How Full Do You See Your Basket?

 

How full do your see your basket?

I ask that question only because I believe the answer to it depends on how good a year 2019 will be for me.  And, by me, I mean all of us.  I'm sorry to say, but 2017 and 2018 were hard on me and just about everyone I know.  I'm pretty sure the whole planet has suffered.  I'm not sure improvements will be made in 2019 either, but I have come to the conclusion that my attitude about how full my basket is could possibly make this year a much better one, for me and for you.  So, how full DO you see your basket?  I'm going to choose to believe that "my cup runneth over" and my basket too....even when it's difficult.  Mind over matter.  It should always be so, but I couldn't seem to believe that last year, thus making me sick both mentally and physically, so I have to now....as another year like the last is unacceptable.  I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year, so know that I'll be doing my best to think positive through all the trials and tribulations of life, mine and yours.  I'll be 'seeing' baskets hopefully filled with goodness and love....we need it.  So, I'm tying another knot,  hanging on and hoping you hang on with me.

 

So, of course, speaking of baskets...I had to show some, if for no other reason than it never hurts to see something pretty.

That little platter came from the flea market. 

 It called my name.

 

 The framed basket was a gift....the paper basket...a Hallmark card from several years ago.

 

Then, there is this tiny, tiny, petit point basket...to hang from a chain.   One of my most favorite things.

 

 I brought this beautiful cross-stitched table runner home from the flea last week.  Another beautiful thing that called my name loudly.  It isn't in really good shape, lots of stains, so I plan to use the baskets in some future projects.  "Future projects."  That has a positive sound to it.  A part of seeing the basket as full rather than empty.  

 

 Can you see it with me?

 

I think I'll be showing you more baskets in the cottage as the year goes by.  There are many here and I like sharing them.  More positivity.  A good thing.

 

 Can you see the name "Pat" on this embroidery?  Funny.  It wasn't made by me.

I found this quote this morning.  I don't know who wrote it, but I liked it a lot and I'm going to believe it is true.  May it help you also.

"Amazing, isn't it, how some see the basket half empty and others see it half full?  Some see life hopeless, some hopeful.  Even when things are less than perfect, if you can think of the good, the beautiful, the hopeful, you'll be more than sustained."

until next time

BE WELL

from

Bird Nest Cottage

♥️♥️♥️

"Come Sit with Me"

I've been thinking about this blog post for days and days...trying to figure out what I wanted to say.
As usual, though, I finally just start typing and out comes whatever is in 'there' trying to get out.  I'm sure sometimes you are wondering just what I am saying.  Me too.  The beginning might be a good place to start....I found this photo of a settee in a magazine ad and just loved it, so cut it out with my tiny little paper cutting scissors...even the binoculars.  In the ad, they were on the ground.  One day, I was painting over a 14 inch x 14 inch canvas I had previously made a mess of and it became this background.  Next, I just sat that little settee on the canvas...and that is where I got the idea for this piece of art.

It had to have birds.  You know that.  And, leaves...either sewn or cut out of paper.  In this case, I painted some book pages and cut the leaves out freehand.  As you have seen here before, I made a rubber stamp of a bird outline and have used it several times by painting in the bird colors.  I'm not so good at it, but it's fun and that is all that matters.  I used Gel Medium to attach the leaves.  Yes, drew the tree too.  I'm not really an artist, I just pretend to be one for fun, and as with the birds, all I care about is that you realize the trees ARE trees!

 

The butterflies were cut from scrapbooking paper.  They seem to be a recurring theme in these mixed media pieces too.  Do you notice all those colored dots?  I don't know why they are there except that I have that cute 'dot rubber stamp' and love adding them all over and in different colors.  You'll notice them on several of my other pieces too.

And, then, I like to include quotes and other written words when I'm in the mood.  I couldn't find anything suitable for this piece, so I made this up.  It says:

"COME SIT WITH ME...WE WILL SPEAK OF MANY BEAUTIFUL THINGS....FEEL THE
BREEZE SOFTLY BLOWING AND MAKE A LOVELY MEMORY."   pat eaton

Yeah, I wrote that myself.  It felt right, so once again, I didn't worry whether it was good or not, just that I meant it.  And, I had to ask myself....who was I saying that to?  After a while, it came to me, I wrote that to YOU.  I think of you often and think it would be wonderful if we all could sit and make memories....oh, yeah....I guess we do...for isn't that one of the things blogging allows us to do...'speak' to each other?

