Blue Valentine: Forget Me Nots

Forget Me Nots are one of my favorite flowers. I love their beautiful shade of blue, delicate size and the sentiment expressed in their name. Why not go blue this Valentine's Day and send someone a sweet little reminder of you?

The Forget Me Not Notebook is just one of the great Valentine's Day gifts available at Smythson. The Forget Me Knot Ring is available here. Or keep it simple and tuck a packet of seeds in with your Valentine.

Valentine's Treats: Key to My Heart, Key to My Room

Roses and chocolates are nice, but I'd rather a gift that lasts longer and doesn't make me think I should really be hitting the gym.

ArtMind's porcelain Key to My Heart is a beautiful way to give someone yours. Or conjure up some romance with one of the English Muse's evening bags filled with treasures from Paris including a vintage hotel key.

Give and Give Some More

Looking for a gift? Why not visit Craft Hope for Haiti and make an your gift an extra special one. Craft Hope for Haiti has a great selection of handmade gifts donated by the crafting community and all sale proceeds will benefit Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. Another reason to support and love handmade.

Snow, Ground Hogs, Saints, and Pagans

I know a lot of people are thinking enough already, but it February folks! Snow is normal this time of year. I think we are all getting a little too used to climate change when we hope for 60 degree weather in the midst of winter. Personally, I'm hoping we get one more really big snow during this my birth month. I still need to make a snow man with my daughter this winter.

The fact yesterday was Ground Hog Day may have raised hopes for an early Spring. February 2nd is also Imbolic the Celtic celebration associated with the goddess Brigid or St. Brigid for the non pagans among us. Imbolic is a richer celebration and more layered with meaning than the modern Ground Hog Day of which it is the likely precursor. That is Brigid's Cross sitting in our window in honor of my daughter and the pagan/saint in her.

Alternate Realities #4: LOST

Well, I'm not going to be watching the premiere of the new season with everyone else tonight. I still have three episodes of Season 5 to finish on DVD and I'm not going to rush them. Last year I rushed through the end of Season 4, so I could finally catch up and watch the show on TV. That lasted all of a week. I have come to accept that when it comes to LOST, I like the show am on my own special time schedule.

It seems I am destined to watch the show on my computer at odd hours and I kind of like that. I don't mind the small screen viewing. It's intimate and allows me to avoid commercials and rewind when I want. What I do mind is that the show is coming to an end. I'm glad on one hand that they are not letting the show die a grueling death like ER, but I will miss this crazy and beautiful alternate reality with it's difficult characters, moral dilemmas, and slippery sense of time.

Go Pink!

Wow! I wish I had been able to watch the Grammy Awards live but toddlers and award shows don't mix. Luckily I was able to track down the video of Pink performing her song "Glitter in the Air". Sadly the video has been pulled from YouTube because of copyright issues. if you can find a copy of the video it is well worth a look.

A Shot of Magenta

I think the gray weather has me craving some vivid color. I could see myself living happily with either of these bright furniture pieces. Maybe even set next to a magenta wall.

Stripped Kilim Sofa at Anthropologie and Pink Toile Chest at Bryonie Porter.

A Hint of Spring

It feels so much like early spring today. The sunlight outside has that end of winter feel. Must be why I found my self in a mood to clean and clear. I didn't get very far but I'm making a new bag for the Salvation Army and a bag to go to a consignment shop. Project pair down continues.

This lovely print by Shotei Hiroaki c. 1930 reminds me of spring and also of how less is truly more.

A New Sketchbook To Fill

A new sketchbook is definitely less intimidating than a free standing blank sheet of drawing paper. I think a blank sheet of paper is well the toughest place to start drawing. I usually mark or color my paper immediately so it is not so wide open and scary.

Still, I always feel much freer drawing in a sketchbook maybe because of the privacy factor. Close the cover and it is your own private drawing world. Also there's always a next page if you don't like the one before.

I got really inspired looking at Linzie Hunter's flicker stream of her Lettering Sketchbook. Above is just one of the great pages in it. If you like Linzie's work there are still some of her prints available at 20 x 200. Now I'm off to break in my own sketchbook and make it truly mine.

In the Deep of Winter

We still have at least two months of cold weather ahead and perhaps some real snow too. I find it a bit disconcerting to go into stores and see all the bright yellow we are all destined to wear this spring. I know, I know, it's Resort Wear season but, I'm still deep in winter and not in the mood to start planning what I'll be wearing come April. Above are a few items more fitting for my wintery state of mind.

Sugar Stacks Ring in amethyst by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany
Ruffle Skirt by Econica
1890s Amphora Earrings at Erie Basin
Top by La Casita de Wendy