23 Wednesday Dec 2020
Posted in Art, Crafts, Design, Photography
I am dreaming tonight of a place I love
Even more than I usually do
And although I know it’s a long road back
I promise you
I’ll be home for Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree.
from I’ll be Home for Christmas by Gannon, Kent, and Ram
sung here by Michael Bublé
Best wishes to those who have been in lockdown and have perhaps spent too much time at home this year.
And Godspeed to those finding their way home in time for Christmas.
20 Sunday Dec 2020
Posted in Art, Crafts, Design, Photography, Reflections
To create one’s world in any of the arts takes courage. – Georgia O’Keeffe
Grateful for a day dedicated to my creative pursuits…
25 Wednesday Dec 2013
Posted in Crafts, Photography, Reflections, Relationships
≈ Comments Off on Christmas in reflection…
Lauren DiMarco in Vancouver © Joan Currie
One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now
and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights
when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six.
from A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas (YouTube reading by the author)
I will have no trouble remembering this wonderful Christmas day!
30 Thursday May 2013
Posted in Art, Crafts, Photography, Reflections, Relationships, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Useful moves detected…
Lauren DiMarco in Ireland © Joan Currie
First time he kissed me, he but only kissed
The fingers of this hand wherewith I write,
And ever since it grew more clean and white,
Slow to world-greetings, quick with its “O, list,”
When the angels speak. A ring of amethyst
I could not wear here plainer to my sight,
Than that first kiss…
from First time he kissed me by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Grateful for the small yet sacred declarations of love…
26 Monday Nov 2012
Posted in Art, Crafts, Design, Fashion, Photography, Reflections, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Flapper time…
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© Joan Currie – Charleston bodice & skirt – Mixed media
This is the beauty I want. Beauty has got to be astonishing, astounding — it’s got to burst in on you like a dream, like the exquisite eyes of a girl.
from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Flappers and Philosophers
The holiday season has arrived. Dressing up for a razzle-dazzle evening…
18 Sunday Nov 2012
Posted in Art, Crafts, Design, Fashion, Reflections, Relationships
≈ Comments Off on Bursting at the seams…
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© Joan Currie – watercolor
Absence extinguishes a minor passion and intensifies a great one – as the wind blows out a candle but fans a fire.
from In Absence by François , Duc de la Rochefoucauld
Trying to wait patiently for your return…
11 Sunday Nov 2012
Posted in Art, Crafts, Fashion, Reflections, Relationships, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Regrouping…
© Rachel Valley
She does not yet know that real love does not demand perfection.
from Labyrinth of Desire by Rosemary Sullivan
But she is about to meet the man who will teach her …
Model: Lauren DiMarco
26 Wednesday Sep 2012
Posted in Art, Crafts, Design, Photography, Reflections, Writing
≈ Comments Off on Crown of flowers…
Tags
Craft, Design, Fall, Grapevine wreath, Harvest wreath, Lord Tennyson, Photography, Pottery Barn garland
Tears, idle tears, I know what they mean,
Tears from the depth of some divine despair
Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,
In looking on the happy autumn-fields,
And thinking of the days that are no more.
from Tears, Idle Tears by Lord Tennyson
The yellow flowers in my front door wreath evoked vivid memories of buttercup, daisy, and dandelion crown making not only with my daughters but also with my childhood friends – almost forgotten.
* * *
Decorating Tip
I made the wreath from a Pottery Barn “Bittersweet” garland I found at my local store yesterday. I fixed it into a round shape with picture frame wire and then added some vintage amber buttons that looked like berries for more color (using embroidery floss to tie them to the grapevine). A lovely striped grosgrain ribbon worked well for the bow.
16 Sunday Sep 2012
Posted in Art, Crafts, Design, Photography, Reflections
≈ Comments Off on Scrumptious velvet pumpkins…
Tags
Crafts, Home decorating, Interior Design, John Greenleaf Whittier, Photography, Pumpkins, Thanksgiving, Velvet Pumpkins
© Joan Currie – Velvet pumpkins
And the prayer, which my mouth is too full to express,
Swells my heart that thy shadow may never be less,
That the days of thy lot may be lengthened below,
And the fame of thy worth like a pumpkin-vine grow,
And thy life be as sweet, and its last sunset sky
Golden-tinted and fair as thy own Pumpkin pie!
from The Pumpkin by John Greenleaf Whittier
I love to decorate for the harvest season!
* * *
Decorating Tip
Thanks to YouTube videos (check out EAB Designs), I sewed some beautiful velvet pumpkins to add to my collection of bought ones. Inspired by the new Restoration Hardware catalog, I also dyed a beige vintage tablecloth given to me by my favorite aunt (who passed away several years ago) a light grey color for a more contemporary look. I think she would approve!
26 Tuesday Jun 2012
© Lauren DiMarco
Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Trying to shed old habits…
