Cherry Blossom Trio

Spring Cherry Blossom III

Spring Cherry Blossom II

Spring Cherry Blossom I

Spring Cherry Blossom Trio is now available in my Etsy Fine Art Photography shop as a 10 x 10 set of three prints for only $60. I also have them listed as separate 12 x 12 prints listed in my 1000Markets LJDesignphoto shop for $40 each. You can also contact me to special order them in larger or smaller sizes.
This beautiful print set is done with a vintage feel in toned down colors and a soft but grainy background, allowing each blossom to stand out beautifully.

Thank your for your interest in my work.
Lorissa

Red Sunflower Triptych Photo - Tackle It

I have been so behind in things this summer. I still feel like I just moved and not really settled. Artwork still needs to be hung on the walls, boxes are still packed, thank you letters from my daughter's third birthday are still not written, and that is just the beginning.

I'll admit I have put a priority on meeting new people, getting in shape, and adding things to my ljdesignphoto etsy shop. I figure I will have a little more time once my daughter starts preschool and with that right around the corner I'm just not going to worry too much about everything else. If your visiting my blog hoping to read more of my adventures on Route 66, please know that it will become more of a priority in fall when I have time to really sit at the computer and write.

One thing I did accomplish (or tackle) this summer was to grow a red sunflower. I had never seen or heard of a red sunflower and wanted to see one myself. Now it has finally bloomed and I think it is beautiful. Here is a triptych that I made of it yesterday. I'm going to put it above the bench in my entry way. If you like it you can have it to because I named it Red Suflower Triptych Photo and added it to my etsy shop yesterday.

I made this an edition of only 25, so that means only 24 are available after I get mine framed and hung.

You can find more inspirational people who have tackled something today here:

SALE and a SECRET

It is happening again! T10T (aka Take Ten Tuesday). Get 10% or more off some great hand made items and artwork. Check out our FAM blog on Tuesday, July 15^th for all the stores participating.

I’m having a take 10% off sale on July 15, 2008 between 5:00PM EST and Midnight EST. And if your purchase comes to $25 or more you receive a FREE 5x7 of your choice. You need to remember to put T10T in the notes to seller when you make your purchase and I will send you a revised invoice to pay (so don't pay right away.)

I’m also putting secrets in a few of my listings. These secrets will be Free (just pay shipping) or offered at a deep discount. See my store announcement for details.

And here is my newest listing. A special of two 5x7 prints of beautiful red Gerber Daisies. You save $4 over the individual price if you buy this listing.

Today is a Happy Day!!

I thought of many ways to celebrate Mother's Day with a special post. I thought of writing about how special my mother is to me, about all the amazing mothers in my family, or about my experience of being or becoming a mother myself. But I decided that each to do justice to any of these subjects would need to take time to sit, write, and edit. Time that this week, with our family fighting off the flu, I just didn't have. So I will save these for future post.

Of course, part of me thinks that mother's day is just another holiday made up by card and gift companies to make more money. Everyday that I have been a mother is special. My daughter has brought me so much joy that one day a year could never sum it up. But it is always nice to have a day that you are told by those you love that they applicate you.

This year I got a homemade card from my daughter. She is only three so there are no works on it, but you can see that she put a lot of effort into making it beautiful for me. I has stickers, colored pencil, glitter glue, and markers making a nice composition of color and scribbles. Who could ask for more, especially when it is delivered with a big hug, kiss, and the words, "I love you." I also received some lovely flowers from my husband. So sweet and unexpected (he is not really a card holiday person.)

My final gift was from nature. About three years ago my husband and I planted a yellow bird of paradise bush (Caesalpinia gillesii) in my front yard. It is a bush that does well in the desert, but like everything we have planted it has taken years to become established. This is the first year it has bloomed. And what great timing, on Mother's Day.

And just a final

Happy Mother's Day
to all you mothers surfing the web today.

Spiky but Sweet.

I love the Desert as much as I love laying on a sandy beach. Many of my friends who live near the ocean just don't understand.

