You Can Call Me Gwen

Newsletter

I've decided to just flat-out enjoy the roll of duct tape I rescued from the mean streets.

Here's the mail that went out yesterday.

 

 

 

 

Duct tape mailing labels.

Nothing but the finest for my readers. 

An Indoor Home for the Wildflowers

I was out in the blustery wind with my grandshoot today looking at our sweet little wildflowers.

None of the flowers which are blooming just now are more than an inch in size.

I am so glad God made these tiny beauties.

Looking at their small perfection reminded me of something very cool my Wildflower Friend had shown me when we were helping her renew her studio.

I realized I had everything I needed to make one of my own, so while Little Man napped, this is what I did.

I got out this surgical wire that came home with me from my job at the medical clinic.

 

 

 

And this C-clamp which I have fond feelings for.

 

 

 

 

And I emptied a few of my inexpensive individual-size salt shakers.

I decided I could replace them later, since I purchased them at the restaurant supply store for about thirty-five cents each.

(Or maybe I should save the money and get a manicure.)

 

 

 

I twisted a couple strands of wire together for a few inches and then wrapped them around the top of one of the shakers and continued to twist.

 

 

 

 

I did this until I had three bottles sitting side by side.

Then I twisted the same length of wire on the other side.
 

 

 

 

 

I used my needle nose pliers to roll the ends up.

 

 

 

 

Then I went out to the wildflower garden and cut a few of the tiny beauties.

 

 

 

I haven't shown you the delicate pink ones.

 

 

 

I'm really pleased with the result, because it means I can enjoy this color and sweetness on my workdesk, which is generally too crowded and messy for a vase of any real size.
 

 

 

God is in the details. 

05/01 Update on this craft here.

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

Friday is Arbor Day, and I hate to short-change it, but I can't stop thinking about Saturday.

Saturday is May Day.

And I have such fond childhood memories of making May Baskets.

I'm sure we probably filled our little woven paper baskets with the "flowers" which grew in the big field behind our house.

But we thought they were beautiful.

On May Day we would hang our little baskets on the front door knobs of elderly neighbors and then ring the doorbell and run.

I don't know if I can ring a doorbell and still run fast enough to be out of sight when someone answers, but I do know I can still cut paper.

And pick wildflowers, if need be.

This afternoon my friend, Able Baker Dana, came over to play with her new watercolors.

I just couldn't settle down to watercolor today.

I kept thinking about May Day and these:

 

 

These are the "placemats" I made for last Saturday's tea party.

I brought them home 'unsullied'.

I decided to see if I could make them into May 'baskets'.

Here's what happened.

I folded them in half.

 

 

I cut along the fold.

 

 

 

I did a 'roll test'.

(Dana, meanwhile, was watercoloring per original plan.)

 

 

 

 

See how that top part was sticking up?

I didn't like that.

I decided to trim a little off one side.

 

 

 

 

And, because I wanted that scalloped edge to look like eyelet, I punched a hole in each of the scallops.

 

 

 

I'm holding the scrap paper underneath to keep the punch from eating my lightweight paper.

It still wrinkled a bit, but so did I and no one threw me out.

After I got the shape right, I gently folded the scalloped edge toward the outside.

(Dana was still quietly watercoloring, with an occasional glance up to see that I was making more noise and mess than actual progress.)

 

 

 

 

Then I put a little glue-tape at the inside bottom corner and rolled up my cone.

 

 

 

 

This is where I decided I needed more time this week to mess with all this... but I pressed on to finish the prototype.

I stamped a little image on watercolor paper, and (finally!) joined Able Baker Dana in a little watercoloring.

 

 

 

 

I cut out the finished piece, glued it to a bright background, and then cut around that, too.

 

 

 

 

Then I got to messing around with ribbons and forgot to take any photos.

This is where I stopped for the day.

 

 

 

 

I know May Day is all about the flowers which bloom in May, but I am seriously considering making paper flowers for some of my cones, too.

They wouldn't cost me anything, they wouldn't wilt, and there is something about messing with floral tape that I find slightly addictive.

Like I said, I'll just have to hope I get time to play around with this again before Saturday.

You know what I want right now, though?

A banana split for dinner.  

Les Fleurs et Les Insectes

I'm still in awe of the lovely spring we are having this year.

Monday it got downright cold, though, and I really appreciated that.

I needed a day to curl up and rest, and it was nice to be able to get out my (one and only finished) quilt for comfort.

 

 

 

About the only useful thing I did around here was to take care of the living things.

I'm still babying all the herbs I planted from seed, and I am watching my new wildflower garden with great anticipation.

When I checked it Monday, the alyssum was just starting to bloom.

 

 

 

My trouble is, I don't know very many plants by sight, and I've lost the little drawing I made to remind me which seeds I sowed, and where.

There are some awfully sweet little blue flowers popping up and I don't know their names.

 

 

The bugs like them, too, but I don't think they care what they're called.

Dear Reader

I'm easy to please. 

Inchie, Minchie, Meanie, Moe.

I've got a case of the Linchies (late Inchies).

Sometimes I tell a story here without including the Inchie.

Like this one for last Thursday.

 

 

And sometimes there's an Inchie for a story I haven't told at all.

Like this one for last Friday.

 

 

 

And then I'm not sure what to do.

Do you want to see each of them individually? (Eachies?)

Or shall I simply include it in the month-end Inchie photo? (Minchies?)

Should I make a special post just for a random Inchie? (Rinchie?)

Or do you wish you could tell me you'd like never to see an Inchie again? (Meanies?)

Tell me what to do.

Here's your chance.

Sunday Shoes - "Winners"

I saw some pretty cool shoes on my Cookie Seester in church yesterday morning.

Alas, I did not have my camera.

So, we just invited them home for lunch and photo shoot.

We gathered in the kitchen and got busy making, serving, and eating homemade pizza.

And talking, sharing, and laughing.

 

 

Then they went home.

And, alas, I still had no picture.

But I did have a soccer game to attend.

Two of our married shoots, along with several of their cousins, play indoor soccer together.

There is not a lot of soccer history with most of the players on their team, and they hadn't won a game yet this season.

That's all changed now.

These are the Sunday Shoes of a winner.

 

Get some.

"We have a winner!"

Not that we had a contest or anything.

We just had a winning sort of weekend.

The tea party on Saturday was a lovely affair.

Each of the tables reflected the personality of its hostess.

I thought you might like to see a few of them.

This one was all bunnies and spring time.

 

 
 
  

And this one was luxurious and elegant.

 

 

 

 

One of my artist friends has an amazing Barbie collection.

Here is a close-up of her delightful table.

 

 

 

 

Another of my artist friends works in flowers.

Here is her gorgeous centerpiece.

 

 

 

 

Each person at her table had their own little bouquet, as well.

 

 

 

 

Can you guess the theme for the table where I found this?

 

 

 

 

And here is the table I hosted.

(Wasn't it nice of them to provide tea boxes in just the right colors for my table?)

 

 

 

 

Let me tell you something about our table.

It just so happened that our table was situated right in front of the speaker.

And when we shifted to make room for three people who wanted to sit side-by-side, our college girlie, Miss Mary Mack, wound up in the chair directly in front of the microphone.

When the hostess stood up to draw names for the door prizes, she said, "In the interest of being totally unbiased, I am going to have a guest choose the winning tickets from the basket."

She looked around.

"Mary, you're right here. Would you like to draw a ticket for us?"

Mary blushed.

"Sure."

The basket was held before her.

"Just dig down in there and pull one up."

Mary dug down in there and pulled one up.

She handed it to the hostess.

"Our winner is..."

Pause.

"Mary!"

Uproarious laughter and clapping.

Mary turned scarlet.

But I'm sure she'll be back to normal by the time she uses her Starbucks gift card to take her mommy out for coffee.

 

 

Not tea.

Cutting Corners

I'm still messing around with table decorations for that afternoon tea on Saturday, and, for me, it's all about what I can do with what I (or my friends and family!) already have on hand.

One of my Seesters let me cut a few blooms from her azalea bush to use in my floral centerpiece.

And I cut some scalloped round placemats out of paper for additional color.

I tried two different papers before I decided to go with the green, and I got to looking at the scraps which were left after cutting off the corners.

They made me think of those azalea blossoms.

And I wondered if I could make some paper azalea blossoms for a spot in the tablescape which was needing  color.

I got out a few supplies...

...and did a little free-form cutting.

I used the large scallop edge scissors for the petals, but I cut them with the negative side of the scallop toward the inside.

I crinkled up the bottom part of the petals, but did not wire them individually.

I did wire the leaves individually.

And, pretty quickly, I had a pile of possizaleas.

I made a loop in one end of a 5" piece of wire and...

 
 

...wrapped it in floral tape.

I'll just stop here to say I really appreciate floral tape.

I made a few loops with my heavy-duty black thread...

...and started assembling flowers.

Loops first, a couple of petals, the top leaf, the rest of the petals, and then the bottom leaf.

In much less time than it took the OKC Thunder to beat the LA Lakers, I had eight complete flowers.

Whether or not they look like azalea blossoms may be debatable.

  
 

But, with the addition of a few pins, I now have eight paper corsages and...

...the color I needed for that plain space.

 

Don't let anyone tell you that cutting corners is a negative thing.

The Art of Making Friends

I went to the Fesival of the Arts with Prince Charming yesterday evening.

I fell in love with this gorgeous shallow bowl by Craig McMillan.

It's quite large; approximately 30" in diameter.

And the crystallized pieces in the center look like pansies.

The photo does it no justice.

 

 

 

I am still thinking about this piece of pottery.

But I am thinking even more about the Potters.

We had dinner with the Potters.

The weather was gorgeous, and dining al fresco was ideal.

Everyone thought so.

The tables were all taken.

But not the chairs.

So we pulled up a couple of chairs and ate with the Potters.

We didn't know the Potters.

That is, until we started discussing Indian Tacos and Strawberries Newport with them.

Strawberries Newport has (have?) mystical powers, and within ten minutes we were the closest of friends.

At least that's what Dr. Metz thought.

When the Potters spotted and called out to him, he left his table to come say hello and introduce himself to us.

After all, a friend of the Potters' is a friend of Dr. Metz'.

Life can be such fun.

It's all in who you know.

Waiting

There is a first time for everything.

I have been completely unable to fix on a visual representation of the "something I want to remember" from Sunday.

Things which happen externally involve tangible objects, and provide images from which I can pick and choose.

But, when I am surrounded by hundreds of other people on Sunday mornings, each possessing a measure of the Spirit of God, things often happen internally for which there are no earthly images.

