resurrection fern

this book was a tree

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I was so delighted when Marcie sent me an advance copy of her most amazing book, This Book Was a Tree. "At no time in human history have we been more disconnected with what lies outside our front doors. Within just a century, our relationship with our surroundings has transformed from one of exploration to one of disassociation. This Book Was a Tree offers the opportunity to become reacquainted with the Earth—to look at the world with fresh eyes. The book issues a call for a new era of pioneers—not leathery, backwoods deerskin-wearing salt pork and hominy pioneers, but strong-minded, clever, crafty, mudpie-making, fort-building individuals committed to examining the natural world and deciphering nature’s perplexing puzzles."

This book is something every parent, grandparent, educator and tree hugger should have as reference and inspiration. Marcie is a science teacher and this is evident in every chapter with her curiosity and knowledge of our natural world. It is definitely not just another nature craft book. It is so much more than that. Another amazing thing about this book is that Marcie herself did all the illustations and they are awesome.

I love the spaces for your own thoughts and observations. There is a section about drawing a map of your observations of a particular place. This is something I love to do when I travel, especially on canoe trips. I thought I would take a photo of my nature observation map I drew a few years back while on a canoe trip in Algonquin Park.

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If you or someone you know might like to puchase this book you can do so through this link.

enjoy

xx

margie

 

a gift, a trade and a prize

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a precious handmade papercut and brooch from my oldest online friend elsita

so excited that she might be buying a house in new york state in the future and moving closer to canada

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delicate and beautiful postcards all the way from st petersburg, russia

the birth city of my father jerzy glinski

a prize i won from the wonderful advent giveaway month

thank you olga

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and my favourite new red mug for which i traded a naturally dyed crochet covered stone

i have long been in love with the work of diana fayt

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big snow storm hitting ontario later today

so off to do my errands early so I can stay cozy and warm at home

the rest of the day

xx

m

 

green therapy

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if you live in toronto and you need some green therapy you should go visit the gorgeous shop

crown flora studio

the home away from home of adam and davis

I am certain that this shop and bookhou are my absolute toronto favorites

it is so much more than a shop

you can see adam making terrariums

and davis sewing his amazing bags at the sewing machine

they do their own letterpress

and

even hold workshops

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adam made the most beautiful terrarium as a gift to me

with airplants

it is very happy in my studio now

:)

bookhou + geninne

 

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these lovely friends make such beauty together

now to decide where to put my wall art so i can admire it everyday

oh and isn't the drop cloth where arounna printed it amazing

i would like to frame that and hang it on my wall too!!!

if you missed out on this first colaboration a little birdie told me there are more projects planned

lucky us :)

i met a storyteller

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who uses the medium of clay to tell her stories

i met tanya besedina at the one of a kind show

and i was immediately attracted to her magical display

i love all things folkloric

i love terracotta clay 

and i love colour

it was as though my polish ancestry and my walk through the mexican market place with geninne

had been wed

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tanya was wonderful to talk to

she noticed my favorite elsita pin on my dress and told me how much she loved my dear friends art

and how she connects with her because she to has a "hero" child in her life, her daughter

I would love to take a workshop with her one day

for now I will enjoy her website, galleries and her online shops

i hope you will explore them too.

xo

m

the yellow, blue, white lights of day

i am sure many of you have already realized that i am an early riser

a very early riser

in fact sometimes i chuckle to myself because i am getting out of bed only a few hours

after my night owl friend arounna has just finished working in her studio

i love the light, the predawn golden light that melts into blues and then soft white

, strengthening

as the sun rises in the sky over my backyard shed

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i know another early riser, my beautiful friend, nicole

i hope you will join me in wishing her a happy birthday today

you can find a wonderful conversation with her here

I love that wyeth quote too :)

 

winter visit to mer bleue

with my beautiful, thoughtful and seriously talented friend nicole

there she is in her snail like photography pose:)

I don't think I know anyone else who loves winter as much as nicole

I bet she is really looking forward to the winter storm due to hit ontario in the next 12 hrs

happy birthday geninne

I am sending my very best wishes, kisses and hugs on the wings of the birds this year.

Hope you have the most amazing year!!!

embracing the unexpected

after traveling over 5000 km by car

moving 10 ( or was it 11) car loads of stuff for 4 lovely people

squeezing in time for brief yet very enjoyable trips to five beaches

where i collected some stones ( of course) 

and took some pictures ( of course) 

i was wondering what to post 

and 

decided

to post 

the unexpected

which deserves at least a little explanation

when we were enjoying the summer weather that arrived on the east coast when we did ( coincidence?) I decided to go for a walk down martinique beach ( the longest sand beach in nova scotia)

i met up with some darling little birds balancing on one leg on the beach and wanted to change lenses ( to the macro) 

on doing so I don't think I put the lense on tightly because when i checked the photographs that evening they were all super over exposed

i thought my camera was broken but thank goodness it wasn't

i was just going to delete all the pics of that day but when i took a closer look at them i actually like many of them

they have a very artsy look to them

i mean that in a good way

i wonder what you think....

(before the messed up lens change)

bekki bird

rebekah and matthew

deborah and kevin

back to work tomorrow

wish me luck:)

fog and swell

I was so pleased the kristie of fog and swell agreed to do a little trade with me. A hand dyed and crocheted covered stone for a hand dyed and stitched urchin. Sounds good , doesn't it.

Of course it looks even better when you see it in person.

and as you can see the resident merfish are just as smitten as I am.

Thank you so much k.