So, what would we speak of under this tree?  I've no idea, but I know it would be an important conversation, after all....I think we really are each other's therapists.  In a way.  Well, I know I receive comments from some of you and they make my day.  Hopefully, I say something that will help make your day and in that way....well, we make life a little easier for each other.  Don't you think?  I try to keep my posts on the lighter side of life so you won't be depressed when you leave here.  I'd like you to visit often.  And, it makes me feel good to do it.

                                               

It reminds me of something a quilting friend said to me many years ago.  We were having a serious talk and I said I just wish I knew why I was here.  She told me  "You are here to make life easier for everyone else."  I remember thinking "why ME?"  Evidently, I'm still living all these years to discover the why. And, I have to say, I guess - "why NOT me?"   Maybe this blogging thing came to me as a way to spread something good around.  I'd be all over that, to tell you the truth!  Not that I can manage it each and every post....but I'm touching base with you and you seem to be in lots of places over the planet.  And, that's a really great thing!  So, the why of it all is that the planet is small, and we are all on it together.  It's fun knowing we can communicate.  It does make life more interesting to me....and I hope it does for YOU.

And, this leads me to my final  'story.'  (You know by now there is always another story.)  It has to do with making life easier.  That comment worried me for quite a while.  After all, it is quite a heavy thought to imagine yourself making life easier for everyone else.  Very heavy, in fact - impossible.  So, I have tried to do my best even though I realize my efforts come up short.  Being human, I know my best is all I can do.  Being someone who isn't perfect....there is this little addtional bit of a story:

A few years ago, I was asked to show some of my quilts to friends of a friend.  I took three or four of my best quilts to her place of business and there they were...several of her friends, strangers to me.  They looked at the quilts, some admired them, some were quiet, and one of them said this - "YOU HAVE TOO  MUCH TIME ON YOUR HANDS AND SHOULD COME CLEAN MY HOUSE." At that very moment.......

 

                             I KNEW I didn't have to make life easier for absolutely EVERYONE.

So, rest assured, I choose to do my best for YOU....my blogging friends...and I thank you for all your visits to this blog!  take care, pat

"MAKE OF YOURSELF A LIGHT" said the Buddha before he died.   mary oliver

A Re-Imagined Clock

A couple of months ago, I brought a clock from my house down to the 'downtown' studio.  The clock had been broken for a while and I could not find a replacement clock that would fit into that hole you see there, so I thought it might be fun to re-imagine it in some way.

One day, my friend, Patsy, came in for a visit and saw I was sanding the clock cabinet to prep it for it's 'new life.'  "What are you doing?" she said.  So, I explained about the broken clock and told her I was going to 'do something' but I wasn't sure what.  "I want it," she said.

"Well, I'm not sure what it's going to be, " I said.  "I don't care" she said, "I want it anyway."  "Well, what would you like in this circle?" I said.  "A photo of our new grandbaby" she said.  "I'll bring one."





So, this is the photo she brought...a copy of one, of course.
This is her son, with his daughter, age 5 or 6, I think, along with the brand new baby...another sweet girl.    Aren't they cute?  The clock is supposed to be set at 5:17 because Patsy and her hubby, Bob, got married on May 17th.  It wasn't exactly possible, or I would have covered up new baby's face, so here we are at probably 5:20!  There's a daisy there, as Patsy loves daisies and I had to put something there.....and the beads are there because I needed to cover up some paper edges.  Yeah, the clock face is barely visible, but why let a technicality stand in the way.

A close-up.  Pretty sweet,  don't you think?

I thought it needed birds.  You know me.  And, Patsy wanted the inside to be green.  We share green...it's our favorite color!  So, let there be birds!!

 A couple of tiny birds inside the door. 

A larger bird and a butterfly on the back wall of the little cabinet.  FUN!  I didn't show the photo, but the drawer is lined in green too and has a butterfly flitting around in there!

This is the very top of the cabinet looking down.  I love the hardware on this little piece.  Did I say I bought this at a flea market several years ago?  It was a very dark reddish brown.  Until now.

