Gardening

Weekly Round Up for the 2nd Week of August 2022

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How is your August going? I have been feeling good, if not a bit antsy from time to time. Do you ever feel like you are supposed to be somewhere doing something but you don’t know where or what? I have been feeling that way a bit this past week so I’m trying to spend more time doing and less time lost in my head.

Here’s a bit of what I have been doing:

My First Create with Me Art Journaling Session

I had so much fun playing in my art journal with no goal in mind other than to play in my art journal. If you would like some virtual company to have a play with your journal you can watch the video and read the blog post here.

This Week in Flowers (and Pumpkins)
I am so grateful for the bouquets that I am still able to cut from the garden. I also share with you my pride and joy-PUMPKINS! Something I have been trying to successfully grow for years. You can see all the photos in the blog post here.

Weekly Podcasts
I also recorded a new podcast for this week where I am chatting about creative living. If you fancy a chat for about 20 minutes or so why not make your self a cup of your favorite beverage (iced tea? I love unsweetened iced tea this time of year) and join me here.

Letters for Creatives
I am also sending out my letters to creatives today. If you like the idea of a weekly email meant only to be inspiring to my fellow creatives you can sign up here.

Book Club
I decided to make my Book Club posts monthly and plan to share them the first week of every month. I wasn’t reading fast enough so I thought I might not have enough content to share each week. Unless of course I shared with you all the books I have added to my TBR (To Be Read) list! Of course after deciding that I finished 2 books this week so maybe I would have had something to share. Still, I’ll stick with once a month and see how it goes.

Not shared specifically on the blog but I have a fun video with painted papers coming on my YouTube channel on Monday. I admit to being nervous and excited to get my channel going again. I am taking small steps and will be sharing weekly there but every video that goes on YouTube can also be found on Dilettante TV here on the site so no worries if you aren’t hanging out on YT.

I finished painting an old sofa table for the studio. I started it last Friday and was able to give it a second coat this week and set it all up Wednesday. I am so happy with how it looks (you can see the before and after below) along with how my vintage typewriter looks on it.

    

I have a piece going in my art journal about birds. I was inspired after watching this video
on Sandi Hester’s YT channel (thank you Laura Bray for sharing her channel with me!). I just loved how she painted her birds (and the automotive brushes she was using-so I had to order some!)

I have been working off and on with birds the past few months and on Saturday we took a trip to our local used book store and I picked up an Encyclopedia on birds (along with some other books I’m hoping to use in collage). The page is sitting on my desk in my studio and as I came in to work today I was inspired to add some collage to it so that’s just what I did. It’s still a work in progress but I’ll be sure to share it with you when it’s all done.

I do hope you have had some time for your creativity this week. Please let me know what you have been working on-I would love to hear!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

This Week in Flowers: 2nd Week in August 2022

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The bouquets keep coming and for this I am truly grateful

Zinnias, I do believe I could have acres of them and never grow tired.

And my sunflowers this year have been utterly amazing. Towering over the garden so they are visible from the second floor landing. They are in an assortment of colors and I am going to be diligently working on collecting seed (and savings many for the birds) so I can grow them again next year.

This bouquet is in the foyer so it greets you when you walk in the door.

Not flowers I know but I had to share my pumpkins. I have been on a mission for years to grow our pumpkins for Halloween. I have been successful with one maybe a year but this year? Oh this year I have counted 5 pumpkins! 3 are huge, one is mid size and one is itty bitty yet. This one looks ready to harvest and I just had to snap a photo to share. They are growing outside of the fencing so I am keeping an eye out for nibblers.

Another large pumpkin that still has some ripening up to do

Another large one looking very orange and full of fall spirit.

This is a smaller one but I am excited to see how it goes. My goal was a pumpkin for each member of the family and if the baby one I didn’t photograph grows up a bit I will have reached my goal.

Wishing you sun tea in the garden.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

The Week in Flowers: First Week in August

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It was earlier this year when I started watching videos on cut flower gardening. I admit to dreams of fantasy where I was selling my cut flowers at a road side stand. Beautiful arrangements wrapped in brown paper for customers to bring home and enjoy.

