Go Little!

We had a new garage door installed this morning....and that meant moving things out of the way...and then moving them back. Time well spent because we love our new perfectly working door. But mostly I was awestruck by the skills and kindness of the man who installed the door. It seemed like a big job for just one man...and when I commented on that fact...he said it's just like putting together a puzzle. I get that! 

After taking about micro thinking the last couple of days...I had to chuckle when I saw this quote from Donna Ashworth: When everything feels too big, go little! Wrap yourself with grace and space, nibble your to-do list one tiny bite at a time. 

Today is the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection. The fact that enough Americans voted again for the man responsible for that horrific event seems too big to understand. 

So today I took Donna's advice and wrapped myself with grace and went little.

Paul and I bought this tiny ornament the first year we were married....making it almost 45 years old. 

It didn't make it on the tree this year because the little bell the kids were hanging from had broken off and was nowhere to be found....yet. I couldn't bear to throw it away....so just set it aside. 

As I continue to nibble at tucking away the holiday stuff...I paused and made a repair. I pulled out my little drill bit and a little eye screw...and these little bell-less ringers are ready for Christmas 2026! 

One tiny bite at a time.

Micro Crafting!

My heart is heavy with all that is in the news....most of it scares me. 

But when I went out early this morning to give the bluebirds their breakfast...there was the waning full moon shining through the black tree branches. It was a microdose of calm.

After yesterday's post I've been thinking about how helpful it will be to also tackle chores and tasks in terms of micro steps. As Dotty commented yesterday "the glory of micro!"

I did some micro organizing in the studio today...and it felt wonderful.

And I was tickled when I come across some things in my studio and spontaneously made something quick and simple. One ply of a paper napkin glued onto a card with a tiny fused tree....and just like that I have a sweet little card for someone special.

 This is micro crafting!

Micro Adventures

Thank you for all the kind comments and emails yesterday celebrating the blog anniversary! Anything is possible through the lense of joy. 

Thank you to Ann for this amazing photo of the wolf moon last night through her skylight! 

As part of the New Year's chatter...people are posting and sharing all kinds of intentions for 2026. I don't dwell on those kinds of things....I'm not big on resolutions. But I briefly saw a post that mentioned micro adventures this morning...and it stuck with me. 

I LOVE the concept...and it got me thinking. 

One of the things I wanted to do during the 2025 Holiday Season was visit the lobby of The Lincoln Hotel in Biddeford. It was highly recommended by Jane....as well as Sam and Kelly (who live nearby).....especially during the holidays when the lobby is all decked out for Christmas. But I never got there. 

So I spontaneously decided to have a little micro adventure and headed south.

It describes itself as boutique hotel set in a luxuriously reimagined mill that has defined the community since the 1850's.

It did NOT disappoint. 

The best part is that Sam was able to join me...and we had some quality mother/son time. 

The lobby is huge. It's dark and moody with lots of comfortable living room type seating spaces and places. There are nooks and crannies for intimate quiet conversations for two or more open spaces for larger groups. 

There's a little cafe open during the day and a bar for afternoon and evening. It was just a delight! 

The ceiling in this little nook was covered in sparkles and baubles. 

There are a few other things on my list of local places I want to visit....and others I don't even know about yet. So this is just the first of what I hope are many 2026 micro adventures! 

I already know where the next one will be.

JOY!

Pretty Simple

January 3rd sneaks up on me every year. It's tucked in right after the holidays so easy to miss. I have been joyfully puttering most of my life...but 11 years ago today I started writing about it here. (Thank you Clarke!) 

This is my 4002nd post. It always feels like I should be a bit reflective and maybe say something profound. But the truth is....joy is pretty simple. 

I've been out of sorts for a couple days....I think it happens to us all from time to time! But as I was handling a precious handmade ornament and tucking it away for another year...I was reminded that the small stuff matters. Handling something precious matters. And things that matter bring us joy.

My aunt Beverly made this felted bubblegum ornament....and it's one of my favorites. Beverly is my mom's only sister and the only living relative of that generation on my side of the family.

After I packed her ornament away....I picked up the phone and called my Aunt. 

I was tickled when I held Beverly's ornament next to my actual yellow gumball machine filled with marbles that came from my sister Angie. Angie and Beverly were close....so this pairing felt just right. (pun intended)

Yup! Joy is pretty simple if we allow ourselves to see it in our everyday lives.  Even when we're out of sorts.

