Wordless Winter Wednesday . . . . .

(You may click this photo to enlarge.)

Wishing You All a Wondrous Day!

"Never a Christmas morning,
Never the old year ends . . . . .
But someone thinks of someone,
Old days, old times, old friends."

~ Author Unknown ~

My Dear Friends, Blog Followers and Fellow Bloggers,

Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, nature, friendship, love, or life itself. . .

Here's Wishing You All a Wondrous Day!

Merry Christmas, Deer Friends!

As many of you probably know about me by now, I have a fondness for whimsy, and that often shows through in my handmade card designs. It seems that every Christmas season, my cardmaking takes a twist into the realm of whimsy. . . . And what speaks whimsy at Christmastime more than REINDEER?

There has always been something "magical" to me about reindeer. The image of Santa Claus flying through the air on Christmas Eve, in a sleigh pulled by eight "tiny reindeer" is indelibly etched in my mind from childhood.

And even after I realized, at a fairly young age, that this vision was probably more fantasy than reality (Yes, there's a part of me that still wants to believe in Santa and his reindeer!), Christmastime still conjures up for me various images of sweet whimsical reindeer. . . . . so my card creations from year to year invariably include a few reindeer designs.

Tomorrow, I have planned a more serious post, but tonight, I'm giving in once again to my penchant for whimsy, and using some of my previous card designs to illustrate this Christmas Eve blog post, which I'm dedicating to all of YOU, my fellow bloggers, blog followers, and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, DEER FRIENDS!

And this last photo, although not of a handmade card design, is of my very FAVORITE reindeer!



Until we meet again . . . . May You Never Lose Your Sense of Wonder.

Wordless Woof Wednesday . . . . .Holiday Edition

Winter Solstice 2009

Wow, where has the time gone? Seems like "forever" since I've posted to my Blog. . when in actuality, it's only been a few weeks.

But I'm determined to do better on keeping up with my Blog posting and my favorite Blog reading, at least for the next little while!

And what better day to get back into blogging than the Winter Solstice. In years gone by, this particular day has often skipped my attention, but today when I awoke a bit earlier than usual and looked outside to see a heavy fog and frost in the early morning light, I was inspired to take a few photos.

(You may click on any of the following photos, for a larger view.)

In some way, the rather eerie yet beautiful scenes in our backyard this morning seemed a fitting image of Winter Solstice, the "shortest" day of the year.


I understand that Winter Solstice also officially heralds the onset of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. . . although those of us who live in the Rocky Mountain West would say that winter has been well underway here for several weeks now. We've already had several large snowfalls, although admittedly, nothing like our friends in New England and along the East Cost have most recently experienced.

Here along the Wasatch Front, the snow has nearly melted from our yard, and we're ready for some NEW snow to arrive and provide us with a White Christmas!


But in the meantime, Mother Nature has given us some unique and beautiful hoarfrost (pictured here on one of our Oregon grape bushes), to delight and entertain the would-be nature photographer in us all.


For me personally, the greatest significance to Winter Solstice is that from this point on, the daylight hours are increasing once again!

Thanks for stopping by. . .I always enjoy and appreciate having visitors to my blog!

And until we meet again. . . . may your days be filled with sun.

Wordless Woof Wednesday: Winter 2009 Edition, Volume 1

Wishful Wordless Wednesday . . . . .

Wordless Woof Wednesday . . . . .

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here's Wishing You All a Happy, Healthy, and Safe Halloween!





May your day be sprinkled with just the right amount of Magic . . . .



And (borrowing the words of Flavia Weedn)
May you keep in mind that . . . .




Today you can be anything you imagine.

Wordless Wednesday Once Again. . . .

For the Birds . . . . .

I wouldn’t call myself an avid birdwatcher, but I do have a strong appreciation of all things nature, and birds are no exception.

Lee and I have a fairly large backyard, with lots of shrubs and trees, and over the years, our yard has been visited by countless birds, and home to many.

Although we don’t have a huge variety of avian wildlife here in our part of the suburbs, we do enjoy the sights and sounds of junkos, blue jays, house finches, quail, hummingbirds, mourning doves, flickers and magpies on a regular basis.

There have been many a morning that I have awakened to the cheerful chirping of robins and the melodic songs of the cute little house finches that frequent our yard. Lee and I love to hang feeders in various locations throughout our back and front yards, where we can watch bird activity year round from our deck and through our dining room and front windows.

In addition to providing real-life diversion and fun photo opportunities, birds also provide me with inspiration for my card creations. Sometimes I’ll be struck by a particular quote or play on words that lends itself well to a handmade card with a bird-related theme or paper piecing. Other times, I’ll discover some colorful and cute patterned paper at the crafts or scrapbook store that includes a bird image or theme, and I’ll be inspired to create a card around that. And yet other times, I may find an especially sweet or whimsical ready-made bird-themed embellishment that just begs to have a handmade card designed around it.

I never quite know when I first start working on a card, how the final design is going to turn out. . . so each new card design is a work in progress, until that final moment when my eye and my heart say to me, “That’s it! It’s done!” And indeed, this is the aspect of card design and cardmaking that I most enjoy. . . .this sort of free-floating aspect that allows one’s creativity to emerge and evolve.

Only recently have I realized just how many cards I’ve actually designed with a bird-related theme, and there have been quite a few! So, I thought it might be fun to share some of my previous and current card designs with you.

May I present to you, my collection of bird-themed handmade card designs, which I’m calling “ For the Birds.” I hope you like them!

Until we meet again. . . may you always keep a song in your heart.

Wordless Wednesday . . . . .

(Click either photo to enlarge.)