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    T Tuesday: so many things edition

    March 13, 2017 - By 

    Today for T stands for Tuesday I have a whole mess of things to talk about….now where do I start?!

    Last week J got his braces off after nearly 4 years!! He looks so different…so grown up!! My friend Sandy sent him a care package of gooey sticky items for his indulgence after so long of abstaining. Thankfully he is my moderation kid and the treats will last a good long time.

    I’ve continued to work on sorting and purging and reorganizing in several areas of the house since I had to move my sewing area to make room for the treadmill.  It went from this…

    to this…

    I love that I can walk/run anytime I want but have to admit that not having my sewing machine set up all the time is really going to cramp my creative style. I sew all the time!!!!! Eventually I will figure this out.  A temporary, easy set up station of some sort.

    I finished everyone’s taxes just a few hours ago so I can mark that off my list. What a relief to have that chore done.

    Let’s see what else….

    I have taken some time to create a couple art journal pages in the midst of organizing. Neither are my favorites but its all about the process at times.

    EDIT: I’m linking up with Art Journal Journey for this first journal page as suggested. Thanks Susi!

    Art Journal Journey

    I realizing that I’m missing using old books for my journals. I guess it’s my art ADD. I was so completely sold on loose leaf until…I wasn’t.  And so it goes.

    The kids were really hoping for a snow day Monday morning…wouldn’t that be a wonderful gift after “springing forward” for Daylight Savings Time?!?  No such luck. The street was plowed curb to curb when I got up at 5:30 (the old 4:30)…ugh. That was fine with me I had plenty of items on my list to keep me busy…such as shoveling.

    Check that one off the list. It actually ended up to be a beautiful sunny day. Even though the temps never crested the freezing point…the suns rays are warm enough to melt snow.

    In addition to sorting my crafting life, I’m also doing a bit of sorting of old paperwork and junk…basically trying to find space for things that are actually important.

    Buried at the back of the bottom filing cabinet drawer was a stack of DVDs. I honestly couldn’t even remember getting these…until I started watching them. OH my gosh!! So much fun to see the house I grew up in…relatives that have passed on….how awkward we all were in front of a first generation VHS camera.

    One of our relatives was tech savvy back in the day and bought himself a video camera. He brought it to family functions to record them for posterity. At the time I was kind of mortified but now am so thankful for these recordings. I got so see and hear my dad again!  It was a little sad watching these videos but at the same time a gift. Seeing and hearing all the people that have passed on. Getting to show my kids a mini walk thorough of my childhood home. Having them laugh at me being young but still having the same mannerisms as I do now. Even better…seeing the exact same reaction from me as Mini-me has in the same situation. Laughter to tears and back again. So thankful for these awkwardly funny memories.

    Tuesday holds errands and a couple appts as well as a college fair at the high school in the evening for us.

    What are you doing today?

    T stands for Tuesday
  • Art - Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    A second look: memorial paper bag book

    March 2, 2017 - By 
    Second on the 2nd
    This month for Second on the 2nd I’d like to share a handmade book that actually came up in conversation just last week. As I went searching through my blog for the post I was so surprised at how many years had passed. Over the years I’ve made at least 20 of these paper bag books. Every single one was different. The ones I had the most fun with were when I knew the recipient and could tailor it for them in particular. Now that being said, I didn’t actually know my friends uncle but she had told me so many stories and memories of him that I think I did a pretty good job of channeling that into the book. Plus I’ve known a couple authentic cowboys in my lifetime.
    Take a look….
    3/14/2011
    I got a call this morning asking if I’d want to make a custom paper bag book that would be at a memorial service. My friend Sandy explained that her uncle had been a real Montana cowboy if there ever was one. A simple man who spent his whole life being a cowboy…working cattle and horses…riding the rodeo…
    I was touched that her mom had requested one of these books for her brother’s service. I got to work immediately since time is of the essence. She told me I could share the photos of the book.
    There are lots of tags as well as some vintage postcards from Montana tucked into the pockets. Plenty of space for friends and family to write little notes, tell stories or simply sign their name.

     

  • Art - Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    Larger than life

    March 1, 2017 - By 

    Just a quick post with my latest art journal page. I’ve got some neck/shoulder issues going on so sitting at the computer or sitting in general too long is very painful…so bear with me.

    I was inspired by the new theme of Out and About over at Art Journal Journey this morning. I hadn’t even intended on doing anything creative today. Once I saw my neat as a pin work space I knew I just had to make a mess. 🙂

    I didn’t have a plan as usual. I just knew I wanted to make a loose leaf page. It all started to fall into place for me as I added more media. The stacked paper and button flowers were not at all what I was going to use but my drawn and painted one just didn’t look like I wanted. Now I glad it didn’t. I like the whimsical touch these add. Since they seemed a bit oversized the words I found were perfect.

    I made a bunch of paper pieced embellishments at craft club on Saturday evening. It’s a fun get together where we all bring our own thing to do and get to craft with friends. Now I have a stash for later projects.

    Linking up with Art Journal Journey today.

    Art Journal Journey