There is just something about cut flowers that make a space feel happier. I always smile when I walk by the vases in my home. Random repurposed glassware that holds wildflower type arrangements of cut pretties from the garden.

Recently the idea of sharing the weekly arrangements and afew snippets from around the garden came to me and I thought a post, consisting mainly of photos rather than words might just brighten up your day too. I do hope you enjoy.

 

Summer Solitude, Art & Flowers

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I am sitting with freshly painting nails writing to you. It’s late evening-a moment shy of 11pm-and the house is silent.

My family has gone on a little adventure with extended family and I am left home with the furry kids and a silent house.
This is my second time at home alone for several days in just 2 months. Before May I think it was a good 6 or 7 years since I had the house to myself and then it had only been for the day.

I have lots to share of my current creative projects along with some book club updates but I will save that for another day.

Over the 4th of July long weekend I picked some rhubarb from the garden and along with some purchased strawberries made my husband’s favorite rhubarb and strawberry crumble. I halved the sugar recommended and I believe even the butter and it was still absolutely delicious. My oldest was expressing an interest in photography so I asked her to snap a photo for the blog. She agreed as long as I gave her credit 🙂 I am also sharing a few of my favorite photos she took around the garden.

Photo Credit Abbie

I have a fun story about these Day Lillies. When I was young there was a spot in down we used to drive by and these flowers grew in a large number there and I just loved them. I didn’t know their name but anytime I saw them I just knew I wanted to have them someday.

They appeared in my yard-and I don’t remember how-and now they grow everywhere! I have since learned they are known as “Ditch Lillies” and it would seem that I have attracted them in an abundance! Still they are beautiful.

Photo Credit Abbie

And another favorite are the Elderberries. Last year was my first year growing them and they did so well. I made Elderberry syrup from them and am looking forward to doing the same this year. They have taken over their little corner of the garden so they will be pruned back in the fall otherwise I fear they may take over 🙂 They are so pretty (and useful!)

Photo Credit Abbie

I also cut some flowers to bring indoors. It’s one of my favorite things to do in the summer-to cut flowers and place them in repurposed glass jars all over the house. The snapdragons were purchased (although I did start some from seed) and while their flowers are beautiful the purchased ones are short and stocky and didn’t last in the vases at all.

The rest of the garden is starting to come into flower though and I was able to cut my first sunflower of the year today (you can see it in the photo below). This particular sunflower is one of 2 volunteers that somehow grew in the pathway of my flower garden. If I am honest they are in less than an idea spot but I just couldn’t bring myself to uproot them so they will enjoy the summer just where they are.

I also decided to really embrace decorating my home. I have been letting that go a bit and it’s something I love. I decided to start with seasonal decor for my mantel and have 2 more items I am waiting on but they all looked so pretty with the sunflower, bachelor buttons, zinnia and celosia.

And then of course there is art making. It began with a nice clean out of my creative corner. DH moved his desk out and we moved our rabbit Frank in. The best part is Frank’s cage sits under a large desk and with the purchase of shelving I now have a lot more storage for my supplies along with a drying area which was something I really needed.

I cleaned out my rolling carts too. I didn’t have them set up very practically and so I made sure I moved out anything I wasn’t using and put my most used (and loved) items on the top shelves and they are so much more functional-not to mention they look so much better.

I have started sewing a t-shirt but am procrastinating on attempting the v-neck so it’s been sitting aside for me to be in the right frame of mind to learn this new technique. I have been taking part in Carla Sonheim’s collage class and really enjoying it. You can still sign up for the course for lifetime access I believe.

I’m working on embroidering a few pieces of clothing and cannot wait to share them with you. I really want to make more of my own clothes but as I am still working on the sewing skills I felt it would just as fun to make some of my clothing my own. I love embroidery and love that I can sit in the evening with it while we watch a little TV before bed.

I’ve started making some journals and some sticker sheets. I would love to open up a little shop but have been procrastinating there as well. I love making things and I especially love the idea of making stickers since I use them so much but I always seem to determine they aren’t good enough and that’s where it ends. Do you find it hard to make things for others? My eye is always so much more critical that way.

