The Ultimate TO ME FROM ME gift

Occasionally I get a TO ME FROM ME gift for Christmas.

THIS YEAR I got the ultimate #TOMEFROMME

Check it out!

The Workbox 3.0, I have been eyeing

 this little giant gift for a while now 

and Christmas was the perfect opportunity to indulge. 

My gift was delivered on Friday, all whopping 680 lbs. packed in 5 different cartons.

Let's say I was taken back a bit and overwhelmed at the sight of it, not to mention 

wanting to tear into the thing the moment it was delivered. 

However being the mature adult that I am I called

 my handyman and scheduled him for a Tuesday date. 

Well, COME ON TUESDAY!

I'll keep you updated!

In the meantime...

Wishing you Health, Happiness and lots of Creativity!

Kelley

My Three Little Artists

This year I was going to have a

 GROWN UP Christmas Tree

I ordered special ornaments to 

compliment my ginger jar collection

I carefully decorated the tree with "professional tips" from

 the country's leading designers.

I carefully handled my new hand painted ornaments.

I really put great thought and effort into

 the placement of each ornament.

Using suggestions, from my new book,

of placing the small ornaments at the top 

with larger ornaments adorning the bottom half. 

The very anticipated result was 

A SUPER DISAPPOINTMENT!

The tree didn't have any SPARK.

ENTER THE GRAND CHILDREN...

I had told the girls that they could help me trim the tree, 

so I pulled out the plastic bulbs 

 and let them place a few color

 coordinated bulbs here and there...

No one was following my direction.

The picked any old color and

 hung them where ever they wanted.

WHAT WAS I THINKING???

I was thinking that my Christmas tree

 finally had SPARK!!!!

They did a much better job than I could have ever done!

So now my tree is beautifully

 decorated only as high as 

little designer hands can reach. 

My daughter asked me 

when she was 

leaving if I was going to 

change it back the way it was?

NO WAY!

I LOVE our very eclectic Christmas Tree. 

Thanks to the 3 budding artists 

that I call my granddaughters. 

Wishing You Health and Happiness

this Holiday Season,

Kelley

Happy Weekend!

Wishing you a 

BIG BOWL OF HAPPY!

Enjoy your Weekend!

Kelley

S.O.S....Shell Obession Syndrome

I have suffered from S.O.S. 

on and off for the last 5 years. 

WARNING! 

It can be contagious!

I'm a girl who knows the tides 

and the treasures they might bring. 

I truly marvel at each and every shell I pick up.

Each a true piece of art 
thanks to Mother Nature.

(my favorite artist) 

In addition to the thrill of finding each little treasure 

I love using the treasure in my crafting. 

The joke at my house, 

if it stands still it's likely to be

 adorned with shells. 

I hate to admit there might be some truth to that.

Shells have added bling and zing to 

 many things I use in my every day life. 

A Marlin greets 

my guests in their bedroom.

Simple chargers from Hobby Lobby

come to life with the S.O.S. treatment 

  and of course more is always better. 

I not only have items in my house adorned,

I also wear my shells on my sleeve. 

All of these shells make a girl 

feel like a Mermaid Princess.

Personally, a Cowgirl Mermaid 

is my preference.

A girl needs a shell purse 

to carry all of her Mermaid treasure. 

I have taken enough of your time.

I could show you lots more but frankly

it's a bit frighting when I started gathering my shell projects. 

I know others that suffer from S.O.S.

LOOK AT THIS!!!

WEE WEE WOW WOW!

Is all I can say!

I found this crazy picture on Instagram

posted by iloveshelling, you can visit her blog

at iloveshelling.com, 

she lives on Sanibel Island, a shelling paradise.

I'm so jealous!

Fortunately there is no known cure for S.O.S.

(thank goodness) 

Happy Shelling!

Kelley

Since you have been so kind to visit

I would love to share one of my S.O.S. 

creations with one of you.

(pictured above)

Just leave a comment and I will pick

a winner with the random winner generator 

in one week,

October 1, 2016

P.S. If you would like to read about my first bout of S.O.S. 

CLICK HERE

Welcome the Golden Season!

...September days are here,

With summer's best of weather,

And autumn's best of cheer.
   -Helen Hunt Jackson

Autumn carries more gold in its pocket 

than all the other seasons. 

~Jim Bishop

The magic of autumn is here!

Enjoy!

Kelley

Little Snippets of My Life that I Would Like to Remember

This photo makes my heart sing. 

I could journal about this day 

but to me this photo says IT ALL.

It will never be framed and will likely be forgotten within the year. 

I have taken photographs for many, many years.

Probably thousands but only a few merit the honor of being framed

and reminding us of a moment each time we view them.

What about the days in between those photos?

The everyday JOYS that are too soon forgotten,

Faces of loved ones growing bigger every day.

Special moments that will fade

 too soon after they are experienced.

A simple photo like this tells me so much.

It is a nice reminder of the happy,

 loving woman my daughter has become.

There is no need to write sentences in a journal for me to feel this joy,

I simply have to glance at this photo

 but soon it will be buried below 

thousands and thousands other photos.

