Creativity, Crafts, Books, Movies, Greyhounds & Favorite Things

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories were my favorite books when I was a young girl.  Nancy was smart, resourceful and always cool under pressure.    The first book in the series, The Secret of the Old Clock, was published in 1930 and revised in the 1950’s.  The author Carolyn Keene, was a pseudonym under which many ghostwriters wrote the Nancy Drew series.  The series was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm, in the late 1920s and early 1930s.  Stratemeyer’s daughter, Harriet, and syndicate writer, Mildred Wirt Benson, were the two people primarily responsible for bringing the iconic character of Nancy Drew to life.

If you want to read more about Nancy Drew, Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak is a fascinating book.

What did you love to read when you were young?

This is a classic in film noir.  It is the story of a group of men planning and executing a jewel robbery.  The characters (and the actors’ performances) are memorable and complex.  Although criminal, crook or shady character, each has aspirations, hopes and troubles.  You get the sense that there may be reasons why they live on the darker side of society.  Although this is hard-boiled film noir, what’s tough lingo during one period of time, is comical in another.  My husband and I are still known to threaten, “Don’t make me plug you in the pump.”  The Asphalt Jungle is also an early film of Marilyn Monroe’s…so early that she was not mentioned on the movie poster.

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Inspiration:

Dinner Tonight – Wrapped

Supplies:

Pretty paper

Cardboard (to make a pattern)

Paper bake cup

Scissors

Pen/Pencil

Tape or Glue

1.  Cut the bottom off the paper bake cup to make your pattern.

2.  Trace the outline of the paper bake cup to make a cardboard pattern and give yourself something firm to trace around.  Cut out your pattern piece.

3.  On the back of the pretty paper, trace around your pattern piece.  Cut out your cupcake wrapper.

4.  Tape or glue the edges together.

5.  With these cupcake wrappers, you’ll always have the exact size, color and design that you need and look like a super chic baker.

Did you know that J. K. Rowling, the creator and author of the Harry Potter books, is a greyhound owner?  Her family adopted Sapphire from Greyhound Rescue Fife in Scotland.  Greyhound Rescue Fife asks for a £40 donation when someone adopts one of their hounds.  The owner, Celia Fernie, didn’t recognize the famous author, who had set-up the appointment under the name “Jo Murray” (the “J.” in “J. K.” stands for Joanne, and Murray is her husband’s last name).  After the family selected Sapphire, the “lady” wrote a check for £1,000 and signed it J. K. Rowling.  Visit Greyhound Rescue Fife’s website and click on the “Harry Potter Page” to see more adorable pictures of Sapphire and her brother, Butch.

The Eleventh Monkey

Louana is the creator of The Eleventh Monkey…an awesome blog and Etsy shop, home to “a bunch of slightly awkward felt creatures.”  Louana also was a student with me in Indie Business 3.0.  Recently, I became the proud owner of Ringo.  Louana’s work is imaginative, original and meticulous.  Ringo will be getting some “friends” in the future.

Lint Roller

I’ve never found anything that removes lint better than these big sheets of “tape.”

Bag Clips

Bag clips are functional, but they can be fun too!  I like to have a variety around.  Fun favorites…the frog heads and the Idaho potato.  Functional favorites…Oxo never disappoints.

Anti-Tarnish Lining

I wouldn’t have a jewelry box or pouch without this now that I’ve gotten spoiled.  It keeps your clean silver jewelry tarnish-free for 25+ years.

REMINDER

The month of May will be “4 Faves – Friends Version.”  What are your favorite things?  Tell me about them during the month of April and one (or more) of your picks may be chosen as a “favorite” in May.  You can let me know what you like in one of three ways…post a comment, email me (whatremainsnow@gmail.com), or let me know on the What Remains Now Facebook page (either by commenting or writing on my wall).  Tell me what the item is and why you like it.  This is going to be fun!

The focus of Week 11 is examining ongoing ways in which we nurture and accept ourselves as artists.

