Cindy's Woodland Photo

I asked Cindy last week when she had time to please take a winter photo for me...with some branches that I can use my textures on...what a sweet friend she is! oxox.
Here is what I came up with....

The original photo...




Warm vintage..



Heat map filter.


Noir...the classic black and white.


Blurred edge black and white.


Psychodelica

Found

I found this great new store called "Found". They have some lovely vintage treasures..here are some of the found photos...

Bright and Colorful..

While I was walking around this wonderful store in Mesa yesterday called Domestic Bliss...I found some color combinations that I really liked and wanted to share them with you.

On the morning walk..

I stayed overnight at Shannon's in Scottsdale for the past 2 nights...just catching up from the last visit this summer..We had a great dinner together..went shopping at an Antique market, went to see the "Black Swan"
(wow!!!! what a dark movie)..went for a walk. This is what we saw on the walk..just beautiful...several varieties are still blooming.

A parliament of Owls.

A group of Owls is called a parliament..a flock of raven a murder..a group of Kangaroo's a mob..who knew? At any rate..I made a few owls..more than one..for little Christmas gifts..to hang in your tree..so here are a few of my owls.
The heat map filter..





The cut outs prior to stitching them together.....an assembly line.




The Twins..



One special snow owl for one special baby....





The parliament of owls..

Use what you have...

You probably have lots of small things around the house that work well at Christmas time..a couple of vases, clothespins, ribbons, fabric strips, clippings of rosemary and other greenery...old Christmas postcards..use what you can find around your house and in a 1/2 hour or so you can will have a lovely arrangement.


















This is a filter called psychedelica....this is how different it looks with this filter. Cool...eh?

Country Living..the British Edition.....

This British Country Living magazine is by far one of my favorites..the decorations, collections and combinations of design are beautifully photographed. It has hard to find every month and so you can imagine how pleased I was to find it here at our Fry's grocery store. Cindy is a big fan of this magazine as well! See if you can find one at a book store near you.





I gave been working on a few new things..here is a glimpse...more on these later.

Natural

Winter-Walk Nature Specimens...for my Cindy, Christa & Caroline...


Say goodbye to the blinking lights, plastic silver balls, and larger-than-life inflated Santas that have come to mark the holidays. Instead, go back to nature to find your home-decorating inspiration and celebrate the season from its root. Charm friends and family with handmade gifts presented in beautiful, rustic packaging.
Gather sprigs from pine or fir trees, fallen bark from birches, or holly berries and leaves from the woods and yard. Display the native treasures in glass jars on your mantle for up-close observation and appreciation.

Sunset Magazine..

Snow Globes

I have made lots of these snow globes over the years. They were fun to make and give away as gifts...now I need to go shopping to get some little trees and figurines to make some more.












The shimmering magic of snowfall is always transfixing, whether it's outside your window or inside this classic toy. Homemade globes let you create a wintry scene straight out of your own imagination.

Almost any jar works for this project: Baby-food, pimiento, and olive jars are good choices. Look for plastic or ceramic figurines (metal ones are prone to rust) at flea markets and hobby or model-railroad shops. Synthetic evergreen tips are available at many floral-supply stores.

If the jar lids are not in seasonal colors already, paint them with oil-based enamel paint. Sand the inside of the lid until the surface is rough. With clear-drying epoxy, adhere the figurine to the inside of the lid, and let the epoxy dry.

Fill the jar almost to the top with distilled water; add a pinch of glitter and a dash of glycerin (available at drugstores) to keep the glitter from falling too quickly. Don't add too much, or the glitter will stick to the bottom of the jar when it's flipped. Add a bit of glue around the inside of the lid..Screw on the lid tightly, being careful not to dislodge the figurine. Turn the jar over and back again -- and let it snow.



From Martha Stewart Living, December/January 1998/1999

Red

Holiday colors..red is one of my favorites..My Cindy has been giving me red metal boxes for years and I have quite a lovely collection of them..I must admit...at this time of the year when you are decorating for Christmas...a bit of snow just for a day would be nice...really!

