Almost
everything
will work again
if you
Unplug it
for a few minutes…
Including you.
– Ann Lamott
Unplug….
even if only
for a few minutes.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Month: March 2017
Its Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature!
Its Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature!
Alright….
who tried to slip
Mother Nature
some Chiffon margarine
in place of butter?
Woke up early this morning
knowing it was coming…
the weather people
kept telling us.
But to see daffodils blooming
and tree buds bursting
in a haze of green
against a blue sky
and warm, sunny breeze
just yesterday…
and wake up to this –
albeit splendid beauty-
this morning…
Someone had to have tried to
fool Mother Nature!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Mixing Basics in Watercolor: Blue, Red, & Yellow
Mixing Basics in Watercolor: Blue – Red – Yellow.
Going back to basics with my new watercolor palette and realizing all the colors that can be created by using three simple basics. For all three of these simple, loose, impressionistic flowers, I used the same colors: Cobalt Blue, Permanent Rose, and Lemon Yellow.
For the first I mixed Permanent Rose with just a drop of Cobalt Blue for the flowers and Cobalt Blue and Lemon Yellow pretty equally for the green.
For the second I mixed Cobalt Blue with just a drop of Permanent Rose for the flowers and Cobalt Blue and Lemon Yellow with an emphasis on the Cobalt Blue in places nearer the flower.
For the third I mixed Lemon Yellow with just a drop of Permanent Rose for the flowers and Cobalt Blue and Lemon Yellow, but only a tiny bit of Cobalt Blue to lighten up the green.
And there are likely hundreds more color combinations in various shades that could be achieved by simply using these three basic colors.
It’s fun and easy and creates such clean, bright, un-muddied results when you keep it simple.
I also used one brush for everything – the Rekab 320S #2 Squirrel Mop (which I could only find by ordering from Australia, but LOVE it – also recommended by Debi Riley), It is so versatile, but I really had to learn to use it after using inexpensive synthetic brushes at first. This brush holds a lot of water and paint. It also can come to a fine point and do small lines with a light touch, and can make fat, wash strokes too.
So if you are even thinking of giving watercolor painting a try…. three colors, one brush (you don’t have to order from Australia – but find a nice natural hair medium sized brush to achieve results you will really enjoy) and some paper (I recommend you start with Cold Press 140lb Arches) is really all you need to create some beauty and experiment with this wonderful hobby.
Thanks to the inspiration of Debi Riley on Watercolor Basics! So much to learn from such talent!
Enjoy the journey!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Cake Pops! Tips for Beginners
Cake Pops! Tips for Beginners.
I adore cake pops!
Because… really… what could be better than a bite-sized morsel of cake dunked in chocolate? And then maybe adorned with sprinkles?!
They are delicious and pretty and cute; but until this past weekend, I had never tried to make them.
I wanted to practice for an upcoming event or two, so I read and researched and asked around and gave them a whirl this past weekend.
They are really not that difficult, but there are a few tricks to success. I thought I would provide a few tips that helped make mine turn out delicious and beautiful! At least that is the consensus I got from the party I took them to as “practice” pops.
To make cake pops, bake a cake mix – whatever you favorite flavor is. Then follow these tips for success.
- Freeze cake – even if overnight. It allows you to plan ahead and also adds to the moisture of the cake. Simply place baked cake – crumbled, broken pieces, or all in one piece – in a large Ziploc bag in the freezer.
- 1 boxed cake mix makes approximately 3 dozen cake balls.
- When ready to assemble, defrost the cake and crumble to fine crumbs with your hands in the bag.
- Add only enough frosting (ready made works perfect) to add a bit of “glue” for forming and holding balls together. I used 1 heaping tablespoon – that is it! This allows your cake balls to truly taste like cake.
- Scoop crumb mixture with a small scoop to form uniformly-sized 1 inch balls. Then roll with your hands to round ball.
- Melt chocolate candy melts in microwave in a deep cup that is not too wide to allow for ease of dipping. It only takes 1 1/2 – 2 minutes.
- Dip tips of sticks into candy melts and insert into cake balls.
- Refrigerate or freeze for at least a half hour or several hours.
- Remelt chocolate at 30 second intervals until desired consistency.