“Acceptance” talks about our lives being our art.  We can’t let our lives stagnate or our art will show it.  We all have a different mix of what brings us stability and flow.  This “mix” includes such things as our income, our creative process, our homes, our appearance, our friends, etc.  It’s important for us to determine what works for us and not worry about what others think.  Our artistic credibility is between ourselves, God and our work.  “Success” talks about the idea that creativity cannot be perfected and finished; “…just when we get there, there disappears.”  This reminds me of last week’s reading on “fame” and the idea that the point of creativity is more creativity.  “The Zen of Sports” talks about moving into our bodies and out of our minds.  “Building Your Artist’s Altar” reminds us of the importance of keeping spiritually centered and how having a special place, filled with objects and words that remind us of our blessings and the things that we love and that inspire us, can help us remember that, “Our creativity is our gift from God.  Our use of it is our gift to God.”

My favorite exercises this week included taking seven pages in a notebook and writing each of these categories on a separate sheet:  health, possessions, leisure, relationships, creativity, career, and spirituality.  Then, list ten wishes in each area.  Instead of New Year’s resolutions, this may be a great exercise to perform each year!  I also enjoyed listing ten examples of personal synchronicity that support the possibility of a nurturing creative force.  I have been AMAZED at the wonderful people (old and new) and things (objects and opportunities) that have come into my life since starting on this creative journey.  For me, it is so important to recognize and record this synchronicity.  Recognizing it makes it miraculous, not recognizing it makes it meaningless.

This week reinforced many ideas that I feel quite comfortable with.  It also brought up an area in my life that I have ignored for a while…physical care and movement.  No excuses, this has to change.

I love handcrafted and vintage items.  In the past, handcrafted artists made things for themselves, family and friends.  Maybe they participated in a local craft show or opened a small store.  Thanks to the internet, handcrafted artists can now open a virtual shop.  Welcome to What Remains Now on Etsy.  If you’ve never visited Etsy, prepare yourself for a great experience.  You’ll have access to a large variety of artists, mediums, subjects and price ranges.

My shop will have unique, one-of-a-kind items that have been re-imagined from pieces I find at thrift stores, garage sales and even around the house.  There will also be some vintage items.  My Etsy shop, like my blog and like me, is a work-in-progress.  I hope you’ll check in often to see what’s going on.

If you’re reading this close to the time I’m posting, you’ll be underwhelmed when you visit my shop, as I’ll be putting items in all this week.  I’ll always post additions to my Etsy shop on the What Remains Now Facebook page.  To follow me, go to my Facebook page and click the “Like” button.

A new adventure has begun!

In 2019, a listening station picks up the sound of music coming from the vicinity of Alpha Centauri.  The Society of Jesus secretly organizes an 8-person expedition to make first contact.  The Sparrow moves between 2019 and 2060 when the only survivor of the mission is being examined by Vatican inquest to find answers to questions about what happened and what went wrong.   The story is told in alternating segments and examines what happened before, during and after the journey to Rakhat.

This was one of my book club’s selections last year.  Let me say that Science Fiction is not one of my favorite genres.  Most everyone else in our club would say the same.  At the end of the year, almost every member said that this was their favorite book or the one that impacted them the most.  It is a compelling story, well told.  It is also a philosophical tale, a spiritual quest and a look at what happens when man tries to do the right thing for the right reason but sets into motion events that change everything.

There is also a sequel, Children of God, if you want to hear more of the story.

Dead Man Walking is the story of Sister Helen Prejean and the relationship she forms with Matthew Poncelet who is on death row in Louisiana for killing a teenage couple.  He contacts Sister Prejean to help him with a final appeal and then asks her to be his spiritual adviser when his appeal fails.

This movie is thoughtfully done and presents the many different sides that surround any story about capital punishment.  It is a devastating look at good, evil, retribution and redemption.

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Inspiration:

Mushki Loves – Eggstra Cute Eggs

Supplies:

Plastic Easter Egg

Glue (I used Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue)

Paint Brush (optional)

Yarn

Scissors

1.  Glue the two pieces of the egg together.

2.  Starting at the top, apply glue and wrap the yarn neatly around the egg.  Because the yarn I chose was thick, I didn’t use the paint brush to apply the glue.  If you use a thinner yarn, you may want to spread out the glue with the paint brush.  Also, I made a hole in the top and bottom of the egg (with a nail and hammer) and poked the ends into the hole to give my egg a neater start and finish.

2.  Continue apply glue and wrapping the egg until done.

3.  Imagine the possibilities!  You can wrap old, plastic eggs with anything and get new decor eggs to scatter around the house or fill a bowl.