Organizing, Catergorizing

I am nearly done with my Web page makeover, having converted all my existing collections into thumbnail galleries. Now I am at the part where I am going to create some new open-ended collections and rearrange where some photos fall, and add new ones that I've just not had a place for. My first move, for today, will be to create a Wyoming Collection. I have so many photos I've taken since I have moved here that I am excited to share. Consider the above a sneak peek. It is maybe my favorite Wyoming shot, just along the interstate on the way back from Cheyenne. It's something I've seen a hundred times by now, but here, in this shot, it is special. Just like how so many things we become accustomed to seeing are still special when you look at them with fresh eyes.

Featured: Etsy Easter Gift Guide

Yesterday I had the pleasure of trying to figure out why one of my photos had been hearted several times in the last few days. After a little sleuthing, I discovered "Figurative and Literal Easter Lilies No. 9" had been featured in Etsy's Easter Gift Guide!

Technically, It's Spring

But it feels more like winter. This cute mural of the old downtown is painted on the side of a furniture store, just catty-corner from my house.

First Display

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday but the weather has been fouling up my plans this week. There was a short reprieve yesterday, so I drove to Laramie to hang up my photos in the very hip downtown Coal Creek Coffee. This is my first time displaying my photos anywhere, so I have been very excited by the process. It kept getting delayed by the weather, but I made it there between two snowstorms and even had enough time to have lunch there before I hurried home.

I have a special place in my heart for Coal Creek Coffee. The first time I was in Wyoming as an adult (we did stop in Wyoming on our cross-country adventure when I was 11), my husband went with his possible new boss to visit his possible new work site in Guernsey. Left alone, I drove from Cheyenne where we were staying, to Laramie, and spent the day exploring this cute little college town. I remember window shopping in the thriving downtown area, and stopping for lunch at Coal Creek. I loved the vibe inside, the delicious food, and the way everyone who was there lingered, seeming to not want to go home. I felt comfortable right away in Coal Creek, which was really something since the plains and the dry heat and the way people looked at you like you weren't from around here made me feel pretty uncomfortable in Wyoming that first trip.

Featured on Stuff Under Twenty

I'm so pleased that my Red Dahlia note cards were featured on the blog for recessionistas, Stuff Under Twenty, on what was a delightfully red Monday.

Get them here, $10 for four.

Birthday Bouquet

From my dear, sweet husband on my birthday.

ETSY PLUG - Michelle Brusegaard

I have a confession to make. I bought myself a birthday present. That's a tad ridiculous considering all the love that comes my way, but I've been wanting this gorgeous scarf from Michelle Brusegaard for months and they sell out so very fast. I was just browsing a few days ago and saw it in stock. I couldn't miss the opportunity to indulge my scarf fetish. Let me just say it is just as beautiful in person and was totally worth the wait. It is hand-printed on jersey knit.

Michelle also sells other screen-printed goods, like these pretty napkins (which are washer-safe). She has several designs to choose from.

I'm sure by now you all know how much I love stationary. Michelle Bruesgaard has some of the loveliest in all of Etsydom. There are tons of designs and she even offers personalized stationary, calling cards, and custom invitations.

I keep using the word "pretty" to describe the items in Michelle's shop, but I don't think there is a better one. A lot of the images she comes up with are very detailed (but not fussy) and feminine and just so...well...pretty! Another great example of that is her photography series of Barbie dresses hanging up on a line. When I see these I think of my Mom's classic Barbie doll. I can totally see her in these pretty dresses.

Multi-talented Michelle not only screen-prints her own designs and does photography, but she also a paints! So if you've never checked out her shop, you really should. There is such a variety of items you are bound to find something to love.

IMAGES: MICHELLE BRUSEGAARD

Birthday Girl

Today is my birthday. I took these self-portraits a few days ago, and they seemed the most fitting thing to share with you. This is me, late at night, with no makeup and a ratty old shirt that I love. Me, just as I am. I didn't add any of the flare you see or alter these in anyway.

I woke up early this morning when my husband left and laid in bed for a while, thinking about all the things I experienced in the past year - all the trips I've taken, the great pictures I've shot, the small victories I've achieved. I dreaded last year's birthday and it was a very unspecial day, so I decided this year would be different. There are no parties anymore, no cake with candles, but there is so much to celebrate. It's ok to do it quietly. Instead of thinking, "I'm one year older," I have vowed to think, "I made it one more year and for that I am grateful."

I used a macro lens to take these, which made this quite an imprecise art. I love some of the things it captured, though. The above is my favorite, I think. It's jut my neck and my chin, but something in it seems special. I suppose it's because I would never intentionally frame a shot that way, indeed I think I've never looked at that part of myself quite that way. That's the thing about photography, macro in particular - you can see things through the lens that you couldn't see with your naked eye. And sometimes, the lens sees more than you could even imagine. Sometimes what it captures is a beautiful surprise.

Sometimes it shows you another truth, just like deciding to think a different way is yet another truth.

I'm A Winner!

I can't believe I won this fabulous print from zukzuk, "Jellybean Birds." She has a giveaway of her wonderful work every month on her blog, and I won!!! If you haven't seen her fabulous work, please check out her Etsy store in April when she returns from vacation for colorful, whimsical prints.

Before the Evening Showers

I have been updating the pages of my Web site, one by one, so that my collections are in thumbnail galleries. I was converting my Pittsburgh collection yesterday and realized I had never put up one of the images! I had sized it and uploaded it, but never placed it on the page. So to make up for months of neglect, here is "Before the Evening Showers."

