Nothing catches my eye quite like sparkly things. This year, for the first time ever, I've decided to have a Christmas "theme" tree upstairs. It will be covered in beaded ornaments. I've made someovertheyears, but not nearly enough to cover a 6 foot tree. This means I have lots of delightful ornament crafting to do in the months ahead.
Jeanne came by one day to have a crafternoon with me. Jodie Skyped in. We all chatted and crafted together. I bought six different beaded ornament kits. Jeanne picked these star-shaped ones to try first.
All the beads and wire are supplied in the kit. We needed only the beading tools, a pencil, and a little hot glue. Putting them together made for a very pleasant afternoon in my Studio.
Here's the kit I used. It makes eight ornaments ... with a few beads left over.
Believe me, it's easier to see when comparing this photo to the last one. Magazines, old mail, catalogs have been filed or recycled and the old checkbooks were shredded. The book is ready for donation. Christmas cards have been processed and old cards converted to next year's gift tags.
I still have some documents to read, some lists to update, some donations to get out of the house and those last pesky small Piles of Indecision to complete. But I'm making progress.
:: pats on the back ::
:: pats on the back ::
(that's for you, Jodie!)
This toy shelf is another #CornerOfMyHome. These sweet memories sit on top of the fabric case in my studio. Here's the story behind a few of the favorites:
Mr. Peanut I got him at a restaurant convention when I was just a kid. Every now and then my dad would let us go with him to these industry shows. The vendors would have give-aways for the kids. Mr. Peanut lost his arm at one point, but I sewed it back on with my young girl clumsy stitches.
Ellie That doll in the back row was a gift from my sister Eleanore. I think she got it for me when she was going to fashion school in Los Angeles. I like her because she's tall and red-headed, just like the sister who gave her to me in the '60s.
Little Bear He's the one with the specks. He actually has a hole that goes from the top of his head down through his body to his bottom. My brother Carl gave me a lamp one Christmas and this bear decorated the pole. I used the lamp on my nightstand for years. The lamp got wobbly and fell apart when I was a teenager. But I've never been able to give up the bear from the brother that always had my back. (We were the two lefties in the family). Carl died when I was about 30. Little Bear is a quiet reminder of a happy time.
Flower That's that adorable wonky blue-eyed white kitten. When Jodie was tiny, her grandmother gave her a lifelike white stuffed kitten. Jodie named it Flower and carried it with her everywhere! She wanted a real kitten just like her favorite stuffed animal. As Jodie got bigger, she wanted to learn to sew. I gave her some fabric, and she made this version of Flower all by herself! I love is SO MUCH! She's perfect in her own droopy, dismembered, barely-held-together way. And now just look at the crafter Jodie has become!
I went outside to the back deck this afternoon to set a rug out to dry in the sun. On the grass below the deck, I noticed a dead bird. I was sure it was dead because ... gulp ... no head. So I went back into the house to find something to use to clean it up. But before I could, I heard some very loud bird sounds.
A falcon(?) was perched on top of the dead bird! I grabbed my camera, quickly changed some settings, and snapped a couple photos.
I had to raise the blinds, and I think that action caused the bird to startle. Before I knew it, the live bird picked up the dead bird and flew off! Yike!
At least I don't have to figure out how to pick up the dead bird.
Hooray?
The first pass through the box went fairly quickly. The items are sorted into logical piles. Most will be easy to process. The smallest pile is now my only Pile of Indecision. Not bad!
I liked that I could toss a bunch of the small bits of paper: notes to myself, expired coupons, donation requests, etc. A few items need to be transposed into another format. A few things put away in other parts of the house. The two biggest piles are correspondence - mostly Christmas cards, birthday cards, thank you notes, and a few personal letters. Then some catalogs and a couple medical documents.
This now feels do-able!
Dale's being a sport and agreeing to leave the piles on the dining room table until I process them one by one.
As I come out of the fog of 2015 and start regaining my energy, I'm finding corners of my home that received no love and care during the family upset. My desk is a prime example. I call this my Pile Of Indecision.
It's mail and magazines and papers to file and Christmas cards and who knows what. If it was a low priority, or if it needed extra attention but wasn't critical, or if I needed to make a decision about where it belongs, it got put in this box.
And the pile grew.
And the pile began to topple.
So this week's goal is to tame the mess on my desk, make some decisions, and give myself more breathing space.
I'll keep myself honest by posting progress here on my blog.
While I was on the moose hunt in our local park last week, I noticed all kinds of new life on the forest floor. The wildflowers are beginning to form a purple carpet undulating in the breeze. Birds are chasing each other as they scramble for nest-building grasses and twigs.
Then about 75 feet from the patch of moose dung, I saw this gal skittering from shadow to shadow ... with a big nut in her mouth.
