Painted Paper

This project came out of a need to use up pieces of card stock and some left over paints.  The results is a paper quilt wall hanging.

Painted Paper

Begin by painting card stock with colors that you might find in a sheet of metal, such as copper.  The sample shown is painted with gold, copper, green and a bit of red.  Keep adding and blending until you get something that you like.  You could also go in an entirely different direction and do a blend of pastels.  That would also look striking.

 Next, cut the paper into two-inch squares or a reasonable facsimile of.  Finally, cut two and a half inch squares out of black cardstock or some other black paper, such as construction paper, that you happen to have on hand.  Paste or glue each two-inch square onto a black square.  This will give your copper square a black border, which will set off the colors.

Finished Piece - Copper Quilt

For the piece in the picture the squares were then attached to a large piece of black poster board with some webbed packaging material in between the squares and the black poster board.  The squares were positioned with the grain of the paint going in opposite directions, alternating horizontal with vertical throughout the piece.  Because the piece is paper it is extremely lightweight and easy to hang.

This is a simple project with just a few steps that are easy enough to complete while visiting and thinking up other color schemes to play with.  Enjoy!

What We Believe

"I believe everything.  It's easier than thinking."  Winnie the Pooh

I was recently offended by a commercial for a service that will make it unnecessary to make trips to the post office for postage.  It begins with a man saying, "There is nothing worse than standing in line at the post office."  Obviously, the man hasn't heard about war, famine, racism, and homophobia, just to name a few things that might be considered worse than waiting in a line.

What bothers me is that there was not an uproar challenging that particular commercial as, to put it plainly, stupid.  But with all the ignorant messages foisted upon humanity it's kind of difficult to focus on being media savvy.  In fact, I think it might drive some people over the brink.

Another of my favorite commercials is for a fast food chicken product that laughs at its competitors who sell chicken nuggets.  "What part of the chicken is the nugget," they ask with a smirk.  Then they urge consumers to try their popcorn chicken without telling us what part of the chicken is the popcorn.  I guess that some things in life will remain a mystery.

But aside from commercials, I sometimes question my own proclamations.  At times I notice myself going through the day and spouting platitudes and expected phrases as reactions to other people's platitudes rather than examining what I really believe and putting those thoughts out into the world.  But maybe it's because I'm not always sure what I believe and oftentimes base my statements on what I think people might expect me to say or what, I think, will encourage people to think well of me.

It's going to take me a bit of time to digest thoughts about beliefs and motives and media information.  So while I do that I believe I'll take a walk.  It's a lovely day and time to get my dose of vitamin D.   I believe I'll also make an effort to listen more carefully.  As the Irish proverb states, "God gave us two ears and one mouth so we ought to listen twice as much as we speak."  And maybe throw in a little thinking.

Time To Relax

Squirrel Sunning On Grill

Sometimes it's hard to remind myself to take time for myself.  To slow down, smell the roses, and enjoy the precious minutes that make up my life.  And then the other day when the sun was reminding me that summer is just around the corner, a squirrel, who minutes before had been scampering around the yard on a frantic food search, showed me how to relax.

It seems that the squirrel had come upon the gas grill that's just outside our back door on the deck and noticed that the black cover on the grill absorbed the heat of the sun.  Except I'm sure he or she didn't have all the scientific jargon running through his or her mind.  At any rate, there the little critter sprawled out, changing his or her position about every ten minutes to take better advantage of the rays.

Sometimes s/he would wash or scratch and then, once again, sprawl in the sunlight.  This went on for about a half hour and even continued when I approached with my camera to take a few inspirational pictures.  Here's to the wisdom of the squirrel who reminded me how important it is to relax and demonstrated a great way to take vitamin D!

The Peanut Butter War

Once, while I was visiting a senior care facility at lunchtime, an elderly resident asked the nurse if he could have some peanut butter.  I don't remember what food item he wanted it for but I remember that the request didn't sound too far-fetched to me.  Remember, this comment is coming from a woman who, as a child, enjoyed peanut butter and pickle sandwiches.

The nurse, instead of fulfilling his request, explained that he was given peanut butter every morning for his toast (seems the gentleman liked peanut butter) but his lunch request was not, in her opinion, the correct way to eat peanut butter.  The resident suddenly looked like a child who had just been scolded.

My heart went out to the resident who had, as most residents, reached that time of life when most of what is familiar to them is taken away and they live a very confined life.  Must the peanut butter go too because of the taste preference of a nurse?

Which led me to think about my son-in-law.  I recently found out that he's not perfect.  Oh yes, he is  polite, non-judgmental, an incredible husband and dad and all that kind of stuff.  But I recently found out that he does not like cats, and "not like" is probably not strong enough language to describe his feelings toward cats.  Raised on a farm where animals were considered animals and not pets, he just has no warm and fuzzies whenever he sees an animal defined as a pet.  So it struck me as rather odd that one of his daughters has a pet cat.

One day, when I was visiting, I checked in with my granddaughter on that subject.  "Your dad really does not like cats at all?" I asked her.  She confirmed the fact.  "But you have a cat!  Why did he let you have a cat?"

She looked at me with a look of sweet tolerance for someone who had just asked an extremely stupid question.  "Because he loves me," she said very matter-of-fact.   At that moment my son-in-law nudged himself closer to the perfect category.  Now about that peanut butter.

Pill Bottle Pencil Holder

Pill Bottle Pencil Holder

Another idea from our year of recycling projects.  This activity came about because someone brought a bag of pill bottles to our group along with a challenge.  What could we make out of pill bottles? Because the bottles are so light weight I decided that they had to be used in groups.  Gloss gel to the rescue!

