• Art - Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    T Tuesday: weird week edition

    April 15, 2019 - By 

    Welcome to T stands for Tuesday! Grab a cuppa and stay a while.

    Over the weekend I got a little creative with an art journal page. You can see the details in the previous post.

    But I really must tell you about last week!

    I experienced the weirdest storm of my entire lifetime. We had a little bit of everything including a snow day on Thursday. This video pretty much nails the day right on the head. So funny!!!

    And just to add a little more funny truth, I saw this…

    Seriously…this happened Thursday.

    Anyway….after moving a bunch of snow, I made a bunch more cards while catching up on some TV.I’m on a mission to use up some old supplies….use it or lose it! I found two boxes of small-ish blank greeting cards in white and ivory. I know I’ve had them for 20 years and hadn’t used more than 1/4 of the lot. Use it or lose it!!

    The school year is winding down…sort of. Time is winding down but there are so many things that need to get packed into those days. While I am looking forward to summer and time off, I do actually enjoy the structure of going to work. As crazy as it sounds, I seem to get more done. Having that time constraint makes me more creative too. I’ve always been better with a looming deadline. Think about…you have company coming over in 2 days…oh I’ve got time to get everything done, no problem. Yet the last 2 hrs before company arrives you get more done than the last two days combined. Or maybe that’s just me?!?!

    Mini-me and I made a costume for a competition she is doing for her French class. Three girls are performing a skit in French at the University of MN. Mini-me is a whale. We didn’t make a full costume but enough to portray her as whale like…think blowhole and fins.. I’ll have to snap a photo of her decked out before she leaves. I wish I could go and see it but its during the school day.

    I’m reusing my Bulldog mug photo in celebration of the UMD Bulldog hockey team winning the national championship this year!

    Tuesday is the usual fair for me this week…work and an errand on the way home.

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?
  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    Listening is key

    April 14, 2019 - By 

    I was inspired to create this journal page after reading a college student’s first hand account of why he was walking for suicide prevention on his college campus. I was moved by his very eloquent yet heartbreaking words describing his journey. I couldn’t help but think of all the young men and women in my life, especially my own children.  

    Often when I have high emotions, I turn to creativity as an outlet. I let everything go and work by intuition…not over thinking anything. Eventually I get to a place that the page starts to take a shape in the direction my mind was subconsciously heading.

    I’ve always been told I’m a good listener by my friends. They often will turn to me to vent, gab, or problem solve. I may not always have a ton of advice but I do always have a shoulder to lend.

    It is my wish that my children will find someone in their lives that will be able to do the same for them even if its not me. And that they have learned the skill of really listening. It is the key to so many things.

  • Blog - Creativity

    T Tuesday: Duluth edition

    April 8, 2019 - By 

    Last week I mentioned that Mini-me and I had traveled to Duluth immediately after her return from Costa Rica. She was participating in the state archery tournament.

    We drove up on Friday and went straight to J’s apartment since he goes to college in same city. We took him shopping and to eat before leaving him back home and heading to our hotel. It’s a new hotel in the same harbor area of the historic town of Duluth, MN.

    This was a view out our hotel room window. According to the in-room brochure, the silos were used for powdered cement storage. They kept them when developing the site for historic value.

    Mini-me and I enjoyed some lovely appetizers as a late night meal as we enjoyed the view.

    After our meal we ran back up to the room and grabbed a coat before venturing out for a walk since we were on the south side of the lift bridge…a view we hadn’t ever had the opportunity to enjoy.

    Little did we know that they had a nightly bonfire with free s’mores!

    The next morning we set off for the tournament. Mini-me’s coach gave her a nickname that has absolutely nothing to do with her actual name but has stuck…at least with her archery folk.

    I decided that she should really have it on her bow case. I used my silhouette to create a vinyl sticker with her new namesake. Her coach laughed so dang hard…totally worth it!!

    Yesterday I actually got creative….I made about a dozen cards.

    After going through a bunch of my craft stuff and bringing it to my neighbor to share I was inspired by my conversation with her to make more cards. She has and a group to locals have “adopted” many deployed troops for years. Writing letters, sending supplies, gifts and treats. One thing she said they always want is cards to send home. Sending cards and letters home helps pass the time. And really…who doesn’t love a good old piece of snail mail from a real person!!

    I decided right then and there to set some time aside to make some cards. It’s beneficial for me AND them. I get to stretch my creative muscles which evidently are going unused too often and they get a few cards to mail home.

    This week is really up in the air for us…Today is was nearly 70°F and Weds-Fri we could get anywhere from 6-24 inches of snow. Crazy!!! This winter just won’t quit.

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?