Busy, busy, busy...

Oh my goodness...in the last couple of weeks I have barely had time to catch my breath! Last week I was in Arkansas visiting family and taking photos. I had two baby sessions, a bridal session, and a wedding. I also had a wedding the weekend before my trip so I am way behind on photos. Since I didn't have enough photos [Ha] I talked my sis into letting me take some cute maternity shots of her. It was fun and so exciting since this is the first baby in our family! I am so eager to start putting my baby shower plans into action! I have soooo many ideas as well as gifts and things for the nursery. However, I have had no time this week. I got back on Monday, and I had VBS that night. I have worked every day this week and had VBS so I have lots of dirty dishes and clothes, boxes of yard sale items that need to be sorted, clean laundry sitting in baskets, a disaster of a craft room, and I have not been able to do my normal house cleaning in 2-3 weeks...I don't even remember! I am hoping to get a lot done this weekend with photos and some paintings that are overdue. It will be a chore, but my goal is to get all of the images gone through and ready for the customers...we will see. In the meantime, here are a few shots that I got from the Arkansas sessions. 

Avery

Candice [sis]

Whitney and Garrett

Klara Ruth

Unfortunately I cannot post any of Megan's bridals until after the wedding in September. That is a major bummer because we got some really cute ones. But it is always fun to get to post the bridals along with the wedding photos.

I have a busy summer with working, photos, family, planning, and projects, but I am looking forward to it all!

Be happy...and just busy enough.

-Katie

Chalkboard

So there was not a lot of crafting done around here today [and by not a lot I mean none]. I went to work, we went grocery shopping, came home for dinner, went to VBS meeting, and spent the rest of the time on the phone with photo clients and parents. Phew. Full day. I did however squeeze in some quick photos of the chalkboard I mentioned in yesterday's post! It is is so simple and not at all original [yet], but I still love it. I am thinking of what I will do to add to the pink, distressed framing, but I am not sure yet. That will be for a later date. 

The before:

[Just a little background: I am pretty sure I have had this since at least the 6th grade. The photo does not begin to show the extent of the scratches in the marker board surface..I had also painted it purple at some point]. 

This is the after: 

It is plain and simple, but I like it. I had two identical corkboards [the same size as this] hanging side by side, but I just replaced one of them. It worked out perfectly. I am glad I thought to do this before I got rid of my yard sale pile living in our basement! 

Be happy! 

-Katie Beth

A kind of but not really productive day....sort of

So today I have done very few of the things that I needed to do [clean house, return emails, make grocery list...among other things]. I have, however, completed a few things for my own satisfaction. I was going to wait and post tomorrow, but let's face it...that isn't happening. Tomorrow I have to work, maybe go grocery shopping with Nicholas [who almost always does the grocery shopping, and I love him for it], go to Hobby Lobby [top priority], do some yard work, and go to a VBS meeting at church. So after I did the dishes and pretended to do a few things here and there I finally realized I was only kidding myself. So I: 

1. Made more bunting with cute fabrics and hay baling twine [not pictured because it is hanging on my mantle by blue painters tape].

2. Turned my old marker board that I have had since 6th grade into a much cuter chalkboard [not pictured because I wanted to write something cute on it first, and I have to wait 24 hours to do that].

3. Made this little piece...whatever you want to call it. 

 

16x20

I have another piece in the works, and I am just itching to get to Hobby Lobby so I can work on some more things I have rolling around in my head. But now...more dishes...

Be happy!...and productive [by your own standards].

-Kate

Hoops and hoops

I have a million things I could be doing right now, but I had to share these two embroidery pieces I have made in the last couple of days. One is for a nursery done in gnomes...how cute?! The other is one I made for myself [probably will go on the nonexistent shelf]. I completed the gnome one in one sitting while listening to some comedy stuff with Nicholas. I almost finished the other one in the same night. I had to finish up a few letters yesterday.

My embroidery "kicks" come and go. Right now I am really enjoying it, and it is such a relaxing project I can do while watching tv or just winding down. The biggest thing is getting the image  transferred. It isn't hard, but it seems to be what keeps me putting off an embroidery project. 

I have a few crafty things I hope to accomplish today, among other things. Hopefully I will have more photos soon! 

Be happy! 

-Kate

pour your heart out

Okay so I did actually get one of my "jobs" done this morning so I am rewarding myself with a quick post about a few small things I have done lately. I did both of these with my living room shelf [that doesn't yet exist] in mind, but as soon as it is up I will have all sorts of things to put on it. 

I did this little drawing yesterday while watching a movie with Nicholas [I am one of those people who cannot just sit and watch a movie without keeping busy with something]. I was just thinking about how much I have been enjoying gardening and wishing I had more time for it. I also have been wanting to do some drawings and maybe design some stationary type products. I still am dreaming of stocking up on things and opening an Etsy store. We shall see...

I am still thinking of functional and cute ways to use the chalkboard spray paint I bought. It could not be easier to use, and it hardly cost any more than my usual colors. I thought this would be a fun way to be able to change things up a little with different messages around the frame...it will probably change every time I have to dust it! 

It is always satisfying to finish a project no matter how small. I am SUPER excited for a couple of larger projects I have planned. There is an old headboard that I am getting from my father-in-law that has all these detailed flower carvings on different sections. I am not sure if it will be cut down to a smaller headboard or become something totally different. He also told me I could have this really neat old rocking chair he got at a garage sale. I plan to reupholster the seat and paint it a fun color. It might be something to add to our bare front porch since I have little room for it in the house. The list of projects grows, but that is how I like it! 

