Shared Tulip Moment

When I arrived at Margie's yesterday morning I was still glowing from my tulip encounter and I couldn't help but share my story and a few of my photos. I was just just bursting at the seams with joy.

And it didn't take long for Margie to break into song....complete with hand motions.  

Gold and crimson tulips 
lift your bright heads up

Catch the shining dew drops 

in your dainty cups

If the birdies see you 

when they're flying by

They will think the sunset dropped from  out the sky

Lulu Slocum was Margie's music teacher from 2nd through 6th grade. Margie loved music class. Ms. Slocum would make up jingles complete with hand gestures to help the kids learn music pieces as well as the basics of music theory and the musical notes and symbols. Ms. Slocum even taught them the basics of piano.

Margie and I had quite a conversation about tulips and Ms. Slocum...and we actually both got a little emotional. Ms. Slocum made quite an impact on Margie...and Margie went on to become quite musical herself learning to play viola, trombone, piano and organ. To this day...she also enjoys writing her own jingles.

Margie wrote the words out for the tulip song for me...and then agreed to let me video her. I've turned it into an Instagram Reel and you can view it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C7Fl-HJJ91q/

I've known Margie for 44 years...and I've heard a lot of her stories....but not this one. I think she was waiting for this particular moment....this shared tulip moment.  

Pure JOY! 🌷  

Believe it or not....there is a part three to this tulip journey. Stay tuned.  

Giddy with Delight!

I was on my way to visit Margie this morning driving down Washington Ave. in Portland. It's not a very picturesque street....we have plenty of those in Portland. It's part commercial, part residential, and a major thoroughfare into the city....and I drive it on a regular basis.

But this morning something caught my eye and I thought to myself...I'll just stop on the way home....Margie's expecting me. But something told me to turn around and take a closer look now....I might forget later. Margie would understand. 

Behind a solid fence blocking the busy traffic on Washington Ave there was a magnificent narrow bed of tulips....and I was giddy with delight! 

This densely planted bed in this hot color scheme was absolutely spectacular.

I had to go just a smidgen into their yard but I didn't think they'd mind.

Or at least that's what I told myself. 

I took down the house number and I'm going to write them a thank you note. They need to know how much joy they brought into my day. And they need to know that I was delightfully giddy with their magical hidden tulips.

This photo was a little odd...but I actually love it.

I've been using portrait mode more and more and sometimes the camera focuses on something I didn't expect before I set it to focus where I want. Here it focused on the foreground making the tulips look almost ethereal in the background.  

But that's how it felt. Especially along this not so picturesque stretch of Washington Ave. 

And just when I thought it couldn't get any better I drove down the side street  to find a place to turn around and there was their barn. Could I love this more?  I think not!

There's a part two to this story...but I'm going to save it until tomorrow. It's another tulip story...and may even better than this one.   

And the second part of the story left me giddy with delight. Again.

Paper Tubes: More Projects

Subtitle: Catches My Eye

I love spring! There is so much happening all at the same time....and there's always something that catches my eye. Or several somethings usually!

Like this field of Cuckooflower that looked like a fairyland.  I was drawn right in...and was totally smitten!

As a matter of fact my plant app said Cuckooflower is sacred to fairies and it's bad luck to bring inside.

Paper Tubes: More Projects

I got to thinking about Melodie's idea of using straws for paper tubes. I had these fabulous red and white paper straws....but they ended up being too heavy duty and too difficult to cut. My hands can't do that that anymore. There will be a use for them someday....maybe actually as just a straw!

But I also had these plastic straws on hand too...so they ended being the winner.

I'm pretty happy with the way I roll magazine papers on knitting needles. So I got to thinking what papers won't be strong enough on their own that would benefit from the stability of the staw.  Deli paper gelli prints!  So using a little white glue and some torn pieces of deli prints I did a quick collage on the straw. They cut very easily....but they would also be pretty cool just left long!

I liked the way the torn edges looked...and wrapping it a little wonky was the way to go. They certainly have a more artsy look...I kind of like them and will have to try a few more.

