Monarch Post

a walking exercise in creativity

 
After dropping the kids off at school this week; I drove to the old area of our little town, and took some long walks.  I needed a change of scenery from my neighborhood walkabout. And what glorious scenery there was to see right now!

I think my favorite things about fall are the brilliant colors, front porches decorated for Halloween; how excited my kids are for trick-or-treating, and their endless costume planning. And candy corn, of course.

 
Love the old Grandma houses in this neighborhood... 

And all the pumpkin decorated porches.

 
The methodically decorated houses.

 
The sparsely decorated houses.

And the porches which seem to suggest lots of children living there...

 
I'll bet the Rodgers family lives here, what do you think?;)

 

And so with all that delicious, autumness inspiring me-- I got busy. I've wanted to try and make a fall garland out of recycled wools and fabrics for a long time, so I did. (I know I said I'd do the ornament how to's this week, but ornaments can wait a week, right?) Fall is wonderful right now...I'll do a giveaway too, we haven't done that in ages. Next week for sure!

I thought it would be really cool to make chains from the wool. I was really wrong. After ten chains; my eyes glazed over. After twelve chains; my eyes rolled back into my head. I nearly had a seizure. Ridiculously TEDIOUS, I tell you! 

 
I then had a much better idea: strips of garland. Yes, strips are good, and a garland happens in no time. But I still didn't want to sew all those strips together.

Best idea so far: garage sale scrapbook brads! I had a whole tin of them sitting by me, just waiting for a new purpose in life:)

 

  
 
  Strips now mixed together with those tedious chains. Much better...

 

Leaves brad-tacked on, and mantel draped. I think it makes my dated family room mantle really perk up, and say fall la la la la! (Sorry.)

Well, we're off to buy our pumpkins at our favorite patch-- our porch is currently pathetic. And I'm stopping at the fabric store to buy one of those quilty template things to use with my cool, new rotary cutter. I have strips to cut, and more garlands to make!

Have a great weekend. xoKelly

Susan Boyle, Susan Gloria and sweet serendipity

 

My girlfriend Melinda sent me a youtube email a few weeks ago. She wrote at the top of the page, you have to watch the whole thing! And so I did. I sat in front of my computer screen teary-eyed and blown away like millions of people who have watched Susan Boyle sing her amazing rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" on Britain's got talent tv program.

And then I watched it a half-dozen times more... So much has already been said about why Susan affected people the way she did that night. I've read several theories from "everyone loves the underdog" to "the ugly duckling becomes a swan" theory about Susan's performance. I'm sure each are true. But there's something more too, I think. I think we love it when someone's timing, gifts, gumption, and grace all collide at the same moment in time. We love to see people who've never had the chance to shine, shine. And when they shine, they light our way; showing us that it's all still possible, we just have to "Dream the Dream" too-- and belt it out loud.

So dear Susan, thank you for your bravery-- and thanks too for wiping that smug grin off Simon Cowell's face ;) I think it was high time someone did it, and who better than lovely you!

Which all brings me back to Susan Gloria in the first photo above: my inspiration for her came from Susan Boyle and springtime, because like I said in my last post, May inspires fairy-art doll making for me. Her dress is made from a sweater sleeve (the sort some ladies of "a certain age" like to wear ;)) which I appliqued with odd pieces of fabric and felted wool. And her head is made from newspaper papier mache. When I was almost finished tearing strips of newspaper, I found one piece with the sentence "Believe in yourself". I promptly stuck that piece right across her chest! I love it when a plan comes together-- I mean, how perfectly perfect. Talk about sweet serendipity all the way around.

 

 

 

 

So believe and dream and do it my friends! Susan Gloria here is heading off to Art Doll Quarterly magazine-- I'll let you know if she makes her audition!

Happy PINK SATURDAY everyone! (I hope Susan has enough pink on her dress to qualify for today.)  Thank you Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting this event. There's lots more pink over at Beverly's blog, have fun!

