Forever Daisies

Hello... is anyone there?

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 03:42:00 +0000

Wow. I guess it took awhile to return! Is anyone still checking in?

Since my last update, I...

had a baby
received a promotion at work
started a doctorate program
found out Jaffery has thyroid cancer
made a bundle of projects

and SO much more.

I'm thinking about writing now and then. No promises, but please, let me know if you are still around! Would love to hear from you.

Lost in a Sea of Paper

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 13:15:00 +0000

I have been lost in the above, which if you remember, should look more like this beautifully organized art studio. It is sad. Yet, I did finish enough items for a craft fair, posted a bunch on Etsy, and have been helping Alan with his website (as it is "McRib Season").

I have also been prepping for Thanksgiving. Well, in prepping I mean thinking about what I need to buy and what parts of the house still need cleaned ;) I have found myself with a lovely cold/sinus infection. I could feel it coming on last week, however the last couple days have been brutal. I have made several broth soups and tonight Alan took me for Pho. This helped tremendously and I'm hoping does the trick.

I have a bunch of fun holiday posts in mind. I'm excited to start on those soon. What upcoming holiday crafts, scrapbooks, or projects will you be working on?

Late Halloween Post

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 04:13:00 +0000

This year, Halloween brought us our very own Darth Vader Dog and Yoda Dog.

We love dressing Dakota and Jaffery up for their Halloween walk. The adults might think we are nuts, however neighborhood kids love it.

Weekend Flair: Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 04:16:00 +0000

Do you decorate for Halloween? I typically mush Halloween into the "fall" category and let nature take care of it.

However, this year I decided to be a little extra creative. First, I bought 2 rolls of white streamers from Target and a little clean packing tape and started wrapping my front door.

I wrapped for what seemed like hours (likely a few minutes), and found myself only 1/2 way down the door and out of streamer paper. I made a run to another Target picked up a couple more and thankfully was able to finish the job.

I traced a couple large white circles using mixing bowls and a couple small black circles using soup bowls to make the eyes, and there appeared a mummy front door!

Last year after Halloween, I of course made my way through the clearance. I found these wonderful window decorations for a couple dollars.

If you happen to already own orange plastic table cloth and black paper, you might be able to make your own!

I still have a giant spider and bat with glow in the dark web to put out before the big night, however I must say I'm pretty happy with what I have gotten put out. A huge step up from nothing. :)

How did you decorate for Halloween?

Project Life: October 8-14 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 04:36:00 +0000

Supplies

InLinkz.com

Expect an amazing return

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:12:00 +0000

Hello loyal blog followers.

I had planned to take a couple days away from my blog to finish up my Etsy store, rest, and clean my messy house. Here we are, nearly 2 months later. My Etsy store is open, however I still haven't rested up and to be honest, my house to rarely clean.

Life is never boring. I'm still working on pushing forward in certain areas of my life. My 2012 word is "do", and while I wish I had a longer list of done I am making measurable progress by remembering to simply "do". My art studio (aka: crafting space) is a big pile of mess. I have to admit some beautiful things come out of the space, but holy moly it is a disaster area!

I have been fairly active on twitter and Instagram, now and then on facebook, and like I could really walk away from Pinterest :) I did a fun guest post at Mom It Forward. However, even with all of this, I really want to pick up on the blog again. I love sharing my little projects area the house, crafty experiments, crazy work happenings and random photos of Dakota and Jaffery.

My plan is to return, full force, on October 15. Yes folks. I will be back.

True Story

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:48:00 +0000

This morning I was typing at my computer and someone rushed by my office. Nothing odd this time of year, until I heard his sneakers come to a screeching halt. Brisk footsteps could be heard moving back my direction. I look up to see a man, presumably a student, standing in front of me.

Assuming he was one of the seemingly hundreds of students looking for the hidden computer lab, I begin to open my mouth to say "C3026 is." but before I could even peep, he says with a mix of question and astonishment, "You are the youngest looking teacher here!".

"Thank you" (what else does one say?). I reply. "I get that a lot". Though I'm thinking, no one else has literally ran back to my office to tell me.

