NO Words Needed

I've been working on the last section of my mineral puzzle....and it's all words.

The artist listed all her hand drawn minerals...making it educational and interesting. 

I've been taking my time on finishing this one. 

But there are NO words needed for this fabulous specimen. You can't make this stuff up.....Mother Nature had a sense of humor on this one.

Blues to Purples

Positive people are not ignoring the darkness of this world, they have dragged themselves into the light and are sharing it with you. Donna Ashworth

I'm moving from the blues to the purples in my minerals puzzle....I do a little bit every day. 

The same is true with my rainbow stencil doodle concertina.....I'm moving from the blues to the purples. This has been a fun project for little bursts of time here and there.

Here are a few closeups.....I'm totally enjoying the mixed media approach.

250

Happy 250th birthday to our country....it needs us more now than ever! 

Birthday Wish

may we find courage

to seek joy while we resist

and hold onto hope

I chuckled this morning as I got ready to sort this 3rd bag of puzzle pieces. When I put this 1000 piece Marvelous Minerals puzzle away last time I divided into 4 bags of approximately 250 pieces each. Maybe I did it for Margie (my mother-in-law)....but I'm totally taking advantage of it....250 manageable pieces at a time. And I'm falling in love again with these hand drawn minerals by artist Abigale Kramer....an artist I admire. 

Unusual Request

You can paint a world where humans treat each other and the planet with love, respect, and the creative passion and brilliance we were all born with. Lori Austill

Today's rainbow is brought to you by Philippa Stanton. I just finished her Rainbow Pencils puzzle and I loved every minute. I'm missing two edge pieces....but I'm OK with that because there is beauty in imperfection. And if I'm lucky...they might even turn up. 

I belong to a local Buy Nothing group where people give away things they no longer need and ask for things they do need. Things changing hands without exchanging money is a wonderful thing. I love when a post starts: "Before I buy it new...I'm wondering...."

I've found new homes for several things of my things...and I've responded to several posts with things I had and wasn't using: a space heater, artwork, fabric and craft supplies. Today there was unusual request: pine needles.

Hmmmm we have pine needles in the neighborhood...and I was certain that the condo owners would be thrilled to have some of them raked up. 

I actually recognized the name....Lori Austill, an encaustic artist I met several years ago when I visited her open studio right around the corner. Long story short...I responded to her post...we talked on the phone...I talked to my neighbors and this afternoon I worked with Lori filling a garbage can full of pine needles for her to use as mulch.

Turns out Lori is having another open house in July...and I'm looking forward to stopping by. I absolutely love that this unusual request led to connecting with an artist I admire.

Lori's encaustic work includes a lot of  yummy colors....I was especially drawn to this piece on on her Instagram Page. It's like a dreamy rainbow landscape.

https://www.instagram.com/loriaustill_wax_painting_art/

And because yesterday was the only day in June I forgot to post a rainbow...this second one is brought to you by Ann B. from Lexington. She is in Rome...and these little rainbow prisms are reflecting off the crystals that are hanging in the lobby of her hotel.

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!

It's OK

My morning walk took me by a lovely garden filled with foxglove. 

My photos weren't that great because the sun was too bright....but this closeup made me laugh out loud! Do you know what it reminded me of?

Those dreaded chin hairs! 

 

A week or so ago I started this rainbow puzzle. I sorted the pieces into my box tops and started putting the border together.....and within minutes decided I needed to let this one go.

The pieces didn't fit together easily...making it more or a chore than a joy. So I dumped it all back in the box and added it to my thrift pile. It's OK to stop...and just let it go. 

Someone might like it....so it's in my donation pile.

After that I did these two quick and easy rainbow order puzzles. The first one is a 75 piece mini from Philippa...and second is a 300 Shelfie puzzle from my sister. It's OK to do something easy.

Now I've started this fabulous Pencil Rainbow puzzle from Philippa.

Speaking of Philippa....she posted this photo a week or more ago....doesn't it just ooze joy! And doesn't it look like the artist that assembled this colorful pencil collection! If you want to see what joy looks like in action...check out her video from the same photo shoot: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYnVFelAoO_/

This Happened Today!

Way back in 2011 Ellen, Lynn and I did a year long ABC trading card exchange....it's one of my very favorite art trades! We went through several rounds where we sent a letter to one person...the next letter to the other person and we kept the 3rd. 

We continued this cycle until we made it through the whole alphabet. This was my R card...for Rainbow. It features Ribbon and Ric Rac all in Rainbow Row! 

You can see all the cards here in this post:

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-abc-project.html

I've been watching my Bowman's root plant closely that I got from my sister Nancy.

The airy foliage has had these marvelous slender buds for a couple weeks and I've been waiting for the first one to open. It happened today!  

The blooms are tiny wispy stars that absolutely melt my heart. 

And this happened today too! Once I got started...there was no stopping. Time to shop my stash for another rainbow puzzle! 

Found Rainbows

Because of the Consciously Creative class I took from Philippa Stanton back in 2017 I started collecting found objects. 

These were some of my very first finds....and I happen to have a whole rainbow. I was hooked. There are interesting things out there in the world...and everything has a story and connection to someone you don't know. 

Paul has been helping me for years....this photo was taken in 2020. We're a little more particular these days...but we're still picking up interesting and unusual found objects.

This morning I was working on my rainbow puzzle and got through the pink pretty quickly.

I pulled the Pink Panther and the pink rubber ducky up for a closer look.....and that gave me an idea.

