics

i spent last night rocking out to this girl's tunes and making this shadowbox for a dear friend. it just felt good to get my hands dirty and create something with the things that i love the most. back to my basics, the things i always gravitate towards, the old, the forgotten and the recycled vintage ephemera i shop for at thrift stores and flea markets. i used vintage buttons pierced with brads {ala my leesa peesa} and chenille fabric to trim the frame and i've been saving that vintage little girl place card for quite a while.

the sides of the shadowbox {ikea} were created by raiding my scrap bin and decoupaging with gesso and gel medium; i just tore the scrap pieces i chose and layered them haphazardly on the wood with gel medium and then coated it all with gesso. nothing scientific, but it gives the sides a sweet & worn white-washed quality.

and, the interior. i adore the interior. that pink paislee background paper is to die for, and i used my beautiful october afternoon butterfly silhouette stamps on the vintage date book which was repurposed from an older project that i just wasn't feeling anymore.

the basics. my basics. that is what i'm excited to start exploring. learning what i like. learning what i love to use. learning how i love to use it. experimenting and discovering myself in this craft. that's something i haven't really done in quite a long time.

also, just found out that silver bella registration opens up on monday. eeks!! cannot wait to be back at that glittery event. new teachers, including the soldering goddess sally jean {double eeks!} who alone will make the entire event so worthwhile for me. are you going??

happy thursday.
xo

*smiles*

saturday at pmp was amazing. seriously! i taught two classes to a room filled with some of the most amazing women ever. it was relaxed and carefree and when the classes were all over i sat down and laughed and cropped until almost midnight-thirty. of course i had a hell of a late night drive back home {1.5 hours} but i would {& will!} do it again....

half of the girls in the process of making ...

this is a peek at the vintage embellishment bar i had available during my mini book class. the girls could go up and choose whatever extra little bits of vintage embellishments they wanted to add to make the project reflect them and their story.

some of the goods in the mini book kit. lovely jbs, maya road and lots of vintage bits.

i realized i took exactly 8 pictures and only of one side of the room. what's with that?? lol

this is my sweet friend marie's hands playing with the vintage filled goodie bag i gave everyone who signed up for both classes. she had surgery a few weeks ago and i was SO happy to see her... and hear her little chirping hiccups.

i've got just a couple kits from both classes still left and thought i'd offer them up here before they go into my etsy shop. never mind they're here now, it's probably easier this way. :)

also, i know some of you have pictures with me from the sis event and i would adore a copy. if you do, can you please email them to me? kl[at!]k8tykat[dot!]com. thank you!

happy monday!
xo

oh and ps : i saw miss suzy cropping too. but shhh... don't tell anyone. it'll be our little secret. ;)

it felt good ...

last night to spend a few hours making things. completely inspired by gigi's class last weekend {which was brilliant!} i took this old vintage book and made a sewn page mountain. to be filled with the everyday thoughts that i write down and always have floating around on itty bitty strips of paper. to hold the daily inspirations that i cut out of magazines. to hold whatever my heart and my creativity desires. bound together, it will be a collection of new beginnings.

happy thursday.
xo

*poof*

i feel like i have so much to say sometimes, but i think about it too much. think about it over and over and over until i beat it dead in my brain and then it never shows up here. and i always think, when i'm thinking these thinks, that its something i need to share. but then it's gone. poof.

so today. today i'm gonna leave you with this lo {my sweet bama and my maddie bean, at 10 months} and then a freebie. cause if your thoughts go poof what better way to cover it up than with a freebie element your sweet readers can download and then use on their pages & projects. right?? right!

see those three tags there in that lo and in that pic posted above? i made them especially for you sweet blog readers, my friends, my encourage-rs of all things. as a little thank you of sorts. for the encouragement. for the special words you say to me. for your friendship. just click on the tag picture to download the pdf. it will open in a separate page. then just save to your computer, print, cut, use.

just a little token of my love for you. all of you. and, btw. they go fantastically well with my honeychurch digi collection. just saying. ;D

 

also... the winner of the pemberley paper pack is :

Love these papers ;-)
Posted by: Marianne | May 15, 2008 at 10:43 PM

send me your addy via email marianne. i've got a scrumptious little paper pack for ya.
;D

happy saturday!!
xoxo

it's demo time

so nikki and i sepnt all day saturday down at picture me perfect scrapping and doing demos for nsd. and i was lucky enough to have nikki film my little demo, sewing fabric strip flowers that i then added to an altered canvas made with the new sassafrass papers {um. LOVE!}, a jenni bowlin bingo card and some tim holtz crackle paint.

i think i'm going to start doing this more, little vblog entries. wouldn't it be cool to see a layout created fast frame from start to finish?

thanks nikki for filming!! and make sure you check her video out too!
love that cute perky redhead!

happy monday!
xoxo

odds & bits

so you want a sneak peek... don't you? my banner class i'm teaching in tennessee at sisiversary is my all time most favorite project ever. lots of yummy goodness from my generous sponsors; hambly, tinkering ink and of course we'll be using the new papers i designed for SIStv. plus there will be vintage fabric & trim. glitter, yes, lots & lots of glitter. and some vintage embellies and other embellies lovingly handmade by me, just for class participants. you can register {{here}}.

and did you see the other classes? if i wasn't teaching i would take them all!

also, in other news my class at picture me perfect was canceled as i'll be attending scrap etc and helping allison at the hambly make & take. however, my sweet friend nikki is teaching a class at pmp on that day, an amazing painted layouts class so if you're in the area you should go. i would if i was in town!

and, if you're going to be at scrap etc. make sure you come and say hi!

happy monday!
xoxo

gush alert!!

lookie there!! that's some some big news i've been keeping secret for a while that i can finally share! see that screen? it's the new SIS boutique {which is AMAZING!!} and right there on the front page are previews of the new paper line that i designed for SIS that will be available in the next collection. yep. i designed paper! eeks!!!

i am so thrilled that the first paper line that i designed will be for SIS and jj. she gave me such an incredible opportunity last march by choosing me to be a fashionista {dude. i had made 3 layouts. total!!} and to be able to design for her and give some of the passion i have developed for scrapbooking back to her and our amazing community is just so fulfilling. and exciting. and truth be told... it's also a little bit scary. my paper babies will be born next monday and i just want everyone to love them as much as i do. or even more than i do! :D

and i have to tell you that the additions to this collection are amazing. we chose all of my most favorite items to include in this collection, vintage and new alike. and i cannot wait to start creating with it all.

april 7th!!

and did you see all the new yummies in the boutique?
the HAMBLY!!
the SASSAFRASS!!
the BANANA FROG!!

*swoon*

happy monday my sweets!
happy monday!
xoxo

friday loves

adding to the collection one or two y's at a time.