He goes on, "I could say you are 25, but that would be too old".

Oh. To be 25 again...

Happy Fall Semester.

Weekend Flair: Wall of Plates

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 12:11:00 +0000

I randomly would see ideas for Plate Walls on Pinterest, and loved the simplicity, patterns, and COLORS! I began collecting plates from thrift store adventures and after several months, decided to give it a try!

Honestly, I didn't measure. I'm terrible at measuring. I organized the plates on the table below, and then starting with the one in the middle, started attaching them to the wall with simple plate holders.

It took about an hour, however I really love the results. I love that I can switch it up, really anytime I find a plate I like more.

Super easy weekend project!

What creative project will you be doing this weekend?

Pushing Forward

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 04:22:00 +0000

Always eager to help, support, encourage, and love others, I somehow have found myself in a funny spot... I am not always doing these things for myself.

Yeah - I finally said it.

Of course I want to continue doing these things for others, however I must also remember to take care of myself.

Not too long ago, I wrote this little piece on motivation. I find it is still holding true; a little push is often all one needs to take that step, big or small. So here it is. I'll be writing a few short posts in the coming weeks to support my journey. I hope, in the process you find it does the same for you and we can help, support, encourage and love one another.

Some topics I hope to explore are

exercise
family, friends and loved ones
healthy eating
water
life purpose
organization
books
travel
art
dreams and vision
color
blogging and online purpose

I'm sure ideas will pop up as I am writing, however I'm always open to ideas! Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment below. I would love to hear what areas you feel are important to explore as one is diving into this type of journey.

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 02:57:00 +0000

King of the Jungle scrapbook page

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 05:21:00 +0000

I have been taking a ton of Instagram photos, and of course, what better subjects than Dakota and Jaffery! This page layout was inspired by trying to figure out how to use these particular Instagrams. I have to say, I even surprised myself on this one.

For the banner, I cut a stip of paper the entire length of a 12x12 sheet, then trimmed off into rectangles. I then just hand cut the triangle from the bottom. They are not perfect, but who is looking that close?

I wanted the banner to pop, so duplicated the effort, making a pop up banner with 3D glue dots and stringing twine through eyelets.

Yeah, I cut out the palm tree, twice, to make it pop! :)

What creative things have you been working on?

Supplies: DCWV Stacks: Blossoms & Butterflies Stack, Green Stack, Animal Crackers Stack and pop up embellishment stickers and green Thickers

Wordless Wednesday - so much happening in this photo

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 02:35:00 +0000

A little push

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 01:10:00 +0000

As I sit here trying to pull myself together because my dishes are unwashed, my Etsy store is empty, the laundry is piled high, and my dogs have left traces of fur all over the house, I find myself curious how my students get by day to day. While I have no idea the condition of their dishes, laundry, or furniture, I do know they are full time students working 20+ hours a week, often using the money they earn for rent and to care for family members. Loans are usually taken out to pay for school and if there is anything left over, they eat (this is why I keep a stash of juice boxes, granola bars and the fruit of the season in my office).

How can they be so damn motivated while life is spinning circles around them? Sure, some of them trip up, get behind, fail a class - yet with a little push, they are able to keep moving forward.

Huh. There it is. "...with a little push...".

By day, I work at a community college as an "Advisor" to a group of at risk students. Some call it "intrusive advising" however it has also been known as: advisor, counselor, mentor, butt kicker, and part time mom. I meet with my students every week during the school year, and keep in touch over the summer. I make sure they are in class, turning in their homework, and wisely spending their financial aid money. Whether they like it or not, I challenge them, encourage them, check up on them, push them.

"...with a little push..." they are staying on track. Their lives are absolutely crazy, however somehow, they make it.

It is possible all we really need is someone who is always there? Someone making sure we are staying on track?

It is possible, "...with a little push..." we can all reach our goals and dreams?

