I have watched the snow in silence all morning. I am truly grateful for this period of quiet peace. I have needed to concentrate on a project I have been working on.
The view from my desk.
No, it is not decorating for the holidays or decoupaging Christmas ornaments. That would be fun. I will hold off on glitter and glue until after 5:00PM.
I am rewriting my story. Not just a chapter, the whole thing. Well almost all of it. I am culling what was myth and wishful thinking to see what is left.
This has not been an easy thing to do. If I did not feel that it was necessary, I would not be doing it. I am tackling one past event at a time and looking at it from all sides. We usually do not look at things from perspectives other than our own, especially when we are young.
Piling up quietly.
This has been hard work and has required my actually drawing scenarios and stick people and writing out what each person might have been thinking. It usually gives me a headache, but is very enlightening so I will keep at it until I get more clarification.
Watching the snow in silence is like staring into a fish tank. It somehow clears my mind like rice clears the palate.
Fluffy snow slowly falling is so soothing that it feels like balm for my troubled mind as I brave things I have refused to face.
This snow is like an angel. Nature’s way of quieting the setting and softening everything. Muting the noises and covering the colors so that things are monochromatic and muffled.
I did not say I would be making a snow angel nor snowman. My neighbor did bring me some snow cream.
I feel gratitude to my parents for leaving my sister and me this haven. It has brought me so much peace and comfort.
The results of this work are for a book that I have been working on for a long time. There have been surprises. I am sure there will be more. Bring it!
My sister and I met Louis’s daughter and grandson for lunch yesterday. Both of them resemble him. I felt relief to finally hand over this important part of their dad and grandfather’s history to his family.
They left us to take the notebook to share with her daughter, Louis’s grandaughter. Today, they will share the letters with his widow, Linda. Then take them home for her brother and mother to read.
Louis’s grandson and daughter.
The circle can be completed without me. I have done my part to make it happen. I did this for my mother, who saved the letters for over sixty years.
Dottie
I did it for a young, lonely marine who wrote so beautifully about his first years in the military and service overseas and then came back to a different world.
Louis in 1950
Most of all, I did it out of respect for first loves. When hearts do what they do without reserve, fear or reason. Before things get guarded, complicated and weighted.
The story of Dottie and Louis is sweet. I am not sure how or why it ended. We got conflicting stories from mama due to dementia. My mom went on to marry my wonderful father. They stayed together over sixty years until his death in 2020.
I am thankful to be prepared for the first bit of icy weather here on the mountain. Now that my body is worth more than my car, I will not be risking a fall nor a wreck.
I have a wonderful stash of napkins. These have been carefully selected and collected. I am very particular about my napkins.
Part of a vast napkin collection
I hope I have enough glitter. I left those awful tiny balls at home. Do not buy this type. It rolls off your table and across the floor. Enough of it could cause a fall. Stick with the flakey, shiny, traditional glitter that gets stuck in your hair and carpet.
Clear and iridescent glitter work best
I usually have both matte and gloss decoupage glue on hand. This glue should be thinned with drops of water.
matte or gloss glue
I guess I should check on my food stocks. Do I have milk, bread, eggs and kerosene? Why yes! But I am more worried about boredom than starvation.
Here are some suggestions for laying up your decoupage supplies for future bad weather.
Choose napkins with all sides decorated. Some only have pictures on the front.
All panels on one side decorated.
Also, randomly scattered small pictures on light backgrounds are easiest to work with.
Small and random is easiest.
Stripes with repetition are for flat surfaces and perfectionists. Individual stripes can be cut and used around the edge or middle.
Stripes are tricky.
Large central pictures are great as features on larger items.
Great feature picture.
Many items can improved by decoupage.
Light colored items
Do not try to work with thin glass Christmas balls. I have gotten all the way finished and cracked them moving them around. Thick glass, paper mache, wooden, and plastic things are best. Avoid dark colored objects. Stick with creamy, light colors or white.
I will add links to the end for further information and ideas.
Sometimes I need to play with options of an idea I am developing. That is when I pull out my Ephemeral Art Box. It contains fragile, small trinkets that can add details to cards, letters or dress up decore with a tiny accent.
Tiny, fragile treasures to add details to projects.
I added a bluebird to Daddy’s picture frame by cutting this bird off the corner of an envelope.
Paper bluebird glued to frame.Corner of a Christmas card envelope
Any time I find a tiny piece of art that I can use, I pop it into this box to save for later. I snip pictures off cards and envelopes, save stickers, buttons, old stamps, even pieces of broken jewelry or matches to lost earrings. I have bigger boxes at home, but this one came to the mountains for a workshop. That will be another post.
I will share some photos of tiny treasures I save to use in future art projects.
Scattered treasureTiny fairy stickersInside a tiny boxFairy door buttonsStickers may have borders or not.Ferns without background may be stuck to glass on outside and art on inside and overlapped for a 3-D effect.
Tiny 3-D objects may be used to add details.
These may need extra glue.I love these little doilles.Antique card from my grandmother’s house.Also save textured paper and fabric scraps.
The best thing about having tiny treasures to play with is they all go back into this little box.
floweralley 