Handkerchiefs

 Winter is hanging on here in Maine.

I thought these were snowdrops...but my plant app tells me they're winter daffodil. Either way....they'll be just fine. 

I enjoyed the comments and conversation about tatting after yesterday's post. Linda shared this comment: 

I saw my first tatting as a school child - the lady janitor was sitting and tatting in quiet corner in our elementary school once and I happened by. I was fascinated as she was shuttle tatting lace edging on a handkerchief. She was friendly and kind and let me watch for a couple of minutes before shooing me onward. Stuck with me for many years. 

I couldn't love Linda's memory more. These were Dorothy's handkerchiefs....with their tatted edging.

Dorothy was a school teacher....and apparently it was proper to give your teacher a handkerchief as a gift at the end of the school year. Dorothy made her own...but she was gifted many more. After she died her handkerchiefs were spread out on a table at a family reunion...and we all got to pick several. 

I chose the tatted ones...and a few others that were hand embroidered. I've used some of them over the years in projects...but I still have several that I'm holding onto.

I adore Dorothy's handkerchiefs...but I think they aren't doing any good being stored in a drawer. I think they should be used and shared.

Rosey's Art

We woke up to 2-3 inches of snow...and it was almost gone by noon. It was lovely for a while in the early morning light.

And it ended up being a beautiful day to be downtown for the protest.

Tracking tells me that Diane got her journal today! Phew! 

She included two coloring sheets that her granddaughter Rosey had done and I tried to think of clever ways to include them. One of them was a snowman that I folded into a zine and tucked it into a pocket. But first...I added a little texture. I placed stencils under the snowman and used the side of crayons to do some rubbings. Such an easy things to do with kids! 

If you use this technique on heavier paper...you can watercolor over it and the crayon acts as a resist giving a wonderful batik-like effect. You can see an example of that on the box top in this post.

I folded it into a zine...and I tucked it in the other side of the cornfield pocket.

It was serendipitous that this page of the zine looks like a landscape! 

Diane and her granddaughter could continue to add things to the zine. Or make another one!

I forgot about the other coloring sheet until after the book was assembled....but I still wanted to do something with it.

This one was a large Christmas ornament...and in the end I trimmed off the hanger and turned the other side into a color wheel using my own catalog images.

Diane and Rosey could add their own images to the wheel and 

do more coloring or glueing to the other side.

The color wheel would have made a fabulous page to include in the journal...but all I could do at the point was fold it and tuck it into the back. Maybe one of the next journals will get a color wheel page....or at least a round page!

One last beautiful downtown cloud photo....Mother Nature's art!

Joy Journal Project Update

We had three or four inches of snow overnight....it was just lovely when I woke up. But we hit almost 50 degrees this afternoon so the new snow melted quickly. We still have HUGE piles of snow everywhere.....but spring was in the air! 

I headed out to find some joy in the snow this morning and this was my favorite shot of the day!

The fresh snow on the branch...along with the melting and freezing ice under the branch made me giddy.

The long ribbon shadows on the pond were awe inspiring!

I've had several productive days in the studio....but these journals take time. I'm still having fun....and I appreciate your patience. There are also lots of other life things that pull me away from the studio....all good.

I do enjoy the opportunity to personalize these blue and white journals a bit. Dotty wanted pockets for poems....and pockets she got!

I also love the process of getting acquainted with papers and ephemera you send me.....and enjoy figuring out how to honor them. Margaret wanted spaces and places for her own sketching and watercolor.....but she sent quite a few printed papers. But I mixed plain papers in where I could.

This hydrangea was her own watercolor that she made into cards. It's what she wrote the note on to me...so that handwritten note is on the back. I do love when I have an opportunity to cut something out along one edge....and I think her hydrangea is pretty against the blue and white paper she provided. 

The last few days I've been working on Susan's....and it's nearly done.

