Dream Landscape

At the digital graphics group We Love Digital Art, I recently started a new challenge -- to create a dream landscape which speaks to one's heart and soul. Yesterday I finally got around to make my own dream landscape. I used four of my photos -- a sunset in the American West, a doorway in Santa Fe, marbles, and a candle holder. I blended those layers, applying my fractal brush and a mask as final touch. I am quite happy with my dream landscape!

 

Butterfly Bookmark

Do you also have a bookmark which you just love? I absolutely adore the butterfly bookmark my friend Dawn sent me a couple of years ago. When the light is right, those butterflies make beautiful butterfly shadows on the other book page -- it looks magical! At the moment I use this bookmark to mark the pages of These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner, a pioneer story which I can definitely recommend.

My Top Ten Books of 2007

In no particular order, here are my favorite books of 2007:

1. Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult (5/5)
2. Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas (5/5)
3. The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons (5/5)
4. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (5/5)
5. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (5/5)
6. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (5/5)
7. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (5/5)
8. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (5/5)
9. The Husband by Dean Koontz (5/5)
10. City Of Masks by Daniel Hecht (4/5)

Pouring Lead on New Year's Eve

It's a dear tradition in my family -- pouring lead on New Year's Eve. If you want to read more about New Year's customs in Germany, be sure to visit this website. Anyway, the first figure which was melted that night was a fish. Its outline could be seen in the spoon even after it had melted:

Here are all the figures we created on New Year's Eve:

Some are pretty amazing, aren't they? Of course, they all mean good luck! Finally, here's a close-up picture of a Christmas ornament. Yup, that's me with the camera in my hand. You will often see me like that.