Rayen

I was intrigued by Michael J. Gelb's How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci because I knew so little about the man, and I was curious as to how the author expected ordinary readers to cultivate genius by following in decidedly medieval footsteps. After reading it I do know more about Da Vinci (the book is chock full of details from his life) but remain a bit puzzled over if the author proposed an extraordinary and unlikely emulation of genius, or simply defined it better. The book talks about genius as if it were a precious resource we call carry inside and can cultivate, and that is rather naive. A great majority of Americans do not read books (the National Endowment for the Arts puts that figure at 51.5% ), and that's where I believe self-education begins. The public library is the greatest free university in existence -- I speak as a grateful student who read entire libraries as a kid -- and in another fifty or a hundred years they will likely shut down for good. T...

I still remember, and hope you are finally happy wherever you are. Happy Birthday, Mom. Image credit: Petra from Pixabay

I rummaged through my paper supplies and found some appropriately autumn-ish big sheets, along with an old scrap pack of cardstock, to use for pages for my Halloween box journal. First I cut up my cardstock and decorative paper to make pages and cards. I also cut out sections from the Halloween coloring book to add in. I don't know if I'll color these, or just use them as foundations for journal pages, but they're a fun addition. I made a memory game from the coloring book as well, and tucked that into an envelope for the journal. Because I don't have to bind everything I can keep the pages loose in the box, to take out and write on, glue recipes to, add illustrations, etc. I can also add more pages if I want. Here's what the pages look like out of the box. I even included a couple of cutter quilt scraps to embroider or make into covers for a little stitch book. This was an easy and fun project to do, and now I can revisit Halloween any time...

At the end of October I went on a quest to find materials with which to make a Halloween-themed journal. Michael's was already packing up their Halloween merchandise and putting out Christmas things. I finally checked at the Dollar Tree and found a little spooky gift box and a child's Halloween coloring book. I've made many box-type journals, and this one is a very nice size. Perfect to use throughout the year, too, not just in October. I'll show you how I'm going to use the coloring book in the next post. Now I will collect what I can from the things I have on hand and get started. :)

While my guy and I were wandering around Winter Garden we stopped at a thrift store. It was very crowded, and the prices were too high for my liking, but I did spot something in the books section that made me do a double take: Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson. Yes, you read that right. I had no idea these two folks had written a book together. James Patterson is famous -- or, infamous, if you like -- for using co-authors; the most famous being Bill Clinton (Dolly Parton might be a tad bit more famous.) I've heard rumors that he's never actually written a book himself (which would not surprise me.) He is a publicity machine that rivals Stephen King, and since they've both taken pot shots at each other, that seems apt, too. I have never personally read one of his books, and despite Dolly's name on the spine I was not tempted to thrift this one. There will be a Dolly Parton fan out there who will be thrilled to buy it, I'm sure. In the firs...

To use up the rest of the vintage fabric from this basket I cut all of it into 2-1/2" strips. I'm going to make a variation of Valerie Nesbitt's 40 minute scrap quilt top (you can watch a video tutorial about it here .) To save time I'm not going to slant the ends. You simply make a long strip, then fold it right sides together in half, sew it along one side, cut open the end, and then repeat. This is the best method I know to use up scraps that is simple, fun, and never turns out the same way twice. Here's the strip after I sewed it together twice. Three times. Sometimes I only double the strip a few times to get a quilt top with long strips; this time I cut it until I got this. Stay tuned for part three. :)