Let's Celebrate: A Giveaway

I just wanted to share with you a few of the new photos in my etsy shop. If you are looking for a unique gift, please consider a fine art photograph. My shop includes classic landscapes, beautiful flower photography, and clean, spare black and white images.

I thought we might do a little giveaway to celebrate Leap Day. Browse through my shop, then come back here and let me know in the comments which image you might like to win. To gain extra entries, share your favorite on Facebook or Twitter, or blog about this giveaway, then come back and leave another comment for each entry. The giveaway will be open through midnight on March 6th (Eastern time). Winner to be announced on Wednesday, March 7th.

Is that clear?

First entry: Leave a comment naming your favorite image.

Second entry: Share your favorite on Facebook, and leave another comment here.

Third entry: Tweet about your favorite, and leave another comment here.

Fourth entry: Blog about this giveaway, and leave another comment here.

Four ways to enter, four separate comments. OK?

I hope you enjoy browsing in the shop. Happy Leap Year, dear bloggers! xoxo

Mosaic Monday: With a Vintage Feel

Mosaic Monday originally started out because I couldn't think of anything to post about, but I had photos aplenty. I put several of them together, and voila -- Mosaic Monday. Usually, I would choose my photos not for any special occasion or subject, but rather because they fit into a certain color theme. And that is just what I have done today. So really, I can't imagine what to say about this grouping, except that I love whites with a vintage feel. In case you are interested, the photos of the flowers, the snow and the books were all edited using the Nodding Violet Cotton Candy Photoshop actions pack. The books have a texture on them as well. The post cards are part of Sarah Gardner's papers collection.

I'm feeling the urge to start a weekly photography project with a different theme each week -- a color or a subject... Is anybody else up for something like that? If so, let me know in the comments or shoot me an email. Click on my profile to find my email address.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. It has been cold here in New Jersey, but beautifully sunny. Here's looking forward to March! I want to take a moment to thank all of you who take time out of your busy day to visit here. I hope you feel welcome at Little Red House, and please know that your visits and comments are so greatly appreciated! xoxo

Here are the instructions to join today's post:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all of us at Mosaic Monday!  

1.	Lavender Dreams	25.	Ingmarie We/Refugium	49.	Pamela Gordon
2.	Home is Where the Boat Is	26.	QMM	50.	Tulips@anangloinquébec
3.	Ebie, CA	27.	Heather	51.	Crafty Gardener, Canada
4.	eileen	28.	Terri @ Fifty for Four	52.	Joe Todd
5.	Vee	29.	Mary Tingsgrove, KY	53.	Puna@LifeSignatures
6.	Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook	30.	Becky	54.	Wet a hook, antique shopping and more
7.	Rajesh, India	31.	Nature Trail	55.	Spring Sideboard
8.	Kim,USA	32.	JBigg - Need A Little More Blue	56.	Teresa
9.	Cream Cheese Pound Cake	33.	Pat ~ Mille Fiori Favoriti	57.	Elaine
10.	Jackie's life in Surrey, UK	34.	Sweet Nothings	58.	Niagara Butterfly Conservatory
11.	Edwards Granddaughter	35.	Teacup-In-The-Garden	59.	Dawn Treader Sweden
12.	ellen b	36.	le chateau frontenac, quebec city	60.	Rosewalk Cottage
13.	Pat@Back Porch Musings	37.	Happy Pink Saturday @ My Cozy Corner	61.	Seagulls, Surf and Sand
14.	Cathy	38.	Lorrie	62.	Sall's Country Life
15.	InaSandbox	39.	Cass at That Old House	63.	Brenda
16.	Gillyweed... Got Crabs?	40.	anyone need a towel?	64.	A waiting Spring
17.	Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olsn	41.	Trees and Daffodils in Normandy	65.	angenita
18.	Snap @ Twisty Lane	42.	Pondside	66.	twiggy
19.	Sallie (FullTime-Life)	43.	Tina´s PicStory	67.	Bluff Area Daily
20.	Dab of This and That	44.	Yael From Home Garden Diggers	68.	The Cottage Wren
21.	BailiwickStudio	45.	Janet at Planticru Notes	69.	Butterfly souls
22.	{oc cottage}	46.	cathy@home	70.	Karie's
23.	The Sweetest Days	47.	Wandering Thought	71.	English Spirits Pretty things
24.	Ingmarie We/Refugium	48.	Tracy F.

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

James and Maude

Just a couple of new faces here at Little Red House. :)

They are quite an inseparable pair.

Maude has a sweet personality,

while James is a bonafide nature-lover.

They love cooking together and spending long, leisurely hours over dinner. Please welcome James and Maude. ;)

Mosaic Monday: A Walk in the Park

Just a walk in the park today at Mosaic Monday. :)

As far as I'm concerned, this has been the greatest winter ever. The mild temperatures have tempted me outside almost every day. Walking has been wonderful. My husband and I did our Sunday walk at Natirar, and of course I brought my camera along.

Don't you love beech trees in winter? They hold their golden leaves through till spring, making the forest glow with light. There is music in the air as well -- the lovely sound of the water as it flows over the rocks in the river. Let's walk toward the old barn, with it's beautiful weathered boards silvery grey against the sky.

