Continuing On!

It looks like we will have yet another day of sun and no rain...there is a VERY small chance we may get some tonight but every time I check, the window gets smaller and so does the rain chance percentage. And so, with no pollen relief in sight, I will not be tackling leaves yet another day! And, with staying inside on the agenda, I decided to do my "spring" book stack. By now, you probably have the steps down as well as I do...rip off covers, paint, stamp. It really is all that simple but, I will say, I encountered my first total fail of ripping off covers so far. I wanted a slightly thicker book because I wanted a spine wide enough to stamp a branch with a bird. For whatever reason, when I pulled off the covers, the entire book fell apart into just groups of pages...back to the James Pattersons I went!?!

Wouldn't this have looked cute on the book edge? Unfortunately, it is just too large. I'm thinking now that it might end up on a hang tag. We shall see...hopefully before I post this blog.

I just loved that little bird on the branch and even though I really wasn't planning another tag, I just couldn't help myself. When I found the stuff to put together the little nest in all of my spring stuff, I knew the other side of the books were just calling for the tag.

And, when I'm not "booking" it, I have been trying to get a few little chores accomplished. These chairs in the gazebo get their cushions recovered EVERY year. I live in Florida and even though they don't get lots of direct sun, the little they do get is strong enough to bleach them out.

I have posted before that I have no idea why I bought a kamillion yards of this fabric, but I did. I have been using it every year for so many years that I can't even remember, but, it is like the Energizer Bunny. It just keeps going and going with truly still no end in sight. This year I had so many layers on that one more would have kept the cushions from fitting down into the chair frame so I had to do a bit more and remove a few of the older layers. In any case, they are ready to go for another year. I don't know why, but little things like this make me so happy-perhaps it is because it is one of the few things that I can still have control over?!

And, the best part of my day yesterday was an actual visit from daughter #3 and my three youngest grand children. For the last three weeks, the closest we have come is me on my porch and them in their car on my drive way. Since my son-in-law is still required to go into work, they don't want to take any chances exposing me to the virus and I appreciate that and totally understand their concerns...mine as well. But, that being said, I think that has been the hardest thing about this self quarantining - for me as well as for everyone I am sure.

I was so excited when my daughter asked if I thought my pool was warm enough yet for the kids to swim. My pool is quite large and warms up later than most but, these kids have actually been in it in the past as early as February. And, with no rain or cold days to cool it down, I figured it would be perfect for them.

And so, over they came with bags of food that I haven't had in weeks...all of that "healthy" indulgence kind of stuff that I try to avoid but, for some reason now, seems to satisfy my soul. We sat out on the pool deck 6' apart and ate and caught up and shared a bottle of wine while the kids got out some of their energy in the pool. Their pool doesn't have a slide and mine does so that was pretty much the order of the day!

It was a wonderful few hours. Something we used to do all of the time without realizing just how treasured those times really were. I pray that when this is all over, none of us will ever forget the things that we really missed and are so special to us. We are learning we can live without so many of the things that we thought were so important but the things that really matter are so much more precious to us.

I am also so grateful that I live somewhere where I can walk out my door and enjoy the freedom of my yard, gardens and pool. I don't have to go far to escape the walls of home when it really becomes necessary. Also, I am retired and on a fixed income so the threat of losing my job or my income are not there as they are for so many.

These are definitely scary times and I think we will see it get worse before it gets better but I pray we will continue to see all of the good things that are coming out of this to perhaps help us forget for just a moment the fear we are living with. I am so proud of my community and all of the wonderful things people are doing to step up and care for others. There will be an end in sight and we will go back to life as usual but hopefully with a bit of a different mind set. Stay safe and stay tuned.

All Books Are Not Created Equal

So, instead of going on to the spring book stack, I took a turn to Halloween. Somehow I saw all of my many stashes of orange and black and just had to go down that road!

I have been using James Patterson books for my first stacks. This time, I thought I would hit up some of my cozy mystery books and, even though they were all purchased from a book club many years ago and appear to all have the same generic black covers, the way they were bound is not the same.

I had pretty much had the cutting and pulling of the covers down to a science and, even though the surface is not totally flat, the parts that aren't are fluffs of paper and seen to smooth out almost completely once the chalk paint hits. Remember, the chalk paint is thicker than regular craft paint so I thought that must help.

When I did the same process with these books, I was left with a thick, shiny layer of glue and, when I peeled that off, I was pretty much left with the edges of the groups of pages. It was very uneven and, even several thick layers of paint didn't help...which lead to some unevenness in the letter images. The H was exceptionally spotty...so I ended up going back and touching it up the best I could. I think I will try possibly using a thin layer of patching compound on the next set and see if that helps. Again, luckily, this is supposed to be a "shabby" craft so perfection is never the order of the day!

This time I chose to paint the books with black chalk paint. I had also hoped to add a small, solid orange pumpkin in front of the word "happy". But, the two stamps I had that were exactly what I wanted were too large for the spine area and the two that I had that fit, I just didn't like. And so, I am leaving it with just the words and my list of things to look for once we can get out again continues to grow.

I thought I would leave it like this until I saw just how many Halloween embellishments I had and would probably never use.

 
 I had a packet of tags in Halloween colors and several packages of the 3-D witch stickers so I thought I would just go ahead and add a pop of fun and if, when this finds its way to its forever home, it is no longer needed, a simple snip of the twine and it can be gone.
 

So, another one down and at least five to go. I am having fun looking forward to doing these books each day and somehow, once I am going on them, I find myself off and running on other things as well. I have always enjoyed staying busy but even more so these days.

And, my beads have arrived so I'm sure it won't be long before I get busy painting these beauties and making the garlands. So much to do...so MUCH time. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.

Lest We Forget!

Since I have been off on my latest craft adventures, I feel as if I have forgotten my Easter decor. And so, today I will go back to that while I am really just dying to show you what I have happening on my craft table as we speak. I changed my mind and am now off on another tangent. And to add to the excitement, I just got notice that my wood beads are arriving today instead of Monday! Holy crafts Batman!! But, I digress. Lol

So, without further diversions, let's go into the dining room.

I showed you this sketch that my 10 year old grand daughter made of a lop-earred rabbit the other day on the post where I was showing you my rabbit sketch...kind of embarrassing to have them both in the same room! Lol. I love this one so much.

This photo was taken before I stuck my rabbit in this vignette.

Here she is in all of her "glory"...just in case any of you were lucky enough to miss her the other day. Lol

It is so sad to think of all of the families that will be missing big Easter celebrations this year. Our family also has a number of spring birthdays and, this year, we were to have two college  and one high school graduations. We are all just looking forward to one huge party for all when this scare is gone - not to mention the housewarming of daughter #3's beautiful renovated home!

I truly can't wait to share with you what is keeping me busy today - besides watering everything yet again in our drought conditions and, Lord help me, starting to watch Tiger King...which I had never heard of until my daughter told me I just had to see it to believe it. I have described it like watching a train wreck...you really don't want to look but somehow you can't look away. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Yay!!!

I must admit that even with ALL of the things I could be doing to stay busy these days, I still have a hard time diving into something if it is not what I want to do. I WANT to be outside but I am just beginning to get over the cough and sore throat I have had since the pressure cleaning - which, I must say, might need to be redone in some spots because of all of the mess still coming out of the trees this year and settling back onto the decking and drives...but, I digress.

And so, as much as I am enjoying Netfilx and rewatching some of my favorite series or reading books that have been on the stack for much too long, I still can't seem to be content without a craft project. And, even with ALL of the craft supplies I have on hand, I don't have a lot of the things that I am wanting for spring ideas.

And so, I found myself wishing I could come up with something like my burlap door hangers where I could do a different one for each holiday/season. And then, as I was moving things around for Easter, it dawned on me. I could make a set of the painted books for each holiday. I have already made Home Sweet Home, Happy St. Patrick's Day, and Happy Easter...that leaves something for 4th of July, spring, summer, autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine's Day. I have already started looking at Pinterest and there are so many ideas.

And then, when I realized that that wouldn't keep me busy for too, too long even if I limited myself to one a day, I did something I hardly ever do...I got online and ordered a big ol' bucket of wood beads. I decided I would make a wood bead garland to go with each set of books. And, boy am I glad I didn't donate all of the hundreds of books we had...just saying!

