Visits...and Revisits

It was a busy day....including a delightful lunch and visit with my friend Marian. I have other joys to share....but they can wait until tomorrow. 

I did want to share my latest revisit to Abby Lane where I checked on the scilla....always worth it.

Connecting

Subtitle: My Heart is Full!

Joyful Puttering: Collecting, Creating, Connecting...that's what the banner at the top of my blog says. And all of that brings me joy. 

To the casual observer...my studio is in a constant state of chaos. I'm constantly trying to assess what I have collected over the years and figuring out what I should let go of...and what I should keep. The problem is...I see potential in everything.  When I'm trying to tidy up...I always find some  some bright shiny object so it's more likely that I'm creating something rather than organizing. And when I find myself connecting with someone...THAT is what it's all about.

Dotty was one of the recipients of one of my blue and white journal. She wrote a poem about her journal...and you can read it on her blog here.  

If you check it out.... you'll see her little creation that she tucked inside the yellow envelope that I included in one of the pockets in her journal.

My heart is full.

Julie received her Joy Journal a few days ago...and sent me several photos of things she has already tucked or glued into her journal. It's going to be a wonderful place for her to tuck her favorite things from her grandson. How can you not save his adorable writing! souen is sewing in Connor's four year old world. His grandmother is a quilter.

And now one of Connor's hearts is tucked in the little pocket

My heart is full. 

I made did several journals for Lynn long before the Joy Journal Project including an altered purchased journal with her papers stitched in as inspiration. 

Lynn sent me some photos of a few of her pages in her altered journal and that makes me so happy. You can see just a hint of the inspiration paper on the far left for this spread.

My heart is full. 

And just a few days ago Cherie wrote about The Traveling Flowers and Chuck, her dad, on her blog. 

You can read that post here. 

My heart is full.

And just today....after a 3,000 + mile journey from Chuck's workshop in southern California..The Traveling Flowers arrived at their new home on the east coast in Portland, Maine. 

Ben....our mail carrier humored me....he was part of the journey too!

From Chuck's shop....to Cherie's front door...to my front door....these handmade flowers have connected us! And don't you love how my sweatshirt matches Cherie's door. 

My heart is full! 

The journey isn't over. I will be auditioning them in various places around the condo...inside and out when the weather is better. For a few days....they'll live on the coffee table in the heart of our home. 

Did I mention that my heart is full?

USPS Leg

It rained all day today....but as the saying goes...April shower bring May flowers. But we have moved on from purple crocus to yellow daffodils...and they stood tall by the pond yesterday.

And that got me thinking about the torn paper flowers I used to make during lockdown....

which included a loose interpretation of daffodils. 

Once I started making theses little flower gardens...I couldn't stop. 

I enjoyed tearing the wonky bits of paper and layering them into a bloom. 

So I just kept making them....and sent dozens of cards as a way to spread some joy and connect during that difficult time of isolation. I adored these little collage gardens...so I'm going to play around with them again.

This was a quick little experiment today....It will take me a few tries to get into my groove. 

This time...I'm going to play around with vessels.

I can't help but share the next leg of The Traveling Flowers journey while they are in the hands of the USPS. I was tickled that Cheri sent these photos along with the tracking number with....so I've been able to keep watch their progress.

I'm added the USPS leg of the journey in blue. They made one stop in Warrendale, PA....another in a distribution center in Southern Maine. The next stop will be the Portland Post office...then the condo!

Inside Joy

Julie got her journal a couple days ago so I thought I would give you a peek at the inside joy. I shared details about the layered cover in this post. 

If you remember....Julie's stash was full of bits and bobs of color....and it's ALL in the journal. 

I'm not going to share all the pages....but it was hard tp choose...so you're going to see quite a few of them. The post got a little long....so read on if these kinds of things bring you joy.

I stitched a belly band on the inside cover with another piece of Julie's fabric snippet strip. I knew I wanted this journal to be layered....with pages of different sizes and pieces and parts peeking through. 

Julie included several art papers done by her grandson....Connor loves rainbows and bright colors! I added just a few of my gelli prints but Collin's art is featured on most of the base pages.

Julie included several little puzzle pieces....the pink one became a tab to turn the little heart page.  

Most of the pages are double up and reinforced...and I carried the black stitching throughout the journal. I like using a mix of straight and zig zag stitches.

I cut some of the pages following Connor's line drawings. I think these unexpected shapes make the journal more interesting. The crayon cutout is glued to that page strategically placed for viewing from the prior pages.

Julie and Cherie are friends....and one of Cherie's clothing tags tops a little pocket.

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All through the journal you get a glimpse of things to come...including the llama and the pink butterfly. I include a butterfly in every book because of this post. 

Wonderment was one of the words Julie included....and it seemed perfect along this page. 

I tried to leave some open spaces for Julie or Conner to do their own thing. 

There wasn't room for many....but there's a few.

This is the center...and the heart and soul of the book. It was tall page from the book Llama Llama Red Pajama that Julie read to Connor at bedtime every time they were together at either house. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I had to figure out a way to cut it down preserving the art and words. It worked out well. 

These next few pages have lots of layers and a page that flips out. Julie sent the stickers and cutouts in cellophane envelopes....I cut them down and turned them into pockets in a few places.

All the stickers came from Julie....Connor loves dragons.

This spread has a couple of pockets. I tucked Julie's Monopoly card in the side pocket and there's another puzzle piece as a tab on a pullout in the other pocket.

I folded Connors practice alphabet page into a little zine. 

I wanted to finish with another rainbow....I've had this card for years. 

If there's any journal it belongs in...it's this one. This PERFECTLY IMPERFECT joy journal.

The rainbow card has some texture...and included Rainbow written in braille. 

I saved it and tucked it in the joy pocket. There's a another belly band on the back cover.

Another art piece....that I almost forgot about. I didn't quite know what to do with it. Too much of it would be lost if I folded it into a zine. So I backed it with fused fabric and cut it out. Julie could iron it flat again if she wanted to...but it gave me something to tuck in the last belly band.

This last little page started as a plain white add on for the spool cover page. I found this paper snippet strip in my stash and thought it was a nod to her fabric snippets and I turned it into a side pocket. Congratulations if you're still with me here at the end. Julie's Joy Journal is a wrap!

Next To Last Stop

Paul is on the Cape with his good friend Dan. I mostly spent the day on house and garden chores but I am having dinner with my good friend Janice! There's nothing quite like a good friend!

A few of you know Dan...so thought I would share this photo of the two of them. It warms my heart knowing these guys are together in such a beautiful place!

I have to chuckle when something random comes across my screen that I can relate to so perfectly! 

I still remember mine! 608-884-8174 and I had to call Paul a few days ago to look up a password I needed. There's only so much brain space...and remembering a password would be so much more helpful than my childhood phone number.

Cherie and Dale and The Traveling flowers dodged some storms and made their way through Indiana...dipped into Kentucky and through Ohio. There weren't many stops on this stretch...but they did find a little LOVE(S) when they stopped for gas.

But now Cherie and Dale are home in western Pennsylvania and The Traveling Flowers are at their next to last stop. The next stop will be their new home in Portland, Maine! Don't you love the color of Cherie and Dale's front door!