NATURE IS RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR DOOR

It's fun to take an afternoon trolley and search for ways people incorporate the natural elements to decorate their homes.  Like this photo.....where someone insightfully transformed a tree stump into an autumnal vase for flowers. 

It's that business of using what is available, rather than spending money for a fancy planter with a hefty price tag. Once we buy the fancy planter, then we have to find a place to store it out of season.  

While we were away on our 5-daycation, I was on a wild hunt for birch branches.  We inquired at an information center in Walker, Minnesota, where one might legally find birch branches.  Last thing we wanted to do was get charged with trespass or vandalism to private property.  The best advice was to go walk the hiking trails and look for birch branches that had fallen on the ground.  Well, our hiking days are over, plus walking those trails in desolate areas isn't the wisest place to be these days.  

When we got back home, I went on Etsy and found a place in Wisconsin that sold birch branches for crafting, so that was my solution.  Now I have four cut-to-size branches ready to be made into a handmade decorative project.  Incorporating nature into our home is important to me, as it connects us to the earth and has calming effects.  This is how the two of us explore the natural world, work with the natural world, and appreciate the parts of the natural world that most people never see....or think to see.  

When we go into the up-north woodsy gift shops that sell gorgeous pieces, I don't go with the intention of buying.  I look for ideas on how I can make it myself.  Gathering the materials is part of the creative process.  Most of these stores don't allow customers to take photos, but Bless Me Father, I have sinned.  So be it.  

Pine cones will be included in this year's holiday project making.  I've been finding ideas on FB and Pinterest that I'm able to use as a basic idea.  Rarely do I make something that's exactly like someone else's.  It's the idea that I'm after, not a duplicate.  There's the business of wanting one's final design to reflect one's personality.  That's the fun part of the creative process...putting forth into the world something as our eyes see it.  It's not the final piece only, it's the artist's perception that's equally intriguing. 

Another path that I've not taken yet is the business of drawing.  This winter I just might find an online site that teaches the basics of drawing.  That would open up a new way for me to be creative while outdoors.  One more thing on the old bucket list.......guess I'm gonna have to live to be an old bucket!  (giggle)