CREATE: challenge no. 1 reveal

Just The Two Of Us

In the end, there were two.

Myself and Andrea of Strong Southerly are the only ones who participated in the CREATE: challenge no. 1. And that's OK. Even if it was just me, it would be OK. I know it got some of you thinking about creating something just for the sake of creating. It certainly got me thinking and doing and that in itself is a success.

In case you don't remember, for the inaugural CREATE challenge, there were NO rules. Hell yeah, and pass the hot sauce. I'm not a huge fan of rules so this totally worked for me. And it also worked for Andrea, who despite having been down with the count with the flu while juggling a job and a wee lad, managed to take a moment and capture the beauty of her surroundings in Australia.

As Andrea herself dubbed it, Big Sky.

The colors are so soft and lovely.

These mourning doves need to turn around, they're missing the sunset!

What a lovely Big Sky view you have Andrea. Thanks for sharing a little part of your world. By the way Andrea, I have a sky obsession too. So many different hues and moods. You just never know what you're going to get.


Now, me.  I'd had this idea jingling around my head for awhile: 'Do something with an altoid tin.'

Gathering inspiration for the challenge, I finally knew what I was going to do.

I collected a few pieces that had positive meaning........a note and string that came with the lovely bracelet I won on Diana's blog from Sima G. A sand dollar I found on the beach where I grew up. A feather from one of my nature walks in Sunset Meadows with the dog. A heart rock I found at the beach on the most wonderfully beautiful day. And some shimmery ribbon that's been in my jar of bits and pieces for ages, a reminder that even pieces of things can have new life.

And then I painted with watercolors, did a little decoupage and hot gluing and viola.

My first pocket altar.

Want a look inside?

As I've said before, I'm not terribly religious person, but I am spiritual and well, Mary.......she's my girl.

 

She never did come out quite the way I wanted, but I took a breath and let it go and in the end, I think my little pocket altar it turned out sweet.

So small I can take it with me anywhere.

I hope more of you will join in the next challenge, I really enjoyed getting Andrea's pictures in my inbox.

For now, if you did participate and forget to tell me, feel free to send me the pics and I'll be sure to share in another post. Or if you blogged about it, please be sure to post a link in the comments below.

My new little neighbor came home from the hospital yesterday.  Before I headed out to the garden yesterday evening, I popped over to hold baby Piper. What a wonderful treat. Babies, miracle of miracles.  Sigh.

I hope you all have a fantastic day and I hope you'll think about creating something with no rules!

Ciao for now,

Spring Love & CREATE Challenge no. 1, Last Call!

A High Five For Spring

While the weather continues to be glorious today, I thought it was time to share with you lovelies, some things that I love about Spring.

1. Getting back out into our yard. 

After such a long, snowy, damn cold Winter, being able to get back into the yard is like a meditation.  We've been working a good bit in the yard, doing spring clean up. We've a way to go but it's nice to have weather that allows you to do that.

2. The flowers

The lilacs have passed now, but there are so many other things making their presence known from lily of the valley, the soloman seal, rhodedendrons, azaela, jacob's ladder, and the peonies are coming! What a wonderful time of year to enjoy the blooms of the season. I love to go outside and snip a little of whatever happens to be blooming. What a treat.

3. The temperature

As I mentioned, it was a cold (read COLD) winter. Sub zero, freezing wind chills, through-the-first -couple-of-cord-of-wood-before-February-had-to-order-more kind of winter.  The spring temperatures we've had for the last week (it took awhile to really kick in here), are an absolute delight. The kind that make you want to play hookey.

4. Back stoop

I get to take over the back stoop again for my morning cuppa. I haven't got to cleaning the area up yet, but regardless, being able to sit on the back stoop in the sun and enjoy a cuppa tea to get the day going is a perfectly wonderful ritual. Soon, it will be cleaned and my geraniums will make the back stoop so much prettier.

5.  The soft spring sunsets

The seem most often, not quite as brilliant as summer sunsets here. Lovely just the same, but a little softer and more muted like they're getting warmed up for summer. That's not to say there aren't brilliant sunsets at this time of year, because there are, but softer skies prevail more often.

What are you loving about spring?


Are You In?

If you're one of the people who wanted to participated in the CREATE Challenge no. 1, it's coming to a close. I'll be publishing my project on Thursday. If you'd like to play along, I'd love it if you did!  Read all about it here.  Remember, this time around there are no rules. It can be as simple as taking a photo, drawing a picture, baking a cookie. Only rule is to create something.  I hope you'll be joining me!


Have a fantastic Tuesday. I'll do my best to get a lot of work done as I finalize some branding boards and ignore the fact that it's an absolutely beautiful day here.

Ciao for now,

What Inspires You Wednesday: Take A Walk With Us

Nature, As Always

I am always and utterly inspired by nature. It never bores me, it always has a surprise in store, or a new way to show you something. It's glorious. Even when it rains.

I put my wellies on this morning and Lucan and I took a short walk around the yard, to see what was popping in the gardens.  First to the corner woodland garden.

One of the easiest things I've found to grow, are tiger lilies.  Transplanted from my sister's garden, divided and divided again in my own gardens. No fuss, no muss, just thrives. That's the kind of plant I'm looking for.

OK, I admit it, this buttercup was in the grass, not the garden.  I'm glad G missed it with the weed whacker.

This is a funny plant, fragaria or non-fruiting strawberry.  They were all pink like this when I planted them and then a couple of years ago, they started to turn white. This year I see a few more pink again which makes me happy because it was pretty spring color.  Just look at the center of that flower. Too cool.

Behold, the wild honeysuckle that planted itself.  The bees were really buzzing around this on Monday.

