You can't have rainbows... without the rain.

Happy New Year! I hope you can look back on 2012 without regret and forward to 2013 with hope.

The past 2 years have left me feeling a little bruised and battered but I have learnt that I am stronger than I ever knew. I can dig deeper than I ever thought and even on dark days there is beauty and miracles waiting to be found. There's a quote I read once that said 'You can't have rainbows...without the rain.' I don't know who said this, but how true it is!

I only have one resolution this year and that is to live a moment of each day.  By that I mean to really live it. To smell the bark on the eucalyptus tree, to notice the starry night, to hear the noises of nature and to see the beauty in small but amazing things. I am not going to aim for a photo a day or to set my self a goal of trying new art techniques. I won't resolve to doodle or draw or paint. I simply want to take a moment to breath and live a moment of each day.

First treescape of 2013.

 I am sure I will never tire of looking up at trees, in particular this eucalyptus tree. My moment today was the moment I noticed the sap. Jewel red, glistening in the sun and so small on this huge tree. Just for moment I could see and hear nothing else. How sweet that was.

Best wishes to you all my blogger friends, thank you for your comments and support. I look forward to spending 2013 with you.

Photo Friday- Walk

This post is inspired by the Photo Friday prompt 'walk.'

                                   I can't wait to go on another walk like this one again soon,

this is my happy  place!

Eye Candy

Autumn-ness at McLaren's Falls, Tauranga. My kind of eye candy!

Crop Circles, Lollie Pop's and Bull's Eyes.

I'm back home again after an FABULOUS camping trip to Mclarens Falls. It's 170 hectares of land just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed and we most definitely did that! Waterfalls, cricket, roasted marshmallows, photography and nature art...bliss!

So many lovely things to be gathered....

....sticks, berries, flowers, moss, leaves, pine needles, pine cones...

All found on the ground of course! No picking allowed!

There was some debate as too what I had created...was it a crop circle, a lollie pop or a bulls eye?  The kids originally thought I was making a nest and were quite unsatisfied with my answer that I was just making something to leave behind...but that's what it was, something to be found by someone else.  I just hope someone enjoys it before the lawn mower man gets to it! lol.

I also collected eeucalyptus/bluegum leaves and bark to make dye from. The bag of bark smells devine! I'm  all inspired again now and am looking forward to some time to play! If anyone can offer me advice on how to make the dye fix to paper as a wash I would be most appreciative. So far I am only finding recipes that require me to boil fabric with a moderant in order to 'fix' it and some how I don't think my paper will appreciate being boiled!

Some pix, a box and a book!

Ponga Frond (NZ native tree fern)

Succulent.

The top two photos were taken in my garden. I love the ponga frond photo especially! We don't have a big section, one tree and only a few plant varieties. Yuccas, succulents, ferns, ponga and a few potted natives! It's surprising how much even a few plants can enhance the visual appeal of a house and make it feel more like a home. The photos were taken only a few days ago and already the ponga is a full fern. I've posted a black and white version on my Tumbler page if you would like to take a look. Seth Apter and Robyn Gordon also have Tumbler pages and you will find links to them on my page.

The collage box #1 has arrived and been posted on! The top pic is a photo of the stuff I took from the box. Unfortunately I don't have ready access to the photo I took of my contributions as it's on the old computer! I was able to take this one just before making the book below...

Collage book cover. Bingo card, ex libris scrap, fibre. My own circle/coffee paper was added to supplement my selection.

One of the books pages. I used a 'collage box paper' on every second page or used it as the actual page. The yellow mesh fabric was used to bind the two covers together.

I was last in line for box #1 and Lawendula has since received the box from me and she's done a fabulous post on her blog about it. Please check it out here to see how the journey went!

This will be my last post for a few days. We're off camping (not the real rugged variety...just the sleeping in a tent under trees variety!) in a few days and I can't wait! Fun with the kids, roasted marshmallows, nature art, board games, badminton, cricket, waterfalls and photography...wahoo!

McLaren's Falls. This is a photo I took when we camped there last year.  If you enjoyed my nature sculpture post (previous post) then please see this link to a fabulously inspiring Muse Me nature art event that I went too a few years ago at McLaren's falls. You won't be disappointed! Thank you to everyone who share their delight and memories triggered by my last post. I really appreciate it!

*See you soon*

Treescapes

I'm not sure if "treescapes' is actually a word but I thought it to be an approprate title for this post anyway!
We had a lovely day/night/morning camping at McLaren's Falls and as I hoped I was able to get out and about with my camera. I took some 'treescape' photos as well as many others! One of the highlights for me was the songs of the many birds in the area, waking up to the morning chorus of the birds hearing the night calls of prey birds like the native NZ Morpork (owl family) and NZ Falcons. What a great way to start the day! Kiwi live in the area we camped but unfortunately I didn't detect any of their calls.Maybe next time:)

The bark peeling on the big ol Bluegum Tree is art in itself and I was also excited to find the ruby red sap 'bead' on the trunk. I was looking for gum on the trees I saw thanks to the inspiration I got from the Ning 'Art from the Heart' groups Organic challenge. I've never really notice sap before!

 Click the photos to enlarge them. You can also check out this Ning group by clicking on the new badge in my sidebar.

All of the above photos were taken of different parts of this tree and I collected fallen bark from it's base to bring home. I hope to turn it into a powder form and learn how to use it's natural colour for creating pigments to paint with. I will keep you posted:)