Spring Through The Lens

Happy Sunday friends! Spring in the Willamette Valley is now in full force. I've been watching the birds and the bees from my kitchen window and while weeding in the garden.

The Mourning Doves visit our backyard often each day to feed and rest but can only be observed from a distance. They do not like to be anywhere near people, so I stay inside the house, camera in hand. They are very keen to any movement or sudden noise and will fly away in an instant so patiently moving slowly towards the window is key. It's always such a joy when I can capture a few frames.

The Chickadees came around for a few days. Such tiny little creatures, flitting to and fro looking for food. I observed them eating the peanuts we put out for the squirrels. This one kept coming up to the sliding door area, grabbing a peanut and flying a few feet away to the blueberry bushes to eat it. They move so fast, I'm amazed I was able to capture this one!

Speaking of squirrels, they are the old stand-by around here. No matter the season or the weather we are assured of a visit. This particular squirrel has taken to sitting in the bird box our son Tayo made when he was a kid. The box faces the window in the kitchen that is above the sink area, so it's a very 'eye to eye' view for both the squirrel and us!

And with Spring in full force, it's great to see the bees out again.

This one was buzzing around the muscari in my garden. If you look closely you can see the pollen it has collected thus far in its sac. Sitting on a low stool allowed me to get my camera lens quite close. It's okay, they are completely focused on collecting pollen and will pay you no mind!

April has been an exciting month for observing nature in my backyard. I'm looking forward to what May will bring. Oh, and don't forget, next month is No Mow May!

 
 

Spring Snow Storm

Hello friends in the northern hemisphere - is it still snowing in your neck of the woods? I always get so hopeful when Spring arrives, dreaming of warmer temperatures, sunshine and time spent gardening. But alas, March in the Willamette Valley has seen freezing nights followed by icy mornings and rain, rain, rain.

On a recent cold and gray Sunday morning I woke up to find a wet spring snow falling and my first reaction was the happiness I felt knowing that I didn't have to go to work that day! Instead I enjoyed my cup of coffee while I watched the snow come down. Then it suddenly dawned on me that since I'm not going to work I have time to grab my iPhone and step into the backyard and capture what might (hopefully) be the last snow of the season.

Above you can see the tiniest of buds forming on one of our blueberry bushes. They are just beginning their spring journey and I'm sure this mild snowstorm will only encourage them to continue to burst forth with their newly formed leaves. I can't wait to taste those blueberries once again...

The crocuses (above) are probably in their glory with this icy snow landing on them - they are a hardy lot, being the first flowers that emerge in early Spring.

And I like to imagine that the daffodils and tulips laugh as they persevere despite the snow's attempt to setback their efforts:

Squirrels, undeterred, come for their nuts and seeds,

And Jizo stands guard, ready to console those who need a spiritual lift.

Hellebores naturally bow their heads. These pink Hellebore flower heads (below) easily withstand the icy snow. Their showy blooms will last into the summer. In a few weeks I'll be witnessing them dance on the Spring wind that will gently toss them about.

And lastly, wild bluebells have taken it upon themselves to spread across the back of the garden...

Soon the crocuses will fade but the daffodils, tulips and bluebells will bloom, extending the joy in my Spring garden for a little while longer.

Thanks for looking and Happy Spring!

December Daily and Stories by the Month

Hello everyone, how are you doing with your New Year's resolutions so far?

The only one I have this year is to tell more of my family's stories.

The desire to do so came to me last November when I saw that Ali Edwards offers a Stories by the Month kit subscription. Each month you get a small assortment of journaling cards and embellishments, geared towards telling seasonal recurring stories.

At the same time I was seeing that Ali and a lot of the other prominent memory keepers were gearing up for December Daily, which is literally telling one story each day in December, focusing on whatever holiday tradition is being celebrated.

So here is the beginning of my attempts to get those stories told!

This is only my second December Daily. I made the first one ten years ago and of course our lives looked very different then. I'm grateful to my past self for having made that project happen. Knowing how intense the task can be, at first I decided that this year I would just write a small note at the end of each day, and that those accumulated notes would result in one page in my 2022 album. However, as the month progressed I started seeing how those notes could become bigger stories and found myself making a plan to complete an entire album. Now the album is essentially done - there's just a few more items to check off the list.

