KateXpressions Creating...

Time Robbers....

2011-12-09T22:20:00.000-05:00

"Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they've started." David Allen, author of "Getting Things Done"

Oh dear! Is that what my stresses are from? I have to admit that he is right...Once I complete one of those pressing projects, I get a "surge" of energy to tackle another. Our Homeschooling quarterly newsletter (LEAH: The Christian Resource for Homeschoolers in New York) included this list of time robbers:

Lack of Organization and Routine
Online Addictions
Troublesome Acquaintances and Irritating Tools
Trouble Saying No -- People Pleasing
Procrastination/Prioritization
Lack of Physical Activity and Poor Dietary Choices

Here is the rest of the article...even you don't homeschool, there is some good advice for those of us who work or are engaged in our homes...Lack of Organization and Routine

No one can function optimally in chaos. Keep desks and work areas tidy. Keep to-do lists. Have a system to keep your "paper tigers" under control. The old adage "a place for everything and everything in its place" is a time-honored piece of wisdom. Create routines! Check out the flylady.net website for ideas and adapt them to your lifestyle.

On-line Addictions

Designate a once daily time to check emails and read your homepage news. Then think about restricting plain old "surfing" to two or three times per week. Move your computer to a more inconvenient location.

Trouble Saying No -- People Pleasing

Have you ever said yest when you want to say no? Learn about setting "boundaries" and also conflict resolution.

Troublesome Acquaintances and Irritating Tools

Fix things that, although working, are not working up to speed. For instance, a dishwasher that does not always clean well or a clothes dryer that takes too much time to dry the clothes, or even a computer that runs so very slow! If you have tons of irritating "tools", just choose one item a week or month to repair or replace. Just don't sit there and do nothing.

Prioritization

Since time is precious and can not be regained once it is lost, choose wisely how you will spend yours. Place a premium on time with your family. Pray about serving others. Serve faithfully in what God has called you to do and learn not to serve out of impulse. Check your motives...don't take on tasks just to make others think well of you.

Procrastination

Procrastination can many times make things worse. Think of a small leak in a roof that left unattended eventually runs the roof and damages the home. What was a small relatively inexpensive repair becomes a major project and costly to boot. Prioritizing goes hand in hand with organization and routines. Do the things that are really important to you. Finding that balance between procrastination and prioritization is essential.

Lack of Physical Activity and Poor Dietary Choices

Exercise is a wise use of time. It relieves stress, fights against disease, and increases longevity. Wise eating habits are essential. Poor eating can add to health problems and crankiness to both you and your children. Change your diet, one step at a time! Start an exercise routine. Make it easy just three days a week and then add to that routine as you get stronger.Orderliness and efficiency in the home are a family affair, involve your children extensively. Do not, as the saying goes, be foolish enough to think that nothing is well done except that which you do yourself...although it does feel like it sometimes!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-21T22:10:00.000-05:00

A fun little colored pencil drawing called, "The Prize!"

"The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

God is good!

Have a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving Day!

A Quick and Easy Special Gift

2011-11-17T12:54:00.001-05:00

A few years ago my sister and her husband requested that we take a piece of paper and just have everyone draw on it as their Christmas present...it didn't happen. In the rush of things, we didn't think of it when the time came. So this year, we were wondering what to give them and that idea came back, but with some nicer results!

This is the picture of "Spring" done by my daughter, Noelle...

Next comes, "Summer" drawn by my other very talented daughter, Annie!

Thirdly, is "Winter" drawn by my young man, Joel!

The fourth season, "Fall" was my contribution...

Bringing us to the final result! A nicely framed collection of hand-drawn pictures to grace the wall! All you need is a nice picture frame, some drawing paper, crayons, colored pencils, paints, markers...whatever you would like to draw with and then pray and ask the Lord for some delightfully, creative way to display each drawing. Besides a really nice gift for someone special, you also spend time creating together!

For those of you who homeschool, when I was putting together my plans for this new school year, I scheduled Wednesdays as my "fun" day. It is the day that we work on all the "extras" like Art, Music, Gym, Reading aloud...so we were working on this project during our art time making this a great art project, too.