Note: While this blog has had a heavy focus on crafting and photography, I wanted to try a little something different to mix it up! Thanks for hanging in there with me! I want to "keep it real", however find it hard to balance what to share about my work and personal life beyond art. I would love to hear your thoughts and how you balance what you share! ~KK

Crop Ahoy! 2012 Scrapbook Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 05:08:00 +0000

If you were following my Twitter feed last weekend, you may have been a bit overwhelmed by crazy scrapbooking and crafting all weekend, at all hours of the day. :)

For the last several years, in June, there is a "crop" near my hometown in South Dakota. My mom and sister live nearby, so it is a fun weekend to hang out with them, take a couple friends for an eight hour road trip, and make at least a bit of progress on my projects!

This is my car before my two travel mates arrived!

Fortunately, they know I'm a heavy packer. We did manage to get everything in the car! PS: see the tiny bag on the back seat? Yeah, that is my clothes for the weekend... everything else is for my art filled weekend.

My table before unpacking too much.

I did get a few things done!

Around 100 people attend, from Friday 9am-Sunday noon. This year's scrapbooking theme was "Crop Ahoy!" - so of course, there was a costume contest!

Have you ever attended a weekend crop (or other art/craft) weekend of fun?

Weekend Flair: Teeny Tiny Mini Book

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:00:00 +0000

When my sweet nephew was born, I knew my sister would be busy enjoying her time with a new baby. I created a pre-made book to help document his first year. It was a complete hit! She loved it.

More recently, I decided to make an even smaller book. I wanted something she could keep in her purse, or the diaper bag, without it taking up all kinds of space. I found a few wooden tags at JoAnns, and went to work.

I used the new Simple Stories stickers and cardstock, an Ali Edwards stamp (see product list below), and printed a bunch of tiny photos.

I LOVE how it turned out!
I tried to include photos from various moments over the last year. He is so adorable!

The themed stickers and paper from Simple Stories were perfect for the variety of seasons, and themes. Plus the 6x6 paper pad was perfect size to work with these tiny pages.

I took the 6x6 paper, lined it up to where I wanted it, glued it down, and then used an exacto knife to trim around the edges. It seemed to work very well vs trying to measure and cut, and then glue down.

Just look at those silly faces!

I love that he was a skunk for Halloween :)

The wooden tags already had a hole punched through. I used a scrap piece of ribbon to tie everything together.

It was a fun, quick project! What have you been creating?

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Also used: Wooden Tags from JoAnns

Welcome to my art studio

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 04:12:00 +0000

The the fall of 2009, I had a series of posts related to renovating the swimming pool craft room in the basement. The final post in the series topped off the experience of adding and moving walls, electrical wiring, adding a beautiful floor and finishing it off with a good old painting!

For those of you who haven't seen the post, here is what I moved in to:

Here is what it looked like when it was finished:

Yes. Take that in for a moment. :) It really was a great transformation.

Over the last couple of years, I have added, moved around, taken out, put back in all sorts of things. I'm pretty proud of where it is today. While it is pretty much always in a state of disaster, I figure the messiest people are the most creative, right?!

Generally, this shows what organization and stuff on the wall can do for a space.

The last couple years has also brought to light that I am not a scrapbooker, or a card maker, or just a DIYer.

I am an artist.

Welcome to my art studio!

What does your dream space look like?

Copic practice and finished card!

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 04:47:00 +0000

You may have noticed on my facebook and twitter accounts yesterday, I was Copic coloring. I haven't been practicing much lately, and I could tell. :( Took me awhile to get the hang of it again.

I started with mice in a hat!

It turned out "okay". My biggest complaint - I turned one of the mouse ears blue. Oops. Guess he should have tucked that in the hat! :)

I moved on to cupcakes!

Then moved on to a few flowers.

I decided to make this on into a card. I used DCWV yellow card base and gray cardstock, scrap ribbon, the copic markers above, mini pearls from doodlebug designs and the "thanks a bunch" stamp from Technique Tuesday Greenhouse 4-12 set.

What have you been creating?

Project Life, June 11-17

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 03:35:00 +0000

Supplies

InLinkz.com

Weather Chasing... oh, and the game :)

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 04:24:00 +0000

Alan and I had tickets to the Twins game, and it rained all day. Storms, warnings, terrible traffic... the day wasn't looking like baseball. I messaged Alan and asked if we should still go. His reply "Just bring the camera. We can catch the game and storm chase at the same time."

