THiNKiNG

Surprises Always In Store For Us All

As the shortest day

of the year approaches,

I seem to be spending most

of each day endlessly thinking.

It is a reflective time of year.

Isn't it interesting how that works?

I mean how the various times and

environments affect us and bring

about innate behaviors?

This has been an exceptional

year in many ways.

Four months later,

I am still basking in the glow of

our New York City Adventure.

So.  That happened.

Scout's had a greatly succesful year.

We started volunteering at the

thrift shop. 

Made new friends.

Began attending the 

homeschool Monday group.

Made new friends.

Started dance.

Made new friends.

After almost two years

here in Austin we are

beginning to feel like it might be home.

Ironically more so since what we

believed to be our sense 

of security dissolved and,

because of that,

we are now at yet another new address.

Lucky for us, we've

got a ridiculous amount of

experience at this particular 

transitional experience.

Even though the settling in process

is slow going - as always -

and despite the unknown landscape

ahead, we seem to find the 

positive much more often than

the negatives realistically allow.

So much for reality.

Which, lately, seems more 

and more unreal.

But that's another topic entirely.

No idea where any day leads, 

but I have a flood of potential

options {or dreams} 

swirling through my head.

Forever, or so it seems,

I have been wanting to pursue too many

creative avenues to list.

I feel like some of them

are about to happen.

Scout is such an inspiration.

I have no idea how many

incredible illustrations she has

completed this year.

She started back at dance

and theater after a three year hiatus.

Applied for two summer programs and

attended the Acting Conservatory in NYC.

Began her American Sign Language Course.

Joined in the Holiday Workshop Show.

Started making dinner one night a week.

And always a thoughtful and 

creative plan researching and

making a new recipe.  

She completed her NaNoWriMo

50,000 word novel.

She did this in the same month we moved!

Now she's about one third of the way

through her next challenge -

the SketchBook Project.

These are just off the top of my head 

with only a spot of morning coffee in my system.

I feel like I have not

accomplished much at all.

But I know I have.

That blog post will

be along soon.

For now, I want to keep thinking ahead.

About which one of my dream*thinks

I will begin pursuing today.

And make it happen.

What thinks are you dreaming of fulfilling?

ox

joon

NoVeMBeR NeWS: MoViNG. FLaNNeL DaY ReMiNDeR. ReCYCLeD ART.

How have you all been?

November is almost gone and

I haven't had a chance to blog

as I wished I would.  Sigh.

It's been a bit nutty here.

After a ridiculously extended search

we finally found a new place

to live.  We move on Sunday.

We're looking forward to

the new adventures.

We'll be in another Austin

neighborhood so it

will seem like a bit of 

a new world.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch,

Scout is enjoying dance and

her holiday show rehearsals.

And guess what?

She had her first ever test.

In her life.

In her ASL class.

She earned a 97% and

a certificate.  She will

begin 201 in January.

And she is participating

in NaNoWriMo

{National Novel Writing Month}

and she's on task!  

Yes, ladies and gents,

I am telling you that

Scout has written 

40,000 WORDS.

She's well on her way to 

the monthly goal of 50,000.

Quite an achievement

for a 16 year old.

I need to remind you all

that even though we will

be moving on Sunday,

it is the third annual

FLANNEL DAY!

Be sure to celebrate.

Never heard of Flannel Day?

Well now, my friends ...

You can read all about it here:

I invent flannel day

and please spread the flannel love.

I have been creating

a number of recycled

bookmarks ~ some

corner bookmarks like

the one featured in this post.

To see more please

take a stroll through

my joonwalk shop

which you can access on the right

side of my blog.  --->

I have also made a new

batch of Peanuts Gang

themed pinbacks and magnets.

They're such fun and

seem to be popular with

my joonbeam etsy shoppers.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

Thank you for stopping by

and sharing a bit of this

life across the internet

universe.

I will write from our

new house next time.

Until then,

here's to pumpkin pie.

{Mine just arrived.}

ox

joon

More Packaging FUN

Here's a recent package 

I sent to my favorite Floridian.

