It's magic!

Today I found myself thinking about Magic Squares. I've long been drawn to these in part because they are puzzles, which I love, but moreso because of the patterns hidden within.

I was given a book about magic squares when I was younger, and shortly after I learned to construct the odd numbered squares by following a simple method, the math became too complex to hold my interest. But one of the key things I remembered is that if you follow the number pattern with line segments, you get endless varieties of designs, some of which are reproduced here (scroll down): http://mathworld.wolfram.com/MagicSquare.html. It's these patterns that appear in my doodling and which I think would make great artwork elements. I am not entirely alone in this:

Magic Squares as Visual Designs on Pots

The Atomic Art of Magic Squares

Botanical Gardens of Leipzig

Clearly this is an untapped area of design, and one I should take advantage of. I can see it now - rubber stamps, cross-stitch and black work patterns, fine china designs, etched crystal...

Inspiration!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I know what I need to do in my craft room to make it a much more useful space. And yes, this will necessitate a trip to the Container Store. Or more than one. And a free day/weekend to make it all happen. Which means by about May, I should be golden.

If I'm really together, I will take pictures of the progress. For the moment, here's some Container Store inspiration...

Creating a picture wall...

In my never-ending task to actually decorate my house, I am embracing my love of small prints even though I have vast expanses of wall. I've been inspired by yet another ApartmentTherapy post (though there are so many on this topic there and elsewhere).

Here's the status update:

I started with only the calendar on the wall. I then added the Anna Hess shell painting and the Love postcard below. Just this week I added the moonlit trees and the Sargeant postcard.

What's next?

I have this rough layout on the floor of how I want things to look. This will change on the fly as I hang things, which at the moment is at the rate of 1-2 items per week. Let's not rush this.

I love the idea of this being an on-going collage of images. As I mostly frame things in the same size Ikea clippy frames, I always have the option of moving images around and swapping things on and off the wall as the whim strikes me (though I fear Ikea is discontinuing this essential 5 x 7 clippy frame size - but not to worry, I still have about a dozen hoarded).

Stay tuned for wall updates...

The perfect furniture...

Browsing through Apartment Therapy the other day, I found the perfect rug for me. I can't wait to find out who makes it (though I bet I can wait to find out the cost...):



The whole post was the perfect Joanna post. It was called Scripted Furnishings. But it's really all about the rug...

Look what's blooming...

As part of my housewarming gift, George gave me a cutting from his purple passion plant. Recently, it started blooming! The picture can't do the fuzzy yellow flowers justice.

More to come...

Girly nostalgia...

Growing up I always loved paper dolls, and just about any thing you could pop out of a book. The tooth fairy once brought me a memorable village to be popped out and assembled. Hot stuff!

With Valentine's just past, I came across a set of Joan Walsh Anglund paper dolls here.
Anglund is best known for ultra cute children with no discernible mouth - better seen than heard. But I always found them charming.

I had this vague memory of another set of paper dolls I liked, and sure enough, thank to the internet, I found them. Does anyone else remember the Gingham Girls?

They had many outfits and different personalities and Katie even had an ice cream shop (but I'm sure it was a shoppe).

Do girls still play with paper dolls? Is it all Barbie and stuff from cartoons or are there others out there from books or from some other source? Or has paper given way to electrons in this instance as well?

The perfect storage solution...

I've been dreaming of more shelving for my craft room of late and recently came across this must-have dresser:

Color Stripes...

Some time ago, I posted about my first Etsy purchase, a calendar from Kris's Color Stripes. I've just now bookmarked Kris's blog of the same name. Kris takes images and parses them out by color, like the one below:

I love this idea, have used it in some of the cards I make, and mean to do more of it. Sara Midda, one of my favorite watercolorist, uses this technique in her South of France book:

I love the idea of thinking about the color palette of an image, a wardrobe, a space. Mine would be black and purple and red/burgundy with occasional forays elsewhere.

Food in the forecast...

Making a list just now, I realized that this is going to be a weekend of dancing, of course, but also of baking, with a little cooking thrown in for good measure. I found myself just now finding that recipe for cinnamon scones I want to try that will be perfect for the Jane Austen tea dance, and reviewing previous cocktail party menus for something to repeat, and of course, contemplating the ubiquitous red velvet cuppycakes, so appropriate for the impending valentine-making party.

Why remark on this at all? It's so unusual that I do any kind of baking/cooking extravaganza that's not for a holiday dinner or a party I'm throwing. Time is always too short to bake something for a tea item. It's always easier to run to the store. And while I keep a pretty full pantry, I always end up shopping before I bake to make sure I have everything I need for all of the recipes.

But time is built-in this weekend. The water department is coming any time between 7am and noon this weekend to change my meter. What better way to fill the time than creating warm and wonderful yummy goodness. Perhaps directly after the first cup of coffee...

Okay, enough with the weather...

Don't get me wrong. I think snow is pretty and all, but I've about had it. I don't want to shovel it, I don't want to clear it off my car, and I don't want to drive in it. This is Philadelphia. This is practically the southland. We are not supposed to have this kind of weather here. What gives?

Tonight it was predicted that the snow would end at about 9pm and we would have about 1"-3" of snow on the ground. I got home from work and had just enough time to clear and salt the steps and sidewalk, then clear off the car and head to Swarthmore. It's a little slippy on the local roads, but fine. Class, clear off car, go to longsword. Rehearsal, clear lots of snow off of the car, and proceed to begin the drive home. It is after 9pm. It's still snowing. A lot. So much for the weather report.

The Blue Route is a big mess, made worse by the spray of big truck, but we make it off and I start looking for gas stations, as the idiot light has just come on on the dash. The station that was open had no regular gas, so now to add to the fun of the drive, we have the potential drama of running out of gas. But we creep along Germantown Avenue, slipping but maintaining control for the most part. Until a car randomly stops dead. Deep breath.

We pass that car, finally, although the car hates changing lanes, pass the car further down the road also stopped, and creep into Chestnut Hill. All of the gas stations are closed, but we slide down the hill, trying to forget that there are slippery, unpredictable trolley tracks underneath.

Home stretch. Turn onto Boyer. I fear the parking situation. But then, a spot close to the house. Unheard of at this hour.

I'll shovel in the morning.

Warm hearts, warm groundhogs...

(Jenny once led the GCD First Saturday dance in February under the title Warm Hearts. But it fell on February 2nd, and so...)

Phil saw his shadow. Again. Big shock. The take poor Phil from his nice home in the town library, shove him in a cold, dark place, surround him with strangers and flash bulbs. Heck, you'd turn the other way too, shadow or no.

But Phil is likely back home among the books, warm and happy to be left alone for another year.