AMANDA'S BASKETS: BEGINNING A MIXED MEDIA PROJECT, FABRIC PROJECT CONTINUING & TOMORROW

Thursday, January 19, 2017

BEGINNING A MIXED MEDIA PROJECT, FABRIC PROJECT CONTINUING & TOMORROW

Yes, I know, it's strange for me to post flowers in winter. I would rather post snow...but guess what? There's no snow here. Just cold rain, semi-warm temperatures and dreary weather. Winter? Not what I remember...things changing faster than anticipated?

BEGINNING A MIXED MEDIA PROJECT

After being so immersed in fabric creations, I wanted to delve back into mixed media again. I took one of the blank backgrounds that I cut out from the painter's cloth and played with fabric markers.

This is the beginning of a journal cover. I was happy to see that only a tiny spot smeared when I brushed on a coat of diamond glaze. I am still considering my next step and you may laugh but I will probably add some fabric including tulle.

FABRIC PROJECT CONTINUING

I am beginning to add yarn and embroidery thread to my mosaic picture. It looks a bit messy at this point and as I continue to add before sewing, it will look every messier.

Once I begin the process of thread painting, I think things will look more together. I'll keep posting photos so you can watch the progress.

TOMORROW?

So, what are you doing tomorrow? I'm not really sure if I will be listening to 'The Event' or not. But if I do, it will be with NPR who will be fact checking in real time. I don't ever remember a time when an address like this was fact checked in real time...and I have been around for many decades. We are in for a challenging time, folks. I know many would like to be like an ostrich and bury their head in the sand. That may be okay for a while, but quite frankly, we will need all hands on deck if we want to keep our democracy. So, once you've had a break and have regained your sanity (I'm smiling folks because that really describes my experience!!!) then it's time to get back involved. Best place to start? At your local level.

Thanks for stopping by...

Talk to you tomorrow...

Be well...

Stay strong...

Enjoy...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?