:)

As always, I recycled papers

and oddments.

The bird piece is from a coffee bag.

It is sewn onto a safety envelope bit.

You can see the reverse in last

photo below.

This is the inside of a Daisy sour cream

seal.  I stitched a safety envelope circle

onto it just for the heck of it.

The popsicle stick is from 

our delicious Texas Blue Bell ice cream.

The message continues on side B.

:)

The floral piece is a card section.

The message is on the back.  

I had a good time gathering up

these pieces and creating these

silly bookmarks for my cuz.

Do you have a favorite 

recycled packaging story?

Please share it and a link

if you have one, in my comments.

I'd love to see your art.

Until next time...

ox

joon

Top Notch Friend

I created these for my New Jersey Cousin :)

Ann graciously offered to Godmother

Scout's acting journey.

I used two of Scout's original photographs

and made a thank you card and 

magnetic bookmark pair.

I chose these Top Notch pics

both because Ann and Scout share

a passion and gift for beautiful photography

{You can see Ann's HERE}

and

for their unique connection between 

Austin, Texas and the film industry

that Scout will enter.

Top Notch is featured in the film

Dazed and Confused.

And we are lucky enough to

have landed in its neighborhood

and experience frequenting this

rare blast from the past ...

the American Burger Drive-In.

Where have they all gone?

 WHY? is the more 

appropriate question.

I cherish my good friends

and honest old

family owned 

food establishments.

Forever may they bless us

with their presence.

Please visit and support 

your locally owned treasures.

We need them much more 

than they need us.

Thank you for

stopping by.

Remember to 

fall forward this Sunday.

ox

joon

New JoonWalk Recycled Bookmark Design

my new fold*over magnetic bookmarks

covers are laminated 

magnets on lower inside covers hold your place

my first batch

some have handwritten quotes on back

the coca cola and clapper board, for instance

vintage gift wrap, stamp collage & book illustrations

are a few of my set themes

this pair features my original artwork

so what do you think?

look for these in my joonwalk shop

ox

joon

New York City Beginnings

Scout settles in immediately.  

Moobie does likewise.  {Who knew he made the journey?}

How darn adorable is he?  No wonder he tagged along.

Our first dinner.  10 PM Saturday after a long trip from the airport to Chelsea.  It was almost as long as the flight from Boston to NYC.  Crazy talk.  But we met so many nice, helpful people on the airtrain and subway.

Bright & early Sunday morning, Jon Cody & Val arrived & we headed to Battery Park to board the ferry for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  Look how innocent we all are.  No clue as to what lies ahead for us just minutes down the time line of life.  

To be continued ...

ox

joon

On Top Of The World

It's Been A While.

I agree.

Since I've seen you

And you've seen me.

My laptop failed.

And Scout's did too.

It's been hot as hell

With too much to do.

But finally

I'm back on line.

Two brand new Macs,

We're feelin' fine.

I read that blogging

Has jumped the shark.

Luckily for me

I excel in the dark.

So let's get this party started...

From New York,

the greatest city in the world...

Top of the Rock with Scout

We just returned from a

fabulous Two Week Trip

to our favorite city.

Scout attended a teen acting

conservatory and we tagged along.

What an adventure.

We have only been to NYC

in 1992, 2004 & 2005

for no more than three days

at a time.

I spent more time than

even I can imagine

researching for this trip.

We walked for miles

in the heat, we ate meal

after beautiful meal,

we saw wonderful sights

and we met the nicest,

friendliest, genuinely caring

and helpful people

you could ever hope to meet.

We made new friends.

Ev is calling me

Crocodile Dundee.

I did talk to everybody

and anybody.

As you might guess

after that last sentence,

there's too much to post

all at once.

Top of the Rock

was one of my favorite

experiences and I love

this impromptu video.

Hope you will too.

Stay tuned for

more tales and photos.

I am back.

ox

joon

Look Who is SWeeT SiXTeeN ...

