Calamity Kim

Calamity Kim's Apron Celebration G*I*V*E*A*W*A*Y!!!!!!

To celebrate my apron being published in the new Apronology Magazine  and my overall love of aprons, I decided to do a GIVEAWAY!
The rules are simple:

Post a link on your Blog if you have one (or Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, or any of your message boards) about my giveaway and then come back here and leave a comment and tell me where your link is.

That's it! That's all you have to do to be entered in the drawing for all this cool stuff!

The drawing will be held on April 1st.
You have from now until then to sign up.
On April 1st I will enter all the numbers in a random number generator and pick the lucky winner! I will then contact you to get your address. You must post a link to my blog in order to be eligible.

It doesn't matter to me if this is your first time visiting my Blog or your hundredth!
Anyone who links to this post has a chance!
If you don't have a place to post a link then email someone who does- once they post it, you will be entered-(once you come back here and give me the link in a comment of course!)

Here is a list of what you will win:

Signed copy of the first issue of  Apronology Magazine featuring one of my aprons

Annalee doll made from felt having tea with tea set

tiny apron made by me with mushrooms and a raw edge appliqued gnome

Brand new Recipe book for muffins & cupcakes

Cath Kidston Dream Home Journal

Genuwine Calamity Kim Mermaid Paper Doll (made with Enchanted Gallery template)

Set of 10 Glaze 3-D ink gel pens

Set of tiny colored pencils

Chipboard butterfly book and pages

Ranunculuses Flower Block by Quilt Nouveau Designs

coffee pot shaped egg timer (see tea doll photo)

tea strainer shaped like a star with face

Celestial Seasonings Chocolate Raspberry Bliss herbal tea

French Lavender body Lotion

Plastic cupcake holder

Dressed Up Tea Towel  (made by me- with button chicks!) and magnetic towel bar to hang on fridge!

Because these are some of the things I love...tea, aprons, dolls, quilting, lavender, cupcakes...I have spared you anything cartoon or SpongeBob Squarepantish- aren't you relieved!?! I am also hunting down some glow in the dark stars...and maybe a few other surprises to be found once you open your box full of Apron Love!

OK- that's it!
 Finally!
Get Busy Spreading the word!!!
Let's make this a big ol, rootin tootin, jamboree of a shindiggin hoot-n-nanny funn funn silly willy gigglie good time!!!!
Yeehaw!!!!
Love,
Apron Style,
Calamity Kim

edited to add this button for you to use:

 

Hanging out

Hanging out, originally uploaded by Barney's Blue.

Found this in Barney's Blue images on Flickr.
It made me smile.
I am getting everything together for the GIVEAWAY!!!! yahoo...tell your friends, call your neighbors, get the kids, come back over real soon....this is gonna be the best BLOG GIVEAWAY EVER!!!!!!!

Hot Flashes of Inspiration

I wanted to take pictures for my G*I*V*E*A*W*A*Y!!!! but it's been cloudy and yucky and I had to finish a few other things and get them mailed. Let's see how tomorrow looks...

Yesterday was our Surface Design Guild's Play Day (where we get together and do techniques from our meeting) and we used heat guns and irons to melt and heat acrylic felt, tyvec, plastic bags and layers of organza and sheer nylon fabrics.

It really appeals to my innate love of destruction to melt and transform surfaces like this.

(We won't discuss my pyromania, we'll just agree that playing with fire can be fun!)

We did set up in a well ventilated space so that the fumes wouldn't kill any more braincells and some chicks wore masks! It was like a sci fi movie!

All we needed was a few zombie robots to add to the hoedown and it would have been swell.

At least for me, anyway...
teehee

OK, now really, everyone used cotton thread to stitch random or controlled patterns on acrylic felt, sheets of tyvec and everything from interfacing to Lutrador to recycled food packaging. You must use cotton so that it won't melt. Some of the samples were also painted with acrylics and artist's paints.
Then once the heat was applied by either using a heat gun directly on it or ironing samples between sheets of parchment the samples melted or dissolved into very cool and unique pieces of stuff to be further used in a collage or whatever- the uses are too many to list- just imagine...

Try it yourself and see what you come up with...

