New Strategy

I popped in to see Janice today. There's aways so much color in her gardens!

Someone once said that if you want to change the quality of your life...clean out a closet. 

Almost a year ago today my friend Becky was visiting and we she helped me clean out and organize the hall closet. I needed to do the same thing in the laundry closet on the other side of the hall....and a year later I finally tackled it. The quality of our lives will most certainly be improved! 

The closet is tidy, but still not very photogenic....so I thought it was time for a puzzle post. You know I always have one on my table...and this one is a doozie! And I mean that in a good way. 

It was a gift from Linda D. who said it was too difficult for her. It featurs a Fabulous Floral hexagon quilt using Kaffe Fassett fabrics. 

The boarder was going together pretty well and at first I thought I would start at the top and work my way down pushing it up on the table as I usually do. That lasted about 10 minutes. Way too many pieces to sort though....I needed a new strategy.

I started assembling the very middle of the motifs The fabrics all seemed different so it seemed like the best way forward. I did the ones that were bright and easy like the blues....and that lasted several days. I had a mess on the table and I wasn't making progress. Again....I needed a new strategy. 

I cleaned up the table and finally found a strategy that has been working well.

I'm sorting out all the pieces that have the same small flower border around each motif....starting with the little blue flowers. 

Just today I pulled out the pieces with the little white daisies.

I've gotten far enough along where I could join motifs and I actually have a path from the top to the bottom. And I just noticed as I uploaded this photo that there's a path from side to side too. And you know how much I love that! Hallelujah! My new strategy is working! 

The whole time....my puzzle gang has been cheering me on. Change your strategy as often as you need to!  That improves the quality of your life too!

I'm loving this challenging and colorful puzzle....thank you Linda! 

Laughs and Smiles

This made me laugh out loud....I SOOO do this! 

And I'm going to smile when I'm in the car and I see someone else doing it!

I watched this butterfly for several minutes this morning and she fluttered around the verbena doing her pollinator thing.  The quote made me laugh....and the butterfly made me smile. I couldn't help but think about the butterfly effect.....where small actions can lead to big change. There's a a whole lot of changing that needs to happen in the world!

Flowing Into Blues

Even when you don't think you have time to make art....you mostly likely do. I made another quick tag today...and it flows nicely from the reds...pinks and purples into the blues.

I continued with the catalog pages with cut out circles and used another paper cut from my car project. I'm pretty tickled with tag #3. And I like the simple back just as well.

I added a scrap from the catalog left over from the first tag on the back on the second one and the blue dots help with the flow! The ease of it tickles me. 

This blouse from the new Gudruns catalog was the inspiration for the transition from the purples to blues. I started with the black and white dot...then cut holes in the catalog parts and layered them up until I filled the tag. Yes....I could have just layered cutout circles...but this was more fun. And...the cutouts go into a scrap pile for something else! Yup....I'm a scrap and snippet saver.

I'm going to enjoy flowing into the blues! I see some cyanotype art in my tag future. I know I'll find time to make some mini art!

I've got a couple of white rain lilies....and more buds coming.

Your Joy Journals

It is better to do something than do nothing while waiting to do everything. Winston Churchill

This was the Unfold montage Alyson sent me today. I couldn't love it more. 

You know by now how tickled I get when I see what some of you are doing with your joy journals. Judy has been working in one of the ones I made for her  and she posted a video of her progress on Instagram. I hope you check it out: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbohCcuPjke/

And just for the record...I'm still willing to make joy journals. As a matter of fact I don't think I'll ever stop making them. If you are new to the blog here is a link to the posts about my project so far.

When I was in Wisconsin....I was so tickled to see that Emily was adding to hers. She's now a busy mom of two....but is also an avid collector of interesting packaging and papers that catch her eye. She now has all kinds of places to tuck them.

Emily wanted her journal to be a living thing...and that's what it's going to be. At some point she's going to send me some of Max's art for another journal.

Tag #2

I'm so excited to have a few meadow rue plants blooming. They don't do very well in my garden because there's not enough sun....but I do have a few volunteers that are doing better than plants I actually planted.

Because the blooms are so delicate...they are really hard to photograph. I just adore the round pearl like buds so I'm going to keep trying. 

I've been a little under the weather....so not moving very fast....but I did take a few minutes to make another tag for my Tag Project 2.0. As was true with my last tag series....I want the tags to flow from one to the next in some way....either color or some design element. 

I was pretty tickled to still have the scrap from the catalog that I cut the centers from the flowers on the first card...so that was the starting point. Those three white circles are actually cut into the paper and the black dots are on the tag itself.

I layered more catalog scraps and cut apart the square paper cut I shared a few days ago. And there you have it....a second tag for my Tag Project 2.0. and it only took about 10 minutes. 

I like to do something simple on the back.....and I still need something on the second one. This was a painted paper gone wrong...but the colors were right and it works just fine as a backing.

Life Size

It's Clarke's birthday today! 

Clarke is my niece and is solely responsible for this blog actually getting off the ground and continues to be my tech support. I couldn't have done it without her. 

She is also the maker of the fabulous frogs:

 https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2025/12/clarkes-creature-christmas.html

She lives in a high rise condo along the lake in downtown Chicago. Right around the corner is this life size giraffe named Edna....and the owners have a good time dressing her up for holidays and seasons. Clarke sends me photos when she changes clothes..and I get quite a kick out of it. It was about time I shared them here....and this may not even be all of them. I feel like Edna should have a birthday had and balloons today!

Newborn Clarke...and Aunt MaryAnn! Happy Birthday Clarke!

Carry It Home!

On our way to Monson I did a little paper cutting in the car. Just a few simple things....and just the inside cuts. 

Today I enjoyed some time on the patio and did the outside cuts with a pair of scissors.  They will come in handy in my joy journals or on one of my tags. You can never have enough leaf shapes.