For those of you who don't know me you probably don't know that my favorite  product to use for an adhesive is gloss gel.  For this project we took three of the pill bottles, which happened to be triangular,  spread a bit of gloss gel on the parts that would be touching, and held them together, overnight, with a rubber band. 

By morning the gloss gel was dry and the bottles were beautifully welded together.  Then it was time to decorate.  As you can see, the bottles in the picture are simply decorated with plastic flower-like pieces that are also held in place with gloss gel.  Any small embellishments would work.

This idea also works with round containers.  Gloss gel dries clear so fear not if a participant uses a goodly amount of the product.  Other ideas for such a container might be for holding paint brushes or straws.   How else could you use them?  What else could you, or have you made with empty pill bottles?    Would love to hear from you with your ideas.

A Few Kind Words

"Everybody likes a compliment."  Abraham Lincoln

The Most Handsome Man in My Life - Dad, about a year before he died

I have a confession to make.  Besides sitting out in my art studio and making stuff for many hours of the day I also waitress at my son's restaurant two nights a week.  I have been dabbling in restaurant work for over 45 years, oftentimes as a manager, and I love the interaction with the guests as well as with the restaurant staff.

Through all those years of connecting with the public I've learned how effective a compliment can be to establish rapport.  I've also learned that most people can spot a false compliment a mile away.   False compliments are like the bar talk between singles just before closing time.  You get the picture.

At any rate, on a recent, busy Saturday night a young couple came into the restaurant.  I'd guess that they were in their early 30's.  The waitresses all noticed the young man immediately because he was tall and slim and had a soft, rugged look.  One of the waitresses wondered if he might be a model.  The waitress who had their table said that he was extremely polite.  Well, I just couldn't let the moment pass.

As the couple was leaving I walked up to them and said to the young man, "The wait staff took a vote  and decided that you were the best looking man in the restaurant this evening."  He not only smiled, he glowed.  The young woman with him was also beaming.

Too often, however, I notice something about a person, such as a kindness they do, and fail to mention.  Fail to simply move my lips and put into words what I'm thinking.  What a shame because it's just as easy to notice and speak.  And as Honest Abe tells us, "Everybody likes a compliment."  Wouldn't that be a nice little gift to give to people in your life for Valentines Day!

A Life More Fully Lived

"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." Oliver Wendell Holmes

Sometimes I find it easy to be swept along by routine.  It's such a protected place to live.  But growth, according to a myriad of authors, comes from stepping outside of our comfort zones, which are entrenched in our routines.

I recently came across a book that is designed to force readers, especially the readers who choose to participate, out of their routines.  It's touted as an action plan to change your life forever.  The book is, "The Nine Intense Experiences" by Brian Vaszily.  I prepared myself for some sky diving or bungee jumping.  "Bring it on, Brian!" I thought, as I started to read.

Instead, the book takes readers out of their comfort zones with activities that can be performed in their own  homes.  Intense Experience number one nudges the reader back to the spontaneity of childhood.  There are suggested movies to watch and books to read.  I read, for the first time, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll.  Also on the reading list was "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint Exupery, my favorite book of all time. 

But then the tasks for Intense Experience number one included more participatory challenges, such as, singing out loud or dancing around the house.  Now that sounds rather easy, doesn't it.  A small step outside of my comfort zone in order to expand my world.  As the disclaimers state, individual results might vary. 

When you see me this year at activity professional conferences notice if I spontaneously break into dance steps.  If you'd like to try some life altering experiences for yourself, Brian's book is probably available in your public library system.  The book is delightful and, in a strange way, slightly challenging.  Happy dancing! 

Sabbatical

This past month, January of 2012, I took some time off for myself.  I spent the month mainly in my art studio, reconnecting with the things that I love to do.  I also spent a large part of my time cooking, which is another creative activity that I love.  My freezer is now filled with containers of easily accessible meals and my recipe blog, loveyathemom.blogspot.com, is bursting with new recipes and information about the foods that we eat.

As much as I believe in the value of the work that people do with and for others, I also believe in the importance of good self-care if a person is to be of value to others.  To continually take without replenishing leaves me tired and wondering when in the world I'll ever find the time to do the things that I believe need to be done.

As part of my jumping back into the fray I decided to explore websites and blogs dedicated to care of the senior population.  Some of the sites had sections about creative ideas.  Almost every posting was at least 40 to 60 months old.  Have the last 3 to 5 years been especially difficult and overwhelming, or did caregivers simply loss interest and a sense of purpose?  Maybe it's time for an all out recharging of personal batteries.  What do you love to do?  Have you given yourself the gift of time to enjoy whatever it is that buoys you up and keeps you at your best?  This could be the perfect time! 

Recycling Furniture

OK.  So maybe a hand-painted dresser isn't within your artistic capabilities.  Start with a smaller piece of furniture.  But if there are some drab looking dressers sitting around that might cheer up the surroundings if they were spiffed up a bit, try this.


The dresser in the picture sits in our guest bedroom at home.  It was an old, inexpensive piece that didn't add much to it's surroundings.  The transformation was brought about by first priming and then applying a coat of pale green paint to the dresser.

For the floral decor on the front I took a poster and cut it into strips that were the size of the drawer fronts.  That's right.  I did not paint the flowers onto the front of the dresser.  It's a poster cut into strips that are glued onto the drawer fronts.  Remove the drawer pulls first and then reattach them when the poster is in place.

Next I sponged some of the green paint along with some cream colored paint along the sides of the poster to blend in the edges.  Voila!  A lovely piece with not a lot of work or skill.  Just a good way to use and use up in order to make surroundings just a little nicer.

Happy recycling!