We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Programming For a Message From Your Muse

A few weeks ago..... maybe even months now....... I carried my old trusty craft bins down from the attic, vowing to get a head start on the holidays this year. No more adrenaline filled late nights putting last minute touches on projects the week of a craft show. No more wishing I had just made one more gift. Time to enjoy Christmas without cursing myself for not planning better.

Broke out the paints, the brushes, the old wood forms rescued from craft store clearance racks. Glue. Markers. Fancy papers. Bits of lace. This and that. Covered my dining room table with newsprint to protect it. Started painting and...... nothing. It felt like drudgery. All creative spark was gone.

And so I have to apologize to anyone who lives with me or even stops by to visit. There my hopes sit, for all to see, scattered out over my dining room table until the inspiration returns.

One thing I learned is that the brain's urge to be creative is hindered by the physiology of the body while it's working on other things. I have spent the better part of the last eight months trying to figure out what ailment I had -- followed by a variety of guesses at how to heal me. Symptoms were all over the spectrum, from dizzying nausea and pain to fatigue and headaches. There were tests and medication. There were alternative therapies and homeopathics. All to treat (apparently) the wrong ailment. Silly me.

But I'm on the mend and the creative juices are stampeding through me like a herd of wild horses. So while I usually spend this Labor Day weekend enjoying the beauty and bounty of my garden, this year I decided to craft my own flowers in place of what is in the sad overgrown patch outside my window. The poor weeds have taken over -- they're having a riotous party knowing I've been too ill this year to send them packing.

First, I learned a new skill in jewelry: the wire-wrapped loop. I found some German vintage glass flowers at a little bead shop and decided they must be transformed into dangles for necklaces.



That's a head pin with a yellow crystal bead at the center of the vintage flower. I put a brass end cap on the top just to make it look extra vintage.....



It takes a right angle bend and then you wrap the wire around, then trim the excess.



Okay so I'm not a pro at it yet. More practice.



After I made a few flowers, I felt inspired enough to continue the flower-making trend in paint. Sunflowers in yellow, orange, and red. These may end up on the top of a trinket box or nailed to a harvest sign.



Oh, and while the creative urge is riding the crest, it helps to have a distraction for the five-year-old. At the very least, his own art project at the ready is a good thing and will buy anywhere from 20 minutes to a hour, depending on the task.



(At one point I looked over at him, tongue appearing at the corner of his mouth. Biting the tongue aids in concentration, don't you know. Tee hee.)

Alright craft show season. Bring it.

To The Rescue!

Two small boxes arrived today via FedEx. Usually when the FedEx driver makes an appearance, it means a big box full of lovely products for me, then an empty big box awaiting my imaginative son to turn into an airplane, or a train, or a submarine.

Alas, that big box will arrive next week.

Today, my new fall catalogs arrived from Willow House. Grant studied the two little boxes and finally declared, "Mama, you need to make me a Buzz Lightyear costume!"

Immediately after dinner we set about cutting, taping, bending and drawing. He had a very elaborate plan and instructions that I interpreted as best as I could from an overly excited 5 year old. Insert Tab A into Tab B, whip out some twine, and......

A superhero, in the flesh, in my kitchen.

I think he's going to be an actor someday. I'm pretty sure he won't rest until he's battled Zurg.

A First

This is the first book written by my friend, David.

This is the first book cover I've ever designed. For real.

The book will be available in about a week but pre-orders can be placed by clicking here.

Some firsts are too terrific for words.

Thank You, Spring Breeze

There is a moment of the day (if you're lucky) when the bustling activity stops suddenly. The mind clears. The sound of birds chirping for rain can be heard above the din of life. A spring gust forces itself in through an open window, making the curtains dance, and brings with it...... wait, that's an old familiar scent...... Lilacs!

Usually it's Mother's Day weekend when I'm scrambling to fill a vase brimming over with lilacs from the bushes out front. Here we are -- one week early -- and the lavender beauties are in full bloom.

Stop everything. Find scissors. Grab a hammer (to pound the cut ends with so they fray and will take in enough water to last a little longer in the vase). Scurry out to cut a small handful of the most open lovely blooms. Pound. Old McCoy vase. Water. Ta-Da!!!! (The BIG vase spilling over with lilacs will come; this merely satisfies the momentary craving and happies up my afternoon.)

Wish I had a "Scratch-N-Sniff" feature on this blog.

Things I'm Loving Now

Yes, spring is coming, my friends.

The days are getting longer. The sun in making a more frequent appearance. But to bide the time until I see the first crocus flower bloom outside my back door, here are a few things I simply love.

• A smile so wide everyone wonders what you're up to.

• Leftover Chicago-style deep dish pizza.

• Hunting for treasures and bargains. Combine both in one shopping spree, and I'm deliriously happy.

• The trend in fashion toward flowers adorning everything.

http://tinyurl.com/yhxxdso
––This one has that "Oh, I just threw this on" carefree, casual look about it.

http://emersonmade.myshopify.com/collections/big-blooms
––I'm sad when flower corsages go out of style, and rejoice when they're back in again. This is full bloom fun and crazy beautiful.

• The special knack my little boy has for delivering a compliment that stretches wildly beyond anyone else's ability to make me feel like I'm walking on air.

• Collage artists who are catching my attention:

Dolan Geiman

LuAnne Payne

Allison Strine

• Marion Cotiallard's performance in "Nine".

http://tinyurl.com/yjduvun

––This is chopped up because it's been made into a music video. I wish I could find the whole scene from the movie, but it's a bawdy jazz number that I think every woman feels like performing at least once in her life.

• A certain shade of blue. It has a touch of purple. Most would call it periwinkle. I love color -- vibrant colors that communicate emotion. Fiery red, energetic yellow, soothing green, electric blue all have their place and time. I think that when I'm completely at rest, I am periwinkle.

Live in full color, and celebrate the coming of spring.

Taking The Cake

Tonight I finished baking my fourth chocolate cake this month, thanks to all the family and friend February birthdays. Chocolate was THE request. I think I'm ready to move on to other recipes, March celebrants....



Wanna lick the beaters?

Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate. What day is not made better by its presence? It's the perfect little pick-me-up when nothing else will do. (This feeling usually finds me around 3 p.m. in my office. If you happen to drop by, I'll be sneaking a luxurious piece of chocolate out of its hiding place in the depths of my desk drawer. I might even share, if you're nice.)

I read that chocolate contains a chemical called phenylethylamine, which causes a reaction in your brain similar to what you feel when you are falling in love. Delicious and enchanting. No wonder it's a Valentine's Day staple.

So as I say goodbye to February, the month to snuggle under the covers with a loved one, enjoy treats made of chocolate and linger over sweet prose from a little book of poetry, I'll avoid pondering how much chocolate I've consumed in this shortest month of the year. I'll try to reel in my chocolate cravings until..... Easter.

~Be My Valentine~ - 'JUNKMARKET' Style

This takes me back to the Valentines I knew when I was in third grade.

~Be My Valentine~ - JUNKMARKET Style

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