Green Goodness

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here are some of my favorite green photos.

Figurative and Literal: Easter Lilies No. 14

Palm Leaves

Coleus

First Bloom

One of the most delightful things about moving to a new place is discovering what has been planted in the yard. You have to wait for them to push up through the ground, and sometimes you have to wait for them to bloom before you can identify them. It is like finding little presents every so often throughout spring and summer. I just found my first bloom this weekend - a crocus I believe - and it really surprised me. They are so low to the ground I didn't have any idea it would flower so soon. And then I came back from walking the dog one day and there it was!

ETSY PLUG - Lena Brown Designs

Do you ever find something so useful, so brilliant, so great, that you buy one for everybody you know? Well that is how I felt when I saw Lena Brown Designs' knitting needle case. It is a simple, elegant solution to the tangled mess that is my knitting storage. Never again will I only find one needle of a certain size. Never again will they slip down to the bottom of the bag or drawer.

I was delighted to find that, in person, these cases are very well made, with neat stitching that looks like it would even survive an attack from my dogs. They come in so many colors and patterns you are sure to find one you like.

IMAGES: LENA BROWN DESIGNS

Chocolate Cupcakes

I made chocolate cupcakes for our church youth group last Sunday, and I had so many left over that I'm STILL eating them. I do wish you'd come over and help me out. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm getting sick of chocolate cupcakes.

Early Signs of Spring

Yesterday I saw the first signs of spring in these little plants pushing through the ground. This is my first winter in our new home, and I'm excited to see what these will become. This is all a month early for Wyoming, no doubt due to a record warm week in the 60s. Of course it has snowed again this week and I hope that doesn't kill all the new growth I've seen. It would be so nice for winter to go ahead and make an early exit this year.



P.S. - The blue in the first picture is one of our kayaks, resting on the ground against the garage.

NEW STORE! Milemarker2

I'm happy to announce the grand opening of my new store for original paintings, Milemarker2. It is home to those groovy "Though Circles" paintings, and I'll be adding other works as the mood strikes me. Do go check it out.

"Thought Circles" Paintings

I've been doing some painting lately. These are my "Thought Circles" paintings, named so because that's what I imagine my thoughts look like, rolling around in my head - all tangled and overlapping and crowding each other out. The aqua and red was the first one, and I liked it so much I did another, and then another, and before long I had ten completed. I had such a great time exploring color combinations, and the 5X7 size really suited me.

If you'd like to see more images, check them out at my Web site. I'm happy to report that it is nearly done with its overhaul.

ETSY PLUG - 12fifteen

I didn't know coasters could be art until I saw the beautiful ones from 12fifteen. They come in sets of 8 (for only $12), and are letterpress printed by hand on heavy coaster stock. I bought the above for my sister-in-law, and I can attest they have a nice weight and texture to them.

12fifteen offers many designs, all of which are graphic and gorgeous.

I think if I bought some for my tropical house, they'd have to be these yellow floral/leafy ones.

I was lucky enough to get a little freebie in my package, and it was one of these flying birds letterpress notes. In person you can really see the relief the birds make in the paper and it is just stunning in its simplicity.

Last year, I also bought this print, "Indian summer two", from 12fifteen. It was selling like hotcakes, and I wanted to get mine before the limited run of 100 was gone. I really love the colors and the sense of delicate movement I feel when I look at these floating leaves.

"Indian Summer two" is all sold out now, but you can still get the black and red version, "Indian Summer three."

There are several more simple yet beautiful prints in 12fifteen's shop. My favorite is this one, called "Black Meadow."

Death of a Tulip

For some reason, I really have never gotten a good macro shot of a tulip until yesterday. These have been in my house for the last week, but it wasn't until the petals began to fall off and I took them over by the sink that the light caught them just right. Since I was about to throw them in the trash, my inhibitions were gone and I began to pick away petals in a way I would never have done otherwise.

Amazon's Universal Wishlist

I discovered something on Amazon a few weeks ago that I think will be quite a boon to those of us selling on Etsy. You can now add ANYTHING to your Amazon Wishlist. TELL YOUR FAMILY! TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

It used to be hard to make a list for someone with Etsy items - they were likely unfamiliar with Etsy and had to look up items by links or by usernames. Now they can just cruise on over to your Amazon wishlist and start shopping (for more than the usual books and cds).

If you already have an Amazon wishlist, all you have to do is go to it. On the left side of the screen, you will see the above logo. Click it and download the toolbar attachment. Then anytime you find something you'd like to add to your wishlist, be it on Etsy or Pottery Barn or L.L. Bean, click the toolbar link and it will pop up a window where you just enter the price. Then it adds it to your list! Brilliant!

Keith's Dobro

In reordering my Web site, some things must go and others will be reorganized. I'm trying to decide if I should keep this macro shot of my buddy Keith's dobro. I like all the lines and shapes, but I take macro shots of everything. What do you think?

Night Lights

I took a lot of these kinds of photos on our drives to California, as we drove at night a good deal. But this one, I think, is my favorite, and I took it in Pittsburgh when we were driving home from Mad Mex. It's interesting how you can really work a subject and get good shots, but sometimes the best one you create was an afterthought.

Winner - Etsy Anniversary Giveaway

And the winner is...Katie Morrow! I'll be mailing you "Wide Open" very soon!

Thanks to everyone who entered for your support and encouragement. I'll be having another giveaway in April for my blogiversary, so do stop back by for another chance to win.