Quiet Beauty

Quiet Beauty {and a few arrows and doodles too!}

I try to steal a few minutes each day to notice the beauty in my everyday - the quiet beauty that is always around us.

This afternoon, as I started to pull together ingredients for soup, I was delighted by the colors and textures that I found on my cutting board.  

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="800.0"] Three point composition - an assignment in Kim Klassen's Beyond Beyond course[/caption]

Look at the bright green color and lacy texture of these fresh herbs.

The variety of shapes, colors and smooth textures in this pile of dried beans.

Compared to the rough, dry skin of an onion.

and the imperfect skin of the brown potato and bright orange carrot.

Beauty in the everyday.

 




 

In this weeks Beyond Beyond class, Kim give us tips and tricks for making photoshop brushes (like the one above).

Here is a group of arrows and boarder brushes that I make today - while my soup simmered on the stove  :)

I hope that you take a moment today to enjoy the beauty in your life.

Be Wonderfully Odd!

 

Brrrr . . . . . January in Minnesota

Brrrr . . . . it's been cold around here lately.  

Yesterday the local newscasters were comparing our temperatures to that of the surface of Mars {weird isn't it?}.  Yesterday it was -22 degrees and today its warmed up to -10 degrees.  A good reason to stay indoors and work.

I've been busy making beaded necklaces and hand-dying fiber - I should have some new items in my shop later this week.

I've also been busy taking pictures of birds {of course! - I love watching those little guys!}.  It can be so hard to get a decent picture of them. They seem to be in constantly moving.  The minute that I think that I have one in view - he flies off, leaving me with a photo of a tree branch. I snapped well over 200 photos yesterday and have only a few that I like.

I'm joining Texture Tuesday with this photo of a little Chickadee - it has two layers of Kim Klassen's Providence texture.

 Winter Chickadee

 and a couple more bird pics . . . :)

Sun Kissed Chickadee

Fluffy Chickadee 

I hope that you are having a great day!

Be Wonderfully Odd!

January 1st 2014

Hello!

Below are January 2014 wallpapers that you can download for your desktop, iPad, and Phone.
I love screen savers that include a calendar for quick reference - enjoy!

{for personal use only - thanks!}

 

Phone wallpaper - January 2014

Desktop wallpaper - January 2014

 

iPad wallpaper - January 2014

I hope that you are having an awesome start to the new year!

Be wonderfully odd!

A Kinder Way to Begin the New Year

I am not {yes, not!} making a list of New Year’s resolutions for 2014.

Each year I would draft a list of New Year’s resolutions – to be thinner, to work harder, to be less introverted - changes that I wanted for myself in the coming New Year.  Sadly my list would be neglected and forgotten by March.  As the next year rolled around, my new list was disappointingly similar to the previous year’s list.

A few years ago I read about the One-Little-Word {movement} in this blog post, and recently in this post, and I believe the idea originated here.  Choosing for yourself a single word to help guide you through the new year is a more optimistic, positive, and doable alternative to the typical list of New Year’s resolutions.  One-little-word can be magical and powerful. 

Last year my word was “trust” – to trust that everything will be okay if I let go, to believe in myself, and to have faith in the future.  “Trust” helped me to walk away from a terrible and cruel professional situation, “trust” allowed me to lean on my family and friends in ways that I’ve never allowed for myself, and “trust” showed me grace in difficult times, gratitude in lean times, and love in times of despair.  My one little word changed me in ways that I could never have imagined.

2014 is nearly here, and I’ve finally found my word. When I read the word “release” I felt an energy – a knowing – that this is the word that I need now.  The last few years have been difficult, and along the way I lost the real me.  In an attempt to be accepted and to shelter myself from maliciousness I tried to become hidden – and to be as quiet as possible.  I curled up tightly and I covered myself in layers of self-protection.  I thought that all of this would protect me from the unkindness that had been in my life.

I now feel a deep longing to uncurl and to stretch, to reach out to others, and to let go of all of those useless layers. 

Hello “Release”, I think that this is going to be a beautiful year. 

Do you have a "word" for 2014? 

I'm ending 2013 with a photo of two sweet little birds on a snowy Minnesota morning. 

I've added two layers of Kim Klassen's Storm texture on top of this image. 


Have a wonderful New Year's!  

Be wonderfully odd!

Snowy Morning

I love the peaceful quiet of an early morning snowfall.

I'm joining Texture Tuesday with a photo of a bright red cardinal.  I used one layer each of Kim's Steelish and SeriousMagic textures.

I hope that you have a bright and beautiful day!

Be wonderfully odd!

'Tis the Season

Is it 'Tis or T'is?  I didn't know, but, I did find this nifty little Christmas grammar quiz - here (interesting stuff - if you like that kind of thing!) 

I hope that you are finding joy in this holiday season.

I'm joining Texture Tuesday today - this photo is textured with one layer each of Kim Klassen's Manuscript and Magicscripted textures.

  

I hope that you are having a joy-filled week!

Be wonderfully odd!

First Snow

The first snow fall is so pretty.  I love how the first snow blankets everything in a clean, white layer of sparkle.

I'm joining Texture Tuesday today with another bird photo.  I used two layers of Kim's "0212" texture - I love the edges of this texture.

I hope that you are having a fabulous day!

Be wonderfully odd!