Thank you for following along and sharing your joy with me. Here's to the start of year 12 of our collective joyful puttering! 

More Pickles!

Rosy shared Richard Scarry New Year's Resolution Ideas 

and they made me smile. I'm going with more pickles today!

Process and Potential

Subtitle: Do What You Love!

January 1st seemed like a good day to start some new...but also something familiar and comfortable. I've had a pile of art papers from Roseanne and a blank art journal to alter since mid November. Today was the right day to get started. 

I love the process and the potential the journal holds for the recipient for more art and play.

I love that the papers are all Roseanne's...although I may tuck a few of mine here and there. 

I love tearing the pages...then stitching in something new.

I love curating the papers to create interest and flow.

I love the side view.

I love watching the journal evolve and get chunky.

I love finding something I could cut out and stitch in.

Then I loved finding the right contrasting paper for underneath....

...that coordinated beautifully with the paper on the opposite page 

leaving the middle for anything Roseanne wants to add.

And I love little colorful moments that make me smile.

Here's to starting a process I love on this first day of the new year! 

Bring on 2026! There's nothing but potential! 

Shopped the House

As one year comes to a close and a new one is on the horizon, I'm reflecting on the opportunity we have in front of us for 2026 to be a year of positive and dramatic change for the country - if we stay focused. Pete Buttigieg

I shopped the house and found the perfect chair for my Crafter Creature from Clarke 

I think she will be quite comfortable and happy on my puzzle table helping me ring in the new year! 

But I do think she needs a name....any suggestions?

To love a country, as to love a person, it to love a flawed and exquisite creation, to see what is best in it, to be angry when it is not what it could be, precisely because you have seen glimmers of its greatness. Pete Buttigieg

As you may have figured out by the quotes....the guy keeping an eye on things in my kitchen is Pete Buttigieg...one of the most articulate political voices out there today. Paul spied Mayor Pete in a vintage shop in Portland when we were shopping with Langston....and I knew instantly that he needed to come home with me. He gives me hope for 2026!

Hope is the consequence of action more than the cause. Pete Buttigeig

Inside Winter Joy

It's cold and very windy today. We had to be out in it for a bit....but mostly we stayed tucked in where's it was warm and cozy. Sometimes I romanticize winter better from the inside.

I've started to tidy up the studio a bit as I ease back into some art play....but today I'm celebrating a few inside winter joy moments.

This is my favorite snowman that my friend Jane made. It's painted cloth...so very stiff and sturdy. I love the stick arms with the vintage quilt wired stars. I always save it until after Christmas so it can be showcased. Doesn't it just ooze inside winter JOY!

My Christmas cactus has been blooming for a few days. There are three or four full blooms now...and three or four buds coming. Inside winter joy!

I was just telling Paul as we were sitting in a waiting room looking at a very large photograph of a lupin field that it's hard to imagine a field of flowers when it's so cold outside. 

Just like when we are looking at a field of lupin and it's hard to imagine it covered in snow. 

These inside blooms brighten up the winter! Colorful glass balls help too! 

Speaking of inside blooms....one of my pencil plants has tiny yellow buds. I don't think I've ever had blooms before...or at least I never noticed them.

Years ago I got a split when I was visiting my sister Nancy and her husband Craig in Minneapolis. It has grown into several plant splits...and I've shared a a few with others. 

I thought this little split was struggling...but low and behold it's the one with the buds. 

And I just planted up another gifted amaryllis bulb from Colleen...our realtor. It clearly wanted to be out of the box...but it will bounce back. And UP!

And you can see the budding pencil plant right behind it...and another one in the window sill. 

Do you see the guy in the background? Bonus points for anyone who can guess who it is. He's one of my heros! 

No prize...just bonus points. 😉

Romanticizing Winter

We had a delightful visit with Ann and Nariman yesterday, two dear friends from Lexington. So today feels like the actual day after the holiday celebrations and visits. What a wonderful stretch of joy it was!

I've started to put some of the decorations away....the Santas and more Christmasy things....but I'm still celebrating winter. I read somewhere this morning that we should romantice winter once Christmas was over. I like that the sound of that!

I'm going to keep the lights and the wintery things for a while and I've pulled out my snowmen. I always enjoy the little minis on my window sill.

