It's Official!

My gardening clogs are out. You know what that means... gardening season is officially here!

Happy Easter

I found this vintage Easter card at the Ottawa Vintage Clothing Show last November and saved it for this occasion.

It was fun to see the message handwritten on the back. 

Pysanky

The Ukrainian art of pysanky, with its traditional strong bright colours, creates beautifully decorated eggs for Easter.

This particular egg uses only two dyes: red and black to accomplish this striking pattern.

Easter Eggs

Some Easter eggs I made by simply drawing directly onto each egg with a permanent ultra-fine tip blue marker.

Spring Arrangement

After visiting the Ikebana exhibition on the weekend, I thought I would create an arrangement of my own. I cut magnolia branches from the garden. Hopefully, the buds will open indoors for pretty pink blooms.

Ikebana - Horizon

Last weekend I visited the annual Ikebana Show that is presented by the Ottawa Chapter of Ikebana International, which showcases the styles of the Ohara and Sogestsu schools. As it was explained to me, if you were thinking in terms of art, the Ohara style would be a landscape, the Sogetsu an abstract.

This year's show was entitled "Horizon" and in the midst of this snowy March, it was a burst of much needed colour. This year's arrangements often used lots of twisty branches. 

Sometimes the most simple are the most lovely... serene and with space to breathe.

The arrangements pictured here were some of my favourites at the show. 

Welcome Spring!

When it is the first day of spring, and there is still lots of snow on the ground, what else can you do than go with the flow... and make the best of it!