Blue mermaid

During the One World One Heart tour, I was lucky, and won this gorgeous mermaid from Lisa Nelson, of  Bucks County Designs (http://www.etsy.com/shop/buckscountydesigns) You must check out her fabulous work!

Isn't she just delightful? Thank you Lisa!

NW Flower and Garden Show

We braved the snowy roads yesterday before dawn (ahhhhhhhh!) and made it an hour before we were to work the National Wildlife Federation booth. Gave us time to check out the fabulous display gardens before the herds arrived. Here are a couple of my favorites...

Christensen Nursery in Mount Vernon, WA had this display garden... one of my top two favorites. John works for Cascade Cuts, who delivered a good supply of plants to them included tulips and daffodils.

This is the second of my top two favorites by Knissies Landscaping, from Elma WA. Look closely, there's more than immediately meets the eye.(Or at least met mine!) I just love the huge old cedar snag they had... it was like being in the forest.

This old Japanese Lace Leaf Maple is over 120 years old... incredibly beautiful!

I'm so glad we had the opportunity to go and happy I have an intrepid husband who thinks driving in snow is a fun challenge!

Nuthatch!

I was pleasantly surprised to see a red breasted nuthatch at the suet feeder outside my office window this morning. It's the first time he's visited.

We get juncos, chickadees, sparrows and towhees quite regularly, and love watching their antics. The suet feeder is upside down and similar to this, with a metal cage that my sweet husband built around it that allows the little birds in but keeps the starlings, blue jays and rats out. And my sweet husband hangs it for me (being a bit taller) right outside the window so I can watch the bird show. It makes me happy.

Speaking of birds.. one of the fun things about doing the One World One Heart event is discovering other artists and their delightful art. One blog I now follow is 2 Bags Full. She makes the most incredible nests. Go see her. As an added incentive... she is also holding a special winter drawing for a lovely sea glass pendant. Really, go check her out!

Note: the picture is not my nuthatch, but a stock image I got sometime back.

Watercolor Ducks

My friend Nancy is hosting a swap on atcsforall.com... Walks Like a Duck. Of course I had to play, and decided I needed to do something not my norm... so I got out the watercolors. I was SO outside my comfort zone. Oh my gosh! These are a few of my attempts.

I need to practice more... and I will. Even though it was out of my comfort zone and challenging (and gave me nervous fits) I had fun.

OWOH Winner!

I numbered the posts, and used Random.org to pull the number for us and our winner of "Window to the Future" is......

Laura at Artworks Studio!Congratulations, Laura! I'm sending you an email, and just need your address to get Window to the Future off in the mail to you!  

Thanks to everyone who commented on my blog, and especially to Lisa at A Whimsical Bohemian for creating this fabulous event! Here's to next years new Our World Our Art. I'll see you there!

OWOH travelers... click here to get to the OWOH post.

One of the things my husband likes to do is go for drives. After our Valentine breakfast yesterday we took a tour around the bay, ending at Marine Park in Fairhaven. This tree called to me, as it usually does. It's so beautifully shaped, and looks incredible against the storm clouds across the bay.

It's also fun being down at the water listening to the waves rolling in, and tumbling the rocks back and forth. A bit chilly this time of year, but it never loses its charm.

A perfect place to be with my 365-days-a-year valentine.

Happy Valentines Day!

In those days,
we finally chose
to walk like giants
& hold the world
in arms grown strong with love
& there may be many things we forget
in the days to come,
but this will not be one of them.

from Story People 

Happy Valentines Day! 

image on this beeswax collage Altered Playing Card is from Artchix.

Openings in Heaven

Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy. 

 in loving memory of Sherri Angie

Dec 31 1956 - Feb 5, 2011 

One World One Heart

Thanks for stopping by Natures Walk Studio during your One World One Heart tour! My name is Helen and I am a mixed media artist living in the northwestern portion of Washington State, USA. My passions are creating art, taking photographs of the gorgeous scenery around our area, and being actively involved in wildlife habitat preservation. Our yard and garden is Certified Wildlife Sanctuary through the National Wildlife Federation, a nice mix of both native and non-native plants that attracts birds year round, and inspires me daily. My art and photography are primarily focused on nature.

This year I decided to challenge myself and do some type of art every day, along with a group of similar minded artists at atcsforall.com; the 2011 Project 365. I was inspired by a few of these Project 365 online friends to participate in One World One Heart this year.

As part of One World One Heart, I am giving away this 4x6 Gothic Arch I created to celebrate the new year... "Window to the Future"

Anyone world-wide may participate in the giveaway. You just need to be an active blogger, leave a comment, and be sure to include either your blog address or an email address so I can contact you. The winner will be announced Feb 17th, and I'll contact the winner by email as well.

UPDATE: Comments posted through Feb 17 4:00pm PST will be included in the drawing.

DRAWING IS CLOSED. Our winner is Laura from Artworks Studio  http://laura-comito.blogspot.com/.

Enjoy your journey through blog-land!

Hope is the thing

Hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul, 

and sings the tune without words, 

and never stops at all.

Emily Dickinson