Tag: Christmas Trees

#ThursdayTreeLove | Tickled Pink

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Pink Christmas Tree

I have been tickled pink this week!

Earlier this week, I went to the [indoor] mall for the first time in a long, long time. I had hoped to get caught up in the madness of last-minute Christmas shopping, but there was no frenzy. In fact, the line for photos with Santa was the shortest I have ever seen. I have never, ever seen a mall less “bustling” at Christmas!

I walked the mall twice and ended up spending a good bit of time in a store that specializes in Christmas ornaments. The ornaments were cute, but it was the pink Christmas tree [above] that captured my attention. I prefer traditional Christmas colors, but it would be nice to add a small pink tree in honor of my sisters.

Pink is definitely this week’s color.

The next day, I checked my post office box and found a gift from Wanéa, one of my students–a painting of a tree filled with pink blossoms! She loves pink and I love trees, so this is truly a precious gift. [Thanks, Wanéa!]

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Wanéa is not only my student; she is also the daughter of my college roommate, Wanda. Now, I have a special tree painting from both mother and daughter in my art collection!

What color(s) has this week brought you?

I am joining Parul Thakur for #ThursdayTreeLove every second and fourth Thursday of the month. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link it back to her latest #treelove post.

12 Days of Christmas Postcards | Day 4

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It never ceases to amaze me how artists can make a complex project seem so simple. Such is the case with this elegant holiday postcard made by my Love Notes friend, Martha S. At first glance, it seems she “just” glued varying lengths of washi tape to the pretty red, glittery twine and adhered it to a piece of [really nice] art board.

“I can do that!”–so we think.

However, when we look closely, we’ll see the strips were made from tears of origami paper. This gave the tree texture and dimension–especially since it was adhered to really nice (and thick) piece of art board. [The card is far more impressive “in person”].

This look is not so easily achieved!

Just for fun–or to make my point–I attempted to make a tree with “plain ol’ washi tape.”  As expected…fail.

Tree fail!

I did this in less than five minutes–that includes looking for materials, which I didn’t take too seriously. 😀 It looks like a sailboat gone awry.

Part of the challenge of making art is accepting that it takes time and knowing how to work the materials you’re using. Magnificence is rarely achieved in under five minutes.

Thank you, Martha, for taking the time to craft many beautiful works of Christmas tree art and sending them out into the world.

For more of Martha’s art and thoughts, take a click over to her blog: Postcards in the Air.

12 Days of Christmas Postcards | Day 3

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I like dressing in all seasons.
Every season has its own character and charm.
-Pierce Brosnan-

Since today is #ThursdayTreeLove, I’m sharing a tree-filled holiday postcard from Grass Valley, California. For this postcard, Love Notes pal, Kelly C. collaged four photos of the same scene from each of the seasons. While the evergreens hold their color, the grass, pond, snow, and other trees signify the changing seasons.

Don’t you just love the pun? Apropos for a “season’s greetings” postcard!

Seasons’ Greetings!

I am joining Parul Thakur for #ThursdayTreeLove every second and fourth Thursday of the month. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link it back to her latest #treelove post.

Walk the Tinsel Trail with Me!

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Happy Holidays!

When I wrote my last NaBloPoMo 2016 post, I planned to share (soon after) the photos from a post-Thanksgiving walk through the “Tinsel Trail” at Big Spring Park in Huntsville, Alabama.  The end-of-semester wrap up, holiday preparations, and sheer exhaustion hindered that effort, but I cannot let the holiday season pass without sharing the photos I captured.

“Tinsel Trail” is a display of Christmas trees in the park, located in Downtown Huntsville.  The trees are sponsored by various companies, groups, and even families.

There are a lot of trees and far too many to share in one post.  I captured more than 150 photos (not every tree), but I’m sharing only about one-third of them with you.

The trees are decorated in various ways, expressing the personalities of the groups sponsoring them.  Some are traditional with ornaments, bulbs, and ribbon.  [Click one of the collaged images for a closer look]

Some are there simply for company advertisement.

Some promote the arts.

Some education.

Some support parks and recreational areas.

Some raise awareness about mental illness.

Some are full of sugary dreams of childhood.

There are trucks.

And trains serving childhood fantasies of the North Pole.

Of course, Santa is there.

And other characters familiar to kids (and adults).

There are superheroes.

And favored villains.

There are reminders that some of us go through the holidays carrying grief.

There is a cute owl tree I can’t wait to share with a little friend who loves them.

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Some represent universities.

And (for my many Alpha Kappa Alpha friends), at least one sorority.

Some are patriotic.

And, of course, many are religious, reminding us of the “reason for the season,” with messages of love and offers of hope in the Messiah.

Sometimes, I took in as much as I could of the whole image.

Sometimes, I focused on the details.

All in all, this was a wonderful visual feast and I hope you had a pleasurable walk with me.  Most of the photos were captured during late afternoon just before sunset, but we plan to go back before the trail vanishes to enjoy it in its evening glory.

For now, have a joyous Christmas season!