Delicious Autumn!

Posted on October 18, 2011 by kmore

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” ~George Eliot

Fall…… It’s my favorite season, and if I could push the pause button today, I absolutely would. I love everything about crisp, sunny fall days. Warm sweaters, apple cider, Halloween and fall decorations, bright yellow Aspen trees, and geese flying in V’s. School is in full swing, leaves need raking, gardens need prepared for winter, and there hasn’t been much time for creating. However, it seems as if every time I look around, there’s a photo opportunity. Enjoy!

The Creative Connection: Quotable Quotes

Posted on September 24, 2011 by kmore

“I just want to be on the adventure of my life.” Kelly Rae Roberts (at TCC 2011)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I attended the Creative Connection Event in St. Paul, Minnesota, last week, and had the most unbelievably rejuvenating time. It was a love-fest of crafty, creative women supporting each other,

Look at all of the fun stuff I had to try to fit into my suitcase!

and of course, connecting! I had so much fun touching base with many of the women that I had met last year such as….. Nicole McConville from Sterling Publishing. Check out her re-cap and amazing photos here.

I made two new friends the first night, April from Catching Fireflies and Michelle from Allen Designs, who let me tag along on a quick tour of some of the fun shops in St. Paul. They were so sweet that they bought me dinner and didn’t make me feel like a total shmuck for forgetting my wallet at the hotel.

I took a few hands-on classes, but my favorite was with Megan from Princess Lasertron. We made these super-cute felt ribbons. In fact, her post about TCC here includes pictures of me and some of the super cool ladies I met there. Just looking at it makes me wish next year were here already! I was so inspired by all of the keynotes, but especially by the wise words and insight of Holly Becker from Decor8 who was so down-to-earth, likeable, and funny. She’s the kind of person you wish you could go to coffee with and become BFF’s!

One thing I found myself doing throughout the weekend is jotting down all of the profound, witty, memorable quotes coming from the attendees, speakers, panelists, etc. Here are some of my favorites…. If they don’t make you want to attend TCC next year, I don’t know what will!

1. A representative from Sterling Publishing, one of the few males at the conference, (sorry…. didn’t get your name) said in reference to books….. “They are like bright, shiny objects… The physical book is here to stay.” (Amen, brother!!)

2. Jo Packham said about TCC, “It’s a place where we go from strangers to BFF’s in three and a half minutes.” (So true, Jo, so true!)

3. Christina Ferrare said, “Listen to the voice in your head speaking to you.” (Lump in the throat moment for me.)

4. Holly Becker wisely said, “If you’re saying ‘yes’ to something you really love, it’s the right ‘yes’.”

5. Jo Packham said, “If you haven’t made a friend, made a deal, gotten a new idea…. shame on you!” (This made me laugh outloud, but I couldn’t agree more. You have to take advantage of the environment of TCC, otherwise, what’s the point?)

6. “There really is room for all of us.” Kelly Rae Roberts (Hearing this gave me a little lift. It made me feel not so much like a little fish in the ocean.)

7. Karen Walrond from chookoloonks said, “When you realize that your difference is your superpower– it really is magical.”

8. “Sometimes you just need to get quiet and get simple.” Leigh Standley from Curly Girl Design. (I’m working on it, Leigh!)

9. The super-sweet Janine Vangool from a really cool magazine called Uppercase said, “Everyone here is really happy. It’s nice to come to an event where everybody is happy. Being creative makes us happy, but it’s difficult and hard work. But it’s also difficult and hard work to be happy.”

10. Melody Ross from Brave Girls’ Club said, “Decide what kind of life you want to have, and build your business around that.” (That rings true to me. If we go about it the opposite way, we may find that suddenly we don’t have the life we want!)

Okay, here’s the funny stuff…..

11. I think one of the event coordinators was overwhelmed and overworked when she jokingly said, “If anyone has any drugs…. I’ll take them.”

12. Princess Lasertron (aka Megan Hunt) said, slightly tongue in cheek, “I’m trying really hard to make my daughter goth, but my mother just wants her to be preppy.” (This cracked me up! Have you seen Megan? She’s a sweet as apple pie!)

13. One of the panelists, a successful artist said, “I think people would be surprised at how little I shower.” (The lack of time to shower became a joke of the day. Perhaps Jo should solicit sponsorship from a soap or shampoo company next year!!!!!)

Well, I could go on and on. I had such a great time at TCC, and I hope to bottle up some of the good vibes to get me through until next year. Thanks Jo for your hard work and hospitality!

