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.

Advent & Christmas

Time just flew by during Advent. Every day I opened a door of my Advent calendar finding a gemstone. Here they are all together:

Each Advent Sunday a candle was lit on the Advent wreath:

On December 6, Saint Nicholas Day was celebrated in Germany. Of course, I also got a treat having been a good girl: 

Finally, Christmas was there! Here's the Christmas tree, a small but lovely one this year:

Shortly before Christmas my amaryllis opened all its blossoms. It looked just gorgeous on Christmas day:

Anyway, I hope everyone had great holidays. Here's to a magical and joyous New Year!

Colorful Fall

November 1, All Saints' Day, was a splendid fall day right out of a fairy tale book. I just love fall trees.
 

I also love fall decoration -- especially the one below.

Halloween

Halloween without a pumpkin? Certainly not! I think my Jack O'Lantern had a friendly, mischievous face this year.
 

Of course, I had to wear Halloween socks on October 31 -- the ones with the little black bells in the shape of a cat's head.
 

Winter Wonderland

Overnight, Munich has turned into a Winter Wonderland. It's a bit early in the season, especially since I am the one who has to shovel the snow from the pavement.

I think the zebra grass in the garden looks especially pretty with its cover of fresh snow.

Today I wore my winter boots for the first time this winter season, so here you see my snowy boots.

Early Snow, Thiersee & Fly

All of a sudden, fall has come. Now it seems that, all of a sudden, winter has come as well. When I woke up this morning, it was snowing. In fact, it has been snowing non-stop since then. It's too early in the season for the snow to stay on the ground for a longer time, yet it's undeniable snow. Here you see a photo of the flowerbed next to the terrace as well as the view of our neighbors' garden from my bathroom window. You should be able to make out the falling snow on the latter picture.

Last Sunday was a sunny, splendid fall day. We took the opportunity to visit friends in Austria. Below you see a photo of Thiersee, a lovely Austrian village.

This morning I made a digital collage using just my own photos -- the forest nearby, a butterfly from Pecos National Monument, and yours truly. I like the dreamlike quality about it.

Three Ghosts

Once in a while I enjoy creating regular ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), getting my hands dirty with stamping color and glue. Lately, I made two Halloween ATCs -- Three Ghosts and Boo Cat -- which are now part of an ever-changing ATC collage on the wall of my study.

 

Artichoke Flower

Have you ever come across an artichoke flower? It's a truly beautiful and unique flower. I first saw it in a store earlier this week. Have a look yourself:

 

Fall

It's the first day of October and a sunny, glorious fall day here in Munich.
 

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

This spider currently lives in our garden -- and it isn't that itsy bitsy...

Butterfly Face

Here's a portrait of myself with a few alterations in Paint Shop Pro:

 

Monster

Halloween comes nearer and thus the monsters start to rise! Yesterday I tried something new -- I airbrushed an ATC from the scratch:

 

Oneida Girl

As much as I love working with a graphic program, I also enjoy sketching once in a while. Here's a drawing of a little girl from the Oneida Indian Nation:

My Landscape

I find it intriguing to tell something about oneself via collages. Thus I enjoyed creating several ATC-sized cards in a "Me" challenge. One of them is titled My Landscape:

It's a photo I took in Monument Valley a couple of years ago. In fact, I won with it the first prize in a photo contest of a perfume company which asked for photos representing the spirit of the USA. The prize was this table clock:

If you push a button, a little stage with a New York City scene opens and the first tunes of "New York New York" are played. The clock has a place of honor on my computer desk, and I just love it!

Bionade

Have you ever heard of Bionade? It's an organically manufactured non-alcoholic refreshment drink -- and a real alternative to other soft drinks. There are four different flavors -- Elderberry, Lychee, Herb, and Ginger-Orange. The latter is my favorite -- really tasty and refreshing!

Brontosaurus Eggs

Guess what? Today I bought brontosaurus eggs -- and ate one of them. Seriously. Have you ever seen a brontosaurus egg? They look like that:

 

 

It's a new kind of plum -- or at least one I hadn't come across before. Those brontosaurus eggs are just delicious!

Hair Ornament

 

This morning I went through my various hair clips and ornaments, re-discovering a wooden one which is just perfect to pin up my hair. So now all my shiny, glossy hair is up and away from my nape -- yeah!