As we say goodbye to 2016 ...

Every ending

leads

to a new

beginning,

a bright window

of

opportunity

and

more reasons

to

Celebrate

♥

May the New Year bring with it

Health, Happiness, Love, Luck & Laughter.

from my Home to Yours

Happy New Year ♥

xo

D

At the Lake

It was a cold walk along the lake ...

while I had my camera with me , I only took a few photos

of dancing waves

and beautiful gulls

and I ... well,  I took in all the fresh air and  beauty ♥

***

Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas.

Happy New Moon

xo D

A blessed Saturday ...

We have snow ... and *lots* of it {insert big smile :-D}

twinkle lights are strung in my Sparrow Studio which is warm and cozy ...

bees wax candles are lit on my studio altar ...

I am glancing  out the window watching flakes dance about outside

It is getting late and I can see the reflection of my studio  in the glass ♥

time to pull the drapes ...

Christmas carols are playing ... I am singing along ...

new paintings are sitting on my Art table ...

Orders are being put together with love and gratitude

A blessed Saturday

♥

{ little woven threads of life go into my paint brush}

Winter Warmth

***

The snow has just begun to fall ... soft flakes twirl in the air and land gently.

Not bothered by the weather, for she has the company of woodland animals to keep her warm in body and spirit.

Fox has wrapped himself around her neck like a stole and badger, curled up in her arms where she has tucked her hands into his lovely dense fur like a muff ♥ White bird sings.

Her deep connection to nature and every living creature is felt in this moment ~ each protecting one another.

Closing her eyes ... taking the moment in ... grateful for being part of each others life ... The connection ... caring ... for this gentle moment ♥

Thankful {things I love} Thursday ...

Our first actual landing on the ground snow fall ♥

happened today!

we had to really bundle up for our walk ...

lots of mini sandwiches (with peanuts added) were made

such lovely manners xo

our picket fence strung with garland, pinecones and white twinkle lights looked so pretty

{snow was the only thing it was lacking}

our garden bench

we leave out as the birds will often perch here when there is no spot left at the feeders

I love seeing their little prints when the snow has fallen

Oh snow ... I'm always so happy when you return

~ hope you are having a wonderful Thursday~

d

♥

Uncondition love ... it's all wrapped up in you ♥

A few days ago, I sat at my art table with paper in front of me and a rough idea of what I wanted to paint.

Good friends of ours are going to join us in the "grandparent" club :-) and when their newest family member arrives, I wanted to give them something painted from the heart.

♥

Mum gently hums a lullaby to her babe, nestled close to her, wrapped in a soft blanket. And as she rocks  back and forth she thinks of the pure unconditional love she has for her child.  With the moon as their night light and a sky filled with stars ... so many hopes and dreams come to mind ... and so many stars to wish upon.

♥

On my art table I keep lots of sentimental items and it just so happens that one of my children's nappy pins {32 years old } was sitting in a jar as I painted ~ and it seemed perfect that it should find it's way into this painting which is all about unconditional love.

In the kitchen ...

Our morning walk was cool and drizzly ... perfect baking day once we returned home ♥

no deer spotting this morning

but my trio of deer rest happily  on our Frasier Fir clippings

{oh the aroma ... it not only looks but smells like Christmas once the fresh tree comes indoors} ♥

Chocolate chippers ...

my container of cookie cutters on the counter ...

candles ...

tartlets  cooling ...

gingerbread ...

it may not be snowing outside ...

but

thanks to powdered sugar it is snowing

inside ...

my little sleigh was meant to be a tree ornament,

but this time of year I use it as a spoon rest :-)

and while I am waiting for the banana bread to come out of the oven, I'll make a mug of hot chocolate and use a lovely thick Laura Secord candy cane to stir xo

~hope you are having a blessed Friday ~

d

♥

Winter Warmth ...

~Winter Warmth~

♥

We have had such a mild November this year.  Today with temps  at 53 degrees,  it  felt more like waiting the arrival of  Spring then the arrival of Winter. 

And oh how I adore Winter {and snow}.

But it was raining on and off all day ... and I also adore rain :-D

Winter Warmth is my newest painting.

I was thinking about snow and a recent Coyote sighting  in front of our home. This had me thinking of wonderful wild animals and how even though they are resilient we must be there to protect them in any way we can .

Badgers have been on my mind lately as well ...

So I sat with my paints in front of me and a jar of magical water {placed in my garden and super moon charged} and began to draw... and paint...

and then the story presents itself ...

The snow has just begun to fall ...

soft flakes twirl in the air and land gently.

Not bothered by the weather, for she has the company of Woodland animals to keep her warm

in body and spirit.

Fox has wrapped himself around her neck like a stole,

and badger, curled up in her arms where she has tucked her hands into his lovely dense fur like a muff.

White bird sings.

Her deep connection to nature

and every living creature

is felt

in this moment ...

each protecting one another.

Closing her eyes ...

taking in the moment ...

grateful for being part of each others life ...

the connection ...

caring ...

for this gentle moment...

for Winter Warmth ♥

Holiday Train ...

Trains and Traditions

for me they go hand in hand and there is something so magical about taking a train ride this time of year ♥

Especially a Holiday train all decorated with lights and garlands and wreaths

with loved ones

&

Santa

Art Journal ...

I'm always drawn to beautiful journals

and this past Summer on a reduced trolley I spotted a date book

with 2015/2016 stamped on the front.

It had an original price of $48.00 with the markdown price being $5.00 :-D

the fact that all of 2015 had passed as well as most of 2016 did not bother me in the least

I knew that I could turn it into either a traveling journal, an art journal, a spot to hold ticket stubs from shows we had planned, a sketch book ... so many ideas ... 

It turned out to be all of the above & then some!

I have painted and added pockets and envelopes

and  being a grandmother, I am blessed with the gifts of the  sweetest art work ...

a spot for quotes ...

pressing leaves ...

jotting down trips ...

adding maps ...

photographs ...

I have added little business card size  pockets to keep cards I have picked up

{these are peel and stick so really handy}

quotes ...

our garden owl spotting has inspired lots of owl paintings

when you *love* hockey

a few pages just for  Adele :-)

her concert was amazing!

I have created lots of coffee filter pockets, so I added some of those too - they fit the pages perfectly and hold lots of little clippings I want to save

My journal has come along in my knapsack on woodland walks ...

It looks lovelier now I think than when it was new ...

clips are handy to hold pages together

& mini clothes pegs

writing about my favourite Season & the changing leaves ...

{a quick Muskoka view}

favourite quotes

pumpkin patch visit

Autumn Equinox

favourite walking spot notes

a leaf found on holidays on our way to dinner ♥ after a wonderful day

just looking at it brings back such lovely memories

a little bit of painting leaving a bit of space to jot down thoughts

sweet tiny leaves that I put between pages with a little washi tape

fortune cookie {that was spot on }

whimsy ... always whimsy

a favourite photo I took years ago of a yellow finch sitting in our lilac ...

 I had  it propped up on my desk and now it has a page to itself

I love making note of the moon phases ...

Wasn't yesterday's Super Moon amazing ♥

Fill your paper

with the breathings

of your heart ♥

~William Wordsworth~

dragon fly love

It's as heavy as it looks :-)

A month and a half left ...

Is not the poet bound

to write his own biography?

Is there any other work for him

but a good journal?

~Henry David Thoreau~