Winter Days with my Gal

A chilly view of silhouettes from our bathroom window. When the sun comes up in the morning these are the shadows that reflect on our pebbled glass window. It's a striking sight when I walk in at the right time.

We have been busy making our decorations for the holidays. You can also see Toot's turkey made from construction paper, pine cone, feathers and eyes that move around in their plastic casings. The Christmas decorations are also great because we will recycle the paper and make new ones next year.

We also made it to the Huntington Gardens on the 3rd. We went with some friends in Toot's class. We had a fabulous time. So much to see and enjoy! I did get to take some photos of textures and nice shapes for inspiration. I'm anxious to paint again, but the days go so quickly and the sun is gone so early in the day. I need natural light to paint. I did have a great time photographing the desert gardens. So photography will have to be my creative outlet for now.

Potato printmaking this year for our Christmas cards.

We're making our Christmas cards this year. Well, I've been making them for several years now. It's become a Christmas tradition that I've started since my girl has been with us. It's possible that I did make our Christmas cards before she was born, but I don't remember anymore. This year she has added some details to a couple of cards. I did let her print a couple and I'll post the finished product in a few days. We're still working on them.

Earthworm and A Ladybug Feasting on Aphids.

Pleased to say that I've finished a couple of small pieces. Well, almost finished. I still need to add string or wire so they may be hung.

This is an earthworm. Worm compost inspired.

I do love this piece! Nice flowing lines on the worms outline. My favorite green and I do like the contrasting pink. The black lines are grass. Earth and grass meeting at the bottom.

Ladybug feasting on aphids.

Today we worked on a leaf painting project that kept us busy for a while. The leaves we collected were from our front and backyard. Finger painting the leaves was a lot easier than using the brushes I first had her use. It's refreshing to watch Toot dive into the paints and not be afraid to get her fingers full of paint. The paints are non-toxic.

We glued the leaves beside their print and I put them in a clear sleeve to keep them for memories.

As you can see Tootie is also learning how to write. She can write her name without my spelling it out for her. All other words she asks me to spell out and she'll meticulously write each letter with great care. She likes making lists for when we go to the farmer's market. The last list she made had a single word, "Strawberries".