Lots of love,

xoxoKelly

Mary's bouquet

  "God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars."

    ~Martin Luther

      I've recently discovered something new about myself. I am very, very seasonal... my moods, my tastes, my designs change with the seasons.  In winter I'm bold and graphic. Red and black wooly clothing, and sensible shoes. But when springtime arrives, I find myself pulling out the lace and eyelet blouses at the back of my closet- even a string of pearls, at times. Spring softens me, brings out the feminine side. I like that after the severity of winter. And so right now, I'm all about lace, spring greens, and pinky reds as you can see by my newly crafted bouquet.

One of my favorite recent reads is "The Secret Life of Bees". Last month I saw the movie- and loved it also. It is, in it's essence, a quest for Mary, a quest to mother the motherless. And ultimately, finding strength in and through the love of Mary, and the nurturing, feminine face of God. If you haven't seen the movie or read the book, it's well worth the time.

After reading "The Secret Life of Bees" I have been drawn to learn more about Mary. One of the most interesting and surprising discoveries I've made is learning how many flowers are symbols for Mary. Those flowers are often times planted in gardens with a statue of Mary. Mary's gardens.

And so from me, a Mary bouquet for you today.

    Roses from an old prom dress.

    Canterbury bells from flannel fabric.

    Purple asters from batik fabric.

   Blue forget-me-nots from a felted wool sweater, baby's breath from an old lace blouse.  All are Mary's flowers.

It's almost illegal how much fun I can have hunting through the racks of thrift shop clothing for my art supplies!  Happy PINK SATURDAY everyone! Thanks so much for stopping by and welcoming me. It's so fun to meet so many new bloggers. Thank you Beverly for hosting this event.

Love,

Kelly

P.S. the bouquet is listed in my Etsy shop

 

praise

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate" ~Oprah Winfrey.

    Praise be indeed!! I got something creative done. Done, did, done. And I like it. It's only been sitting on my worktable a month, sheesh.  My fabric collage found it's inspiration in the song,"praise for the morning". that old song was rolling around in my head, and I decided to make some art out of the tune. Well, I think I should add a praise for the evening here too- it took a late nighter, a quiet house, good music, and candles to summon my creative muse back.... I don't think this one is for sale...

 

And If you find yourself needing a jolt of inspiration to move up and out of the end of a winter/creative slump thing like I did, well, check out this "praise for the morning" video on youtube. It's lovely. Okay and it's not linked right, but it's titled Morning has Broken (Spring/Lent)

So continuing on with that praise theme-there was so much to be thankful for this week. (And now your thinking I'm going overboard on the underling, um well, Typepad won't let me stop. AArrgh!) Anyway...

 

parties,

 

 

 

recent thank you notes from our kids,

 

(the house is not that big, by the way...and this thank you was a scout project, my young children do not write thank you notes on a whim!)

 

But the oldest child writes them on her own :) a thank you for our trip..

 

 

And perfect timing on this thank you from a school project Sophey wrote- she handed it to me when I was knee deep in dirty laundry. She says she loves me more than 200,000,000 + 900,000,000- the laundry wasn't so bad, after all...

The chickadees are back too. They vanished this winter. I love to watch them from my kitchen window. So there is lots to praise and be thankful for, even when the world only wants to give us bad news, I say look for the good- ALWAYS! And I'm going to try like heck to stay focused on the positives!

 

My in-laws are coming this Monday from Ohio for a week long visit. I doubt I'll be at the computer next week. So I'll see you in a week or so.

Take care and have a praiseworthy weekend ;)

 xoxo Kelly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hearts in a row

    It snowed like crazy all day yesterday. I had the perfect excuse not to go anywhere. I pulled out my recycled felted sweater wools, and got to work. One dozen little sweetheart pins flew right off my itching to stitch fingertips. Love it when that happens.  