The: .computer.on.its.last.breath.issue
is beyond frustrating. I haven't been
able to blog and missed my
Happy Birthday Scout post.

As it happens, she is sweet sixteen
as of June 8 at 2:22 PM.
We've been celebrating now for over a week
and still going strong.

So I will report again soon
once I don't have the glancing.back.
over.my.shoulder.at.the.
finicky.computer.syndrome.

Other than the lack of our
'computer machines'
{if you haven't caught the new
show 'The Good Guys' you're missing
something glorious}
we're doing great!

Check out Scout's new
YouTube song video.
The link is on the right below.
The newest one is #3.

Scout, you are something else.

What have you all
been up to?

Until next time...

ox
joon

A Little Idea That Turned Out Sweet

One of my short term storage solutions.
This works incredibly well.
If you have an art room the size of a closet
like I do, you should try this.
I wish I'd thought of it so much sooner.

Isn't it cute, too?

I LoVe finding justification
for my nutty passion
of saving vintage boxes.

Until next time...

ox
joon

PS. BIG NEWS in my next post. Stay tuned. :)

ProJecT SNoWFLaKe UPDATE & New ART

Hello Earthlings!
Here's my Etsy shop announcement:
Litterbug Success Tally UPDATE April 25: 191 + 377 = 568

Here are some facts:
Between Mar 17 and May 01
I have had 28 sales.
28 X 13 = 364
So we are well ahead of ourselves.
That's the way I like it.

* Talkin' Trash *

We have been out picking up litter on two
occasions. The first time Scout & I picked up
191 pieces in 40 minutes.
Pok-e-dometer {Pokemon} says she walked 2,971 steps.
Scout found one penny.

The second time, Evan joined us.
We picked up 377 pieces in 80 minutes. Ev guesses
we picked up about 5# total weight.
Pokemon says 3,730 steps.
Scout found one penny.

We have two bags,
one for trash, one for recycling.
As we pick something
up we call out its number.

Most of the litter ~ by far ~ is:
cigarette butts
The other top trashy items include:
beer cans * candy wrappers * fast food garbage

We've found some interesting litter.
Like remains from the city electric work
a small nerf type ball and way too many
little packets with a rock and ad inside
that some solicitors threw into everyone's
driveway months ago.

We've interacted with a few people.
Our favorite was a man who was playing with his dog
across a street from where we were.
He yelled out a sincere THANK YOU!
That was nice.

We saw some others
as we were picking
up cigarette butts out by the street
in front of their house.
Evan was told that the two houses
next to theirs had been empty
for quite a while.
We hadn't noticed any trash
in front of either empty house.
One of them jokingly offered
they could bring out more trash
if we needed it.
I merely replied that, thanks, we didn't.

We're enjoying cleaning up our
neighborhood. I'm very glad I
have this new policy. Litter has
always depressed me. It always will.
Even though this is a teeny tiny action,
it's still action. It helps. We'll keep going.

THaNK You All For Your Support!

Meanwhile...
Here are some of my latest ideas turned into reality.
The states bookmarks remind me of tea bags.
These were part of a flying housewife packet.
I love them
and will make more for my joonwalk shop.

This bookmark was a little something extra
I added to a recent order.

This is lovely Ev with one of Scout's lovely omelets.

What have you all been up to?

Thanks for dropping by. Until next time...

ox
joon

There Is No Try. Only DO.

This is a short & sweet message.
The images say more than I can.
I did need to update you all on PRoJeCT SNoWFLaKe.
Scout & I have picked up 191 pieces of litter so far.
We're going back out on a litter hunt this weekend.
Update next week.

PLEASE read all about PRoJeCT SNoWFLaKe
in my previous post below.

I'd love for you to join me.
Even if it's just ONCE.
ONCE counts.

It's true.

Have beautiful, peaceful EARTH DAY
my Earthling friends.

ox
joon

PS. If you joined us please return
and share your story with a comment.

ProJecT SNoWFLaKe Launch...Because environment is everything™

Hello and thanks for dropping by.
I know it's been a while. Looking at my lead photo you might be asking yourself:
'What in the Sam Hill is that all about?'
Or something along those lines. It is curious indeed to anyone
who doesn't know the terrible fate my family endures:
Living with me.

What that is, dear readers, is a former 8 oz. tube of lotion shrimpified. I loathe waste, as you all do know, and the photo above demonstrates the saving tactics I frequently employ. I know that no amount of force or tipping or upside down patient standing is going to truly empty this tube.
So when I, foolhardy, determined conservationist that I am, start bruising myself with those measures I take my trusty scissors, cut the tube in half, and we now have perfect access to not a small amount of lotion. Enough, in fact, to warrant days of silkiness ahead. Viola! The wonderful shrimpy tube. Not only is this smart saving,
it amuses us no end ~ seeing it every time we walk by.
And who cannot benefit from a little extra dose of harmless silliness in their life?

This post is lengthy, but please bear with me.
Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, I read a daily newspaper . Sprinkled throughout were small public service ads. These very small squares informed the reader that by just recycling that size square ~ I think it was 2" at most ~
we'd be saving some huge number of trees.

Unlike the current television PSA with the disappearing cigarette ash which Evan insists has the effect of making him crave starting a smoking habit, the impact of that tiny square impressed and has remained with me. Alas, not the specifics. But that's OK. You get the point.
I did stumble upon others, including these:

*Each of us uses approximately one 100-foot-tall Douglas fir tree in paper and wood products per year

* Recycling a four-foot stack of newspapers saves the equivalent of one 40-foot fir tree.

• One tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year.
• 
  
• One ton of recycled paper saves 3,700 pounds of lumber and 24,000 gallons of water.
• 
  
• Making paper from recyled material uses 60% less energy than making virgin paper.
• 
  
• If every household in the U.S. reused a paper bag for one shopping trip, about 60,000 trees would be saved.
• 
  
• Every ton of newspaper recycled saves enough energy to power a TV for 31 hours.
• 
  
• If all morning newspapers read in this country were recycled, 41,000 trees would be saved daily and 6 million tons of waste would never end up in landfills.
• 
  
• One ton of recycled paper uses: 64% less energy, 50% less water, 74% less air pollution, saves 17 trees and creates 5 times more jobs than one ton of paper products from virgin wood pulp.
• 
  
• Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees (35’ tall), 2 barrels of oil (enough fuel to run the average car for 1260 miles or from Dallas to Los Angeles), 4100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for 6 months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space (one family size pick-up truck) and 60 pounds of air pollution. (Trash to Cash, 1996)
• 
  
• It takes one 15-year old tree to produce half a box of paper. Use both sides of all paper. (Midpoint International)
• 
  
• Recycled paper saves 60% energy vs. virgin paper (Center for Ecological Technology)
• 
  
• Every year enough paper is thrown away to make a 12’ wall from New York to California.
• 
  
• If everyone in the U.S. recycled just 1/10 of their newsprint, we would save the estimated equivalent of about 25 million trees a year.
• 
  
• *If only 100,000 people stopped their junk, mail, we could save up to 150,000 trees annually. If a million people did this, we could save up to a million and a half trees.

• *The junk mail Americans receive in one day could produce enough energy to heat 250,000 homes.

• *The average American still spends 8 full months of his/her life opening junk mail.

• *Every year we make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap Texas.

  *In 1865, an estimated 10,000 hogs roamed New York City, eating garbage. Now, one of every six U.S. trucks is a garbage truck.

• * In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his/her adult weight in garbage. If you add it up, this means that a 150-lb. adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 lbs of trash for his/her children.

There is so much more, of course. I found most of these HERE . Other sources may have more up-to-date or different statistics, but we can all agree that increasing recycling/reuse/conservation is vitally important.