In January there was only one big story to tell. My son Tayo got his first apartment with his girlfriend Ellie. Of course such a big life event requires mom getting a photo on the big day and I felt that a large 6 x 8 print was essential in the documenting. I will write in some details on the two journal cards on the left.

The most appealing idea behind both December Daily and Stories by the Month is that there are no rules about how to document. It just requires that you think about and know your why. For some, December Daily is telling stories every day in the month, while for others it's December 'Daily-ish', acknowledging that there are limits to what one can (or should) get done during a busy hectic month. Same for Stories by the Month - maybe there is only one good story in the month to tell or maybe the plan is to document several smaller stories.

So here is where I'm currently at in my memory keeping journey thus far this year - one big, long story for December and one big important event for January.

It's the last day of February and I had a birthday earlier in the month so I'm hoping to get my photos of that event edited and printed, because, after all the February Stories by the Month kit is just waiting to be crushed, right?

Moonshine, Starshine by Yuji Hiratsuka

Hello friends and Happy New Year!

Back in 2018 when I started seeing the end of the child rearing years ahead, I started to focus on what I would want my home to look like once my kids grew up and moved into their own homes. That is when I discovered the Style Matters podcast, hosted by Zandra Zuraw.

Zandra calls her approach to home decor 'slow style' and it's all about "developing a personal style in your home and surrounding yourself with beauty in a way that is meaningful." As an avid collector of mid century and antique home wares, I was attracted to Zandra's philosophy and method and have been working on developing a cohesive eclectic style ever since.

So when I started getting the idea that it was time to purchase an interesting modern, colorful (and fun!) piece of art to add to my living room, I visited the White Lotus Gallery in downtown Eugene. I've been there many times over the years and chose that particular gallery for their selection of original Chinese and Japanese prints and paintings.

On one particular visit the gallery was featuring printmaker Yuji Hiratsuka. There were many of his whimsical, yet metaphysical, intalglio prints lining the walls. Most all featured a central human figure or figures engaged in some activity. I found myself drawn to Mr. Hiratsuka's use of character in this way and revisited the gallery a couple more times, trying to pick a favorite to purchase.

After much thought, I settled on Moonshine, Starshine. It is an intaglio and chine colle', meaning it is an intaglio print that has been collaged.

I wanted something that would jazz up the room and I think this piece does just that. I enjoy the fact that it is modern, yet traditional and incorporates both eastern and western influences.

Have you purchased original art for your home? What were some of your considerations? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for looking and bye for now!

DIY: Handmade Christmas Cards

Hello friends! Once again I am trying my hand at creating some handmade greeting cards, this time for Christmas.

The main attraction on these new cards is a die cut ornament stitched with embroidery floss, decorated with a gold filigree-like element on the top and bottom, embellished with tiny sparkly gems, and finished with a fancy hanger top. The light green leaf sprigs are also part of the die set.

For each ornament I used the Spellbinders Stitched Ornament detailed cutting die set to cut the shapes shown above using my Sizzix Big Shot machine.

For the red finished ornament, (seen in the middle of the above photo and below), I first stitched the white floss to the red top piece, then glued it to one of the gold back pieces, then glued all the other die cut pieces and the Spellbinders Color Essentials gold gems onto the top.

The dark green card base was made by running a Sizzix 3-D Textured Impressions embossing folder in the Delicate Mistletoe pattern through my Sizzix machine. Right now the stitched ornament is just sitting on the card base as a kind of mock up as I haven't figured out the exact placement yet.

I also have a Spellbinders Mini Christmas Greetings stamp and die cutting set (not shown) that I will use to add the sentiments to the front and inside of the cards.

Who knows how many of the one dozen ornament shapes plus embellishments that I will actually get stitched and assembled so I’m sharing what I have so far! As you can see, this is an ambitious project I’ve set myself up for but I'm hoping to get about eight of them made before Christmas. (Now I'm understanding why the professional crafts people start their projects in July!) With work, family and all the other holiday activities happening I’m trying not to stress myself. Nuff said, right?

