Chatty Crafty went really well. We had seriously amazing vendors & Rob I loaded up with tons and tons of amazing stuff.

Now I'm back to the real world and concentrating full time on work. Winter is upon us, which for Rob and I means we have to do something about heating our home more efficiently. I'm sure a lot of you find yourselves in the same situation as Rob & I are in. We save save save money and don't really spend on anything other than needs. And yet everything is going out. Winter is upon us heating costs are ridiculous! We have talked about installing a wood burning stove to save some money. I think it would pay for itself this winter. When hard times find us, we need to find ourselves innovative instead of defeated. Think about how we became Americans to begin with... It wasn't easy; it was hard and people died. But the population survived. We should build a steam punk pioneer village. I will wear flannel and denim to chop wood and tiny hats and sequined dresses to attend dinner and shop at the market. We'll produce our own energy with solar panels we built ourselves, reuse our rain water, grow our own food, & be content. One day furry men on bicycles will pull our carriage made of salvaged computers. We're going to be bigger than the Amish.

If you invested a little now to cut your energy costs how much extra money would it put in your pocket? My electric and water run around $200 or more in the winter. It is stupid. My house is tiny and we turn the heat off in 2 rooms entirely. If I have the heat on from November to March that's $1000 bucks... where I could invest about half of that in a wood burning stove and have free heat every winter... $200 extra in my bank account every month... hello yes please. However, a wood burning stove was Rob's only source of heat when he lived in Blue Ridge and I'm not positive I can talk him into chopping that much wood on such short notice. When in Blue Ridge he chopped wood every day year round.

I love hearing tips for saving if anyone has them. I constantly try to cut expense & increase revenue. This year we cut out a lot of our garbage consumption. Almost everything can be recycled in Dayton now & it's as easy as dropping it off. I made a compost barrel all of our organic material goes there... extra paper and cardboard go to the recycle center. Our glass is collecting, but I think I can take it now? We have little garbage that actually makes it to the landfill. Less garbage bags & less trips to the convenience center = more $ on the bottom line. I wish I tracked our household expenses the way I track expenses for companies... It would really help determine what really works expense wise.

I'm headed home for lunch to and I think I'll get my broccoli cheddar soup started. Yum.

I am a terrible updater. I'm proud of my lack of posts though. It's only because I am so busy with work and Chatty Crafty. It's going to be such an amazing event. When I finally started to relax about it I realized it's supposed to be fun. I know that I am doing everything in my power to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone involved and honestly, that's all you can do. And it's going to be great. Everything is going wonderfully and anything else we add is just icing on the cake.

If you want to keep up with what's going on with the event stay tuned on the website www.chattycrafty.com. We're posting vendor profiles every day.

Oh dear. I have been sick for the past few weeks. But I am feeling refreshingly better today. Although I'm way behind at work. We really started getting Chatty Crafty squared away last night. Everything is coming together beautifully, it's actually pretty wonderful.

Just wanted to check in... on this project - the blog. I'm trying to learn to operate my camera properly... it has the ability to do so much so these are my first little tests. Of my kitchen window. The top photo is from a few weeks ago and the bottom is from today at lunch. I didn't use a flash... there is just too much light (?) I think. We'll see.



I hope this has been a good week for everyone. I'm very jealous of all the healthy weekends spent at Renegade Chicago & Indie Craft Parade... I would have loved to have been in attendance.

My compost is looking excellent! That's right folks... I am a composting fool. It makes me so happy. It's black and smells like earth. The corner of my yard is going to have grass. I am determined!

Other things that make me happy- Chatty Crafty has had the most amazing people apply. We're going to have so much talent it's ridiculous! We are kicking show organizing ass. Seriously. There are so many awesome announcements coming up it's hard not to let them all out here... but soon everyone will hear them!

Also I am really into my job again. Yes it's inside- working for the man- but the truth is I do like numbers. Math is something that has always came naturally to me and it's nice to be good at your job. And even better to feel respected... after working my way from the bottom - okay so I didn't move that far... I'm still treated like low mid-level- ha, but I'm not so easily replaced so I'm happy.

I'm also pretty pumped about this book profiled on Wooster Collective.

Last, but not least there's a long weekend coming up & I'm spending 100% with Rob & 3 little monsters. Can't wait.

Choosing A Rug

We're one month away from fall. Yay! As sad as I will be to see my flowers fade I am looking forward to cooler weather & break on my electric bill!