Lastly I have started a collage painting of our home. I am trying out a combination of a class I am taking on Skillshare (this is an affiliate link and you make a purchase using this link I earn a small commission) along with some of my own ideas and of course I will share with you when it’s done.

What have you been working on this summer? I would love to hear! You can always comment down below or message me directly.

Wishing you a lovely day.

Until next time…

-Michele aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Painting Faces

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How are you? I have been working through with the help of some art making. This weekend the weather was a little gray and between puttering in the garden (and bringing in some cut flowers to place in bud vases around the house) I made some art.

I have been working on a theme of small ladies that I would love to turn into stickers. I do love stickers and adding them to journal pages or in memory keeping. I am still fine tuning them. I love how they look as sketches but when I start painting them I feel like they are loosing a little something. Maybe I should try them all in colored pencils?

I am also working on a little paper clay decoration for Father’s Day. I am hoping I can get it done in time-I have been doing a bit here and there as I can. The inspiration came from Sarah Hand’s new book “A Happy Book of Little Gifts to Make” (that’s an affiliate link and if you make a purchase I receive a small commission but it doesn’t cost you any more).
With any luck I can finish it up in time and share some photos with you.

I was also flipping through one of my larger sketchbooks. I don’t know about you but there are certain sketchbooks or art journals I just connect with. It has very little to do with the book itself and I think more to do with how I have created in it so far. If I have been free and having fun just playing with materials I tend to really, really love the book. This is one of those journals. Usually, once I realize that I love the book I suddenly put all this pressure on myself to “keep it going.”
It feels a little like learning to ride a bike-once you realized you are doing it you fall over?

In flipping through this journal I came across I piece I had done a while back that I absolutely loved. I mean, really loved. I just connected with her so much and I am sure it had to do with how I felt creating her. I remember when she was done and I shared her with my family they just smiled and said it was nice. They didn’t quite share my enthusiasm. Art is like that though isn’t it? It can feel like the entire Universe aligned and offered you clarity and then another person can see it and just shrug. Art is so very personal.

I get it-it’s not as if she is a fabulous execution of a face. Still, she meant something to me and flipping back through the journal and seeing her I felt it all over again.

I also felt the call to make another one (and maybe more than one). This time however I felt a little nervous. Afraid I was putting pressure to create the same feeling I had when I made the one above. (I named her “Babette” by the way)
Instead, I picked a background page that had my favorite colors mixed in it and it and just started playing.

Can I say I love her even more?

 

I also love this photo with my messy desk. I took it just to make sure I captured her and instantly knew this would be a part of a post I wanted to share with you.

I am pretty sure this journal is going to be filled with similar girls. I love the two-page spread and there is just something about each of them that speaks something to me.

I hope you like this little peak into what I have been creating over the weekend. I would love to hear what you have been making or creating. Please share in the comments below.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

 

 

Taking Care and Flowers

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I am sharing a small little post with you today but what I really wanted to share were some photos I took in the garden. I have really been enjoying photographing my flowers and am using them for some sketches/paintings that I hope to share with you. In the meantime, I hope they bring a smile to your face.

I am slowly moving into my hibernation week taking a bit extra care of myself as-in my haste to clear out some weeds-ignored the poison ivy that was growing amidst the dead nettle at the base of the oak tree. As a very clear reminder of the virtue of moving slowly the left side of my face is now covered in poison ivy. It looks worse than it feels (thanks to calamine lotion) still I believe it’s taking it’s toll in other ways.

I am forever trying to find the meaning in my experiences, the lessons buried deep in the seemingly ordinary. I believe that I am being called more and more to focus on my own way of doing things. Of embracing those parts of myself that perhaps I came to believe were flaws.

Like my lack of “hustle” and the need to meander rather than drive.

I have finished a book and started another (not on the list I shared with you in my last book club update) so I hope to have a few more updates to share with you perhaps next week. In the meantime I will drink tea, make art, snuggle my kiddos and spend as much time in the garden as possible.

I hope this week is starting off well for you. That you are able to move at the pace that feels natural and in a way that feels your own. If, like me, you need to take care of yourself I hope you do.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante.