Echinacea

 

 

These cheery coneflowers are so delightful.  I was glad they decided to bloom, being newcomers to the garden last year.

Mug Rugs or Snack Mats?



Back of Red Snack Mat




Recently I enjoyed an exchange with a few artsy friends.  At first I thought "Mug Rugs" were coasters, but it turns out they are in between a pot holder and a place mat.  How fun to get back into sewing.  Mine turned out to be 8-inch square reversible mini-quilts with tea-bag pockets on the back and some thin batting for cushion.  Now I want to make more!


Front of Red Snack Mat




Back of Blue Snack Mat




Front of Blue Snack Mat



Accordian Fold and Other Books

Another fun project was Accordian Fold Books.  Starting with one large square piece of paper (which I backed with textured paper), you fold it one way four times, open it up, then fold it four times the other way.  Cut along the folds 3/4 of the way alternating from one side and the opposite side, fold it up, then make a durable cover.  For this I covered photo matt board with textured paper.  I printed out, cut and glued in poems, pictures, etc.  Trimmed with fibers or ribbon.  The red LINE book was an off-the-top-of-my-head word study (no dictionery allowed).  The paperback book at the top is my desktop self-published poetry book which started out to encourage incarcerated people linked to a correspondence ministry.  I have had much enjoyment from creating these books and encourage other crafters/writers to try something similar.

Book of Words Challenge

Several years ago an artsy friend, her friend and I set up a challenge to create "books" illustrating six topics, which we took turns suggesting:  RED, DOORS, TIME, SECRETS, FREEDOM, CIRCLES.  My book ended up very thick, I just couldn't stop adding pictures, word play, fibers, ribbons, paint chips, beads, a key, a Chinese coin, a mirror, fold-out pages...  Several topics overlapped or became interrelated.  Some of the DOORS opened up with surprises behind them.  (The screen door on the cover opens.)  For TIME I glued in a broken watch found while bike riding, and also made some "Time Flies" with clocks on their backs.  A small shredded flag found in a cemetary (probably caught in a lawn mower) is folded into the section on FREEDOM.  SECRETS was quite revealing and included a picture of people whispering in each others' ears.  We sent our books around to admire, then received them back. This was an inspiring and terrifically fun project which helped me through a period of grieving the loss of my father.

Decorated Sketchbook

About the time I was decoupaging composition books, I needed a place to consolidate my project ideas.    So I purchased a sketch book, glued textured paper to it, took magazine clippings and layered them on.  To make it more interesting (to me) I also glued more magazine pictures, sayings and color charts inside. 

Voila!  Plenty of space for this and that.

Matchbox Exchange

It has been so much fun to decorate small matchboxes for a friendly exchange.  First, wrapping the outside.  Then, adding embellishments.  Lining the interior.  Knobs?  Next, selecting enclosures to delight the recipient.  Here are a few:

A Forest Hike

Monday was a lovely day for a woods walk.  Spring flowers bloomed, birdsong echoed and pine trees towered above, impressively silent, except when leaning trunks squeaked against others which held them.  Chipmunks spread the alarm:  "Intruders!"  As after every winter, I've missed hiking under a forest canopy.  This is one way I recharge my soul and I'm fortunate to have the place and the opportunity to get outdoors.