CREATING COLLAGES...A VERY SATISFYING HOBBY

 

I've always been a avid crafter...of a large variety of crafts...from sewing to painting and any other project that I see on Facebook. If I see it and like it...chances are, I can make it.  I have a talent for recreating most any craft that I see...usually with no pattern or direction.  I just have a knack for studying the craft, dissecting it in my mind...and then making a prototype before making the final item. I have created some original items...but I'm much better at seeing the finished item and then breaking it down and recreating.  My finished craft item is similar to the one that I saw, but I always add my own touches/changes. 

Currently my craft of choice is creating collages.  I make them predominantly out of paper, but I am also starting to gather all of my fabric scrapes to begin creating a fabric collage. 

Anyone can collage.  You can use magazines, old books, greeting cards, really anything.  Because I have a really nice printer, I tend to copy pictures I like off of the internet.  I also created a lot of junk journals for many years that are currently all sitting in a big wooden box.  So, I thought I could take some of the parts and pieces out of those journals...to repurpose for the 2nd time. The junk journals were created out of used materials...bags, ripped paper, damaged books, bits of lace, fabric, buttons...really anything that appealed to me...to use in my favorite kind of junk journals to make. Which was always a nature theme.... ones that I made look old - tea stained...mad to look like they had been up in an attic in an old dusty chest for many years...

I have made a variety of collages.   I tend to create based on my color mood...and I also love the Fairie Realm...so, lots of woodland, magical type collages...but they really can be anything. Something kicks off a theme in my mind...and then, I develop around that feeling.  It can be a theme of characters or colors or mood.  It can be funny, serious or anything that you want to put together in one picture.  

So, basically there isn't much more to say about collages...except show a few that I have made... 

  

  

Start collaging...it's a great winter or anytime, hobby....So fun to create your own picture out of beautiful artwork...

TIME TO MAKE PLANS FOR 2025

 Now that I am retired...my 'what to do' during the winter months and New Year's Resolutions, tend to be about finishing unfinished projects first, before I start new ones...sometimes it happens...most of the time it does not...

There is always a special excitement about starting something new...planning, shopping and then arriving home with all of the new stuff.  So, you begin but maybe don't finish because of many factors/excuses...and so, it becomes another item added to the list of unfinished projects.   

I do wake up each day with new energy, vowing to finish an ongoing project...and, I usually make some progress on the decided unfinished project, before wandering off to do something else.  

If I have deadlines...I will finish.  When I worked, owned businesses and after retiring, sold crafts that I made to sell at several stores and on Etsy...I got it done.  But now that I have no real deadlines...I just kind of work at it. Not sure yet which way I enjoy the most.  Working on a project 'under fire' and then receiving a paycheck or money...does have its rewards.  I'm kind of waiting for the 'good feelings' of finishing a project with no big paycheck or cash coming my way...just praise from my hubby or friends or family members.  I love that. But it's different...going to have to take some getting used to. Not the same feeling of accomplishment....yet. 

It is all probably a part of retiring...and it's not bad...just different...I've got all day. So, what's the big hurry.  

New Incentive....One day I was looking around our big old Victorian house thinking...what are our kids going to think when they find all of these unfinished projects?  It won't be a complete surprise to them...we've always been collectors and project people and, we have always been able to get the necessities at our various homes, 'up and running'...maybe not totally completed.  But, enough to serve their purpose, but promising to get back to them...one day...In our defense, we have purchased and remodeled about 20 homes/buildings, while also working our full-time jobs for the last 30+ years.   Some minor remodels...but mostly crazy major (large) renovations that probably 'no one else would do' type renovations.  One of our largest was an old lumberyard from the 1800's in Mineral Point, WI...with 11 buildings...big old lumber sheds and various other buildings.  We loved working on the buildings - they were structurally sound..but just big and open. We opened several businesses in them, rented some of them out...added more buildings (restaurant/bakery/storage units) and then sold when we decided to move out to 40 acres in the country...to renovate an old four square farmhouse that had not been lived in for years.  We gathered many (anyone that needed a home) animals to love and enjoy. 

