A Day Like This

It seemed especially important to be downtown at the protest on a day like this when our out of control President has gotten us into a war without the consent of Congress or support from the American people.

Everyday...America seems to get deeper and deeper in crisis....and these upside down flags were a clear reminder of that. She almost blew away.

So on a day like this it's nice when I can celebrate some unexpected joy. Linda D. sent me an envelope full of stamps from her childhood collection because she thought they might be useful in my joy journal project....and I think they will be. 

I don't know what was more fun...the pile of stamps on the table....or the lineup of stamps on Linda's envelope.

A few stood out right away....on a day like this.

The butterfly effect

Peace dove

CARE: An organization that has been around for 80 years helping families in times of crisis.  

And just look at this lovely handmade card from Roseanne!

We all need a little joy on a day like this! 

Thank you Linda and Roseanne!

One Day At A Time

"How do you do it? said night. How do you wake and shine?  

I keep it simple, said light. One day at a time."  Harry Baker

One of my mail goals today was to make and get a birthday card in the mail to my sister-in-law Alyson. It needed to be creative and unique....just like her.  

Last year I made her an itty bitty bird book that fit inside a matchbox and included photos she had taken of curls in the gardens in her neighborhood.  Alyson continues to love birds....I'm still cutting birds from a bird book she gave me.....and she had given me a little pile of stamps that she had acquired from her grandmother.  So I put the two together along with scraps of this and that and made her a snippet roll birthday card wrapped around an old spool.

(The link above is one side of the itty bitty bird book....and this is the other side.)

The paper on the top and bottom of the spool was cut from the liner paper from an old book. I thought it made for an attractive vintage label.

I glued the snippets on a strip of adding machine paper and did two stitch lines to make things more secure. I included stamps she gave me that she had gotten from her grandmother.

I glued one end on the spool....and stitched a piece of silk ribbon to the other end so it could be tied for closure. Finally....I wrote a little message on the back.

I'm not sure she reads the blog....so I think it's OK to post this.  But Alyson...if you are reading this.....HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!  Here's a little glimpse of what's on its way to Denver. I know you have mastered the art of taking one day at a time!

Nancy's Box

My box from Nancy was almost exclusively things from Angie....and I loved it all.  

Nancy also is the one who scooped up this yellow gumball machine from Angie's home....one of the things I requested.  She included all the marbles that were in the gumball machine in this box.....and we'll figure out how I'm going to get the gumball machine another time.

The rest of the box included some vintage spools and a lot of Angie's snippets and writing.  Angie wrote a lot of stuff down: quotes, stories, songs, recipes, game instructions....and on and on. She had little sketches and works of art that were started but never finish....and she saved everything. 

Her handwriting is amazing and sometimes so tiny and precise it's hard to believe it's handwritten. I know these papers will be interesting to read through....but they will also be fun to use for art projects.

This little scrap made me smile.  On one side was a shopping list: dust mop, plastic tac, board for map, pins for map, M&M's and film....but it was the other side that cracked me up.

"We were never meant to face our problems alone...that's why we have M&M's."  

I sent this back to Nancy wrapped around a bag of M&M's.  

But maybe my favorite thing in the box was Angie's collection of stamps.  There were a few vintage stamps....but mostly years and years of her tearing off the stamped corners of things she got in the mail.  I've actually been doing that this past year for the first time.....and I love that we have this common ground.  

It's hard to explain how much I love this collection.....and I"m going to come up with interesting ways to use them.

Some of Angie's handwritten pages had gotten damp....and the ink was a little blurry with runny ink.  But that just makes them more interesting....and all part of the story.  

I did a little experiment this afternoon....starting with punched squares glued onto a piece of cardstock.

And this is where I ended up.  I printed the leaf design using a stencil on my gelli plate. The background printing was all a lovely green gold color. 

It was a little bland.....so I added thin layers of paint to some of the squares to add interest and  then outlined the leaves. I tried watered down acrylic and watercolor and I wanted the words to continue to show through.  I'm not sure I got it right...but I think the concept is interesting.  

Next time I'm going to add color to some of Angie's pages on the gelli plate before I cut them up.  I think that will give better color and coverage. I may have to try a few this evening....or I won't be able to sleep.

And low and behold....there on one of the little squares was a little "joy"....I hadn't noticed that until I was gluing down the squares. You just never know where joy is going to turn up.  

Lots of fun things from Angie.....in Nancy's box.