Doodling with Dolly

While watching a PBS special on Dolly Parton this afternoon (which I recommend)....I added some simple collage elements to my indigo/purple page in my concertina. I'm not sure I'm done...and it may be hard to even tell what I did...so I included the before photo. The color difference is just the difference in time of day in the backyard.

I wanted to soften some of the purple....so I added black and white lettering accents I cut from a catalog. And of course....a few white dots with a paint pen. Never leave me alone with a paint pen.

When I'm filling in a space with paper or fabric...I use tracing paper to draw a pattern. I place it on top of my chosen filler...and cut it out.

I auditioned this black and white pattern and didn't like it...so used the same pattern to cut out the words that ended up in the space. They were softer and more subtle. Dolly Parton was soft....but certainly not subtle! She was a force to be reconned with.

A Little Help From a Friend

Subtitle: Bobbing in the Breeze

I told Judy I would share a Devilsbit bloom when it was fully open...so here it is! The blooms are tiny puffs of purple on very long stems...so they bob in the breeze making them hard to photograph without holding them still.  I was snapping away trying to hold them still....when all of a sudden I got a little help from a friend. 

The minute the bee landed on another bloom it came into focus without my thumb needing to be in the photo. Isn't it nice to have a little help from a friend!

The plant itself is pretty nondescript. The leaves are low to the ground and kind of scraggly...so not a handsome plant which is usually a requirement for being in my garden. But I love the blooms...and it's tucked in a corner garden by the the patio with all my hummingbird plants. Our tiny friends are bulking up for their migration...so frequenting the feeders and the flowers. 

If you look closely at this photo just above and to the left of the fragrant flowers sign is a green hummingbird with the white neck that was feeding all afternoon as I sat outside to read...write and doodle a few days ago.

And there you can see the tall spiky...and and oh so precious Devilsbit blooms....bobbing in the breeze. 

Here's the scrappy base of the plant nested and hidden among all the other plants. 

Speaking of purple....here's what I was doodling....the last couple of panels in my rainbow concertina. My goal over the next few days is to add some collage elements...either in fabric or paper before I do any more doodling or painting. Here's a view of the whole thing.

And here's what I was rereading....and just finished. 

Paul headed to Colorado this morning. He'll spend tonight with his sisters...Alyson and Liz, and our nephew Langston. Tomorrow he'll wake up to "Still the Best Morning of the Year"....the title of the Epilogue he wrote for the book. It will be the start of a wonderful week in the Wilderness of Friendship. He'll most certainly be getting a little help from his friends! 

I wrote about the book here in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2026/08/something-to-celebrate.html

Don't You Love It!

Making progress....and enjoying every minute. Here's how it started.

I'm halfway.

Don't you love it when things like this happen!

And don't you love it when a surprise comes in the mail! Linda D. sent me this fabulous Kaffe Fassett puzzle. It's going to be a challenge...but I'm up for it. I recognize...and have many of the fabrics. I just started one...but this one will be waiting in the wings. Linda was the recipient of my blue and white joy journal giveaway....and once she finished it she payed the joy forward to her daughter. Don't you just love that! 

It's a Start!

It's not about being good at creativity, it's about creativity being good for you! 

Marita and I took a walk this morning and came across this amazing wildflower garden filled with Sweet William. It stopped us in our tracks.

Every shade of pink was represented!

Speaking of pink....I got a start on my concertina....and it probably won't surprise you that I am going to work through the full color spectrum. I started with PINK (for Kimberly).....and am transitioning to red. I'm thinking I might add a little white and/or black to that overpowering pink background. So far I have used fabric, watercolor, colored pencil, a couple black pens, alcohol markers and pages from a book and catalog. 

I just finished the red in my rainbow puzzle....and am transitioning to orange.

I think this counts as my rainbow for today!

Look what I got in the mail... a lovely handmade tag from Roseanne. It will certainly find a good home in one of my journals! Thanks Roseanne!

Summer Project

Butterfly Weed is one of my very favorite early summer plants to watch. I don't have one...but there's one in our neighborhood that I walk by almost every day. 

Every single stage is so special. The tight green buds turn to bright orange balls which open to fabulous flowers with tiny yellow centers. It makes my heart sing. 

I acquired a large watercolor pad from a friend and cut and folded a couple of concertina/accordion books a while back. I have several things in mind....but it was time to do something with one of them. Completely inspired by an Instagram post by Connie Fong I used my stencils to trace overlapping designs on one side.

I wondered whether I wanted to color....paint or doodle....so I decided to all three.  I'm also going to add collage and fabric elements. It's going to be a quiet...ongoing summer project.

This was a collage I did back 2024 for Color week of the Conscious Creativity Class with Philippa Stanton. I love it enough to revisit the wonky technique.