Be happy!...and inspired.

-Kate

make every day count

Last week I was feeling so uninspired and just completely lacked creativity. This week I have pages jam packed full of ideas for projects that I want to complete. I just wish I had more time to work on things! I have several more important [paying] projects to do first. Though I need to be working on more important things today I did take a break to put this little guy together. I may or may not make some changes. I thought about marking the word "count" out in red and handwriting the word "Awesome" instead. For now I like it. 

[22"x28.5"]

I am looking forward to putting my ideas into action. I can't wait!

Be happy!...and make 'em count Awesome.

-Katie

Monday = A success!

For some reason when I clean my house I always get the urge to change/create/make things. I guess because all the "unfinished" areas of the house are harder to ignore. Whatever the reason I was on a roll last night. I didn't do anything major, but I did spray paint this welcome wall hanging that I got for a wedding gift. I didn't dislike it before, but it just didn't fit with my living room. I also moved it to the closet door for some color, and in its old home I will place a long, narrow, vertical frame.

 

I also got a really good start on a simple art project I have been thinking about, made some letters for my living room shelf [that isn't up yet], used my chalkboard spray paint for a simple project I will have photos of later, and I finally made some of my own baker's twine after seeing the idea at Life {Sweet} Life [original post by Ucreate]. 

I used a pink highlighter, and it was all over my hands afterward. After drying completely it doesn't seem to rub off of the string anymore. I think it is pretty cute, and I will try other colors soon.

Be happy!...and make something!

-Katie

Summertime projects...

We have been spending far more time outside and working in the garden than I ever thought I would. I have never been an outside kind of girl, but I am loving getting the yard cleaned up and looking nice. This past weekend we got a lot accomplished, and our garden is looking great!

We picked a few radishes yesterday because the lady at Planters [where we got our seeds] told us they were 21 day radishes, and we needed to pick them 21 days after we planted them. Well, they were a little scraggly so we are going to leave them a bit longer. I don't know if you can tell, but these are not much larger around than a pencil. 

I did actually take the time Saturday to spruce up my old denim bag that I got from Walmart a few years ago. I have been meaning to add something to it for a while, but I finally just made the time. I used fabric scraps and spare buttons to make these cute flower pins. They can be removed so I can use them on different things. I think the project was a success. It helped me rekindle my love with this old bag...

This next one is nothing special, but it is something I have been intending to get to for a while now. I had these old frames that were once white when my sister owned them...then she gave them to me, and I painted them yellow for the wedding...now I have painted them white again because my bathroom is so darn bland! I have hardly anything in there in the way of decor. I have been struggling since we moved in with what to put on the shallow cabinet under the window. I am still not sure this was the answer, but it is a start!

Of the million pieces of scrapbook paper I own I didn't have any gray and white. I am not very patient so instead of waiting for a trip to Hobby Lobby I used this demask image from google search, turned it to gray and white in photoshop, and added the letters. I may nor may not keep them. Only time will tell...

Be happy!...and grow something!

-Katie Beth

Life is good.

So what if I have a million things to do...I like keeping busy. Nicholas and I had a very fun and productive anniversary weekend! Friday night we were able to attend his company picnic at the Royals game. Even though I love baseball I was far more distracted with watching the people than the actual game. We had free tickets, hotdogs and soda, fireworks after the game, and a pretty good time.

Saturday we went to the biggest, most beautiful nursery I have ever been to. I have never seen so many gorgeous flowers! They had some really unusual things that I had never seen. There was one in particular that I wanted, but I forgot to go back and get. I think we will have to make another trip there soon. I would also like to get some things to make a terrarium. I keep trying to talk myself out of it, but I am pretty much obsessed with how they look. I did get a few more succulents for my pot on the deck.

I also got some Golden Creeping Jenny [Gold Moneywort] for a pot there as well. I am super eager to get the deck painted so I can cover it with potted plants and get out our grill and patio furniture.

We also got a couple of hardy hibiscus, a balloon flower, day lilies, hollyhocks, and another one that I can't remember the name of...but I love it! I will hopefully be able to get them in the ground soon. Saturday afternoon I finally got the nasty, weed bed that runs the entire East side of the house cleaned out, and I planted my Hostas there. They are small now, but I know they will soon be thick and crowded. I also planted my caladiums that I have had forever. I am eager to see them pop up!

Sunday was our first wedding anniversary so after church we grabbed some lunch and headed to Kansas City. Nicholas had made reservations at a hotel for a small getaway from home. We went to a movie, did a little shopping, had dinner, and lounged around. I managed to keep the top layer of our cake for tradition's sake. It tasted about as bad as it looked! That is what we expected, and we could barely make ourselves take a nibble. Nicholas said it smelled like Play-Doh.

Knowing that the old cake would taste terrible I planned to make a new cake using our cake topper birds from our wedding. I even had my dad to cut a smaller slice of tree to mimic how we had our wedding cake sitting on a piece of tree. I even made it half white [for me] and half chocolate [for Nicholas]. I was pleased with how it turned out.

Overall it was a great weekend. As always, I wish I would have gotten more photos of the two of us, but I will just have to keep working on that.

Be happy!

-Kate