Finding My Way

~ Patty Radish ~ 6 Comments

There have been so many life changes over the last few years, and I have to admit not all of them have been welcome. But that’s the way of the world, right? As I have been navigating the ups and downs, some things have had to fall to the wayside, due to time, but mostly due to energy required. I feel as if I have been spending most of my time figuring out what is worth my energy lately…so here I am back on my blog. (this poor blog has been very neglected and taken for granted)

I needed some time to reevaluate how and why to stay on social media. But when it comes down to it, I’m the boss here on my little blog, and all I really want is to keep in touch with you…my friends! So, I thought a bit of a catch up was in order…

I am proud and happy to say that I have been making time to read an actual book or two. I love the quiet of not having someone’s voice in my ears (audio books). This is a small thing, but I have noticed my level of nervous energy has dropped quite a bit since I have been intentional about what I let grab my attention, if that makes sense.

I have also kept my promise to myself that I would work on decluttering and decorating our house. We still have so much more to do, but we’re slowly checking things off the list.

We have also been doing a bit of landscaping. I left my gardening days behind me for now, it’s way too hot here in central Washington to get out and garden in the summer. Raised beds may be in our future, but I’m taking a break for now.

This is what I have been spending the bulk of my creativity on over the last couple years. I’ve pieced about 7 or 8 quilt tops. This year I have hand quilted 5 of them. I love sitting in front of a YouTube video and stitching away. The goal was to use up fabric I have had for decades, then what do I do? Yep, I BUY MORE FABRIC! Oh well, the one thing my husband will never complain about is more quilts. He keeps saying “Let’s keep that one too” Lol!

The blanket at the top was made from small bits of cotton yarn I had tied together to make cotton coasters for the “home decor” shop I had for a minute. This was another thing I have worked on to downsize my obligations, closing shops.

I keep hoping that downsizing my projects and obligations will free up some energy, but I think I’m spending all that ‘extra’ energy on the downsizing! I’m still waiting for that energy boost to kick in.

Another thing I want to get back into is Happy Mail. I still have a lot of paper crafting supplies, but not a lot of desire to art journal right now. So some friends may be receiving a card or two soon. I’ve already made up my “Send List”. Feel free to email me if you want a Happy Mail Card at some point at: eclecticartjournals@gmail.com

This is a project I’m working on to use up some embroideries I made way back when my children were little. I’m hand stitching them onto cotton pillowcases. I just wanted some decorative pillows on our guest bed and thought these would work. I’d like to write a blog post of the process, if you’re interested please let me know in the comments. 🙂

And now to this!

One of the unwelcome changes over the last few years was losing our little angel Lily. I struggled over the years as to whether bringing another dog into our home was a good fit. So, after all the family visits were over in the last few months, I gave myself some time to consider it…turns out it took 2 days! My plan was to start dipping my toe in the water so to speak. I knew I wanted a shelter dog, so I drove over without any expectations. They brought out a couple of candidates, I even took one for a walk. I have to admit I was little disappointed because I didn’t think I was going to be that particular, but they just didn’t “fit”.

I told them I didn’t really want a puppy, but after they spoke to me for a while they asked if I would be open to see one more. Then they brought out this little bundle of energy…it was love at first site (at least for me) She kept looking at me like who is this strange person? She was looking at the attendants with absolute love and excitement, then gave me “Who’s that strange lady?” vibes. All I said is “Wrap her up, I’ll take her!” Because she was a bit skittish around me, they wondered if it was going to be a good match. I told them my last dog (Lily) barked at me non stop for 40 minutes when I met her (which is why she needed to be re-homed), and she got over it.

Long story longer, she’s perfect! Her name is Mattie (hubby’s idea which I loved!) She’s 6 months old, give or take, and she absolutely loves my husband! She is a Min Pin mix, like my last 2 dogs, so her energy and temperament is a perfect fit for us. We love her so much! Getting a dog isn’t about reclaiming my old life, I had to be absolutely sure that wasn’t my motivation before adopting her.

