Light and Blooms

I have been enjoying gathering up all my paper crafting supplies and getting them into an environment that says "CREATE". I have been spread out all over the house and garage these past four years and have found it to be disjointed and cumbersome to be creative when I don't have my supplies handy. I have taken my time to evaluate my supplies and see what I do use and what I can live without. It has been an adventure to uncover some long forgotten once favorite tools. It has also been an adventure to find some long forgotten tools that never did the job. Good bye to them! I have also taken the time to read some good magazines and books on organizing craft spaces and have found it helpful to see what others do. I think I have made this space reflect me and am looking forward to spending some good time  there creating. It is also a nice space to share with Jackie, my daughter and paper crafting partner. Let the creating begin!!

    This is one magazine that I choose to keep most past copies of. Paging through this magazine is a calm oasis in the busyness of days and is a source of inspiration to do things a little bit nicer, a tad more elegant, with a little more style.    It does not mean complicating things with cumbersome details or busywork in the midst of a simple project.    It does mean looking at the details through an enjoyable process of creating. Whether it is making a  meal, making a bed, setting a table or walking through a thrift store, it is about doing it with simple style and grace.   The photography and writing in this magazine are done with excellence and each contributor is a delight on their own for their efforts.   If you come across a copy of this magazine, or begin your own subscription, enjoy it from cover to cover and be prepared to come back to each issue time and time again.   Enjoy!        

I may not be totally content with my creative work space, but I am getting there. As I explore what I like, my resources to create it and the desire to be in a space that reflects who I am and what I create, I am getting closer to my ideal. I suspect there will always be a sense of "almost" and "not quite yet" in the space I create, for it is a space to me that is ever evolving as I evolve. This book is a peek into the lives and creative spaces of many women, beautifully written, expertly photographed and inspirational on every page. As I am reading this book, one woman at a time, I find myself running in and out of my creative space and adjusting my things as I am inspired to do so. Putting things in place, adjusting the light, providing inspiration, are what makes creating a unique, one of a kind experience. In reading through this book, I may not find myself all wrapped up in one woman's experience, talent or style, but put together, I see glimpses

Not especially light hearted reading material, but full of great insights and ideas on how to understand the people around you. Full of detailed stories form the pages of real life, the author explores the questions we all have when we walk away from a conversation and do not understand what went wrong, or what could have gone right given the opportunity. This is a book not of "fix it" material, but one of compassion that sheds light on the dark trail we find ourselves on with some difficult people to understand. Between the covers, the pages give hope to the human race to get along, tools to help make it happen and clear understanding that living and working with people of all kinds is sometimes not a naturally rewarding process, but one that is worth exploring and sticking to. Reading this in small sections is easier and having another lighthearted book going is better than this being the only book on your nightstand. But you will enjoy, as I have, gaining insight

  This book series is absolutely engaging if you like people with intertwined lives and of coarse beautiful handiwork like quilts.   It is a book series that starts in the current time and takes you back and forth through history, all the while proclaiming the beauty and importance of recording that history through quilts and preserved memories through storytelling.   The book series has 22 books to it, beginning their debut in 1999 by this very talented author.   This is my second time through this series and am looking forward to the journey once again through fresh eyes, with a hint of knowledge of what is to come as I turn familiar pages, but intrigued enough by the details I may have missed the first time around.     So whether you decide to read this in traditional paper book form or an electronic version such as Nook or Kindle, you will be transported into the lies of some real characters. You will find yourself in the middle of a story that keeps pulling

So I was going to start a series of new blogs on FOCUSING, but I got distracted by this new book I just started reading. Isn't that always the way? But I am going to enjoy this little turn in the road and take you all with me over the next week as you get to peek into my current reading list. I really did not need another book to read, I already have quite a few started that I am enjoying. But one cannot have too many good books in their life. Am I right? So this book "Falling in Love for Life" is written about a marriage of 73 years. How they got there, what kept them going strong and what is being passed on for the future. Just a few pages in and I was hooked. Transported back in time when things may not have been so much simpler, but the choices were defined and not as plentiful. Sometimes that is a good thing. Not too many choices. In fact, I like only having a few choices sometimes. Less second guessing and more time to actually do the thing, enjoy the thi