Meet Your Neighbours©

One of my many beautiful birthday presents this year, 

from my big brother & his family!

My big bro is an avid nature photographer, he contributes to many renowned nature photography magazines, including National Geographic Slovenija, and he participates in a very interesting project, Meet Your Neighbours©. He knows all about my love for Scotland, and the first pic was taken especially for me :) 

Thank you so much, I loved my present!

My Pianist

He attended a piano competition yesterday.

Fabulous performance. 

And I'm not the only one who thinks so ... :) 

My boy!

P.S.: Sorry I don't have his performance on video (yet) but this is what he played:

:: Rachmaninov Prelude in C-sharp minor ::
:: Grieg March of the Dwarfs ::
:: Gershwin An American in Paris ::
:: Rijavec Dancing at Zagorca :: 
(Slovenian composer)

Out & About Part II.

Our pilgrimage ended in 
the most beautiful surroundings. 

I live in a beautiful country.

Out & About Part I.

Highlights from our pilgrimage 

in the southwestern part 

of the country last month. 

Food for the soul.

And feast for the eyes.

A Piece Of Scotland ...

... soon to be mine :)

Photo: source

The Road To Emmaus

by Altobello Melone (1490 - 1543).

Image: source

Resurrection

by Alexander Ivanov (1806 - 1858).

Image: source

Crucifixion

by Salvador Dali (1904 - 1989).

Image: source

Jesus Washing Peter's Feet

by Ford Madox Brown (1821 - 1893).

Image: source

Artists In The Family

Some proper and some in the making :)

- paper weights, my little girl's creation

- Big Ben "for Mummy" by my big boy

- "Quirky Bird" - a mobile made by my little girl

- "A Colourful Town" by my cousin A. - 
she's the proper one!

Dust If You Must

I found this on Facebook this morning. 

Absolutely have to share it on the blog as well. 

Love :)

Birdie Inspiration

Some absolutely gorgeous bird-inspired items from Etsy: 

AileenClarkeCrafts

careybrett

designedbyjane

annajoyce

warmYourself

Which bird would you pick?

Three Things

... that put a smile on my face in the middle of our July winter (ten degrees Celsius in the morning!):

- a pretty bloom from my little girl

- my gorgeous new jewellery, two brooches and a pair of house earrings, hand-made by my dear friend Marysia

- my silk embroidered belt from Brora, on sale (sold out, actually, I'm afraid...)

Technically speaking, these are more than three things, but who's counting :)

My Little Artist

I've had this precious little Camille doll from lovelysweetwilliam listed under my favourites on Etsy for a very long time. It gets sold and then reappears in the shop and I keep waiting for the right moment to make it my own...

The other day, though, I had an idea. Why don't I make something similar myself? Or even better, why don't I ask my little girl, who's a true artist (being very objective here, of course!), to help me?

Consider it done!

I made the little box and copied the beautiful house from the original and my little girl made the 'inhabitant' - a girl she named Maya. She drew a little lamp for her house ('so that she can turn it on in that dark box, right, Mum?'), made Maya a huge birthday cake (Maya is ten, as you can see if you carefully count the birthday candles, same age as my boy, who celebrated his birthday two weeks ago - coincidence, surely?) and a present.

I'm very pleased with Maya, my paper girl living in her box house. I love her vibrant red hair, the red bow, her pretty violet top and her denim skirt. And the best part? She reminds me of my little girl - the artist. Even though she makes new things on a daily basis, Maya will always keep a special place in my heart.

Thank you for the inspiration, Lovely Sweet William!

Cats & Blossoms

Well, in my last post I told you about my friend's art, and today, let me tell you a little bit more about it. Not only does my friend paint, she makes adorable accessories as well! Last weekend I was invited to visit her stall at the local market, and of course, I couldn't not go away with at least one piece of her wearable art! Or two, come to that... :)

My first purchase was this cat pin. Isn't it absolutely adorable?

And then I fell in love with her floral earrings as well. Hand-painted, of course. My colours, all over. This particular pair was my little girl's choice. She knows me so well!

Once again, thank you, Marysia!

An Extremely Pleasant Afternoon

Last week I got a kind invitation from my friend Marysia to the opening of her art exhibition. Marysia is an extremely talented artist and I am completely besotted with her work. The first time I got a glimpse of her creations I was hooked. So, when the opportunity arose to actually see her paintings on display in an art gallery, I simply had to be there.

I took my little girl and my best friend along and we set off on a short trip to a sweet little town not far away from where we live. It really was an extremely enjoyable late spring afternoon and a lovely art exhibition was exactly what we needed to make it perfect.

There was some singing and some talking, there were refreshments and pretty souvenirs, there were some old acquaintances, but most of all, there were friends, and there was joy and gratitude that we could spend this lazy Thursday afternoon in each other's company. May we get more of such gatherings come summer! And thank you so much, Marysia, for making us a part of your world :)