Patsy is one of our members who is a wizard with glass lampwork beads and loves making cool stuff with polymer clay- I loved these guys she was giving beaded hair to- it's always fun to see what everyone is doing and it's a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon...with other creative and sometimes destructive women...I hope everyone will use their hot flashes of melted surface embellishments to make something to show an end result of your play day fun and bring it to our next meeting to show it off! This week isn't as busy as last week was- thank goodness! I need a little rest! more soon, xo, calamity kim

Busy Bee...

Busy Bee..., originally uploaded by Roby72©.

Dear Sweet Blog Reader Who Checks Faithfully For New Updates:
I am so busy!
It's not that I don't love you and wish you were here with me having fun- it's that I am busy this week with demos at the Art Center and today I am going to Tampa to see the Sewing & Quilt Expo- Sunday is my Surface Design Group's Play Day and next week I can come up for air!
Last week was busy too! Inspired but tired is what I am!
I am waiting for one last item to arrive in the mail and then I will be doing a BIG BLOG GIVE AWAY! Next week- Featuring all things Calamity: APRONS, TEA, CUPCAKES, PAPER DOLLS, and more!
It's gonna be a hoot'nanny! well, maybe just a shindig!
Yeehaw!
I'll have details soon!
Have a Great Friday!
xo,
kim
oh, the calamity!

Craft Talk.....I gotta learn to dance like this!

My friend Sarah has once again sent me a link that I simply must share. I laughed and laughed and laughed some more!

Travelling along

Travelling along, originally uploaded by hens teeth.

This is artwork by Hen's Teeth of Flickr and she has without a doubt the best eye for putting images together. It tells the story. In my opinion that's what makes a good collage.
It's late and I am waiting for the chenille bedspread to dry.
I was sewing and didn't pay attention to the dryer.
Remember a few weeks ago (has it been a month already?) when I said I was going to do a GIVEAWAY!!!! Well, I am working on it.
I am so excited to show you what I have so far but don't want to spoil the surprise.
So I will give you a hint:
It's about Aprons
and tea
and recipes
and a gnome
and maybe some art supplies...
and a tea towel and a great hanger to hang it from your fridge...
It's about things that I love...with a calamity or two...
I will take some pictures tomorrow but I am not quite ready yet...soon, my friends...soon...
now to check the dryer...
xo,
night.
kim

sewing on sunday

The Sarasota Friendship knot Quilt Guild Show yesterday was an inspiration that filled me with quilt love and happiness.
There were lots of vendors there and I added some new fabrics to my stash and was delighted to find silk yardage that will be fun to shibori when I find time.
 That is the problem, isn't it?

Finding the time to create.
I just told someone that I make yoyo's at night from my scraps when we are watching TV. Thank goodness we can run it back and rewatch scenes that I miss by looking down at my sewing. You have to MAKE the time.
The time is there, even in smallish amounts if you have the desire to create.
You don't have to "have it all out" you can always make a block or a piece at a time and then get it all together to combine the small bits into the larger project.
 At least that is how I have begun working so that there isn't a huge chaos of supplies everywhere.
 It is less intimidating when you work small and it's so portable- I can have a project in a gallon size Ziploc bag or tote bag and pull it out at a red light or waiting for dinner at a restaurant.
Maybe I am obsessed with creating, I don't have a good handle on what non crafters do anymore.
I hang out with so many artsy chicks that it isn't out of the ordinary for me to always have something in my hands and it feels strangely uncomfortable not to be stitching or crocheting now.
That feeling is only reinforced and intensified when I read blogs or drift in Flickr and see what everyone else is up to. I have found my groove and it makes me happy.
So, back to the quilt show- I ramble, you know it, and thanks for being patient.
It was awesome to see the many different varieties of quilting techniques displayed and I was so impressed with the applique.
Quilt after quilt, you couldn't see a single stitch.
Perfection was achieved and I felt inspired to try a little harder next time I attempt needle turned applique.
 There was a spectacular Dear Jane quilt that I believe took her 4 years to create.
It was time well spent.
Imagine creating an heirloom like that to pass down through the generations.
 As I walked through the show I tried to imagine these adorning my bed at home or on my walls and could only sigh and dream and recommit myself to
making a large quilt someday.
 There was a quilt inspired by Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran that had chicks and houses and trees that was bright and colorful and would be impossible to feel sad wrapped up in its cozy quiltiness.
I also loved the quilts inspired by Piece O'Cake designs and kaleidoscope quilts.
Here is the link to a slide show of the pictures I took yesterday. I need to get back in my sewing room and finish a project that is almost done!
What a great feeling...
to finish something...
have a happy day and Be Creative Each Moment You Can.
xo,calamity kim

