To Focus or Not to Focus - What Was the Question?

 

I read lots of blogs and lots of blog comments (some  comments are pure genius and many are just so darn funny).  I read a comment recently that started me thinking about my own posts.  The commenter was on a bit of a rant , listing all the things she didn't like about blogs, and her main gripe was "blogs that go off-topic".  She thinks that a blog should have a theme and the writer should stick to the topic - no other stuff - no personal interest stories, and, gasp! NO pictures of family. 

Give me someone who can write a few interesting paragraphs and add some visual interest to them and I'm likely to read about all kinds of stuff I didn't even know interested me.  How else would I know that people are making dryer balls out of old wool sweaters? Or that there are many grandparents with good ideas about being part of a far away grandchild's life?  Or that in France, end of season sales are regulated by the government?   This is all good stuff and happily someone decided to share it. It seems to work like this for me - interesting people say interesting things about all kinds of things and there's usually something to learn or find funny.

Truth be told,  even my  favorite bloggers sometimes post things that don't get me all whopped up, but I just move on and come back the next day.  Pretty sure it's OK to click on the next one if the current read isn't doing it for you.  Personally,  I'm not a fan of scrolling through posts full of pictures pulled off the Internet, but again, that magic mouse clicking saves the day !   According to Wikipedia, there were 156 million blogs in 2011. That's a whole lotta posting goin' on, so bound to be some duds on occasion.

Which brings me to my point - the long way around, I know - I admire people with many interests as I find them more interesting.  It must be great to write with total authority about something, but frankly, I'm more of a "jack of all trades" kind of person.  I'm interested in all kinds of things, but not an expert in any and my blog posts definitely reflect that.  Sometimes I think I need a focus, but my attention span is too short to allow that to happen! 

So my posts reflect what I am dubbing my "panoramic" focus - encompassing a whole spectrum of things - wide sweep, not much zoom detail.

And the perfect segue - more experimenting in the journal, with a quote appropriate for today.  I started with a swipe of gesso, then ran a zig-zagged cut credit card through the wet gesso for texture.  I wiped on some lime  acrylic paint and then removed some with a baby wipe.  It still needed something, so scraped on some turquoise chalk, dribbled some gesso over it and smooshed the color around.  That's a fun way of adding some color and a bit of texture at the same time.

Journal pages need words, so I listed some of those things that interest me.  The writing, with a fine Sharpie, was too pronounced, so more gesso over it to tone it down and some random words scrawled over it in white ink.

I glued down some random papers and a few pieces of Tim Holtz tapes, stamped some circles with white acrylic paint and the clocks around the edges with a dark ink.  This is the part where the experts tell you to just keep going, without thinking too much.  So I added the image of the dresses and not sure I like it, but it's staying.  Some of stamped clock images didn't work, so I wiped some gesso over them and stamped white flourishes instead - -much better!

I'm beginning to be more comfortable in my journal.  I'm learning to  just keep moving ahead, reworking it and going in whatever direction the piece goes.  This page is not at all what I had in mind, but this is where we landed!

Dryer Sheet Flowers

I came across a the idea of making flowers from dryer sheets and decided to give it a go.  That lacy, slightly ratty fiber left over after banging around in the dryer seemed the right texture for some shabby blossoms.

I've been saving the dryer sheets and put the used ones back in the dryer with wet clothes several times to really soften them.  First step is to spray the dry sheets with color - I used homemade sprays - a few drops of ink in a small mist bottle.  Spray evenly and then let dry.  My sheets were pretty shabby and had some small holes after their frequent trips through the dryer, and the color obviously saturated the intact fibers more than the more beat-up spots.  I wasn't all that happy with the purple (top right) as it looked almost black.  I also tried just swiping Distress Ink right onto the sheet - the  blue flower in the bottom left of the  photo below was done just by swiping - I like that technique as well as the sprayed version.

Next, cut out three or four different sized circles - I did this by hand, using various paint containers as templates. Don't be concerned about getting these circles perfectly round - round-ish works fine.

I used two layers of each size circle for the flowers to make them fuller, except for the purple which really looked black with multiple layers.  I only used three circles to make the purple one; the others had five or six.  I liked the look of a contrasting center, so cut out some extra small yellow circles for the centers.  I snipped the edges on some to add some texture interest to the centers.  The purple one got a drizzle of glitter glue to lighten it up some.  Stack the layers , each one slightly off center .  I sewed small white buttons  through all the layers to hold them all together.  You could used brads - must try that next time!

These quick and easy cards showcase the flowers nicely.

I stamped text on an uncolored sheet and really like that look!

And now, a PSA about dryer sheets .  While investigating dryer sheets online ( now  you know how exciting my life is!), I found some frightening things - turns out that dryer sheets are filled with toxic chemicals and, get this, animal fat!  I use the fragrance-free kind, but even those have harmful chemicals and that pesky animal fat, hiding under the fancy name "stearate".  Apparently the heat in the dryers melts the softening agents and  it coats the fibers, making them slippery, which we interpret as "soft".   Check out some more information here and here.   Makes me think I should start investigating some of the other stuff I use!

