Intentions

"Set Intentions Not Resolutions...our intentions create our reality."

I came across this quote on Pinterst...it originated here.  I'm terrible at making and keeping resolutions....but setting intentions...I think I can handle that.

I intend to doodle, color and collage more!

I've learned a little structure is good for me...so I'm going to follow prompts from a variety of resources like this book, online workshops, and Pinterest.

My first doodle session was a page of "sunshine circles" inspired by Lisa Condon on the Creativebug website. I included a few fused fabric circles and cutouts from my favorite "Sun Stars and Moon" calendars.

Who doesn't need a little sunshine in their day!

Favorite Things

Paul and I hosted a dinner party tonight....and that means I spent most of the day either cooking or tending to my house.  And when I clean and putter around the house I take notice of some of my favorite things.

I love this funky green bowl filled with my art marbles that sits on my coffee table. I know I've mentioned it before...but I enjoyed it again today...maybe you will too.  I have a tiny set of battery operated LED lights in the bottom...it puts off a nice glow in the evening.

I took this picture several years ago....it shows the marbles a little better.

It's a good thing to take notice of some of your favorite things!

Sign of Spring?

Probably not.  But my confused snowdrops at the back door are up and budding. This is what happens when we have strange back and forth weather....it was in the 60's yesterday!

I'm going to enjoy them while I can because before long they'll probably be covered in snow.

Boy Scouts and Birds...

....a connection story. 

You know by now I love a good connection story.  

After I wrote the bowerbird post...my friend Melodee contacted me about her connection to Tim Laman, the photographer of some of the images. Tim is an award winning wildlife photojournalist and has done many articles for National Geographic and published several books. You can check out his website here. 

Another one of Tim's photographs of a
bowerbird with a decorating treasure.

Tim lives here in Lexington and his son and Melodee's son are good friends and fellow boy scouts in the troop that meets right here in our church...Hancock United Church of Christ. Wow! I had no idea!

Tim's photographs are amazing...you can check out an archive of his photos here. You can view the photographs by category...bowerbirds being one of them...but there are many galleries. I was mesmerized!

Tom spent almost 10 years photographing Birds of Paradise in New Guinea...the only place they exist. I hadn't realized how rare and spectacular these birds are...and all so different.



This video is also worth watching...you can see Tim in action.

Here are a couple of his Birds of Paradise photographs...but it's worth checking them all out!

Thanks Melodee for making this great connection.  I thought I was just writing about birds that captured my heart because of their interior decorating skills.  I'm so glad to know more about the amazing artist who photographs them...who has now captured my heart.

I have now properly given all the photographers proper credit in that post.

Someone's trash...

...is my treasure.

I'm always on the lookout for canvases and frames to repurpose and I find them at the Goodwill store, garage sales, and even the trash.  All it takes is a little black paint or gesso and they're good as new.

This rather strange rooster canvas is being reinvented for my wool and button project. I think I paid $1 for it at the Goodwill store.

I'm still tweaking the wool piece...adding one little felted circle at a time...or a button here and there. I may have already crossed the line of "too much" but that's a lesson I may never learn. Some placement mistakes were made along the way that can't be undone....so I'm just hoping for balance at this point. 

Once I'm happy enough with it...I'll attach it to the canvas using gel medium for the center and double sided fabric tape for the edges. 

It may seem like the project that never ends...but I only work on it a little here and there....most of the time it just sits.

My Love Affair...

...with the Bowerbird.  (sorry Paul)

One of the artists I follow on Facebook is Kate Mason. I enjoy her whimsical paintings and illustrations....and of course...the color!



Kate does illustrations for Adelaide's Bowerbird Market. The market's goal is to attract Australian retailers to local artists and crafters. The bowerbird is the perfect symbol for that goal of "attraction." This post could easily be about Kate...and the talented artists at the market....but it's actually about my love affair with the Australian bowerbird.

I saw this BBC video quite some time ago...but never saved it anywhere and kind of forgot about it.  When I read about the Bowerbird Market I searched for and found the video and it rekindled the spark. The video is a old and little rough....but I am still quite taken with the creative habits of this bird.

The male bowerbirds are masters of seduction and interior decorating. They spend hours creating and decorating elaborate bowers...or mating structures to capture the attention of females. 

photo by Mark Chappell

They build their structures out of sticks and decorate with anything they can find they think will lure the females. They are drawn to shiny objects and bright colors....especially blue which is rare in the wild. Once the male bowerbirds have finished their masterpiece...they often do a little dance to lure in the females.

Here are some of their amazing structures I found on line.

Photo found here.

Photo by Tim Laman and can be found here.

Photo by Natalie Doerr and can be found here.

Of course I got hooked and linked into several other videos that were also fun. So if you too have fallen in love with the bowerbird here are a few more videos.  This one was kind of humorous...and this one shows the bower bird raiding picnic sites looking for "blue"...and it gets a little "racy" at the end. 💙

Laugh at Yourself

I laughed out loud when I saw this on Facebook a few days ago.  I've seen other versions of it...but this version hit pretty close to home. 

