buttons, beetles, and rust-colored fabric

I am officially between art projects at the moment. But it definitely feels like the universe is urging me to get a move on with the next pieces.

A friend dropped these off at the library for me the other day:

Buttons! I really need to develop an art piece using buttons.

An artist I admire greatly also recently got rid of some of her fabric and thread, including some fabric she dyed using rusty metal.

I just wrapped up two collages and two embroidery pieces so I've been in that weird in-between projects phase. I usually don't wrap up things all at once. I've started cutting papers for an abstract landscape based on three quilting patterns, and I'll begin painting papers for another collage project that's so new I don't know how to describe it yet. As for embroidery, one new piece is a flop and has gone into the timeout pile. It features three different beetles, each with its own pattern, and it needs something else, another layer. Another embroidery piece is emerging into something a little different than I thought it would be, but I'm tentatively loving it. 

I'm trying to give myself a little room to play when making things so I've allowed myself to wander off the path with the current embroidery piece I'm working on. I'm definitely trying to be a little more spontaneous overall, and it's so difficult. If I see something in my office that strikes me, I add it to a pile I started, no matter what it is - paper, beads, thread etc. The pile currently makes no sense, but it's a step in the right direction.

Here are a few tubs of my tea papers. Organizing them by color is a great way for me to brainstorm and let my mind wander. The collage in the picture is one I made for my home (it has also been finished since I took this picture). It's a beautiful piece but doesn't photograph well, which is why I haven't shared it. I used a lanyard hole puncher to cut out hundreds of paper pieces for the quote and black paper of different weights and textures for the background. I'm done with lettering and hole punchers for awhile, that's for sure!

I'm also still checking out a lot books! Thanks goodness for the library! I get a lot of inspiration from both words and illustrations. This was my haul from the library last Saturday when I worked in the branch. I'm still working mostly from home so my weekly library hauls are roughly three bags of goodies, including storytime books. I've been doing a weekly virtual storytime since early September. That's a different story, and one I'm not sure about yet.

I'm open to any ideas if you've got them! Especially if anyone knows what to pair with lonely beetles.