When I was in San Diego a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to wander about Balboa Park and the San Diego Botanical Gardens (formerly called Quail Botanical Gardens), just me and my camera. I was in a photographer's/plant lover's heaven in both places. I'll link to the photos I put up of the botanical gardens on my every day blog at the end of this post but I wanted to share these particular images here because they just scream at me to recreate them in other mediums. First thought was to work with them in fabric. Paint. Even collage would be fun. I'm hoping to carve out some time to play with them, maybe I'll even have a series based on waterlilies. Hmmm, why does that sound familiar......?

I'll just let you browse through some of my favorites.


























Moving from circles to straight lines, here's some lovely shadow images I'd also like to use as a starting point.












And now for something completely different -



Eyeball trees! At least, that's what they look like to me. I had the very disconcerting feeling that they were staring at me while I was staring at them.

For more amazing plants and garden scenes - check out some more photos I took at the San Diego Botanical Gardens on Beach Treasure.

When I was in San Diego last week my granddaughter had her heart set on having a pink owl. She pretty much has her heart set on having a pink EVERYTHING. You know how some little kids have an imaginary friend or two? Well, Joli has an entire imaginary world she talks about.

PINK WORLD!!!!

It's funny because my daughter-in-law worked so hard to make sure she created a gender neutral environment for her first years. Sure she had a cute pink dress or two (or three or...) but she also had little black and brown and blue and green and every other color dresses in her wardrobe and she had clothes that were obviously meant for "boys" as well as those specifically sold to "girls". All this to add background to the story of how she had her heart set on a pink owl.

So we made one together.




By making it together I mean we went shopping, she picked out the fabrics. I drew some designs, she fixed them. She was very specific - the wings needed to be a big higher, the eyes a bit bigger, the body a bit rounder.... and when it was to her liking, she approved the project.

I cut and sewed, offering her fabric and thread choices at each step, she chose, and I sewed some more.




And Pinkety Tinkety was born.... er, hatched?




She's almost as cute as Joli herself who, ironically, is wearing purple.

If you ever come through Susanville and need a place to stay, you might stop at the Apple Inn, a lovely small motel owned by friends of my mother. The wife, Lorna, runs a bit of gift shop by the front desk and I stop in from time to time to say hello and see what she has for sale as she and I share a love of faeries.




This lovely faerie scene that she created was on display when I stopped in earlier this week!




An encounter between a human girl and a young fae.




Other smaller fae go about their business in their little home set amongst a "woodland" of mushrooms.




Sunlight streams through while the wee folk play and sing and tell stories.

And I have a story for you if you promise to keep it a secret, just between me and you and the faeries, okay? Come a little closer in, so I can whisper it to you....




Lorna made these beautiful mushrooms out of cardboard tubes and garden supplies. The tops of these large mushroom are made from the ready made sphagnum moss hanging pot liners. Hmmm, these look to be made with shredded plant material. There are several different kinds. She found these at the local dollar store. She painted and glittered. The tubes are also painted and glued to little wooden platform blocks, the caps glued to the top.




These smaller mushrooms are made from a variety of paper seed pots. Softened, molded, and dried again and then painted, glittered and glued.

The woodland floor is created with a variety of plants - both silk and plastic as well as real dried flowers and mosses. Butterflies, birds, faeries, and other woodland creatures are tucked here and there.




Most of the tall mushrooms have added faery lights wound up their stalks and popping through in polka dotted brightness.




Here's an "beneath the scenes" view so you can see how simple it is.




A photo taken without a flash to show you you it might look when the sun sets. It would be fun to add a garland of garden lights above the scene to enjoy it after dark.

The only thing stopping me from rushing out to create my own beautiful faerie window is the lack of a proper site free of clutter and safe from cats. But I can dream. A midsummer's night dream. Maybe someday...