Unexpected Beauty

Isn't this a lovely little treasure? There are some beautiful little white flowers that bloom every morning when I take our German Shepherd, Miki, out for a walk. They are weeds! What a wonderful unexpected treasure they are. This photo is one that I took the other morning, and I applied an artistic filter to the photo to give it a little more depth and feeling. It is such a delicate looking bloom, it's hard to remember that it's a weed that just sprung up within the last few days! I'm kind of sad, tho, because when we get the area in the front of the house finished next year, I'm sure the weeds will be gone. At least, I'll get to enjoy them this year, and have the photos as a remembrance! Enjoy!

Sunset View from Back Patio

Tonight, when Jeff put Miki out back for a bit, he said he thought the sunset might be pretty tonight. I grabbed my camera and we sat out back for a bit, and were rewarded with this lovely sight. I feel so incredibly lucky and fortunate to be living the life I have right now.

On a separate note, I got the latest issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors yesterday, and as I was relaxing and enjoying the artwork in it, I turned the page....and there was my art work! Wow! I had submitted something a few months ago in response to a readers' challenge, and mine was one of the (relatively) few they published. I'm still excited!

Enjoy this photo and your life!

Home

Isn't the sky just magnificent?? This is "home" to me. It's been a crazy week and a half - visiting Chicago seeing family and friends last weekend, and then a busy, busy week at work, with a friend in town because of what was going on at work. I felt like I was just starting to get back to normal when I looked up and saw this view and this sky. Ahhhh.....home. Yes, I am meant to live here.

Good Morning!

Good morning! I've been meaning to photograph this little deserted cabin along the road not far from our house for a while. Today ended up being the day. I got up just as dawn was arriving, and got there for the wonderful sunrise glow.

I then walked around to the other side of it and took this image with more of the sun warming the walls of the cabin, but still with the cool sky behind it. Kind of a mix of warmth and coolness which perfectly fit the day.

On this wonderful morning, isn't it great just to be alive? Yes!!

Altered Frame!

Here's a wooden craft frame that I altered to be a frame for Parker, whose picture is in the frame, and who is the 2nd grandson of a friend of mine. I loved the idea of altered frame, and was really pleased with how this, my first attempt, turned out. The foundation is paint, followed by handmade papers, stamps, found printed quotes, dictionary pages, and more glaze. Oh, and scrabble tiles! Hope my friend likes it! Enjoy!

Birthday Art

This piece is something I did on a pressed wood board. Jeff had a big piece that he wasn't using, so I asked him to cut it into several different sized pieces. This is a birthday gift (or will be) for a friend of mine who is in the middle of doing some reflection and thinking about what the next chapter in her life will be. This piece has handmade papers as it's foundation with an inspirational quote that I found which I thought would be perfect for her. I added in some fun other papers, either serendipity or other handmade papers, some cool thoughts, a favorite vintage image of a woman with a suitcase just getting ready to start on an adventure, and my little muse who I hope will help her, with the first words of advice - have fun! I added in some stars on the top, just for some whimsy, with the obvious advice to "let the stars be your guide". Overall a fun piece, and I hope she really enjoys it and finds some inspiration from it! Enjoy!

Early Spring Snowstorm

Isn't this lovely? We had a early spring snow last weekend, and Monday morning, this was the lovely sight we woke up to! The light was magical, but only lasted for a very few moments. I had to scramble to get my camera and get outside onto our back patio to capture the image. Needless to say, the snow out on the patio was pretty chilly on my bare feet! Still, the beauty of the calm morning is quite something. At times like these, I can't help but think how lucky we are to be living here.

The weather warmed up this week, so that by Wednesday, all of this snow was gone.......but now they are predicting another touch of winter for tonight into tomorrow morning. I know it's supposed to snow in the northern mountains (ski resorts will be happy), but I don't know if it will make it down to us. It's fun to experience the changing of the seasons here! Enjoy!