Neither is this blog for that matter. I didn’t want to come back on here for any other reason than to have a way to touch base with friends that have been supporting me for almost 16 years. This is where I started, actually on my old blogspot blog, but this is where I feel most comfortable social media wise, and I miss my friends.

I’m slowly feeling my way around paper crafting again and have joined the iHanna PCS (twice accidentally!) and will be making 20 postcards I hope to share here soon. I’d like to share my process here, so let me know if you’re interested in seeing that.

Until next time

Thank you for stopping by,

Hugs,

~Patty

It’s Been Minute…

Image ~ ~ Patty Radish ~ 11 Comments

Yes, I took another break from blogging. Mostly because I didn’t have a lot to say. I do that a lot, I clam up when I’m feeling all the feels, if you know what I mean. It’s not a bad habit as some people might call it, it’s just how I’m wired.

I actually took a pretty big break from art/junk journaling for the better part of last year, which I haven’t done in almost 20 years art/junk journaling.

And when I started up again, I found I needed a soft place to land.

Also, I felt as if I really needed to do more downsizing and using up, too much clutter stifles my creativity. I closed my Etsy shoppe last spring, and in doing so I just threw everything into boxes. So, the first thing I did this year was go through all my containers and reorganize…I have a lot of stuff!

Then I tackled my supply of kitsch and colorful. I still love color, but I’m over my pages looking like a hippy bus. I don’t want to go completely neutral, but our art/junk journaling needs to…has to…reflect our state of mind and spirit. If gluing sequins onto paper is what puts a spring in your step, I say go for it, absolutely and unapologetically!

Lately, I have been drawn toward glueing small bits of paper to page, the smaller the better and the more neutral the calmer. I’m struggling with the current state of the world and just need a soft place to land when things feel a bit too much, and this has been really helpful for me to change my focus a bit. (Over the years people have accused me of caring too much, of course until that particular person required me to care about them…that’s kind of a chuckle!)

I don’t really know what inspired me to jump back on here with words and pictures. Maybe I needed a bit of quiet time over the past year to gather my thoughts, or find the courage to be honest out loud so to speak.

I have shared a few photos on Instagram, but the sense of community there has disappeared. This feels more like home to me, I hope you feel the same.

I’m not going to put any stress on myself to be here on some kind of schedule, just when I have something to say. If you are still here after my many absences, Thank You, it means the world!

Until next time,

Have a great day,

Hugs,

Patty

It Looks Like I Found Some Words

~ Patty Radish ~ 9 Comments

Over the years I have gone back and forth about sharing. Maybe it’s life that gets in the way, or it could be me getting in the way. At any rate, it occurred to me over the last day or two that ‘creating things to share’ is very different from ‘sharing things I create’, which is where I may have gone wrong and created way too much stress and anxiety. This goes double for making videos.

Asking the right questions.

I don’t know about you, but when I search on YouTube for videos, I want to see how people decorate their pages, not just more tucks and pockets to bulk them up. Or it seems as if everyone wants to either make ‘projects’ to sit on a shelf or sell their journals. I thought I could fill this gap, but the enjoyment of creating can go right out of the window when you’re filming the process, but that isn’t quite what made me reevaluate ‘the why’.

How do you feel about this? I can’t believe I have never asked this question, but what kind of content do you look for?

Then the strangest thing happened.

Right about when I was going to dive into YouTube full on, a bunch of people I follow went dark, for issues ranging from health to burn out. I found myself waiting daily for my favorite creators to show up, and it made me a bit frustrated because it was the bulk of them, but it also made me think, ” At this stage in the game do I need all the hassles of creating content?”. Especially when I have zero intention of monetizing my channel, or Instagram, or this blog…uh no! I feel as if the people I follow struggle with this issue just as much as I do, but they are locked in because it’s how they pay their bills.

For the Love of it.

