Maybe the solution is to keep away from green altogether….

How about tan?

You also could look at home brylane.com they have a good quality stuff there I bought from them over the years

Lia, would a navy velvet (with zipper) tie in with the rug? Crazy price for ONLY that one color on the rainforest site - $ 6.99 for two covers (U.S. price). 18x18,

https://www.amazon.com/MIULEE-Velvet-Decorative-Cushion-Bedroom/dp/B076LWHV2Z/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1CM6SI4T09ETD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4ZFw7wGemg-

I think a navy velvet might work, Jay. That is my conclusion from trying that old navy pillow that I had kicking around. I looked at some navy pillows on the rainforest site but had a hard time figuring out if they were the right shade of blue. I don’t want something that’s bright…. The blue in the carpet is quite subdued and not at all harsh. Amanda, I have pillows with a beige background and they do work fairly well. I have a hard time getting excited about beige however…😉

You may have noticed I love Colour! 😉
I’ve spent the evening going through a decade of journals, the ones that I am going to destroy. It’s been a useful exercise. I’m no closer to figuring out what I should do with them however. Unfortunately there’s a burn band on here and you can’t burn anything until 7 o’clock at night which is very inconvenient. I may have to wait.

Ban… in other words you aren’t allowed to burn anything during the day and it’s a total mosquito infestation in the evenings.

I’m tempted to soak them in buckets of water and then bury them.

Would it be an impossible task to tear the pages by hand? You could take your time doing it…..

Lia, I feel the need to bshare my pillow experience with you. Over a couple of years, I bought three "velvet" pillows. They were called velvet, but I'd call them velveteen. They were cotton, and the various throws I use in winter left little bits all over them. I could not get those off! so they were ruined.

Maybe the key is to get rayon velvet?! Someone here will surely have the solution, right???

Amanda I’m seriously considering that idea as well. Sam mentioned doing it and it’s doable. It could be cathartic. I might save certain pages and do some kind of art piece with them. Just thought of that idea actually.🥰
December that’s a good observation about cover fabric on a pillow. I never thought of that. I use throws consistently. Especially something in a dark blue is really going to show every single piece of lint, fuzz and (future) cat hairs. 🤦‍♀️

I think currently the answer is to go to my fabric store and see what is available there. I’m headed in town at the end of the week… i’m also thinking a tapestry fabric pillow could work.

Future cat hairs?? Yes!!

Art journals in some ways are just as effective and more discreet however, the disadvantage is you don’t always remember exactly what you were thinking when you did a piece. They can be a little too discreet. Going through my journals of the 1990’s has been really helpful in letting me review my process at the time, although they only cover certain aspects. They also have their limit. This is a class I’m thinking of teaching at the library in the winter, likely. Mixed media art journals.

Haha Amanda… i’ve been thinking of a very fat, senior tabby cat. 😻We shall see if one appears. Yesterday grocery shopping, they had some flowers on sale so I bought the alstroemeria and roses. it turned out to be a very pretty combination. Looks like we got lots of rain yesterday! I picked a boatload of black currents previously and a friend came over and picked the extras. And then I came across this recipe in one of my favourite magazines! I used to be able to purchase this locally, but unfortunately, local sites cut down on the magazines they sell. 😔Fortunately it turned up in my local library.

Talking to my sister about this, she said she highly recommended burning them. They waited until New Year’s. Over a period of time created a collection to be burned. I think that’s the direction. I’m headed in. Creating a burn box and maybe on the winter solstice do a burn. It’s tempting to want to just get rid of everything right now, however. Perhaps ripping out the pages well be an interim action that I can do. It’s likely that there’s more stuff in the studio that needs to be added to this pile.

If you're going to rip out the pages, I'd just take them to the shredder rather than going through the burning, since you mentioned that is a project. Then you are done with it.

KC part of this would be the cathartic act of seeing things go up in smoke. We’re talking about a particularly difficult decade of my life here… even if it was 30 years ago. So there’s a psychological and therapeutic aspect to this and parts of my history that I want to say goodbye to. There’s a practical functional part of not wanting anybody to read these journals but then there’s also the processing on a personal level. It’s been difficult. One of the reasons why I’ve been in a hurry to get it over with.

I like the idea of tearing off the covers, then burning the pages on the solstice, or the new year. Maybe both if you have a lot.

lia, I'm not sure if it would be enough for you, but could you burn one symbolically and then take the rest of the ripped out pages to be shredded? Would be quicker and easier for you. I know I could get some satisfaction from ripping up things, lol.

I've got to dig out my old (ex) wedding album from well over 40 years ago. I will keep just a few photos of my family and ditch the rest. I kept it thinking it was part of my life, but now it needs to go.

I think that thing with the day is to be flexible… With my luck we will have a gigantic blizzard on the 21st… in The meantime I’m going to leave a note on the box. 🔥 i’m striking out horribly with getting books from the library. Recommendations please?