How about you, what creative projects have you been working on?
This post is linked up with Encourage One Another at my friend Jacque's lovely blog,"Deep Roots at Home" please click on the button above to visit her blog and to see the other blogs that have linked up! Thanks for stopping by!Have a wonderfully Blessed Thanksgiving!

Preview of one of my new Christmas designs...

2011-11-14T21:06:00.000-05:00

"For God So Loved the World..."

"For unto us a Child is born Unto us a Son is given,And the government will be upon His shoulderAnd His name will be calledWonderfulCounselorMighty GodEverlasting FatherPrince of Peace."Isaiah 9:6

This design is very different than what I usually pursue, but it is fun to try new things, right!

Still developing...

2011-10-03T22:44:00.000-04:00

Since we started back to school, my life has been "rushing" forward like this stream! :) So I humbly apologize for not having posted the progression I promised. I hope to get started on that now.

I'm currently home schooling three of my children. The youngest is in Kindergarten. It has been a precious time of working with her and she seems to be loving most of her new learning...except reading...she seems to think that this is the most horribly hard subject there is! So instead of her enjoying the process and letting us have fun with it she has decided when it is time for this subject we must have a meltdown and not be cooperative...not fun and takes me twice as long to help her get through her work.

Art can be that way...you look at something that you would really like to achieve but you are convinced that you could never do it...why? it may just be that you don't want to put the effort into it, so you will never achieve it!...everything worth doing, will require some good hard effort on your part. I believe that it is a principle in all of life.

Understanding this, is important to undertaking any discipline...music, writing, art, singing, drama, puppetry, organizing, cooking, relationships...

So in my next post, I will share some of thoughts and wrestlings with starting the piece I have called "Lobelia".

Developing...

2011-08-12T11:42:00.002-04:00

The preliminary drawings and painting for "Lobelia"...

My desire is to post a "developing" design, idea or thought on a monthly basis. So, my next post I hope to share some of the progression of painting and completing my sister's birthday present and my card design called, "Lobelia".

I hope you will enjoy the process and it will encourage you in your own creative process!

Have a blessed day!

Karen

Owner....KateXpressions (Link will take you to see the finished project in my Etsy shop!) :)

Organizing Tips: Remembering Special Days

2011-04-21T22:14:00.001-04:00

A reprint of an article that I wrote in October of 2008:

This card was made with some pressed ferns, embossed decorative papers and a heart shaped hole punch.

If you are like me, birthdays and anniversaries come and go and you wish that you had sent out a nice card. With a little foresight and planning we can reach our goals and bless and encourage our family and friends by hosting a Card Making Party!

This card was made using a pair of decorative edged scissors, pressed flowers, colored card stock and a heart shaped hole punch.

Invite your children, siblings or a group of friends! You can enjoy making cards with many different materials. They can be simple or elaborate. They can be whatever you would like them to be...You are the designer! Each one can be a unique expression or you can mass produce a design you like.

Here are some basic materials that I have used:

White, Cream or Colored Card Stock
Different shape hole punches
Decorative Edged Scissors
Straight Edged Scissors
Straight Edged Ruler
A Wavy or Decorative Edged Ruler
Elmer's Glue
A small paint brush for the glue
Pencils
Calligraphy Pens

This picture was done with colored pencils. This was one of my daughters designs.

Add to these basic supplies:

Stencils
Stamps with Ink Pads
Embossing tools
Puff Paints, Glitter
Cut-work Scissors, Decorative Papers
Ribbons, Strings, Buttons, Scraps of Fabric
Scraps of colored paper, Tissue Paper
Picture Frame Mats
Colored Pencils, Crayons
Watercolor Paints, Markers
Pressed Flowers
Photographs
Paper doilies
Recipe Cards, Book marks

This card was made with decorative edged scissors, colored paper, a heart shaped hole punch and pressed leaves.

The possibilities are endless! So how about you? What ideas do you have for making cards? If you decide to host a card party, be sure to let me know! Leave me a comment. My next post, I will share an excerpt from "Totally Organized: The Bonnie McCullough Way" about organizing our cards.

