what's the word

To tie up our great greetings! series, let's end with a few simple ideas on how to come up with the best message for your holiday card. A good photo isn't the only element that will set your card apart. The right message is essential to making it memorable and meaningful!

I like to go simple. That's my thing. So, just one word has done the trick for me for many years of holiday cards. I take a good long look at my favorite photo and start free associating. It's all part of the process for me. And the right word can come quickly and obviously. Peace, Love, Cheer, Joy...those are all timeless classics. I have used a few of those. But other words need to be pursued, discovered, uncovered, if you will.

The frolic card didn't come quick. I think I even used my trusty thesaurus for that one. I think it went something like, fun, laughing, running, playing...no wait, what's a winter word for all of these...ah ha! Frolic! Don't hold me to it but it was something like that. Try running through the lyrics Christmas carols to find fitting holiday words or phrases. And of these a word that you love try looking it up in the dictionary to see if the definition adds to the message. They don't always add anything but sometimes they're perfect.

I like phrases too. I used "And Heaven and Nature Sing" a few years ago. Big hit. It's really good when you have a pet in the photo too. And then there's the quotes. Everyone loves quotes. Perhaps my all time favorite was used when my first daughter was only 2 years old. "Nothing is worth more than this day." by Goethe. I STILL get compliments on that one and it's been years! I'm serious.

If you like the idea of incorporating your message in the photo you can write it in the sand or make a sign or two. Brilliant. Or you could adorn your babes in the appropriate message strewn clothing like the Joy Jersey's shown above. These words melt my heart and I promise you will make your card extra special. It doesn't take much effort to match your great photo to the perfect message, just think outside the normal verbiage and try something new.

And if you haven't already decided on what holiday card company to use this year, the cool chicks at Cool Mom Pickshave offered up a list of folks they recommend using so click around and see what they have to offer.

Fin + Roe

Groovy Paper

Minted

My Good Greetings

Ruva Cards

Tiny Prints

Ringo Baby

Be sure to share your ideas and holiday handiwork over at our great greetings! flickr group! We want to see what you come up with!

Now...about today's giveaway...one clever reader will get the chance to spread the word! Joy is giving away one of their Joy Jerseys (made of an organic cotton and bamboo blend ) for a special little someone in thier life. Couldn' you melt right now? Just comment on this post and you'll be entered in the drawing.

Congratulations to Renee of FIMBY for winning yesterday's giveaway. A copy of Ordinary Sparkling Moments: Reflections on Success and Contentment..

Exploring the Details

I do not travel to follow itineraries. I travel to see whatever I happen to see. All it takes is a willingness to wander, to make mistakes, to ask for help, to observe, to follow my instincts, to face fears and step outside my comfort zone. -Ordinary Sparkling Moments

Whenever anyone asks me what I do for a living, I always smile and say, “I am an artist”. Questions then follow about the kind of work I do and what inspires me, and while all of these exchanges are among the most pleasant for me (I mean really, I get to say I’m an artist...an artist!) I have lately been wondering if I should toss all formalities aside and try to express the more fundamental truth of what I do. More than being an artist, a writer or anything else, I am a wanderer, a dreamer, and an explorer. Whether I am on a journey across the Pacific or sitting in my studio pondering my place in the world, my fierce passion for explorations of any kind is what feeds my creative work more than anything else, and it is the tiniest of details in these wanderings that give me the deepest sense of delight.

I have been incredibly blessed to have traveled to many beautiful parts of the world, and on every excursion, there are two items that are always with me: my journal and my camera. I have been known to write journal entries as I’m walking down cracked sidewalks in Havana and as a woman obsessed with graffiti art in Buenos Aires. I am constantly writing, sketching, photographing and observing, trying to capture all the minutiae of new cities, unfamiliar neighborhoods and foreign cultures. Then when I arrive back home, notes, images and doodles in hand, I let all these bits and pieces spill forth so that I can re-assemble them in an entirely new way. I use my photography to express all the subtleties I saw, sensed and experienced in places where I could not understand the language yet still perhaps felt strangely at home.

To allow yourself to dive deep into the tiniest of details in any environment is to open yourself up to colors, images and textures that might go unnoticed if you’re always looking up at the skyscrapers, so to speak. There is so much to see and admire on the ground, in a drugstore window, in the layers of paint on an old building. I find that the more I let my eyes stay focused on one small area, the more I comprehend the real flavor of a city and a culture. In Tokyo, the artful details of their manhole covers helped me understand their appreciation for beauty. In Havana, the peeled paint, broken windows and piles of rubble let any visitor know this was a city lost in time. In Buenos Aires, the political nature of their graffiti gave me a glimpse of the tension still deeply felt by a city with a dark, complicated past. The personality, history and passions of any city, town or neighborhood can be found in its details, by looking in the most minuscule of spaces and letting that take up your entire field of vision.

You don’t need to travel across the globe to explore life’s details. This is a technique you can use anywhere, anytime, even in your own home. What if you took an afternoon to explore the details of your home with your camera? What would those images say about you, your family, your routines, your likes and dislikes? Giving time and attention to the smaller corners of your own living space with your camera can help hone the muscle that notices tiny sparkles in unexpected places. Then you can use those skills to capture all the peculiar, radiant, mysterious charms of any location, near or far, at any time of the year in any part of the world.

Take your time. Observe. Look closer. Let yourself get lost in the details.