 

I also made a few photo montages to send to Alyson...and Janice and Patsy....so why not share a couple of them here. This first one needs a little explanation. Janice, Patsy and I walked a mile or so into town on morning. It was a lovely day and downtown Monson is cozy and quaint. There's a pottery shop, a little general store and a very nice art gallery with all kinds of magic from local artists.

Patsy and Janice bought beautiful handmade baskets. Janice's was small and easy to carry....but Patsy bought a handwoven hamper. Yes...a hamper. Luckily it had two handles so she and I were able to walk it the mile back home. We had to switch hands every 10 minutes or so...but we were pretty tickled with ourselves not going back with the car.

I've carried many things home over the years and I still have several of them in my home that have been painted or rehabbed. I love repurposing other people's cast offs! 

This was a great find that I carried home with the help of Anita and Janet:

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/04/one-persons-trash.html

And this repurposed table is in our entry way that Paul carried home:

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2023/08/another-table-project.html

And this found coffee table is still in our living room...it got driven home:
https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2021/04/no-1123-12-d.html

One more montage with the truckload of stuff from the boat house that went to the dump the next day. It was so nice to help with a camp cleanup project!

Something To Celebrate!

There's something to celebrate in the Shupe household! Paul has been friends with Bill, Bill and Bob for 40+ years since their Vanderbilt Divinity School days, and for the past 20 years they've spent a week together somewhere in the wilderness...most often in the mountains of Colorado. They've just written and published a book called The Wilderness of Friendship in which they share their friendship journey and explore events and ideas that gave shape to their friendship. I'm so proud of these guys!

All of their royalties will be donated to the James Lawson Institute, an organization dedicated to inspire people to engage in preparation, dialogue, and research for social justice.

The Wilderness of Friendship offers a counterpoint to the consensus that there is an epidemic of loneliness among men in the United States. Four men, friends since their days at Vanderbilt Divinity School, explore and describe the values and actions of more than forty years of friendship. Among them are hospitality of place and ideas, risking vulnerability to share life fully, a shared wonder at the amazing blessings of life, and a love for the wilderness, both literal and metaphorical, where there is always more going on than can be understood in the moment. What emerges is one vision of what it means to be a man, husband, father, friend: open, teachable, and above all, joyful. 

I have a feeling that this book may be more important than perhaps it at first appears. Our country's woes have many sources, but surely one is the sad and isolated condition of its men, who have been told to stand on their own. As the authors make clear in this lovingly written chronicle, alternatives are possible!"

-BILL MCKIBBEN, author of Here Comes the Sun

"With honesty, humor, and love, these engaging essays—individually and collectively—offer a healing balm to men like the authors and to all of us, especially in these times of disconnection and conflict over gender norms. By letting us in to their four decades(!) of friendship, the authors invite us to reconnect with each other and with ourselves. A true gift!"

-ELLENT. ARMOUR, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Chair and Professor of Feminist Theology; Vanderbilt Divinity School

"Here we witness an extraordinary friendship forged over decades and deepened through shared commitments to curiosity, self-reflection, and justice. With honesty and humility, wit and wisdom, four friends, chosen brothers to one another, recount the stories of their shared life, shaped by seasons of joy, loss, discovery, and care. The building blocks of that friendship—intentional time together in wild places, deepening vulnerability, and a longstanding dedication to learning and unlearning—offer a counterpoint to the epidemic of loneliness. Wise, generous, and deeply humane, this book offers both a testimony to authentic male friendship and an invitation, especially for men willing to confront the privileges of whiteness and patriarchy, to cultivate deeper relationships: with one another, with the hurts of the world and with the sacred."

-ALLEN EWING-MERRILL, Executive Director, The BTS Center

Art On The Porch

Our time with friends at the lake was everything I hoped it would be. It's a good thing to unplug for a bit with people you love.

We walked and talked, played lots of cards, swam, read and even cleaned out the boat house! It was a wonderful weekend getaway. 

I carved out a little window for some art on the porch for old time's sake. Yes Dotty....the 1950's vintage laminate table is still there. I meant to take a photo of the whole table...but I forgot. Using a Gudrun's catalog...I made my first tag for my Tag Project #2. I do enjoy working in this small format!

 I was inspired by the flowers Janice brought!     

   

Unplugging

I'm in the middle of my 12th year writing this daily Joyful Puttering blog....and I've only missed a few days here and there. Every now and then I wonder if I'll know when it's time to slow things down....or maybe even wind things down. I don't think that time has come yet but...but I am taking a few days off.

Paul and I are going to spend three nights on lake in Monson, Maine with four dear friends. There's no WiFi...and virtually no cell service....so we'll be unplugging...and enjoying every minute. Even it if rains.

There will be swimming and cards....good food and laughter. Just what we all need! 

Patsy's family invited our family once a summer when our kids were growing up....and we have such fond memories of the boys fishing off the dock and diving off the float. I've spend hours and hours on this porch stitching with my buddies during our girls' get-a-ways. As a matter of fact this is the very porch I started my cathedral window quilt  I just blogged about a few weeks ago. 

I'm guessing this table is still there on the porch.....I'll let you know when I'm back here on Sunday evening. Have a great weekend everyone! Maybe you'll unplug for a few hours this weekend!

Unfurl

Where did this day go? Some days are like that! 

But don't you just love the playful way black-eyed Susans unfurl? I know I do!  

   

 

I thought I would share of my favorite photo montages from Alyson.

It's a curling and unfurling montage!

And here something curly from the past. Starting in 2024 I worked on a tag project....making little collages on a set of tags gifted to me from Roseann. I loved these mini collage projects....and I do have another set...so maybe I'll revive it!

All those posts are here. https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search/label/tag%20project