I have a lot of pictures of my husband's back. He's walking for fitness, while I'm dawdling with my camera. :) I have a lot of pictures of paths, too. They just draw me in. I guess they serve as a metaphor for life, but really I just love them because of the artistic effect of foreshortening. And well, maybe because they beckon me... :)

Where will your path lead you this week?

I should note that the initials carved into the tree were already there. We would never hurt a tree in this manner.

Here are the instructions to join today's post:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all of us at Mosaic Monday!  

1.	Lucy Abbott	21.	Pillow makeover @ My Cozy Corner	41.	Brenda
2.	Pat ~ Mille Fiori Favoriti	22.	Lorrie	42.	Leslie's Garden
3.	InaSandbox	23.	Kim,USA	43.	QMM
4.	ellen b	24.	Karen, A Scrapbook of Inspiration	44.	Bluff Area Daily
5.	Teresa	25.	Elaine	45.	Marianne@Leisure Lane
6.	Eileen	26.	Nadege	46.	Photos inspirations from by-gone days
7.	Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson	27.	Gillyweed... Pom Pom's	47.	Gayle - Solitary Moments
8.	Lavender Cottage	28.	Teacup-In-The-Garden	48.	Meri
9.	Pat@Back Porch Musings	29.	{a walk in the woods}	49.	twiggy
10.	Mary	30.	cathy@home	50.	Laura@Patiopatch
11.	Snap	31.	A day at the Races with the Duchess of Cornwall,(	51.	angenita
12.	Lavender Dreams	32.	Porch Days	52.	Schotzy@ Wings of Eagles
13.	My Little Home and Garden	33.	~miller park~	53.	Sallie (FullTime-Life)
14.	The Cottage Wren	34.	Tina´s PicStory	54.	Terri @ Fifty for Four
15.	Life Images by Jill	35.	Sweet Nothings	55.	Sall's Country Life
16.	Pondside - Looking for a Sunbeam	36.	Donna's Designs	56.	Crafty Gardener, Canada
17.	Rajesh, India	37.	Mary Tingsgrove, KY	57.	Patricia
18.	Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook	38.	Ingrid's Bare Trees	58.	Steamy Days & Sultry Nights
19.	Black Eyed Susans Kitchen	39.	Edwards Granddaughter
20.	JBigg - Waiting for Hummers	40.	Puna@LifeSignatures

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Love

"Doubt that the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move his aides,

Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love..."

William Shakespeare

Wishing you much love on this St. Valentine's Day!

Mosaic Monday: Winter Blues

We had a little bit of snow last week, and I couldn't resist taking a few shots in the early morning as the sun slanted between the trees in our front yard. I'm sure the people driving by on their way to work thought I was nuts. I had brought a small area rug outside and was lying down on it to get a shot of the sun glinting off the snow on the ground.

The things I do for art. ;)

How has your winter been so far? It's been lovely here, with temperatures in the 40's and 50's for the most part. Even this weekend, when it stayed in the 30's, I've been enjoying winter much more than usual. I think I can make it till spring without suffering the winter blues. As long as March isn't a bear. :)

In case you are interested, I made the mosaic above using a storyboard from The CoffeeShop Blog. You can find it here.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all of us at Mosaic Monday!  

1.	Life Images by Jill	27.	Katalin	53.	Red Toolbox Vignette
2.	Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson	28.	Snap @ Twisty Lane	54.	Valentines Day Tea
3.	Podso	29.	Snowy Birds	55.	Gina, Art and Alfalfa
4.	Mary Tingsgrove,KY	30.	Big Sister's Hands	56.	Shirley lemay
5.	My Little Home and Garden	31.	QMM	57.	Butterfly Souls
6.	Lavender Dreams	32.	Sallie (FullTime-Life)	58.	Pretty Papers @ My Place to Yours
7.	Cathy	33.	Ingmarie We/Refugium	59.	Coloring Outside the Lines
8.	valentine mosaics	34.	{oc cottage}	60.	Life Among Mountains
9.	Home is Where the Boat Is	35.	Becky	61.	Rain
10.	Black Eyed Susans Kitchen	36.	Diann @ The Thrifty Groove	62.	LindyLouMac in Italy
11.	Eileen	37.	Lorrie	63.	{jellies}
12.	Teresa	38.	Edwards Granddaughter	64.	Kim,USA
13.	Lavender Cottage	39.	Riet, , Holland	65.	Terri @ Fifty for Four
14.	Days of the Heart	40.	Sweet Nothings	66.	Sall's Country Life
15.	Rajesh, India	41.	Hugs and Kisses Tablescape	67.	The Cottage Wren
16.	Bailiwick Studio	42.	Teacup-In-The-Garden	68.	Schotzy@ Wings of Eagles
17.	Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook	43.	Sunny Simple Life	69.	Celebrating Love
18.	JBigg - My Valentine Tablescapes	44.	My Design Muse	70.	Porch Days
19.	ellen b	45.	Pondside-February Sunshine	71.	tree farm barn
20.	JBigg - Avala nche GorgeGNP	46.	Jackie's life in Surrey, UK	72.	Eden Hills
21.	Hearts, Roses & Tea	47.	Tina´s PicStory	73.	Canela Castela
22.	playingwithmycamera	48.	Elaine	74.	The Keen Eye (France)
23.	Gillyweed... Industrial lighting	49.	Yael at Home Garden Diggers	75.	Think Spring
24.	InaSandbox	50.	Ingrid starts Twitching	76.	Mary Tingsgrove, KY
25.	A Garden of Threads	51.	Anki-itte
26.	Pat ~ Mille Fiori avoritiF	52.	Crafty Gardener, Canada

