Holiday Spirit

It's hard for me to prepare for Christmas before December, even though I know how long it takes to make, well, just about anything.
I love fall so much. I want to revel in it, until the last leaf falls until late November and the trees have become dormant skeletons against the winter-pale sky. Only then am I ready to dive into Christmas prep.

So, this creates a problem, because I love Christmas handicrafts and handmade gifts. So, I end up going project-crazy in December, and then only get half of the projects done. This year, I hope it will be different.  I sat down and wrote out a time budget for my handicrafts, deciding which ones to do, and which ones were too time-consuming and insane.
However, I keep seeing cute pins on Pinterest that tempt me to make just one more thing. God give me strength to resist!

A couple of weeks back, I spent some time in Wilmington, taking some Christmas portraits and having dinner with a wonderful lady (pics soon). After dinner, we bundled up as warm as we could and watched Wilmington's annual light-up float parade.  It was a lovely way to start off the pre-Christmas season.  It reminded me that this whole season is about hope, about light in dark time, new life in the depths of winter, and joy when you least expect it.
I hope these pictures will help you get in the Holiday mood.

tons more delicious pictures after the break.

Quote for November: A Woodland in Full Color

I've been pushing myself to become a better graphic designer.
So, I've set myself an assignment:
to merge a quote and a graphic or graphics, so that both the text and and the picture become an illustration of the meaning of the quote.

We'll see how it goes.  I'm pretty happy with Novembers', even though it can be a bit hard to read.

In other news, I'm now on Pinterest.  I've resisted getting on pinterest in the past because I knew it would soak up time.  However, it's been a great source for tutorials, graphic design inspiration, exposure to new artists, and even a wonderful way to figure out what friends would like for Christmas by snooping through their boards.  So, I'm enjoying my head off on it.  If you want to follow me, I'll have a button on the blog sometime this week.

Happy almost Turkey Day!

Wayside Sacraments

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament.Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I cannot possibly improve upon Emerson. 
The trees themselves, though... they surpass words, even Emerson's.
Happy Fall!

 

blue eyed smiles

Catherine is growing, at least in spirit.
I should stop commenting on her size, but she's such a pint-sized thing for a six-month old.  It makes it extra cute when she does, well, just about anything.

This photo shoot started out as documentation of dresses I made for Catherine and Grace.  However, the sun was shining, and Cate was on her A-game as far as cuteness goes.  So she quickly stole the show. 

You can tell these were shot a couple of weeks ago, back when short sleeves were comfortable.  While I was shooting these, my other niece was hanging out behind me, making faces at her sister so she'd laugh, and refusing to be in frame.  It's okay.  I'll get her next time.

  

PS. didn't those dresses turn out cute!  

For links to the lovely patterns, click here .

Anne Geddes makes it look easy.

 
So, I tried to put my niece on a pumpkin.

There are several reasons why it did not work.
1. She hated it.
2. little babies love being warm almost as much as they love being swaddled. Pumpkins aren't warm.
3. the pumpkin was not perfectly smooth, even though I put a napkin on it. which you can totally see.
4. I really needed a bigger pumpkin. Like one of those blue-ribbon-winning-oh-my-goodness-that's-a-big-pumpkin.  She was securely on there, but she wasn't able to rest on it and be happy.
5. Did I mention that babies love being warm?

I knew all of this going in, but the pumpkin was so creamy and lovely, and I just couldn't help hoping that there would be this magical Anne Geddes-like moment where I could capture her looking unutterably cute.
Anyway, we got a good laugh out of it. I still kind of love these pictures because of how they completely don't work.

We got her off of there pretty quick and snuggled her in cozy black velvet.  She was much happier.

The pictures I took on the black velvet have this odd, dreamy quality that I always love when I find it.  Even when she was momentarily upset and screaming her lungs out, there was just this passion to her movements.  Newborns are so awkward, ungainly, squashy, oddly proportioned, and yet absolutely perfect.

Never has anyone looked or felt so completely, completely alive as a newborn.

Fire and Fall

An emerald is as green as grass;
a ruby red as blood;
A sapphire shines as blue as heaven;
A flint lies in the mud.

 A diamond is a brilliant stone,
to catch the world's desire;
An opal holds a fire spark;
but a flint holds fire.
                           -Christina Rosetti

It is early fall, and the weather is perfect for layers of warmer clothing, baking, walks in the woods, and going to bonfires. It is so delicious to be able to wear sweaters again!
I miss my sweaters and scarves during the summer months.

Last weekend, I went to a bonfire out in the country.  We laughed, talked, drank beer and stared into the warm, comforting fire.  Some people played corn-hole while others put on music to line dance to.  My sister brought the last of the fireworks we bought for her birthday, and we set them off.  My sister and brother saw a shooting star.

I brought my camera, because I just like bringing my camera, despite its size.  Plus I wanted to try out my low-light lens while taking fire pictures.  I found that it was more responsive in capturing the subtler colors of the flames amongst the coals. lovely.