- Dip cake balls on sticks into chocolate candy melts. Allow excess to drain.
- Place on parchment paper if using with stick up, and sprinkle with jimmies or edible glitter.
- Stick into styrofoam if using cake ball up and decorate as desired.
- Make ahead up to 3-5 days if needed – no more than 7 days. (there are horror stories of moldy cake balls made too far ahead of time)
- I found this site – Heavenly Cake Pops – to be extremely informative.
Have fun and enjoy!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Every Bunny Loves Some Bunny Sometime
Funny Bunny 8×10 Watercolor
Every Bunny Loves Some Bunny Sometime…
Every Bunny falls in love somehow…
Well – I’m surely not Dean Martin, but I do love painting bunnies…
especially funny bunnies this time of year with Spring and Easter right around the corner.
And Remember – in case you doubt…
You Alone are Enough
You have nothing to prove
to Any Bunny!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
I used only three colors to create all of the colors in this silly critter: Cobalt Blue, Permanent Rose, and Quinacridone Gold, which also also created purples and greens and a dark “mud” to be almost black without looking too black.
A Ghost in the Tree
A Ghost in the Tree
(A bit of Silly… Poetry)
Do you agree
with me?
Do you see
a ghost in the tree?
On a carefree
walk of sightsee,
it caused a teeny
bit of anxiety.
But Charlie in his chivalry
helped me gain clarity
and guaranteed
it was but a tree.
Such pedigree
to disagree
and decree
it must be too much coffee.
It was a beauty.
Could it be
a chickadee
or chimpanzee?
Whoppee
and Yippee
for a tree designee
of imaginative jubilee!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
My First Post Revisited
the first post – so how do I begin?
May 18, 2014
So I have a good idea what I want to write about… for the most part. My BFF’s oldest daughter told me I should start a “lifestyle” blog. I guess she thinks my life is interesting…. or at least enough that one or two people might want to read about things I do…. (Hopefully I’ll have at least one subscriber – Jacyln Rae – hint hint!)
Or maybe she just thinks I would enjoy doing it, and that is enough.
Hmmm…. I think I like that…
You know…. that’s one of the perks of growing – err – older and wiser – you get to the point where you realize you can do things just because you want to. Yes – there are those things most of us HAVE to do – like paying bills, doing laundry, working – you get the gist – but what do you like to do in between all that?
That’s the real “living” part.
“Life in between” can mean so many things…
The main reason I titled this blog with it is because I want to share the things I choose to do in between the things I “have” to do.
It can also be a stage of life that is in between stages – and aren’t they all?!
Right now – I’m kind of in between the mom stage and the empty nester and grandma stage. And Oh I Can’t Wait to be a Grandma! (No hint hint Jake and Colleen – whenever you are ready… well – maybe a little hint hint)
I think I was born to “mother.” And oh poor everyone around me that I “mother” – sorry! It’s just in my DNA – I want to nurture, I want to comfort, I want to make happy. Could be worst things -right?! (clear throat) But don’t ask my boys…
So anyway – the things I love to do “in between” the things I have to do – that’s what I want to share with you here.
I love to bake. I love how it makes the house smell. I love how it makes people feel when they bite into a buttery, chocolately, caramely yummy thing. I love surprising someone with a special treat of something they love. Here is a picture of my first attempt at French Macarons. I was so excited these testy little buggers turned out. Not sure I’ll ever make them again – so much work – so temperamental – and what if they don’t turn out the next time? Was it beginner’s luck? I’ll just believe I’ve MASTERED them…. and leave it at that….
I also love to decorate – my home that is. And it’s not all about it being House and Garden perfect for those of you that know me and are thinking “Jodi – you are NOT an interior decorator!”
My ultimate goal (in deocrating) is to create a place that is warm and welcoming. A place where someone can just drop by (no formal invitations needed around here) and feel comfortable and welcomed and loved. No shoes off in my house. So what if the carpet has stains… Those stains represent someone who I shared my home with or that spilled a drink or our dog who came in after a rainy spring day – so what… I grew up in a house that was House and Garden perfect… that meant NO SHOES inside… it meant that you could see sweeper marks in the carpet from the daily vacuum…. it meant that you could literally eat off the garage floor if you were so inclined because it was so clean…. and that’s all good… Mom was an awesome “cleaner”… but it’s not me. I want comfort, warmth, welcoming. I want my house to feel like your favorite worn slippers or most comfortable fleece hoodie or your “go to” black yoga pants. That’s what trips my trigger.
