Tag: fun

Watercolor

Flowers, Maybe

Gentle Reader, in an effort to slow down and live life at a more gracious pace, I have taken up watercolor painting. I want to have fun – enjoy the ones that turn out well and throw away the bad. No more striving for perfection.

I have been thinking a lot about the simple pleasures of life. I suspect I have been missing a lot by striving for achievements that no one has asked of me. I recently saw a quote that I like by William Morris, the English textile designer: “The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.”

How can I take an interest in the details of daily life, if I am always striving for something just out of reach?

First Attempt

Blank note cards decorated with Salvia blossoms and Dead Nettle leaves

Today, I made my first attempt at decorating blank notes cards with dried flowers from the garden. Gentle Reader, it was not as easy as I expected, and I’m not entirely satisfied with the result, but hey, it’s a start. The thin leaves and blossoms were easy to glue (except for the ones that broke), but the hard stems were tricky. I had to re-glue the one on the bottom left after I took the photo.

I was able to experiment sooner than I expected because my second flower press has a unique drying system with sponges that takes only two days. The material I pressed two weeks ago in the traditional way is still drying.

I look forward to trying more intricate and colorful designs in the future, but I don’t plan on selling my creations. I’m just having fun.