I'm not too big on New Year's resolutions- I use New year's like a yearly to do list. Mostly for house projects. Changing me with a resolution just doesn't ever seem to work. 

If I did resolve anything about me last year, it was to find a better vision for my artwork. I want so much to do more to help others. There's always this conflict going on in me. I sit in my lovely warm, comfy studio doing exactly what I want to do with my life, and yet half the world lives in abject poverty, simply trying to survive- they have no such luxury. It nags at me. And so I've asked and asked for a clearer vision- how can I help and use the gifts I've been given?

Last week maybe part of that prayer and asked for vision fell into place. At least for my Etsy shop. I cleared my shop last night. And from here on out, ten percent of everything I sell will be sent to charity/justice organizations.(It's small potatoes, I know, but hey, it all helps, right?) I've already started doing this with my Bead for Life crafts, and now ten percent of everything I sell will be donated to various groups. For instance, any craft item made in red, I will donate ten percent to Product Red.  Maybe craft items in pink will go to Breast Cancer research? ...I haven't decided on all the charities yet, but I'll let you know where the money will go in the description of each item. I need to figure out a way to keep a tally on my sites...

So for the next two months in my shop (maybe permanently, we'll see how it goes...) you'll see everything in shades of red, pinks, and chocolate brown (Chocolate=Valentine's, right?)  Hearts, Love, Chocolate. What could be better? 

Loads of love to you!

xoxoxo Kelly

p.s. I'll be adding the heart pins to my Etsy shop later tonight or tomorrow morning- lots to do today.

I'm gonna get better

   I'm sick.  Woke up yesterday morning feeling like someone had a sander down my throat all night.  Hate it when that happens.  Nose running, body aching; you know, the works.  Such a lovely thing to happen this time of year when there's just n o t h i n g better to be doing!!!

I'd planned on finishing up the bulk of my shopping yesterday.  So far I've only online shopped for Christmas, but  instead of running around stores; I sat in my sweats and shopped online again.  I'm really starting to like Christmas shopping by computer.  I feel less stressed, less overwhelmed, less tempted to BUY just because. 

Because you see, I have Christmas issues; deep seated, long-held, highly cherished ISSUES. I won't go into detail, but believe me, the shopping-gift-giving-will-everyone-be-happy-Christmas-morning-thing gets to me.  Big time.  I am, however, determined to find a way out of some of my Christmas insanity this year. Staying out of the stores seems like a good place for me to start. 

So in the spirit of staying out of the stores, I cybered over to Hallmark to order my Christmas cards.  Last year we bought their inspi(red) cards.  But it looks like I'll have to go buy them at a Hallmark store-- they're not for sale online.  Searching around though, I discovered the whole PROJECT RED/ inspi(red) site.  This is an organization devoted to AIDS treatment in Africa. Various retailers donate a portion of their sales to the inspi(red) campaign.  

It's becoming easier and easier to help those in greatest need around the world.  And knowing there really are ways as simple as buying my cards, or my coffee, or my sneakers from companies that are a part of PROJECT RED helps me feel a little bit better about my Christmas crazy me. 

We are such a fortunate family.  I want the same for everyone else.

Anyway, that's it for me today.  I'm gonna sniffle my way along on Christmas projects.  If the sun would come out, I'd take some photos of homemade ornaments...

P.S. just repainted a thrift store frame red, added vintage buttons and my favorite Christmas photo.  Whatdya think?

Love to you xoxoxo,

Kelly 

what's on my work table

     I know I'm not going to get much crafting done this week.  We're hosting Thanksgiving for about thirty of my family members.  But in between getting ready for Thanksgiving; I made four new bracelets today.  I love the new spiral findings AND my Bead for Life beads.  These four bracelets are gifts, but I think I'll be making more for my Etsy shop.