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Make a Difference

I've been playing with some supermarket flowers this week. It's something I always do during the winter, as I wait for spring and the emergence of the early buds.

With the tremendous array of flowers available these days, carnations may seem a little pedestrian. But I have to say that these white ones caught my eye. I love the purity of color, and the beautiful hint of cloves in their ghostly fragrance.

For those of you who love photography and enjoy photo editing, all three of these images were edited using Sarah Gardner Renaissance Textures. They are available on her blog -- eight textures absolutely free, or ten textures for a $3. donation which will be given to the Tiny Sparrows Foundation, a non-profit organization which is dedicated to providing lasting memories through the art of photography to families whose children are facing life-threatening illnesses. This is such a wonderful cause, and I encourage you to visit Sarah's blog and take advantage of this offer, or click on the link to the Tiny Sparrows Foundation and learn more about their mission.

Mosaic Monday: Red Dining Room

My first experience with an online presence was at HGTV's Rate My Space. I remember posting my dining room under the title "I Love a Red Dining Room." And I was just the tiniest bit upset when someone (anonymously, of course) trashed it, saying that I should go get a subscription to Veranda.

Well, bloggers are so much sweeter and have much better manners. I have to explain, for those of you who may not know it, that this is my family home. My parents built it in 1959. In fact, my father actually built much of it with his own hands. And my mother lovingly decorated it, including the red wallpaper that still hangs in the dining room. I must say that I'm getting the urge to change it, but I'm almost certain that it won't be happening any time soon. In the meantime, I'm happy filling it with collections of tole trays, red transferware, and milk glass.

Here are the instructions to join today's post:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all of us at Mosaic Monday!  

1.	citrus beauty	24.	BailiwickStudio	47.	Irene@The Happy Turtle
2.	Lavender Dreams	25.	ellen b	48.	art nouveau
3.	Life Images by Jill	26.	Texting and Driving...Equals	49.	Tina´s PicStory
4.	Riet, Holland	27.	Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson	50.	Wandering Thought
5.	Mary Tingsgrove, KY	28.	THE French Hutch Romancing The Home ~ Tablescapes	51.	Crafty Gardener, Canada
6.	Home is Where the Boat Is	29.	{oc cottage}	52.	Vintage Teacup & Book
7.	A Garden of Threads	30.	judi	53.	QMM
8.	Antique French Buttons	31.	Bernie in Australia	54.	LindyLouMac in Italy
9.	InaSandbox	32.	Edwards Granddaughter	55.	Benita
10.	What's Blooming This Week	33.	Gillyweed... Bead Show	56.	Horses and barns in winter
11.	Rajesh, India	34.	Karen, A Scrapbook of Inspiration	57.	Winter Bliss
12.	Snap @ Twisty Lane	35.	Teacup-in-the-garden	58.	Life Among Mountains
13.	Cathy	36.	Molly [signs of spring]	59.	Terri @ Fifty for Four
14.	tins and some flowers	37.	More Pink and White	60.	Black Eyed Susans Kitchen
15.	Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook	38.	JBigg - Glacier National Park	61.	spring weather fun
16.	Pondside -Life Imitates Art	39.	Dianne Australia	62.	Lucy Abbott
17.	Pat ~ Mille Fiori Favoriti	40.	Martina@Northern Nesting	63.	The Cottage Wren
18.	Kim,USA	41.	Ingmarie We/Refugium	64.	Patricia
19.	Lavender Cottage	42.	Jackie's life in Surrey, UK	65.	Redecorating my kitchen counters
20.	Kim,USA ( right link )	43.	Yael at Home Garden Diggers	66.	Donna's Designs
21.	Bluff Area Daily USA	44.	playing with photos~seashells	67.	Porch Days
22.	Lorrie	45.	KaPa.Me without yoy, tea without a biscuit!	68.	Rosie,mygardenhaven
23.	ELAINE	46.	Synnöve

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Just a Few Tulips

"And tulips, children, love to stretch
Their fingers down, to feel in each
Its beauty's sweet nearer."

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Do you love tulips as much as I do? Especially in winter, they are so welcome; although I have to admit, this winter has been mild so far. We had two days of 60-degree weather this week. Now that's my ideal winter! lol

I love how tulips wave and wander and bend, like dancers. And this is my favorite place to display flowers -- on a tole tray, on the footstool in our library/living room. I can see them when I come in the front door, and when I use the stairs. They cheer me up. And even with the beautiful weather, I won't pass up any chance for a little cheer. :)