We have decided that we will have a new rug before it gets cold this year. And I get to buy it next week!
I have narrowed it down to 2 choices. My first choice is the jute & leather rug (West Elm). It is eco friendly & inexpensive. For some reason it is not available until 9/16/10. My issue is that I can't tell how thick is the rug?


My second choice is the jute diamond (West Elm). This rug is also eco friendly, available now, and about $30 cheaper. Also according to the images it is thick.

We are going to be using a lot more of the natural wood furniture that Rob creates. I am lucky to have such a talented man in my life. I feel like we should showcase his work more. I will have to share pictures of his work soon.

Until then it's another Monday and my To Do list beckons.

The Dainty Squid Giveaway

The Dainty Squid is hosting a giveaway on her blog. You can enter to win a pair of custom plugs or earrings handmade by Ark's Endeavors.

To enter you should hop on over to The Dainty Squid's blog and check out the guidelines.

I want a pair of 2 gauge pearls... just in case I don't win & someone wants to send me a gift...

I have this nagging little voice in my head that says, "You should be a teacher... you could make a difference... you would care about more than test scores... you would care about knowledge & success for your students."

I would oh I know I would. But maybe I'm being naive in thinking that I would easily relate to these kids. And that I will go above and beyond sticking by the book teaching methods.

Maybe these are the thoughts that go through everyone's head when considering a career in education. Maybe they get burnt out very quickly and then they become some of the worst teachers I've ever had... eep... mono tone teachers didn't teach me anything. Seriously. Young minds need something to hold their attention.

Maybe I'm destined for a Montessori school.

The new Chatty Crafty website is up!

I have a couple of things to add... such as a note about the vendor party we'll be having after show close on Saturday night. We love our vendors!

And also someone wanted to know what they would get for the $125 booth fee. It's a two day show, over night security, promotion via radio, local magazine, hotel promotional packets, fliers, word of mouth, and of course and internet campaign. Plus the location of Renaissance Park is beautiful!

It is so easy to focus on the negative things happening around you. I have challenged myself to look past the bad things and find the good things. My weekend was so full of good things.

Mom and I went to the 127 yard sale 675 miles of yard sale goodness! We hit the Crossville, TN branch... Crossville is the coolest (temperature wise) close to us. It is such a beautiful place too.
Mom grabbed a big bag of books & a couple knickknacks. I picked up an old quilt (love love love the numerous imperfections), an aloe juvenna, a Latin text book from 1905, a vintage picture, & another plant whose name escapes me at the moment. Total spent $15.


Sunday Rob and I slept late (first time in probably a year) & fixed breakfast. I cleaned folded laundry and we watched Time Bandits. haha. Apparently, Time Bandits was a childhood favorite for Rob & I had never seen it before. I liked it, but then again The Dark Crystal and The Princess Bride are two of my all time favorite movies.


Alright well... tons to finish today so I'll leave you here.

The new Chatty Crafty Website is going live next week. I am officially satisfied.

I trimmed my mom's hedges last night... she only lives, maybe, 2 miles from me, but for some reason it feels hotter there. My brother was nice enough to carry off what I cut. I really don't like that part... her bushes are prickly and she doesn't have a wheelbarrow... No matter the heat it was hard to pull myself away from working in her yard... there's just something about the smell of disturbed earth & plant that I love.

I also met my parents new neighbors. They're awesome! They seem to be in their mid to late twenties, but they have a 4 year old and then they have a set of 3 year old triplets! Their children are gorgeous. And everyone seems to have great personalities.

Good things going on in the life of Kellie. I can't sit still I am so excited about life.

• Finally, have someone finishing up the website. Who knew that was going to cause the most stumbling?
• Flowers are doing fantastic & everything that made it's way to the shade bed seems to be surviving .
• Picked up a new client. I will be starting their books next week. This couldn't come at a better time.

And

• Talking to an artist about representing him in the very near future. BAM!

We are moving right along folks! I feel like my life is falling into place. I hope to be showing you some rad stuff soon.

Until then have a great weekend.

Another Monday. Mondays after lazy weekends are always the hardest. Saturday I worked in the yard ALL DAY. I like to get started early in the morning and then I don't notice the heat as much. I installed my new shade bed- YES! Added a couple Japanese painted ferns and divided some of my largest hostas and relocated them as well.

Finished after 5 and I was hot! I talked the man & my brother into swimming out in pocket wilderness. The water is low, we need a good week's worth of rain. Seriously.