Today was one of our glorious north Idaho Spring days! This kind of weather is what lures folks into moving here. The temperature rose to over 60°! This means, of course, time for our first "Top Down" ride of the season in our convertible!
Dale and I drove through the countryside to Newman Lake.
Since it was late afternoon, it was feeding time for herds of white tail deer in the meadows.
[Click for larger image]
.
Next time, I'll bring my "big girl camera" instead of using my phone's camera. Oh! This leads to happy juices running through my head. With the wind in our hair, all our troubles blow away.
I used a Lion Brand Yarn called Tweed Stripes. The color is 201 Orchid. It has a fairly loose twist, so I had some trouble with the knitting needles piercing the yarn and splitting my stitches. That, along with my very slow knitting style (inexperience), made this project last much longer than anticipated.
I used two skeins of yarn for the scarf, making it nice and long.
It looks quite fetching with my purple wig, don't you think?
I am bereft of ideas for a blog post today. I worked with over 30 photos, trying to find one worthy of editing. I roamed around the web looking at blog memes. I browsed through files of blog fodder and heart inspiration.
Some days are blah like this.
I finally went back to the last crocus pictures I took with my phone's camrea. They are pretty, but so DONE already. Now the crocus in our yards are withering and trampled and drowning in the rain.
So I played with one last crocus photo, and took it into my paint program. Then I pretended to dabble in oils.
Sometimes, inspiration finds a home while messing around and playing with old tools in new ways.
I went for a walk in our local wooded park this morning. Hanging above a picnic table I found this notice.
I'd heard there were moose in the area. My neighbors saw the mother and calf last winter. But I kept missing it. So on my walk, I kept my eyes open, hoping for a peek.
I must have been close, because I found this scat deeper in the forest:
Alas, it must have been dropped a while ago. It was not steaming in the chill morning, but it was fresh!
I'm so used to living in this beautiful part of the world, that I sometimes forget just how lucky I am. Next door to this park is a summer camp for kids where memories are made each year of living among nature. I get to be here year-round.
Since I have some extra time to pursue creative interests this year, I've decided to jump into my Pinterest boards and make as many projects as my heart desires this year. I'm calling it "Project Pinterest 2016." I don't plan on having a schedule for completing each project, because I want to let my curiosity lead me and some projects will take much longer than others.
Today I'm starting out with an Easter wreath. You can view the YouTube video at the bottom of this post to see my inspiration. This was fun!
Here's the finished wreath hanging by my front door.
The wreath cost a total of $4 and took about an hour to make. Most of the supplies came from our local Dollar Tree: a wreath form, tissue paper, garland, and glitter eggs. From my stash I had Mod Podge, a disposable foam paint brush, and a ribbon.
I did make one alteration to the garland. It was white with pink, yellow, and green fringe. I thought the green was too bright (rather than pastel), so I cut those sections out before winding the garland around the wreath form.
Also, were I to make this again, I'd use pastel tissues in blue, purple, pink, and orange, but leave out the yellow and green. As you can see in this close-up, once the Mod Podge dried, the green wreath form was too visible through the light yellow and light green tissue paper.
I also altered the eggs and bows. The eggs came with the yellow ribbon connected to the yellow egg, etc. But as I removed the eggs from the skewers, the bows separated from the egg. I decided to mix the colors up when gluing the bows back onto the eggs.
I don't have a lot of the "Easter Spirit" right now, so having this bright spot of color welcome me home puts a smile on my face.
To see how to make this wreath, watch this video. Honest! There's still time!
Within my Studio is a nook that holds my sewing supplies and my trusty old sewing machine and serger friends. I've had my sewing machine for over 40 years now, and it still works well. I love having all my equipment organized, within reach, and ready to go.
I was reminded of this poem this morning while walking through the forest near the river with Dale. We were surveying some of the damage the winter had done to the tall pine trees. They didn't reach to kiss the sky quite so much after their tops snapped off due to the weight of the snow.
---
Love’s Philosophy
BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean, The winds of heaven mix for ever With a sweet emotion; Nothing in the world is single; All things by a law divine In one spirit meet and mingle. Why not I with thine?—
See the mountains kiss high heaven And the waves clasp one another; No sister-flower would be forgiven If it disdained its brother; And the sunlight clasps the earth And the moonbeams kiss the sea: What is all this sweet work worth If thou kiss not me?
This is one of my favorite pieces that I inherited from my mom. When I was growing up, this beautiful serving bowl was brought out only on special occasions like Thanksgiving. It has a place of honor in my mirrored china cabinet, and glistens beautifully in the soft light.
The teacup was a gift from one of my best friends.
These pieces warm my heart each time I take time to admire them.
A blast from the past. In May 2014, my daughter Jodie and I visited a llama farm in Hood River, Oregon. It was waayyyy out in the hills. We just kept following signs and trusting they would get us to where we wanted to go. What a great day. What a terrific view!