Kelly gave me an tiny 50 piece puzzle featuring Kandinsky Circles. It's adorable.

It was the perfect little puzzle moment within a puzzle over Christmas.

I just finished this Twinkle Town puzzle for the 2nd or 3rd time....

and my little snow scene looks right at home on the table.

I'll stick the romanticizing winter theme...and re-do this Merry Moonlight Skaters next. All is calm and bright with a puzzle on my table.

Clarke's Creature Christmas!

Today I'm celebrating Clarke...an artist I admire! Settle in for a wild and wooly ride!

Those of you who have been following along for a while may know that Clarke is my niece...and the reason this blog can even exists. 

She helped me figure out the technical parts that are not in my wheelhouse...and has continued to be my tech support even though she lives in Chicago. She's amazing!

Clarke is also a self taught accomplished knitter....and she's been busy for months on what she has called Clarke's Creature Christmas. 

On the day after the day after family gathering....the Shupes opened up all of our frog creatures...and the personalized details and accessories are amazing. 

Mine is The Crafter...complete with a fabulous sweater and a set of colored pencils. Sam's is The Cyclist...with an amazing hat complete with a tiny pom pom. Don't you just love the high top sneakers!! Paul's is The Pastor dressed in a robe and stole...holding a bible. And Nate's is The Hit Maker at the keyboard. His hoodie is amazing with an actual pouch for his tiny frog hands. These are all Clarke's photographs that she has featured on the Ravelry site where she shared details about making each one.

These are the frogs and other creatures for friends and family.

Clarke sent me these photos months ago when she was just getting started. They show a bit of the process and the pieces and parts. She used patterns from Ravelry...but did some her own customization and ordered the accessories from Etsy. She's a clever one...that Clarke!

I am blown away by her talent!

Clarke had fun with this project...and says she will probably be making personalized frogs for the rest of her life. Here they all are in downtown Chicago!  What an accomplishment! Well done Clarke!

It seemed fitting that Lynn sent me an article called Weapons of Mass Construction: the US 'craftivist' using yarn to fight back against Trump. 

It shares how knitters and stitchers all over the country are using their art to protest and share acts of kindness and show normalcy in places and spaces that feel anything but normal. 

JOY is an act of resistance.

Resist

We had a fabulous evening last night with the boys and Kelly. There was good food....engaging conversation and lots of belly laughs. Sam brought packs of vintage 1990 Topps baseball cards for everyone. A highlight of the evening was when everyone tried to stump Paul with his vintage baseball knowledge....and he nailed almost every question. He even got guessed a player's daughter's name right.

I've got something else fun to report....but it has to wait because it deserves a post all its own.

Linda D. sent me this photo a week or so ago....and it made me chuckle.

I thought it spot on....but it's also the perfect segue into into the theme of this post. 

Yes...we have to continue the RESISTance to save democracy...but this post is about another kind of resist.

Did you know that you can use anything with foil accents as a stencil on the gelli plate? The foil acts as a resist....and I'll explain how it's done.

Kelly and Sam gave us an Aura digital photo frame...and it was wrapped in this gorgeous foiled snowflake paper. The frame is fun...and we've already loaded a bunch of family photos. 

I carefully unwrapped the box because I wanted to save every inch of the paper...and I used a piece of it to make this print.

For the first print I rolled aqua blue on the plate. Then I placed the paper with the foil side down and pressed it into the plate pretty well.

You can see that the wrapping paper is covered with the blue paint...but the foil resisted some of the paint leaving an imprint on the plate.

Once the blue snowflakes were dry...I rolled white paint on the plate. The fresh wet paint will pick up the dried paint.

 I pressed a piece of copy paper down ...and let it sit about 30 seconds then pulled the print.

It turned out pretty well.

I wanted to see if I could use the same piece foil paper a second print...and yes I could. This time I rolled white paint on the plate first to make the imprint.

You can see that the foiled paper is now completely covered up with paint...so a third print was not possible. I know because I tried.

  

Once the white snowflakes were dry...I rolled bright blue paint on the plate and pulled the print. I love this one even more.

I sacrificed on small swatch of the paper and got two pretty prints. 

 

I'm certainly going to try this resist technique with other foiled papers. 

I used part of the prints to make a thank you card and envelope liner!

Making art...is an act of resistance.