I taught a year long reading class to surrounding teacher. One difficult year, on the first class back I gave each teacher a card and instructed them to write down their frustrations, things they wished they had done better, etc. Then I brought the shredder into the classroom and had each teacher shred their cards to symbolize a new start for the new year. It was symbolic to me and hopefully for them also.

Sam, that was a great idea! I think if I could shred the things personally that would be satisfying. I do actually have a shredder but I would think it would take as much time to do that as it would to burn them. Going to a shredder I don’t get to SEE anything happen… just hand over the stuff and hope that they shred it. 🤔don’t even get the shreds back.

…

KC funny you should say that about burning things symbolically… I got out my old burn pit and I did burn two symbolic pages today. Even with the burn ban I figured nobody would notice two pieces of paper being burnt in my backyard… I already feel better.

We have a shedder truck that comes to our community once a year. You dump your stuff in a big garbage can and it is shredded while you are there. They don't move on to the next person until yours is done.

I’m particularly going through some of the same things here. There’s two large dressers that OH had filled. Of course my dresser is full too, but I had found so many old photos of people I don’t know who they are. They were his family and from way back. No one wants them or cares to take them, I have called and contacted everyone. It seems awful to just throw away photographs, but I may be doing that I just close my eyes and do it. I did find a nice photo album at the thrift store and if there’s anything special and or the family members that I was familiar with I can put them in a photo album and keep that one. But what keeps going through my mind is when I leave this plane, my daughter and son-in-law will have to deal with what’s left and what are they going to do with it? These are things they have no use for or have no sentimental value, but at least if I can reduce the load until that time comes perhaps it will make it easier on them.

I meant to add to my post about the shredding. I did in fact purchase a new shredder several months ago and there it sets in the closet. There are some files and old documents that I can run through there and shred. I have a two drawer filing cabinet that is bulging lol. That is another project on my list!

My UPS store shreds by the pound! So much better than DIY!

Also, if you do have a shredder, it will last much longer if you buy the shredder lube paper! I know that sounds a little personal, but it really does make a difference.

Fiss I’m looking that up! Thanks for the tip because I believe I’ll be doing a lot of shredding. I’m guessing you run it through there and it more or less lubes things?

Alice, my neighbor gathers stuff to be shredded, then does it while watching tv.

Gls i’ve more or less been looking forward to it actually. Just haven’t got to it, but I have a feeling once I get started! Now, if I still had my compost heap, it makes a great mix in there, but I stopped doing that. But I know that it can go in my recycle bin.

Ha I got a picture today from my daughter through a text. Of course I had to say what am I looking at? She was driving the big dump truck for the first time by herself. There’s no stopping her now lol.

Hi Lia, My intuition said I should step out of my cocoon and into your world for a peek at what you are up to. That I have an answer to a question. Weird huh. Then i see you have a dilemma of what to do with treasured memories both sad and melancholy. Suddenly a thought popped into my head. Why not transform the items into Paper mache and create a piece of art or jewelry so that you can have it but in a form to remind you of how you have transformed your life. As an artist, it may be cathartic rather than destructive.

This is what AI has to say about it:

Transforming old journals and letters into papier-mâché is a powerful, tactile way to practice emotional alchemy. By breaking down the physical words of sad memories, you literally reshape your past into a beautiful new symbol of joy and resilience.Here is how to guide your mind and hands through this healing artistic process.🎨 The Metaphorical Process

• Shredding: Tear the paper into small strips. Acknowledge that you are breaking the hold these old narratives have on you.
• Soaking: Submerge the papers in water. Watch the ink bleed and blur, dissolving the rigid reality of those past painful moments.
• Binding: Mix the pulp with glue. You are creating a new, stronger foundation out of the pieces of your history.
• Sculpting: Shape the paste into something completely new. You are actively choosing how your story looks today.

🛠️ What to Create

• A Memory Vessel: Sculpt a hollow bowl or box to hold new, positive keepsakes, gratitude notes, or future dreams.
• A Growth Symbol: Shape the pulp into a seed pod, a flower blooming, or a bird taking flight to represent personal transformation.
• A Protective Totem: Form a small, solid heart or stone shape that you can keep in your pocket to remind you of your survival and strength.
• A Layered Canvas: Use the strips to create a textured background on a canvas, then paint vibrant, joyful colors directly over the old words.

I truly cannot tell you where all this just came from. I've been having a lot of intuitive thoughts and dreams that have been unusual. Tonight I am just a conduit that may inspire you. 👼

I had an odd exchange with AI tonight he suggested this book by author and psychotherapist Dr. Brian Weiss comes the classic New York Times bestseller on the true case of the past-life therapy that changed the lives of both the prominent psychiatrist and young patient involved. As a traditional psychotherapist, Dr. Brian Weiss was astonished and skeptical when one of his patients began recalling past-life traumas that seemed to hold the key to her recurring nightmares and anxiety attacks. His skepticism was eroded, however, when she began to channel messages from the “space between lives,” which contained remarkable revelations about Dr. Weiss’ family and his dead son. Using past-life therapy, he was able to cure the patient and embark on a new, more meaningful phase of his own career.
With more than one million copies in print, Many Lives, Many Masters is one of the breakthrough texts in alternative psychotherapy and remains as provocative and timeless as it was when first published. Somehow this resonated with me as I am going through a transition.