I had to search for a few extra found objects to fill in the full spectrum...but why now have a rainbow on my puzzle table for the month of June! Silly? Yes. But sometimes you just have to be silly and find rainbows.

Makes Me Happy!

I had a lot of rainbow puzzles to choose from in my stash...but this 500 piece button puzzle was the winner this time. I'm really enjoying reworking puzzles I already own. 

I think my favorite thing about this rainbow is that it STARTS with pink. I already have all the pieces laid out in my boxes....so I'm ready to go...and that makes me happy! 

My day kind of got away from me....all in a good way. And the boys are coming for dinner...so it's only going to get better. Having the four of us together makes me happy!

I thought it was time for this bird's eye view of my favorite part of my garden. There are a few plants that are still coming along...but most things are just reaching their prime. I love all the textures and variations of green. That tiny hosta on the left was just a root I found when I was digging.....I tucked it in and it's growing and should get bigger. I do have some teeny tiny ones that won't get bigger. I divided the purple coral bell in the front so it's a bit smaller than usual...but it will grow too! 

One of my very favorite plants is the maidenhair fern. I brought it with me from Lexington...and I've been splitting and spreading it around. The wispy leaves sit on a very slender but sturdy stem and I love the movement in the breeze.

This small condo garden makes me very happy! 

I hope there were things in your day that made you happy.

Restraint?

It was one of those absolutely perfect spring days! I spent all morning outdoors walking and puttering in the gardens and tending the birds and feeders. Then I puttered indoors and even checked a few pesky chores things off the list. I love days like this!

Can I go the whole month sharing some sort of rainbow spectrum I encounter or create each day? I think I can! Especially in June. 

There are times I should show some restraint with the gold splatters. But then again....maybe not! Sometimes they work out better than other times. This was a failed background  texture experiment....so I made up for it in splatters. 

And it looks better trimmed up and mounted. It was too big for one of my cards...so I mounted it on a 5 x 7 piece of cardstock. I wonder if it can be mailed as a post card?

Along with my puzzle gang.....I'm celebrating this fabulous explosion of rainbow color. This Asian Oil-paper Umbrella puzzle was engaging from start to finish. And now I get to start another one!

Lighten the Load

Like many of you...I'm guessing....I've been struggling with the blatant and undeniable corruption on full display in our government right now. It's unconscionable what the President is able to get away with and it's hard to understand and accept the abuse of power. The news is horrific and heavy.....so it's even more important to set it aside and find some joy each day. I still dare to hope that the arc of the moral universe will eventually bend toward justice.

I just finished this fantastic puzzle with all of its colorful and tiny details. 
I loved every minute of it....and it helped lighten the heavy load.

 I'm going the opposite of tiny on the next one...large blocks of bold beautiful color. 
Having some peaceful puzzle time every day brings me joy.

Here's another wonky fabric flower experiment....I mostly like it...but there's room for improvement. I will always enjoy stitching on paper....but too much stitching causes the paper to rip so this time I used fabric for the background. I am at peace when I am playing with bold colors at my sewing machine.

Yellow

We're still in daffodil season....but we've also moved onto forsythia. Yellow...is the color of late April in Maine.

By the time most of you read this I will be on a plane to Minneapolis. I will spend a few days with my sister Nancy then we will drive to southern Iowa and meet up with Marilyn and LaVonn....my other two sisters where we will visit our Aunt Beverly....my mother's only sister. My mother would have been 100 this month....and her sister Beverly is 90.  

So...that means I will focus on family and be fully present with all that will be going on. I hope to post some sort of a joy nugget every day but my postings will likely be late in the evening...or early in the morning. But if I do miss a day here and there....you'll know why.

I love being home. But I also love spending time with friends and family. I hate to miss one minute of spring in my yard and neighborhood...but I will get to celebrate it in other people's yards and neighborhoods...and that's exciting.

I'm also leaving behind this fabulous Craft Cupboard puzzle...but it will be here when I get back. There's a lot going on....so it's a bit tedious....but it's quite fun.

I put together a little hostess gift....and I had just the right card.

I think the final line of stitching changed everything!

I'll see you in Minneapolis!

Behind The Scenes

I was out and about almost all day today...so I'm going to use this opportunity to give a little behind the scenes of The Traveling Flowers. 

But I'll start with another patch of crocus....that's still mostly all we have for spring color so I pause every time I see some.

And I did finish this 100 Great Words puzzle during breakfast!

Kudos to this puzzle maker for this hodgepodge of interesting words.

Several days ago Cherie sent a few photo of the trunk of her car...with all its precious cargo. It's all part of the story of Chuck's generosity so I wanted to include them here. She and Dale have several of her dad's flowers in the car but you can see only my yellow ones. That's because Chuck makes all the flowers so the blooms can screw off for easy transporting and storage. How clever is he! 

There are flowers for a few people...and a new design for Cherie for her garden that I hope to see a photo of at some point. Also..she has several of Chuck's plaid shirts that she's going to turn into a quilt..and of course she'll look for interesting tags.

 This set of red ones were handed off to friends in Oklahoma.

The Traveling Flowers made it all the way to 

O'Fallon, Illinois today. Not only are Cherie and Dale visiting their friend Rita...but the flowers are visiting friends too. These are an earlier version of Chuck's flowers that they are hanging out with.

 Yesterday I mentioned the Rt 66 Mid Point...but forgot to plot it. 

It's there now in Texas along with the new destination for today!