Grand opening day 1

So the night before my opening I went over to check a few things right before I went to bed, kind of assess and see what needed done in the morning etc...
and the lock on my front door jammed and it took over a half hour to get it closed and locked. For real.
In the pouring rain.
Yay.

It was the only half hour ALL DAY it rained but it got locked.
So I came home and called the maintenance guy who authorized a locksmith for me and then I called not 1, not 2, but 3 different 24 hour locksmiths. None of which answered their phone. Awesome huh?
I left a message with all 3 and only one got back to me first thing yesterday morning. He met me at the studio at 9 and got it all fixed but I was having a mini freak out and it set me about a half hour behind. Everything went off great though.

My sister made amazing cupcakes...

Aren't they beautiful? They were even MORE delicious!

She's really creative too! :D I think she needs to open a bakery.  Hmmmm..... maybe a future project.

One of my best friends came and did some facepainting

The kids did some chalking out front too!

I had a steady stream of people coming in throughout the day to say hi, be supportive and check things out! I'll get more pictures of the studio all done during Day 2 of my opening...
Everyone have a great day and thanks for coming on this journey with me!

Grand Opening today!

Hope you create something awesome!

New website

Hopefully, my creativity is showing today in my new website. I hope. If not, then more tweaking will have to occur.
I'm keeping this short and sweet, mostly I've been getting set up for tomorrow.
I hope to see my local friends at the studio.. and to the rest of you, I'll have all kinds of fun new things next week when I'm slowed down again!
Thank you for your support and encouragement.

The final countdown!!!

Only 2 real days left til I'm officially open. Yesterday I had 3 different groups stop by to see what's up and going on in my space (it looks like real space now and people are intrigued)

This is my window display so far. It's a little table and some directors chairs (These will eventually be tangled) with tiles and a paint can on the table. It looks way cuter than it does in the pic but I have been focusing on getting stuff done instead of taking pics.

Speaking of which.. the site may be down sometime tomorrow. I finished my new website and tomorrow my domain is being redirected there.
It looks like this. (So you aren't confused when you get there) I'm pretty happy with it and it's going to have some cool new features like eventually a video tutorial section, etc) It took me forever to get it the way I want, and there are several things that still aren't working right, but... I think I need it live so I can play with it and have all the changes actually take effect.

You might be wondering about the blog though because that's what you are going to get when you click www.whimsybykelly.com
The blog isn't really going anywhere though.
I"m not taking it down. You will be able to get to the blog by clicking on the link I demonstrated here...

A lot of the things I have on the blog will be stripped and moved to there eventually, leaving just the actual blog and creativity challenge etc here.

You an also just get to the blog by going to http://www.whimsyandzen.blogspot.com/

So, if you have trouble accessing in the next day or so, that's why and if things look a little strange for a day or two please be patient. :) I wanted a better page with more options.

Also, just because there may not be access to the challenge doesn't mean I won't still be creating and hope you will be too! I'll put up a "catch up" post if we miss a day. 

The saga of the chalkboard calendar....

So while in the planning stages of the studio, I saw a chalkboard calendar. I fell in love with it and really wanted it... but it was $80, which was absolutley worth it, it just wasn't money I'd calculated into the budget. I passed but was kind of disappointed.
I talked to two of my best friends about it and we had the "You could make that..." with my response being, "Well yes, I could.... but  I'm probably not GOING to" conversation. We talked about it a bit more and I kind of shelved the idea because I didn't know that I had that kind of time.
Without my knowing  my mom decided to buy it for me for a studio opening gift, only to discover that they numbers were actually PAINTED onto the chalkboard. Um... that's not really going to work because not every month starts with the 1st on a Monday. So she told me and we kind of laughed and then.... it happened. The PERFECT frame happened to be RIGHT there and $3. So I acquired a frame that had a piece of pressboard in it and tada.

So, I refreshed the frame and created it myself. I already HAD the chalkboard paint and stuff from the other things. Everything you see here is permanent, but I left the month and days blank to be written on with chalk.

I am in LOVE with it. I am sooooooo happy with it and it fills in a spot by the front door perfectly.

The only left to do is write in classes on it! :D

4 days!!!!

Oh my... I'm so excited and overwhelmed that my grand opening is this weekend!

Most of what I've been working on is the descriptions and schedule for my classes for the summer, which aren't finished or I'd just share those, but I did make a jar of wishes for a friend.