The usage facts can be alarming, daunting, surreal, overwhelming, and depressing. They are all of these to me. However, there is a lot of good news. Americans are recycling and conserving more and more. We can expand that trend. And now I come to my contribution. My idea is a take off on the business practice of donating to a cause. I am not a business person. I love creating my art and salvaging used bits of our culture in the process. On the occasion that something I find or make connects with one of my etsy shop patrons, that's great. I do not expect, or even desire, to become a profitable business person.
{It's also impossible, but that's another story.}
But I thought of a rewarding way to further extend my recycling obsession via my shops, in a way that appeals to my sensibilities and lifestyle.

You will find this announcement in each of my four etsy shops:


ProJecT SNoWFLaKe: One housewife on a mission impossible loving our little blue swirling planet. Intrigued? Read more on my profile page. Thank you for your support. ox joon


And on my profile pages:

ProJecT SNoWFLaKe: One housewife on a mission impossible ~ loving our little blue swirling planet.

My art is based on recycling and reusing because I am obsessed with responsibility. That's a longer story which, extremely simplified, led me here. I enjoy the challenge of saving would be disposable goods and transforming it into who-knows-what? ProJecT SNoWFLaKe is an extension of my philosophy.

Beginning March 17, 2010 you can help me clean up our world, one little step at a time.

For every purchase in any & all of my etsy shops, I will pick up a baker's dozen worth of litter or spend 13 minutes throwing an eye, whichever comes first. I will keep a tally, post it in my shop announcements, and write about my venture on my blog.

http://joonbeam.blogspot.com

Where does the SNoWFLaKe come in? I chose that name for several reasons. It seems like a SNoWFLaKe'S chance in hell that one housewife can make a significant difference. But here's my impetus.

{Captain Charles Moore on Letterman}:

Please access & view Part 2 as well.

And here's my inspiration. {Paul Rokich} I first read about this man and cut out the Readers Digest story in the 1980s. I still have it. I found THIS, which is similar.

Additionally, I began a novel 6+ years ago, called Snowflake N.H. {It's a sign.}

My dear husband and daughter have been waiting on tenterhooks for its completion. It is currently stalled on Chapter 9. As much as I love it, I find it hard to devote time to my writing. So, this challenge serves as an additional incentive for me as I will set aside 13 minutes to Snowflake for every item sold. {See Evan and Scout smiling.}

Many sellers donate a % of their profits to causes. My idea is a take-off on this practice. I'll be the action. It's a housewife thing. We'll see how it goes.

THaNK YOU for your support and, if you LoVe this idea, please spread the word.

Just doing my small part to save the earth and spread the treasures of the past for joy in our future. Please visit my other etsy shops to see more of my recycled & upcycled art with heart, my handwritten letter revolution and to learn more about me.

ox

joon

So there you have it.
You can find many recycled & upcycled practical creations of mine by browsing through this blog and my shops. I especially delight in creating ephemeral art with a half life of infinity. This small sack, now pencil holder, is based on a standard size bag fashioned into an Easter basket {2007} that relives as my paper recycling bin and kitty nap spot. This mini version was actually designed to hold 'pieces of paper too small to recycle' ~ for recycling. :) But when I found the pencils fit inside so tidily I repurposed my repurpose. Now I will make another one for those scraps.
It's the circle of life.



SMALL COUNTS

I want to end with two clarifications.
One: I love newspapers and am saddened by their demise. I believe they are a positive facet of our culture. I don't subscribe because of my own issues. I support reading newspapers. Oh how I would LOVE to see the practice of junk mail and paper flyers prohibited. Seriously.

Two: I am far from a model recycle queen and conservationist. But I regret the popularity of: 'Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and It's All Small Stuff.' I believe the exact opposite. Small matters. You take the small stuff seriously and address it and the big stuff that survives this attention will dissolve so much easier and faster.
Don't underestimate small. It's powerful.

Please post your thoughts, questions & comments. I and my readers will enjoy your contribution. But, more than that, if you have read this far and taken advantage of the links provided I thank you. So much, in fact, that for everyone who has accomplished this and is willing to post a comment by March 31, 2010 to verify it, I will add 13 pieces of litter pick up to my mission. You're supporting my making a difference to our little blue swirling planet already.
Litter Tally Update next week.



ox
joon

Posted via email from just joon