The June Couple

This is a bridal shower gift I recently finished. In my post here I mentioned looking for a poem for a young friend of mine who will be getting married on my anniversary in June. While looking through an old copy of the works of Edgar Guest, I came upon the poem, "The June Couple." Thankfully, the poem was fitting for the young couple, and conveyed the proper sentiments, so I set out to find a way to present it to the bride as a gift.

I was able to find this lovely frame at a thrift shop...it had a Nolan Miller dress design print in the center which I discarded. The frame was originally a tacky, silvery/goldish color, so I used one of my favorite trash-to-treasure tricks and painted it with black acrylic paint, making sure to get it into all the crevices, then wiped some off with a cloth, just leaving highlights of the original color showing through. It set off the intricacy of the frame's carved design, and toned down the harsh metallic finish. Black paint is a bargain-hunter's best friend!

Next, I formatted the poem on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cream paper, which I trimmed down slightly. This was mounted onto a sheet of pumpkin-colored mulberry paper which was then trimmed to fit and glued into the inner frame. I added a strip of taupe velvet ribbon and a paper flower I purchased from Michael's scrapbooking section.

I washed the glass and reassembled the elements and used a reproduction victorian floral wrapping paper (a previous find from the thrift store) for the backing.

This was one of those projects that I didn't feel particularly inspired about, but I am pleased with the finished product. I hope the bride and groom display it in their new home and that the message of the poem will speak to and encourage them often.

(You can click on the photo to enlarge it and read the poem.)

Variety Is The Spice of Life

Here's an idea that's been rolling around my head now for months. I've been wanting to move all my spices out of plastic containers into glass canning jars. I dislike the variety of sizes of containers that spices come in...it's visually disturbing to me. Looking at the ingredients themselves is so much more pleasing to the eye than brightly colored commercial labels. I like the way these jars look lined up on the counter...reminds me of an old-fashioned general store.

I used wide-mouth quart jars for ingredients that are spooned out, like most herbs and spices would be. Also for flaked coconut, which I keep in the fridge. For things that I will pour out of the jar, like dried beans, I used regular-mouth jars.

A quart jar sounds large to hold spices, but with a family of 6, I do a lot of cooking, and will have no trouble using them up before they lose potency. I always try to replenish my spices from the bulk food store, which is much, much cheaper than buying them in the supermarket. The few flavorings I use just a bit of I put into pint jars.

If you haven't tried the plastic lids available now for canning jars...they are great. I've seen the regular mouth lids in the grocery stores and stuff-marts, but I had a hard time locating the wide-mouth lids locally, so I purchased them here.

I designed the labels using Print Shop software, formatted an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet with 20 olive branch circles, then typed the names into a text box inside each circle. I cut them out, laminated them, and tied them to the jars with thin elastic. I used elastic because it will not come unintentially un-tied, but can be stretched and pulled off easily when I need to wash the jars.

This project took several hours over two days to complete. Because the labels are laminated, they will last a very long time, and I know I'll enjoy my kitchen so much more now that a lot of visual clutter has been eliminated.

How have you enhanced your home's beauty by reducing visual clutter?

Improvement...by Edgar A. Guest

The joy of life is living it, or so it seems to me;
In finding shackles on your wrists, then struggling till you're free;
In seeing wrongs and righting them, in dreaming splendid dreams,
Then toiling till the vision is as real as moving streams.
The happiest mortal on the earth is he who ends his day
By leaving better than he found to bloom along the way.

Were all things perfect here there would be naught for man to do;
If what is old were good enough we'd never need the new.
The only happy time of rest is that which follows strife,
And sees some contribution made unto the joy of life.
And he who has oppression felt and conquered it is he
Who really knows the happiness and peace of being free.

The miseries of earth are here and with them all must cope.
Who seeks for joy, through hedges thick of care and pain must grope.
Through disappointment man must go to value pleasure's thrill;
To really know the joy of health a man must first be ill.
The wrongs are here for man to right, and happiness is had
By striving to supplant with good the evil and the bad.

The joy of life is living it and doing things of worth,
In making bright and fruitful all the barren spots of earth.
In facing odds and mastering them and rising from defeat,
And making true what once was false, and what was bitter, sweet.
For only he knows perfect joy whose little bit of soil
Is richer ground than what it was when he began to toil.

My first acquaintance with Mr. Guest's work was a poem entitled, "Only a Dad." While searching for an idea for a Father's Day present from my children to their dad, I discovered this piece and was drawn to it immediately. Later, I found his work, "Imagination," and those of you who know me well, know just how well that poem describes me. It has become a theme for me throughout our home-building process. While some may find him a bit too sentimental for their tastes, I find that Mr. Guest excels at revealing the nobility of the commonplace. Of giving words to the silent struggles of the heart. Of championing the underdog. I can't help but think that he must have been a very good friend...a great encourager...a wonderful listener...because his capacity to understand the human condition is evident in the tenderness, bordering on reverence, he exhibits towards domestic life.

A few months ago, I purchased a beautiful, old book of his poetry from Ebay, and while searching it for a poem to share with a young lady about to get married, I found the poem above. Again, it seems that Mr. Guest has been privy to my thoughts, writing something that I could've written...had I his talent.

Poetry is part of our life, as I will frequently share passages with my children, and I will assign them poetry for copywork on a regular basis. Being boys, I must admit, they don't always jump for joy when I head towards the poetry shelf. Secretly, though, I think they enjoy our discussions...and I enjoy those "A-ha" moments...when something we've talked about in a poem comes up somewhere else in prose...and they remember and make the connection.

Poetry adds beauty to everyday life. Elevates our thoughts. Lightens our load.

I'm grateful to God for the gift of language, and for the gifting of wordsmiths like Mr. Guest.