Week 30

I had wanted to do a little something different this week and love the idea of the pop art Andy Warhol prints.

I created this in PS, just playing around with different photo filters. 

Had several color combos going, but decided to stick with primaries...can't go wrong with red, blue & yellow!

After I posted this on my FB profile, it sort of reminded me of some 70's album art!  I've also had comments that it looks like the Beatles!

I cannot believe this is week 30 already!!!

Polaroid love

Made a few purchases Saturday doing some local yard sales.  

I think I spent seven or eight bucks total.  

This was probably my favorite buy of the day:

It was folded up in its case so I didn't know what it contained, all I know is it had "Polaroid" on it so it must be rather cool, right?

I was especially enamored with the awesome square flashbulb that was still attached.  I remember those from my childhood - pretty much any automatic camera had those on top.

And this was even more special with its "Polaroid Focused Flash!"  

I suppose because it was behind that little magnifying window it was more focused???? ;)

This sucker is a monster too!  Not like the Polaroid we used at our house for sure!

Also scored a pretty pottery bowl, some garden snippers,
and a set of white ceramic doorknobs with brass hardware.
And of course great memories with my Mom! =)

Yes Please!

Just a quickie post to share one of the most creative and inspiring things I have seen all weekend pass through my blog reader:

This post:

http://www.crochettoday.com/crochet-patterns/marvelously-mod-wigs#comments

These photos:

(photo credit)

Seriously, can it get any cuter that this?

Week 29

This is undoubtedly one of my favorite shots from my 52 week project!

I have titled it Watermelon Smile!

I love the color of that background sheet with the watermelon. 

It just screams summer! 

I seem to have a food and beverage theme going with the Raspberry Lemonade 

last week and the watermelon this week.  

Both are just good old fashioned refreshing summertime treats.  

What is your favorite summertime treat?  

I challenge you to take a little self portrait enjoying that treat.  

Link me up in the comments. 

(might be a little something in it for you.)  ;)

Etsy is live

Yay...I got the Clever Notions Etsy shop up and running.

Several listings and more to come.

Check it out: Clever Notions

Notice in the Shop Welcome that I have a little referral incentive for free shipping!

I also want to thank each and every one of you for your sweet comments and suggestions about my name. That is why I dig the blogging/craft community...people are always willing to help each other succeed. 

You all ROCK!

The End.

It's all in the name.

Okay, so some of you may not know that in my real job...the one that pays the bills (most of the time), I work in public relations, marketing and advertising.  In fact, I have a marketing degree and love what I do.  It allows me to be (somewhat) creative on a day-to-day basis.  Plus, a bonus is I also get to take pictures, so it's kind of a win-win for me.
(on a sidenote, I've been questioning myself about a career-change lately, which really seems silly now that I just read back what I typed! anyway...)

So you would think I would be kind of an expert of sorts when it comes to marketing myself or my own handmade wares, but in reality I still learn something new everyday about my profession, both in my real job and these little side ventures.

I am amazed by the talented people in blogging/etsy land - some who are young and have learned rather quickly!  I really think it's quite awesome - especially when you read about young stay-at-home mothers who are able to work from home, be with their children, and do what they love.  I say more power to them! 

I don't think for a minute that I could "quit my day job" and quite honestly don't know that I would want to given the choice; however, I do think the thought of a little side venture selling things that I've made with my own two hands is pretty nifty!

When you make stuff, it is cool when other people appreciate it. There is no way you could pay someone for the heart and passion they have for their craft, so I think most people who make things and sell them get more satisfaction from knowing others appreciate their time and talent than from making a few bucks from selling it.  Am I wrong?

Having had my Country Text Etsy shop open for awhile now and making a couple of sales is pretty sweet, but I'm currently working toward opening a second Etsy to include my crochet flowers, some repurposed jewelry and some sewn/quilted items.

Herein lies my dilemma: my name.
Not my name...my name is Kim and there's no dilemma there, that's what my mammy named me!

I mean my Etsy shop name.

I've kind of branded my crochet flowers as Crochet Candy.  I love it - cute, catchy and I think it describes them to a tee!  Several people know that is what they are called. Would be a great Etsy shop name, no?

The problem is I have other non-crocheted items that I plan to put in the shop.  Things like this:

AND

this...

When I did a little blog makeover awhile back I had all of this swimming around in my head and tried to come up with a blog name that encompassed all of my crafts and hobbies....

Enter: Kim's Clever Notions.  

I like the play on the word notions, and thought it would be a great Etsy shop name - I even did an etsy search to make sure there was not another Clever Notions out there.

I even thought about two separate new shops. Then I came back to my senses! I just don't think that is practical and it makes it hard to market - it's just confusing to people.


So now you see my dilemma - I need some advice here. 

What would you name my new Etsy shop?

Also, if you have an Etsy or plan to open one anytime soon.  You should go check out Amy Lapi's free weeklong workshop she is doing this week. She has some great practical advice and ideas!  Thanks Kara for pointing me that way.

Week 28

Feeling a little kitschy-vintage for this one!

