Thankful {things I love} Thursday ...

 The snow has been falling, then melting and falling again ...

Our garden has been filled with birds and squirrels and Beau Bunny who makes daily visits ♥

The (acrobatic)  squirrels have managed to get to all the feeders and suet baskets and made quite a mess ... hubby has put the wheel barrow underneath one of the feeding stations and it's helped a bit ... now the squirrels can sit comfortably while eating all the fallen seed :-) 

I have an article and stitchery project in the newest Sew Somerset Winter 2015 issue.

"Sharing & Wearing my HeART" is a little fabric business card holder created using my Peaceful Thoughts print.

I find so many discarded books at Church rummage sales and garage sales.  They often have pages torn and missing and  scribbles inside, perfect for putting to one side to use in mixed media art.  After painting this Angel print, I went through a few books looking for the perfect words to add & created a little Thankful for quote ♥

 

THANKFUL FOR ...

love and laughter

kindness

for joys of morning, night and noon,

twilight, music

the ordinary

daily things I do each day

for these gifts

I find

carry us along

navigating

a kindred life

from day to day

of joy.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends celebrating today xo

Thankful {things I love} Thursday ...

This is the snowy view from my kitchen window last night.

Twinkle lights surround all four windows and

 on our kitchen table tiny bees wax votive candles flicker.

I love this time of year ... dinner by candle light, snow falling lightly.

~*~ magical ~*~

I have just finished a little Woodland Walks Christmas ornament collection.

The set includes 6 felt ornaments :

sparrow :: rabbit :: fox :: owl:: toadstool:: woodland walks heart as well as

a "Sweet as Chocolate" card

 & an inspirational tag

For your Christmas tree as an ornament,

added to swags across your fireplace or staircase,

tucked into a wreath,

added to the  top of a present

... you could even add a small pin to the back and attach to your coat to wear on your own Woodland Walk.

felt, fabric and stamps

create the Woodland Walks heart

I've included lots of little "extras" so the collection can be split up

you could for instance ...

keep a few ornaments for yourself

and attach the little tag to another as a gift ...

Tuck another in the "Sweet as Chocolate" card.

{cards are in the latest Green Craft magazine}

these cards are the ideal little vessel for ornaments ~

always love slipping an unexpected pressie into a card ♥

attach a pin (included) to the back of another to add to your coat ...

a heart just has to be added ...

my "unconditional love"

message

You can find the Woodland Walks set at my Etsy shop

listed this morning.

{EDIT: Woodland Walks set is sold & going to a lovely home ♥}

So many things to be Thankful for ...

yesterday as I was finishing up the Woodland Walks set, I received a beautiful email .

In fact, I asked in my reply if I could post a bit of it, to which she generously said yes.

 

"Hi Deb,  I think your card up-cycle is completely brilliant, original, edgy and for me addictive.

I think it is my favourite project, by far, in the latest Green Craft for all of the above reasons ...

...I am an avid card-maker and I think your design is brilliant.

Thanks for submitting your idea to the magazine otherwise I wouldn't be as happy and excited as I am about trying your design!

... All my best.

 Keep creating.

 Frances"

 

How lovely for someone to take the time to write such a kind note.  We are all so busy and time is so precious, which makes finding notes like this ... well...precious!

So much of my time is spent in my Sparrow Studio, thinking up designs and creating and to receive lovely feedback to tell me they are inspired by something I designed really made my day.  Thank you so much Frances ♥

***

As we let our own light shine,

we unconsciously give other people

permission to do the same.

As we are liberated

from our own fear,

our presence

actually liberates others

~Marianne Williamson~

 

snowing ...

The view from my kitchen window Saturday morning ...

I was sitting with my tea & news paper when I  noticed the Woodpeckers and a few Sparrows at the suet basket.

There was barely any suet left, so I headed outside to refill them.

And as soon as I did the squirrels arrived.

Now they already have a pile of peanuts AND all the acorns that I had in bowls inside I put out into the garden for them...

but as soon as they spot the suet, they are on it!

And then I noticed the snow ♥

Every so faintly, but it was snow ...

oh how I love the snow ...

which has been falling ever since!

Mr. Handsome trying out a bow.

and in our Saturday's paper, the Milk Calendar.

I look forward to this calendar which is tucked into our weekend newspaper every year.

~the lovely-ness of daily-ness~

Thankful {things I love} Thursday ...

Time seems to be flying by and

I am making lots of lists to make sure everything gets done ...

As I sit and get a post ready it is trying to snow ...

our garden is alive with birds and squirrels and I even spotted our garden bunny hop over to the compost area as I sat with my tea earlier in the morning.  I'm surprised the pumpkin from Halloween has not been touched yet ~ normally the squirrels are nibbling at it on the front porch!

One suet basket is already emptied and a Woodpecker is waiting patiently for squirrel to leave the other one.  On the ground there are at least a dozen sparrows eating the falling seed from the Red Cardinal who is perched on the window feeder.

