Unfurl

Where did this day go? Some days are like that! 

But don't you just love the playful way black-eyed Susans unfurl? I know I do!  

   

 

I thought I would share of my favorite photo montages from Alyson.

It's a curling and unfurling montage!

And here something curly from the past. Starting in 2024 I worked on a tag project....making little collages on a set of tags gifted to me from Roseann. I loved these mini collage projects....and I do have another set...so maybe I'll revive it!

All those posts are here. https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search/label/tag%20project

Tiny Bits of Hope

Although I still have faith that ultimately the arc of the moral universe will bend towards justice.....on a day to day basis there are only tiny bits of hope in the news. 

In many of my Words of Encouragement kits I sent along tiny hope tags.

Once I attach a phrase to a tag...I cut it to fit and am using up the short cut-offs for just one word: hope, love, joy or peace.

I sent several of them to Dotty...and this one hangs on her husband Dave's pen holder on his desk.

And these two little cut-offs were too small to punch a hole...but big enough for a tiny hope. 

They live on the laps of these little replicas of Dotty's mom and dad sitting on an adorable little bench. 

And just look at that adorable itty bitty bird! 

In between things today I added this tiny hope on a tag I created for my old tag project.  Other tags can be seen here. The ring is actually kind of full...so I'm calling this project complete! 

Ending my old tag project with a tiny bit of hope from my new tag project seems just right.

Half Full

There was an amazing strip of delicate ice lace by our front door.  I tried to photograph it in place....but couldn't get the right angle.  When I tried to pick it up....it broke in half.  

But I'm thinking of this as a glass half full moment rather than half empty....and marveling at how beautiful this tiny chunk of ice was with the morning sun as the backdrop.

Fusing 101 lesson #6: Motifs...finally!  

You can construct motifs on release paper from small pieces of pre-fused fabric  overlapping and fusing the pieces and parts.  Once you're done...you can peel off the motif as one unit and fuse it to something else.

Here I fused two strips together....

peeled it off the paper and cut it into a leaf. 

I keep referring back to my year of Folt Bolt projects....because every single project was mostly fused.

The September seed pod inspired piece had several  motifs....and it started with a pile of pre-fused fabrics.    

The plant pot is made from individual strips of hand dyed fabric assembled on release paper.  And the snake plant leaves and lotus pod motifs were preassembled with a combination of hand dyed and batik fabrics.  

 

There weren't a lot of process photos for that project...so I decided to construct a quick fused motif this afternoon...and make a tag.  It's been a while since I've made a tag....and I do love this little ringed gallery of quick little art pieces using whatever I have on hand at the moment.

With the latest tag beside me for color inspiration and flow....I created a fused fabric motif of a pinwheel design.  

I was determined to just pull from my vast supply of small scraps...and started with one triangle.  I didn't want to overthink it....I just added one triangle at a time using a variety of colors and fabrics.

I kept adding.....

....and adding.... 

...until I worked my way around the circle.

Once it was cool....I could peel it off the release paper and as one whole unit/motif. Rather than cutting it round...I left the uneven ends.

Although I auditioned a couple of centers....I ended up not loving my choice.  

In hindsight I should have paid more attention to how the the center came together so I wouldn't have needed one at all.

I was able to peel the purple off....but then I really had to cover up the mess I made. 

I'm not sure I love it...but I'm going with the glass half full again...and celebrating finally getting a lesson in on motifs!  Cheers!

All my tags can be seen here: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search/label/tag%20project

I Love To Putter

It's not news that I am easily distracted.  I come across something interesting and I just want to play. I love to putter....because it brings me joy. 

In my search for painted papers to cut up I found an experiment I did a while ago with Woody Stabilo water soluble pencils. I stopped everything...cut it up...and made a little tag.

The process of making the print was simple....and the results were mixed. But when I cut up a so-so piece of art...it becomes an opportunity to create something new. 

To make the paper I spritzed a little water on my gelli plate...drew swirls with the Stabilo pencils....then pulled the print.  The amount of water was the key to success...it was trial and error and I just had to experiment.

When I added a little heart....it became an Art Heart Tag....and I love it. And doesn't it flow nicely from the last tag?  THAT...makes me happy.

Starting tomorrow...I'm going to begin talking about how I might be able to help you with your joyful puttering. Stay tuned.

And by the way....this fantastic Philippa Stanton puzzle is done

...and it was an absolute joy from start to finish!

In Motion

I've got at least a half dozen projects in motion right now.....I'm having trouble keeping them straight.  There are piles all over the studio...and it would probably be a good idea to focus on just one...or even two.  But that's not Wanda's way.

If that last line doesn't make sense....you can read this post.  The whole quote about Wanda's way is at the end of the link.  For better or worse....Wanda's way...is my way: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2023/03/mediocrity.html

More common ground with Wanda:

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2023/03/back-to-mud.html

There are a few things finished...or nearly finished.  I made a little tag from a pan pastel print. It was a simple circular design that I didn't necessarily love....but once I added the white swirl everything changed.

I added asemic writing around the edge with a paint pen.  I know what I was thinking when I wrote it...but it's unreadable.  

The back is commercial paper that I tinted with pan pastels....getting good use out of Roseanne's gift. There's a lot on my mind.

I couldn't get this idea out of my head until I tried...and it's one of the things in progress. It may end up in the art journal.....I think it could be pretty cool with a quote along these lines.

I stitched strips of the pan pastel prints together on thin interfacing using decorative stitches on my machine.  Then I filled in some of the spaces in the stitching with white paint. 

     

I love these little bottles with the pins.....you can get a nice dimensional dot of paint with them....and great swirls.

I keep Art Glitter Glue in one (new favorite)...and slightly diluted white paint in the other.  I had to add the washi tape around the glue...because I've gotten them mixed up before.  These bottles are easy to squeeze and they don't clog....very often.

You can see in the background of the bottle photos that I have a heart project going on too.

I've got an idea in motion that's got me playing around with all kinds of hearts. More on that soon...ish.

Favorite Embellishment

My sister-in-law Alyson sent me this quote a few days ago...and it has resonated with me ever since.

"I have no major goals for this year; no deep desires to do more/become more/achieve more; no big lists of things to accomplish. All I want is to create and nurture more attention and presence in all I do/am. I want to be here...really be here. I want to notice, see, listen, touch, feel, taste, witness, experience. I want to take it all in. Savor the pain and the beauty. Do one thing at a time. Share from curiosity and inspiration. Hold as much value for the single drip as I do for the ocean. Assign deep meaning to moment-to-moment living. Unravel from the pressure the systems we live place up us to morph into machines instead of soften into our humanity.  

I want to spend less energy striving for an upgraded life and more energy fully living the life I already have." The Hoodwitch

Yes!

Several weeks ago I picked up some frosty scruff grass along the road.  

I wasn't sure if it would completely die back in the cold of the winter and I knew I wanted a little bit for printing. And at some point...maybe sooner than later it's going to be under some snow.

Today was the first day in awhile I didn't have multiple things on my calendar...so it was a puttering day....a little of this and a little of that. 

It felt good to be back in the studio...but I also felt a bit paralyzed.  So many choices...I wasn't really really sure what to do first. I felt out of practice. Then I saw the grass....so started with the gelli plate.  I made several prints....and here are just a couple.  I kept it simple....but it was a good place to start.

That led me to a tag....a good way to ease back into things. The colorful fish scales dressed up a simple grass print and helped it flow nicely from the last tag.

Fish scales may be my favorite embellishment lately.

Baubles and Orbs

I haven't done much puttering in my studio lately....I know more creative time will come after Christmas and I'm looking forward to that.  Right now...I'm choosing other things. But yesterday I was compelled to make a simple little tag to honor the season.

I cut these little baubles out of a catalog several weeks ago and they've been hanging around the studio ever since....pun intended.  I appreciate the non traditional colors....and they remind me of the bowl of ornaments at Margie's.

I knocked down the sheen on the image with matt medium and used metallic paper strips for the background. I glued on the baubles and added a little texture with a tiny bit of white paint. It's bright and happy.

Speaking of baubles....I thought I would re-share a project I did a year ago during a free class by Esté MacLeod called Creative Circle.  

I wrote about my process here:

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2022/12/layered-bauble-wreath.html

I had a lot of fun making this wreath....and now that I look at it again....it reminds me of the colors in Margie's baubles too!

I do love baubles....but I think marbles are my favorite orb....and the subject of Christmas Moment #17.  

Every winter I put lights in my bowl of art marbles....and they come on every day from 4:00 to 10:00.

There are some beautiful handmade marbles here...one has a silver star in the center...and one is filled with liquid and has colorful bits and bobs floating inside.  

I'll enjoy this non traditional Christmas Moment glow all winter long.

Blobs and Doodles

I'm not sure where I saw this...but it made me chuckle.

How to stay on top of housework when you have a craft room: 
1.  You can't.
2. Find a new dream.

I made another little tag....this time I used a few of the watercolor blob flowers I did while I was away with an injured thumb. There is improvement...btw...but one wrong move sets me back a bit so I'm still wearing two braces almost all the time. 

The back of the tag is a little watercolor doodle from the same painting session.

A couple evenings ago while I watched TV....I painted some larger watercolor blob flowers then did some doodling....it's a little wild. 

It's about 8x10...and I'll probably cut up because smaller parts are much better than the whole. 

Then I can knock down the  neon color a bit with some translucent white paint and possibly make other improvements.

Pieces and parts can be used for a variety of things: something in my art journal...tags...or cards. We'll see....but these blobs and doodles were fun.

I like when people ask me questions....and Dotty asked about my Christmas wreath....so I thought I'd share how I put it together.  

I bought a 20 inch plain green wreath at a local garden center along with the gold bow.  I generally go for a red bow...but this one spoke to me this year. I do reuse my bows....so this was a bit of a splurge.

I love real winterberry....and have used it several times in my outside decorating.  But it doesn't last...and ends up being a bit of a mess.  So I'm always in search of outdoor sprigs and stems that can withstand the weather.  Most red berries are covered foam that just fade and fall apart.  I'm constantly carefully squeezing fake berries when I seem them to see what they're made of.

What works for me is hard plastic berries...which are indestructible.  I found this garland several years ago and this is two pieces tied together that I simply wrapped around the wreath.  Easy peasy!

All the berries in my urn are also hard plastic that I've used over and over.