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Oh Happy Day!

October 21, 2011 By Terry Leave a Comment

Purchase this in my ETSY Store - www.defyinggravityeast.com

Love this!  Once I got these lyrics in my head, I just had to create.  I wanted to use the colors green and honeysuckle – but things kind of changed.

I like to call these colors

crisp pear
pomegranate
teal
ivory
olive
chocolate
blueberry

Sounds like I’m hungry.  When inspiration strikes, I need to create.  So much for getting to bed at a decent hour.  Oh Happy Day!

Filed Under: Defying Gravity Design Tagged With: chocolate, creative, crisp pear, Defying Gravity Design, ETSY, Heritage Makers, honeysuckle, inspiration, ivory, oh happy day, pomegranate, teal

Inspiration leads to Accomplishment

June 10, 2011 By Terry Leave a Comment

This spring my sister-in-law Rhonda came to visit.  She was on a mission.  She knows how frustrated I am with the clutter in my house and was determined to help. With her encouragement, we cleaned out a whole section of our basement when I now have my packaging and shipping supplies stored.  Mission accomplished!

It’s not that I don’t want to throw away things, but I’m the kind of person who doesn’t MAKE time to do this.  I have boxes that are on shelves and have been for the past 20 years because they are not hurting anybody and I have far more creative things to do to fill my time than looking through old dusty things and making decisions on what to do with them.  I don’t change things on my walls either – I liked it once, so why mess with it?  Consequently, I have too much stuff.  Way too much.  It comes in, but doesn’t go out.  Bad habit.  I know.

Today I was reading a blog post by Cindy Haugland of Tidy Tightwads.  I got to know Cindy when she came to my holiday open house and she has since become a great friend and colleague.  I am always inspired with her photos of organizing jobs she does for her customers.  I’d love to just hire her to come over for a month or two and get me organized, but that doesn’t seem to be in the budget.

The link she posted was about making your life simpler by having less stuff.  I know this.  Nothing new.  The kitchen pictured in the article could have been mine.  Now I’ve always hated my kitchen.  I love my house, but the itty bitty bit of a hole in the wall we call our kitchen has been the bane of my existence since we purchased this house.  For a woman who loves to cook, bake, entertain, craft, create, feed people, try new recipes, and has raised 3 kids to adulthood to have a kitchen such as mine is a travesty.  Enough said.  I hate it.  The counters are always full of stuff – necessary stuff plus stuff that gets plopped there because it is the hub of our home.  Stuff that stays there always because I have better and more creative things to do than find a spot for it because I will need to use it again in a week or a month or a year.

Today I needed to do the dishes I left in the sink and clean up a little so I have room to cook.  The article said that if there is anything in your kitchen that you don’t use on a daily basis, it should be tucked away.  Likewise, food should not be stored on the counters – it should be in the pantry except for a basket of fruit.  It told me I could use the top of the refrigerator for things so I didn’t mess with that area this time.

Well, am I proud of myself or what?  I stayed at it in spite of my urge every 5 minutes to go check my e-mail, or facebook, or to design something.  I made myself get through the entire room (countertops only) before I quit.  Here are photos of my results!

Before:

_____________________________________

And after:

________________________________________

I KNOW, right?

Thanks Cindy.  Thanks Rhonda.  There’s hope!

____________________________

Filed Under: Abundance Fairy Tagged With: accomplishment, clean, clutter, home, inspiration, kitchen, organization, success, tidy tightwads

Inspiration – Find your Rhythm

May 15, 2011 By Terry Leave a Comment

I have a great friend who wants me to write a book.  “You always come up with so many ideas – you need to write a book for those of us who don’t have those great ideas.  I could carry them out, but coming up with them is a problem.”

Not for me.  Ideas flood into my mind like the tide coming in.  I call it a “God Breeze”.  The problem is, I have a tough time weeding out the good from the bad.  I tend to jump in and get excited about each one – how could I not?  They are all so GOOD!  At the moment.  Once I ponder a bit, I start thinking about why they wouldn’t work.  This is not a bad thing.  It forces me to evaluate and be a little more selective.  As it is, I go down many roads with great enthusiasm, and after giving it a shot, decide I can’t do yet one more thing.