We have successfully fully renovated and successfully sold all of the homes/buildings that we have purchased...we've lived in them while renovating...when finished, we would sell and move onto the next.   Some of them were never homes and we made them into apts. or a large home...many were in Historic districts.  I believe (but, you never know with us) we are currently living in our 'forever'...not going to sell - house...and so, the motivation is different. Not a constant every morning check list rolling through our heads.  ...yeah...that sounds like a good excuse for not getting at those projects everyday...I'm going with that... 

Usually having friends or family over will motivate me to finish up (or hide) some projects...BUT, my new motivation will be...how I want my kids to remember us. Their final walk through of their parents' house....They know us, but when the day comes that they have to go through all of our stuff...and, we have a lot, we are definitely collectors...what will they think?

I mentioned to my son the other day that he really should look through our stuff before disposing or donating...we have quite a few older collections from our childhoods that are worth something these days...that, he could make some money by selling on Ebay or somewhere online.  He said, why don't you sell it and make the money now.  I guess I could...But, I've been saving some of these things...from my childhood, from my mom, grandma, etc. for so long...I forgot and/or haven't really thought about selling them...but, maybe I should...Definitely keep the really personal items that have real meaning to me, that hopefully our children will cherish and keep...but a lot of the collectable items...they really could go to an interested collector, and I wouldn't mind.  Afterall...most of this stuff is sitting in storage containers...I know it's there...but I'm not doing anything with it...storing...  

I wonder, if now, as retirees and, we are not so under the gun...so to speak, to constantly hit deadlines and finish every project...to get paid and to keep our career reputation in great standing we start relaxing the whole 'stuff to get done' program. My husband was a contractor for his entire career. And I worked in various Social Service fields and also worked in Human Resources for many years.  Always, other people/customers counting on you to do their job and successfully complete. But now that we can relax the whole project with no real negative feedback - cause we're the only ones that know that it's not finished...we just take it at a different pace...

Whatever the reason...I'm going with...I want to make my home as organized and finished as possible...for my kids...I would do anything for them...so...my plan for 2025...and probably 2026....etc. We have a lot of stuff...good stuff. But a lot less with every move (wish I still had some of the stuff...I just threw out, but anyway) ...we definitely have more than the average collector....

So, I'm going with...for the kids...to hopefully leave them with the last, best impression of their parents...and to do them a favor and have our things in order so that it's not such a big job for them... 

HOLIDAYS...A TIME FOR JOY AND SADNESS

I find myself both looking forward to Holidays and also dreading them.  When my children were little, I really loved everything about them...the shopping, the decorating and the excitement that it brought to our family.  All of the family get-togethers and dinners were such a treat, to see everyone and also to eat so many traditional, favorite dishes. My family is Italian, so there would of course be a big pan of homemade lasagna (my grandparents are from Italy) My Grandma Addoloratta makes her own pasta, rolls out a big sheet of dough, and cuts it into either ravioli or lasagna.  And of course, makes her own spaghetti sauce (she calls it gravy).  She would layer it all up with lots of fresh ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and shredded Romano cheese that was cut from a big piece in the basement refrigerator. My grandmother often made something I called smashed olives.  She would buy large green olives from the Italian Deli that she would put in between two towels and actually hit and smash them with a hammer. Then she would marinate them in olive oil, spices and onion slices There was always a big platter of baked chicken and also meatballs and sausage.  My mom, who isn't Italian always added several bowls of steamed vegetables and a big green salad.  And, my grandmother would make sweet, light rosettes, covered with honey and powdered sugar for dessert. My mom would always bring a big platter of homemade Christmas cookies.  I always looked forward to and counted on it always being the same...tradition.  

I am so fortunate to have had those wonderful Holiday celebrations.  I have wonderful memories of those times.  Fortunately, my two children also got to experience those Holidays with my Italian family. 