There are all kinds of ways you can use paper tues. You can see my process for covering a frame for a mirror in this post:  

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2016/03/on-roll.html

           

And here's how I finished the edge of the indigo mirror:
https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-edge.html

And this was a challenge I did with my sister Marilyn where all we could use were the reply cards that you find in magazines....and of course scissors and glue. The tubes became the frame.

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/02/reply-cards.html

It's kind of silly...but it's dimensional! As if that makes it not silly?

And here I framed a card for Janice.

The possibilities are endless for paper tubes!

This will be the last post about tubes....for now. I'd be happy to help anyone who needs more information...I'm just an email away! 

Paper Tubes: Part Four

Subtitle: The Easy Part

Once you start looking for shadows....all you see are shadows. 

And Paul doesn't seem to mind pausing to pose....or waiting patiently while I take a little video or collect photos.

Finding shadows is going to be the easy part.  Turning them into an interesting project for the class will be my creative challenge this week. But I have some ideas and Philippa gave us some great jumping off points.

  

Paper Tubes: Part Four

I wanted mention that Melodie contacted me and said she wraps her paper tubes around a straw and just cuts right through the straw. They would certainly be more study! I've heard of doing that with fabric too...something I've wanted to try. hmmmmm

I'm not working on a paper tube project right now...so I will share photos from previous projects for the next steps I do. And if I end up helping Ida through her process.....I will share photos when the time is right. Or she will share her photos with me I'm sure.

I do like to add a little gold thread. Again....that's the way I was taught and I like the wild whimsy that it adds. I know it's not for everyone!  

For the long art pieces I use a piece of thin board I pick up in scrap bins at a lumber yard. It might be lattice...but I'm not sure.  I like pieces that are 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide and 13 to 15 inches long. 

I use some sort of tacky white glue to adhere them to the board and just work on an inch at a time.  

I don't wrap thread on every tube...just a few here and there. After I put down my glue on the board I wrap some thread around a tube and set it in the glue SEAM SIDE DOWN holding the threads to the top.  The glue holds the threads in place. I used to tie them...but that was ridiculous! 

I often have a general plan...like you see here. But I also just wing it sometimes.  I almost always stack two tubes end to end...I think it adds interest. 

I glue them in a staggered pattern making sure they hang off the edge. I often have to cut a few down or in half....and sometimes have to roll a few more to get the colors...rhythm and flow I'm looking for.  

Starting with a few commissions I started wrapping the edges of my boards with scrap papers using medium or any kind of glue.  

It just gives such a nice finish. 

Side view

My preference is to hang them with command velcro type picture hangers....

not the hanger you see here.

Paper Tubes: Part Three

Subtitle: Using Our Senses

I visited Bessie the hackmatack tree today. I kind of feel like a mom when I visit....watching these little pine needles grow up.  

This time I touched the needles and was completely surprised at how they felt. I expected them to be stiff and rigid like most pine needles....but they were a soft as a makeup brush.

I think she's just beautiful! 

And now I know she's soft and beautiful.

I submitted my homework project for Using Our Senses week for the Conscious Creativity course yesterday. I got out the old Shupe family typewriter for my cover page.....I just love all the sounds that they make and the feel of the keys and I smiled all the way through making the video.  I messed up a few times so had to make several passes at it but finally got it. I wanted another typewriter video at the end...but something happened to the ribbon and it stopped typing. Figuring that out is another day. 

This is the first page.....and in the reel it's a video of me typing the cover.

And this is the last page....with videos of  making the pickled vegetables in between. The sounds are great! It was certainly a sensory celebration!

If you're interested you can check out my project here on my Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/p/C63u0KuLutk/  

This is the last week of the course...and it's shadow week!  I love shadows!  

Paper Tubes Part Three:

Just a quick step for today....painting the edges. This is something that Ellen taught me...and I still do it. I remember her saying that everything looks better with a frame.  And these little gold tips just seem to finish off the tube while giving it a little bling.  Clearly...it's completely optional.