Super happy we went.
Here are a few photos from the storm... I mean, baseball game :)

Project Life, June 3-10

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:12:00 +0000

One major highlight this week... I only had 73 photos to pick from! To top that little factoid: I only used one 2 page layout!

Take a peak at some of my other Project Life layouts. I have so many inserts I'm frankly surprised I'm still in one album for this year!

I didn't have as many Instagram photos this week (I wrote a mini tutorial last week on how to deal with printing those in iPhoto), however wanted to include a couple. I ended up printing them 2.75x2.75. Two photos fit nicely on a 4x6 piece of photo paper. I trimmed them down and added to some of the project life 3x4 cards.

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about Dakota catching a fish. I really wanted to include this, however didn't want to use an extra page, as I have in the past. Instead, I used one of the folded 4x6 cards!

Here is how. Now, folks. Hold on to your hats, because this post just might blow. your. mind. Yes, indeed.

In a blank word document, I created 3 text boxes. two (side by side) sizes 2.8x3.8 each and one 5.8x3.8. I pasted the text from my blog into these three boxes. I had to size the font to around 9.5, however it is actually very readable.

Then, I simply printed on regular paper.

Now, I picked out what card to use, and used the good 'ol eyeball it trick by holding the card up to the light to make sure it will fit.

I used a couple very small pieces of tape on the corners, taping the card over the top of the print, and ran it through the printer again.

It worked! WOOT!

I flipped it over, and taped over the other text boxes.

Beautiful!

I used a couple small circle stickers, back to back on the top of the card to make a make-shift tab to indicate people can take it out to read more!

I had been doing more handwritten journaling, however this was great to use for a larger amount of text.

How have you been including words in your Project Life books?

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Hello Baby Card

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 03:08:00 +0000

I'm still getting the hang of Copic Markers. I LOVE them, however sometimes, they just don't blend like I want them too. In all reality, I simply need practice.I spent a good amount of time last night putting all this together. If you follow my Facebook page, you started to see bits and pieces of this card as it was put together.

For the beak

Used a little N0 for shading in the eyes - though hard to see here.

For the bird body, I used Y00 and B00.

And the flags... oh yes. I used a few too many, but I was having fun/trouble (is there a difference in art?).

R22, R24, R29, Y00, Y13, Y17, BV00, V15, V17, B00, B12, B14, YG03, G14, YG17

WHOA! Yeah. I'll have to work on that :)

On the inside, I used a Technique Tuesday Ali Edwards stamp and a couple more flags (I had stamped and colored extras, just in case I messed up big time).

I love these markers - even though more practice is needed. What markers do you prefer?

Supplies

InLinkz.com
Also used: Hero Arts Friendly Flags clear stamps, Heidi Grace Baby clear stamps, Technique Tuesday Sweet Baby (by Ali Edwards) clear stamps, Stampede stamp #ST09105, Pattern Paper from Grade School Stack-DCWV, Sugar'nCream Twists

The unexpected lake experience

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 02:25:00 +0000

The other evening, after doing too much sitting around the house and a tiny bit of cleaning the garage, Alan and I decided to walk Dakota and Jaffery to the lake. Now, in all honesty, they have it pretty good. We have a large fenced in yard, Alan faithfully walks them each morning, and they have their own twin mattress. However, we all had been doing too much of nothing. Let's be honest, it is June in Minnesota, winter will be here before we know it.

We headed toward the lake. Dakota led the pack, pulling like there would be no tomorrow. Jeffery pranced at our side, ears back and nose up. Aside from Dakota walking us, it was a pretty great walk.

We got to the lake, attached their long training leashes, and let them go out in the water. Jeffery has always loved the water. He loves baths, loves the kiddy pool we have in the back yard, and runs out in the rain like its puppy treats falling from the sky. He even picked up on swimming right away. He doesn't swim for long, however always swims to the end of the 20 foot leash, and back to shore a couple times.

