November 2014 – Joyful Ploys

4×4’s and more…

November 24, 2014November 24, 2014MaryLeave a comment

“Give thanks for the rainbows, for the butterflies,
for all God’s creatures – large and small,
for the bright blue sky and the soft fog and the gentle rain,
for the tree veiled in the season’s first frost,
for the baby’s laugh, for the touch of a hand
and the whispered “I love you.”
– Jonathan Lockwood Huie

I finished a good book last week: A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe It or Not!” Ripley by Neal Thompson. Go here to check out a great article about the book. I don’t read a lot of biographies but this one is excellent!

I finished eight more 4×4’s. I’m going to have to hurry to attain my goal of 200 by the end of this year 🙂

This set numbers 161-164:

This set numbers 165-168:

…some random pages from my visual journal

…collage using an altered page from a children’s book:

my photos aren’t coming out very crisp….I’m looking for another camera

odds and ends collage:

here’s wishing all in the US a great Thanksgiving Day this Thursday with family & friends!!!

are all four wheels working?

November 9, 2014Mary5 Comments

I’m still gleaning from Erma Bombeck’s book. It’s full of lots of wonderful quotes. Here’s a quote about shopping carts…still true for today:

A safety check would reveal there isn’t a shopping cart that does not have all four wheels working. Unfortunately, all four are locked in stable directions. Three wheels want to shop and the fourth wants to go to the parking lot.”

~Erma Bombeck~

I completed another set of 4×4’s last week. I made use of some painted magazine and deli papers. This set numbers 157-160:

I’ve been working in the journal I made two weeks ago. The first page is a watercolor face I glued into the journal:

This is a two page spread that doesn’t really go together. I glued the watercolor face into the book and added the border:

This is a monochromatic watercolor face using light oxide red (Van Gogh):

These last two watercolors are mixed media paper. I may glue them into the journal:

I was looking through my photos for one special photo but I couldn’t find it. Our Rottie, Toby, passed over the rainbow bridge on Thursday. Faithful friend and companion….there will be no other dog to take his place. He didn’t like to have his photo taken, and about the only ones we have are of him sleeping. I couldn’t even find one of those…so, I took that as a sign that he didn’t want his likeness on display. RIP, dear Toby…we miss you!!

have a good day…

November 2, 2014November 2, 2014Mary1 Comment

“The expression “Have a good day” was born the week our oil supply was depleted, water became scarce, telephone rates went up, gasoline was in short supply, and meat, coffee, and sugar prices soared. It was as if the warranty on the country had just expired.” ~Erma Bombeck~1970’s

I’m having a good day…it’s the first day back on God’s time 🙂

I made a new journal last week…I sewed the signatures together on the sewing machine and used duct tape to put the signatures together. Then, I found the middle of the journal and sewed that to the cover using a simple pamphlet stitch. I will be using this method again. I wanted to practice using a composition book for the cover. The next one I make, I think I’ll try using an old book for the cover.

I mostly used painted papers on the cover:

Here’s the introductory page…watercolor and collage:

I spilled some ivory paint the other day…so, I quickly swirled it on some magazine pages. After the paint dried…I went over some of the paint with pan pastels. I like the effect that I discovered accidentally:

I painted these 4×4’s last week. They number 149-152:

I made this set of 4×4’s today. They number 153-156:

Last week we went for a drive to look at the fall color. We made a little circle and came back home. When we drove in our driveway, I told my hubby: I think the prettiest leaves are right here in our own yard. Here’s a photo of the Hickory Tree in our backyard. After a rain, the leaves look neon yellow: