Musing with Marlyss

Do-it-yourself Party Decorating Helps....we make it fast and easy to learn or get what you need.

2026-06-30T10:33:10.407-04:00

We now have a NEW ORDER PAGE.

It features hand picked items

made fast and easy to order

without all the browsing.

Things included are:

DIY E-books

Step by step DIY video Tutorials

Instant Downloads

Colorful or plain foamcore guitars

DIY Gift Card Box Blanks

Fast. Simple. Easy to order.

Check it out.

https://marlyss.braveshop.com/

Get your party on! Foamcore guitars for your BIRTHDAY PARTY PERSON!

2026-03-21T18:17:24.925-04:00

Everybody is a ROCK STAR.

Who doesn't sing in the car when their

favorite music comes on?

I do.

So it's a perfect party theme for any

age for a Birthday Party.

Easy to personalize in your colors.

Your name. Your favorites.

We're here to make and ship them anywhere.

Email us.

marlyss@mac.com

Or go take a look at more ideas on our

website at: guitarcenterpieces.com

Photography has always interested me and I love old photos

2025-11-10T16:16:00.003-05:00

I'm in a deep dive in making an

Ancestry Journal in the vintage junk journaling style.

Just in time, the Remini app came along and made

all the old photos I had even better.

Here's one of me re-mastered showing my

early interest in a camera.

It shows me way more interested in

the camera that the position of my baby doll. Ha Ha.

Here's the un-touched original to see the difference.

(Forgive my mothering skills with

my upside down baby doll.)

JUNK JOURNAL DIVING

My Grandmother who I never got to meet but got

to see her alive in photos from the 1930's.

More vintage junk journaling to come.

It's mesmerizingly fun and I thank you

Margarete Miller on YouTube

for being my first inspiration.

Colorful & beautiful foamcore PARTY GUITARS

2025-07-29T18:53:00.001-04:00

Colorful and beautiful guitars.

We can make them with or without bases.

Popular sizes are 21" and 36".

Let us know if you want them

one sided or two sided.

Or visit our

Guitar Centerpieces website.

2025: Day 92....."Well Then"....a view of the world in polymer clay.

2025-04-02T08:00:00.004-04:00

AI is very interesting and exciting.

Who knew you could make a

polymer clay doll look almost real.

The hard part is getting it to post here so

I tried a .mov and a .mp4 file to compare.

2025: Days 89-91....."April Fools Mackinac Island Prank"

2025-04-01T18:32:00.002-04:00

I believed it for a hot minute.

Mackinac Island is anchored in place

by The Army Corp of Engineers so

it won't go floating around on it's own.

I mean....LOOK at the drawings!

READ the description!

Somebody put some effort into this prank.

Kudos.

2025: Day 87-88....."Asparagus Garden"

2025-03-29T14:34:00.003-04:00

MY ASPARAGUS GARDEN

It's a mess at the moment.

It can only get better at this point.

It's the second place I jumped on

to clean up after winter.

I was looking for little sprouts.

In the meantime.....

I ordered this sign.

I think it's hilarious.

Of course it's FRESH PICKED. By me.

Of course it's LOCALLY GROWN. In my yard!

How much more local can you get.

More to come on this progress.

2025: Day 86....."Square boxes R Us"

2025-03-27T18:39:00.000-04:00

Fun gift card box to collect grad envelopes.

Centerpiece cubes

Shipped in the mail.

Fun Fun Fun to receive.

Also for us to make.

2025: Day 84-85....."I follow & learn"

2025-03-26T17:17:00.002-04:00

Here's 3 of the most insightful

people I follow online and learn from.

MICKMEL

Mickey Mellen posts every single day.

Tech stuff. Life stuff.

Good to know stuff.

Links to take deeper dives if you need to.

Stuff I need to hear and know.

I adore this guy.

I read her book "Let Them".
Now I follow her podcasts.
Today she said:
In a moment of uncertainty:
What you choose to think about and
what you do or don't do next,

that is where your power is.

I'd say everyone should follow her

but it looks like they already are.

Erica Derrickson

A young woman living in Guatemala

doing her own thing in her own way.

Lots of ups and downs in her life but always

in a searching mode trying to understand

herself. A seeker.

A generous spirit.

Time spent online listening to any or all of these

wonderful humans is time well spent.

2025: Day 83....."Monkey Tail Cactus"

2025-03-24T18:41:00.001-04:00

I really want to put eyes on this

Monkey Tail Cactus.