Photo and guest post courtesy of artist extraordinaire Christine Mason Miller (aka Swirly Girl). Christine has graciously offered a copy of her book Ordinary Sparkling Moments to one lucky reader. If you want in on the action leave a comment here to be included in the drawing. 

Congratulations to Bridge of Ride the Waves of Life the winner of the wonderful offerings from Jen Lemen.

The Bottom of Everything

The bottom of everything is love.

That's what I thought to myself while she cried, while I cried, while we argued about everything without ever touching the real thing. That her heart was hurting from an old wound. That she was counting on me and I was counting on her and that we had let each other down when it mattered the very most.

We won't talk about this again. Ever. Can we agree on that?

I shrug. Sure. Whatever. We can talk or not talk but the truth is it is still here, this sadness, this fierce love, this beautiful tension between what we hope for and the way it is.

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The bottom of everything is grief.

That's what I thought to myself when he smiled, when he had tried to explain over Thanksgiving dinner how they met in Beijing without making her sound too much like a mail-order bride. It's wasn't like that at all, his eyes told me, but there was no need to explain. He had found her, and something in his heart instantly mended. I could see it all over her face.

How old do you think they are?  Fatou asked, motioning to our guests--the man and his not-a-mail-order-bride, the lovely Chinese woman in the fantastic red jacket.

I have no idea, I told her. But they have that kind of happiness that comes from understanding what it means to be sad. The kind of gratitude that comes after thinking for so long you would always be alone.

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These are the stories I think about later, looking at the shots of everyone's hands and that red jacket, shining in every picture.

These are the stories I think about when I want to get to the bottom of everything, when I wonder if grief will wreck us, when I wonder if love can truly be more than enough, when I want to know what it is exactly that will make our souls whole.

Leave a comment below and today's lovely giveaway winner will receive:

a collection of TRUST notes and a donation made to this project in the name of someone you love. We'll send a lovely card announcing your donation to whomever you choose.

Congratulations to Kristina of Meadowlark Days for winning yesterday's giveaway--artwork by Amy Ruppel.  Lucky lady.

creature comforts

Through the years I have collected things here and there that make me feel happy inside. Little gifts from Mother Nature, significant bangles, handmade treasures and other various objects of affection surround me in my day to day life and serve as little reminders. My Superhero beads remind me of my power. My ‘relax’ candle gently beckons me to be still and breathe. My heart collection reminds me of how much love I have in my life. I could go on and on.

 Some of these items have been gifts given to me by exceptional people in my life, some are found objects while others are special purchases I have made for myself with because, darn it, I am worth it. There is something really exhilarating about buying something for yourself. Something that isn’t practical, or really needed. Something that makes you happy just because.

A few years ago I discovered Amy Ruppel. I don’t remember how I found her but ever since I stumbled upon her online home, I have had a love-affair with her artwork. It began by buying myself one of her delightful bird paintings –I picked one out for myself on an online sale she hosted. And then I was lucky enough to receive one as a gift from a dear friend. Then came a third (I had to get one for my 40^th birthday). And just recently I treated myself to a pair of her newest, smallest offerings. That brings my total to 5 Amy Birds (the term of endearment my kids and I have given them).

I cherish my collection in a way that is indescribable. Each sweet bird sings to me of simple pleasures and joy reminding me that I deserve a little extra sometimes. Embracing that truth has been not only empowering but comforting as well. My birds share songs with me about the beauty in my life; about being grateful and content, about being curious and courageous and about remembering to fly.

Do you surround yourself with the magic reminders that make your heart sing? We’d love to hear about them.

We are fortunate enough to have Amy Ruppel giving away one of her lovely little works of art today in keeping with A Giveaway a Day here at Shutter Sisters. Thank you so much Amy! Just leave a comment here and you’ll be included in the random drawing. Good luck!

Congrats to the winner of yesterday's Flash Bulb necklace giveaway Lilia (aka Pumpkinoodle) at Babymoon Photography who commented "Oh, dreamy hooray!". Well said. 

when the water is warm

On this day a ball ran away, first with intention and then with current, and I dove into the ocean after it fully clothed, up to my neck in the salt of July. For the rest of the day and until we sailed home I festered in the sun, my shirt crispening and stinking of seaweed, but oh, the rightness. There's something rare and delicious about being wet and dressed.

Tonight, the land is tucked in for winter along with the sailboat and the beach, and the sea is a determined grey, and thanks to your encouragement I am set to keep my photo-mojo from going into hibernation.

Can I tell you something? You're all glorious, a kick in the pants in the most excellent way. I visit the flickr pool and see this and this and this and think my god, how can I presume to post in company like this? You are teacher, mentor, muse.

Thanks for being here, shutter sisters. Thanks for being that runaway ball for me, for each other, for saying jump the heck in.

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In grand celebration of our sisterhood here, we are giving away a coveted Flash Bulb Necklace (as seen above) to a lucky reader.  You must comment on this post today to be included in the random drawing. It seemed like the perfect way to jump start the December festivities here at Shutter Sisters. What December festivities you ask? We thought you'd never ask. All month long we are hosting A Giveaway a Day and just as the name promises, each and every day this month we will be giving something fabulous away to one of you. It's just a little way to show our gratitude. Click over and comment each day for your chance to win something wonderful just in time for the holidays. Be sure to invite your friends! The more the merrier we like to say.

Updated 12/2...and the winner is Lilia (aka Pumpkinoodle)at Babymoon Photography. Thanks everyone for your comments!