Celebrating the Winter Solstice

To be clear, I am not happy that today has the least amount of sunlight of any day of the year. What I am celebrating is that today marks the worst of the dwindling sunlight. After today, the daylight hours will lengthen once more. So let me wish you a Happy Winter Solstice and share an uplifting picture of sunbeams breaking through to mark the occasion.

State of Texas Nature Designations

I have heard it said that Texas is a state of mind. If your mind likes to linger on the nature around you, you might be interested in what critters and plants Texas has designated as the state bird, tree, etc.. I snapped the following images in my yard or DWG's Pappy Elkins Park and turned them into photographic art to celebrate the beauty of these state designated critters and plants.

State native shrub: Cenizo

State bird: Mockingbird

State plant: Prickly Pear

State insect: Monarch butterfly

State tree: Pecan

State flower: Bluebonnet

Eclectic Design Choices to be at Event Dec. 9-23, 2017

Hand crafted creations representative of both my EDCCollective and EclecticSkeptic Etsy shops are included in the Happy Holidays Pop-Up Market being held at The Sleepy Cottage in Downtown Arlington. I am one of thirteen artisans whose handmade wares are on display and waiting to brighten someone's day on your holiday gift list. The pop-up market opened last Saturday and many items of mine and the other artisans have found new homes already. Quite a few of the items on display are one of a kind, so come out and shop before that fabulous find is gone or before the market closes on December. 23.

I took the images in this post as the market was beginning to be stocked. My flying pig note cards share a display with note cards from the artist Kristy Jarvis. While my photographic art print is of a wine bottle, I love the juxtaposition with the sleep mask that reads, "Wake me for Champagne".

There is much more than cards, art and sleep masks to be found at The Happy Holidays Pop-Up Market. You will find pottery, soap, jewelry, crochet, tile and glass mosaics, candles, ornaments and more. Thanks in advance for those of you who stop by to browse.