Friday Fun

Blogger has a fun new link out this morning.  You can plug in your blogger name, and try one of their new dynamic templates, for a vivid new take on your blog. Take a look at the "snapshot" view of Elizabeth's Flowers.  Fun! Don't you think?

If you have a blogger blog, you can plug in the name of your blog, and play around with the new templates yourself here.  I love things like this, especially when they're free!

Ok, now it's time to go back to work.
Have a great weekend,

Out with the old, in with the new.

Starting today, I'm changing the focus of my blog.

My friend Bonnielynn and I are taking the "31 days to a better blog Problogger Challenge" together (along with about 400 other women!) and our first task is to write an "elevator pitch" i.e. a short blurb describing to focus of our blogs.

I was hoping to be able to jump right in to something exciting like learning the secret to gaining thousands of new followers in 2 easy steps...but alas there was much wisdom to starting out with this slow, thought provoking task.

Forcing oneself to stop and look intently at why we do something is almost always worth it's weight (time?) in gold, isn't it?  For some time now I have felt guilty that my blog has been less about my promoting my art, and more about "other" things.   But, after looking at how and why I started my blog five years ago, and where it has ended up now, I realized that not only am I celebrating my passion for all things botanical, I am also sharing my passion.  And, even more importantly, and much to my delight, others are increasingly sharing their passion with me.  This web place is becoming more of a sharing place, where others who share a wonder, love, and appreciation for the beauty and simplicity of plants and flowers can come.   

This blog is about "Sharing and celebrating the beauty of all things botanical." 

What do you need to look more closely at? 

Making free handmade paper...

I had the privilege of being a guest blogger on Mariel and Jessica's "Or so she says..." blog this weekend.  I wrote a brief tutorial on making "free" handmade paper with 100% recycled paper.

The tagline for "Or so she says"  is " a daily dose of great ideas" and that it is!  Check it out, and see if you don't find a great idea or two to inspire you...

How do you know if you're an artist?

Autumn Leaf Card
4 3/8” x 5 ¾”
Blueberry leaves, handmade paper

For my Blog Triage class, my latest assignment involved reviewing a previous blog post, and as I looked at one of my earliest posts, I started thinking about how I've gotten to where I am now as an artist. I'm wondering if you've ever done that.

For me, I see mundane "random" pieces that have somehow come together.

First, feeling like I made a huge mistake after my first child was born. I didn't think I was cut out for being a mom, and I kept feeling this overwhelming desire to "create." I didn't have a spare moment to myself, but all I could think about was having a few minutes to make something beautiful for my home with my own two hands.

Second, one dreary January day while folding laundry, I watched a TV show about making handmade paper. It seemed really easy. Later I watched a show with a woman pressing flowers in a microwave. I was amazed at how colorful they were. Maybe I could combine handmade paper and pressed flowers?

I did. I sold my handmade paper pressed flower cards and pictures at craft fairs, and made enough money to pay for all the flowers and garden supplies I needed. I had a nice hobby going.

Then one afternoon, at a noisy Holiday Craft Fair, a stern looking older woman stopped to look at my cards. She wasn't the usual friendly faced craft fair shopper, and she made me uneasy. Finally she held up one of my cards and said, "This does not belong here. This is art. You are an artist." I didn't know what to say, but I thanked her as she gave me a business card for a local art foundation.

I joined that art foundation, got to know the artists there, and eventually during the last few years I have given myself permission to call myself an artist.

For me, being an artist has been an unexpected journey. Isn't it amazing how God graciously gives us seemingly random experiences, and uses them to make us who we are? I am thankful.

The Blogging Goals of a Botanical Artist

Goal - noun: 1.the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end. 2. finish.

My blogging goals:

1. Ultimately, to bring my art work out of my home, into the homes of others.
How? By giving my art words: Describing it. Revealing its origins, motivations, and inspiration.

2. To make connections:
- with others who appreciate the simplicity and beauty of the plants God created.
- with other artists

3. To document my journey as an artist, by having a visual record of my art to look back upon, along with the comments/reflections of others.

Striving Bee Balm

Striving Bee Balm
Bee balm, handmade paper
8" x 10" Acid-free mat
Unframed pressed flower art

I’m striving a bit.

In order to bring some new energy and relevancy to my blog, I’ve signed up for an intense four week long “Blog Triage Class.” I'm really looking forward to the weeks ahead, and learning how to have a more vibrant blog!

Apparently most of my homework is to be completed on my blog, so hopefully you may end up learning right along with me. Today’s assignment is to blog about my “ideal visitor.” With detail. Quite honestly, I am thankful for absolutely anyone and everyone who takes a moment to visit my blog, but here’s what I’ve come up with:

* My ideal visitors would first and foremost love and appreciate the beauty and wonder of flowers, leaves, and all things botanical. They would also have an appreciation for the One who created them.

* They would tend to be past, present, or future gardeners.

* Other pressed flower artists – who learn from my techniques and share theirs with me.

* Previous customers – who have purchased my art, and are interested in getting to know me as an artist as well as a person.

* Previous customers who have bought flower presses or handmade paper kits from me, and are seeking inspiration and new ideas for their own botanical art.

* Other artists who are on the same journey I am – to get the art they create “out there,” into the world beyond their studio.

Coming up with this list has caused me to slow down and think really think about the readers of my blog. I am thankful – what a neat way to connect blogging can be.

By the way, the Blog Triage "doctors" teaching our class are Cynthia Morris and Alyson Stanfield.

A new blog and a bargain

My fellow art friend Bonnielyn recently started a new blog, called Oceancolors. She's an avid diver, and translates the wonders of what she sees during her dives into brilliant watercolor and oil paintings.

I think you'll like her blog - it captures her passion for both the beauty of the ocean and her love of expressing that beauty. And, if you're in the Chicago area you can check her out at booth # 1011 at the Rosemont during the "Our World Underwater" scuba diving trade show this weekend.

And, speaking of people of passion, Elisabeth Sheldon wrote a book called "Time and the Gardener" that I have had my eye on for quite some time. She wrote it at the age of 85, and basically it's a collection of 14 years worth of essays that gracefully reveal her vast knowledge and deep passion for plants of all kinds. The list price of this book is $25.00 (276 pages) but get this - it's on sale at PineTree Garden Seeds for only $5.98!!! Better get there fast.

Gifts for Gardeners

I am thrilled and honored to be among the Botanical Art sites chosen in Kathy Purdy’s article on “Gifts for Gardeners”

Kathy writes the very informative “Cold weather Gardening Blog” as well as a new blog entitled “Blogging Art and Practice which contains good information for those of us still trying to get the hang of blogging.

Kathy is also an accomplished photographer and the beautiful flower pictures on her gardening blog transport me right back to my garden in July. That’s a great place to be this time of year in Wisconsin!

leaf petals

A few weeks ago I quietly launched my second website, called leaf petals. At this point it’s still a small site, but I’m excited about it because it will enable me to eventually branch out in other “botanical” areas I’m interested in, such as nature printing, botanical cyanotype prints, and it’s a good venue to showcase my new line of cards called “leaf mosaics.”

By having another site, I won’t be “diluting” Elizabeth’s Flowers with non-pressed flower items; therefore it will hopefully (God willing) continue to rank well in Google for pressed flower cards, art, etc. Do you have a website you’re working on? One day next week I’ll be blogging about how I got started in my web business, and will share some valuable online resources that proved to be wonderful blessings to me along the way. In the meantime, have a quick peek at leaf petals!

Brand New Header!

I have a sparkling new blog header thanks to Jules over at Everyday Design. Although it took her awhile to get it done (she’s a busy mom), I found her a joy to work with, and she did a wonderful job capturing the look I was hoping for. I really love the purple flower.

Thanks, Jules!

Of Blogging and Pumpkins

I have a favorite blog that I love to read. Typically the blogger writes once a week or so, and I happily check in every day to see if she’s written anything new.

Much to my disappointment, she hasn’t written anything for over a month. I’ve been thinking about what a let down this is, and in my self righteous frustration I decided that no one should write a blog unless they can commit to keeping it reasonably updated, and if life temporarily gets beyond them, they should let their readers know…not leave them dangling.

As I was stewing over this, I heard that “small still voice” call me a hypocrite. Oh, yes, I guess I forgot. I too have a blog. It’s not much of a blog, but I have had a few more than kind emails lately asking how things are, and gently prodding me for my next blog article.

I am preparing a new blog entry for my fellow flower pressing friends. In the meantime, Here is an interesting “Pumpkin Prayer” for those of you who choose not to celebrate Halloween (like our family), but still celebrate God’s Harvest.

"Pumpkin Prayer"

{cut off top of pumpkin}Lord, open my mind so I can learn new things about you.

{remove innards}Remove the things in my life that don’t please you.Forgive the wrong things I do and help me to forgive others.

{cut open eyes}Open my eyes to see the beauty you’ve made in the world around me.

{cut out nose}I’m sorry for the times I’ve turned my nose at the good food you provide.

{cut out mouth}Let everything I say please You.

{light the candle}Lord, help me show your light to others through the things I do.
Amen

By: Liz Curtis Higgs

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Forward Motion!

My blog is finally back from the dead, and is now in a new, more workable format...so more timely postings are on their way. Really!

The past week has been hectic, but very full of blessings. First, my new website template, created by Websonix has been completed, and Elizabeth's Flowers now has a more professional look, which it really needed. Tim Challies of Websonix maintained the patience of a saint as I changed my mind dozens of times as we finalized the "look" of the template. I wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone needing a web site design or re-design. And, many thanks to my mother-in-law who paid for the re-design (a combined birthday and Christmas present.)

Second, I'm thrilled to have been given the "go ahead" to be a distributor for Microfleur Microwave Flower presses - the exact press I use to press the vast majority of the flowers I use for my cards and framed art. This flower press is awesome - wait 'till you try it! Because Microfleur is located in Australia, it will be awhile before I actually receive my first shipment, but the presses will soon be available on my site, along with free flower pressing tutorials. Just in time for Spring!