Now, I have a lot of sh…stuff on hand I need to use up, so I gathered all of the crappity crap I have been holding on to for the last decade or so and organized it into little bags and containers. I didn’t flinch, I stayed with it and worked with these bits and pieces until they were all gone, and this journal is the result. I was so happy with the way it came out I decided I had to share it with you. Believe it or not, it was finished 2 weeks ago, I was having that much fun!

A bit of a hot mess.

I would love to tell you that this journal wasn’t a struggle, just look at some of the things I was working with, it was! But now it’s filled with memories of Happy Mailings, thrifted finds, shoppe leftovers, and even a piece of backdrop paper from too many years ago to remember. There will be even more memories tucked into the pockets and envelopes in the form of my daily journaling printouts.

Looking forward.

Like I said, this journal is finished and I hope to create the time to share the rest of it with you over the Holiday Season. Truth be told I have also made an Advent journal filled with ‘self care’ prompts, it just needs some finishing touches before I can share it.

In closing.

All your wonderful comments and encouragement in my last post warmed my heart more than I can ever tell you! Right now I can’t say where I’m headed with sharing on social media, because I have hit burnout too many times before. If you are here right now, Thank You for your patience. Many of you commented that you would be here if and when I decided to come back, I never would have imagined it would be this soon, but here we are.

So with that being said…

As always,

Thank you for the visit,

Have a great week,

~Patty

Struggling to Find the Words

~ Patty Radish ~ 14 Comments

I have come to the conclusion that I need to downsize my online shenanigans along with my crafty supplies. How’s that for an intro?! I have telling myself for months that I can keep up with everything, but truth be told, when I open up my blog app, I just don’t know what to say. I have been working more steadily on my journals over the last few months more than ever actually, but finding things to say about them has really been a struggle.

The same thing has happened on Instagram. Looking for the words to go along with the photos has become too much of a drama, so I stopped posting.

But, I don’t seem to have that problem on YouTube. Maybe because there is more of flow to communicating there. Also, I have become much more engaged with the people I follow there. I look forward to seeing their videos and I even comment once in a while.

I don’t know if this goodbye here on the olde bloggy, but I didn’t want to just abandon you and not say anything. This decision has been a long time coming, and it hasn’t been easy. Many of you have been following my blog for many years, and I cannot express how grateful I am to ALL of you for sticking with me for so long.

I understand that YouTube isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but if you want to know where to find me, that’s where I’ll be for the foreseeable future.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You,

From the bottom of my heart,

Much Love,

~Patty

July’s Journal: Beach Themed

~ Patty Radish ~ 11 Comments

Last time I was on here I was on my trip to North Dakota. I’ve been back for a while, but decided to take a break from posting and do a little research. I became obsessed with watching junk journaling videos, and I’m glad I did! SO much inspiration out there!

But, in the meantime I neglected to share my ‘Beach’ themed journal, so here’s a bit of it.

Still loving the vintage vibe.

I have a box I throw anything ‘seaside’ into in case I get inspired. You probably won’t be surprised to know I have several ‘themed’ boxes I throw things into when I find them. Do you do that too? I’d love to know I’m not alone here!

Well, somebody went to Hawaii!

As I said in my last post, my daughter and grandson went to Hawaii, so I have lots of photos of them in this journal. I love the mix of decor, memories, and journaling. I thought about doing away with my “Monthly” journals, but it’s working for now, and it’s keeping me creative.

My grandson at a luau.

Also, it’s nice to use up ephemera I have been holding onto (hoarding) for years. Mixing with digitals gives them new life. If you have inquiries about any of these digitals I can send you the links, just ask.

Two of my favorite faces.

Summer feels over where I live. As I write this I can smell wood fires burning (in chimneys to be clear), there is definitely a chill in the air. And I’m drinking coffee with pumpkin spice creamer, that makes it official!…right!

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to cooler days and Fall feels. We have a granddaughter on the way, due in October, so Fall is going to be pretty exciting. Let me know how you feel about Fall being around the corner in the comments, I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time,

Thank you for the visit,

Have a great week,

~Patty