I recently picked up a bag of seed and the birds LOVE it.  It is filled with sunflower seeds and has attracted lots of birds.  Something tells me we will be buying another bag soon :-)

Had tickets to two amazing concerts.

Saw Tony Bennett who was simply incredible and worth the 2 hour drive :-)

and on Monday we saw Sarah McLachlan ... equally as incredible!

 



Last nights dinner was butternut squash soup.

Perfect, warm meal when we got home from walking Archer.

I change the recipe a bit as it calls for chicken broth.

I simply use a vegetable cube ... delicious!

My kitchen table is filled with boxes of Christmas decorations.

I am going to take my time this afternoon, unwrapping each one, savouring the moment {and memories} each holds, and finding it's spot.

~hope you are having a wonderful {thankful} Thursday~

♥d

 

Autumn ~ In my Head and Heart ...

 Walking amongst the yellow, green and gold ...

 Autumn is blessing us with her beauty!

 Added a few more prints to my Shop today

...soon it will all be about snowflakes and  whimsical birds wearing woolen scarves and ear muffs and hats :-) Santa Claus and Snowmen ♥

 life imitates art...

you will find little hearts hanging from branches around my home too

 Taking in all the beauty of November...

as much as my head & heart

can hold.

xo

from my hand ~ into the wind ...

Around this time of year, when the perennials have gone to seed, its collecting time.

The cosmos still have a few blooms left on them and just yesterday, we spotted bumble bees inside them.  Their cup shapes seem perfect for holding their weight,  so they were left for a few more days.

Our garden is all about the needs of the birds, bees and butterflies.  The seeds are a bonus!

We have a big clump of cosmos next to our driveway, and I will often dead head as I am walking up the path to my front door and simply scatter the seeds.

By mid October, on a nice warm sunny day, I will begin gathering seeds to save and give to friends.

Every year I do the same thing.  I create little seed savour pouches out of brown kraft paper, with a little feather  and SPARROW SEED CO. stamp.

This year, I wanted to do something a bit different.

I found these sweet little glass vials with tiny cork topper and thought they would make the perfect vessel to hold seeds.  They actually hold quite a lot of seeds.

Still deciding how to embellish the bottles ...maybe add a little wire hanging loop ♥

Planning on slipping them into a small burlap stamped drawstring bag for gift giving.

dry seeds

scatter from my hand

into the wind

one clings

as if to say

there is in me

something yet to be

~Jeanne Emrich~

Whimsy & Woodland Walks ...

~You've Got Mail~

For those who love writing (and receiving)  letters as I do, You've Got Mail is  now available in my little Etsy shop. A whimsical 8.5" x 11" print.

~*~

 "Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds"

I love snail mail, always have. Emails are wonderfully convenient and fast, but there is, and always will be something so lovely about finding a card in the mailbox and sitting with it in your hand. Reading the handwritten words from a friend and loved one is good for the soul.

Creating cards, writing cards, taking a little extra time to personalize each one, adding a stamp and sending it on its journey ~ I take great pleasure in each and every step.

You've Got Mail pays homage to the art of letter writing. From Air Mail to Snail Mail.

Sparrow wears a blue jacket with red pocket, and carries a satchel with red and white polka dot strap and black buckle. Always ready for inclement weather , Sparrow wears wellington boots for those long routes and stylish walking. And just look at all those lovely letters and postcards.
Once Sparrow has flown them in from far away places, snail, who represents a slower pace of living, will take over.
Someone is in for a lovely surprise ♥

Also added to the shop today are 2 more additions to my © Women of the Woods Series.

The Aviary Keeper & Wide Eyed Wonderment.

I am always fascinated with legends and Legend of Wood Spirits is one that has always resonated with me.

~*~

~Legend of Wood Spirits~

It has been told, that wood carvers from many cultures look for an image, such as a face or animal seen embedded into the grain of the wood, and then, through their carvings, work to free it.

Throughout history, various cultures believe that these Spirits inhabit the trees of the forest.

some believe that these Wood Spirits have been living within the tree from the very beginning bringing luck and blessings to those who find shelter within them.

♥

  This legend along with calm woodland walks with Archer served as my inspiration.  I remember the first  painting I did, long before I thought of doing a series of paintings. It seemed to appear out of nowhere ... a face out of the tree ... branches representing hair.

 My sketchbooks are not very big due to the fact that I more often than not, take out a sheet of watercolour paper and draw, rarely erasing anything! What I draw is what  I paint.  So when I was continually drawing images as though they were tree spirits I realized that I had a series of prints :-)

A friend mentioned a month or so ago, that one of my prints appeared "smudged".  I had to go back and look at the original and then it dawned on me.  Tree Spirit! ... I have painted the faces as though they have emerged from the bark of a tree ...each face will have blotches and crevices, colour variations ~ just like the bark of a tree ♥

I would like my pictures

 to look as if a human being had passed between them,

like a snail

leaves its slime.

~Francis Bacon~