Autumnal

I hope you all had a happy Halloween last night, but perhaps more importantly, I hope you are having a wonderful autumn!  Fall has been in full swing, from full golden trees, to falling red maple leafs, and a bit of the obligatory cold rain and wind. Despite the drop in temperature, this season is hard not to admire… the transformation that nature goes through is truly stunning, which is why I asked readers and friends to submit their photos, drawings, poems, etc inspired by the theme Autumnal. Thank you so much to the following lovelies for submitting these wonderful pieces:Michelle Ashton “I’ve been loving the signs of autumn ~ brisk air, bright colors and crisp fallen leaves to crunch through.” -Kimi Kobashi“My hedgehog says he would love to feature in your Autumn post before he goes off to hibernate for Winter.” -Sarah Hutchinson Burke “As a little girl I was always drawn to the trees in my yard, often spending entire days sitting under their magic blanket of leaves and interweaving branches. Visiting my parent’s house one afternoon with my son, I was drawn back to them. I crawled my way under their low hanging branches and found a spot to sit and snapped this photo. I sat their with my son taking in their magic once again.” - Lisa Marie Tsering “I saw your request for autumnal themed artworks… this illustration of mine is a hand printed lino-cut of a self-portrait based on an old family photo.”- Lorna Cox “I do enjoy your blog, like it that  you live just north of me and share so many interests. The watercolor above is one panel from a five panel series about the foliage around my house through the seasons.” -Katy Gilmore “This was taken on the trail near the cabin where I’m staying in Arizona, in a pine and aspen forest. Some of the aspen leaves are turning yellow, while other trees are already bare, with tall evergreens sprinkled between. The air is so crisp and clean here, it really feels like autumn!” -Anika Starmer

I hoped you enjoyed these autumnal beauties! I will be sharing my Autumnal themed snaps tomorrow and I will be looking forward to seeing your submissions for November’s collaborative post, “Soft Spot.”

home sweet home

This post has been a long time coming, excuse me for my tardiness; I promised to share a few snapshots of my house back in September, along with some of your lovely illustrations of “home sweet home” so here they are now… “Good luck with your move and thanks for the opportunity to share some of my work with you.” -Emily Balsley “It’s a very small paper cut that I made and photographed in my living room – it’s my interpretation of home sweet home” -Claire of mylitlepicturebook“I made this painting of the most iconic building of my husband’s hometown in Italy and it hangs in our kitchen reminding us of all the friends and family we have there, as well as many good times. It’s a way to keep a bit of our sweet faraway home with us wherever we’re living.” -Kimi Kobashi“This design was somehow timed just right!  I was working on it anyway, it marks the start of me doing more illustrations of buildings. It’s nice to know that this one has even more purpose!  I was thinking of you with your recent move when I was painting it.” -Charlotte VallanceOur key rack made by my dear friend Cajsa Fredin. The keychains are also adorned with art and gifts from Natalie Ruby and Caren Gibb.Some of the best things on display in the kitchen: Pauline Newhouse pottery sitting above some delicious cookbooks.A cozy couch spot with a custom owl quilt by my mother and a Canadiana cushion by Identity lit by my grandfather’s lamp.Sitting amongst the treeline outside my bedroom window is my collaborative piece with Anna Jane Searle, a lino cut from Justice Bicycle and a print from Brooke Weeber.A cooking corner filled with kitschy ceramics, screaming oven mitt from Nick Oostyen and an incredible mixed media piece by Carney Oudendag.

Thanks for your patience my friends and thank you to those who submitted their beautiful depictions of this dear notion.

home sweet home

Just a little more than a month has passed since John and I found out we were moving to the West Kootenays! Things are finally settling into their right places, and boxes are becoming fewer and fewer; this newly renovated basement suite is really starting to feel like home. In celebration of that happy, warm feeling I am going to be doing a few more “home sweet home” posts and I wanted to let my readers share in the fun. If you’d like to participate: take a photo, make a drawing, etc that symbolizes this mantra, then e-mail it to naturesmyfriend@gmail.com subject: “home sweet home” and include a link to your website. Submissions will be accepted now until August 21st and will be posted alongside my own “home sweet home” inspirations and some documentation of the new pad (even my studio)!