I've blogged about my favorite beads before, but just in case you didn't catch me going on about them... well, here I go again.  Ugandan women make these beads from old magazines.  It's hard to believe; they are so beautiful.  Their full story is here at Bead for Life.  Their motto is '"eradicating poverty one bead at a time'.  And that's just what they are doing; as they create schools, housing, etc, from the sale of their beads.  It's just the most inspiring story of taking what we would throw away and literally creating new life.  I get teary-eyed every month when I read my email newsletter from Bead for Life.  I like to buy the loose beads, but ready-made bracelets and necklaces are also for sale.

    I picked up these cute, wooly ornaments for my tree at Whole Foods on Sunday.  It was hard to choose, there were so many fun packages of ornaments.  This is  another amazing company of women in Nepal who handmake all sorts of crafts-- from hats to purses made from rice sacks.  It's a fair trade company, named Earth Divas.  I plan to do some Christmas shopping here..

    And if you need more inspiring women... well here's just the ticket.  I couldn't wait to get home, pour a cup of tea and savor this magazine.  Yum. It's beautiful and inspiring.  And whether or not you''ve got the fabulous decked out studio or you're rolling beads in a hut, the creative spirit can do the world a world of good!!!

So in the spirit of Thanksgivng, I just want to say how truly thankful I am for all the creative women who inspire me constantly.  From developing countries to magazines; and this wonder of wonders-- blogland.  Thanks to each and every one of you.  Good on you!!!

I hope you have a very, very happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo Kelly

keeping beauty and letting beauty go...

   Wheweee...what a week! Packing, packing, unpacking, rearranging.. settling one daughter into a place of her own, and us into a new "place in our lives " takes awhile. But a big housewarming basket of goodies from all of us helped the cause... Miss Sophey doesn't look too happy about any of this does she?  She says she's surrounded by brothers now!

  

I'm still unpacking too, from the last large home improvement project- carpeting half the house. Still a few boxes left to go in the kids room and my studio, but I'm taking time to edit and rearrange as I go.  It's feeling good to get that done before the holidays this year.

So nothing too fabulous to show for a hard week's work here-- unless photos of moving boxes could somehow be artistically lit and displayed...I'm sure you're glad I passed on that effort.  But I did enjoy packing up the Halloween decorations and unpacking my sweet Thanksgiving decorations. Toilet paper roll pilgrims, and a walnut shell turkey (first photo) made by my kids a few years back.  And three original "turkey eaters".  My favorite decorations are always kid-made.

  Only a few decorations fill our home at Thanksgiving time, and that seems right to me.  I'm glad for the simplicity of this holiday-- it helps keep me focused on gratitude for all of the wonder and goodness in my life.

Yesterday, I had to remind myself (a lot) that life is wonder.  A gloomy, rainy Monday matched my mood-- reality that my first baby bird had left the nest settled in around me. And I was a pretty sad momma bird all day long... just couldn't focus on getting much done, so I read for awhile from my very favorite book, "Beauty rediscovering the true sources of compassion, serenity, and hope", By John O'Donohue. John O'Donohue is my favorite author.  He writes like no one else I've ever read; stringing words together in a lyrical, holy fashion as he maps the Irish landscape and Irish heart. He writes about the many aspects of beauty; from landscape to color, birth to death, and so much in between. And somehow, I "get this" Celtic spirituality more than any other.  Maybe I should-- with a name like Kelly...

   So since I haven't posted for awhile, I'm reserving the right to be "wordy" today.  And I'll love you and leave you with a couple sections from Mr. O' Donohues' book:

             BEAUTY IS QUIETLY WOVEN THROUGH

                           OUR DAYS

"Beauty does not linger, it only visits.  Yet beauty's visitation affects us and invites us into its rhythm, it calls us to feel, think and act beautifully in the world: to create and live a life that awakens the Beautiful.  A life without delight is only half a life.  Lest this be construed as a plea for decadence or a self-indulgence that is blind to the horrors of the world, we should remember that beauty does not restrict its visitations only to those whom fortune or circumstances favour.  Indeed, it is often the whispers and glimpses of beauty which enable people to endure on desperate frontiers.  Even, and perhaps especially, in the bleakest times, we can still discover and awaken beauty; these are precisely the times when we need it most.  Nowhere else can we find the joy that beauty brings.  Joy is not simply the fruit of circumstance; we can choose to be joyous independent of what is happening around us.  The joyful heart sees and reads the world with a sense of freedom and graciousness.  Despite all the difficult turns on the road, it never loses sight of the world as a gift"...

                   BEING HERE IS SO MUCH

"It is tragic that something has to go wrong before we realize the gift of the world and our lives, gifts we could never have dreamed or earned.  When something goes deeply wrong, the realization it forces is inevitably learned at the grave of loss.  If we were able to live  in a deeper state of awareness and wisdom, our days on earth would find a new frequency: spaces would open naturally for beauty to touch us and we need beauty as deeply as we need love. Beauty is not an extra luxury, an accidental experience that we happen to have if we are lucky,  Beauty dwells  at the heart of life.  If we can free ourselves from our robot-like habits of predictability, repetition and function, we begin to walk differently on the earth.  We come to dwell more in the truth of beauty... To recognize and celebrate beauty is to recognize the ultimate sacredness of experience, to glimpse the subtle embrace of belonging where we are wed to the divine, the beauty of every moment, of every thing"

Take care,

xo Kelly

                                      

feelin' the fall love

 

 

I am a summer loving creature, and spring is my favorite time of year.  All the seasons are distinct,  vivid, and lovely in Utah, but when I see those bare branches explode into every shade of spring pink, well I get kinda euphoric in April.  So that being said,  I have to work my way into autumn. One of the best ways for me is buying a load of fall magazines.  Just seeing all the really clever ideas for fall decorating and foods gets me shifting into crispy, cozy gear.

So when the kids got home today I took five minutes and flipped through that new stack of magazines.  And by the way, if you're a season behind like me, and you want to find some really cute outdoor cushions on sale-- I just found these all at Pier 1.  I am in LOVE with the pattern and colors!!  And they're reversible, which makes the multi-tasker in me very happy...

  Oh, to be seven and nine and never get sick on a swing.

So here are some of those clever, clever magazine ideas:

Hallmark:

 

 

Country Living:

 

 

 

Family Fun:

 

Cute, cute.

 

Love that yellow pick em' up truck. 

 

Eyeball appetizers, anyone?

Country Home:

 

Martha Stewart Living:

 

 

No skateboards, shoes, dirty socks, or balls?  Gee, Martha you should come over sometime and check out my porch decorating style...

 

Floating fondant cupcakes-- someone has more time than me at the moment...

Pottery Barn for Kids:

 

Oh, to be so young you can get away with any outfit...

 

So I'm working on getting that fall mojo thing happening.  And these stripey pumpkins I just bought and tucked into my porch planters are making me smile today.

  

So there ya go... that's what's happening over at my Roost!  Isn't this the cutest front porch sign?  And yes, it matches my darn cute cushions-- I am hopeless. Hope you're feeling the fall love...

Take care xo,

Kelly

 

the church at the back of the bookstore

   I think I sorta fell of the blog-wagon last week.  So much going on with back-to-school, back from vacation, back to helping parents, and back to finding a new seasons' rythm around here; I didn't manage too much else.  But in between all that I've been thinking (scary) about what to post next.  And my mind keeps going here...

One not too pretty photo of the back of an old bookstore in our vacation town, Steamboat Springs.  One of those quirky oh-so-not-big box bookstores that I so love to find.  This place was filled with oddball reads and unique bits of art.  And something more.  As I worked my way to the back of the bookstore I stopped suddenly, a breeze was blowing through the open back door.  Curtains swayed. I felt as though I had just walked onto holy ground.  I know that has to sound really weird, but it's true.  I'm kind of a "feely" type person, and this place stopped me in my tracks.  I went and sat down for awhile on the couch, just to soak in this feeling I was experiencing.  It was wonderful, peaceful and energizing all at the same time. Almost buzzing. When I did get up to leave I was even a little light-headed.

