Thursday, November 27, 2014

On this Thanksgiving Day, I offer two quotes from that wisest of women, Julia Child, in the hope that they might alleviate any little moments of holiday stress.  Keep them in mind as you mash your potatoes or as you reach for your second helping of stuffing.  

"With enough butter, anything is good."

"People who love to eat are always the best people."

xo Gigi

Monday, November 24, 2014

Giving Thanks

I keep thinking about what I want to say for this, a post of thanksgiving, and I am struggling to find the words.  I usually keep my personal life and my blog life quite separate, writing only about the things here that inspire me and feed my creative spirit.  


Giving thanks for such things is easy.  I feel blessed to live in a beautiful part of the world, to have friends and family in abundance, to have food in my cupboards, and to have a roof over my head.  For these and so many other blessings I am grateful beyond measure.  I can blurt out my thanks without thought or hesitation.  



There is something else I am grateful for, though, and it is harder to express.




This year has been a difficult one for me and for some of the people I love most.  Truly, it has been a year that has sometimes felt like it was endured more than lived.  That's probably not a good thing to say aloud in the land of lifestyle blogs, where things tend to feel rather nicely tied up with candy-striped baker's twine.  Nothing in life has felt nicely tied.  All has been at loose ends.


The ends are still loose, and even a bit frayed at the moment, but that's just it--I don't care.  I am grateful for this truly horrible year.


I am grateful for what it has taught me about empathy, about love, about holding on tight with both hands, and about letting go, too.


I am grateful for what it has forced me to face and for what it has forced me to feel.  I am grateful that I've had the chance to learn very difficult lessons from someone much wiser than myself--and to learn them in the most loving and supportive of ways.


I'm also grateful that even on the most wretched of days, there is always room in my heart for a walk through fields and woods.  Yes, I am truly blessed.

 





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Thursday, November 13, 2014

Fall Botanicals: Tips for Arranging Floral Patterns



Earlier this fall during my annual cleanup of the gardens, I began putting some of the colorful leaves, blossoms, and berries into a basket.  Their shapes and textures were so beautiful that I decided I needed to do something more memorable than just plunking them into a mason jar to keep on the windowsill for a few days.



Using a worn old tablecloth as my makeshift backdrop, I arranged torn petals from marigolds, nasturtiums, and hydrangeas into simple medallion shapes on my picnic table.  I combined them with tiny pinecones and whatever else I could find in the yard, and then I grabbed my iPhone and snapped a few shots of the various arrangements.

I had to work quickly, as it was a chilly afternoon, and my fingers were growing numb, but I found that the more fanciful I got with the arrangements, the more I was loving them.  Later that evening, safely inside with a cup of Earl Grey, I processed the photos on my laptop and then shared a few of them in a post here on the blog, as well as on Instagram and Facebook.



I was quite surprised and touched by people's reactions.  Some folks even emailed to say that they thought I should turn the images into greeting cards.  I've been making and photographing more of the arrangements since then, and I had some prints done on Shutterfly.  I'm on the hunt now for some vintage gilded frames so I can hang the prints in our guest bedroom.




Today, as I worked on the latest in my "Autumn Gatherings" series, I took photos of the steps as I went along so I could share the process with you.  This isn't really a tutorial, since anyone can arrange flowers in beautiful patterns, but I have discovered a few tips along the way that really work for me, and I hope they may be helpful for someone else trying this.



First, the background is key.  If you want your arrangement to have a sort of vintage, nostalgic look, it's  helpful to begin with a vintage background.  Today I used this wrinkled, worn, and faded piece of Irish linen that I've had for years.  The colors of the flowers printed on it are just right as a backdrop to autumn leaves and branches.  (In fact, I used this same fabric as the background for my Artful Blogging post.)



Next, I gathered from our yard whatever flowers, berries, twigs, leaves, cones, and seed pods struck my fancy.  If your backyard happens to be more of a wooded forest, be careful, as some plants can be poisonous. 



Here in Maine, we're deep into autumn, but I still have a few hardy flowers blooming in my garden beds and in the pots on my front porch, so these were musts for me, plus some scarlet runner beans left on my arbor, and the last of the husk cherries in their lovely paper-lantern shells.  Various shrubs and woody perennials provided lots of great material, too.  The most important thing is to find an interesting range of textures, shapes, and sizes.  The colors this time of year tend to be fairly easy to harmonize.