I have notes, and I'm keeping the eyes of my heart open, but I'm really stuck.

Meanwhile, here is the Inchie for...

 

 

...Tuesday's tangible goodness.

Exposed

I'm dealing with the issues related to my brain malfunction today.

Specifically, the malfunction which caused me to sign up to decorate a table for a tea party.

My workdesk:

 

 

 

Are these table decorations...

 

 

 

...or favors?

 

 

 

If I had known how I was going to use them when I started stamping the images, perhaps I would have cut them on the fold so they weren't so naked in the back.

 

 

 

Or perhaps you should just stop staring at their naked backsides.

I mean, how would you feel if you were exposed like that and somebody put your picture all over the Internet?

Gosh.

A Tutu for Lulu

When I got up this morning, I did not know this would be part of my day.

 

 

 

But my Seester called to see if I could help her make a tutu for her grandshoot's third birthday.

She came over with her grandshoot and this colorful stack of sparkly tulle.

We made a circlet of elastic a few inches smaller than her grandshoot's waist, and we cut the tulle in 6" x 24" pieces.

Then we folded each piece of tulle in half and attached it to the elastic with a slip knot.

I prefer to think it says something about the size of her grandshoot's waist, rather than the size of my lower thigh, that we used said lower thigh for a hitching post while we worked.

 

 

 

 

My Seester got hold of my camera when I got up to let the cat out (or was it back in?) during this operation.

 

 

 

 

Everything looks good with All Stars.

Even twisted elastic.

Or twisted sisters.

The birthday girl, however, was patiently waiting for her new tutu, so I had to give it up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But I kept the Inchie.  

Caught in the Act of Good Times

Igotslotstodothisweek.

I may not be able to post much.

(Then again, I may post more than ever.)

Either way, here are some reading suggestions for you.

 

 

 

Two new reads came into my hands via my D'Art group recently.

My strange collecting habits prompted the loan of this one.

Look at the print on the fly leaf...

 

 

...and this page of the book:

 

 

Aha.

I am not such a freak, after all!

I have not told you about another of my collections.

But, lo and behold, I am not alone in this one, either.

 

 

And, lest any of you think I take the cake for strange collections, cast your optics on this:

 

 

Framed soap shards.

Yep.

You need to see the book.

Look for it.

 

My Native American friend, What Would Happen If, suggested this book to me:

 

 

 

However, she was much more creative in her presentation.

She sent me a photo of herself holding the book up in front of a mirror, so I had to read the title backwards.

Love those creative types.

This is a guide book for "living each individual, glorious day with more intention".

You might want to check it out, too.

I'm showing you this close-up...

 

 

...just to explain Saturday's Inchie.

 

 

Maybe I will write a book.

"In Flagrante Bonus Vicis". 

Sunday Shoes - "Improv"

I've been thinking (for several months now) about taking a series of photographs of Sunday shoes.

I wasn't planning to focus on dress shoes, necessarily, I just wanted to take a picture of a different set of shoes each Sunday.

And, of course, I want them to have feet in them, too.

This morning I decided today was the day to start.

It seemed serendipitous when one of our college shoots came downstairs shod for church in a pair of elegant heels today.

However...

Her car tire went flat while we were worshiping, and both the tire and the dress shoes were changed before I remembered about the picture.

Something jogged my memory when I heard her gathering up her things to return to school.

I grabbed my camera, thinking I would ask her to slip on her dress shoes for a quick photograph.

I got so much more than I was hoping for.

She hadn't packed appropriate casual footwear for the unexpected cold weather, so this is how she'd decided to keep her feet warm for the drive home:

 

 

This photo completely affirms my belief that the Sunday Shoes Series was meant to be.

And it was meant to start today.
 

It's a Small World After All

Look at this neat little addition to my produce sticker collection.

 

 

It really did come from a cute piece of fruit.

It was a hybrid - a cross between a sweet orange and a mandarin - and just the right size for little people or a little snack.

I tried to get the peel off in just one piece.

I wasn't successful.

But I was still terribly happy.

Because, as you know,...

 

 

I live in my own little world.

A Measure of Goodness

Yesterday I had one of those mornings which I can only describe as an explosion of goodness.

Early in the day, the members of my D'Art group met up to clear out and re-organize one of the members' studio.

I have as much (or more) fun organizing art supplies as I do using them, so the opportunity to do something I love, for someone I love, was a blessing in itself.

But this someone I love is an avowed "match-maker", who finds great joy in connecting friends she loves with other friends she loves.

So I had the pleasure of making two lovely new friends before breakfast.

Breakfast!

She made us a breakfast of crepes, with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, crispy bacon, juice, and fresh hot coffee.

There was so much goodness for body, soul and spirit that it was necessary to expend energy just to keep from exploding.

Off we went to work.

In a cottage studio so sweet I'm sure it's part of a fairtytale.

My friend was paring down the contents of her studio during the reorganization, and piled up the give-aways for our perusal and taking.

How blessed was I to inherit one of her collections to add to one of my (meager-to-the-point-of-imaginary) collections?

This morning (this wonderfully quiet Saturday morning), Prince Charming and I handled and discussed each new treasure.

And then we laid our new wood floor.

Jack approved.

As well he should.

Each slat is inscribed with a bit of history.

Some are so old that the phone numbers are only 5 digits long.