The big silver metal tree with ornaments and lights would be lite in the living room upstairs and there would be a small tree in the basement where we would have our family get togethers.  The presents would be under the little tree downstairs and as I child I couldn't wait to open the presents and neither could my children.  My aunt never had children, and she was the one that would put together the gifts...and so, most of the time it was money. My aunt and my mom would always buy my grandma new robes, night gowns or daytime dresses which she would carefully wrap back up, after opening...and continue to wear her old clothes.  That was her generation...had to use something until it was worn out...completely...

Christmases were fun when my kids were younger and also into high school.... but when they moved out and went their own ways...Holidays became kind of sad for me.  We would get together, but they also had another family too...so times had to be split up.  As we got older, we were less likely to do any driving that would be a long distance...especially in the winter (we've had to turn back because of whiteout snowstorms in the Midwest) ...So, our Holidays were more sending gifts through the mail, cards, telephone calls....and, now they are emails and texts...

I think that this story is probably true of a lot of families these days.  People move about much more than they did when we were young.  So, often times nearby friends and neighbors become the 'new family' to celebrate the Holidays.  Often, they were similar in age and their families may also live on the other side of the world or too far to travel to...because of age and financial restrictions. 

The saddest part about any Holiday is the memory of having once celebrated with someone who is no longer on this earth.  Someone who has lost a loved one tries to go through the motion, but their heart is not fully involved...a halfhearted empty feeling...no matter the years.  

The friends and family of mine that have lost a loved one...a child, a partner, parents....choose to believe that their loved one is still communicating with them, staying near to them and joining in by showing them a sign...and that seems to give them great comfort. 

As Tennessee Williams said... "Life is all memory, except for the present moment that goes by so quickly you hardly catch it going   

Fall - Time to Start Squirreling Away Food for Winter

How quickly the seasons come and go.  Some days I find it hard to believe that summer days are quickly fading and that cooler fall like days are popping up more often here and there.  Stepping outside for some fresh air, one can feel our lovely warmer seasons quietly slipping away a little bit more each day. 

The time change shifts the seasonal changes into overdrive it seems...darker later in the morning and darker earlier in the evening.

After all of its abundant gifts of colorful beauty, summer does deserve to be able to wind down for a much-deserved long winter's nap.   All of the fading above ground parts of the flowers and seed pods become food for insects and animals to eat and store for the long winter.  Below the surface the roots all cuddle together for a nice nap...thinking about the next time they will feel the sun warming the soil and they will again feel like peeking their heads out.  But for now, time to rest and reflect.      

All of the once fresh green leaves of the trees have started to go through their annual seasonal display of color change.  We witness a beautiful spectrum of colors here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  When the dried leaves settle on the ground, it becomes habitat for insects and mulch for the perennial plants.  

 Our current weather is mostly mild, some sunny days with a cloud covering and a sprinkle here and there.   I am sure that the experienced sages in wildlife have passed down the much-needed information to the younger members about preparing for the cold season ahead.  I wonder how exactly this information is passed down.  Through observation or is it just ingrained for the survival of their species.   

One of my favorite year-round activities is watching birds and squirrels. You get to know your daily visitors and look forward to seeing them each morning. I have situated a table right outside of my full glass kitchen door so that I can watch the daily visits of a familiar variety of birds and squirrels.  I keep my bags of bird feed right inside the door and always fill a container on my way out...I mound the seed mix onto this table and call to my daily visitors.  I am sure that they pretty much know the sound of the door and are waiting somewhere nearby.   We have several other hanging feeders on posts on our fence and deck that attract smaller birds like Chickadees and Nut Hatches.  I think that they feel much more comfortable picking up seeds without the larger birds and squirrels looming about.   

  Each morning as I go out to feed our chickens, I hear a familiar signal from a Blue Jay that knows my schedule.  He is signaling me to not forget his peanuts. So, every day, sometimes several times a day, I scoop out a peanut, fruit, black sunflower seed mixture for my friends.   I always top off the seed mixture with a handful of peanuts in their shells.  These are a favorite of the Blue Jays and the squirrels.   After feeding everyone, I go back into the house and stop for a moment to watch the activity on this table before I begin my day.  