Here’s a little peek at our home – and that’s my little buddy “Mikey” who is never far from my side. After this LONG COLD winter, it was so nice to see the daffodils and grass recently.
And I also love to craft. It’s been various things through the years… I’ve tried knitting and crocheting and cross-stitching, tole painting, slate painting, wood crafts, and ceramics. My most recent crafting obsession is papercrafting – stamping, coloring, cutting, punching, pasting, tying – anything with paper and ink. I guess it feels comforting being that I (and so many of us) spend so much time on the computer. It feels extra special to create and send a special handmade something to someone and hope they realize the time and love you put into it – just for them. Here’s a card I made for a very special cousin and friend – Oh Rob! (I’m sure you’ll hear more about him in coming posts). Oh how I love that guy – and his amazingly talented and loving wife and superhero to me, Joyce. Rob’s “One Little Word” this year is “reflection,” so I wanted to create a birthday card acknowledging and celebrating “reflection.”
And then – I love to photograph it all. Dear hubby got me my first good camera for Christmas this year – and I think he might regret it…. I know my boys do…. but I just love taking photographs of crazy, silly, normal, everyday things. Not a trained professional by any means – not even a class – haven’t even read the whole manual (sorry Patty – I will get there!) – just have fun with it and love seeing what it captures. My BFF, Jill, honored me with the privilege of capturing her daughter, Jackie’s bridal shower recently – oh what fun that was – and even allowed me to do a “photo shoot” with her in-laws (I think George and Alice are going to be more famous than all of us) for a work campaign.
Recently, while Marty (that’s the dear hubby’s name) was cutting grass, I was doing very important things like taking pictures of dandelions and bees on them…. and HE snapped this little gem with his phone while on the tractor…. Not flattering – but yep – that about sums it up. The silly things I do in my life in between…..
So we’ll see how this goes…. I now have my first post under my belt.
Cheers and hugs,
Jodi
#MyFirstPostRevisited
My Favorite Watercolor Subject
Baby C Watercolor 030117 8×10 140 lb Saunders
I had fun a couple evenings this week playing in my new Art Studio painting one of my favorite subjects.
Wonder what she will think of these one day? Laugh? Cry?
Hopefully there will be more, and they will be sweet memories to her of a grandma that adored her – right from the start.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
My Favorite Color
My Favorite Color…
My favorite color is yellow
for sunshiney summer days
and chirpy gold finches
and the tartness of lemons.
My favorite color is blue
for the beauty of the sky and the ocean
and robin eggs
and star-shaped bachelor buttons.
My favorite color is red
for hearts
and raspberries and strawberries
and dark, dry wine.
My favorite color is pink
for lipstick
and nail polish
and my granddaughter’s cheeks.
My favorite color is green
for springtime grass
and soft, feathery hemlock trees
and arugula.
My favorite color is black
for yoga pants
and nighttime skies
and patent leather peep toe pumps.
My favorite color is brown
for the smell of the earth
and rich, creamy gravy
and the color of my morning coffee with cream.
My favorite color is purple
for sweet smelling lilacs
and intricate irises
and Barney the dinosaur.
My favorite color is white
for the first blanket of snow
and the stars that twinkle in a midnight sky
and marshmallow fluff.
How does anyone choose one favorite color
when there are so many reasons
to love every color?
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS It was so challenging for me to choose only 20 colors to fill my new watercolor palette from the 55 colors I have in my stock. But oh how fun it is to start fresh with a new clean palette and all the possibilities it can create.
Do you have a favorite color? However do you choose?
This’ll be the Day
This’ll be the Day.
This’ll be the day
I will seek and find
beautiful things
in humble places….
Things that have been there
all along,
but I didn’t take the time
to notice.
This’ll be the day
I will look in the mirror when I rise
and say, “Hello Beautiful”
instead of “Ugggghhhh!”
I will focus
on the things
I like about myself
instead of the things I don’t.
This’ll be the day
I consciously decide
to seek
simple moments to cherish.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 