Cute Photo

I don't think a photo like this can be staged...and I don't know what's cuter...the mouse or the snowman.

Found on a Tumblr page
called A Beautiful World.









And...another Martin
Luther King Jr. quote
and artwork by an illustrator
I admire, Lisa Condon.

Light and Love

The winter sun over the Lexington Green this afternoon.

Puzzles Are Good Too

As a follow up to yesterday's message from Dr. Seuss that "fun is good"....puzzles are good too.

Almost two months ago I started this 1000 piece puzzle. Yes...I take my time. When they sit this long I get worried a piece or two will end up missing...but they're all there and it's beautiful!

Time to start another one....I found this one at a little book store in Portland. I love all the bright colors and Frank Lloyd Wright's signature geometric design. But the best part is that it has gold foil accents. Yummy!

The pieces are tiny....but high quality and even the box is really nice. Nice boxes make me happy. And I appreciate when there's a little poster inside.  Do I sound excited? Puzzles are good!

Fun is Good!

"If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good."  Dr. Seuss

I have a new favorite toy thanks to Linda.

It's a sweet rainbow twirler and it sits ready to play with in my studio. You can watch a little video of it in action here on my Instagram page. I think it's mesmerizing.

I hope you can view it without having an Instagram account....I think so....but I'm not sure.

 

I'll confess I also have one one sitting on my puzzle table in Lexington....yes it's my new favorite toy and at only $3 it's OK to have two. Watch the video and you'll see why.  "These things are fun and fun is good!"

Ditto

Sometimes my creative journey takes me places....sometimes I end up right where I started. It's just the way it is for me. If you've been following this blog for a while this particular journey may sound  familiar.

As I headed into 2018 I had a dilemma.  I still wanted to embrace the monthly Folt Bolt color schemes....but I also wanted to focus on other things. What came to mind was something I've wanted to do for years....put together mixed media inspiration packets...this time based on the Folt Bolt monthly scheme.



After Christmas I played around with the wintry December scheme...made a sample label....and contacted Folt Bolt.





I dialogued with Kriszta who was encouraging and supportive. She's been really great and I've enjoyed all my interactions with her this past year! She was happy to let me use her color strip on the label and it was time to start on January's scheme....which once again....was the whole rainbow.




I pulled papers and trims and bagged up buttons and beads as I was moving supplies into the new studio.  I had a blast. For me this was just as creative as making something.  I love all this stuff...and I sincerely want to share my abundance with other crafters. I signed on to open a Folt Bolt Shop and just needed to get it set up and rolling.

I put together three of these little 5 x 7 packets which fit nicely into a small flat rate box.  My plan was to add as much other stuff into the box that I could based on request...like fabric or papers. I was pretty excited.

 

At this point I should just say "ditto" to a post I wrote almost exactly two years ago titled Dreaming vs Doing.  I was reminded that I'm not very good at technical stuff...and I'm not a business woman. I'm a doer. I was absolutely paralyzed trying to get the web shop up and running....the nitty gritty makes me crazy. The only reason I have this blog is that my niece Clarke set it up for me. (Thanks again Clarke!) I stayed awake at night thinking about prices and shipping ...and will people be disappointed with what they got.

So I pulled back....slowed down....and I'm going to regroup...AGAIN!  I may stumble onto another "Clarke" who will help me with the technical part or I may find another way.

I'm OK with this. I still love the idea....and I am still going to share my stuff with anyone who asks. It would be nice to make some money....but I don't have to. The text from Dana that I wrote about here came just at the moment I was struggling but was the perfect reminder that I love sharing my stuff.

In the mean time I'm going to do what I normally do....a little of this and a little of that and just let it all evolve naturally.

So if you want or need something....just ask.

No Coat

This Story of the Day by Brian Andreas made me chuckle. 
But today I was actually outside without a coat...no need to go south.

Works in Progress

Have I mentioned that I make big messes? This was the aftermath of yesterday's fabric frenzy that I woke up to. The whole space is still very much a work in progress with dozens of organizational and decorating tasks as well as several creative projects....all going on at the same time.

But...I wanted to point out that I hung my cathedral window quilt even though it's still a work in progress. I was never sure I would get it big enough for a bed....and when I moved into this space I knew it was going on this wall.

So I added a rod pocket and hung it up.  Now all I have to do is finish the other 1/2 and put the two pieces together.  It will still take me years probably....but I'm a bit more motivated now.

Here's the other half...almost the same place it was three years ago when I wrote about it here.....which, when I reread the post, I was reminded that I started it 8 1/2 years before that.  I'm 11 1/2 years in. What's another couple of years!

My travel pack is all ready to go with me in the car back to Lexington tomorrow.  

Spectrums of Color

I'm anticipating another art show down the road and I've had a whole series of small art quilts in my head for quite some time. I see them in various sizes and schemes that will flow from quilt to quilt.  I will write more about it as I go along....but for now I just have to start playing and see where it takes me. 

Here are some of the fabrics I'm starting with....as you can see and it's all about wild color.  

I'm using this jelly roll of Java bright batiks. I also have two sets of Moda "grunge" fabrics in the whole color spectrum. Once set is more solid...and the other one has large tone on tone polka dots and they both have great texture. I'll also add in some hand dyed fabrics to tone things down....just a bit.