All have a message of one sort or another.

And the variety of color is lovely.

We didn't really lay a floor with these.

But I wish we could.

I could look at them with enjoyment for a very long time.

When I thought back over the day that brought them into my keeping, I knew I would never be able to write about it's many blessings in just one post, much less represent them on a single Inchie.

I thought about trying to draw an explosion of goodness.

I thought about drawing a cup running over.

I thought about an exclamation mark.

And then I realized something wonderful.

I did not have to limit myself to just one inch for this day.

When Life Gives You Lemon Balm

The little seedlings in the sunroom are growing up and doing well.

I thought I had everything I wanted.

Parsley.

Check.

Thyme.

Check.

Rosemary, basil, oregano, and dill.

Check, check, check, and check.

But yesterday I went out to buy a watering can, and couldn't keep myself from wandering over to look at the herbs in the garden center.

Lemon balm?

Lemon balm!

Oh, you wonderfully scented lemon balm!

Where have you been all my life?

I have to have you.

For the pretty red pot on the kitchen window sill.

So I can run my hands through your leaves after I wash the dishes, and carry your lovely scent into my day.

Sigh.

Mail is for the birds.

I'm off to the post office in a moment to mail a package for Me Darlin' Mither.

It's a box full of happy things (one of my girls, some tiny baby birdies, paper bunnies, and paper dolls).

One musn't slap a plain label on such a box.

I gussied mine up with an old favorite paper-cutting craft.

I love this one because it's more free-form than most of the others I do.

No patterns to trace.

No exacting work with the scissors.

 

Here are the materials I used today:

 

Yes, that's the inside of a security envelope.

And, yes, that cell phone user's guide plays an important role.

 

Here's a step-by-step:

Using the Sharpie marker, draw some birdie bodies (say that three times really fast) on the papers of your choice, and leave a little paper showing outside the marker lines when you cut them out.

Draw and cut a few beaks and feathers in the same way.

 

 

Rethink your junk mail, catalogs and magazines.

You can use all kinds of paper.

 

 

I didn't take any photographs of this step, but you should draw and cut some eyes, too.

No blind birds, please.

Now you play around until you've designed some birdies.

We have here a Robin Recycle bird and a Red-feathered Gwen Wren (endangered species).

 

 

Now it's time for the (defunct) cell phone user's guide to play it's part.

We've got to apply a little glue to all these birdie parts to hold our feathered friends together.

And we certainly don't want our workdesk all gummed up and sticky, now do we?

So we open our cell phone user's guide (or any other pamphlet or catalog we don't need anymore) and we use it for our gluing surface.

 

 

 

After we've messed up a page with glue, we simply use the glue stick to turn to a fresh page, ...

 

 

 

 

...park our glue stick upside down to keep it from drying out, and we have a nice clean page waiting for our next piece.

 

 

 

Ain't it wunnerful?

It made Robin happy.

 

 

Pretty soon you'll have a pile of little birdies (or flowers, or butterflies, or...)  right there in front of you.

 

 

 

You can keep them in an envelope or a file, and the next time you have some snail mail going out, you can just glue them on the box or envelope, and use your Sharpie to draw on some legs (or antennae, or...).

And off you go to the post office.

 

 

 

Where you pay someone a very small sum of money to carry your package or letter all the way across the country for you.

It's still a pretty good deal.
 

Tiny Beauties

I had some kind of brain aneurysm a few weeks ago and signed myself up to decorate a table for an afternoon tea.

I'm sure it had something to do with a certain brown-eyed college girl saying something sweet about attending this tea together.

Today my friend, Able Baker Dana, was kind enough to help me away from the edge of the what-on-earth-have-i-gotten-myself-into cliff.

She emptied the contents of one of her china cabinets into my trunk, we chatted about flowers, we did a little bit of scouting for a yard of fabric, the world seemed like a friendly place again, and we decided to spend the rest of our afternoon making cards.

Since I quit working at the rubber stamp store some (seven? eight?) years ago, I haven't played much with my (rather large) collection of rubber stamps.

I got a few of them out today, so Dana and I could try our hand at a bit of watercoloring without having to draw or design images first. 

They were bigger than an inch.

Woohoo.

When our playtime was over, I drove Dana home.

And that's when I noticed the sweetest little patch of flowers growing alongside her walk.

When I stopped oohing and ahhing, I asked her what the tiny beauties were called.

She said she didn't know the name of the plant, though she loved them enough to transplant them from her previous home.

She said they have a very short blooming season.

Do you know what these are?

Look at this teensy, tight little bud!

 

 

 

You can tell how small they are when I am holding them in my claws fingers.

 

 

 

 

They're less than an Inchie in diameter.

 

 

 

And I'd like to know them by name.

But, until I do, since today is April 14th and it just happens to be the birthday of my earliest childhood friend...

I'm calling them Carols.  

I saw you.

The weather is so exceptionally lovely, and it stays that way for such a short time here, that I've been trading my indoor workouts for some outdoor activity the last couple of days.

Yesterday I mowed the lawn, and I found this in our back yard:

I don't know whence it came, since we've not had any construction done recently, but I sure do like it.

 

Could it be that I have a thing for any and all writing implements?

No.

Surely not.

 

Today I decided to move a bit closer to literally running errands.

I walked the few miles it required to buy some stickers at the local craft store for my Calendar-Making Seester.

And ...