The squirrels eat some of the mix and peanuts right on the table and then seem to also take some and disappear for a while.  They creep down to the table from the nearby pine trees, kind of walk around the top of the table for a while and then settle down with a peanut or a piece of the dried fruit.  When the Blue Jays drop down onto the table, if a squirrel is there snacking, the squirrel will jump up onto the fence or up into our nearby pine trees.  They do not go very far away...after all, it will be his turn next once the Blue Jay flies off.  There are several squirrels that don't seem to mind each other's company.  This table generally seems to be 'a table for one', but, when there are two squirrels tolerating each other's presence, I assume they must be nest mates.  When the Blue Jays land on the table, they look left, look right and then grab a peanut and immediately fly away.  Sometimes though they will drop their first choice of a peanut and then choose another...I wonder what was wrong with the first one...did a squirrel touch it?  Not sure how many Blue Jays that we have feeding at our table.  Either there are several of them or one very busy one that is eating and storing many peanuts. I can't imagine that one Blue Jay can eat so many whole peanuts so quickly, so hopefully they are not being fool hardy and are putting up some of the peanuts in their larder for winter eating. 

Occasionally we will see migrating birds stopping in for a seed snack before they continue on their long journey.  I hope that they get their fill, rest up for a moment and then be on their way as the harsh, snowy season cannot be far behind.  

I will put seed and snacks out year-round. I don't care who eats them.  If they are hungry, I am glad to feed them. I don't notice as many visitors stopping by in the summer months.  Hopefully they are receiving their food from more natural sources.  I am more than happy to feed them when their natural food sources are harder for them to harvest under inches of snow.  So, all are welcome at my bird feeding table...there are daily specials for all customers.   

  

Daily Walks Along the Bay...UP Michigan

 

I am a gatherer.....of all things natural.   I see so much beauty and creative possibilities in fallen leaves, little sticks, acorns, stones and little plant pieces...anything I find on the ground.  So many people these days are looking down at their phones, I'm also looking down...but on the ground for whatever I might find that interests me.  

I always have a cloth bag folded into my pocket ready to hold all of the beautiful pieces of nature that I find and gather.  I always see a future artistic purpose and creation for each piece that I gather.  I am an avid painter, crafter and nature journal creator.    I use the little gathered pieces in pictures, add them to woodland whimsical characters that I create out of fabric and also to add to the many junk journals that I am always adding more pages to... 

Because it is Fall, I have been collecting fallen leaves that I am drawn to, various pieces of plant matter and interesting shaped twigs.  When I get all of my new finds home, I decide on a color palette and design and then I get to work arranging all of these new fascinating pieces of nature.  After creating the picture that I want to create on a clean canvas, I layer on a coat of paint, just on one side to each piece and lay it back down in its place.  Then I proceed to cover the arrangement with parchment paper and a piece of muslin fabric.   I then press down with my hands or use a roller...one of my vintage rolling pins over all of my pieces.  After feeling satisfied with the amount of pressure...I carefully lift the cloth and parchment paper and then carefully remove the leaves and plant matter with tweezers.  Finally, I stand back and am always amazed at the amount of detail that the paint brings out in these beautiful pieces of nature.  If it didn't work....I create a collage over the intended piece...I'm sure that this is how the concept of a collage began... 

I am always on the hunt for pieces of driftwood.  Fortunately, new ones seem to wash in closer to shore every week. I try to just take (rehome) what I love...and leave some for others and just generally...leave them where they landed.  Where we walk each day is at a beautiful park that jets out into the Bay.  Our favorite place to sit awhile to enjoy the beauty and the sound of the waves is a big old fallen tree that sees waves coming in from several different directions.  What a lovely place to live.  So much to hear and see. This is my favorite place to sit and enjoy and also to see what the waves have brought in each day.  I never thought that a discovered piece of a broken branch or root would make me so happy...but it does.  When I pick up and handle each piece, I think about how far it's traveled and how many hundreds of times it's been rolled around making it so smooth and unique.  

I am currently using a longer piece of driftwood to hang from the ceiling displaying the dried orange slices, lemon peel stars and brown paper bag stars that I have been making for the upcoming Holiday...and after.  