WHAT WOMEN READ…

Posted on September 18, 2011 by kmore

(Photo credit: http://pinkparis1233.deviantart.com/art/Books-and-Tea-128879024)

“You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.“ C.S. Lewis

I’ve just spent the last few days with some of the most brilliant, beautiful, creative women in the world at The Creative Connection Event. (More detailed post to follow soon!) I participated in a “Pitch Slam,” and I told some very smart women in publishing about my desire to write book reviews for creative publications. My opinion is that creative people are also readers. I think the two passions seem to go hand in hand for many. In fact, when I told some of the women about my pitch, they chimed in, “Yes!” I love to read. Here’s my theory…. women who are part of the creative community are just as anxious to tell me about the latest book they’ve read, as they are to tell me about their favorite recipe, or craft supply. I think it’s a shared gene. I think the crafty “lifestyle” publications that we’re reading from Stampington, Mary Jane’s Farm, Uppercase, Inspired Ideas, Matthew Mead etc. (See links in my sidebar) should think outside the box (here’s where I come in) and publish reviews for such genres as fiction, biography, memoir, as well as “how-to.” I am the perfect person to write such reviews. I am a member of the creative community. I am passionate about books. I know the kinds of books creative women like to read. I’m a LIBRARIAN for heaven’s sake!” I want to come up with interesting collections of books to recommend around themes and topics. Food fiction? You’ve got it. Farming memoirs, no problem. Biographies about artists? Coming up! Oh, my creative juices are flowing, and I must go. I’ve got books to read! WHAT WOMEN READ…. has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

My Sheldon Rose

Posted on September 12, 2011 by kmore

“All my life I’ve looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.”

Ernest Hemingway (1898-1961) American Writer.

I was poking around in one of my favorite consignment/antique shops…. The Barn in Bigfork, MT, when I saw……THIS. My Sheldon Rose. It’s huge, it’s amazing, it weighs a ton, and I had to have it. This is a large piece of art made of typography letters arranged in this cool shape. I chatted with the seller, and she said that she was selling it for her aunt, who was elderly, but had purchased it with her husband when they were young and living in Seattle. Apparently it was a gallery purchase, and she was always particularly fond of it, but now had to downsize to move. I have been trying very hard to find out more about the artist, Sheldon Rose. It’s been difficult thus far, but I am determined. I found some auctions sites who have a few of his other pieces for sale. They’re quite pricy, so I’m thinking that I got a fair deal on my piece. I’ve also determined that he was likely a German artist, as the auction sites I saw were in Germany. If anyone knows anything about this artist, please fill me in. Whatever the case, I get happy every time I look at this above my couch. It’s full of letters, my favorite thing, because letters make words, and words make stories, and what could be better than that?!

Cherry, Cherry!

Posted on September 8, 2011 by kmore

“We’ll take the cake with the red cherry on top.” Navjot Singh Sighu

One of the (many) things I love about living in Northwest Montana are the cherries. Around Flathead Lake, there are oodles of cherry orchards, and the locals are always waiting for the cherries to be ready for pickin’! This year’s crop was sweet, juicy and delicious. I think cherries are such a happy fruit, and these sweet ones are perfect right out of the bowl. It’s a quick season, and now I’m resigned to the reality that it will be one more year until I see the roadside stands with cherries spilling from the bins. (The story of the Flathead Cherry would be a good one….. maybe I should do some research and write an article?)

Books are my passion….

Posted on August 29, 2011 by kmore

A beautiful book by Terry Taylor

“A dream collage is pictures of your goals. It is like your future photo album.” Bo Bennett

What is my dream “gig”? It’s writing book reviews. For magazines, blogs, books, you name it! I want to write about fiction, non-fiction, how to, memoir… no genre is off limits. So, I grabbed a book off the shelf, and want to share it with you.

It’s not a brand new, hot-off-the-press book, but it’s a classic. I fell in love with Terry Taylor’s Altered Art the first time I thumbed through it. The layout is simple …. easy to take-in. The pictures are stunning, and there is a perfect balance between images and text. “Altered art is simply the result of taking a found object and changing it in some intriguing or surprising way to make an artistic statement of your own.”

Because I’m a librarian, I was drawn to the chapter about altered books. I am constantly stashing aside books that no longer have an audience. It’s just too hard to throw them out, when you’ve been trained to buy and promote them! I am dying to create a “niche.” By carefully cutting away the center of the book, Terry shows me how I could display a three-dimensional object inside. Such a simple idea, but so, so, so, so creative! I’m picturing a book with a travel theme, holding a small object that’s been sitting in a box in my craft room – a tin globe toy that I found in my grandmother’s “junk.”

I am drooling over the creative tag ideas. They could be attached to gifts…. worn as jewelry…. hung as artwork. I am dreaming of ways to use old photographs that have been hidden away. The shoebox of old postcards I inherited from my grandmother? Oh there are so many things they could become.

Find a copy of this beautiful book and add it to your collection. You will be inspired.