I've tried all kinds of gold pens....and they all work. But this is the one I like the best. Once it's primed, it's very juicy so covers well. It does take a minute to dry so be careful about that. 

I just dab the ends and draw a little line around the end. They don't have to be perfect.  

This is a corner of a mirror I covered in indigo magazine tubes.

I think the gold really makes a difference setting off the blues and celebrating the transitions.

Painting the edges is another one of those 

mindfully mindless things I do while watching TV.

Just Me and My Moms

Happy Mother's Day!  Some of us are mothers....and we all had/have one! Some of are lucky to have more than one!

I heard from both my sons...and spent the day joyfully puttering. What could be better than that! 

And I picked myself a little spring bouquet.  

  

I get a little sentimental on Mother's Day....and I think I post this photo every year. It's the only photo I have or even know of that's just me and my mom. She died back in 1988 when I was just 29 years old.

I have wonderful memories of my mom...but not as many as I would like. I wished I knew her longer while I was an adult.  She was pretty busy when I was young raising nine children on a farm.

I wrote about one of my favorites memories here:  https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-dining-room-light.html

I also cherish this photo...four generations.  Three moms and a boy.

I'm so lucky to have another mother...and several mother figures scattered throughout my life.  I love having my mother-in-law Margie nearby....she fills in all the gaps and cracks that this daughter needs filled.

I do have several photos of just me and my other mom....and they make me smile.

Happy Mother's Day Margie!

Paper Tubes: Part Two

Subtitle: Pickled Vegetables

The theme this week for the Conscious Creativity class has been Using Our Senses.  Philippa let us know that this would mostly be an in the moment awareness experience...and a bit hard to capture into a tangible class project. My days this week have been enriched by being aware using all my senses....and Philippa gave us plenty of ideas to help us along. 

I have fiddled with several possible projects....but I abandoned most of them and latched on to a couple late in the week ideas that I'm now turing into my Instagram reel.  Today's part involved pickled vegetables.  

As part of my health journey...I'm eating lots of pickled vegetable.  No sugar....just vinegar, garlic, dill, spices and any vegetables I have on hand.  I fill this jar at least two times a week...and today I filmed and photographed the process and turned it into a sensory celebration.  

It really was crazy fun! It made me so aware of each step including the sounds on the cutting board and the distinctive smells of the spices and vinegar.  

I'll share more photos and a link to my final project once it's posted.

Paper Tubes Part Two: Rolling the Papers

I roll my tubes around a knitting needle....and size of the needle (and the length of your papers) determines the thickness of your tube. I roll it tightly and dab a little glue at the end to secure it.  

I have used various white glues...but I've discovered that a glue stick works pretty well because it grabs pretty quickly and less messy. I just swipe it along the back edge at the far end of the paper before I start  rolling. If I'm using white glue...I add the glue when I get to the end of the roll. You will find what works best for you.

I often use a couple small clothespins to hold it so I can quickly move onto the next tube. They only need to be on for a few seconds...then I just keep moving the clothespins to the next one and pull the tubes off as they dry.

 

It took just a few minutes to roll that little pile from yesterday's post.  

It's one of the mindfully mindless tasks I love so much....the perfect thing to do while I'm watching TV.

You never quite know how the pattern will land until you roll it....so there's kind of a little reveal moment at the end.  Remember what Ida said: It's so fun to see what you think is going to happen and it turns out totally different. Fun!  

Yup!

It's nearly impossible to roll them perfectly....so I trim all the ends. The tube flattens out when you cut them...but you can just pinch it right back out or insert the knitting needle again if you need to. I often do this as I go along...or just have a cutting session. These days I do have to be careful of repetitive hand projects....those darn thumbs of mine!

You end up with all these fun little clippings that there must be a use for.  

This is a pile from another project...and I wouldn't be surprised if I still have them. They actually would be quite pretty in a jar.  

These photos are from a commission project I did years ago for my friend Linda.

I find it helpful to lay the tubes out so I can access my colors as I go. You can see that I do like to stack two next to each other....I think it adds to the interest. Seeing this makes me want to make another one...I think they are scrumptious!