My week is going to be filled with getting things ready and I'll have things to share here and there.

If you're in the area, I'd love to see you Saturday or Sunday!

If not I hope you'll be with me in creative spirit!!! :)

Remembering...

"Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored" Daniel Webster

Wishing you a Memorial day filled with meaning.

Inspiration... where do you get yours?

Mine comes from everywhere.... from family, from friendship, from beauty in the world, from ideas, from things people say or do or a spark of an idea put in my head by anything and then tada...I'm off and making something. Sometimes it turns out awesome, sometimes... eh... not so much.

But I find that when inspiration hits, it hits hard but unless I do something with it, it goes nowhere, so even if I just get the ideas down then they become mine forever.

True!

We had a talk about inspiration yesterday and what it means, and while I'm sure it means something different to everyone, the definition struck me though, because that's what inspiration is like for me... it's like a spark in my head, like someone turned the power on 

I also am pretty sure I don't breathe if I'm feeling creative block.... 

When I'm inspired, I'm prolific as well. I've been working on this tangle kit and it's nearly done now. 

I'm really enjoying the black and white on the dark green. It's almost like a new step after renaissance tiles! A completely different look. I may have to dig out a green pen to play with as well.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend... Memorial day is a quiet holiday for us. We're a military family and that means we spend a little more time remembering on Memorial day.

Until tomorrow, I hope you find your inspiration from something awesome, and that you make something amazing!

Tangle kit in progress

I'm working on a really pretty tangle kit. I just started it but I wanted that to be today's project.

There are a number of cool things I'm going to be working on this weekend, so I wanted to put this there. 

I hope you're all doing something great this weekend. 

Calendar....

I am working on my calendar.
This is as far as I've gotten... but, that's ok. I like how it's turning out.

It will have squares and the days of the week in permanent, space for me to fill in the month and then the squares will be 2x2 which is large enough for me to put class info in there.
There will also be a space at the bottom for "Notes"

Any other suggestions as to what it should have on it?

What features of your calendars do you love?

Zelda... because, why not?

A few years ago I was really into pop up cards, I found a template and played with it a lot.
I've made a bunch of cute things, but this is still one of my favorites. Sadly the paper warped a little but the friend it's on the way to won't  mind. She's leaving for a 2 year trip to Japan and she's a little nerdy. :D
Plus I thought a change of pace from the studio pics etc would be good!

I learned to make this from here. :) It's pretty easy and a lot of fun. Plus I didn't have a lot of time to work on something and needed something cute and fun for her newest adventure!

So there you go. :) Something different that people will be awed by.
Are you making cool things?

Chalkboard art for my studio

I have a space in my studio where I wanted a piece of chalkboard art, but it's up high so I didn't want a real chalkboard.
So... I made some chalkboard art.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out

It's really the perfect quote. It ties into Zentangle, it celebrates life... I love it! That was actually the hardest part, finding the quote.

I did in fact draw it without an eraser and 95% of it is ink, not chalk. (The chalk was mostly to make it look chalky and give it a "look"

Sometimes things go exactly the way you want them to!

(I've had a lot of moments lately where little tiny things derailed projects so this going smoothly came at exactly the right time)

Rocking sneakers

I have been waiting a bit to share these with all of you, but these were a custom order for an up and coming musician! You can check her out here...
http://www.joceliendanee.com/

Some work in progress pics

 

 

                                                

 And then a little collage of them as a whole.

I'm really pleased with how these came out.
Fun, funky and all kinds of soft and edgey at the same time.

Today, it's chairs again. I think they might get finished today. :D I can't wait to show you the chairs. I love color!

Birthday, banner and Butterflies

I'm feeling a little tired, not even going to try to hide it. Today will be a day for mostly catching my breath and making some lists I think.

First off, I'd like to give Kudos to the Physics department of my daughters school for their creativity in designing a program that lets them spend a day at the local amusement park "for science" by giving them a packet about roller coasters to observe. :D Excellent! Making science fun should always be a thing.

Yesterday I taught an amazing group of kids to tangle for a birthday party. How much fun is that?

Looking at the mosaic of their work

Look at how AMAZING their art is! We did them on small canvases. 

Their first tangles. 

Then we made a small starry night garden. 

Everyone had fun and there were cupcakes too! 

Then afterwards, something exciting happened at the studio. 

