Now & Zen(tangle)

Oh. MY. GOD!!!  I just received one of the best gifts!!!! I have recently discovered the art of zentangling and a very special person was paying attention and gifted me with the Zentangle Kit...

It comes packaged in its own gorgeous hand-made dark teal paper box... complete with step by step instructions on creating tangles, pencils, pens, hand crafted die cut papers and a mini dvd ... what a treat!

I am excited to be on this journey and can't wait to see where these tangles take my artistic endeavors...

and No... you don't NEED this kit to zentangle... their home site gives plenty of info to be able to strike out your own tangles and there are many other sites devoted to showcasing other artists' tangles.... but I sure am excited by this gorgeous gift!








And here is a piece of functional art.... a bookmark I tangled yesterday afternoon... too fun!

What inspires you?

...scatter joy...
lindy

An Ugly Creation

So another Swap-Bot swap.... This one to Create an Ugly Doll.... I'm not exactly sure what drew me to this swap... I do not want to begin collecting these dolls.... although there is something weirdly appealing about them.... maybe it was just the opportunity to craft one and then be able to send it off to someone.... of course, that doesn't account for the fact that another will be finding its way to me.... lol....

My swap partner had in her profile that she likes fairies.... and so I made mine a Fairy Ugly Doll.....

This was a very quick and easy craft and if you have tweens/teens/ or people who just like to collect unusual things, this could be just the thing. (This could also make an awesome Doggie Toy... Bax was utterly disappointed that he wasn't the recipient of this doll!)



1. Use a felt or wool fabric... a scrap will do as these are not huge dolls... 8-11" on average probably and can be any color.

2. You do not need a pattern.  I REPEAT: YOU DO NOT NEED A PATTERN.... simply lay out a double layer of fabric and then roughly sketch the shape you'd like your Ugly Doll to be.... (if you don't know what Uglys are, do a simple google search for 'Ugly Doll' and take a look.

3. Cut out the fabric leaving aprx 1/4 for seam allowance.  Because they are not always exactly symmetrical you don't have to worry (although this part would definitely bug some of my more perfect friends ---and you know who you are!)

4. Sew (but leave an opening to put in the stuffing), stuff (lightly... not packed firmly), sew closed and embellish.   Ohhhhhhhhh and don't forget to name your Ugly....

This project took me aprx 1 hour to complete. ; ) 

What would your Ugly look like... and what would its name be?

...scatter joy...
lindy

Pillow Punch

My wonderful friend beat me to the punch and crafted some fabulous felted pillows upcycled from old wool sweaters! (I have felted the sweaters, and have yet to utilize in a project.)  She gifted me with this one after she saw me lusting after it.... isn't it just adorable with the button placket down the front??? (Thanks, Fran!)

I think this Punch of Orange is going to be simply luscious with the lime green, chocolate, and blue color scheme!

What colors are dancing in your dreams?

...scatter joy...
lindy

Dancing the zenTANGO

I love arts.  I love crafts.  And I really LOVE learning something new... so my new fascination continues to grow... zentangles.  I am new new new so judge not too harshly.... and have to say... I love it.  It's easy... anyone can do it... and you end up feeling very artistic...!  I am currently in a couple of swaps involving the exchanging of these mini works of art on swap-bot (another new fascination...)

What has caught your fancy?

... scatter joy...
lindy

a merry mummy christmas!

I did it!  I finished my mom's christmas pressie and now it's on it's way to florida to arrive just in time for the festivities!

As many of you can relate to, each year it becomes increasingly difficult to figure out just what to give our parents for the holidays.  I came up with this idea last month while at the Craft Social... as I was learning how to make artistic doodles (aka zentangles) a million ideas on how to use this artform came flooding in... among them the brill idea I had for gifting my mumma.

As I reflect on my own life stories, it occurred to me that I really knew too few of my mom's stories and so what better way to get her to tell them to me than to present her with a 'journal' for writing them down.... including some touches of art throughout to keep it interesting.

It's easy peasy:

1. Buy a suitable notebook to use for the journal.  (I chose spiral bound because it will lay flat, and lined for ease of writing.)  I found this one in the clearance cubbies at Paper Source.
2. Modify and embellish at will (keep in mind how long it will take because once you start you'd hate to only get 1/2 way through)
3.Compile the thought starter questions and write them throughout the journal. ( It's much much easier to tell you a story if you ask me a question first, to get me started.)

If you'd like to use my questions to start from, just email me and I'll send you the file. 

There are so many stories we need to share with each other and this really is a great idea not only for our elders but also think about writing your stories now... as you live them... what a wonderful gift for your own family members and friends.

How does your story begin?

...scatter joy...
lindy

... and MORE JoY!!!

I knew that I was probably ordering from my fave Thai restaurant a little too often when, on a rare occasion I would change my order and they would ask, 'aren't you going to order Tom Kahr?' lol.... but I LOVE Thai, and I love Cozy Thai in particular.... so imagine my delight at being 'gifted' with a cute little canvas bag (really, it's CANVAS and not that cheap fused stuff that falls apart after using it 10 times...) and it contained cookies. 

And anyone who has ever visited Cozy's knows just how kitchy and kookie it is (in the very best way...) so my delight was doubled when upon opening the bag I discovered there was a container of DANISH cookies inside.... LOL

And now I MUST go watch the penguins dance!!!

What unexpected gesture made you smile today?

...scatter joy...
lindy

After a long, hard, day....

Well... okay... maybe it wasn't all THAT long... and definitely not hard... but you know what I mean... !  Anyway, imagine how incredibly fun it was when I opened my mailbox to find nothing but holiday greeting cards..... no bills.... NO JUNK MAIL.... simply envelopes filled with sweet messages......  !  The universe conspired to scatter joy my way today!

What kind of cards do you like to give.....?  to receive....?

...scatter joy...
lindy

"Drum" roll, please..... or should I say Drum Shade???

I'm not sure if it's retro, modern, or funky.... I just know that I like it....  and the great thing is that I see it from the living area as well as the kitchen.... !  It makes me smile.  I picked this beautiful light up at Stacy O's in Saginaw.... she has great style and wonderfully unique items... I love her AND her store.

What lights you up inside?
...scatter joy...
lindy

simple & quick holiday decor

Sometimes it takes very little effort to add some twinkle and merriment to your space... check out this cute little holiday decoration that is also quite FUNctional..... and you KNOW functional art is my favorite...  I have this on the little cupboard that greets you as you enter my space!

1. Take one gorgeous jar... any jar will do... I used an antique canning jar I had on hand
2. Hang beautiful candy canes (ORGANIC!) around the rim
3. Enjoy!

I added a cut-out snowflake.... you could also add dried berries, or twigs or holly to the jar for added flair.

What makes your holiday spirit soar?

...scatter joy...
lindy

swap bot

I don't know why I didn't know such things existed, but I stumbled upon this very cool site... it took me back to the childhood years of penpals..... this site has a very straightforward premise.... swap crafts, ephemera, postcards, art, books, and the list goes on.... any number of things with another partner.

There are hundreds of swaps going at any one time, and its almost a guarantee to find a swap that strikes your fancy (strikes your fancy???? what year is this.... 1957???) Anyway, the swaps have a host and guidelines, a description of the swap, sign up date and send out date.... the host matches you with someone ( you send to your match, someone else sends to you, this way it is not dependent upon having even numbers of people participating ).  I have signed up for 3 already.... lol..... and the cool thing is, some are US only based but many are international...

If it sounds intriguing, check it out here:

What kind of things would you swap?
...scatter joy...
lindy