 

...and behold!

I saw...

 

 
 
 

...and...

 

...on the street!

I was so glad I could pick yous up and bring yous home.

I also picked up this elegant cursive...

 

 

...and, just seconds after I thought about how hard it was probably going to be to find one, I picked up this... 

 

 
 

But, please don't think me indiscriminate.

I don't pick up everything I see.

I did refuse to pick up the baby snake I saw at the end of someone's driveway.

 

 

Even though it was perfectly essssssssssssssss shaped.

Adjectival Phrases and Such

This morning I sent off some more homemade cards, in my ongoing effort to keep up with the family calendar.

Of course, except in cases of extreme duress (read: busyness), I don't send envelopes out into the world naked.

After I've read the magazines I receive, and have clipped out and carefully filed (ahahaha) any articles, etc, I want to keep, I give them one more pass-through just for the love of words and snail mail.

I have a few old manila file folders, the insides of which I've 'striped' with a repositionable glue stick (oh, how I love me some repositionable glue stick!).

This is how I store all the wonderful little words and phrases I cut from the magazines, so they are nice and handy when I am dressing envelopes

 

 

I have a lot of fun choosing an adjective or phrase to describe myself and the addressee(s)...

 

 

 

...and selecting some random thought for the back sides of the envelopes.

 

 
 

 

It doesn't cost me anything.

And it makes me laugh.

Try it.

You'll like it.

And put my address on the front of the envelope, will you?

Yah. What he said.

Yesterday afternoon I spent an hour or so at the museum with Prince Charming.

This is the printed information about the current special exhibit.

 

 

 

The chief reason I made sure to see this exhibit before it ended was that I'd heard the words "found objects" in relation to Mr. Peters' art.

The installations were mostly quite large and three-dimensional...one occupied an entire room.

But there were a few pieces of wall art, and several of them were cut-paper works (which seemed to be representational of his larger works).

Those came in handy when I drew the day's Inchie:

 

 

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you can easily see how I might feel compelled to like any artist who cuts paper and uses found objects.

But it was this artist's statement on the back of the program that really made me love him.

Especially the portion I circled in red.

 

 

 

He has "given utterance to the truth that has been dumbly struggling within" me.

The truth about why I would share my found alphabet, or my produce sticker collection, or any number of other odd things with you.

I just want to be a speed bump in your percieved reality. 

The Making of an Inchie

See these Inchies (for April 7th and 8th)?

 

Want to know how they are made?

I sit down every evening, think over the day for minute, grab an inch of watercolor paper, draw and color an image, date the back, take a photograph, and voila!

Not.

But I was very surprised to find out, during a conversation with one of my readers last week, that I've given you the impression that I do.

Want the truth?

It starts with notes.

Until very recently, I've been jotting down notes about Inchie-worthy things that happen in my life right on the paper that covers my workdesk...just so I won't forget before I have time to draw the Inchie to represent them.

Now I keep the list in a 3x5 notebook so I can carry it with me.

Some days there are so many good things to think about, write about, or draw, that I just have to wait a little while for the Spirit to bring the Inchie into focus.

How to proceed depends on what it is I'm trying to represent.

If it is something tangible, like this homemade card I received from one of my sweet neecees last Thursday...

...then I just prop it up on my workdesk and use it as a model.

If it is an image from my day which I've captured with a photo, like this:

...or this...

...or this...

...I will upload the photo and sit in front of the computer monitor to make a large sketch (that's a penny in the photo for perspective ).

I take the large sketches to my workdesk and sketch a few inch-sized boxes to see whether I will be able to scale down my chosen images without losing clarity.

Once I know exactly which image I am going to use, I sketch it on the inch of watercolor paper with a pencil...

...go over it with "The Pen"...

 
 
 ...and then erase the pencil lines.

Now, if I had carefully planned this Inchie project, instead of just jumping in and starting it on a whim one evening, I would have purchased a super fine-point, permanent ink pen that would not bleed when wet.

But, I didn't...

...plan the project...

...or purchase a super fine-point permanent pen.

So I used what I had.

And I still do.

This is what I use:

 

This pen makes a line so fine that you can write on a grain of rice.

If you have anything to say to a grain of rice.

I don't.

After I've got my design outlined in ink, I start adding the color.

I don't own a set of watercolors.

Now, if I had carefully planned this Inchie project, blah blah blah, I would have purchased a set of watercolors.

But you know now that I did not.

So I used what I had.

And still do.

These are watercolor markers (two different types), a (leftover) ceramic tile, and a fine paint brush.

I just put a little color on the tile with the marker...

...and add a little water with my brush.

I mix all my color right on the tile...and if I run out of room, I just wipe it off with a cloth.

If I let this color dry on the tile, I could come back a year from now, add water, and paint with it again.

Cool, huh?

This is how I start adding color to the Inchie:

 

When I am done with the color, I lay the Inchie next to some scrap paper to see how my text will fit.

Then I write in the text, date the back, and take a photograph like this:

The little Inchie then takes it's place in the line up; which is temporarily affixed to a piece of cardstock.

This is how my little Inchies are made.

And this is how I force myself to practice drawing.

Because it is still hard work for me to do the things I most want to do.

Red(orange) With Embarassment

Friday I went on an overnight retreat with some lovely artist friends.

We stayed at St. Francis of the Woods Spiritual Renewal Center.

Just far enough away from the city that we left it's noise behind without having a long drive.

Perfect.

The weather was as lovely as the company, and soon after arriving we were all outside lounging in the warm sun.

I love being with these creative people...they notice everything.

This weed, with it's pretty little hearts, was pointed out by one of them.

It's easy to miss little things.

 

 

In the evening, while this fabulous dinner...

 

 

...was cooking, one of the painters in our group led us through a paint mixing exercise and we made our own color wheels.

 

 

 

She was a good teacher, we had a lot of fun, and we all learned new things.

 

 

 

I did not learn how to mix red-orange, though.

I couldn't get the red-orange right for the life of me.

But when I got home and drew the Inchie for April 9th...

 

 

 

...I couldn't get it right then, either!

Comforting Alice and Amy

Wednesday I took my grandshoot on his first field trip to my Chicken-Raising Seester's place.

I wanted to visit Alice and Amy and comfort them in the loss of their friends, Marilyn and Tammy Faye.

The minute she heard our car coming up the gravel road, Auntie Chickie let her flock out for Little Man.

The minute Little Man had his feet on the ground, he went running for a closer look.

 

 

 

Of course, chickens are faster than little boys.

But, "if you feed them, they will come".

Auntie Chickie got out some oatmeal.

 

 

And Little Man spread it as far as his little arms would let him.

 

 

 

 

Auntie Chickie thought Little Man might like to meet Curly.

You can guess that his toes may have been the reason for his name.

 

 

 

A closer inspection seemed necessary.

 

 

 

Look at Curly's face.

Do chickens have thoughts?

"Whatever, kid."

"Geesh, enough about my toes already."

 

There are some very pretty hens and roosters at Auntie Chickie's place.

 

 

Remember the beautiful guinea feathers I showed you?

Here they are 'at home'.

 

 

Now, I'm thinking maybe God saw how attractive all those black and white feathers were and felt He needed to do something to keep the guinea from becoming vain and conceited.

He does all things well.

Look at this face.

 

 

All together now.

 

 

 

 

Gosh, you're ugly.

 

 

 

Who you calling ugly?

You're right.

I'll bet those lashes are the envy of the barnyard.

 

Well, back to Amy and Alice.

My seester says they are inseparable; always together where ever they roam.

I told her I wanted to get a picture of them with Little Man.

I perched Little Man on the back porch steps.

I manned the camera.

Auntie Chickie manned the 'girls'.

 

 

"Hello, Alice. Nice to meet you."

Auntie Chickie tried to add Amy to the mix, but there was too much chicken and not enough boy.

 

 

She really wanted me to have my photo, though.

So she decided she would just zip Amy right into Little Man's jacket, and Alice would stay close to be near her.

 

"Now listen here, Alice."

"I've got Amy, see..."

 

 

But Alice would have none of that tough talk, and she staged a revolt.

 

 

Now remember, Little Man had warned her... 'I'VE GOT AMY..."

 

Bwahahaha!

Bwalk!!!!

 

Alright, now before you turn me over to the animal cruelty people, or think dreadful thoughts about my grandshoot, Little Man truly did not know he was strangling poor Amy.

He was just a little boy trying to get a big chicken out of his little jacket.

And I was still shooting pictures.

Remember, Auntie Chickie was supposed to be manning the girls.

I promise you we left them healthy and happy.

Really.

I promise.  
 

"...but keep the old."

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot...?"

Never.

Especially if an old acquaintance becomes a new friend.

Another lovely side effect of writing this blog is hearing from old acquaintances.

I was treated to lunch Tuesday by one of mine.

She loves paper.

She loves origami.

She loves paper stars.

She recently purchased a pad of watercolor paper.

She has lots of art supplies.

She is a graphic designer.

I did not know any of these things about her before we had lunch together.

I don't own any watercolor paints.

I throw five or ten inches-worth of drawings away for every Inchie I keep.

I am scared to start painting a real canvas.

I am not good at interior decorating.

She did not know any of these things about me before we had lunch.

Now we both have new things to think about.

 

 

And a new friend.

"Make new friends..."

I've met some lovely people since I started writing this blog, and one of my new friends works with Prince Charming.

Monday, she sent home with him a most perfect gift for me.

Remember Swimmy by Leo Lionni?  I blogged about it here.

Leo Lionni wrote some of my favorite children's books.

I used to check them out from the library when the shoots were little.

So I could look at them.

It was such a surprise to find out he had written this book and I had never seen it.

I do believe God saved it so it would come into my life at this time, and in this way.

Such a personal kind of kindness!

This is a book I wish I'd written.

It's a story about something which may have taken place on my workdesk.

 

Or in my life.

 

Let's make friends.  

Instant Fun - Just add art.

We had a family picnic here on Easter Sunday.

It got quite a bit warmer than we were expecting, though, and we don't have shade trees in our back yard.

So, after we had eaten, we moved our sun-burning selves to the shade of our large front porch.

And sat there.

The conversation was nice, and our grandshoot hunted for eggs briefly, but after awhile I began to feel a little antsy.

So I got out the sidewalk chalk.

I get out the sidewalk chalk once or twice every summer.

It is interesting to see what grown-ups do with sidewalk chalk.

Two of the college peeps decided to have a contest to see who could draw the best giraffe.

They asked me to judge.

An admirable job by our first contestant:

When I told our second contestant that it looked as though he'd neglected to plan ahead, he laughed and told me...

 

... "No. That's exactly what I did do. I planned a head."

I awarded him first place.

It has been my experience that preteen girls almost always draw a flower.

Our visiting preteen girl was no exception, and she donated this beauty to the showcase.

But, for me, the most beautiful thing of all was my first "art experience" with my grandshoot (whom we relieved of his dress clothes for the occasion).

 

His talent is already obvious.

When the sidewalk looked like this...

...and the Little Man looked awfully hot, I remembered something Me Darlin' Mither used to let us little shoots do on hot summer days.

She would fill a bucket with water, add a bit of laundry soap, give us some old house-paint brushes, and let us 'paint' on the driveway.

The water cooled us off, without the commitment it would have required to run through the sprinkler or play in the hose (did you do those things as a child?), and the detergent left just enough residue that we could still see our artwork when the water dried.

My grandshoot is still a bit young to handle a big brush and bucket, but...

...where there's a will, there's a way.

He loved it.

I got two art experiences with my first grandshoot in one day?

 

And only an inch for such joy?

Simple Beauty & Bright Colors

On April 2, our first tulip bloomed.

I love tulips for their simple beauty and bright colors.

And I love ours because Prince Charming plants them, waits anxiously for the first bloom...

 

 

...and is so happy when he sees it.

------

On April 3, we colored eggs.

I love colored eggs for their simple beauty and bright colors.

And I love ours because the shoots dye them, wait anxiously for my reaction...

 

 

...and are so happy when they make me laugh.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

I told you I was going to be foolish on April first, and I made a real success of it.

Two friends and I had set aside the day to get together and do 'something that doesn't matter'.

At least, that's the way I put it.

For as many reasons as there are people, sometimes life just gets kind of heavy and you have to get the world off of your shoulders on purpose.

But I was as surprised as could be that, as I prayed about what we should do, what came to mind was, "Go fly a kite."

Better yet, go make a kite.

I found some very simple and very clear instructions on the PBS website.

And since I had recently been given three large rolls of (awesome) paper by one of my (awesome) shoots, we needed only to add string and a few dowels and we were in business.

Now, I had visions when the first thoughts of kite-flying came to me.

Visions from my childhood.

Visions of my big bruvver's kite...so far out in the blue California sky that it was a mere speck.

I really looked up to my Funny Big Bruvver, and any attention his teenage self paid my little grade school self was deeply cherished.

So the day he asked if I wanted to hold the line of his far-off-in-the-sky-kite for a minute, I felt the honor, and his trust in me, deeply.

At least, I felt it for the first fifteen or twenty minutes I stood there.

All alone.

In the fading daylight.

And then I realized he'd gone home to have dinner.

 

Well, I still love my Funny Bruvver, and I still want him to be proud of me, and I was still thinking about him when we started building our first kites.

We started off well.

 

 

And after building the kites, we played with paint and markers.

 

 

 

When they were sufficiently cheerful, we packed our picnic lunch and headed to the nearby lake...

...where 40 mph winds blew our food off of our spoons before we could get it to our mouths...

...and where we held our coffee cups about a foot away from the Thermos and let the wind blow the coffee into them...

...and where we made the brilliant decision to move to the park north of the lake  - "where the winds won't be so straightline" - before launching our kites.

Ha.

Haha.

Hahaha.

One of the girls never made it out of the parking lot before the Kite-Eating Tree took posession of her kite.

I made it to the field before the wind sent my kite in dizzying circles, snapped it's string, sent it's tail to Kansas, and slammed it into the ground.

The third (overachiever) girl got as far as to have me hold her kite aloft while she let out string...only to have it break free immediately upon release, drop a few feet, and glue itself to my legs by sheer wind power.

If that had been the end of it, we had already laughed hard enough to shake every care from our shoulders.

But the chase across the parking lot after a runaway kite finished us off.

When it was over, the strings and (remaining) tails looked like this...

 

 

...our well-built and beautiful kites still looked like this...

 

...and the Inchie looked like this.

 

 

And, though our kites never became mere specks in the blue Oklahoma sky...

...our cares sure did.

You Asked For It

Several of you asked me to post all the Inchies together at the end of a month.

And you know I like to make you happy.

(You can click on the picture to make it larger.)

 

 

I have them temporarily affixed to a piece of cardstock.

I have eleven more months to think about how they will be permanently displayed.

I've had some great suggestions.

  - framed - each month in a separate frame
  - framed - in a way which allows me to change the piece each month
  - framed - all 365 Inchies together (that would be one whopping frame!)
  - made into a coffee table book, one month per page

Do you have any suggestions?

I do want to have them displayed because, already, these little inches are helping me to remember more clearly some of the blessings that have been poured into my days.

And to thank God for them.

Stringing Buttons

Let me tell you why the last Inchie for March looks like this:

 

Sometimes, My Chicken-Raising Seester leaves her chickens all cooped up while she steps out to an auction or two.

I, on the other hand, do not.

Step out to auctions or have chickens to coop up.

So my Chicken-Raising Seester kindly keeps her eyes peeled for buttons and old metal scissors for my collections.

(So far, she's given me all the old metal scissors in my collection.)

And a week or so ago, she gave me this jar of button beauties.

 

 

Notice that she even parted with one of her decoupaged jar lids.

Ladies and gentlemen, I humbly accept this honor.

Look what else she gave me:

 

 

Stork scissors!

My Cute Little Red-Haired Seester had a pair of these embroidery scissors years ago when I lived with her.

She also had a very large button jar.

The envy of button jars everywhere.

When my Seesters and I were little, we used to sit and string buttons.

We were young enough that we didn't string them with any pattern in mind.

We did it just for the doing of it.

Of course, the shiny buttons were considered treasures.

 

 

And we may have fought once or twice over the "pretty ones".

 

 

But, although some of the shank buttons were lovely...

 

 

 

...we didn't like the "sideways" buttons on our strings.

 

 

When the string was full up to the needle, we were done.

And we were happy.

Post Me

The last two weeks have been so full of bunnies, chicks, and all things spring, that I have to scurry to get cards done for the eleven birthdays and two anniversaries on the April family calendar.

I had to miss yet another family wedding this weekend (in another state).

And though I keep sending these little cards through the air to all those people I love...

 

...I'm wishing it was me.

Are they too old?

See these beautiful quail eggs?

 

 

We have always dyed eggs as part of our Easter celebration.

This year was no exception.

But it had to wait until 11 p.m. Saturday night this year, because that's when the college girls finally made it home.

We laid out all the usual stuff.

 

I brought out some leftover vinyl alphabet stickers, thinking we'd add some Easter-appropriate words.

I tried to set an example.

Joy.

Easter joy.

 

 

 

And they started off well.

 

 

But there weren't enough letters to spell 'risen'.

And one of them was feeling grouchy and trying not to act grouchy. 

So she took it out on the egg.

 

 

('Up' is on the other side.)

And an egg responded:

 

 

And there was a response to that.

 

 

Thus, total deterioration was reached.

And what was left of the letters inspired this: 

 

 

So we ended with laughter.  

Resurrection Life

The first of our tulips bloomed this morning.

Prince Charming took this photo for you.

 

 

Just before he set off to get a new computer desk for me.

As soon as he returns we will be unplugging the (5.7 million) cords that are now connected to this computer, and setting it up in its new home.

So I will take this opportunity to wish you all a blessed Easter, and leave you, until Monday, with a verse from The Easter Song, by Anne Herring.

We have used Keith Green's recording of this song to wake up our Shoots every Easter morning for as many years as I can remember.

And still it thrills me.

 

Hear the bells ringing,

They're singing that you can be born again!

Hear the bells ringing,

They're singing, 'Christ is risen from the dead!

 

Joy to the world!

He has risen, hallelujah!

He's risen, hallelujah!

He's risen, hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

 

Springy Thingie 6

I got this iris place card pattern from Martha Stewart years ago.

I made only one this year; just as a 'pretty' for Me Darlin' Mither.

We'll be having a picnic lunch on Easter, so we won't have any place cards.

Or dishes to wash.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Something bad happens when the creative energy is gone before the naked cupcakes.

And my daughter asked me to show you.

 

 
 

When she saw these she said,

"You did those?"

"Yes."

"All of them?"

"Yes."

"They look like something I would do."

"I told you I was tired."

"Actually, Mom, they look even worse than mine would."

Thank you, honey.

 

What? No bunnies?

It's okay.

Birds are fun, too.

I had to take a little break from the springy thingies to make a card for a wedding.

 

 

There will be another anniversary on the family calendar next year.

And that's a good thing.
 

Springy Thingies 5

By her special request, I revisited Miss Mary Mack's favorite Springy Paper Thingie from years gone by.

But, this time, I used the feathers I rescued from under Me Darlin' Mither's canary's cage.

Maybe this little bookmark will cheer up a college textbook or a dreary study hour.

 

 

That's asking a lot of a little chick, though.

-----

I also wanted you to know about these.

 

 
 
 

They look like little petits fours, and are my favorites of all the spring baking I did with Able Baker Dana this week.

And they are easy-peasy to make.

  1. Bake your cupcakes in a mini-muffin pan and let cool.

  2. Using one color at at time, heat your icing in a small bowl in the microwave for about 8 seconds...until it's the consistency of heavy cream.

  3. Dip the top of the cupcakes in the icing until covered and gently shake off excess.

  4. Turn right side up, let the icing set, and decorate using a pastry bag with a fine tip...or just put your white icing in a small ziploc bag and just snip off a little of one corner.

You can make them with homemade cake and icing, which is what Naomi does.

Or you can make them with a cake mix and canned icing, which is what Gwen does.

That's how Gwen gets lots more "fun time" than Naomi.

But, hey, you get to decide for yourself.

Shrinking Violets

I had so much fun being foolish with my friends in honor of the day, that I am too plum-tuckered out to write about it tonight.

But they both showed up bearing gifts this morning and, though I lost natural light before I got them all photographed, I did make sure to get this one today, because it may not last until tomorrow.

 

 

She brought me her first violets of the season.

I am blessed.

Springy Thingie 4

I got up early this morning to start making my favorite dinner for this time of year.

Prince Charming is having a luncheon at the office, and I told him I'd prepare this for him to take.

I started with these ingredients.

 

 

First I made the vegetables.

 

Then the mashed potatoes and gravy.

 

Then I made the fried chicken. Drumsticks!

 

 

Remember these?

 

 

They're chicken bones.

 

 

Now off to work with the Prince!

 

It's April Fools Day.

I've got to go act foolish.