It's creeping out and over the top.

Its 'nose' is getting longer.

I adore it.

It has a relative nearby called

a Peanut Cactus.

They are not the same

but think they are.

They do things differently.

That's why I need them both.

2025: Day 82....."My Woodland Fairy Doll World...Coexista and others"

2025-03-23T19:14:00.004-04:00

I named this one

COEXISTA.

(2026)

It means to exist together or at

the same time. Peaceably.

Often while remaining

rivals or adversaries.

A polymer clay woodland creature peacefully

coexisting with a monster made from a

cracked open geode that looks positively scary.

I'm not sure how things came about but it did.

Sometimes life surprises me and

I let it.

Here’s a new addition to my

FAIRY GARDEN last year in 2025.

This is the back of the fairy house.

Here's the front of the house.

Garden debris has inspiring qualities to me to create

little woodland creatures.

It's a little of this and a little of that.

2026

Sometimes my fairies, ooak dolls and

woodland creatures are soft and gentle.

Sometimes sad.

Sometimes happy and joyful.

Sometimes weirdly odd and I wonder how

they got here.

But I let them be who they are.

Give me a piece of wood you found on the

ground and it makes me happy.

2025: Day 81....."The brain is a funny thing"

2025-03-22T15:15:00.000-04:00

One day many years back I

was in a store and passed a mirror.

For one very brief second I

thought my Mom was in the store.

But it was me.

The other day I was thrifting & saw this

little statue and it

reminded me of Jacob

and his tossed little boy hair.

Of course I bought it.

It's going in our garden.

#thrifting

2025: Day 80....."Ten years ago we made this"

2025-03-21T19:10:00.001-04:00

Ten years ago this month we made this.

Still doing it and find joy in it.

Hello AARYN if you see this.

Class of 2015.

Hope you're celebrating your

10 year Class Reunion in style.

2025: Day 79....."Blooming Houseplants"

2025-03-20T17:06:00.000-04:00

March 20 and all these

houseplants are blooming indoors.

Egyptian Starflower.

Mini Fuschsia.

Orchid.

And....tah dah...

JASMINE.

My Jasmine plant which I had such

high hopes for it's fragrance in the winter...

well...then....about 3 flowers.

If I stick my nose right up close it smells great!

But I expected an abundance of flowers

and a whole roomful of fragrance.

But not this year.

I need to perfect the strategy of getting

it to bloom abundantly and earlier.

Letting it have a cold slow Fall that rolls into winter

yet not a freezing one (which allows flowers to set)

and then placement in

a room with bright indirect light and

more humidity is what's up for later this year.

I'm on a learning curve.

In the meantime I'll smell this flower

up close for as long as it lasts.

2025: Day 78....."FaceTime Magic"

2025-03-19T18:18:00.000-04:00

Stacey FaceTiming with Jeffrey.

We could be anywhere.

But we're here.

He's there.

It looks like anywhere.

It's real magic.

2025: Day 77....."Boom Box Card Box"

2025-03-18T16:48:00.000-04:00

It won't play music but it will collect those

PARTY ENVELOPES

stashed with cash.

That's the point.

And it will look darn cute

while it's doing it.

It's what we do around here.

2025: Day 74-76....."Peace & Joy"

2025-03-17T15:03:00.001-04:00

Peace & Joy

My porch frogs.

Not Leprechauns but

tinted green for St. Patricks Day.

To each his own.

2025: Day 73....."Egyptian Walking Onions"

2025-03-14T17:46:00.000-04:00

Hello there.

New plants put in the ground as bare roots

in 2024 from the Lakes Area Plant Swap.

March 14

I'm going to keep track of their progress here.

Success or fail.

2025: Day 72....."Baseball Baby Centerpiece"

2025-03-13T18:34:00.001-04:00

I mean.....THIS is

SO CUTE.

Two sided cutie patootie on a

10"

PARTY CUBE.

Foamcore.

Lots of cutouts.

So fun to make these.

Now I get to ship these out.

The part that's not as much fun.

But at least our weather here in

Michigan is delightful so I

need not complain any further.

2025: Day 71....."I live on an Icy Field"

2025-03-12T11:39:00.000-04:00

I like to think I live on a lake.

But in the winter I live on an

ICY FIELD.

Right now we are in transition.

Every day is different.

One day there is a thin skim of ice and

the next day it's patchy and almost gone.

Then ice again.

Come on SPRING & SUMMER.

2025: Day 70....."Corn Plant Shows off a root"

2025-03-11T17:39:00.002-04:00

It's been months!

So many months I've lost track.

Over 6 months for sure.

But finally....a root!

It's a cutting from a corn plant that reached the ceiling.

We had to cut it or take out an office

ceiling tile and let it grow in the rafters.

But who wants that.

This is the second try with a

cutting from this plant.

The first one failed or

I guess I lost

patience too soon.

This cutting had many beautiful leaves.

It was hard to cut those leaves away

but I heard you had to but I did it in stages.

I also started it in water then later

changed to wet perlite.

(the white stuff clinging to it in the photo)

I think cutting the leaves WAY back

and the perlite did the trick.

The stalk looks awful.

But it's alive and

proving it.

And another root looks like it's bubbling up.

Stay tuned.

This will hopefully be a great success.

I'm patient this time.

I'm also mesmerized and

fascinated by what plants can do.

2025: Days 67-69: " Old Redford Alley"

2025-03-10T12:22:00.002-04:00

I've been getting Matthew McConaughey's

Lyrics of Livin' every Friday.

You can read it or listen.

I listen because I love the sound of his voice.

Here's a quote from this week.

I've been recording 'my music of life' since Jan. 1.

I skipped a few days here and there but

I'm carrying on so I can remember it later.

Here's some tidbits from this weekend.

Had some drinks with friends and family on Sat.

Sunday we took a mini road trip to visit an

ART ALLEY.

Apparently there are currently 9 Art Alleys

as part of the Detroit's

BLIGHT to BEAUTY.

I want to visit them all.

First one we visited is:

OLD REDFORD ALLEY

It's in the process of becoming

all it can be.

The surrounding area has plenty of blight

but no doubt scheduled on some list

somewhere to be demolished.

But we did find an alley of art & John

who gave us a tour and his wife's

MOTOR CITY JAVA HOUSE.

Beautiful. Colorful. Friendly.

Yummy coffee.

One of the big outdoor alley murals.

Of course we took a picture of the car!

Another beautiful mural and a water leak waiting on the city.

The ceiling fell in so now it's an

outdoor venue space with a sky view.

Plants with Potential I'd say about this.

I'll bet it will look beautiful in the summer.

I'd say our first Art Alley visit was a success for us and

I look forward to a re-visit and see all that

Motor City Blight Busters

create in the world.

2025: Day 66....."Weird Plants & Pots"

2025-03-07T15:43:00.000-05:00

I like weird plants and weird pots.

So if I can match weird with weird

in the house plant world, I like that.

Stacey found this frog at JoAnn's

going-out-of-business sale and

knew I'd like it.

I put a bunch of

RATTAIL CASSULA plants in it.

(Also known as Watch Chain,

Lizards Tail, Zipper Plant.)

Pretty weird, huh.

Looks like he's enjoying a big lunch.

Susie bought me this guy because

she knew my style also.

I've taken pieces of his 'hair' and prop them

in this box because I like making

more weirdness.

And I have this little baby weirdo growing to

take to a plant swap in spring because I

know other plant people like weird too.

It's always fun to start small and get to

know a plant so I always take a

Box of Babies to share.

2025: Day 65....."Jumbo Rollers & Jumbo Love"

2025-03-06T13:03:00.002-05:00

One of my all time favorite photos

of my great little model Haley.

She was and still is.... always willing to indulge me.

She is a natural beauty.... even now as

a big grownup girl.

Jumbo love.

2025: Day 64....."Graduation Gift Card Boxes for Class of 2025-2026"

2025-03-05T17:07:00.001-05:00

GRADUATION 2026

Still doin' it.

Email us if you need one.

Great pictures to work with!

Grad Gift Card Box

Circa 2025

Here's something interesting.

I made a blog post in 2009 (here's a link if

you want to see it) and this is how

many folks have looked at it:

All I can say is that

I'm so grateful for ALL

that have ordered one!

But happy that not

everyone did because I don't think

our fingers would have survived

all the foamcore cutting.

We'd be done in.

So click on the Google Link above if you

want to find more folks who make these.

But if you like ours BEST,

come on back. We'd LOVE

to make one for you.

Our fingers are still working!

(and we make all sizes)

marlyss@mac.com