Weekend Update

The Great Kaskey Plague has a pretty solid hold on our home these days, and between my husband and my children, someone is always coughing, blowing their nose, or fighting a fever.  We did manage one fever-free window on Saturday to enjoy the fresh coating of snow our neighborhood received the day before.

The lightly snow-covered suburbs

You can't beat the icy elegance of nature.

It felt glorious to be out in the cool, crisp winter air.  As tiny as the hill in our backyard is, I was as excited as my preschool daughters to be sliding down on our plastic snow saucers. 

A turn with Katy...

...and a turn with Bayla.

Back inside, I hunkered down to tackle some projects.  I recently received an invitation from Mary (Joyful Ploys):  she had some empty space at the back of a journal that had been making the rounds of a Round Robin over the past year, and she was kind enough to invite me to complete two spreads to fill some of the remaining pages. 

Cover of Mary's handmade journal

Detail:  I love that face!

Here are the contributions I'll be sending back to her:

My art journaling is clearly helping me deal with the ongoing presence of winter!

I also found a great approach to clearing off my craft table!  I had stacks of paper on the table for making my Valentine cards and collages.  Instead of putting them away, I cut and tore them into strips, then stitched them down to create even more heart embellishments.

Now I have an even BIGGER stack of heart embellishements to choose from for my giveaway.  (Last day to leave a comment on the giveaway post is January 31!)

So, I am experiencing the very worst (sickness!) and the very best (playing in the snow!  hunkering down for art-making!) that winter has to offer. 

Wishing you happy winter days and cozy winter nights!