 

Perennial geranium.  I love the veining in the petals.

 

Jacob's Ladder, one of  the earlier spring flowers in my garden. It's still happily blooming away.

This Solomon Seal was here when we bought the place. I've divided and replanted in the woodland corner garden and it's quite happy there too.  It's very tall and quite showy in a vase because of it's dramatic height.

Look what's coming!

Peonies. A transplant from my mother's garden. Big beautiful white blooms with the slightest trace of a burgundy highlight.

Soon.


The only thing that has buds on it yet in the poolside garden, a lowly weedy-wildflower I let grow. I have no idea what it is but it's a great cover that laces it self through everything else without strangling anything. It blooms the sweetest white flowers.

Now, I'll let you in on a secret. It's called the wonders of a close up.

Because in 'non-close up' reality, this is what the corner woodland garden currently looks like.

And that's after working in it a good part of the weekend.

Sure things seem pretty happy, well the lilies are certainly happy, but the weeds! The damn weeds have taken over my path. Yes, all the stuff from the rocks on the edge of the burm to the front bed of the garden.......weeds. Oh, what to do.

For now, I shall ignore them and choose to look closer. At least until I can spend another day out there. Oh, and get a big jug of white vinegar. Did you know white vinegar diluted with some water will kill weeds if sprayed on them? Be careful though, because it will kill everything it's sprayed on. But on a walkway, it's a perfect non-chemical solution. 

Isn't it amazing what you can find if you look close enough?

I'm so glad G and I brought more lilacs in yesterday. It happens sometimes.........they bloom and then we're saddled with wet days. That's what has happened this year. BUT, we filled the house with one more round of their intoxicating smell.

That's the largest vase I have in my collection. It's Waterford and it's seriously heavy once it's full with water. Had to have G help me put it on the windowsill! Yes, that heavy.


Nature and looking close are what's inspiring me today.
What's inspiring you?

Hey, don't forget if you're participating in CREATE challenge no. 1 and want me to include pics of your creation in tomorrow's post, shoot me an email to pbates (at) speakeasyinfo (dot) net.  And if you're doing a post on your blog, shoot me a link (or be ready to post it...see below).

Though, I may do as Andrea suggested and just post a link up, that way people can link up whenever they are finished. Keep your eyes open!

Have a great Wednesday in your part of the world and I'll do the same in mine.

Ciao for now,

Create: challenge no. 1, The Beginning

Pulling It Together

We're a week into Create: challenge no. 1, and for me it's been all about thinking, and mulling, and formulating an idea.

Not to put the pressure on myself, but I wanted to create  something I really hadn't created before and that would have some meaning.
I think I've finally gotten somewhere. At least the start of somewhere.

I'm collecting bits of bobs that I have.

Some things that may speak to me in little ways.

I've entrusted myself to endeavor to create something that separate, may not be that much, but when together, form something that will be close to my heart.

Has anybody else made progress?

Want to join in? Check out this post. Create to live, live to create!


I'm a girl with a mission this week, checking things off the list left and right. Here's to the trend continuing today because it feels rather nice.

What's happening in your world?

Ciao for now,

CREATE: challenge no. 1

Get Busy Creating

The idea for a creative challenge on the muse came from a few different places. First, my post of yesterday alluded to the fact that I was in a mode playing with watercolors and I was leaving myself room to experiment, pretty much without editing. I’ve simply given myself the room to create.  Then Mary Lynn commented on the post and said that the timing was serendipitous as she was taking an art course taking an online class called Artist Strength Training with Jane Dunneowold, and this week’s topic has been ‘no rules’. 

This coincidence of sorts got me to thinking. 

What if we were challenged to create simply for the sake of creating? And what if we encouraged others to do the same? Could a small ripple of creating start to form? Could it eventually become a wave?

 I decided I wanted to fin out.

 

What better way to start the this new CREATE challenge series than with no rules? 

Imagine what could be created? 

Are you on board yet?

  

So, as I said and as you can see, this initial challenge has no rules.  All you have to do is create something in whatever medium you’d like: ink, fabric, film, digital, paint, wood, paper, recyclables, ribbon, canvas, clay, flowers, plants, yarn, food – it’s your call.

If you want to participate, but don’t want to share what you created. That’s cool.  Think of this as your own personal challenge.

If you want to participate, and do want to share what you created, you can email me (pbates ‘at’ speakeasyinfo dot net) a photo of your creation, along with any links you’d like me to include in the results post on May 29th (i.e. your website, your shop, your blog, etc.).  

AND if you have a blog, I think it would be Awesome Dawson if your blog joined in the fun. Feel free to use the images above in a post to challenge your own readers to create. If you’d link back to this original post so your readers can see what this is all about, that’d be wicked nice and a ton of fun.  . If you do blog about this challenge, send me a link to your challenge no.1 post and I’ll include it on a list of blogs that are participating and share on the muse.  I hope you’ll plan on doing a results post too, that can be included on the a list in my results post, so we can see how far the ripple spread. If you are planning on a results post on May 29^th, let me know so I can include a link to your blog in my results post. Got all that?

Let’s CREATE a bigger wave together. Can I get a holla back on that? How about an amen?

If you want your CREATE challenge masterpiece to be included in the results post, send me photos of your creation (pbates ‘at’ speakeasyinfo dot net) by end of day (12am est), Tuesday, May 27^th.   CREATE Challenge no. 1 results to be posted on Thursday, May 29th.^.

I’m psyched to see what CREATE challenge no. 1 prompts you all to make.  

I know you guys are going to rock this.

Remember, no rules. 

Now, have at it!

Make it a great day today. It’s a great day to have.

Ciao for now,