Monarch Orange

Pumpkins, marigolds, cantaloupe, monarch butterflies, Baltimore Orioles, sweet potatoes, zinnias, oranges and tangerines, sunsets, goldfish, carrots, squash, and basketballs....so many fabulous orange things! 

Mostly inspired by monarch butterflies and the Baltimore Oriole that recently visited our yard...I decided to go with orange and black for my second card in our Rainbow Connection shared art project.

I went through a graphic/bold orange phase painting papers a while back....so decided to cut strips from the gelli prints and doodles. 

I do love gold accents.

I liked it OK....but thought the lines needed definition.

 

Stitching changes everything.....

and provided the definition I was looking for.

Better....but now what?

After some auditioning...I came across a circle papercut in my stash. I'm thinking of them as O's for Orange!  I thought about covering the whole thing...but in the end I thought covering just a corner was more interesting.  

But it still needed a focal point....and I had just the right orange image from the monarch wallpaper I found at a thrift store.

Now it's done! 

Orange card to Tracie for the 

Rainbow Connection project...✔

I had the Oriole on the back and was going to just keep it simple...and at the last minute I added this little quote about the marigolds....a fabulous orange flower. See the link below for the full explanation.

Back in 2015 while Becky was visiting...Tracie had us searching for marigolds...and I made her this card.  I can't remember if I actually made this card....or if it was just digital.....2015 is a long time ago!

You can read more abou about "searching for marigolds" here:

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/09/searching-for-marigolds.html

Orange!

I'm already thinking about yellow for our Rainbow Connection Project....and haven't been able to talk about orange until today!  I just got my orange card from Tracie...and it's fabulous!

It came wrapped in tissue with this sweet little flower closure.  Nice touch Tracie!

I love the card!  

Orange and pink have always caught my attention. 

And the back couldn't be more appropriate.  

I mailed my card to Tracie in Madison a week ago Monday...so when it 

hadn't arrived on Saturday....I was losing hope.

But I remain optimistic....because apparently...orange is optimistic!

As far as I know...it still hasn't arrived.

One of the keys to watercolor that I struggle with is knowing where NOT to paint.  The shine on this pot is perfect....and I love the speckled texture!

Thanks Tracie!  Well done!

Can't wait to see all the others.

My rainbow is growing!

I'm trying to post a whole rainbow everytime I write about this project....

so  here's a little wrapped rope rainbow I made that sits in my studio.

Pinks and Greens and Yellows

Patty shared this photo with me this morning........it's a pink-edged sulphur butterfly that has recently been named the Maine State Butterfly. Such a pretty yellow...and the subtle pink edges are so sweet. Pink and yellow are a such nice combo.  

Pink and green are a nice combo too!

It would have been really easy to walk by this tulip patch this morning....from a distance it looked kind of scruffy.  But I was drawn in....and it did not disappoint.  

It's always worth taking a closer look.

The petals almost appeared to be dancing....they were lacey and lovely.

 

This view they almost looked like an orchid.

It was hard to stop looking.....and photographing.

Paul was walking in circles....again.

The pink and green color scheme got me thinking about my enkianthus shrubs along the side of my condo.  Sure enough....there they were...these sweet little pink, cream. and green blooms tucked in under the leaves.

You can see how subtle they are.

It took me right back to this little painting I did several years ago 

inspired by the enkianthus blooms. 

 I cut the painting up a few months ago to make a few cards....and I think some of the pieces got tucked into some of the "Ounce of Joy" envelopes. 

I enjoyed my yellow....and pink...and green journey today!

Swinging

We had a big tree along the edge of our yard on the farm with the perfect branch for a tree swing.  There was a small ditch between the yard and the road that we would fill with leaves in the fall to jump into from the swing.  The swing changed from time to time....I remember tires and boards...but the very best one was just a rope lined with an old cushion. I remember rushing out the door after dinner to get to the swing first. 

I have wanted to make a hummingbird swing for quite some time.  I've seen them from time to time online....and the idea has been rattling around in my head.

Inspired by this one that Tracie made a few days ago....I decided that today was the day to make my swing!

Mine is pretty simple. I drilled holes in a piece of driftwood....

added wire twisted with red beads and secured the ends onto the tree branch.  

This lower branch of the tree was dead....and I didn't prune it all the way back earlier this spring thinking this would be the perfect spot for the swing.  I've seen a few birds perch on the branch and who knows if I'll get a hummingbird in the swing or not.  But it doesn't really matter....because it got me thinking about my childhood on the farm...and how I loved to swing!  And...it's kind of cute hanging there.

This is an old photo of the three trees in our front yard.  The left one was the flower tree because the garden is off to the left....the middle one was the skinny tree...and the right one was the mailbox tree. You guessed it....the mailbox is off to the right. You can see the big brach that goes off the photo on the right....that was the swing branch. It was perfect. We made up a silly game called "Hide Behind the Three Trees"....and you and read about it here: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/07/hide-behind-three-trees.html

And to continue the...fun family words....

Kathy's son used to put "go" in front of words:

goghetti for spaghetti

gonilla for vanilla

And....baraffe for giraffe and her favorite shampoop for shampoo!

Thanks Kathy! I bet your son liked to swing!

Simple Things

I'm celebrating a few simple things today....like dirt under my nails...and this tiny little dandelion seed head no bigger than my thumbnail.

There's something completely fascinating about a dandelion gone to seed. Some people see them as a nuisance...others see them as a thing of beauty.

And still others see them as a clock.

When I posted the photo of the dandelion field a few days ago Kate commented that she was teaching her 18 month old granddaughter about dandelion clocks.  I'd never heard of that...so I looked it up.  Fun little tidbit to know!

Paul and I didn't realize at first that the bird on the right was a toddler....I wish my photos were clearer. We watched the dad get a beak full of dried mealworms from the dish and feed the youngster.  Pure and simple happy hour entertainment right in the backyard.

I had my first swim this morning....the water was refreshingly cool....

and I'm grateful to be back to this simple early morning routine.

Yesterday's post about my son calling lupin "bluepins" got Dotty thinking. Her son's version of helicopter was "hopicopter." Love that! We all know a few....those precious renditions of real words that come out of the mouths of babes.

In addition to bluepin....here's a few more Shupe favorites:

nesturnaut....restaurant

bisgetti....spaghetti

therchuther....each other

mimi....excuse me

Blue Things

I checked out the lupin hill in Portland this morning. They're just getting started so I'll keep and eye on them over the next few weeks. 

It's just such a great setting for a lupin field....with the city of Portland in the background. 

This post is from a couple years ago....it was much further along about this time: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2021/05/lupin-season.html

I still love that my son Sam called them "bluepins" when he was little.  

And....just when I thought the little blue ballet slipper was the best found object in a while....Paul found this sweet little blue sheep in the gutter along Riverside Street. No home in sight....no place to return it to....so it will find a good home here.

How cute is this!!!

It's a Shupe sheep now!

And speaking of blue things....one of my condo duties is serving on the pool committee....and we've been busy getting it ready.  Tomorrow is opening day....I do love my morning swims!

Monthly Celebrations

Both Paul and I were quite taken with this dandelion field on our walk....and I didn't fully appreciated the layers of color and light until I saw it in this post. 

Paul and I mostly go with the flow and let the days unfold as they may.  We don't make a lot of big plans or take fancy vacations...because we love being home. We do try and seize moments to gather with others and explore our beautiful state as opportunities arise. 

There are, however, some things we do with intention.

One of the best things we do is to have a 4:00 happy hour. Unless we are away....or otherwise engaged...we pause every day to just be together.  We've been doing it for as long as I can remember....almost every single day.

We report on our day, share good news, and tell our stories. We talk about things that are weighing on our minds and let each be mad or cranky if we need to be. We laugh and play games....and this time of year we sit on the patio and watch the birds and enjoy the woods. 

Happy hour has become an integral and intentional part of our day...and a wonderful thing for our marriage.  We KNOW....that at 4:00 we have each other's undivided attention.

We recently decided to add another intentional activity....monthly celebrations!  

We have several things to celebrate this particular month.....but Paul and I have decided to designate one day near the end of every month to have an extra special meal or outing....and consciously lift up things we want to celebrate.

 

I made this book in a class in 2017....this lesson was on the coptic stitch and I wrote about it here: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2017/05/coptic-stitch.html

I added lined pages thinking I would use if for journaling....

but the book has been just sitting empty on a shelf ever since.

So now...it's going to be the "Monthly Celebrations" log book

where we will record things from the month we want to lift up. 

We started today.

 

Happy 42nd Anniversary Paul!  

We have much to be grateful for....and much to celebrate!