Gift #343: Greeting cards

While in a gift shop a while ago, I was perusing the greeting cards and came across these little cuties.  I loved all the whimisical designs and think they will be perfect for bringing a smile to the recipient’s face.  Each of them were so adorable, it was hard to have a favorite.  I enjoy the popular idea in the stamping community of putting a bird on everything, so I think right now my favorite is the one with a bird perched on the phonograph.  Birds always make everything better, don’t you think?

Blessings to you,

Sarah

 

Gift #342: Garden Vignettes

Today I’ll share some scenes from our Indy Botanical Gardens.  Although not extensive, the gardens are well kept and curated and are a lovely way to spend an afternoon  Lots of people come up to draw and paint in the gardens, as it’s a wonderful place for inspiration.

This is my favorite part of our gardens – the little tortoise, squirrel, and hare statues that decorate the flower beds.  They are found on the tops of water fountains, in the formal gardens (where this one was taken) and in the flower beds.  They add a really whimiscal attitude to the gardens.

I took this snapshot of the brick walls of the garden, where some ivy was growing up the side.  I love vine-covered walls!

And of course, here are some flowers from the gardens.

 

And of course, an archway is a necessity in a garden.

 

Blessings to you,

Sarah

Gift #341: Garden flowers

I spent some time today at the garden center and took lots of pictures of the flowers.  They’re at their peak now, with so many plants heavy with blooms.  And they smell so wonderful.  Here are some of my favorite flowers from today, including a beautiful foxglove.  This is digitalis #2 because our first foxglove did not make it through the winter, and apparently several squirrels thought it was quite a treat.  So this lovely plant will be better protected from interested rodents.

This was a gorgeous, muted dahlia – cream and pale yellow in the center, with mauve petals.

And here are some other beauties.

 

 

Blessings to you,

Sarah

Gift #340: Oz: the Great and Powerful

Awhile back I went to see “OZ: The Great and Powerful” by Disney.  I was reluctant to see it because I am very loyal to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked and his interpretation of Oz, with the wizard being the real villain.  I wasn’t quite for sure how I’d take a retelling casting the wizard as the hero.  Fortunately, my mind was able to divorce the two tellings quite nicely and I was able to enjoy the movie without hating the wizard the whole time.  I very much enjoyed the film, especially the lovely backgrounds and scenic detail.  Oz was beautiful.  And the credits at the beginning were fanciful and done in a vaudeville style, which was perfect for an itinerant magician in Kansas destined to become the wizard in Oz.

After being transformed by Wicked I was especially interested to see how the film would play off the themes off good and evil in their characters as they explored the early days of the wizard’s arrival in Oz.  Theodora (an interesting derivation of Dorothy) was the sweet, innocent princess beguiled into thinking Oscar (the wizard) cared for her.  She was devastated when her sister (Witch of the East) also deceived her into believing her Oscar’s attentions were false.  Hurt and betrayed, Theodora asks her sister to make the pain stop, and sister gives her a potion that transforms her into the Wicked  Witch of the West, mortal enemy of the wizard.  This was a subtle twist, but it was Theodora’s desire not to feel any emotion that characterizes her ”wickedness.”  Her inability to feel or to empathize with others alienates her, shrinks her soul, and hardens her conscience.   I think this was an incredibly astute observation on the nature of evil as, at its source, a condition of selfishness and lack of compassion.

The wizard is plagued with his own demons of selfishness, greed, and ambition.  Throughout the film, he is conflicted between two paths of being good or being great.  If he sees others at all, it is only in the context of what they can do for him.   As his friendship with Glinda and his companions grows deeper, you’re still not sure how he will respond as the great confrontation in Oz grows near.  In the end however, he realizes he is ready to sacrifice his agenda for life for the good and security of this country, and for the love of Glinda and his friends.  At the beginning of the film, Oscar expresses his wish to be great, not merely good.  At the end of the film, Glinda tells him he has achieved all she ever wanted for him.  “Greatness?” he asks.  “Goodness”, she responds.  Actually, he was both.

Here are some ATCs (artist trading cards, 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″) that I was inspired to create from the fantastic scenes and emotions created by the film.  Stamps are by Artful Illusions, Inkadinkado, and Crafty Individuals.  Everything was colored with Tim Holtz Distress Inks and pencils.

Blessings to you,

Sarah

Gift #339: Garden succulents

During a recent trip to the nursery, I took these pictures of lovely succulents in the greenhouse.  I love succulents!  All types!  These are especially fun because of the creative ways they’re planted.

blessings to you,

Sarah

This is another bird book I found at Black dog Books.  It was a little pricey, but it is an antique bird guide used by a young woman in the 1890s.  There are sketched drawings of birds and descriptions of the habitat. The owner of the boom has penciled in sightings of each of the birds and the details of each,, including the date.  It is a very special record of a woman’s love of birds from a bygone age.  I love the cover of the book as well, with its ornate decorations.

Inside the flyleaf is this quote she wrote on pencil.  ” It is always morning somewhere, and above the awakening continents, from shore to shore, somewhere the birds are singing evermore.”

What a lovely thought.

Blessings to you,

Sarah

 

Gift #337: Bird sketches

On one of my recent trips to Zionsville, I poked around in their local book shop, Black Dog Books.  Black Dog #1 had passed away several months ago and Black Dog #2, Sophie, has joined the family.  She is a loving sweet black lab puppy who is mainly interested in getting her ears scratched and figuring out how to escape out the gate.  I really enjoy visiting the book shop, not just because of the dog, but the owner is sweet and always has an interesting story to tell about a book I’m buying.  I found these sketches in an old field guide on bird watching and thought they were lovely.  I hope you do too.

 

Blessings to you,

Sarah