Princess Bubbles Creates

 I had intended to try out the nifty lettering feature on my sewing machine for this month.  But then the french knot idea came to me.  I used metallic thread and had this stitched in no time.  I will save the sewing machine idea for next month or whenever.  I am starting to think about the covers for this journal.  I am feeling the need to do some crazy quilting so that might be what I do for the cover.  I also have a stitched and painted experiment that could be used.  There is no rush to decide.  An even better idea may come to me! Isn't savour a great word?  I have spent the month trying to savour all the precious moments.  I like to think that that is my general attitude towards life but that isn't always true! I am linking to http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

 Participating in the 'I Like" posts on Thursdays with Lee Anna and the gang is something that I am really enjoying.  It is stopping to smell the roses so to speak.  This week there was a prompt to discuss our summer 'uniform', favourite clothes etc.  I love the brand Desigual and have a pair of their slides.  I find them to be very comfortable so I wear them a LOT. They are also very colourful.   I mainly shorts and a T-shirt throughout the summer.  I am not picky about brands.  I mainly want to be comfortable and colourful. I like interesting conversations.  Conversations that have a bit of a debate to them.  While gathered on the deck this past weekend the old Beatles versus The Rolling Stones came up.  My son who has a BA in Music clearly knows a lot more about music than I do.  He thinks the Beatles were the better band because they added so much to music.  That is one perspective and probably true.  Person...

 I have been playing with glass again.  Such fun!  I love adding totems and glass flowers to my garden.  This flower is not quite finished.  I love the way it is coming along but I need a different plate for the base.  That blue one is not quite right.  I will have to go thrift store shopping to find the right thing.  That is never a problem.  Thrift stores are so fun.  You just never know what treasure you are going to find!

 I haven't posted about this mandala since the beginning of June.  Sometimes the next step takes a while to show itself to me!  That is why I like to have more than one on the go at a time.  I like being able to work on something else.  Do nothing would not work for me.  If stitching ideas aren't coming then I will play in a journal or whatever.  The creativity simply must come out in one form or another.  I think if I were to waste my time waiting for the right ideas the creativity would dry up.  The more I do the more I have! This mandala is rather bold and chunky.  I love bold and chunky!  I have added some paper quilled pieces, still one more to go.  It is bit fiddly to stitch these down but I like the way they look.  I enjoy bringing paper into my stitching world.  I am not exactly sure what the next step will be for this mandala.  I do think that it will involve seed beads though.  I feel like some sma...

 How did it get to be this late in the month and I haven't done my word journal?  I have my word, which is SAVOUR.  Isn't that a good word?  There are so many good things to savour when we really take the time to do so.   I went digging through my pile of offcuts and experiments and found this piece.  I think it will work well.  I have been pondering how I will write the word on it.  I am considering using the letter function on my sewing machine.  I haven't used it very much so it would be a good time to practice.   I am linking to http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

  It is I Like Thursday and I am glad to participate.  This week Lee Anna at  Not Afraid of Color  suggested a  simple kitchen tool as a prompt.  For me, that is the timer on my stove.  I set it to remind me when to come back and stir the pasta or whatever.  I do not love being in the kitchen.  I want to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen and still eat well.   In the summer that is easy.  There is plenty of beautiful produce. Plus there is the barbecue and my man handles that part.   I like, no love the fruits that are available.   Fruit is always available but it isn't always delicious as it is now.  The cherries are so sweet and juicy.   I like my neighbourhood.  I used to have a neighbour that had a vegetable garden and he always shared some of his excess with me.  Today I walked past a tiny garden of herbs that had a sign saying help yourself.  So nice!

 I have not loved my choice of fabric for this mandala.  So change it I did.  I know so many ways to alter fabric and have taught a week-long class on doing it.  Of course, after stitching on 200 Swarovski crystals, I was concerned that I would ruin it.  Certainly a fair concern but letting fear dictate my art feels even worse.  I want to be happy with what I create.  I got out my Neo Colour 2 crayons and had at it.  I am so glad that I did as it looks so much better.  The colour did bleed out a bit more than I wanted but that did not ruin it.   At this point, I am not sure what else this mandala needs.  It is quite possible that it is finished.  This is for the Purple Reign Challenge put on by the San Fransisco School of Needlework and is due by Aug. 15.  I have a bit of time to contemplate if I will add any more to it or not.