I've wandered through cathedrals in Europe, and lots of churches around here; while I'm awed by the architecture and the love it took to build such places, I never felt the sense of holiness I did here that day in the bookstore. 

 I asked the cashier if people met here for book discussions (no-brainer) and she said yes.  I don't know what books and ideas they share together, but I'm pretty sure these folks have found something more; maybe something like true community, sharing and caring for each other in a very loving way. Whatever they have together, it's good. I can't think of another explanation for such a wonderful feeling place.

Leaving the bookstore, I found one more thing to treasure.  A book.  Ruth, a wise-woman friend at my chiropractor clinic has told me for months now  I need to read this book.       And of course, after I bought it, I knew she was right.  The title can be a little intimidating.  But the premise is that we create the outer circumstances of our lives by what and how we think.  And the places where our lives are stuck are the places where our unloving, and negative thinking has got us stuck.  Louise claims even dis-ease is first created by our unloving thoughts and emotions.  But what is different about this book for me, is that it offers a way to truly change. She says we have to give up our need for engaging in our current behavior; this has always been the missing piece of the "change puzzle" for me. And then we can change unloving thoughts and the ways we don't love ourselves enough.  It's been surprising to notice how much negative chatter goes on in my brain this past week.  And I think of myself as a positive person!  Nothing horrible-suicidal, mind you, just the old geez, "I hate my thighs" kinda stuff.  

Heaven knows I've bought a few self-help books in my lifetime.  I've probably helped Deepak and Dr. Wayne Dyer buy a boat by now.  But I wanted to share this book. I know people from all faiths or no faith might read this blog, and the last thing I would want is to come off sounding preachy here--it's still primarily meant to be a creative pursuits kinda blog, so I hope it's taken in the spirit it's meant in.  Helpfulness.  For me, my creative life and my spiritual life are so woven and bound together-inseparable really- that when I'm stuck in one area I'm stuck in the other area too.  So that's why this book is so helpful, at the moment.  I'm feeling a little scared and stuck moving ahead in my art business.  Sorta getting clear on the "whys" and if it helps anyone else in the process to read this, well I'm all for that, really. 

So I guess I'm just passing along what I'm finding useful at the moment, to get those pesky bits of my life unstuck and moving along.  Well, and whatever faith you are or are not, really this book is religion neutral I've decided. It's just new thinking and ancient thinking together, and it turns conventional thinking upside-down...and I always like that. I even told my hairdresser about this one.  We do try to have meaningful conversations amid the dye and foil ;-)

And just in case this is all a little too airy-fairy here, and you're not into positive affirmations, I've included one very funny (I like to think) book that sits at the end of the self-help library here: I pick it up when I've decided I'm taking life too seriously and martyr-ishly (new made-up word). I'm laughing in an instant.

 I'll love you and leave you with a few of my favorite quotes:

 

*****************************************************

Guilt will be the driving force behind my actions today.

I have a right to be dysfunctional.

Today I will acknowledge my right to thive in chaos and panic in tranquility.

My recovery is not going anywhere.

Control is the only thing any of us have; therefore, I must hold onto it at all costs.

Today I will compulsively weigh myself every hour, each time sinking deeper into a pool of depression.

I must hurry, hurry, hurry to live my life.  The future looks bleak.

Today I will remember a disastrous past adventure and use it as a reason to not try anything new.

Today I will look at my shortcomings for what they are--my parent's fault.

I will nurture all my fears and anxieties on this day.

If someone compliments me today I will look for the hidden agenda.

Extreme mood swings are my goal for the day, as they are so invigorating.

*********************************************************************************************

One hundres and eighty one pages just filled with great one-liners...

See you soon--promise.  Forgot the promise to not be long-winded though didn't I?  I'll work on that.

Love,

Kelly