Sunday my brother and I went on a plant round up and hike. Got sweaty and then it poured down rain on me while I tried to plant them. I was so muddy & dripping when I finished that I had to change out of my clothes while standing in the tub.

Spent the rest of the day reading, drawing, folding laundry, and cooking up dinner using fresh produce from our neighbors garden.

I did find two blogs today via freckled nest and I really liked their content.

My Girl Thursday - The post I read today was all about tea. Very good & she makes some really nice aprons. I think I may ask Rob for one for Christmas... I have zero, but I need at least one right?!

Gussy - This post is about how schedules go out the window in the summer & some tips on how to keep them in check. It sorta gave me a kick in the pants. Also check out her wallets and bags... oh so lovely!

With that I'm out for lunch. I hope your Monday gets started off right!

I have been working like CRAZY on Chatty Crafty. We are meeting tonight and I am so very excited. Chattanooga is the perfect place for an Indie Craft show.

Our biggest hurdle at this point is the website. I took everyone's ideas for the website and sketched out something that combined everything. We've had a couple issues with getting everything edited and coded correctly. Wow, I really wish I had taken those web design classes in high school and I could have done this myself.

We're two weeks out from the application deadline, but I'm positive everything will be fabulous. We have had so many vendors interested it's really going to be a great event.

Of course I keep thinking of things for vendor perks ie VIP lounge with couches, coffee, & snacks. Ha is that a little ambitious of me?

www.chattycrafty.com

I always have such ambitious goals for my blogs that I tend to neglect them because I don't think I have anything worth posting. Oh well. I think I'll just write from now on and not worry about my content flowing. I have a full time job, blogging shouldn't feel like one.

My life has felt so full here lately. I love it. I have spent pretty much every night working in my flowers and they really make me happy. Honestly, it's like I've built a relationship with my plants. When they are doing poorly I talk to them, I water them, I feed them, & I even sing songs about them to them. I don't know that it helps, but it makes me feel better anyway.

My mom was a florist for about 20 years and has really amazing flower beds at her house. She has carried home dying plants for years and revived them into really gorgeous flowers. She has also been known to find plants growing in the tree line on their property and transplant them in the yard. I'm terribly jealous, but she shares any plant she owns with anyone who asks. My parents neighbors are really lucky to have her.

My mom and I have been spending a lot of time together. I took her and my brother to Fall Creek Falls State Park on Monday since I had the day off. It was awesome! Did you know Fall Creek Falls (256') is the eastern United States' highest waterfall? And even more impressive I talked my mother (a non-hiker, actually non-active) into hiking to the base. It was a little strenuous coming back up, but I know she enjoyed it & I am very proud of her.

Okay, I just had to do a little more bragging on her. Now it's back to work for me.

Chatty Crafty

Yesterday I was asked to help bring Chattanooga's very first Indie Craft festival to reality. How freaking exciting!! Mark your calendars for the first weekend in November & plan to visit Chattanooga.

I'll be back soon with more information and a link to the web site and vendor application.

I love Indie Craft & Chattanooga. They go so well together.

You're doing it wrong...

I think everyone has it in them- the ability to create. You have the ideas right there in your head, or if you're like me maybe you feel it in your chest. I have this longing to create art and beautiful things... but I have this problem of getting it out properly.

I have heard there is no right way. But if we're being completely honest there are lots of wrong ways. Ha! I mean have you see regretsy?! Sometimes when I'm on etsy I actually shudder at the sight of the work presented. The composition needs to be appealing, people. eep!

I know plenty of people who know how to do it right. Their work just flows. These people working with all types of media. And it's not just that it's appealing to me... There are plenty of artists with great work that I don't care for... just my preference, but there are others that the work is just bad.

With those stones flying, I don't know how to get off the wrong path. I have these ideas just dying to get out of me & onto paper. But I'm lost. I don't know how to get started. I have the presentation down... I have the arrangement down. Honestly, maybe it all comes down to the talent... and maybe that's what I'm missing. Jeepers. I hope not.

Hello, Pup.

For some reason I forgot to go by the post office on my way home from work yesterday. I turned around and was driving downtown (where I rarely go) when this little golden wonder dog ran into the center of my lane. He had the shortest legs, but he was booking it. He was following a couple jogging, but when they would turn to him he became afraid and ran into the street. I stopped my car twice. Stopped a car belonging to someone else... and couldn't get him. 45 minutes later I had followed him into the park & he refused to let me near him.