I have signage!

You can see the colors better in this picture but it still doesn't do it justice. I'll be a better one later this week. 

Oh! These were on my timehop. :) Since they were from so long ago they never made it to my blog and I find butterflies to be AMAZING inspiration.
These were from the island of Minadano in the Philippines. Aren't they beautiful?

Today I'm going to finish a small tangle project to share with you and I'm not sure what else.
I do know I'm going to make and finish some tea. Lots of it.... but otherwise, it's kind of up in the air!

What are you doing today?

Chalk Tangles.

You're never too old to play with chalk... though you might feel it the next morning! :D
ow.

So much fun! I hope you are having a great weekend and you are creating some awesome things!

Wet paint zone

Chairs are high on my list of priorities for completion so they will be ready for the grand opening.
They're turning out super cute, but the colors didn't photograph very well.
This one looks like it's the color of melted mint ice cream.

 This one my daughter painted, it's actually gorgeous turquoise with a lighter blue on the rungs.

Love that it's all coming together. The chairs are going to be all seaglass type colors type colors. Honestly, I've second guessed myself 100 times on these, but I'm feeling pretty confident now.
These things are HARD I tell you!

I'm a messy painter. My family is comprised of messy painters and that's TOTALLY ok. :)
So the studio is a wet paint zone... and tomorrow my banner goes up!
THAT is going to be so exciting!

Chalkboard art...

I have a large number of chalkboard areas in my studio.. so getting my quotes and chalkboarding just right is high on the list of things to do. There are a couple that I'm doing permanently (because they'll be up high.. and I'm short) so I especially want those to be right.

So lots and lots of practicing.
I love the look of mixed fonts though, so I'll keep playing til I get it right.  I like this one but it's not just right.

I love the way wet chalk stays n place once you put it there! :D

I like the way the letters turned out but it was only for practice. I don't like all capitals on it.

I have a ton of quotes, yet I feel like I need more... because I haven't found one that is PERFECT so if you have a favorite quote or inspirational saying please feel free to share!!!! I'd really appreciate it.

Small bits and pieces of projects...

We all have them, days when you just don't have much to show when you do a lot, but there's no tangible proof!
 It's hard to show anything exciting in a 2nd coat of primer... lol
I DO have fliers for my grand opening (I commissioned someone to make them for me because I was just completely out of tie, she did a great job! If you ever need stuff, check her out! https://www.etsy.com/shop/ShopKandy)

We were going to go with a chalkboard look, but since they're going all over time (THANKS KIDS!) I needed to think about ink, so she used my seaglass colors and I LOVE it. 

I also helped 3 people design what their sneakers will look like, but those are only in concept stages... so they'll be a while.
In the next few days there will be lots to show, so pictures will be more exciting!
I hope everyone is getting a lot done, enjoying spring and having a great time!!!!

Chairs!!!!

When I was talking about chairs for my studio, I had an idea in mind that never wavered. Everyone was sharing links with me and saying, "these are cute" and "These aren't too expensive and look solid" but um... I knew what I wanted and it was a very unique, almost Alice in Wonderland tea party look.
So, there's been a hunt at yard sales, thrift stores, vintage stores and craigslist for cute chairs.

They're all different... but they're wood, they're solid and they are the perfect choice for the look I want.

Except it would have been SO MUCH EASIER to order 20 chairs. LOL

They all needed primed before I can do anything fun. Is it just me or is priming boring? I love the way everything looks fresh and clean with white on it and I do love white furniture... but I think it's the anticipation of knowing how cute they are going to look that has me impatient.

Painting white primer gets boring quickly....

and there are a lot of chairs.

And the spindles.
Oh so many spindles.

They look super cute... but sheesh.
If I ever decide to redo these, someone link me to this post! LOL

I have 2 favorites. One isn't in these pics.
The other is this one.

Isn't it cute? It can't stay pink... it doesn't match (but I love it!!!!)
That's my water bottle cap, it wasn't stuck I was just using it while I was painting.

No fewer than 5 people tried to buy these from me while I was priming them. One guy I looked at and said, sure $500 because in my head I was starting to think that ordering some was a better idea.
I'm glad he didn't take me up on it though!

So that was my big project... and the next one will look like the rest of them primed, which isn't very exciting.. but then the fun begins.

I have 9 colors of paint. :D That's the only hint I'm giving you. 

What are you working on?