I had set up a little venue (complete with Raspberry Lemonade) for a photoshoot for my handmade items and decided it would be a perfect setting for my week's self-portrait.

You will also recognize the skirt from my little nifty & thrifty project a few weeks ago.  I had worn this little number to church. 

I actually have more of those projects planned, by the way, just trying to figure out where on the busy clock to fit it in!

mad about plaid!

I really don't think plaid ever goes out of style, but it has its more popular times 

in the fashion industry.  

Whether it's in style or not, I love it!  

Plaid can have such a great variety and the mixing of colors and patterns is just fun.

"So what does plaid have to do with this blog post and why are you mad about it Kim?" 

you are asking...well, I'll show you:

So, I feel quite certain that some of you quilting pros will think this is quite silly, but I'm so excited about the possibilities now that I've made several of these little puppies.

What pray tell are these little puppies I speak???

Well, they are coasters of course!

and that look darn cute on my coffee table I must say.

I had come across a little coaster tutorial awhile back and bookmarked it via my tumblr and decided to give it a whirl using some tossed aside clothing I had put in the ever-mounding "yard sale" piles, along with some vintage fabric I have acquired.  

For an extra touch I added some little pom-pom trim I had in my ribbon and trim stash.

cute, eh?

I have another set that has yet to be put together and finished.  

My first set, which we'll call the guinea pig set is being used in my living room right now. 

I'm also very excited about putting some of these together using some great vintage sheets I found for a nice "shabby chic" look. 

So any feedback?  Good....bad?  (I can take it!)  ;]

Do you think Etsy buyers would appreciate these?

My goal is to have a new Etsy shop (I'll still have Country Text also) up and running by next weekend. It will include a few sets of these along with some jewelry and hair accessories utilizing my 

Crochet Candy.

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

"Independence" Day

That is what I felt Friday getting to have a day of fun on Lake Norfork with my family. I try to keep everything positive on the old blogitty blog, but let's all face it, life is not positive 100% of the time...mine included!

I have felt very tied to home, even on my days off, because of my MIL's illness the past few months, so I really needed a day away from home.   It was nice and I got over my guilt as soon as my feet hit that wooden boat dock!  :)

sidebar: We rented from Buzzard Roost in Mountain Home.  They were super nice, clean, and professional - highly recommended if you are ever in the market. 

We started out sitting in the boat slip waiting on Dad and Hadley.  

We joked that we were having an environmentally friendly day of boating!!! :D

They finally made it and we made our way into the main part of the lake. 

The first half of the day, Wayne was our "captain", then the second half, went to Tommy.

He was captain when we got pulled over by the lake patrol...I think they were hoping to catch a bunch of drunks on the lake in a rental...boy were they sadly disappointed!   :P

They did reprimand us for Hadley (my lil bro) riding on back of the boat while we were moving.  (the bench you see behind my cousin Cindy above) We honestly didn't realize you were not suppose to be on there. In fact I was laid out on there on our initial trip leaving the boat dock.  Luckily Cindy ended up knowing the lake patrol dude so he backed off the attitude when he realized he knew someone.  

Was excited to finally meet Jill (left) my cousin Cindy's good friend. She's a hoot!

This is probably one of my favorite all time pictures of my Dad.  He just looks like relaxed and happy.  Usually when I pull the camera out he tries to be funny and makes goofy faces or looks all stiff, so I was glad to catch him just being him.


Look at my adorable little brother Hadley! He HATES for me to take his picture, so I took a crapload to catch him smiling while he was drying off from our little excursion in the water. 

So that was Friday - my "independence" day.  

Everyone needs an "independence" day every now and then regardless of 

what's going on in their life, dontcha think?

You are correct!

I am trying something I've been wanting to learn for awhile now: quilting.

(Mandie - you are correct too, as I have something envisioned using crochet and fabric strips)

I have already put two sets of my little project together.

Hoping to make more and reveal the final product soon. :)

Freedom

Week 27- - -

.

Someone on Facebook commented on this photo and asked what this picture was about ...after thinking on that, I decided since it was July 4th when I took the picture, it would represent Freedom!

Freedom as a 40 year old to exercise my right to jump and act like a 4 year old! :)

Yippy Skippy!!!

I used a random action downloaded from deviantart.com.

wait for it

One of the ideas that I've had for awhile includes this pile of tossed aside apparel and vintage fabric!  

How could you toss such pretties aside?  

I'm very excited about all the possibilities and combinations.  

This project includes a first for me.  

An artform I've been wanting to learn for quite sometime now.  

Can you guess what?

One Nation Under God

Just want to wish all of you a very Happy Independence Day out there in blogland!

This is one of my favorite holidays, not only because of what it represents...the freedom I enjoy and rights as a citizen of the USA, those men and women who have fought, and continue to do fight for my freedeom, but also because it fall right smack dab in the middle of Summertime!!!

I cannot imagine what our forefathers went through to ensure our independence here in the United States and it makes me sad that we forget (I'm as guilty as the next person).

I commend those who work hard to make sure we don't forget. Regardless of the turmoil our Country is experiencing with the crazy economy, oil spill, natural disasters, fighting, murder, terrorism, and the hardships many many people are having to endure, I fully believe the United States will prevail as a Unified Country...we always do!