Next year I will be bringing my Christmas Carvings by Dave Francis down with us. Check out his website www.snowcottagecarvings.com.
Cindy and I have a lovely collection of these beautiful carvings..here are some of his newest ones.






A cozy Christmas decorating look from country living magazine.

Pomegranates...

The pomegranate is native from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India and was cultivated and naturalized over the whole Mediterranean region since ancient times. It is widely cultivated throughout India and the drier parts of southeast Asia, Malaya, the East Indies and tropical Africa. The tree was introduced into California by Spanish settlers in 1769. In this country it is grown for its fruits mainly in the drier parts of California and Arizona.

I love pomegranates and around Christmas time they always seem to be in the markets..@2.99 they are a gift..I used some of the techniques and textures from my on-line class with Kim Klassen. It is still a learning process but one I am enjoying.








www.kimklassencafe.com

Decorations around the house....

I have just finished the Christmas decorating around the house that we do here in AZ..it gives the house a bit of a festive feel.
Here are some of the shots shown in color and B&W.
Warm and sunny here today..miss the snow...but just for the photos!

Tempe Art Festival...

Karen and I spent a fun day here at the Tempe Art Festival. She's always fun to be with...we would walk for a while...stop and browse at every booth that interests us ( which are all the jewelry ones)....go ahead and look back to see if one of us is missing. Here are some pictures of what we saw and did.






Last year Karen bought herself an Amber Ring and this year she went back and bought a bracelet..A girl can never have enough jewelry.






The artwork.....



Made from old cars recycled into these colorful garden flowers.




Some sellers did very well while others we talked to said they did just OK...the still felt the reluctance of people to buy because the economy here....it seemed to be very well attended but some of the booths that I wanted to see where not here this year.

My sister Caroline opened up her Log Cabin Studio this weekend with several crafts people and she had a very successful weekend in tiny little Bull River just outside Cranbrook. Proud of you Caroline..

Julie's Baby Shower

Julie's mom held a baby shower for her at the end of October.
She was kind enough to send these photos to me..countdown to our new grand baby is only 15 days or whenever the baby decides to arrive. Oh my gosh...I am so excited....

The Baby's Loot!













Julie and her mom Sharon. This baby will be their first grand child as well..
How exciting it will be for all of us to share in the happiness that this baby will bring to Jeremy and Julie and our families.

Starting to think of Christmas

Today I am working on putting all our clothes away and getting my craft room back into shape. Buying a few Christmas gifts and getting them in the mail..Sending some thank you cards..going for a walk..meeting up with some friends..getting over my jet lag...working out in the garden..having coffee with Jim..going to the Tempe Art Festival tomorrow..it will be a good day!

Images from Pottery Barn.....

We are back in Az..

First of all...Happy Birthday Brad..your Dad and I wish you a wonderful day...also remembering my Dad who was born today in 1923...you are missed, Dad.

Wow..what an adventure...there were so many special moments..like a film reel in my mind..it will take a while just to run through it all.. The best part of coming home is sleeping in your own bed with your own pillows..a sweet and simple pleasure.

On Wednesday we spent the day in Dubai and went on a city tour..the contrast between Dubai and Sri Lanka was over whelming..but Dubai and anywhere else is the real world is un-believable. Here are some of the contrasts....I didn't buy a thing in Dubai..We didn't have enough time to start with and I already did my shopping with local Sri Lankan woven handwork..I am really glad we stopped there..the architecture of the buildings is amazing..that is what oil and money can do for such a small country without a civil war..

The jewels at the gold souk. It was wall to wall little shops of gold and jewelry....a warren of small lanes and alleyways filled with rows of shops all beckoning for you to come in and browse. It was a visual treat to see.






This is what fascinated me..all the spices piled high in the little markets..I only wish we would have had more time to explore these markets.