Safer at Home Adventures

Have you missed me, or not even noticed that I haven't been here in eight months?  I don't know how that happened!  After spending a week with our daughter, I came home in the middle of March (my husband and daughter were both worried that I would be unable to get home), and I've been here, and fine, ever since.  

I logged in tonight to add the link at the right for the new August-December mini catalog.  We used to call it the Holidays catalog, and it is still full of goodness for the fall and winter holidays.  While I was checking the link, I read the date on the most recent post - January!

While I was MIA, for my sixth year, I did "art" on index cards each of the 61 days in June and July for #dyicad2020 - they were all posted on my Instagram account:

This month and September I'll be doing some sewing - the numbered copy paper pages under the ICAD title card are the pattern pages for my first project.  I'm using a bed sheet in a size we no longer use to make super-comfortable super-lightweight pants that I can wear while working in the beehives.  Last month, I captured a swarm for my first time, completely on my own!

I've done some art journaling, which I've posted on Facebook in the group that inspired me.  Also on Facebook, I participated in the Paper Clip Art #12PaperClipsfor2020 swap for the first six months.  These are the clips I mailed to my swap partner:

I made some greeting cards, too, but I wasn't participating in challenges; that's probably why there have been no blog posts.  

And, as usual, I've spent lots of time watching YouTube videos!  While our daughter and grandson were visiting us in February, my grandson decided we should make some YouTube videos of our own, so my little channel now has 3 videos.  I've been waffling about using the channel for video responses to YouTube challenges, but if I can't keep up here, how would I keep up there, you know what I mean?

I hope you all are well and safe in these uncertain and frightening times.

creative challenge adventures

You're sure to know, if you've been here before, that I love participating in challenges, as almost all of my posts are linked to card-making challenges.  I've tried a few other kinds of challenges, especially daily ones, with varying degrees of success; you can see some of them on my Instagram account @kathedmi.  I did pretty well with the 30 day planner prompts #ttbchallenge in November, and really well with #ohsocutedoodles #decemberdailychallenge last month (with the daily part, anyway, maybe not so much the artistic ability):

I may not have admitted this before, but I get bored easily (card making is pretty much the first hobby I've really stuck with for more than a few months, since I was a child), so changing challenges was probably a really good idea. Previously I tried 60-day ICAD challenges (2016 being the only time I completed 60) and #100days (I completed 60 last year).

I was not going to do a January daily challenge, until I saw the words on the #llleverydamnday list at Llamas Love Lettering - what great words!  Cindy suggested maybe just use your own handwriting; I can do that. So, I did that for three days, and found that too easy (boring). I started over, using one of the lettering styles Cindy teaches:

In this enlarged view, I can see that my lettering really needs some work, but that's kind of the point, I guess.  Or maybe I just need to put on reading glasses before I start lettering...

Last month and last week, I read that Tammy, at DaisyYellow (home of ICAD) and iHanna are collaborating on #365somethings2018.  Wow, that's a commitment!  On first reading, I was impressed and intrigued, but intimidated.  When I realized they didn't say daily, but rather, 365 before 12/31/2018, I decided I can probably make 365 cards.  Last year, I made 259 (yes, I counted - I have photos of every one of them). Forty of those were in sets of five the same, which I don't do unless I need a lot in a short time, such as when I don't have 100 Christmas cards ready before the middle of December.  So, 365 is a stretch, but I think it's achievable, and it should help with the 100 cards before mid-December thing, too! I'm going to give it a try.

Then, day before yesterday, I found this:

So, I may be seriously overestimating my ability to stay involved and motivated, but it's weekly, it seems do-able, and photography is one of the often neglected hobbies I've collected through the years.  I guess my Instagram account will be getting a workout this year! Most of my cards will still be here, but I'd sure like to see some of you and your projects on Facebook and Instagram.

puzzle adventures

You have probably noticed that I like Christmas any time of year - I especially like to make Christmas cards all year, so they're ready to mail at the beginning of December without being more of a project than assign, sign, address and stamp (which is really kind of a big project, anyway).  I also really like challenges - they give me a place to start - and I like combining challenges, it's fun to make them all fit together, like a puzzle.  This week I started with the prompt from Christmas Card Challenge to use stencils; it was easy to fit in the photo inspiration/color combination from Merry Monday, and then I found sketch #19 from 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown to really put it all together:

stamp set - More Merry Messages; ink - White Craft, Encore Silver; card stock - Coastal Cabana, Silver Glimmer; designer series paper - Winter Frost (retired); other tools & supplies - Simply Scored borders plate overlay, Big Shot with Holiday Collection framelits (retired), Candy Dots, Stampin' sponge, sponge daubers    

 

The first puzzle I had to solve was that I don't have any stencils in my active craft supplies and I didn't have time to drive over to the house and go searching through the inactive supplies in the basement.  I started by cutting an outline stencil in a piece of scrap card stock and then I revisited my earlier inspiration of using the Simply Scored borders plate overlay, again the wavy lines, for the garland.  My next puzzle was adding touches of color, but the Candy Dots solution was right under my nose!

To celebrate all those puzzles, I'll share my solution to the ICAD prompt "puzzle", which I made fit with the text theme for my #4 card:

stamp set: Really Good Greetings; punch - 3/4" circle

The puzzle piece itself was a puzzle, which I solved with more scrap card stock.  I was thinking "all things work together" or "all things fit together", which then led to this stamp - it may be my all-time forever favorite!



new adventures

I love "new" - new ideas, new projects, learning new things, trying new activities, even just new months.  This month, I'm going to join in the Index Card A Day activity sponsored by Daisy Yellow.  I "lurked" last year, when I tried some of Tammy's Daily Paper Prompts - this year I'm feeling braver, less self-judgmental, or maybe I've got more ambition. 

I tried some warm-up exercises - made a travel kit, since we're out of town a lot of weekends, and a practice card:

I raided my unnecessarily large stash of miscellaneous art supplies - four different kinds of markers (two of which are chisel-points for calligraphy), a little tray of watercolors I didn't know I owned, some inexpensive paint brushes and colored pencils, plus a generous supply of index cards; my Stampin' Up! supplies provided scissors and a glue stick.

Since the first suggested theme is text, my ICAD 2014 #1 card (made using the travel kit while sitting at our garage sale this morning) is a reminder list of thoughts I had while waiting for the new month to start:

Lists are well within my comfort zone, but I'm hoping to stretch a little this summer.  Recently I've been wishing I had some ability with collage.  I finally remembered that I used to do collage in high school - basic stuff, just pretty magazine pictures glued on typing paper (we didn't have computer paper back then, but it's the same stuff).  Nothing like you can find  at Collage Obsession, another site where I've been "lurking".  As Tammy pointed out, 3"x5" is a non-threatening size for trying out new techniques.  New is what makes life an adventure!