I hate to neglect my blog, but when I'm feeling poorly I have little to say. Happily I'm feeling much better and my mood is lifting. Making ATCs always makes me happy; I haven't made any [paper] ones in a long, long time. These are my latest.

Simplicity is the removal of the useless and the unnecessary--source unknown

I find it hard to get going when it's grey and gloomy and wet outside.
A part of me just wants to curl up on the couch with a hot drink and watch old movies on television. Reading would only make me drowsy; my reading is reserved for nighttime.
Another part of me recoils at the very thought and wants to be active: move something, anything.
And another part of me compromises: Have a shot of coffee, then make something.
That's the part I listen to. It always leads to my getting out of the house....

So this piece of wood has been sitting on my table. It's the only one I have, so I've waited for the "right" idea (idée juste?). I don't know if this is it, but I went ahead anyway.

Ma cabane au Canada

Do not break your shin on a stool that is not in your way.-- Irish proverb

For this month's ATC trading at BizzyB's, the theme was house. My houses focused on the inhabitants, humans and plants... each one had a purpose. There was no thinking, no coming up with ideas -- it just happened. Oddly, I've been dreaming about houses, and houses that I've recognized from previous dreams. Houses symbolize the self, so it was quite an interesting message for me (I always pay attention to my dreams).

Houses in flight

I like crooked little houses (if you want a rubber stamp of a crooked little house, check my rubber stamps in the left-hand menu!), and I like wings. So I combined them.

I drew the wings in pencil on the back of the paper, and cut them out. The house I cut out of a paper bag (another use for paper bags!); the bits of lace were remnants from another project, and the Canadian King George stamp was on the wrapping paper from a gift I received recently.
Keep it simple, and may your house fly!