A couple of weeks ago I was looking for my phone so I did what I usually do....I called it from my land line.  I heard a faint muffled ring... I walked towards it thinking it was coming from upstairs.  I called it again...heard a faint ring...and tried to walk towards it....back down stairs. I checked my purse....coat pockets as I continued to hear the faint ring.  I think I called it 6 times before I realized  it was in my back pocket...with the volume turned down. I laughed out loud at myself. I just hope I keep laughing...because it's just going to get worse!

Photo found on Pinterest

Snow Sprial

We had a lovely little snowstorm yesterday that lasted into the evening here in Lexington. I walked the yard this morning to check things out....I just love the fresh white snow. My favorite moment was the way the snow was clinging to my rainbow spiral windsock. Can you spy it in the picture on the right?

Dress-Up

One of the things I love about this blog is it often takes me on little side journeys. Today I took a little trip down memory lane.

A few days ago I posted a quote called "Dress-Up Box" and I couldn't' stop thinking about my boys and their love of dress-up clothes. That inspired me to flip through the photo albums looking for a few pictures of them in their dress-up clothes. It was just what I needed on a snowy day.

Over the years I made my boys all kinds of costumes, capes and masks for fighting crime as super heroes or causing chaos as a evil villains.  Such creative little boys they were...and in many ways they are still super heroes in their own unique ways.

Nate made a really cute batman!

I love Sam playing this collage of characters....he was a pirate, Superman, and Power Ranger all at the same time.

But my absolute favorite costume...was not from the dress-up box...but from the dresser drawer...underwear on the head and a t-shirt as a "loin cloth?" 

Suit coats, hats, and ties were a favorite of both boys...

....and all it took was a hat and a train whistle to become a conductor. 

Nate went through a Zorro stage....complete with his little home-made hobby horse.  As a matter of fact he loved it so much he hardly ever took it off....even to sleep.  

I also came across this picture of Paul and me at a Halloween party....  

I was Captain Hooker...and Paul The Prince of Tides.  

Who doesn't love a dress-up box!

Stack of Cards

I have a stack of cards ready to send to Margie from her coloring pages. There will be more to come...and I'll keep trying new things. I hope to incorporate some quotes next time...and maybe some stitching.   

Its a little tough cutting into an original coloring page....but I do have the images scanned. And like Margie said....they were just sitting in a drawer....why not use them! And...how special is it to get a card with with the original coloring. I think this page made a couple of pretty cards and there are still some pieces and parts left.

I'm using my favorite glue...I love the fine tip. You only need a tiny bit and it dries really fast. I store my glue upside down in some sort of a jar. And, I keep a big paperclip handy in the jar to keep the tip cleaned out. 

  

All the cards are getting a little tag on the back. Maybe I'll get a little more creative with the tag next time. This one is a little plain. 

These monochromatic pages made a pretty set of cards and I have quite a bit of each page left. 

Here's the group from a few days ago. I'll put it aside for a while 

and make another batch on down the road.  But these will

be on there way soon Margie!

Dressed-Up Box

I love this "Story of the Day" that came through my e-mail a week or so ago....but didn't have a context for it until now. The story is actually called "Dress-Up Box"....but I'm calling this post "Dressed-Up Box."

Emily and me many many years ago.

I recently got an e-mail from Emily with a great story. Emily is my Goddaughter and the daughter of my childhood friend Becky. She participated in a Secret Santa swap at work and realized at the last minute that one of her co-workers was inadvertently left out. If you knew Emily...you would know that something had to be done...and fast.



Using the box-making skills I taught her years and years ago Emily was able to make this "dressed-up" box for her co-worker at the 11th hour.

And...I'm absolutely certain that it was filled with courage, love and play. Way to go Emily! I'm smiling ear to ear!

Dave, my father in law taught me how to make these boxes and you can read about them here.

Holiday Lights

I spent most of the day in Portland, Maine and I was happy to be there late enough into the day to enjoy the holiday lights. It was my first meeting with a realtor as I begin the journey of finding a house to make a long term home. I'm not going to rush it...but I have begun.

My mind is racing with thoughts about houses....and what "home" means to me. It may seem silly...but there is something about the holiday lights of Portland that feel like home.  One thing I know for sure is that "home" is more than just the house.

Photos courtesy of Corey Templeton photography.

Photo courtesy of Bangor Daily News.

Coloring Pages...

...into greeting cards.

I have a whole stack of Margie's coloring pages I'm going to turn into cards for her. I'll make them in batches over time...it felt good to get started this morning. I had taken pictures of all of them but a few days ago I also scanned them into my computer...I think the color is better and most certainly the white parts are whiter. I knew I was going to use the originals too...but the digital version allows me to resize the image.

I'm going to work on them over the next couple of days...but here's a sneak peak at my first few. Here I used the original leaf coloring page...there's enough left for two more cards. I like using a couple layers of card stock borders providing a nice frame.

And here's a digital version of this lovely floral page. I love the idea of using the originals...but there's something really cool about shrinking the image. The already intricate details become even more impressive. The purple border on this card is part of the digital image. Another advantage of the digital version is that you can remake the card over and over. Different color borders would completely change the feel of this. 

Here's the card next to the original page.