bee creative

Inspire Me Thursday - Create against the clock

So for this prompt we were supposed to gather our materials and work for 10 minutes.  I used the computer, photos from my stash, paper, a pencil, crayons, and a couple pages of old text.

In 10 minutes I created this:

The photo without any filter applied.

And this:

Photo with filter applied.

And then we were supposed to work for an hour with the same supplies.  I did this:

What I really appreciated about this challenge is that, for me, the challenge of using the computer, digital photos, filters, and various other collage elements and materials, is always deciding when to stop. 

Staycation wrap-up

I think one of the tricks about having a successful "staycation" is to reflect on what felt good about the use of time.  I worked hard on getting a balance between playing and taking care of a few things I really wanted to get done.   I wanted to put together a little scrap book, but haven't gotten that far today.  Maybe later.  For now, here's a few of the things I did:

1. Spent time at the beach.
2. Pampered myself with a hot bath (didn’t worry about wasting water!) and a haircut. 
3. Tried some new recipes.
4. Ate at two new restaurants. 
5. Had one of my favorite treats from a restaurant (peanut butter pie).
6. Visited the farmer’s market I don’t usually get to go to, went to the Saturday market as usual.
7. Spent time with family, the dogs and cat, and friends.
8. Spent time getting house and garden tidied up.  Feel like I have space to be creative again. 
9. Started painting living room floor red.
10. Painted one wall green (to match another wall in the living room).
11. Made apricot jam and tomatillio salsa. 
12. Bought a few new outfits at my favorite consignment shop.
13. Spent as long as I wanted at my favorite bookstore.  Bought two new books.
14. Finished scarf I’ve been knitting. 
15. Bought a trike (with my stimulus check, seemed like a good use) and started riding it.
16. Meditated and did yoga.
17. Read some just for fun books, finished a book that made me think. 
18.  Did a lot of thinking.
19. Cleared spot for winter garden and put veggie starts in.
20. Took naps.   
21. Discovered some new music.   
22. Opened all the windows on the rainy days so I could listen to the rainfall. 
23. Stayed up late enough to watch the stars come up.
24. Generally feel more myself and at peace with where I am going.

Postcard #8, or Dog-gone

Dog-gone-it, the staycation is almost over!

Today I went to the Farmer's market on the trike.  Decided that side streets and bike lanes are my friends.  Learned that you don't push trikes, but rather pull them along behind you. 

Puttered in the garden and day dreamed in the shade this afternoon.   Tomorrow it's supposed to rain.  That would be alright since I have a few socks to finish up still. 

Postcard # 7

Off on adventures around town! 

Postcard # 6

Bringing the past with me, but living in the moment.

I knew when I saw the parasol at the flea market that I wanted to bring it home with me.  I didn't realize how much enjoyment it was going to give me, how perfect it would be hanging from the ceiling in a corner of the bathroom.  It's not "useful," but it brings me joy, and that's reason enough sometimes. 

Postcard # 5

Letting go...

Postcard # 4

Postcard # 3 and the first prayer flag

A rainy vacation day seems like a perfect day to read and daydream.

On my reading list:

Walking in this World by Julia Cameron.  I was interested in this one because I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be creative.   I’m finding a lot that I agree with in this book. 
Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman.  There are a lot of good ideas for winter gardening that I want to incorporate into my garden.  I went to a short lecture that Coleman gave last year and was very impressed with what he had to say.   
The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.  This cookbook was a gift.  I’ve tried a couple of the recipes and been happy with the results.  I also enjoy reading it for ideas.  Planning on trying a couple recipes out of it this week.   
Creating a World that works for All by Sharif Abdullah.  I’m half way through this book and I’m not sure how I feel about it.  I like the main premise, that for the world to be changed, the change needs to be inclusive of all kinds of different people. 
Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne Du Maurier.  I’m rereading this one-for probably the 3rd of 4th time.  It’s been a favorite since I was a teenager. 

I’m also working my way through a Blog Carnival at Better Living about what it means to have a sustainable life. 

As promised, here’s my first prayer flag (close up of shoe/text here):

 

Postcard # 2

Meditation today started with knitting on the front porch at sunrise this morning.  I then started meditating on the state of the living room and decided to paint a wall.  It's now green (mixed some blue and yellow paint I had).

I found this very interesting article via the blog Layers of Meaning. The really interesting point was that our living spaces can be creative expressions of who we are, of what's important to us; that they can tell a story. What's interesting about this is that it makes creating spaces more than just decorating so that a space is comfortable and attractive.  More than just having the latest "in" item.  Coming from the perspective of telling a story, we might choose items for our households that are more sustainable for the environment and that have more personal meaning (thus being more sustainable for ourselves).  Interesting idea to meditate on for awhile. 

Hmm...think this turned into a journal entry rather than a "post card."

I also dipped into the artistic retreat side of my vacation and finished up the scarf I've been working on and added some more details to my first prayer flag.  Should be able to show the prayer flag tomorrow.   

Inspire Me Thursday - Opposites

This is the first knitted project I have had the urge to name.  I'm thinkin' "Three Season Circus."  Or maybe, "Opposites Attract." 

It started out with the pastel green yarn which had been a gift.  I thought it would make a nice spring scarf.   There wasn't quite enough yarn though, so little bits of yarn left over from other projects were added.  And added.  Not just a spring scarf, but fall and winter too now. 

Then I decided to do some felting (fulling to be precise).  And then the Inspire Me Thursday prompt came along and I thought "Why not some wet felting and some dry (needle) felting?"

Ended up with lots of different textures (hard and soft, wide and skinny, bumpy and flat) as the yarns felted in different ways and I used some different stitches.  One type of yarn didn't felt at all.  That actually worked out well because it makes a natural place to knot the scarf. 

The pink is crocheted.  I thought it would be fun to have a little ruffle. 

Turned out to be one wild scarf. Probably 'cause I used some colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel....