More of August Break
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Blessings,
Happy is that people whose God is the Lord
Loving the August Break so far. Nice to break out of my comfort zone a little bit, grey hair, fine lines and all (they do fall in pleasant places, I think. Ps 16:6)
SELFIE
DIAGONALS
TASTE
Are you breaking out of your comfort zone a little this summer? Trying anything new?
Blessings,
I was intrigued by Susanna Conway’s August Break. Basically, it is an opportunity to take a break from writing and just use pictures for the month of August. I can’t promise I won’t have anything to say all month, but I thought I’d jump in, try to catch up, and practice with my camera a little. Enjoy.
BREAKFAST
CIRCLES
YELLOW
LOVE
CLOSE UP
Blessings,
Or not. This is what *I’ve* been doing.
Ever since we tried to sell our house and then took it off the dumpy market, I’ve been turning it all upside down and redecorating, repainting, replanting, re-re-re-thinking about how to make the house I was (and still am, in a sense) ready to walk away from, into my *home* again. I decluttered multiple van loads to Goodwill and gained hundreds of dollars at garage sales, and started putting things into places that maybe were not “correct” but made me happy: like putting up piles of folded QUILTS behind the glass cabinets in the KITCHEN because I never really liked all of that china I used maybe four times in the last two decades anyway. Currently I’m looking for a ladder to hang in the kitchen on the ceiling. Why? Because I want to hang my herbs from the rungs. Gone are the thoughts of what looks like “it could sell” and finally settling in are thoughts of “this is Keri Mae’s nest”.
Adding to that, my husband decided we needed a farm-ette break and although I dragged (and cried) a bit, I concurred. The front garden is going away this fall and the livestock is slowly disappearing ala Craig’s List. And because of predators we weren’t expecting and no one invited. As everything goes, though, I can’t help but wonder: What am I supposed to do now with five whole acres and empty barns?
I don’t know. I guess that’s called floundering, that space in the “I don’t know” world. What to do? Have you ever been in that space of just not knowing what/where/how and when?
In the meantime, I am staying busy, even while floundering in the land of YoNoSe’. I am using my recent energies towards furthering my herbal and natural health studies, and am continuing to put together emergency supplies and resources for my family (something I’ve wanted to do for a long time; I thank the Lord we haven’t had a reason to need any of that yet). We got our will together (which we laugh about, because really, there’s nothing but an old 1995 Civic to pass along…). I am still writing: to myself, to friends, to dreams of publishing in the big marketplace of ideas. I am art-ing, loving mixed media especially, and I’m reading easily thirty-plus books all at once. Oh, and oh yeah, I’m still raising and homeschooling seven children–that takes some time too 🙂 More: I’m under the care and supervision of a friend who is making me dress a little nicer with clothes that have no holes and that fit (thank you!), making time for massage, for tea breaks with friends, and inviting more people over to our house.
It’s still very active in these parts. I just feel like my compass has moved and I’m not sure where the boat is going yet. Maybe I’m floating, not floundering.
Anyhow. Know what I mean? Yes.
This is the rough mural drawing that two friends are going to paint onto my kitchen cabinets. I wanted a dandelion for multiple reasons. And why can’t I paint a mural across my kitchen cabinets (that are now green, by the way…)
Here’s a little birthday card I made for a friend. That was a fun thing to do, drawing and cutting and watercoloring one afternoon. I hope she likes it.
I recently got a new toy. The strap I got from Sassy Strap years ago when I was playing with my 35mm Nikon. But now, oooh, I can join the digital age!
Of course I don’t really know how to use it yet. No worries, I have a 13 year old boy that is my personal IT guy. So here is the first “Yes, I now have a DSLR camera and here is the standard what-I-had-for-breakfast shot.” Grain-free pumpkin pancakes, sausage, egg omelette, and bulletproof coffee with whip (because everything tastes better with whip). I loooooove bulletproof coffee; so creamy, so filling, so satisfying. On the downsize, it sorta ruined coffee shops for me (it all tastes like pretty weak coffee-water to me now) but I guess that’s not too bad a thing on the pocketbook. And yes indeed, everything tastes better with a Stampington magazine on the side.
I guess, overall, floundering’s not so bad. I wish I knew the road map, but the walk along the way isn’t so bad, and the opportunities for side roads and new things to experience and see are ever before me. I’m sad about some of the changes we’re going through, but I’m not going to just sit on my hiney pining for what can’t be right now. Moving forward, I trust God has already paved the way.
Blessings,
Well, I lost my craft room (you can go look….I’ll wait…). As it turned out, we needed that space to spread out my girls more; Ruby is not exactly the easiest roommate to share a space with. But as I was removing everything, I was actually a little excited. One, that room was the first time I ever had my own room–it always felt a little weird to me. Like “ta-tah! Mommy’s going away to craft!” I’m not saying that “going away” to practice our own interests is a bad thing; it’s just that I’ve spent decades sharing space to do stuff like that and that room felt a little too removed for my liking. So, the room went away and I had the opportunity to practice my organizational skills.
But even after I went through and decluttered, the art and craft supplies were NOT going away. But where to put it all? I finally decided that my bedroom would be the best place. I remember one person telling me never to put my desk in my bedroom, because when I entered that “place of rest” I would see my desk and sense *work*. And perhaps for some people, that would be true. However, I *love* reading and writing and arting and crafting. When *I* see my desk, *I* think, “YAY! PLAYTIME!”
So, here is how I managed to store my supplies in a way that would not look cluttered (to me), but incorporated into another space. And, yes, husband approves 🙂
This is where most of my supplies are: in vintage suitcases passed down to me, and in a hutch I picked up from a vintage store. Even the chair was in my craft room. I had to relocate a vintage baby cradle to make room. I figured, just because I need to store supplies in my everyday living spaces, doesn’t mean it can’t be stored beautifully and yet be easily accessible. When I lived in a really tiny condo, I kept my supplies nicely organized in a hall closet, under beds, and on bookshelves. Removing clutter (KEY!) and rethinking spaces can open up lots of possibilities.
In the bottom case, I keep my paper supply and some supplies that I either don’t use on a regular basis, or extras.
Middle case: collage material and colored and patterned papers.
Top case: stickers, and a removable tray with texture helps for my artwork.
The little case on the floor: the supplies I use the most: things like paint and Mod Podge. I can just grab the whole thing and go work wherever.
In a separate case I keep under the bench by my bed, I put the finishing and extra touches to my mixed media art, such as twine, dried flowers and memorabilia. Here is where I wrote about how I repurposed this old case.
In an old jewelry case, I put all of my desk supplies. Because when I gave up my craft room, I also gave up my girlhood desk for an older daughter.
In the hutch, I keep all of my art and sewing books, and my fabric and yarn and other crafting supplies.
And yes, there were still extras to find room for! I put extra knitting supplies, stamps, inks, and whatnot into lidded bins that nestle well together, and put them into my closet. I only went two bins high because higher than that discourages me to use stuff (do I really want to bother with removing five boxes to get to the bottom one?).
Not all of my art supplies are in my bedroom. I kept some things that I rarely use but want to keep in the old craft room (now bedroom) closet, especially those things that I don’t mind any of my kids having regular access to. I also keep some things in my art bag, ready to go whenever we hit the park or wherever. In there, I have: Moleskin watercolor and sketch books, a plastic case of watercolors with a water spritzer to dampen, a case of watercolor pencils with a piece of an old card and a ruler, a water brush, a toothbrush holder with paint brush and click-eraser and pencil, two Pigma micron pens (02 black and 05 sepia), and a white gel pen. I keep my paint tin and water spritzer in its own plastic ziploc just in case anything decides to leak.
Here is what I did on another wall: put a little desk for myself to work on schoolwork and write letters (and blog!). The woodcut out of England is a nod to my home away from home, and the poem on the wall is God, Thou Art Love by Robert Browning. A friend gave it to me before she died of breast cancer, and I read it often enough to hang it up in front of me! On the left side of my desk is a little table with study books, and on the right is my sewing machine case, and yet more books. Oh, and of course there are books ON the desk. And on my bedside table. And in about half a dozen other places (it’s a disease, I know….)
There you have it. I can easily get to any of the supplies I need and work at the kitchen table, and when nothing is being used, it is pleasantly stored away. AND I can just close up the bedroom door off limits to toddlers 🙂
I hope you’re inspired to rethink (or enjoy!) your art and craft organizational spaces.
Blessings,