Plenty of Potential

The art of not being ready and doing it anyway will take you far! Rob Dance

Becky had a beautiful blue, white and gold floral calendar hanging in her studio. I wish I would have taken a photo of that whole wall...it's so magical. Every time I go...there's something new.

Before I left I asked her if I could have a page from one of the previous months....she sent me home with two. I knew they had plenty of potential.

Ever since I came across the little paper cut from a another calendar with gold highlights....I've wanted to try another one. The random color images and gold accents give the cut piece such character....not something you can plan.

So I cut off a swatch from one of the pages and took advantage of the glorious afternoon on the patio and started cutting. No particular plan other than doing leaf shapes. 

I worked from the back....it's much easier to see what you're doing on the white side. All those little leaf cutouts will be useful too.

Once I had the leaf shapes cut...I did the fussy cutting around the outside with a pair of scissors. That's so much easier than trying to do it with an exacto knife. It doesn't look like much at this point....but I knew the potential was there.

I love it....and I'm going to send it to Becky so she can tuck it into one of her art journals. I intended to cut a stem...but I forgot. So it's just a fun starburst of leaves with plenty of potential.

See the Magic

I saw this pop of red from a distance on a morning walk....and HAD to see it up close. I was gobsmacked. Mother Nature's magic blows me away sometimes.

Marita came over for breakfast this morning. We had a wonderful visit on the patio...a nice little walk...and just enough time for a quick cyanotype.

I have given her a couple of cards/prints over the years and she paid one of her fern prints forward to a friend and asked me if I would make her another one. I absolutely love that she passed it on to someone who loved it....AND wanted to replace it.

Rather than make one for her I offered to help her make her own so she could see the magic first hand. There is nothing like experiencing the process in person. I will do this with ANYONE.....even on Zoom. 

While I was at Becky's I was in awe of a small set of stencils in her stash....so many geometric patterns and so many ways to use them. Little did I know that she ordered me a set and they were waiting for me when I got home. Thank you Becky for picking up on my joy and being so generous!

The stencils are translucent (until they have acrylic paint on them) so they work for cyanotype.....but some sun gets through the stencil leaving a light blue design rather than crisp white. Once I've used them for gelli prints....they will be opaque so the sun prints will be crisp white...if I want that. I did a quick experiment with a few....and will certainly do more. I'm going to have fun experimenting with ALL the ways I can use these fabulous gifted stencils. Thanks Becky!

This was the montage I sent to Alyson this morning...a nice mix of just some of the magic that landed in my last few days. I hope you saw some magic in your day today!

For those of you new to the blog....Alyson is my sister-in-law and we trade photos every day. They are often these montages that we make on an app called Unfold. These photos exchanges are a great way for us to connect and celebrate some the magic that is around us. 

Here are a couple of recent montages from Alyson in Colorado.

I love our daily photo trades.

Slug Shenaigans

Laughter and sorrow often travel together, and sometimes the silliest things carry us through the hardest moments. Diane Wilk

Yesterday while I was visiting Patty I got to hear more about Sluggo...her precious banana slug. Sluggo is now featured in a book called ADVENTURE IS IN MY SOUL. It's true story of how after a tragic loss an entire extended family found connection, comfort, and laughter through a stuffed banana slug named Sluggo. 

Patty was instrumental in making sure all the family members had a cousin of Sluggo that could comfort them and accompany them during family gatherings and travels. Patty's clever like that!

Everyone played along and over a period of several months shared their slug's shenanigans through group texts and emails. Patty's sister-in-law Diane turned these adventures into a book. It's just a delight.

Even in life's darkest seasons, there is still room for laughter, joy and absurdity. Family Matters. Loves survives grief. And sometimes the best way forward is simply to hold tightly to on another and keep smiling at the wonderfully ridiculous parts of being human.

After our visit....Patty brought Sluggo down to photograph him in my garden with The Traveling Flowers....they seem to be related not only in color....but in spirit. Cherie and Dale had fun on their wonderfully ridiculous journey with these flowers. 

The whole Traveling Flowers journey can be tracked in these posts...in reverse order.

Hydrangea

Magic exists where you choose to find it!

It was a glorious summer day with just the right mix of chores and play.

I'm not sure if this was a chore or play...but I got the papers cut and folded for 50 more match boxes for Folly 101. It was a picture perfect afternoon on the patio while I folded...and I was hoping to get a glimpse of the baby bluebirds that fledged while I was gone. No such luck.

Look at this fabulous found object Paul found while was gone! And the best part is that it lights up when you bounce it.    

 

I had a good visit with Patty today....and her hydrangea were gorgeous...coming and going.

I ADORE her peace flag...that color is just perfect!

We could sure use a little world peace right now!