Now that it's getting really chilly out, it's easier to work inside, so once I'd gathered my materials and placed any tender stems in water to stay fresh while I was working, I stationed myself on a large table on my sun porch, which was ideal, as it gets flooded with a particularly lovely warm, golden late afternoon sunlight this time of year.  



I began by playing with colors and shapes.  I tend to lean toward ovals and circles for my designs, but other shapes would, of course, be beautiful, too.  What I love about making medallion shapes is that you can have a beautiful, useable shot at almost any point in the assembly process.  If you want something as simple as the above mini pumpkin surrounded by geranium leaves, this would be nice as is.  You could move right on to cropping and processing the photo from here.  



I found myself smitten with this sweet little robin's nest that had fallen from one of the mock oranges bordering our yard.  I would never steal a nest from birds, but I do collect the windfall nests that I find on our property every autumn--or you could fashion a little nest yourself from twigs and moss.  This one just seemed like a perfect centerpiece for my medallion.



I love varying textures, shapes and colors, and then repeating certain ones for effect.  Once I had placed the yellow flower (the last one of the year from my porch planter) in the center of the nest, I knew that I would want to pick up on that yellow and accentuate it.  So, I simply played with possibilities.





Lamb's ears are particularly wonderful because of their silver-green color, their spear shape, and their fuzzy texture.  I love them contrasted with the azalea leaves that I've laid on top of them; the azalea's leathery texture and its burgundy color contrast beautifully with the lamb's ears, but both plants are the same basic shape, so there's some repetition, too, which is always pleasing to the eye.  The dark purple leaves radiating out from beneath the geranium leaves are from one of my many forsythias.  They repeat the same shape, but offer yet another color.  Plus, as yellow's complementary color, purple is a great back layer.  



As with any creative process, a huge part of it is trial and error for me.  I tried adding bits of pink begonia blossoms along with the purple and pink scarlet runner beans, but then the whole thing started feeling just a wee bit Easter-y, so I scrapped that idea and continued on.  This time I used much more autumnal petals of orange marigolds and red nasturtiums.



In the photo above I felt I was nearly finished, but I wanted one more layer to give it a sense of blooming out almost beyond the borders of the frame.  



My final step was to add some lavender leaves to the outer tips of the forsythias.  They pick up on the silver of the lamb's ears, and they also repeat the shapes of the central flower blossom petals.  I love that not all the leaves in the image are exactly the same size, and I never fuss over making things exactly symmetrical.  Perfectly imperfect suits my eye and temperament much more.

Finally, when it comes to processing the photos, I tend to play with lightening the exposure just a little bit.  I also sometimes blur the edges of the image, as I've done in the photo above.  Many of you are incredible photographers and much more brilliant than I at photo processing.  If you're newer to it, you don't even need to be a Photoshop expert.  Try using a simple online photo processor.  Most of them have loads of ways to give your photos a vintage look.  Or, simply snap away on your phone and use a processing app to get wonderful results.  If you want to see live examples of how others process their photos, YouTube is always a great teaching tool.  The version below is finished off with a final texture layered over the top of the image.  The texture is a photograph of another piece of old linen, which, once processed, gives an even more vintage look to the image.









Before I have Shutterfly print up my next round of photos (and my first batch of "Autumn Gatherings" greeting cards), I'll likely play with each image a little more, tweaking it until I'm satisfied with the results.  For me, the most important aspect of making this series is how much fun it is to create beautiful patterns from the bits and pieces I've gathered from my own backyard.  Now I can hardly wait to make the "Winter Gatherings" series.  I'm already imagining the dreamy Christmas cards.  Holly, pine, and arborvitae, here I come!



Sunday, November 9, 2014

Thanksgiving Inspiration

The Beloved Peanuts Thanksgiving


I LOVE Thanksgiving.  Longtime readers of The Magpie's Fancy know that I'm not a fan of Black Friday . . . and that I am completely against the idea of going shopping on Thanksgiving Day itself.  I doubt that I have to explain why, but I will say that I am still an old-fashioned believer in devoting a day to giving thanks for all the blessings that we already have.  Period.  

I also think that the Christmas season has become so overblown and so darn long that it is about to completely obliterate Thanksgiving altogether.  This year, most of the stores in our area began putting their Christmas displays out before Halloween, and by now they are completely decked out in Yuletide finery.  I really love decorating for Christmas come December 1st or so.  Call me a Scrooge, but I need that month's separation between my candy corns and my candy canes.