My best idea time is early morning (well, early is relative).  I used to get up at 6 AM and quickly head out for my morning walk.  I tuck a post-it pad in my pocket along with a pen, my cell phone, and put my earbuds in my ears so I can listen to my “walking music”.  I start out with my meditation and gratitude affirmations.  I love this – it puts me in such a pleasant state of mind.  I find myself thinking and praying about lots of things – my kids, my business, friends, family, where I want to travel, people I want to contact, how I should build more relationships, ways of getting more business, projects I should finish, projects I should start, new ways of marketing, new markets to seek, new products I could make, then “bingo” – my latest idea!  It comes to me in a flash.  I see it in my mind’s eye, the colors, the design, the quote, all the little details.  It sinks into my brain and I plan it out in fine detail.  I quickly grab my paper and pen (while walking – careful not to trip), and jot down enough notes that I will remember it when I get home because most likely, I will have several more “flashes” along the way.

I’m now halfway through my walk and I haven’t put my music on yet.  I have, however, gotten myself jazzed up to get home and get busy.  Then the trouble starts.  I get so obsessed with whatever it is I just created in my mind – a new print, something to engrave, a memo to write to my team – whatever, that once I return, I have totally lost the focus I planned for the day and have to create this new item immediately.  It’s a blessing and a curse.

Lately I sleep a little later.  I’m not sure if I finally have gotten over “having” to get up at 6 AM, so my clock automatically opened my eyes, or if my rhythm is changing.  I sleep until I’m done.  I get up and start my routine – feed the cat, vitamins, make my iced tea, check e-mail, FB, and ETSY, then head out.  I feel guilty – like I’m doing something wrong – sleeping so late (7:20 – 8:00).  It does shift my day to a later flow.  I want to be fine with it – but I still have this nagging feeling I need to get up and get going.

Like today – it’s 9:20 and I’m still in my jammies enjoying my tea.  And blogging.  I’m going to get dressed now – and head out for my walk.  I wonder what I’ll come up with to consume me today?

Filed Under: Abundance Fairy, Defying Gravity Design Tagged With: abundance, art, celebrationstorybooks, consume, creativity, defying gravity, design, Engraving & Calligraphy, ETSY, gratitude, Heritage Makers, ideas, inspiration, meditation, prints, rhythm, walk, words, write

2011 Workshop Schedule

January 6, 2011 By Terry

What projects do you want to complete in 2011?  Join me in my home for my twice-monthly Heritage Makers workshops.  A small group of us get together twice a month to chat, work on projects, learn some new techniques, and even munch a little.  It’s a great group and you are welcome to join us!

Here are a few ideas of projects you might want to work on:

❍  Family calendars ❍  Holiday cards ❍  Christmas gifts and décor ❍  Family yearbooks ❍  Valentine’s Day cards and gifts ❍  Mother’s Day cards and gifts ❍  School memory books ❍  Teacher thank-you gifts ❍  Graduation gifts and announcements ❍  Shower invitations ❍  Father’s Day cards and gifts ❍  Family reunion keepsakes ❍  Family vacation albums and books ❍  Back-to-school planners ❍  Halloween cards and décor
❍  Thanksgiving cards and décor ❍  Baby cards and announcements ❍  Wedding gifts and announcements ❍  Birthday cards, invitations, and gifts ❍  Anniversary gifts ❍  Family portrait canvases ❍  Family histories and tributes ❍  Family cookbooks ❍  Home décor projects ❍  Sports team posters and keepsakes ❍  Family games

2011 Workshop Schedule Celebration Storybooks Terry Kempert

Join the community!  Come and work on your projects, share ideas, and get inspired by others!  (We have a lot of fun too!)

New for 2011

  • Monthly Project Themes
  • CLUB HM – enjoy the benefits!
  • 100 FREE scans per month for Club HM members.
  • Bring along a laptop if you have one
  • Please R.S.V.P. to let me know you are coming
  • BYOB or a snack if you like – water and chocolate are provided
  • NEW – extended hours!  1 PM – 10 PM – come and go as you like.
  • Make it your Creative Day!

2nd and 4th Mondays every month – 1 PM – 10 PM – please let me know what time you will be arriving

January 10
January 24
February 14
February 28
March 14
March 28
April 11
April 25
May 9
May 23
June 13
June 27
July 11
July 25
August 8
August 22
September 12
September 26
October 10
October 24
November 14
November 28
December 12

Filed Under: Heritage Makers Tagged With: books, calendars, canvases, cards, community, cookbook, creative, decor, gathering, gifts, girlfriends, group, inspiration, invitations, keepsakes, Mondays, project, schedule, share, workshop, yearbooks