Speaking of hydrangea...going with my now and then idea...here's a few little arrangements I did a while back that still make me smile. I'm choosing to find magic in hydrangea today!

Shoutout

The body heals with play, the mind heals with laughter, and the spirit heals with joy.

No matter how wonderful a trip is....it's always good to be home. I have to give a shoutout to Paul for doing such a wonderful job taking care of the plants and the birds. Everything looks happy and healthy!

It was such a delight to come home to several sweet white rain lily blooms. And how comforting it was to start to slide right back into my quiet daily routine. 

Romanticize the routine, not the result.

Honorary Family

After the family events were concluded....my whirlwind of a trip ended with several days with the Finnerud family. Since Becky and I have known each other so long.....we're pretty much honorary members of each others' families....especially me to hers.

I got to experience first hand the fabulous and chaotic festivities of a full Finnerud family gathering on Sunday with Becky's kids and their partners and a couple of grandchildren. They know how to celebrate with all wonderful food....laughter.....live music....and oh yes....a World Cup Soccer game. 

Then Becky and I spent a couple nights with Emily and the kids while Keegan was away. We worked on the furniture shuffle getting things ready for Max to move into a new big boy room making way for baby Miles in the nursery. We made excellent progress! Helping them move along with their house projects always brings me joy. 

Miles is getting good use out of the quilt I made for Max.

Just a little more time with Miles this morning after Max went to nursery school.

I just love being an honorary member of the Finnerud family! 

Next stop HOME!

Farm Roots

There is nothing like the farmland of Wisconsin that pulls at my heart strings. 

Midway through my visit....I spent a night with my sister LaVonn and her husband Tim on their Evansville farm. I am rooted in life on a farm and will always be drawn to the country landscape.

Family Table

I great up on a farm with 8 siblings....so there was a window of time when there were 11 of us around our family table. We ate dinner together almost everyday....and I have fond memories of the sights, sounds...and smells. 

My niece Holly and her husband Hikmet have the family farm table now and yesterday 11 of us gathered around it for a full Turkish breakfast. It seemed fitting that there just happened to be 11 of us....and the four of us who remember our childhood around this table even knew exactly where we sat. 

A Turkish breakfast includes vegetables, olives, cheese, eggs and all kinds of breads and jams.

When the dishes were cleared and the tablecloth (very Turkish) removed...I recognized every scratch and wooden grain line of this family table. My heart was full.

And I had a chance to have some one on one time with dear sweet Ayla.

Rich Would be Proud

The last couple of days have been all about family. Just ONE of the events was a graduation party for my nephew Charles. 

Charles is the second son of my youngest brother Rich who passed away when Charles was quite young. 

Rich would be so proud of this amazing young man. 

Art Friends

The days have been full and wonderful. Our art group gathered yesterday....and that always brings me joy. Tracie, Brenda, Becky and I have been sharing art trades for several years and we gather as often as we can. It was a good mix of catching up...and had fun painting rocks to send out into th world.

I placed one of mine under Angie's tree in Orton Park....the one Tracie and Loon planted after my sister died. Angie's tree is getting big! 

Tracie gave us each a little hand painted card that stole my heart.

Having art friends in my life is one of my greatest joys.

Dinner With Lynn

Last Evening while Becky was at a prior engagement I had dinner with Lynn. She and I met while Paul was a pastor in a Madison church back in 2008. She is an artist I admire who has taught me a lot!

Lynn and I have stayed in touch over the years and it fun when I get to connect with her while I'm in Madison. I also made her an altered art journal...and I got to see the finished product last evening. 

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2025/05/depth-and-beauty.html

Several pieces of Lynn's art are hanging all over my condo. I especially love her zentangle work on watercolor. 

Seeing Becky and Lynn's altered art journal has been a real treat for me.

I layered the two pieces of hers on the right....cutting out the leaves so they would layer on the next page. Lynn added the painting on the left making for a beautiful spread. There is so much more....but you get the idea. 

Colors and Textures

I've known Becky since we were 5 years old. 

We both grew up on farms in Edgerton, Wisconsin...and we've seen each other through the best and worst of times. No matter how much time has passed we always pick up right where we left off.

This is actually from a year or two ago...we'll take a new one at some point during this trip.

We had a delightful day together and here are some of the colors and textures from her gardens and yard. 

Then AND now!

Last year I made Becky a an altered art journal where I ripped down pages in a commercial art journal and stitched in some of her own art and snippets. I wrote about it here: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2025/03/altered-art-journal.html

I was able to hand deliver it when I visited last April: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2025/04/hand-delivery.html

And just today I got to see how she has been making it her own. She's having fun with it! 

On the right is a calendar page I stitched in that she gave me. And I love how she took the colors and textures from the landscape to create the squares on the left! Well done Becky! 

I had stitched in a piece of one of her coloring pages....and now she's starting to doodle.