Therefore, I'm slowing things down and taking one holiday at a time.  And I'm finding loads of Thanksgiving inspiration everywhere I turn, so I thought I'd share a few links that might inspire you, too, whether you celebrate American Thanksgiving or you just want to enjoy the beauty of autumn a little longer.

Photo Credit: Michael Graydon & Nicole Herriot from Bon Appetit
First, there's all that glorious food to consider.  And where better to turn for inspiration than Bon Appetit?  I picked up their Thanksgiving issue just before hopping on a plane in Pittsburgh this past week, and I found myself salivating as I turned the pages.  If the perfect mashed potatoes have always eluded you, check out their guide to making gorgeous and delicious potatoes.  Mr. Magpie makes them for us all year round, and he always uses Yukon Golds, as Bon Appetit recommends here in the guide.  Who knew he was such a brilliant cook?  I did, actually, because he makes my favorite potatoes in the world!

And this pie.  This is the one I'm dreaming of.  Luckily, Mr. M's birthday and Thanksgiving both fall in November, and Mr. M prefers pie to cake.  That means I have two excuses to make pie.  Maybe I'll also make this one . . . just for the sake of being thorough.  You know what they say: "a pie in the hand is worth two in the bush". . . or is it "a stitch in time saves pie?"  "You are the apple of my pie?"  "Pie.  It's what's for dinner."  That last one is what we say in this house.

I think this photo was originally from The Lexington Company.  If I'm wrong, please let me know!     
While it's far too cold in this part of the country to eat outdoors at Thanksgiving, I love the mood of the photo above.  Simple, elegant, and cozy.  A table to linger over long after the meal has ended.  Only inside.  With pie.

From Terrain

I'm also loving the colors and textures of the newest autumn offerings at Terrain.  Their catalog is always a wonderful mix of natural fibers and products inspired by forests and fields.  I have some of those Stargazer lights pictured here, by the way, and they are incredibly pretty!  No ugly cords, plus soft, warm light.  I have to admit, though, that I bought mine much cheaper.  Definitely shop around for the best price!  You can find ones that plug in or some that are battery powered, which would be perfect for table and mantle decorations.

Closer to home, I'm taken by the beautiful displays at some of my favorite local shops in Portland, Maine, especially this one and this one, run by wonderful friends with unerring eyes for beauty, function, and enduring style.  

And finally, this year, Thanksgiving comes after a particularly challenging election season.  Here in Maine, I was disheartened by the election results--and, perhaps more importantly, by the campaigns leading up to those results.  I was also disappointed to learn that on the national level, 2014 had the lowest voter turnout in any election since World War II.  Less than 40% of eligible voters went to the polls, and only 13% of voters ages 18-30 showed up to cast their ballots.  Like so many Americans, I am proud to live in a democracy, but a democracy is only as strong as its citizenry makes it, and I fear for the future of ours.  The Thanksgiving we celebrate here in the U.S. gives us an opportunity to reflect not only on our own blessings, but on what it means to us to be Americans, and on the legacy handed down to us by our forefathers and mothers.  Here is a brief exploration on poets.org of the history of Thanksgiving, as well as a few passages from poems about the holiday.  

If you celebrate Thanksgiving, how will you be celebrating this year?  Maybe with a little pie?  ;)  Do you have any recipe links or other Thanksgiving thoughts/inspiration you'd like to share?  Please feel free in the comments!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Giveaway Winner and the Garden in November


I'm thrilled to announce that the winner of the Artful Blogging Giveaway is Susan from Windrock Studio!  Thank you to everyone who entered, and to those who sent emails and notes as well!  You are what makes blogging matter to me, and I'm so grateful that we found each other.

These photos are of the last few marigolds that I gathered from my garden yesterday as Mr. Magpie and I raked and began putting the gardens to bed for the winter.  We've had flowers blooming up until the snowstorm (yes, snowstorm) that hit us over Halloween weekend, so I've been hesitating to really clean up the beds or cut anything back.  Besides, I tend to leave as much as possible to overwinter as it stands so that the birds will have seed heads for eating. Plus, I love the look of the browning stalks as the snows begin to come.  I believe winter gardens have an austere beauty of their own.

Still, it's fun to gather up armfuls of the last annuals and the last herbs for drying, so I brought in huge bunches of beauties yesterday, and these marigolds just looked especially marigold-y against our newly painted bedroom floor, so they got to feature in a mini photo shoot.






As I worked in the garden, I remembered a poem by Jane Hirshfield that I love, so I thought I'd share it with you here:

November, Remembering Voltaire

In the evenings
I scrape my fingernails clean,
hunt through old catalogues for new seed,
oil work boots and shears.
This garden is no metaphor –
more a task that swallows you into itself,
earth using, as always, everything it can.
I lend myself to unpromising winter dirt
with leaf-mold and bulb,
plant into the oncoming cold.
Not that I ever thought the philosopher
meant to be taken literally,
but with no invented God overhead
I conjure a stubborn faith in rotting
that ripens into soil,
in an old corm that flowers steadily each spring –
not symbols but reassurances,
like a mother’s voice at bedtime
reading a long-familiar book, the known words
barely listened to, but bridging
for all the nights of a life
each world to the next.

Jane Hirshfield, from Of Gravity & Angels, 1983


More soon, my friends.  xo Gigi

Saturday, November 1, 2014

The Gifts of Blogging: A Publication and a Giveaway


Happy November!  Here in Maine it has started off just as any self-respecting November should: with bone-chilling cold and torrents of rain.  I don't mind one bit, as this gives me the excuse to drink cups and cups of chocolate yerba mate latte, and to sit down with the latest copy of Artful Blogging.  For years I've looked to the pages of this gorgeous magazine for inspiration and community, so it's with giddy joy that I get to share the news with you that my writing and photos are featured in this issue.  And I'm even more excited to tell you that to celebrate, I'm giving away one free copy of Artful Blogging to a reader of The Magpie's Fancy!  Read below for more details about how you can enter the giveaway.  


Somebody pinch me.  What a thrill to see my work included with so many talented bloggers, writers, artists, and photographers.  I was especially over the moon to learn that two of my blogging friends, Kim Klassen and Beth Mcwilliams, are in this same issue!  That makes the whole experience all the sweeter.  


I've been writing and publishing for more than two decades, but this particular publication means more to me than most, because when I started blogging six years ago, I had no idea that it would become such an important part of my life.  I write a bit about that journey, and about how the more I played and experimented with photography (a real trial by fire), the more I couldn't tell where writing ended and photography began for me.  Each inspires the other so much now that I can't imagine not doing both.  I hope my article will give other writers and bloggers some inspiration for their own work--where to begin and how to enjoy the process along the way.

There is one other reason that this publication means so much: simply put, I had nearly given up blogging when the editors at Artful Blogging contacted me about doing a feature.  It wasn't that I had stopped loving writing posts or that I no longer wanted to connect with readers and fellow bloggers.  It was that feeling that I've heard so many writers and bloggers talk about of being pulled in too many directions by social media, by work, by family, and life's many other obligations.  

The early years of blogging had been straightforward, but now I felt like once I had published a post, I needed to share it on Facebook, Tweet about it, Instagram it, Link to it on Flickr, and otherwise communicate in every way humanly possible short of sending smoke signals to subscribers.  My old warm and friendly blogging community had become scattered over the years by the onslaught of social media.  We were doing our best to keep up with each other, but sometimes it was just overwhelming.

And so, I had cut back dramatically on posting.  I was working on writing and photography projects, and I didn't even realize that I was missing blogging.  And then I began work on the Artful Blogging piece.  It reminded me all over again of why I'd started to blog in the first place.  This place, this blog--this is pure joy for me.  Whether I have 10 or 10,000 readers, I get to write about and photograph the things that inspire me.  I get to connect with likeminded people.  And I get to read their stories, too.  I can't imagine a better reason to be here.


And so, as a gift of friendship and community--and of my heartfelt thanks for visiting me here--I'm offering a giveaway of this new Winter 2015 issue of Artful Blogging.  To register for the giveaway, simply leave a message on this post by Wednesday, November 5, at noon Eastern Standard Time.  

All are welcome to enter, wherever you live and whether this is your first time visiting or your 500th.  I know many of you prefer to send me emails or Facebook messages.  If you would, for this contest, please leave your message here on the post.  That way I can be sure to keep track of entries.  You don't need to type in one of those awful codes to prove you're not a robot.  Just leave your comment along with your name and an email address where I can reach you, and I'll see it and then approve it for publication.  Please let your friends know about the contest, too.  

If you've ever read Artful Blogging, you know what a truly gorgeous and inspiring publication it is.  If you don't want to wait for the contest, you can purchase your copy at any local bookstore that carries Stampington & Company publications in its magazine section, Barnes & Noble, or Books a Million.  You can also buy it directly from Stampington & Co.  

Thanks, as always, chickadees, for being so wonderful.  xo Gigi