I won 2 first place ribbons and one honorable mention

I won 2 first place ribbons and one honorable mention, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

Hi!
I am just checking in to let you know I wasn't hit by a truck or anything horrible has happened.
I was out of town over the weekend and this whole week has been just a whirlwind! Our Surface Design Guild is participating in a Fiber Art Show at the Venice Art Center, along with the Venetian Society of Basket Weavers, The Manasota Weavers Guild and the Bead Guild. I helped intake pieces on Tuesday and then Wed was too sick to go to my usual Knit & Bitch and Surface Design Meeting- I am having the worst time with allergies this year!
Then last night was the reception for the Art Show and much to my delight- I won 2 First Place ribbons and one honorable mention! I was so proud and happy to have my work recognized and to also have my husband come see the show (after work) and tell me he was proud of me. Nothing feels as good as that, does it? He is always supportive and is usually my best critic but this was a first for me- having a husband that would come to an art show- now that's love!
Today there is a quilt show by the members of the Sarasota Friendship Knot Quilt Guild and I need to get ready to go- I will be back with pictures.
Thanks for all the concerned emails- I didn't mean to just fall off the planet like that- I just haven't had the energy to write- Spring has Sprung my inner clock as well- it's tough to get used to the daylight savings, at least for me...
more soon,
xo,
kim

Dreaming of Mother Nature

Did you ever wake from a dream with an idea in your mind,
reach for the notepad to jot it down before it faded?
Was it a brilliant concept that haunted you until you gave it life?

Did you knead it like the pretzel maker does until it came together into a solid, concrete plan?

When you began working on it
did your mind start to sing and fizz with excitement?
How long was it before doubt, came creeping about,
 looking over your shoulder to plant seeds of insecurity and whisper "this isn't art",
making you wonder why are you wasting your time?
Until you told her to be quiet and continued adding this and that until finally your vision was born.
Like Pinocchio dancing with life; this paper doll spins in the breeze, flutters and sparkles and reminds us that you can't fool Mother Nature.
I used some pressed flowers, ginkgo leaves and those white skeleton leaves along with paper ephemera and a gorgeous Gibson Girl stamp by Stamp Francisco to create this paper doll mobile.
Whisper softly what you think...
I wasn't sure if I had the video going so please forgive my amateur movie making... 

blue bird of happiness

close, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

sometimes I am in a great mood- blue cotton candy skies

scarlett felt blue

scarlett felt blue, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

Friday Blues

blue light special

blue light special, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

blue means many things

blue rock candy

blue rock candy, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

sweet

true blue

true blue, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

loyal
trust worthy

There are no Short cuts to any place worth going...

There are no Short cuts to any place worth going..., originally uploaded by calamity kim.

blue in the bag

Blue Kaffe

Blue Kaffe, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

blues in pattern

blue sky

blue sky, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

Friday is blue.
Blue is my favorite color.
The tar heel blue of NC.
The aqua blue of tropical waters.
The happiness and serenity involved in a blue sky.
It also best describes my moods sometimes
Just BLUE
No red today
can't yellow or orange
Don't wanna green... might purple later but right now

Just BLUE

Green on Thursday

the right shade of green, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

Green is everywhere except for in my yard!

Wednesday is Yellow

Looking around my faux cottage for the color yellow was surprising.

I found plenty of yellow chicks and every shade of yellow from butter to antique gold.
I collect toy cupboards. Small, wooden, homemade cupboards make me deliriously happy. I have them in all shapes and sizes but my favorite (for today at least) is the yellow one.

Appropriately filled with my chick egg holders and tiny tea sets it patiently waits to be played with or admired by the neighborhood children who come to beg for candy, tho Halloween is long past.

