oh my lovely Hibiscus

I have two now: Lord Baltimore (red with green leaves) and Lady Baltimore (pink flowers with purple leaves). They are the last plant to come up in the spring and they take their time growing but grow they do! Here we are mid-July and they are in their glory with plate-sized flowers that peek their faces in the kitchen window – a welcome hello as I begin my day.

I am also fascinated with their spidery buds.

scrap fabric greeting cards

I was inspired to experiment with some abstract lines using the unraveled thread from freshly-washed fabric and glue. Mixed results but it was a fun bit of creative play for me.

Write Michigan logos

I recently had the honor of developing some logo options for a short story content. Here are the three designs that were presented to the committee.

 campfire, storytelling, myths, messages, memories, words leaping off page

ripples, water, remembering, land and place as inspiration, clouds, dreams

bold type, waves and water, the printed page, books

My favorite is the middle one so I will end showing it to you in color. I developed several color versions of each of these. The committee ended up choosing the final logo out of the above three choices.

I would love to hear which one resonates with you and why. Please leave a comment!

the blog-inspired gift of currants

Someone who works with me and reads this blog brought in a sampling of her latest farmer's market purchase: currants! She said that they looked like "little pink pearls" and she knew I would appreciate them since I am always finding beautiful things in nature. What a gift to start my work day!

I was especially fascinated by the tiny seeds hidden in each translucent globe. I cannot say that I created any culinary greatness with them but my girls did enjoy an unusual snack.

hand painted signs at Cherry Point

 

I told you I was going to take more sign photos this summer! Here's a few I snapped at Cherry Point Farm and Market. It is in Oceana County, not far from my family's cottages and the shores of Lake Michigan and always a part of summer for me. I like to imagine these signs have been at the shop forever but even if they were recently painted I still admire the signs' handmade look!