I could not make myself give up. This was someone's dog that had obviously gotten out and was confused. If it were Jack I would hope someone would help get him back to me. I drove home, changed clothes and grabbed Jack, Dog Ambassador of Hope. The dog was following some ladies to their cars, but would not let them touch either. Jack had no problems he introduced himself, introduced me, and two shakes later and we were in the car.

Jack is on the left & the rescue (Lobster McNinnymuggins) on the right. I have no good pictures I snapped a few quick pics with my phone and was done with it. He has the most adorable under bite. And an amazing personality. I hope I'm able to find his parents soon. I can tell he misses them, he cried a bit last night.



I would like to give a few tips for anyone who thinks about carrying home stray animals. I tend to leap before looking as far as animals are concerned. I don't always think through the rescue effort. I know that I can offer them something if not just getting in touch with a rescue organization. My heart goes out to pets that are lost. My dogs are my children and I know how afraid they can be in a strange place without me. So there is no question in my mind when I see an animal in need, I'm going to help it.



Anyway. Tips! Right away...

• Try to let the animal come to you, gain a little bit of trust. In my case I used a pawn to show how trustworthy I am. Ha.
• If the animal acts aggressive, don't take any chances. Call animal control. (I hatehatehate to do this & almost never will unless it's just mean. Once an animal hits the pound, they usually do not return.)
• Now think, what can you offer this animal? Short term & Long term Immediately I think safety... long term I can foster until the owners or a forever home is found. You could contact a local rescue organization if you can't offer a temporary home. I love Almost Home Pet Foundation they helped me place a dog last spring in the perfect forever home.
• I think the thing the dog loves the most is something to eat & somewhere safe to sleep.
  
• I always take the animal to the vet to check for a chip and make sure there are no injuries.
• And be extra nice to your boyfriend for putting up with this foolishness.
  

And that's all I have for now.

Recycled Shopping Bags

I have been whipping up grocery bags like crazy lately. My first one was out of one of my favorite shirts that doesn't fit me anymore.

So all of these groceries:
Fits in this one bag:

The shirt reads, "I fed my cat lemons and now he's a sourpuss." Ha. I love it.

I have started adding handmade embellishments and braided handles to solid colored bags.

Waterfalls

Another great weekend. I wanted to share a couple pictures from hiking on the 14th.


We hiked out to Laurel Falls 80ft. Waterfall.


And then up to the top. The picture above is sitting with the waterfall. Yay!

We hiked a bit higher than the waterfall and on around the ridge for this view. I really love our hikes.

Wayne White

I've been terribly busy this week, but I wanted to do a quick share about the weekend. Saturday our gallery was lucky enough to have a visit from artist Wayne White. While you may not recognize the name you most definitely recognize his work. Wayne gave a presentation about his life growing up in Chattanooga and how it shaped the artist partially responsible for the award winning set & puppet design on Pee Wee’s Playhouse. He is also behind the videos for Peter Gabriel’s “Big Time” and the Smashing Pumpkins “Tonight, Tonight.”

Wayne was also kind enough to sign Todd Oldham’s book: Wayne White Maybe Now I’ll Get the Respect I So Richly Deserve. I love this book. It’s full of art & comics Wayne has done through the years with its main focus on his “Word Paintings.” Esquire calls Wayne White, “One of the most exciting artists working in America.” And I don’t feel like that’s a stretch.

Group with Wayne White & Michael's Paul Reubens Painting

It was a great event as Wayne had everyone laughing through the presentation, even bringing out his banjo and playing at one point.

Wayne White, Coco, & Myself

I encourage you to check out this book and the work of Wayne White. He’s an amazing visionary and artist.

Big thanks to Michael for the images from Saturday.

Perfect Evening

Yesterday afternoon was amazing. After work Rob & I went hiking and he convinced me to jump in the creek for the first time this year. Can you say freezing?! I wish I would have had my camera; the spot we chose was beautiful. But I'm always afraid I'm going to break the camera while I'm climbing around. We were on a lot of smooth rocks with water running over them so I was able to run around bare foot which is always gratifying in my book.

We made homemade pizza when we got home. Delicious.


My side included spinach, feta, black olives, and plain chicken. Rob's side had pepperoni, pepperoncinis, feta, a little spinach, and marinated chicken. Oh dear, it was amazing! Unfortunately, I only have the before picture.. I was so excited I ate up as it was coming out of the oven. It ended the perfect evening.