I found it several years ago at an antique store and came back several times before finally making the purchase and carting it home.
I was so in love with it I couldn't get it off my mind.
I needed that little cupboard.
It makes me so happy and fills an empty spot in my heart.
My husband says that I must have not have
had furniture as a child because I sure collect it now.
I wish I could be less materialistic, really, I do, but there is something about small cupboards that just gives me joy and I am not sure I could ever bear to part with this one.
 The pale butter yellow is the same shade as our kitchen, hallway and guest room. I accent with red in the kitchen and pink in the guest room.
I never even liked red until I turned 40 and now I love it.

Yellow welcomes Red with a big warm smile and tones down the fire to a sunny shade of happiness.

Pink makes it fit for a princess and I imagine fields of daisies with their yellow faces shining up in friendly welcome.

Looking up at the print by Rebecca Barker I find more yellow that reminds me of my Grandmother's house and garden filled with bearded iris and hydrangeas and I am safe and comforted again.
Purple is the opposite of yellow and the contrast is used for Easter or Spring . Colors are so symbolic and most of the time, I don't think, we are even aware of how we surround ourselves with them.
What color are you wearing today?
Is it bright or dark?
Is it as happy as yellow?
I looked in my closet and found one lonely yellow t-shirt amongst a sea of black and cream and aqua. 

Yellow takes guts to wear and yet psychologically doesn't it symbolize someone who is weak or a coward? Yellow can mean many different things if you read up about it in Wikipedia.
Yellow submarines and yellow that is mellow also comes to mind as well as this:
Happy Color Week,
 xo,
calamity kim

Tuesday is Orange

I almost goofed up- I was ready with yellow, and had to pull pics from my Flickr to be orange today. I don't usually do a lot of orange but it does make blue sing loud and bright!
Orange makes me think of Halloween and Fall- the leaves burning with fire, the glass of juice my husband drinks on Saturdays reminding me of the orchards where only houses grow now.
Kona the orange head mutant veggie, er, fruit guy dressed in a kona coffee bag, spoon legs, begging for one more cup o joe... which reminds me of a day at the beach, chasing a bright orange ball with my grandson...
orange is the passion of red blended with the happiness of yellow to make a color that needs to be noticed and warms you with its heat. The opposite of blue, who can be sad when it's around?
check out Little Red Hen's Color Week

Red on Monday

When I think of red, the very first thing that comes to mind is Little Red Riding Hood.

Putting those four words into a Google Image search will reward you with all kinds of girls in red riding hoods- some good, some naughty. In any event, the story is one of those age old cautionary tales of "everything isn't always what it seems".
I have always been gullible and wanted to believe in fairy tales and Easter bunnies.
Believing in what you see before you is practical and I wish I were more so.
I am too firmly established in whimsy and whatevers to be that practical.
People who are less imaginative, more forceful and determined to get what they want, are disappointed in me when I float around, doing this and dabbling in that, not working hard and driven by their imposed due dates.
I make them see red.
I guess I should tell them up front that due dates do no good- calendars mean nothing. I don't wear a watch. They will get it when its finished- if I ever finish it and that is that. I lie and say it will be done but I am only trying to make them happy. This must be some huge character flaw.
It could drive you to drink!
I am just wandering around the forest picking pretty flowers to take to my Grandma, while the unknown wolf waits.
In a week of color, beginning with red is a passionate start.

Sunday is a Rainbow

Lynn of Little Red Hen Blog has declared this Color Week and today is "Rainbow" which is fitting because it is raining and cloudy and cold and I hope this will bring about a rainbow at the end of the storm....
I took the easy way out and grabbed a fresh box of crayons...
Scroll down to the next post and join in with a comment or click the link to Lynn's Blog and sport some color of your own this week! It does brighten the dreary day...

Sunday- rainbow of color
Monday - red
Tuesday - orange
Wednesday - yellow
Thursday - green
Friday - blue
Saturday - violet
Sunday - finish it all off with another rainbow of color.

It's so yucky outside that Earl the squirrel knocked on the window to ask for a cup of tea and a few more sunflower seeds.

I swear he did!

xo,
oh the calamity!
kim