And so for today, I am starting on the 4th of July.

I usually use an Exacto knife to run along the inside of the spine on the book. I start in the front and pull as much as I can towards the back. Then it is a simple matter of a quick cut along the back of the book and the cover comes off. You can paint the books with the covers on but I like the more rustic look without them. I have always used chalk paint for the book stacks. It goes on so nicely without over-wetting the paper and dries pretty quickly.

I prefer the stamps that peel off and are put onto a clear, acrylic block. That way, when you put the ink on and go to stamp, you can see exactly where the image will be. I used regular rubber stamps on the first set I did because I liked the font but they were so much harder to get even...not to mention the overage of ink that gets on the edges and smears on the book.

I thought I could print the whole word at once with these stamps - and, if I was stamping on a smooth surface, I could - but I soon learned that with the "shabbiness that I like so much on the spines comes a lot of uneveness and it is almost impossible to get a good impression of all of the letters when doing it that way. For me, it was just easier to do one letter at a time.

Because the letter stamps are so small and need to be peeled off of the acrylic block, ink on my fingers is almost impossible to avoid and since I don't want to transfer that on to my pristinely painted book, I keep a lot of Lysol wipes handy to clean off my fingers and also to lay the used stamps down on. I put them ink side down and give them a little press when I do it and it makes their clean-up almost done.

Since I really have no pre-conceived idea where these are going to go or how they will be decorated, I decided to put a piece of themed scrapbook paper on the top for now. I thought I had starred paper - which I think I will still look for when I can get out again - but for now, I went with the plaid.

I used a smidge of distress ink just to "shabby" it up a bit.

I tied it up with red, white and blue twine and it will probably be OK just like this because I may end up tucking in a small American flag or sitting something "patriotic" on top of it. But, just for now...

I went into my 4th of July stash and grabbed this flag hang tag. It just needed a little something...until it needs a little something else. Lol

I just got word that the wooden beads will arrive on Monday so this book stack will soon have a bead garland joining it. Until then, I think I will move along to my "spring" stack. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Know When to Hold 'Em

Know when to fold 'em...how many times have I said that? And, more often than not, I can do that. But, on this particular day, I could not.

The other day-when things were still safe-my youngest grand daughter was here and ultimately disappeared to where she usually does-my craft room. She loves to find her way in there and let her imagination go to town. On that particular day, she pulled out my pastels and did a few bunny pictures. This lop-ear is my favorite. BTW, it will get framed in a much cuter way when we can get out and about again.

In these days of trying to stay busy - and indoors - I remembered how much I used to love working with pastels. I have used them a lot over the years for crafty things but haven't done any actual drawing with them since my art classes way back in college. I remember enjoying that so much. I actually think I still have some of those drawings stashed away somewhere. And so, I grabbed a little piece of scrap wood and decided I would have a go at a bunny.

Let's just say it's too bad Presley couldn't be here today to give her old Nana a few pointers. I have apparently forgotten everything I ever learned although, I will say, I did enjoy the process. That is probably why I forgot to take pictures after the initial painting of the wood. It was kind of like painting...once I got going, I never thought about anything else until I was done.

I must say, I wish I still had my oil pastels. I like the way they blend so much better and you can keep adding highlights. With the regular pastels - which are basically fancy chalk, once you add so much and try to blend, you kind of just get a washed out, muddy mess. Hence, the title of this post. I should have "held 'em" just a few strokes earlier. Lol

In any case, I decided to add a few flowers that I had in my stash and here she is.

Is she the favorite thing I've ever done? Or even close? No. Do I need many, many more hours of lessons? Or perhaps just Presley to be here to show me how? Absolutely! But, she did keep me busy for a bit and that was the purpose of this exercise-until I can get out and get some real exercise. Now I am off to clean up all of the chalk mess that I had forgotten happens. We are close to the end of another day. I think I know what I am going to do tomorrow so stay safe and stay tuned.

Cabin Fever May Be Setting In!