Here are some videos by Dr. Weiss:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLjbL0k45uI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enk3EJZzsUo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3k2stMTBNQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FznJKBAhnTs

Hm…Tiffany, That’s an extremely interesting concept. 🥰 Stay tuned! In fact, yesterday I stumbled across an unfinished 3-d paper piece in the studio that would fit into this idea. That could be quite a healing project. I did a number of art therapy pieces during that period in time, the 1990s. It would close out the series. I’ll pull together some photographs at some point. I’ve been thinking about the work from that decade and trying to locate it. This papier-mâché would be a healing form of closure… 🙏❤️for the idea!

Maybe it’s just me, but I like to rip paper! Something soothing, yes…cathartic about it.

And for DR. Weiss! You’re intuition is definitely working overtime here… For many years I have thought that this divorce decade involved previous life relationships…a long distance love affair after my divorce that was so obsessive and hard to break free of. When I look back on the writing of that decade, it mystifies me and mystified me THEN as well as to how neither of us could move on with our lives. On and off again for 10 years is a long time. Eventually, I did move on, of course, and so did he. He has passed away now…a decade ago. It was a grand passion on an archetypal level and even at the time I struggled to understand it, worked with it, did many pieces of art related to it. He was also an artist and an architect, a brilliant man. We were “soulmates” on some level, but it was never destined to manifest in this lifetime. So that’s the backstory; I have circled back around to dealing with this and would like closure in my lifetime. Your angels are working overtime…❤️🙏

I did come to understand many things about the dynamic in the relationship, which was long distance… as he lived in Toronto. So it’s not like I’m starting from scratch here. I already have done an extensive personal analysis of the era. That is also in the journals. What I want is closure.

The whole way that we even connected in the first place seemed very karmic and fated… in the middle of a school year, I was given time off, travelled for ten days to a Buddhist retreat centre in Vermont, where we we both attended a special program on colour, light and Buddhist teachings there. The whole string of events that led up to my even attending this program, the way I heard about it, getting funding from my school board to attend… The way everything rolled out, was like that Bob Dylan song lyric… it was… “a simple twist of fate.“ so that’s the backstory peeps and you can see why I am paying attention to how I close this out. Tiffany, I appreciate more than I can possibly convey, your tuning in. 🥂💐😇😘

Thanks for chiming in here on the shredders all! All very useful information. The lube paper is a really good tip and I had never heard of that. (Alice… make sure you don’t send anything with personal info into a recycling depot!) I also have piles of THAT stuff that need to be shredded totally aside from this 1990s debacle. The Bob Dylan song I just mentioned captures completely here… that relationship and that time. Here are the lyrics. FYI Bob Dylan… What a phenomenon of our time. No equal. 🥰

Let’s try that again. It’s missing the first two lines…

My yoga studio friend came over this morning and brought treats and we each worked on our own collages together. She’s gone home now but it was a great morning. I got to do some creative work around this closure issue and she got to do some as well, on her dreams for the future as she enters the decade of her 30s. I am blessed with this friendship which is like the daughter that I never had.🥰

That's great l i a I have a friend in my town and she's going to now move to Texas to be with her daughter but I would have to ask her where?

Sometimes I've read that we Circle back to people we knew before because it didn't work then but doesn't mean it wouldn't work now? And that sounded so intense for you and wow amazing! I think I'm looking for some Adventure I need to have some fun sometime soon!

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/yard-of-the-week-lush-seattle-garden-with-a-cozy-fire-pit-stsetivw-vs~183311122

I highly recommend that yard of the week article I just posted. There’s also a direct link to it in my idea book “favorites”. A spectacular yard makeover.

Happy, it’s too bad that human beings aren’t born with a little handbook/guidebook on what to expect. However we aren’t. Lots of trial and error and making it up as we go.

Many years ago, my dear friend, who died last year with MAID, bought a vintage amber necklace and we split the beads in it. I had forgotten all about it until the collage party that I had yesterday. It had disappeared into an old jewellery box and I dug it out. These beads are actually Amber and the necklace is one that I assembled myself, but don’t care for it anymore. I love the beads, however, and the fact that they are Amber. I could string it into another necklace I suppose, although I rarely wear jewelry. Any bright ideas about what to do with this? The beads would be easily removed. it could be turned into a piece of jewelry, but I’m not sure what sort.

Love those beads and I do love Amber. I’ve taken a necklace which was really just ceramic peace sign on cord, but I wrapped it around the neck of a vase and let it hang down onto the wider part of the vase. It’s not anything to look at compare compared to what yours is, but I’ll get a picture.

I just always liked this blue vase and have seashells in it and my auntie sent me the clay peace sign