We make good use of our food I think. We'll have gotten 3 meals out of that chicken after tonight. We had some sort of Mediterranean chicken & couscous, pizza, and we're going to eat some chicken, spinach, & feta wraps later.

Now I'm hungry!

Creativity in Schools

I was recently speaking with a gentleman I work with about the mindset of schools today. It made me think about a lecture I had heard on TED. The speaker Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity. I thought he had such valid points that I have to share.

Now I believe education is important… very important. Is the same education meant for everyone? I don’t think so. Certain people have talents outside of math & science & English. While I believe education is very important so are the natural talents that are overlooked. Mr. Robinson says “..my contention is, all kids have tremendous talents. And we squander them, pretty ruthlessly. … My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” I have never heard truer words spoken. We should nurture the individual talents children possess.

He goes on to point out that there is a hierarchy in the school system with the most important subjects being the top priority because they are most useful and then art, music, dance, and drama sort of falling to the wayside. Now I understand that there are budget cuts. Just this morning I was reading that a local school didn’t have money for text books. They have been supplementing with online materials. The children actually didn’t get science books until April this year. School lets out in May, you can see the dilemma. Obviously, when budget cuts are so drastic those subjects deemed less important tend to disappear completely. If you don’t cut one thing you have to cut another. I feel like they’re all instrumental to our youth. Maybe I don’t have the answer; I have an idea, a theory that I won’t go into today… but I would love to discuss it if anyone is interested.

Mr. Robinson says something else that really struck a cord with me. It pertains to the most important subjects being useful. “So you were probably steered benignly away from things at school when you were a kid, things you like, on the ground that you would never get a job doing that. … Don’t do music, you’re not going to be a musician; don’t do art, you won’t be an artist.” He goes on to say that public schools are designed to prepare you for universities. “And the consequence is that many highly talented, brilliant creative people think they’re not, because the thing they were good at at school wasn’t valued or was actually stigmatized. And I think we can’t afford to go on that way.”

Oh my dear! I live this! Through the week I work for a construction company doing finance. I am very good at math and problem solving, but, oh my, it is not my passion. I love art. I live and breathe it. Every other weekend I work for a folk art gallery and I am so happy when I’m there. I am faced with paying my bills & having money or doing something I enjoy and struggling. So I do this for now until I can put together a plan to do what I enjoy FULL time. I feel like if I had spent more time in school realizing that I can do something creative instead of preparing to do what I do now I could be making a difference.

Maybe you can’t be an artist, maybe you can’t be a musician… but you can do something you love. You can be involved in preserving the things you’re passionate about.

I urge you to listen to this lecture or read the transcript. The way we educate is so important. Cultivating the creativity in our youth now is important. This is the time period in life where these gifts are lost or begin to flourish.

“I believe our only hope for the future is to adopt a new conception of human ecology, one in which we start to reconstitute our conception of the richness of human capacity. Our education system has mined our minds in the way that we strip-mine the earth: for a particular commodity. And for the future, it won’t serve us. We have to rethink the fundamental principles on which we’re educating our children. There was a wonderful quote by Jonas Salk, who said ‘If all the insects were to disappear from the earth, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish.’ And he’s right.

What TED celebrates is the gift of the human imagination. We have to be careful now that we use this gift wisely, and that we avert some of the scenarios we’ve talked about. And the only way we’ll do it is by seeing our creative capacities for the richness they are, and seeing our children for the hope that they are. And our task is to educate their whole being, so they can face this future. By the way- we may not see this future, but they will. And our job is to help them make something of it.” – Ken Robinson, Schools Kill Creativity

Yee-Haw Industries

This morning a friend asked me to check out Yee-Haw Industries because they have an opening coming up this week in Chattanooga. I took some time looking around their website and etsy and now I feel like I must clear my calendar Thursday and catch the opening.

Formed in 1996, Yee-Haw Industries is made up of the creative partnership between Julie Belcher and Kevin Bradley. Specializing in “art-like products” such as letterpress and handmade woodcut prints Yee-Haw Industries has so many cool products. I was really impressed with their wood grain note cards hand printed from a piece of bass wood.

The posters are reminiscent of folk art great Howard Finster’s work. With a focus on folk art in my own home I know how well they would fit in on my walls!

Check them out and take a look at that list of clients on their website.

I think the item I covet the most is this backpacking bunny t-shirt. They have a nice apparel section on their etsy too.