{Day 4} ~ A Little Sunshine

Today's prompt for PictureWinter: A Little Sunshine

I found the prompt for Day 4 really hard. We were supposed to look for something that reminded us of the sun, like happy polka dots, something to "substitute for sunshine when you really need it". And that's the problem: I'm not really a sun person and I'm not looking for sun. I'm very happy about the misty, grey days & hope they're here to stay for a while. 'Winter Blues' doesn't exist in my vocabulary, but I know all about 'Summer Blues' - weeks and weeks of long, hot, sunny days. So depressing. The only "sunny" thing I could think of in my home were these cards from my colour memory set. I wasn't happy with the photo so I played around with some texture, brushes and fancy fonts. I must say, I really quite enjoyed that part :-).

So here's a bit of sunshine from me to everyone who is feeling the Winter Blues and in need of a bit of sunshine :-)

Texture by Shadowhouse Creations

{9 Muses Musing} ~ Snowflake

Today's prompt for 9 Muses Musing: Snowflake

 

I'm an absolute snow lover and I so hope that there will be some real snow for Christmas Eve tomorrow! 

Textures: SkeletalMess / Shadowhouse Creations and Pareeerica
Brushes: http://www.studiobaklazan.com.pl

{Day 12} ~ A Whole Lot of Happy

I'm a bit behind with some of the pictures for Picture the Holiday, but yesterday, I finally had the inspiration for my shot for Day 12 - "A Whole Lot of Happy". Most of the baubles you find around here are the conservative ball, either plain/single-coloured or whith a bit of glitter or other decorations. But there are not a lot of those funny shapes and stuff around. Or at least I haven't come across too many. But yesterday, I found these three smiling snowmen ornaments, and I just loved them. They looked so cheerful and friendly and happy, I just had to take them home. They also were perfect for my Day 12 shot. I had also much fun with the processing, and got quite carried away in the process. But I think these three chaps can take it, and I'm sure they appreciate all the chill and snow I've added :-)

{Day 8} ~ Reflecting On The Season

The prompt for Day 8 for Picture the Holidays was to look at things in a mirror to see things differently. I found this really hard to capture as at the end, the result was no unexpected effect or anything but just my Christmas hanging basket decoration in the mirror. The poinsettia on the right at least looks much better here than in real life. I have my doubts that it'll make it till Christmas.

I love the class and the challenge it offers to try out different things but it is also a lot of work to keep up. For the last few days, I've spent my entire evenings with my camera and computer, not getting to bed before 11.30, which is not a great idea if your alarm clock goes off at 5.30 again. So I've been thinking about taking a break today and spend the evening on the sofa in front of the telly. I've just received the prompt for today, which is "It's a Sign". I take that as a sign then for an evnening off :-).

{Day 7} ~ Express Yourself

"Express Yourself" was  was the prompt for Day 7 for Picture the Holidays. How am I? How do I feel? How I was yesterday? I'm not so sure, it wasn't really such a good day. And I'm also not quite sure what exactly it is I wanted to express here. This is just what came out of trying to do a shot for the prompt. I took about 50 shots and wasn't happy with any one of them, when I finally had the idea to change the angle and shot from the left hand side, which gave a result I could live and work with. Sometimes, things are so simple... I'm a bit tired at the moment, and in need of a Christmas break. Some peace and quiet and sleep. Two more weeks to go...

I found this "änglaspel" (angel chimes) at a supermarket and couldn't resist it. They're quite popular here and most, like this one, come from Sweden. It looked so wonderfully simple and nostalgic, and the pictures on the box lookes as if they hadn't changed at all since the 1970s. I haven't found the box yet, but looking a the picture today, I have a strange feeling that it isn't all too different from the one on the box. Which would explain where the inspiration came from :-). Funny also to think that the girl with the pigtails on the box is now probably about my age :-).

{Day 6} ~ Every Little Thing

The prompt for Day 6 for Picture the Holidays was "Every Little Thing", to find a small delight on an ordinary day. I was spending the weekend in the mountains, so it wasn't really "ordinary days" and there were many small delights. This little Samichlaus was one of them and as the 6th of December is the feast of Saint Nicholas, I thought this would be very approbriate.

There was a small Christmas market in Davos and my friend and me went to have a look. At one of the stalls run by an organisation for integrating the unemployed, we found those sweet chaps. We just couldn't resist their charm and we both bought one. That dark thing on the right side is a wooden candle, made of a thick wooden branch or small trunk. The flame is also made of wood and painted. They're handmade by the husband of the lady at the stall, who gave them to us for a third of the price because it was closing time soon and she was happy to get back to a warm house after having been at the market all day (it was a good -10 degrees C that day). Me and my friend, we were so happy with our buys, because they are special and hand made rather than mass produced and because we had spent a great day together.

The Samichlaus (as he's called in my dialect of Swiss German) or Sankt/Heiliger Nikolaus in German, looks very similar like Santa Claus (Weihnachtsmann in German) but is actually not the same. He's based on Nicolaos of Myra (on which Santa Claus is modelled). He also brings presents to good children but not on Christmas but on the 6th of December, or the evening before. He doens't climb down the chimney during the night but knocks on the door and comes into the house to ask the children if they're been good. He brings nuts and oranges and children learn poems by heart to recite to him to earn them. Thankfully, my parents never booked a Samichlaus to come and visit me but I was frightend every year that he might come... The presents on Christmas Eve in Switzerland, and other (German speaking) countries are brought by the Christkind (christ-child). Sankt Nikolaus is usually accompanied  by his helper Schmutzli or Knecht Ruprecht. He's clad in brown and carries a rod to punish the bad children with. Often, they also have a donkey with them.