designsgirl

cool creative business: waterlogue

This new painterly app is remarkable and addictive. Watch with fascination as it transforms any photo on your iPhone or iPad into a watercolor masterpiece in seconds.

beauty: the majesty of wildlife

We live among a dense Ponderosa pine forest in Colorado near the front range of the Rocky Mountains. 

It is common for daily sightings of deer, wild turkey, coyote, owls, hawks, fox, bobcat, and bear.

What is awe-inspiring are the prodigious herds of elk that run through our property. When a gang of 60 elk start a spontaneous run, the ground shakes; the sound is like nothing you have ever heard.

Our Golden Retrievers have been face-to-face with bobcats; have chased antelope and have sparred with porcupines (and lost). 

What a blessing it is to see these beautiful creatures among their habitat.

Top photo- A small herd of elk running among a field; Bottom photo- a spindle-shanked 8-point buck who let us within 10 feet of him to take his photograph.

our girls in the snow

Despite the 3 below zero temperature this morning, I brought our girls to the dog park. Outfitted with their rugged doggie booties, their paws were protected from frostbite (and those pesky impacted snow balls that they have to nibble out of their fur).

pretty ways

Author Alexandra Stoddard's precept is to give attention to daily rituals and make them special and beautiful.

Here is my attempt - preparing a healthful and pretty plate for lunch. It is not practical as a quotidian experience but it is nice to be mindful on occasion of making life lovely in simple ways.

a perfect gift

This special handmade crossstitch-covered cookbook with family recipes from the Sumner family of Midland, Texas was given to me for Christmas by my childhood friend Sara. 

Sara's mother, Betty, with whom I was close while growing up in Midland, passed away in June and Sara took the time to complete her mother's cookbook and present it to me this Christmas.

season's greetings

charleston/savannah scenes

There is mystery and gentility and magic about the cities of Savannah and Charleston.

During a weekend stay with my mom and good friend, we ate a year's worth of delicious seafood and southern grits; toured one of the oldest working plantations; walked along the famed King Street of downtown Charleston; visited the SCAD campus where I begin classes soon (from afar); went island hopping and soaked up the friendly hospitality and warm weather of these historic and captivating cities.

setting new sites

By the end of this year, designsgirl will have a new website- a place of glorious images of all of the things she loves and projects in which she is immersed. 

Some of the new features will be lovely place settings with calligraphy touches and unique paper goods and gift wrapping ideas.

My magazine partner Laura Dombrowski, who is a talented webmaster, will create the new look and contribute her fetching photography.

Images by designsgirl

dad

Happy Father's Day, Dad. You are the greatest.

photo by Laura Dombrowski 

 

gibson- profile of a paperswell mascot

Gibson loves tennis balls and swimming; has an indifferent attitude toward her fellow canines but loves her big sister; possesses meaty thighs and beautiful feathers; and remarkably loves to have her teeth flossed nightly by the alpha male of our household.

pretty picture no. 1

I scour through heaps of magazines for design inspiration and find the most beautiful images.

Here, a fanciful dress by Manuel Canovas, a Parsons design student, caught my eye for its rich embroidered detail.

Image from the October 2011 issue of Veranda magazine

interlude: magazine mascot

 

Our Golden Retrievers love snow more than just about anything, except tennis balls and belly rubs.

Here is our girl Gibson, photographed by Laura Dombrowski Steele, on the set of a recent photo shoot for Laura's and my new magazine - paperswell - coming soon.

We look forward to telling you all about it on March 5th.