I DON'T WANT TO FORGET

 THE JOY THIS PHOTO 

(and so many others)

BROUGHT TO MY LIFE. 

SO WHAT TO DO???

SOLUTION!!!

There is a very simple APP that saves one

 (or more if you like) photo every day!

It's called COLLECT.

I like to think of it as saving a MEMORY a day. 

I urge you to take less than 5 minutes a day so you can see 

your memories that most likely will  be forgotten...

LET'S DO THIS!

Go to the APP store

SEARCH for the APP 

COLLECT

Install it on your phone

Once installed Open it and it will show you the current month calendar,

touch a date will take you directly to that date in your photos.

Touch a photo you would like to add

and it will represent that day in your life.

If you would like you can add options of a caption and assigning tags. 

Go ahead and explore all the features,

 you really can't mess it up. 

I used this APP a couple of years ago.

(with a little different twist).

CLICK HERE to see post.

I wish I had continued but as so many things go in life, I didn't.

I'm amazed how many great memories

 I can remember (that otherwise would be forgotten)

by just breezing through the monthly grids. 

Give it a test drive!

I know you will love it,

and the BEST part is that you will be so HAPPY you did. 

you can thank me later:)

Each Month you get recap of all your memories

LIKE THIS! 

Think Good Thoughts!

Kelley 

P.S. As you can see that I have added some documents,

photos from years past.

and even other's Facebook posts.

If you would like stop by later this week and I will explain

 some additional things you can include in your monthly grid.

They Must Know About This Day.

This morning I awoke to a beautiful day.

But most of us know this isn't any day...

It will be a day SEARED in our hearts and minds.

The bell rings for a moment of silence and....

IT IS DEAFENING.

For those who hear this silence will never forget.

But what about those that don't know the deafening silence?

Those that don't know our lives were changed forever?

Those who no longer say the Pledge of Allegiance

 before the public school day?

What about the children

that put their tiny hands on this FLAG?

One of those tiny hands is my

 eldest granddaughter

who is now 5 years old.

Last year in a private preschool 

she was allowed to pay tribute to our FLAG.

When asked if she says the

 Pledge of Allegiance this year in public school 

kindergarten her response was:

"No but we did in my old school".

My daughter asked me today

 "Am I supposed to teach my five

year old about September 11th.

My answer was a definite "yes".

Nothing to scare her little, 5 year old mind

 simply explain this day, each year,
is important to Americans

If we observe it each year,
 with every new year 
more understanding will develop.

I imagine when she is 15 years old we will think 

"this is the age my Mother was on 911"

I HOPE they will never experience 

the SILENCE of a day like this. 

But they must know about this day.

Kelley

Sharing a Creative Life

Today I received a text from a special friend, 

she wrote:

"I'm inspired to make a cuff bracelet.

Would you mind if I try to make one with shells...

I would be a copy cat and completely respect if this is

something you would prefer to keep in your personal bag"

OH MY! 

My first thought was:

She recently discovered my blog 

and I believe these are the 

bracelets she was referring to:

 CLICK HERE to read the post

My response was:

"I NEVER mind anyone ever copying what I do

because it's not copying,

 I like to think of it as 

INSPIRATION"

Actually I was quite flattered!

In my Hearts of Hearts 

I only want to share the thrill of creativity!

In the words of Maya Angelou:

So needless to say 

the more creativity you have

the more you can share!

Wishing you lots of Creativity,

Health and Happiness,

Kelley

Hello...It's ME!

Hello....It's me!!!! 

(shameful steal from Adel)

 Yes! 

It is me!

I'm still the crazy crafter who

loves mosaics and tea parties

 BUT,  in the Blog World

so much has changed!

It feels like "Blogging, Back to the Future"  

Please let me explain. 

I started my blog 8 years ago.

It was a time that we had to walk 5 miles to school

 in 2 feet of snow in the blog world.

  Thanks to some very special ladies

that share my passion for crafting,

I started to think about blogging again.

 (side note not nearly enough time with these ladies) 

We were crafting yesterday 

and catching up on lots of projects

 and I was asked about my blog 

and I said "I am no longer blogging."

  Of course the question why?  

Good Question!

My answer was 

"I felt I didn't have much to share"

which was absolutely hilarious

 after showing "the ladies" a

 bazillion pictures of my current projects. 

So maybe... FEAR IS THE ANSWER.

Yes, so much has changed,

I don't generate tons of traffic,

(I don't even know how to generate traffic) 

I don't even have a FACE BOOK page. 

Twitter is the sound of birds gossiping in the morning

What hasn't changed is that

 I LOVE TO CREATE!!!!!

It still keeps me awake at night.

 I wish I could create everyday.

And... I'm still hoping 

the laundry and cooking fairy 

would take up residence at my house. 

I thought of starting a new blog

 and recreating my Blog Self.  

Nope!  Not going to happen.

I don't need to change because 

all the same reasons I started to blog

still hold true. 

So Hello...

I'm back!!!

I'm excited to share and visit

 the many bloggers who have 

touched my heart through out the years to say

 "hello" and see what everyone has been up to.  

OH HAPPY DAY!

Wishing you 

Heath and Happiness

ALWAYS!

Kelley