 Dryer sheets are a marketers dream-come-true, convincing us we "need" something and then creating a product to meet the "need".  Natural fiber fabrics don't get all clingy in the dryer, so using more natural fibers and fewer man-made ones can eliminate the static problem.  I've been cutting back on my dryer sheet addiction, using them only in every other load, but I'm going to check out  Mrs. Meyers Basil Dryer Sheets. I love the natural smell of MM basil counter cleaner, so I'm looking forward to basil- infused towels! There are all kinds of recipes out there for homemade versions as well.   Of course, hanging clothes outside would be another solution and while that makes clothes smell great, I'm not that noble!

Check out all the great DIY projects over at The 36th Avenue Link Party!

Hail, Hail the Gang Was Here

Granddaughter SPS watching the waves

Our kids are scattered all over the States - Massachusetts, Washington, DC, Montana, Washington state, and California.   We have a blended family with a  grand total of eight kids.  It's really a challenge to get all of them on the same coast at the same time, and this year we were missing three, but we hope to get all of them together one of these days.

  I just read a comment on a blog complaining about the blogger going off-topic and posting pictures of kids.  So here's the disclaimer and  your chance to move on  - pictures of family and not much else to follow!

Looking angelic.

And playing killer croquet

The guys playing whiskey-fueled croquet.

Our annual picnic at Fort Stark.  It's a beautiful spot and we always do a bit of a more "formal" picnic here. That means we drink our bubbly in those classy clear plastic cups!    This year California daughter hired a photographer and we will soon have some professional pictures of our event .  Our pictures are usually missing the photographer or have that  frozen look you get  when you're not quite sure when the timer will actually snap the picture.

Stylin' ladies - California Daughter and granddaughter SPS

Boston Daughter and her guy SF being seriously photogenic.

SPS sharing a secret with DC Son.

Massachusetts Son and his wife GMK

Montana Daughter and Montana SIL, parents of SPS.  They are the best parents ever and our little SPS is one lucky little lady to be their daughter.

Working on an art project - bubble solution mixed with watercolors and blown onto card stock.  These papers will be the background for her summer vacation picture book. It's a treat to share creative mojo with her.

Happy grandparents!

Pulling it Together

"Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together".

- Liz Taylor

OK, so the kids were all home and now they've all gone back to their lives.  I spent yesterday feeling sad  wallowing, actually - too much chocolate, too many TV reruns and mountains of soggy tissues. I've been over this ground here before.  I am not good at the departure phase of kids' visits home!

This morning I woke up determined to get a grip! Of course I wish they lived closer - what mother doesn't?  But I decided to focus on all the good stuff - this is one smart, happy, independent, and productive group of kids. All that and  they do still want to come home now and then!  Life is good.

Thinking about putting on the big girl pants and dealing with life made me aware again that happiness is often a choice.  Frankly, my choice yesterday was to wallow, but I don't really want to live there.  When I woke to sunshine this morning, I thought of this quote and knew what I needed to do with it - a new journal page.

I love experimenting with water colors.  For the page on the left, drew a bird (the absolute limit of any drawing ability), then washed on some water colors.  I added a piece of paper ribbon as the french fry and outlined the bird with a fine tip Sharpie pen for a little definition.  I printed the quote, inked the edges with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink and glued with down with matte gel.

The two birdies on the right were stamped with Wild Honey Distress Ink and clear embossed, then washed over with water colors.  I outlined these with a white gel pen.

Here's to happiness and the wisdom of Liz Taylor!

Brimfield Antique Market

California Daughter and I went to the Brimfield Antique Market, accompanied by our trusty driver/hauler/parking attendant, AKA The Captain.  Brimfield is one of the oldest antique flea markets in the country, started in 1959 by the Reid family.  There are several shows a year, each spread out over nearly a mile of fields and with over 5000 vendors and thousands of shoppers- including Martha! 

The show is not for the faint of heart.  Large crowds of (mostly) women on a mission, lots of traffic, hot, dusty fields, but who can resist the possibility of finding a special treasure?  It's a combination of high-end antiques meets  "who on earth do they think would buy that ?"  When I told California Daughter that I really liked the vendors with organized, specific category inventory, she announced, "yes, some of this is like antique throw-up"!

Check out a smattering of the wonderful stuff we saw.  Some of these would make great art backgrounds - feel free to right click to enlarge, then "save as", but please share your creations and link back here!

Love this vintage seaside kid's puzzle and should have bought it!

Believe it or not, these lovely glass bottles were for motor oil! 

A still life - California Daughter with Chair!

These are for Boston Daughter - the porcelain figurines from the Red Rose tea boxes.  These are NOT vintage, still in every box I buy and we laugh every time we see them at tag sales!

Here they are, more artfully arranged, but still don't get it!

Precursor to the cubicle - a self-contained gorgeous folding desk.

CD carting out one of my finds.

So what did I buy?  Not much, but a few fun treasures:

 Some "instant relative" pictures.

I'm in a fleur de lis phase and love this finial.

More fleur de lis  for the garden.

Some sweet little clock faces and a rusty key.

If you're in the Northeast, Brimfield is a must-see!  Remember sunscreen, a hat, something or someone to carry all your loot, water, and comfy shoes that can take a beating in dusty fields!