So I'll just be over here stitching and gluing whenever I can and hopefully I'll have more to share in a week or so.

Thanks for looking and bye for now.

DIY: Autumn Blessings Handmade Greeting Cards

Hello friends! I'm so excited to show you this group of four 'Autumn Blessings' handmade greeting cards I recently crafted to send to my cousins. These incredible leaves were made with my Sizzix Big Shot Die Cutter, and the Concord and 9th Triple Step Autumn Leaf Dies.

Each leaf is a double layer - the bottom layer is a solid leaf and the top layer is a pattern. The bottom layer is cut from a leaf-shaped outline die and the top layer is cut from a patterned die that fits inside the leaf-shaped outline die. When glued together, the leaves become dimensional and are so colorful. The possibilities for color combinations are endless. This is a great way to use up your card stock scraps. I had fun looking through mine and creating the color combinations shown here.

To make the cards, I first applied Recollections Sparkle embossing powder to a piece of Webster's Pages 'Begin Again' wood grain paper (I think it was produced around 2016) and to the white card stock circle embellishment (punched using a circle punch) using Honey Bee clear embossing ink and set them with my heat tool. (I bought my heat tool years ago but here are some options if you want one.)

I then created a card base by gluing a piece of brown card stock onto a Tonic Studio A6 card base and then glued the embossed Webster's Pages paper on top of the brown card stock. I glued each leaf pair together and then adhered onto the base, along with the white circle which I trimmed along the top. And lastly, I wanted to add a little more gold so I die cut more leaves from a piece of Lawn Fawn Metallic card stock (saved for another project) and glued some of the leaf and star-like cut outs into a few of the cut out portions of the leaves.

I used black ink to stamp the 'Autumn Blessings' sentiment from the Spellbinders Fall Greetings stamp set and the three Paige Evans Garden Shoppe leaves (a Scrapbook.com exclusive freebie now gone) using my MISTI stamp tool.

On the inside of the card I stamped the 'May the Season's Bounty fill your heart' sentiment from the same Spellbinders Fall Greetings stamp set, again using the MISTI stamp tool.

And that's it! Which one is your favorite?

If you have any questions, let me know!

Happy Halloween from Matilda

Friends, it's the night before Halloween and my friend Matilda is stopping in to wish you a Happy Halloween!

By this time tomorrow evening, she will be sitting at a large round table with a group of strangers, each one anxious to have 'Madame Matilda' summon their dead loved ones.

They will all gather in the 'Occult Room' of Matilda's large, dark, musty Victorian house. First, she will dim all the gas-lit lamps. Then she will instruct the group of strangers to close their eyes, and when they do, she will raise her arms and commence to move them in a counter clockwise direction. She will then call out to the unkindness of ravens she keeps as her assistants and they will gather on the rooftops. They will flap their wings and cackle loudly. The winds will blow and the gas-lit lamps will flicker, and Matilda, now in a trance, will beckon the dead as they float and rise above the table. And the strangers, terrified, will call out their grief loudly as they learn the secrets of their dead ancestors - secrets they were never meant to know... 

The strangers will beg Matilda to cease her summoning. Matilda, still in a trance, cannot hear their pleas. Suddenly the ravens have mysteriously gotten inside the house and are flying inside the room with the dead ancestors, croaking, cackling and hissing at the strangers! Matilda, laughs maniacally, picks up her wand and thrusts it into the air. A bolt of lightening crashes into the house and the light, now bright and blinding, flashes! Suddenly all the dead ancestors vaporize and the table is littered with shiny black rocks that look like ravens.

The next morning, Matilda is walking slowly through her garden, tending to her flowers, plants and trees. A stranger walks by and lets out a loud croaking, cackling noise. Matilda pretends not to notice and the stranger croaks and cackles even louder. Matilda raises her arm, then brings it down quickly, pointing to the ground. The stranger, animated and lively in their demand that Matilda look their way, suddenly becomes mute.

Matilda smiles, picks a bouquet of orange chrysanthemums, walks into her house, and shuts the door.