"AN OUNCE OF JOY"

These little tufts of snow in the backyard caught my eye.

Becky, Tracie, Brenda and I have been quietly working on the second round of our shared art project.  I explained what we're doing here in this post....so I won't repeat......but I will say that this second round has gotten me even more excited about the project as a whole. 

I just put Becky's booklet in the mail to Brenda as it continue its journey around the circle.  I loved Becky's theme...and I can't wait to see what's next. Becky has been working on Tracie's booklet...and will be passing it on to me sometime in the next few weeks.

I can't write about what's in the booklets until the end of the project....which won't be until April.

Did you notice the plaid envelope liner? It's just a piece of scrapbook paper I added to the envelope for a little pop of color surprise....something I learned in Fodder School.

Just after Christmas Daryl contacted me to see if I had any interest in 200  5 by 7 inch envelopes. The company that made her Christmas cards sent a double order by mistake....and it seemed a shame to just recycle them. 

Of course I would take them....how could I not!

They're nice quality envelopes...and the larger size is handy for mailing art trades.

The corners on the flap were a little stark.....

.....so I softened them with a corner punch.

I know it's subtle.....

......but I think it makes a difference....especially from the inside  

I have lots of other miscellaneous envelopes too.....most of them smaller....and they all more fun with a liner. This one is decked out with a gelli print.

As you know....I've been in an ongoing studio organizing project and I had a little bit of an awakening in the past week or so.  

It is becoming more and more clear to me that it doesn't make any sense to sort....and then just store all my little snippets and practice projects. I will ALWAYS be painting...snipping...and puttering..... 

....and there's no sign of stopping.

I'm going to put together some little packets to sell....and even frame a few pieces.  But I'm also going to have a little fun giving some of these bits and pieces away.  

I'm going to use some of these envelopes from Daryl (and others I have collected) for a giveaway project just for blog readers.  I'm still working out the details....but tomorrow I will launch what I'm calling "AN OUNCE OF JOY."  All the details will be right here tomorrow.....I'm kind of excited.

I'm actually excited about a lot of things....and I'm going to do my best to balance it all. Here's a little watercolor experiment I came across today....

I taped off the grid...then painted....splattered and doodled. It's a little much when it's one big piece.....

....but it's rather sweet cut a little smaller. 

Each square is mini abstract work of art.

And I just bought some simple 8 x 8 frames for the collages I made last October in Fodder School. I wrote about them here: http://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2022/10/collage-series.html  

The collages are made from hand painted papers and my own paper cuts... and are mounted and stitched onto watercolor paper. 

My plan is to take them to my local consignment store and see if I can get a few bucks for them.  (Unless I get a better offer 😉) My hope is to at least cover the cost of the frames...and maybe have a pizza dinner.