Of course, I had to add something on the back....no surface can be left 'undone!

More birds!

A close-up of those birds.  Evidently, they have a song to sing.  Now, the way I work, I would have added more to the back...but I ran out of time.  I never know when to quit, if you know what I mean.

A side view of the little cabinet.  It's about fourteen inches or so tall.  About six or seven inches across.  I loved the cabinet and I wasn't going to throw it away, even though I had no idea what to do with it.  So, now we know......it's a 'birth announcement clock!"  I think Patsy should add her new granddaughter's birth date, weight all all stuff inside the door.
What do you think?

So, there you are....another project done!  Let's see, what can I keep from the landfill next?

Y'all take care out there.....and have some FUN!  pat

That Funky Chair

In my last post, I said I'd next show you something 'crazy' and here it is.  A regular sized kitchen chair I purchased from a flea market in Beebe, Arkansas, a couple of weeks ago.  When I saw it there, it made me smile.  So, I hope you smile too!  I did sit on it in the flea market to 'try it out,' and it seemed pretty sturdy,  but I wouldn't want to sit on it for very long, as there are support pieces missing on the front and back legs, but here is what I thought when I first laid my eyes on it:

We could put it in the downtown studio and use it for an easel!  Well, really, can you imagine how that crossed my mind?  I've no idea, but there it was, and because it made me smile, I had to buy it and because it didn't exactly 'break the bank @ $12.00....it promptly was purchased and the next time I went to work at the studio...it went with me.  I smile every time I look at it. 

There are maps all over it, quotes, all kinds of painted 'effects'...notice the polka dots on the inside of that leg.

We have some 'vintage' stuff in the studio now....because Cheri and I just can't keep our favorite flea market finds from showing up down there.  Some of them are for sale too.  Anyway, one of her pieces is this great old table, all chipped up and in our window.  We display artwork on it all the time, and so I thought putting the chair up on top of it was a really good way to display some artwork.  And, it is at eye level, which might make people walking by smile too.

If you click on the photos, I'm sure you can see these photos up close and perhaps read a few words here and there.  I'm especially fond of "Come away with me" a quote from Norah Jones.  Notice it up top of the chair in the photo below.

So far, I think I've sold two items because that chair was in the window.....maybe it catches the eye....
yes, I'm sure it does, but then, so does the artwork.

I certainly wouldn't call it the most well-made item I've ever seen, but it has lots of HEART....something that means a lot to ME.  And, it's FUN!   And, NO, I have no idea who actually had this idea and did the work on the chair, but I think I like them a lot.

I lust after that little old table.......perhaps I may 'wheel and deal' with Cheri sometime in the future and put it on my front porch!  Meantime, it has become a very cool part of the studio, if you ask me.

So, would you notice the chair if you walked by?  Would you stop and look or would you just walk on by?

No matter which...I bet you would smile too!!!  Take care out there, pat

My Latest Project from the Downtown Studio

A couple of years ago, I bought this frame at "Heart & Soul," a local store that carries some pretty fun stuff!  This frame was in a bin of damaged items....it looked pretty ragged,  but it did have a bird on it and you know how I am about them!  So,  I bought it for less than half price, took it home and there it has been for all this time.  You know how you INTEND to do something, but time just gets away?   Well, not too long ago, I took the frame to the downtown studio, thinking that would convince me to do something with it.  And, it did.  I had made some bird rubber stamps and wanted to do something with them...so, thinking I could accomplish two things at once, This bird collage just 'happened.'

I had to spend a bit of time getting the frame back into good shape...I lightly sanded it, then painted it with a bit of green paint...just to cover up all the dings and worn edges.  Then, I painted it with two or three coats of matte gel medium...just to give it a good finish.  We use painter's cloth as table covers in the studio and I tend to save all of them for one project or another, so the background for this collage is a piece of one of our used painter's cloths.  This piece is about five inches by seven inches.
I like all the reds and pinks and greens.  (Actually, I DID turn this piece over and use the other side of the one pictured here....and added a couple more colors, specifically, more red and green.)