Here's an official Joy Journal Project update....the first 9 have been mailed:

1. and 2. Judy, two test journals with her own papers

3. Marilyn, with her own papers

4. Linda, blue and white journal winner

5. Lily, blue and white

6. Debbie L, blue and white

7. Dotty, blue and white

8. Margaret, blue and white and her own papers

9. Anne, blue and white

10. I am finishing up Susan's with her own papers. 

11. I'm ready to start Diane's with her own papers.

Next in line:

12. Cherie sent me a few of her own papers and some other fun things I'll be sharing soon.

13. Debbie C., blue and white but she also sent me several of her own papers so I'm holding off on hers for now. Thanks for being patient Debbie.

Kristin chose a cyanotype print instead of a journal and it has been mailed.

I'm still waiting on contact information in an email from Mary Ann if she still wants a blue and white journal:  joyfulputtering@gmail.com

I know of at least two or three of you who might still send me papers. My Joy Journal Project will be ongoing for a while...so there's plenty of time. I will get to them all eventually! 

For any of you who are new to the blog or want more information about this project...here's the original Joy Journal Project offer

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2026/01/hidden-in-my-joy.html

I have come to understand that some people might not have papers to send. I am willing to make a journal out of my papers in a color scheme of your choice. 

I am also aware that some people may not want to use their journal for art. Your journal doesn't have to have blank pages...it just can be a pretty book to tuck things into pockets. If you have questions...please email me at joyfulputtering@gmail.com

It Can Get Better!

There's nothing quite as pretty as fresh snow on the bare trees against the blue sky. We got about 5 inches overnight and are expecting 6 or 8 more inches on Monday! Winter is not over! 

I'm plugging away at the blue and white journals in between life things. I do have all the covers done....so now it's time to start assembling the insides.

I have a fun follow up on yesterday's post. On Dotty's cue...I agreed that it couldn't get any better than making these little journals. 

But actually...it can. 

Because of some of generous donations from some journal recipients I was able to buy 14 bath towels...several hand towels and pile of washcloths for Maine Needs. I washed and dried them all today so they would be ready to use. I'm doing a shift with Anne on Tuesday...and I'm looking forward to taking them in. 

Now really....it doesn't get better than this! 

Just as a reminder, I am not asking for donations for this journal project...just help with postage. But I am very grateful for the chance to buy more needed items. 

5 x 7 Journal

I'm excited about the interest so far in the Joy Journal Project....it will be fun to get my first envelope of papers.

I wanted to take a minute and remind you that I need to manually publish a comment before it goes on the blog....allowing me weed out the spam. Also, blogspot is being finickly and sometimes doesn't let me respond directly to a comment and as of today it's not even letting make a separate comment. I don't know what the problem is...but could be my ancient computer. Yikes! I am able to get your comments and publish them so please know that I read every one.

Be patient with me on comments and if you want to contact me about the project please email me. Or you can just send your papers. I will always reply to your comments if I can. If you haven't heard from me it's because I'm having trouble with that feature. I continue to love any feedback and conversions. 

OK...enough of that admin stuff! 

Paul found joy in the snow as he headed off to snowshoe in the woods. 

I got out for walk too....and was quite impressed with some of our snow piles We did get 15 inches of snow in this last storm! 

I made a loop around the pond....it was fun plowing through the deep snow.

As promised...here's a glimpse inside Judy's 5 x 7 journal.

I have come to understand that the cover of a journal is pretty important...it sets the tone for what's inside. I'm excited about coming up with different techniques for the covers letting the papers lead the way.

Judy included three cards which coordinated well. It took a bit of nerve...but I randomly cut them up into chunks and created a patchwork quilt adding in just a few of my own papers. 

There is a neutral bookpage collage on the back of the cover and I folded the papers around to the front to cover the edge. I reinforced the spine and button closure spot with fused fabric on the front. It looks pretty sad at this point...but it all got covered with the beautiful cards. I wasn't worried...but I sure could have been.

I used an advertising flyer that comes with our weekly circular mailing...it was just the right weight for the substrate. I love using recycled materials and the fact that the word "toilet" is under the cover is our little secret now. 

I attached the papers onto the front with a glue stick overlapping them just a bit to create the patchwork quilt. I love the bit of fabric peeking out on the spine. I was pleased with how well it worked out.

I took it to the sewing machine and stitched around the all edges. I wasn't concerned if I went over a line twice...I just kept sewing until all the edges were stitched. 

Here's a little glimpse at some of the pages inside the journal. 

I like varying the sizes and shifting the pages off just a bit creating visible layers. Judy can add things on each of the pages that will peak through to tie them in even more. The pink flower is the rest of the card from the cover which I fussy cut along one edge.

I thought this green papercut was lovely....

so I left it just as it was so it became its own page.

I added some lined notebook paper from my stash

which works well for quotes or doodling. 

Graph paper is good to include I love that the pine tree is still peeking through.

This lovely translucent paper is a little pocket.

I liked the interesting way these papers lined up.

And I do love using some of the scraps!

Joy in the Snow

I'm not big on blog stats. I used to pay more attention because it was interesting at first....but now I'm driven much more by feedback, comments and interactions with readers. The stats are mostly driven by one time clicks where someone is exploring something they saw on Pinterest. But I guess that's a thing too....thinking that one of my images or creations ends up on Pinterest....then captures someone's attention.

I spent the morning with Kelly...and she told me that she was searching for art ideas for her middle school students on Pinterest and clicked on an image that took her to Joyful Puttering. She chuckled...and thought she would close her computer and go right to the source. We had a delightful morning talking about art....and she went home with more supplies.

That's what drives me.

That's what brings me joy.

 

But....as of today I have had over 1,000,000 clicks/views on this Joyful Puttering blog. I guess that's a thing too....and it kind of blows my mind.

We had a few inches of snow yesterday....and the world looks fresh and new. I absolutely love zooming in to see how the snow settles onto surfaces.

If you choose not to find joy in the snow you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow. 

I found joy in the snow today.

White Christmas

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

I was dreaming of a white Christmas!

Quiet Joy

Joy doesn't have to be flashy and loud. Most of the time it's subtle and quiet and hidden in ordinary moments.

I had an appointment early this morning.....and while I sitting in the waiting room I was making a photo montage for Alyson of some photos I took during yesterday's snow. As I zoomed in on this winterberry branch...there is was. 

It's not completely in focus...but a sweet little star-shaped snowflake is balancing on top of this tuft of snow.

This was my favorite photo. I love the textured blurry background and the fact that I caught a few falling snowflakes. That prompted me to embellish it a bit with a few more digital snowflakes. Doing simple....quiet things like this bring me joy.

Breath in the tragic details coming to light of the recent shootings,

breath out hope that things can change.

And look for quiet moments of joy while we wait.

Common Good

Where there is love there is life. Where there is courage, there is hope. Mahatma Gandhi

There's that pairing of hope and courage again. They seem to go hand in hand....especially these days. 

A few days ago I quoted Jonas Salk...who developed the first successful polio vaccine. It was the same day I shared the photo montage of Patty's front garden in the snow....and she and I have exchanged a few emails since.

Patty is active in Rotary and one of their major goals is the complete eradication of polio. Patty's husband Reid and his brother Tom were personally vaccinated by Jonas Salk in 1952 after their mother died of the disease in 1950. Here are some interesting things Patty shared with me about Jonas Salk. 

Salk never profited personally from the vaccine. He chose not to patent the vaccine or seek any profit from it in order to maximize its global distribution. Six pharmaceutical companies were licensed to produce the polio vaccine, and Salk did not profit from sharing the formulation or production processes.

In a 1955 interview, when asked by by television personality Edwin R. Murrow, who owned the patent, he replied: "Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?"

Jonas Salk is a shining example of someone selflessly working for the common good. 

Kathy commented on my little reindeer in yesterday's photo...and I thought I would give a closer look. He's one of my favorite little Christmas creatures and he makes me smile.

It was super cold today....and the only time I stepped outside was to feed the bluebirds. The photo montage above is one I sent to Alyson from that very first snow several days ago. 

Where there is love, there is life. Where there is courage, there is hope.