It's all a bit crazy and chaotic at the moment. I picked a scheme and just started slicing and sewing. You have to start somewhere and I hope it won't end up as scary as it looks at this point. It's just pieces and parts and a whole lot of fun! 

You can see the great texture in these grunge solids. And...I'm quite fond of the pink/purple/orange combo.

It's a start!  Stay tuned.

Small Things

"I hope I never get tired of the night sky, of thunderstorms, of watching cream make galaxies in my coffee. I hope I never grow to be someone who can no longer see the small beautiful things." author unknown 

As you might guess I have trouble throwing anything away....almost everything has potential.  But sometimes a scrap is just too small for any useful purpose....until now!

I bought this large and very heavy jar at a used goods sale a while back. I just love the shape.  It's been floating around the studio for a while now...waiting for the right filler. Branches? Stars? Marbles? Good ideas...but all a little "expected."

Then I had a lightbulb moment as I was cleaning up last weekend.....fiber snippets....just the ones that would normally get thrown away. It's perfect! It's free...it's colorful....and I'll enjoy watching the collection grow.  Kind of silly?  Probably...but right up my alley.

And so it begins.

I found myself almost giddy picking up tiny little bits from the floor.  I love this view down into the jar?  "Small beautiful things" can bring a ridiculous amount of joy if you let it. 

 

Simple Little Boxes

I wanted to contribute something to the Shupe family Christmas celebration in Colorado....it included Paul's mom and his two sisters and their families. It didn't have to be much...just a little something to let them know I was thinking about them.

What I came up with was a little bit of Dave, Paul's dad, who passed away several years ago...and a little bit of Margie, Paul's mom.

Years ago Dave taught me how to make little origami boxes...I wrote about that story here.  And more recently Margie has been enjoying coloring and I have several of her pages that I have been making into cards.... you can read about that here....and here.  So I combined the two and made simple little origami boxes using Dave's pattern and Margie's coloring pages.  I filled the boxes with chocolates and Paul added a silly quote.

I included an extra set for Margie where I nested several together....unfortunately I forgot to take a picture.  I tucked a little star in the last tiny one. 

So much you can do with just a simple little box.

All Spruced Up

Having a party pushes me to give my house a little attention....and that's always a good thing. It was a delightful evening full of laughter and good food.

We live in a parsonage provided by the church where Paul is a minister and I feel fortunate to live in such a lovely home. I have always loved these arched doorways into the living room and the dining room from the front door. I love the views from both directions...especially when it's all spruced up for a party.

Circles and Squares Part Two

I was "party puttering" today during the blizzard getting ready for the church staff party tomorrow night. But this evening I'm catching the blog up on some of my "paper puttering" from this past week if you're interested.

I worked on my cut out circles and squares collage while I was in Maine.

Before I started glueing I auditioned ways to add depth and texture using felt, fabric or buttons. I am, as you know, a big fan of mixed media. I thought all the options had potential.

These circles were a good idea in theory....but I really don't like some of the floss choices....especially the variegated ones. They're too bright. But for the sake of sharing the process...which is the most important part....here's what I did.  I fused batik circles onto weavers cloth and needle punched around the edges. Your can read more about needle punch in this post.

I cut them out leaving about 1/4 inch of fabric which then got clipped. Using white glue I folded the edges to the back.  I think it's kind of cute...and I do like the batik center.  So again....the concept is good. I do think if I do more I won't make such perfect circles....and I'll make them different sizes.

Then I started glueing the background squares using matte medium and a foam brush.  I worked on a repurposed canvas that I covered with gesso....which is good base primer.

Since I was using magazine images the paper was thin and I had to really work to keep it from wrinkling smoothing out with the brush or my finger until there was good contact.  I wanted it a little wonky...so I didn't match up the sqaures.

Then it was time to start layering on circles.  

This is just round one...I can see areas that need improvement.  I am after all...just winging it...figuring it out as I go. This piece will evolve over time.

When it was dry the next morning I auditioned again....and like expected the needle punched circles were too bright.

But I quite like the wool and buttons. I think the colors are better and I like the cream outer circles...it gives it more of that negative space I talked about before. I see some hand stitching in my future...I love making those little medallions. 

So until next time I'm in the studio I'll do what I do best...mull it over. It was time to head home.

Favorite Number

My favorite number is 3 and today is the 3rd anniversary of this Joyful Puttering blog. 

Who would have thought I could stick with it this long. And...from my perspective there's no end in sight. I love ending my day this way. It's kind of my way of doing a gratitude journal....I guess it's a joy journal of sorts. It doesn't even matter if people read it....but thank you to those who do.  And thank you to those who reach out in person or e-mail or who comment on the blog...I love hearing from you!

If you're a numbers person here are my current stats....it's hard not to look once in a while. It's just interesting.

1096 posts (And Paul wondered if I would run out of things to say....ha ha)
34 drafts....yes I start a lot of posts that never make the blog. Too much joy?
48,029 page views to date
40 to 70 average daily views....sometimes more...sometimes less.....66 today so far.

I was intrigued with this week's list of page views by country.  I love the idea of a few people in Russia joyfully puttering.

Paying attention to and sharing the joy that presents itself in my day has changed my life. Today it's a bloom on my Christmas cactus from Cheryl. It sits on my puzzle table so I see it every day. And yes...I still have my tree up....we're having the church staff "after" Christmas party on Friday.

How can you not celebrate this beautiful bloom!!!