I painted the tree, then stamped the birds on the branches.  They looked kinda sad until I put a little color on them....but before I could make sure they had wings, my daughter, Kelly, took a look and told me not to add another thing to the birds!  She's a minimalist and of course, you know, I will 'do something to death' if I'm not careful, so I took her advice and left the birds with just a touch of color.

Because I have lots of scrap paper around, I decided to cut the leaves from paper and sew them down with the antique sewing machine I keep down there.  I should say the 'seldom used' antique sewing machine.  I need to remedy that, for sure!  So, I just cut out some vague leaf shapes and sewed them to the canvas.  I did touch them up a bit with some oil pastels.  And, I felt there needed to be some kind of flower there...and a funky simple flower seemed a good idea.

There's some little musical notes there too.....well, the birds DO have a song!  I used a permanent pen for those.  

And, here you see the words I cut from old book pages.....touched them with a bit of that green paint, added a little bird nest with eggs from Hobby Lobby and it was done!  I like it.  Thought about keeping it at home....but, at this point, gosh, where would I put it....so right now, it's in the window at the studio downtown.  We are open this Saturday, as it is the second Saturday of the month...who knows, maybe someone will want to take some birds home!

So...what do you think?  It took me a couple of years to decide what to do with the frame...but I did finally decide on something.  One example, I suppose, of having things on hand when you do get an idea...and then, there's all that 'hoarding' of stuff until those ideas quit floating around in your head and actually land on something you've 'saved.' 

Hope you enjoyed the birds....now stay cool out there and take care....see you again soon.  pat

A Desk Organizer

I'm spending a lot of time these days preparing for my classes at our guild's quilt retreat next week. A lot of time. Making kits is a chore when there are other things that need doing. Things I don't particularly enjoy....like laundry, cooking, grocery shopping. Well, really, I don't mind those things, in fact, they can all be downright enjoyable. But, not when I've got a zillion things to do and time is running out. That's where I am today.

Do you make lists? I have been a listmaker my whole entire existence. I can remember making lists as a child. I've no idea if I ever accomplished all I listed, but I remember making them. I LOVE checking things off the list! (And, yes, before you think I actually DO everything on the list...know this...some things get carried over to future lists!)

So, this morning, amid all the preparations for classes.....the infamous daily list had to be made. Laundry, pay bills, put a roast in the slow cooker, post on the blog, etc. OH! Posting! My iMac is telling me it's getting late.....and I've nearly forgotten to post! Lots of times I post very late at night, which is my preferred time to do it. No one bothers me. But, today, with so much to do....if I take any kind of detour thinking-wise, I could forget to post altogether and that would not be good. So, here we are and what to talk about? Back to my latest photos to choose something.....how about this desk organizer? I made it down at the studio and everyone likes it....so maybe you will and you might make one for yourself.

No, I didn't think of this idea myself. I saw it while reading the archives on one of my favorite blogs. The blog belongs to Karen Valentine. You can visit it here. Her posts are always good and I enjoy my visits there very much. If you'd like to read the post she did on 9-14-2009 about these desk organizers, go here. Leave a comment as I'm sure she'd enjoy hearing from you.

I chose this old book and decided to use some birds to decorate it. Imagine me decorating with birds...who would ever expect that? Anyway, I chose some birds on some scrapbooking card stock to cut out and decorate with.....and as I tend to do, chose some words to accompany the birds. One of the birds was chosen to sit on a card and preside over the nest, so to speak. Others are at the front and back edges of the inside covers. Before I added those birds, I used gel medium to cover the front inside cover of the book with some old looking text....and on the back inside cover, I just added some paper I liked the color of....with more birds, of course.

Those words again....if you read beginning from the top bird and then across the bottom ones, it says
"they were led to the numberless rovings of fancy.' Who knows what that means, but I think it looks and sounds pretty. On the back cover, it says "the airiness of a bird just flit across my fancy." I do so enjoy finding these words and phrases to add to my collages...and now this book/desk organizer.

I have some of my favorite cards from blogging friends displayed in this book. I plan to add more as I collect them. You could use this organizer to display any kind of papers or photos, etc. What do you think? Is it fun, or what? Thanks, Karen, for teaching me something! Y'all have a good weekend coming up and I'll probably post one more time before I leave for the retreat on Wednesday. Now, back to that list!!! take care out there, pat