Everyday Creativity

Posted on August 25, 2011 by kmore

“Creativity is the ability to look at the ordinary and see the extraordinary.” –Dewitt Jones

Well, it’s back to school time, and one of the themes my school is adopting this year is one based on creativity! Of course this is right up my alley! Our principal showed us a short film narrated by National Geographic photographer and motivational speaker, Dewitt Jones. I found this film to be incredibly inspiring and motivating. I tried to see if it was available for online viewing, but it looks as if it has to be purchased. However, there are a couple videos by him that I found on You Tube. If you can take a look at his films especially “Everyday Creativity” and “Celebrate What’s Right With the World,” you will find a fresh, new way of approaching your creativity each day. One of the quotes that stood out to me was: “Creativity is the ability to look at the ordinary and see the extraordinary.” – Dewitt Jones

I also loved his comments on the idea that creativity is simply “falling in love with the world.” Wow!

I am inspired to infuse more creativity into my job as a teacher, as well as my every day interactions with others. Making a cute necklace, or crocheting a hat is obvious creativity, but how nice is it that we can enhance each day with a creative spark.

Uff da… Lefse time!

Posted on August 15, 2011 by kmore

“In Norway, Charlie Brown says, ‘uff da!’ instead of ‘Good grief!.’ ”

My heritage is distinctly Norwegian. My grandmother’s parents came to America from Norway, and she grew up speaking Norwegian as a little girl. One of the main traditions we still carry on from that heritage is LEFSE! Each holiday season, Grandma would fill her kitchen with potatoes, flour, hot pans and lots of relatives. Lefse is a flat potato bread much like a tortilla. We like to eat it in a number of ways…. butter and sugar, jam, honey, turkey and mayo, the possibilities are endless. Making lefse is not a quick, easy process, but my mom, aunts, and cousins gather together each fall to make huge batches so everyone can take some home for the holidays. There’s flour everywhere, rolling, hot pans, flipping, gabbing, laughing, bonding. What could be more fun? We are getting ready to schedule our annual fall lefse making extravaganza and I am also penciling in my calendar to attend Libby Montana’s annual Nordicfest celebration (my hometown, I’m so proud!) There is bound to be lots of lefse there to enjoy (along with some lutefisk, but I might be too full from the lefse to eat any.) (Technical note: I am scheduled to take blogging class very soon from Holly Becker from Decor8 and Leslie Shewring from A Creative Mint. These lovely ladies have assured me that my photography is going to be divine! These photos were shot by someone else, and I have very high standards for the works of art that will be shown after this year’s event coming up….)

Yummy, lefse

Sorry about this picture quality. This year, I will get better shots!

Buckle Up!

Posted on August 13, 2011 by kmore

Collecting has been my great extravagance. It’s a way of being. I collect for the same reason that I eat too much-I’m one of nature’s shoppers. Howard Hodgkin

I was scrounging through my messy garage for some wrapping paper when I stumbled upon a box of “goodies” that I gathered from my grandmother’s attic. Yes, I have one of “those” grandmothers. Even though she is no longer alive, she has left us with a treasure-trove of STUFF. Ever the pack-rat, she filled her house and attic to the brim with what many considered to be…. junk. I, however, have a fondness for junk, and am loving the fact that she couldn’t throw anything away. I found an old coffee can full of cast-off belt-buckles. No doubt, she was planning to do something with these. She was one of the original recyclers. I just thought they looked cool lying together – like a picture. I’m brainstorming a way to display these properly. Ideas are welcome….

Opening Doors.

Posted on August 11, 2011 by kmore

All doors open to courtesy. Thomas Fuller

Figuratively speaking, the goal of this blog is to help me exercise my writing skills – informally of course, as well as to possibly “open some doors” in the line of writing and presenting for the “artsy-craftsy” community. So, I’m sharing a hodge-podge of my creativeness for those who want to check-out my catalog of creations.

On my grandmother’s rambling, mountain property, lie numerous “treasures” including…. old rusty cars, abandoned sheds, barns, outhouses, etc. When my husband and I built our small cabin nearby, we were not impressed at the glaring white sight of the side of the refrigerator staring out at us in the kitchen. So, when we were wandering Grandma’s junk yard this spring, we decided to take the door off of an old shed sitting in the trees. It has already been overtaken by small animals and pine-needles, so we didn’t feel too guilty. We took it home, dusted it off, and retro-fitted the doorknob, so it only protrudes on one side (so it will fit). Then we cut a piece of wood t fit where the window sat and painted it with chalkboard paint. We didn’t have any chalk yet, when I snapped this picture, but now we do, and the message says, “The Huck’s are here. Gone to Miller Creek!” This was such a fun project, and it barely cost anything. Re-purposing old items and taking finds from trash-to-treasure is one of my favorite hobbies. Thanks for letting me share!

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