Thankful

As The Thanksgiving long weekend comes to a close, its been a lovely time to reflect about what we are thankful for.... too much to put in this post, but in summary.....I'm Thankful for loving friends and family that are close to my heart, both nearby and overseas and Technology that keeps me connected to those I love. Thankful for great meaningful conversations, kindred spirits and open minded people in my life. I'm thankful to be creative and find pleasures in simple things not material. I'm thankful for the realization that I can go out there and follow my dreams, opportunities that are thrown at me everyday and the courage to grab them. Thankful for good food and drink and people to share the good times with ;-)Thankful for a healthy heart that is full of love, good cups of tea, Cadburys chocolate (the real stuff) and the abundance of food, sunshine and a place I love to live in. Thankful for memories and photographs.

And thankful for the wonders of the universe, thank you universe for the constant messages, inspiration and opening up my eyes to show me the way.

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Ornament Swap #2 - "Jack Frost"

Here is my second ornament which arrived this morning. I opened it up on my way to work to be delighted to find “Jack Frost” inside the package….and I love it! In English folklore, Jack Frost appears as an elfish creature who personifies crisp, cold, winter weather; a variant of Father Winter (also known as "Old Man Winter"). Some believe this representation originated in Germanic folklore specifically in the Anglo-Saxon and Norse winter customs.
Tradition holds Jack Frost responsible for leaving frosty crystal patterns on windows on cold mornings (window frost or fern frost). When i was younger, and we used to wake up to the frost on the grass, my mum would always say "ooh Jack Frost has been out"!

The ornament was made by an artist named Sam Jowers who wrote a lovely personal note to say it made her smile to write my name as her grandmother was called Louise. :-)


(Jack Frost info from Wikipedia)

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Ornament Swap #1 – My first arrival!

A few weeks ago I decided to participate in an online Christmas/holiday ornament swap hosted by freshlyblended. Thanks to my online artist friend Dana for posting the info on her blog. The swapbot website chooses 10 other swapping enthusiasts out of the 253 that are participating and all you have to do is make 10 identical ornaments and send to your list before Dec 7th! Fun eh? So over the coming weeks ill be posting the surprise ornaments I receive through my letter box then mid-December will reveal my own design that I had sent out.

Sooo here’s the very first which arrived today….thanks so much to StaceyB. How did you ever know I adore swirls! This precious ornament is going to look gorgeous on my tree so I can’t wait to hang it. The red and white transparent beads and swirly wire are simple but effective and very festive. So thank you. (Stacey please post a link to your website in the comments so I can link to you)

I hope this inspires you all to start creating Christmas/holiday ornaments of your own. If you do please post a link to your blog or photos in the comments.

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Remembrance

As Remembrance Day (also known as Veterans Day) approaches us to observe 2 minutes of silence, I have been wearing my poppy with pride to show support for all those men and women in the armed forces (and their families) and helping raise money for The Royal British Legion. Remembrance Sunday has just passed in the UK and seeing many poppy's over the last week inspired me to create some art to also commemorate this day. “Field of Poppy's” and “Remembrance” originals and “Field of Poppy's” and “Remembrance” prints are both available in my Etsy shop. 50% of sales of these items will go towards the Poppy Appeal back in the UK.

Please give Remembrance to all who have lost lives and loved ones in the wars. Give some thought and also remember what is great about your life and whilst the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month may bring a little melancholy, make a point of smiling for the rest of the day, don’t let the small things worry you and vow to live your life as fully as you can.

“Lose myself into the field of poppys, walk amongst the long stems and crimson flowers that paint the scene, lay down, relax and contemplate on this cold but sunny November morning……and remember”

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Viewing the world a little different this week

After seeing the world differently last weekend with Halloween, I wanted to post the images from the photographer at the Hoboken Artist Studio I came across a few weeks back. Studio Saynuk takes extreme close up photos of small everyday objects and when I stopped by the exhibit at the Open Studio day I couldn’t resist but to offer my favourite star earrings for them to experiment with and I love the results!

I think it can really stretch our imagination and creativity to take a different view of the world every now and again, so check out the morning macro blog & gallery and you will be shown a real feast for the eyes, delightful bubble images of running tap water and some fantastic colourful interpretations of the most ordinary of objects challenging you to “Think a little differently about the world around you.”

Have a real look around today and enjoy what your new eyes see.

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