Every driftwood piece is like a cloud overhead.  If you watch or look at it for a while, you begin to see a character developing.  Of the pieces that I have collected over the years, I have many that have holes where a knot once way...so, a marble or a bead can be inserted in that space for the light to shine through.  Some pieces look like birds and others like fish.  Longer, gnarled, knotty pieces of driftwood just stand in the corner looking like they are in charge. 

I belong to several Facebook groups whose members are also lovers of all thing's natural with a piece of driftwood as the center of their creations.  An equal amount of the members just enjoy their natural beauty, and others rework the piece into something artistic and unique.  I have seen beautiful chandeliers, picture frames and table center pieces that are decorated for each different seasons...with other natural pieces, pine boughs, leaves, berries and flowers.  I also love the collected driftwood pieces that are used in large plants...sometimes decorating them with seashells and beautiful rocks. 

I used a few of my longer pieces of driftwood to assist with the growing of our beautiful, bountiful tomato plants this summer.  Now with the growing season coming to an end, the pieces of driftwood now live in the house for us to admire and appreciate their effort of holding up the thick tomato plants so that we could enjoy homegrown tomatoes on our sandwiches and in our salads... 

So much natural beauty and so many artistic ways to use....I love driftwood...

WATERING YOUR GARDEN

 

The joy of having a garden is the daily walk of anticipation to check and see what's new and what's happening in your lovely oasis. Finding new growth, little flower buds ready to burst open and the beginnings of little fruits and vegetables.   It is all so satisfying. 

 I feel like all of my plants appreciate my presence, attention and care.  

I always feel positive vibrations. 

 Especially when I am watering. 

When watering one can feel the air surrounding you and the plants, cleaning and humidifying.  I think of the roots taking a big satisfying drink of water.  I always like to flip the sprinkler nozzle around to just watch the droplets dance everywhere, like it's raining - giving them and me, a cool shower and a bit of relief from the heat. Also, the beautiful reflection rainbow that appears as the light is reflected inside the droplet and finally reflected out again into the air.  Feels like magic...

I know that they advise you to water early in the morning so that the foliage will have a chance to dry before nightfall.  Because if the leaves are wet when it cools down at night the plant may have problems with fungus and disease.  

But, I have to say that I have watered - on more than one occasion, during the day - during the hottest time of the day because I felt sorry for the plants - sometimes they look stressed under really hot conditions.   I do however get down low and try and water under the plants - but I also do like to sprinkle the whole plant - thinking that I am cooling it off.  No fungal problems yet - fingers crossed.

While I'm sprinkling, I wash out and refill several containers that I have set out for the birds, squirrels and anyone passing through that needs a drink.  I have seen squirrels lying on their tummy's and drinking quite a bit.  Good to know that I'm providing water for them in hot weather.  I also enjoy birds taking baths in the containers I have set about.  They are not deep, and I put a brick in the middle so that no one will have a problem in the water.  

I even think of all of the bees, butterflies and bugs drinking off of the droplets on the leaves.  

There might also be Fairie folk in my gardens - loving a cool shower and filling their little buckets with fresh, cool water.  

I don't know if the watering does more for my garden plants or more for me - it always leaves me with a satisfying, full feeling. 

  

When I water in the morning - I tell everyone "Good Morning, it's going to be a beautiful day." And, if I water in the evening, I tell my plants "Good Night, sleep well, see you in the morning." 

We have had quite a bit of rain this spring/summer - and even though it appears that it has rained enough - sometimes it just hasn't.  It might rain hard and just kind of run off - or the 10-minute rain might only just touch the surface....so, I always scratch back the soil to see how much rain actually got down into the soil.  We have rather sandy soil...live near Lake Michigan/Bay...so, the water does tend to run off when the beds are mounded higher....so, I make sure that I take a lot of the compost from our chickens/leaves/and vegetable peelings and mix that into this sandy soil.  Hopefully building it up each year.  Apparently, it works...my gardens are always beautiful.  

