This Beautiful Day

Can I just say, it's a beautiful day today?

Oh, it was so great to get out of the house for most of the day!  On this last day of March Break (or first day of my 3-day weekend as Jennie so optimistically put it...) the weather was warm, sunny and a little hazy.   Perfect for a walk around the neighborhood.  So I went OUT!  Coffee and knitting with Jennie (blog coming soon!) this morning; lunch with D, and a walk this afternoon.  No destination in particular, just a nice stroll and I went where my feet took me. I did end up buying a few things-- I mean can I walk around James Street North and not buy anything?

I got a present for me from Hawk and Sparrow (link):

Photo by Sarah Moyal from http://hawkandsparrow.blogspot.com

I bought a mustard yellow circle scarf.  I know its getting warmer, but it is not too heavy, and I can wear it in the evenings, and it's totally cute. Plus I got a deal, and I supported a local crafty-type like myself.  And it was made from recycled materials.  Okay, I'm convinced.  What a good buy!

When I buy myself something nice, I always buy D something nice too .  So I got him from Mixed Media (link):

It is so funny!  I wish you could see the inside (but that would be unfair since it is the income of an independent artist.  But if you see it, pick it up.  You will laugh all the way through.)

There is a story with this gift.  D is a writer.  He has manuscripts for at least 3 novels that I know of.  But, he is nervous to get them out there.  On the inside I inscribed: "If Bigfoot can do it, so can you!" and gave it to him at work.  He laughed.  I hope he felt encouraged.

Lastly, I have been working on something crafty for my bedroom.  I found these letters at a dollar store, and got mine and D's initials.  I made these:

 
I love that they remind me of patchwork quilts.    I had some beautiful Japanese decorative paper scraps and I wanted to use them.  So I collaged (is that a verb?) them onto the letters.  I didn't plan the placement of the papers, I just cut and pasted at random.

I like cut and paste.  It was relaxing.  It was the earliest artistic skill I learned, and still so rewarding.  After I glued the paper to the shaped, I went over them with a few coats of glossy gel medium.  Voila! 

So simple.  So pretty. And it makes me so happy.  Hope you enjoyed your day!