Pretty Is As Tidy Does

Our Pending Paperage

Do you have a spot in your home where you stash the pending issues of a beloved family member whose name shall remain lovingly anonymous? And said Love Mystery Person's {LMP} conglomeration of pending issues papers multiplies more often than not? You don't want to put them in a drawer or in an out of sight place because, let's face it, the odds of it not turning into an entire new addition to your home are way too high. Not to mention how many unpleasant sorts ~ both paper and biped ~ might show up when pending became comfortably yellowed and cobwebbed over time. So there you have it. The theory is: LMP is faced with pile on a daily basis and therefore, more likely to tackle it. But I dream. Reality: LMP never notices the ever expanding pending pile. I wish I would say the same. Instead, it drives me bats.

We All Know I am Batty Enough

I looked at that pile once too often and decided it was time, once again, to save my senses with one of my super easy, super groovy solutions. I hesitated because I was busy and didn't want to spend time on an unplanned project. Luckily ~ you know I call it fate ~ I opened a folder and saw this magazine page. Loved it immediately and I had just received this fabric from my wonderful sister. A perfect match for the paper, which was a perfect compliment for the SHALOM candlestick.

Fifteen Minutes Later

All I had to do was fold the page in half ~ it is an extra large magazine page, which is nice. I measured, pressed, cut and pinked my fabric, sewed them onto the ends and viola'. A very nice improvement for no cost and just moments out of my day. The photo below shows the reverse. Of course, it can be used either way. The thread tails are a signature of my art. I feel like they extend my heart and creativity energy out into the universe with them. I also just think they are cool.

It's the Little Things

I make paper pockets for many uses. Why didn't I think of this long ago?

ox joon

i love you like etsy

etsy has a new trademark agreement policy & my design was approved! Next to sign and return the contract, but, naturally, I wanted to include one of my pinbacks. And, then, naturally, I needed to send it in style ~ my style ~ and then, naturally, once I started browsing for something to catch my eye...and, well, it just kept going from there. This is Manhattan for the love of kismet. I mean, honestly. It was a sign.




Note: Click on the photo above to enlarge and read text with ease.

The toughest part was finding the picture of the earth in the right size. I wanted it to be a balloon. And I wanted an earth taken from space. People, I have only 14 days to return this contract!!! I have standards which does make my life challenging. No, I do not want an earth printed off of the internet. It has to be found in a discarded magazine, book, calendar or ??? Do I have a vault full of these? No Ma'am. No Sir. I do not. I gave myself a deadline. If I couldn't find one by last night, I would have to illustrate (GULP) my own. eek! Desperate times call for desperate measures, folks. I had an earth balloon in my head and come hell or high water, there was going to be one on this collage. No matter that all I sought was a simple attractive square in the first place. Let's be serious here.



There was only one way to solve this. I started working on my new horse linocut. (My first! This is another story. You can see a couple of photos on my flickr or my post on CAD. ) As I was searching for magazine pages for my little pony :), there she was!!!! My little blue planet. She was a little too large, but the thought of resorting to plan B ... Next ... how was I ever going to cut a perfect circle around her? Hey ... this looks like the size of my pinbacks. Hey... wait a minute... and the earth balloon magnet, she is born! Now, the true dilemma... how do I part with this baby? I am sorry, but this is one sweet collage. I am going to send it. And pray that whoever receives it at the other end of the rainbow has a brighter day because of it. Life is a mystery. I'm adding another to the mix.



What would your reaction be if, in the course of your workday ~ this includes you, house people. Remember, I am one of you and yes, we work! ~ you opened an ordinary envelope (OK, we all know, that is not possible here and I will be making a super joonie envie, but... I am overcome with the power of the written word) and this fell out onto your surface? I would love to know. The truth. Thank you for making it this far into my tale.


PS. Be sure and let me know if you'd like to hear how it all turns out, too. Or if your answer to this is: God forbid. ox to you all & happy, happy birthday little blue planet

Recycling Bin Dive ~ It's SpRing!

Today it is sunny and in the 60s, which is a first this year. Plus, as luck would have it, recycling week in my neighborhood! I found these treasures walking around just a few blocks of our home. And this is without rummaging through...I only took something if it called out to me. Plus, I am moving across the country in a few months so I was sparing in my picks. I am very excited to reuse these items, most in my creations for etsy. I will store craft projects in the Harrod's Tin as I love double decker buses and am not giving that one up. I am going to make my very first tin project, inspired by this incredible bath salts tin.


Do you regularly put items like these into your recycling bins? At the very least, the magazines and tins can be donated to libraries and thrift stores for resale. Yes, people will buy these! There are also places where you can swap your used magazines & books for others. So many people cannot afford these items and would be thrilled to have these to read or use for projects (or both ~ like me!) I passed by a perfectly adorable little blue couch, chairs & many vintage items. It's sad. You can call many recycling based organizations and they will come and pick up your cast offs. In many ways, it is actually easier to reuse, recycle or regift your dispensibles than it is to set them out on the curb.


I would love to hear what you do with your paper and tin goods. With your permission I can compile & incorporate them into a new blog post. I have plans for these paper items and you will see them reincarnated here on my blog and for sale in my etsy shop very soon! Remember: environment is everything.



Let's all do our part to save our little blue planet. One person does make a difference ~ either way. Which path will it be? Refuse or Reuse? Thanks for visiting. And please share your comments, questions and/or ideas with permission for reuse :) below!

Have a wonderful day today and every day.

You Are What You Eat...

OK I guess that makes me sweet because here I am following up that lovely cheesecake with a fabulously delightful lighter than heaven lemon bar. Maybe it's the real March Madness. Anyway, the sun was shining and I had to take advantage of the photo op. Next stop, Bon Appetite world traveling food photographer. The lemon bars do lend their magic to day dreaming... ox to you all.