I keep a big rain barrel and water my plants with the collected water when the barrel is getting too full...has to be the best for them.  I keep several goldfish in the barrel, and they seem to love living there in the warmer weather and then they go into a tank in the greenhouse in the colder months.  

Watering my gardens reminds me of the way I feel when I hang bed sheets on my clothesline.  Some people may think of it as a chore.  I think of it as a reason to slow down, enjoy my beautiful surroundings, feel blessed and be grateful.  While moving in this rhymical type movement - my mind and body float into a deep, relaxing state of mind.  

And that is a very good thing for my soul and spirit.

  

SPRING/SUMMER - A TIME OF BEAUTIFUL BEGINNINGS AND A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF POLLEN

 

We live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  The UP, as it is called.  It is surrounded by three of the Great Lakes - Superior, Huron and Lake Michigan. 

 Living up north, we do have longer winters.  We moved here from Wisconsin a few years ago and initially thought that the further north you went, the colder it was, and the more it snowed.  We are always amazed at how mild winters really are here in the UP.  We live close to the Bay - Green Bay/Lake Michigan and it seems that most approaching storms either go north or south of us. We only have a few inches of accumulation each winter and the temps rarely go below zero.  Winter type weather and sudden dips in temperature does come and go on until May.  So, that basically makes the growing season from June/July until Oct/Nov.  Which is pretty much we are used to as Midwesterners.  

So, when the tulips, daffodils, grape hyacinths and all of the other bulbs you planted pop up, color begins to fill the ground where snow laid not long ago. Even when the temps still drop down at night, I'm always amazed and happy that these beautiful bulbs survive and thrive. 

Slowly but surely the daytime and nighttime temps start leveling out and all kinds of other plants start making their way out of the soil.  Reaching out for the warm sun.  

Not due to any expertise on my part - but it seems like when one blooming plant has lived out it's blossom life, another one kicks in...first tulips, then lilacs and fruit tree blossoms.  Then the big orange happy faces of the Poppies and the beautiful delicate purple Trillium.  The sturdy but short lived (little flowers) of the Lily of the Valley are up and smelling wonderful alongside the Iris.  All of the buds on the rose bushes are plumping up and starting to open revealing so many beautiful variations of color and size.  The Stella D'Oro's are getting ready and opening everywhere.  Next the Asian Lilies and fragrant Stargazer Lilies. And this year we were treated, for the first time, with Columbine flowers that made it through the winter and also a first, Fox Glove, and their beautiful purple and apricot bells.  I have quite a few Rudbeckias and they are all growing tall from under the Hosta and soon there will be their most amazing flowers.  Rudbeckias are pretty sturdy and last for weeks...in all kinds of orange, yellow and brown combinations. 

 I always plant a lot of seeds - how could you not?  When there is still snow on the ground all of these beautiful little packets of joy start appearing at all of the stores.  They give us all the joyful anticipation that spring and summer months will bring.   Lastly, all of the seeds that I planted are starting to make an appearance, Zinnias, Cosmos, Moon Flowers and beautiful, tall Hollyhocks.   Mixed into the seed plants are the sunflowers that the birds plant.  We have many bird feeders hanging from hooks above our perennial gardens - so, there are going to be sunflowers...I don't care, they are cheery little faces of sun.  

 Well, there are blooms popping out every day - but day by day there is a feeling that we're getting closer to the end of so many beautiful flowers and closer to fall.  

That's why I plant marigolds, mums, zinnias and decorative grasses - so that fall won't be all green and that there will still be color and flowers...

I have learned that it is okay to cut flowers and bring them inside to admire.  I do go outside each morning to see what is new - and I take a lot of pictures.  But, I wasn't the person that was cutting flowers at the peak of their beauty - until now.

We've had quite a rainy spring/summer this year and one day the blossoms would be beautiful and after the rain - they were so beat up...so, I started bringing in some of my beautiful flowers so that I could admire them every time I walked past them in the dining room.  

I love my gardens and all that they bring - bugs, butterflies, birds and the opportunity to take beautiful pictures to capture some of summer's color....