Delight!

I turned 67 today....and it was a delight from beginning to end. 

I got several lovely cards...texts...emails...and Facebook wishes from friends and family.

I feel blessed!

My sister gave me new socks....and Clarke made me a new hat! I needed it today!

I spent all day with this delightful guy and I will see both boys early next week.

I was tickled to start my day a delightful Dotty post about another serendipitous moment in her joy journal. I was over the moon with delight at her connections! You can read Dotty's post here.

In The Zone

The sky was pretty special this morning!

As is the bloodroot that is just starting to bloom in my garden at the corner of the woods. Just look at that center! 

Patty and I had round two of making a lampshade for her bedroom yesterday...we learned from our mistakes during round one. We used leftover fabric from her new curtains...it's a crisp white linen...with pretty floral medallions. 

The fabric was challenging because the embroidered flowers were raised a bit...making it difficult to wrap and tuck. And since neither one of us are actual shade makers....getting the pattern just right was also a challenge. 

But second time's a charm...and we're happy with the result.

The friend helping a friend make a lampshade....that's who I chose to be yesterday! 

   

The shape of the new shade matches the other shade and another touch of this fabric in the room is fresh and pretty. The photo doesn't do it justice. 

While I was in the zone I recovered the lampshade in our TV/playroom...it's been bugging me for years!

The blue and white polka dotted cotton fabric had faded....and just wasn't right for the space.

I had just enough fabric left over from the living room shade I covered years ago. It's still polka dots...and looks so much better.

And I can't tell you how much I love my squishy lumbar pillow that I made from a cotton sweater I never wore. 

I do love my polka dots! 

Do you see what's on the table?

This is the where The Traveling Flowers are going to live for a while. I sit in that orange chair throughout the day...and every evening to work on my blog. I'll enjoy them here in this zone for a while.

Connections Continued

Subtitle: We Get to Choose!

Happy Earth day! 

I thought Earth Day was a good day to share this torn paper rainbow garden I made this for Paul's sister Alyson's birthday back in 2020. It's one of my favorites! 

I offered to pay for the shipping on The Traveling Flowers from Pennsylvania....but Cherie made a counter offer I couldn't refuse: buy something for Maine Needs. So that's what I did. 

I had a little money from other donations so was able to buy two sets of new sheets. And I'm tickled that I found floral sheets as a nod to The Traveling Flowers. Speaking of the flowers....they've been siting on the coffee table for a few days....I think I'll audition them in a new space tomorrow. 

The Connections Continued! 

A few days ago I got an email from Linda who was the recipient of the first blue and white journal giveaway. She sent me several photos of how she is making her journal her own...adding quotes and snippets and I loved seeing what she had done. I especially loved this quote she added: Every moment of every day we get to choose who we will be. 

A few days ago the grounds crew was in our condo association doing some mulching and other spring chores.  As soon as I knew the crew was coming I made a quick trip to the store and scrambled to make chocolate chip cookies....Jane's special recipe with ground oatmeal. There were seven different workers around the condo...and they were so appreciative! 

I told Paul that I really liked being that person who baked cookies for workers taking care of our property. Every moment we get to choose who we want to be.

Julie shared a delightful post about her colorful joy journal and all the ways she is adding to it. It's so much fun to see these journals in action! 

I was tickled to see this image along the side of her blog....I was drawn to the same image when I saw it. I think there are lots of us get sad if we don't make stuff. We get to choose to be makers!

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!