I DO however think in order to do so we have to continue to base our way of life on the foundation of God...as in "One Nation Under God!"

As I was driving a couple of days ago, I heard something I've never heard before on K-LOVE.  If you want to feel moved, patriotic, and proud to be an American, take a few minutes and watch this clip of Red Skelton as he explains our Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Happy Birthday America!

For you have been called to live in freedom -- not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.   Galatians 5:13

 

PS: Thanks to my Uncle Robert for the cast iron Uncle Sam! I collect cast iron and he gave it to me as a thank-you for helping with his campaign. 

(remember the one running for office?)

He won his primary and will be running in November. :)

New Color Fun

Okay, I have decided to give it another go with a new color challenge. 
I hope everyone will play along again with this.

There is no "catch" or rules to play along, it's just a fun and inspiring exercise to help you get that camera clicking.  The bonus is you get to admire others' work and creativity and maybe make some new pals along the way. ;)

I decided to use the same Group Pool for this one that we used last time: Color Fun

If you want to play, just join flickr (it's free and simple to use) and add your pictures to the group.

Easy Peasy!

I thought it might be fun to do some color combos this time and since it's Independence Day weekend, how about we begin with RED, WHITE, AND BLUE?  

I like to try to get one pic a day when I do these challenges, but that might not work as well for you.  
Heck, it might not work so well for me on some days!!! 

Each new color or combo will be posted once per week (probably Sunday or Monday) so you have a week to get as many or as few pictures as you wish. 

Feel free to invite others to play along...the more the merrier. :)

If you need help with Flickr let me know.

Reunion Time

So on the subject of family reunions.

In my experience these events are not something to get super excited about.  They are times to reconnect with what are virtual strangers in some cases. Can we say awkward?

Last weekend was my DeShazo reunion.
DeShazo is my maiden name so it was my Dad's side.  (Thanks Captain Obvious.)
Anyway,  Although I don't go every year, mostly because the past several years my Saturdays have been spent at horseshows, this year our immediate family was in charge, so I wanted to go and help out as much as I could.


We had the reunion at a little primitive church (I could really kick myself for not getting some pictures of the quaint one-room chapel).  This church, pavilion, cemetery, and seriously primitive outdoor potties are located by the home place where my PaPa DeShazo grew up.

I do enjoy seeing other DeShazo's...offspring of my Papa's brother and sisters and looking through old and new pictures in the family scrapbook that gets passed around each year

This is my Granny DeShazo (right) visiting with a cousin.  Now, Granny doesn't have this awkwardness because she really knows all these fine folks! 

And here she is again with my Uncle Tommy.

He's my Dad's little brother and lives in San Diego...I blame him for my schnauzer love.  {sidenote} His Sammi has been sick, but she made the trip.  I get to see her today before we make a lake trip.

Here's a candid shot of my Dad and two brothers, Hadley (16 and hates to have his picture taken!) He is a mini-me of my Dad.  Quite the cowboy!

My other brother, Kyle is a lover of music and is so talented and creative.  I was 16 when he was born and was so happy to finally have a sibling. :)  He was the cutest kid ever and could tell some great {long} stories! LOL  He loved Ghostbusters.

 Love those dudes!

One fun thing our family does is hold an auction - everyone brings something to sell and the money goes into the "pot" to pay for the catered meals, rental and other reunion expenses from year to year.

A few years ago my Mom (who was part of the family for many years and is still close with my Granny, Aunt, Uncle, etc...) put together a wonderful basket of fresh veggies and canned goodies from her garden for me to take to the auction. It sold extremely high so it has become somewhat of a tradition. This year was no exception!

I have a great Mom!

You can see I added a little "candy" in the mix. ;)

My stepmom put together this great outdoor set complete with cooler, everything one needs for the sun and water and those wonderful chocolate covered sunflower seeds.  She is incredibly talented and generous.  She came early to the reunion and decorated the pavilion - it was so nifty - patriotic themed of course.

This next item was the funniest one of all!

A redneck survival kit! Complete with Boone's Farm wine, paper plates, Moon Pie, Yoo-Hoo chocolate soda, canned cheese and saltines, and lots of other cute items.   Thought it was such a clever idea and one I may have to file away for some other occasion.

You can also see some great handmade beaded bracelets in this shot...guess fun jewelry making runs in the family. ;)

This picture cracks me up of my Dad with part of his auction loot - some Jones Soda.  he really is not asleep, just playing it cool in the back doing a little sneaky bidding. 

All-in-all it was a fun day and I did enjoy seeing everyone and visiting some - even the awkward moments.


My Mom's side always had a huge reunion when I was younger - at Lake Charles - it was awesome!  We would swim and it was a potluck style so there was always tons of awesome homemade food!

It was also a time I would always get to see my second cousin Leigh.  We were never super close, but always fell right in with each other come reunion time!  Leigh and her husband have recently gone through an adoption and their story is AMAAAAAZING!  I invite you to visit their blog and read about their miracle from God, Lucas!
Adams Familee

So what are your thoughts on family reunions?