Enjoy!

The Beauty is in the details...

2011-04-19T13:35:00.002-04:00

While my children were outside they found these small flowers in my garden beds. I have seen the leaves of this wild ground cover but never saw the flowers. Aren't they pretty? Look at the delicate detail on each petal.

I thought it would be fun to press them and see how they would do. You will notice below, they did quite well! I use the Microfleur flower press. This is a flower press that goes right into your microwave. If you are interested in pressing flowers or small leaves, Spring and Fall are the perfect time to find them.

Finding Time...

2011-02-06T17:08:00.005-05:00

Nasturtium Bouquet -embossed

With the rush of the holidays past, I'm finding that I still have little post-it-notes to myself that say: "Thank You's, for...." and a list of names of those people who were so thoughtful and kind to blessed us with wonderful gifts. Are you experiencing the same thing? Is it hard to find the time to sit down and write out your Thank You cards?

Having lots to do, I can give myself excuses for why I haven't completed that task.....my husband works two jobs, I homeschool three of our six children, I help my aging parents with keeping track of things, I have a small notecard business, one of my daughters is getting married this Summer and I have wedding prep things to do, oh and did I mention my other daughter who is graduating and is looking at college applications...then there is....

As I have been pondering my schedule lately, I'm starting to realize that I need to pro-actively schedule the things that are important to me. Letting my family and friends know how much I appreciated their gifts and love toward me is important.

And then there are Birthdays, Anniversaries, Graduations, Celebrations, Deaths....I need to make the time.

Would I ignore an appointment that I've made for the Doctor or Dentist? No! I would not schedule anything else during that time. I would make sure that I am all set to go and I would go. Nothing would stand in the way (except an emergency or bad weather!).

So I have concluded that I need to "make an appointment for myself" , write it on the calendar and not schedule anything else in that place.

What day works for you? For me, I was thinking Sunday afternoon might make a good time slot. I'm planning on setting aside an hour or so appointment, so that I will no longer be kicking myself for not getting it done.

You know, getting rid of that mental weight feels good! What is more important than "building" up the people I love and care about?

Do you have a plan? Why not share your thoughts in the comment section! I would love to hear what is working for you!

Warmly,

Karen

Interested in the embossed Nasturtium Bouquet cards? Let me know and I will list some just for you!

Organizing Tips: Card Giving

2011-01-05T16:05:00.001-05:00

These are colored pencil drawings from a Christmas present that we gave to my sister and her husband. My children and I each drew a picture for the 4 seasons, purchased a decorative frame and made a border that gave the appearance of a window. I'm including it hear as an example for a homemade card, as well.

I thought I would republish a post from my blog. I hope it stirs up some creative thoughts for this new year!

As I promised yesterday, here is an excerpt from "Totally Organized: The Bonnie McCullough Way", on keeping track of those special days and storing your cards...

"Devise a way to keep track of birthdays and anniversaries. One grandmother has a tole-painted birthday board, with all her grandchildrens' birth dates on it. If you like to send cards, you might like to buy them a month or even a year ahead. Address them all at once, and in the corner where the stamp will go, write the date the card should be mailed. One thoughtful grandfather makes one excursion to the card shop, buys for a whole year, and then puts them in a three-ring notebook that has a pocket divider for each month. The grandchildren love to get mail, especially from Grandpa, and he always remembers! He has a system that helps him keep track.

I keep a permanent list of special days in my planning notebook, and it only requires three pages. When a friend says "yesterday was my birthday," I write it down. Next year maybe I will send a note or give that person a call. As long as I'm making confessions, I do not buy cards except sympathy cards. With limited funds and so many gift-giving occasions, I need to spend the money on the gift rather than a card that will just get tossed away. We make our own cards if we have time. If not, we just cut out a motif from the wrapping paper and make a simple name tag."

(pp.271-272, "How To Simplify Card and Gift Giving")

My Mom likes to purchase cards at the beginning of the month, but she doesn't make them out until she is ready to send them. That way she can include her own special greeting.