I want to go outside!! I can not tell you how much I long to get at the piles of leaves everywhere in my yard. But, I know I need to stay away from blowing up the pollen all over the place. I have really never had an allergy in my long life but this stuff is starting to get me. And, when it gives off many of the same symptoms as "the" virus, it can be a bit disconcerting. All I wanted to do yesterday was sit out by the pool and read. My pool guy had just left and the water was crystal clear. I had already blown the deck twice before he got here-with a scarf covering my mouth and nose hoping that might help. I swear by the time I gathered my glasses and my book, I heard a small wind and by the time I got outside, the entire surface of both the pool and the deck were once again covered in those squiggly things!! And so, I went in.

We need a good rain to wash this stuff away but there was no promise of that today so I decided to try my hand at another indoor craft-more about that if it works-today. I grabbed a piece of wood and went outside for just a minute to sand the edges. While I was there, I felt a raindrop or two and I think I may have actually squealed! And, that was about it! Although large black clouds rolled across the skies for about 30 minutes, we didn't get much more than those initial drops! And, since it has now been over night since I last blew the deck, it is thick with those things again. This has been going on so long this year that I honestly don't see how there can possibly be any more of them up in those trees. But, I digress,

And so, while I am waiting for my base coat of paint to dry on my wood, I thought I would take you into the kitchen today.

So this is where the napkin jar ended up. It still isn't a favorite but I think it looks OK here with the wood of the pizza peel and the purple of the candle.

Seems I didn't have much to say about the kitchen so I guess I didn't change up a lot this year. I'm off to give a new idea a try. If it works, you'll be the first to know. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Change of Plans

I had fully intended to keep myself busy this week out in the yard. There is still a lot more pressure cleaning to do and bunches and bunches of leaves to rake. But, when I woke up, I still have a cough and a bit of a sore throat that started last weekend when I did spend my days outside. We have not had a drop of rain in weeks and, as far as I can tell, there is none on the horizon. There is pollen and dust everywhere...and so, I decided that it probably wasn't the best idea to be out there stirring up all of that again.

And so, I am inside. And, since I don't want to stir up any dust in here either (by perhaps vacuuming...lol), I went looking for a craft. I still had two HL pillow covers in my stash but, I had kind of looked for Easter design ideas a few weeks ago and didn't see any I thought I could navigate.

I tend to like natural things for spring versus "cutesy" and, I am by no means an artist so painting things that look real is not really in my wheel house.

But, desperate times call for desperate measures so I decided to give it a go. What is the worst thing that could happen? I would destroy a $2.50 pillow cover...but, I would have kept myself busy for a bit so I figured that was a win!

Now that I am done, there are so many things that I would have done differently if I had had hindsight before I started. Ha-ha. But, I did need one more Easter pillow so this will serve the purpose-just don't look too closely.

I started by lightly sketching a rabbit. At this point I was definitely questioning my ability to pull this one off.

But, there is something so much fun about painting like this. I mix craft paint with textile medium and then add water. I like the watercolor look in some places and I like when the edges bleed a bit. The other good thing is that as long as you don't let this dry, you can always "erase" mistakes by just watering down the area and blending the misplaced strokes.

He is definitely looking more jack rabbity in this picture...look at those feet! Lol

I really wasn't sure what I was going to do beside the bunny but I felt like it needed more...and I refrained from just splattering all sorts of Easter colors...which was, honestly, my first impulse. Since my favorite combo of Easter colors is green and purple, I decided to just throw in a few purple flowers.

I added the whiskers and then a lot more "grass" around his feet because I just couldn't get them to look right. This is where I stopped to wait for it to dry...and, believe me, this one will take awhile to dry as every time I needed to "fix" something that didn't look right, I simply added more water! I actually like his head a lot-and that was the area I was the most concerned about-I'm just not a fan of his big ol' body but, unfortunately, all the water in the world will not make that go away!

So here he is in all his glory. As I started out by saying, "if I knew then what I know now"...Lol. He is supposed to be a bit turned and that "lump" on the right is his hind leg...but now that I've covered the clunky feet, that is kind of hard to tell. Oh well, he is what he is and he pretty much kept me busy for the better part of the day-with a bit of watering my parched gardens in between-so I'm good. Time to clean up a bit, sit down and put my feet up. And so, another day is down with more than I want to think about still before us. Stay safe and stay tuned.