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.

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.

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.

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.

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. :)