Dakota, on the other hand, is very hesitant and cautious around water. He hates rain so much he will hide in the basement all day, even at the sight of a single drop. Instead of playing in the kiddy pool, he drinks from it. If he hears the sprinkler come on, he hides, and when at the lake, he usually gets in till the water is touching his belly, or splashes his face, freaks out and wants nothing to do with it.

Yesterday's trip to the lake wasn't any different. Jaffery started his laps; Dakota cautiously headed into the shallow water, sniffing around, but careful to not get too far out. Between watching the puppies, Alan and I watched the boaters come in and load their gear onto trailers. It was really nice to get out of the house. After a bit, Jaffery was done with is laps and started whining, indicating he was ready to go. I looked over at Dakota and realized he was inching into deeper water. Alan had also noticed, and went a little in the water to give Dakota a little more leash. We looked at each other and smiled, knowing he hadn't been in the water this far before.

Suddenly, Dakota started running back toward us. Once he was near the edge of the lake, we saw it...
Dakota had caught a fish.

(Now the fish wasn't madly flopping around, so sure, Dakota grabbed a dead fish. However Dakota catching a fish is a way better story.) ;)

He tossed it in the air, pawed at it, grabbed it again, and started prancing around; showing his prize. Now it all made sense. Dakota had not gone into the slightly deeper water to explore and possibly swim. Nope. He saw the fish and wanted it.

Dakota and his new found friend.

Of course, we told him to leave the fish behind. While he wasn't happy, he surprisingly left it there. However, seeing all the commotion, Jaffery was again interested in going in the water. We stayed a bit longer, having to tell them both, multiple times, to leave the fish.

We started back for home, experienced a beautiful sunset, and returned to make supper. Lucky for us, fish wasn't on the menu.

Project Life, May 28-June 3

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 05:47:00 +0000

Holy Moly! This week I had 239 photos to sort through! Complete craziness. This included work, meetings, puppies (of course - can't go a week without photos of Dakota and Jaffery!), my supervisor retiring, Alan and my 8 / 15 anniversary (married 8 years/started dating 15 years ago) and a trip to St. Anthony Falls Historic District in Minneapolis.

With Alan's new job, we were not able to go on our typical annual multiday trip. Instead, for our anniversary trip, we had made the trip to South Dakota/Nebraska last weekend to attend a cousins wedding. We did a little local site seeing and enjoyed the long weekend with family. For our actual anniversary day on May 29, we bought a MN zoo membership and enjoyed the nice, but cool weather for the afternoon. I took way too many photos. To help with this in our album, I miniaturized them to fit on an 8 1/2 x 11 page :)

1. In iPhoto, I selected the photos I wanted to print.
2. Then, go to "file" --> "print"
3. Set paper size to 8 1/2 x 11, borderless
4. Set print size to "custom" 1.5x1.5 inch

5. Next, click on the "customize..." button. Here you will be able to better preview how the sheet of photos will print, and ensure they are all centered in the square. If they need adjusting, simply click on the photo to activate the toolbar to zoom, or slide the photo from side to side until your focal point is where you want it.

6. When everything looks good, Print :)

Then decorate, of course :)

Yes, I arrived at my office on Friday to find a giant pink flamingo. To be fair, I had gifted it to my supervisor a few months ago, and with his retirement, he decided to gift it back as the "pink flamingo traveling award". Nice.

Supplies

InLinkz.com

Also Used: Thickers (Blue), Little Yellow Bicycle Chipboard Stickers (number/date), Project life cardstock (arrow), Bella BLVD Stephanie Hunt cardshock (#096 Coin Purse)

My other Project Life Posts - though I'm a bit behind on posting them all!

How are you organizing your photos this year?

I am...

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Thu, 31 May 2012 03:58:00 +0000

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Also used: Little Yellow Bicycle Paradise/Petite Pom Poms Paper (background), Coordinating Buttons, brown cardstock, and Thickers

When is the last time you scrapbooked about yourself?

Wordless Wednesday: Good Grief

noreply@blogger.com (Kimberly) — Wed, 30 May 2012 03:31:00 +0000