The beauty of the Mojave Desert is why I moved west when my fiance, now husband suggested it. I love so much about it. You can see so far it is just amazing. So many mountains of different shapes and colors. And so many varieties of plants and wild life. I feel in love during my first visit.

Spring is one of the best times of year to visit, as long as you don't mind wind. First you get the wild flowers and later the cactus begin to bloom. Warm days and cool evenings. So much to enjoy.

I wanted to share one of these joys with you. Here is a new desert bloom that I just photographed this week.

Thanks for reading.

Flowers for my Mother, new item

The other day my mother said she needed some new magnets to hold up the drawings that my daughter, her granddaughter, has be giving to her every few days. She said she wanted them to be bright and colorful and she would love to pick them out. I also had an inquiry in my etsy shop about magnets, so I decided it would be a good time to make some more. Here are more of the flower images chosen:




All of this magnet are available in my etsy store, just follow a link to my store by clicking on the image of the magnet you like.

I also ordered a couple of Route 66 magnets that I will be listing in my store soon. Those are great father's day gifts.

The Desert in Bloom, more to enjoy

I'm home and trying to catch up with everything. Cleaning the house, RV, and clothes, updating my etsy store, and catching up with friends and family. Not really doing well at it, but maybe I'll be caught up soon.
I did finally get more photos on Flickr. They are of the flowers that I took during our trip. The drive to California was beautiful and the last night we spent all by ourselves camped in an canyon on BLM land. It was so quite and peaceful, sometimes I wish I could live there.

I was disappointed to head home, but the necessity of getting things done came to be as it always does. The next day after arriving home we had snow in the high desert. I live at around 3000 ft and the snow didn't stick by the house, but it did in the surrounding mountains. It is strange how warm an beautiful it was one day and how cold it was the next. Luckily it is starting to warm up again and hopefully the wild flowers will be around my house soon.

Enjoy the flowers. Oh, and you can click on them to reach my flicker account to see more.

A Desert Full of Flowers

Many people think that the desert is a dry inhospitable place with very little life or color, but this is not true. The desert is always teaming with life and during spring it is alive with color. This week I took a trip to the Sonoran Desert to see the carpets of wildflowers. The Joshua Tree National Park rangers said that there were about 80 different types of flowers in bloom in the southern half of the park.

Because of the rough road and little chances to pull over safely in an RV most of my photos were taken at the Cottonwood Campground. Some were taken as we exited the park on the southern end and headed to the Salton Sea. It was a beautiful drive and a great way to spend some time with my family and getting new photos. Here is just a quick sample of some of the beautiful flowers.

White Tulips, Valentines, and so little time

I had a few minutes today and thought I would post a photo of the beautiful white tulips that I received for Valentines.

I can't believe how fast Valentine's Day came and went. I've been wanting to get a few new post up, but never seem to have the time to get my thoughts together properly. My daughter is two and a half and requires a lot of time from me, between potty training, playdates, and reading time just to name a few. Also, she has recently stopped falling asleep during nap time, and I need to come to grips that I may not have my two hours of quite time to get things done anymore.

One of the best things about Valentines Day this year was the MOMS Club party we had for the kids. They each decorated a bag for their valentines. They looked so cute all in a row I had to share.



I hope your day was a sweet as mine.

Bleeding Hearts, a reminder of childhood.

Last spring while visiting my mother-in-law, I was strolling around her garden and saw these beautiful Bleeding Heart bushes. Just the sight of these delicate flowers took me back to my childhood in Pennsylvania.

As a child, every spring our yard came alive with beautiful and bright colors everywhere. Many flowerbeds surrounded our house and the hill down to the road was filled with honeysuckle bushes. In spring we would watch as the flowers pushed out of the dirt and new life grow everywhere. It was a magical time when the days started getting longer, the temperature started to get warmer, and everything seemed alive.

When I was ten years old my family moved to Florida. After the move, spring was never quite the same again. While it gets cooler during the winter, the temperate climate does not have such a marked difference between seasons. I had never really thought how much I missed it until I saw these flowers again. The memories of those magical days came flooding back.

I this was the start of my recent series of flower photographs. Most of them were taken during our spring RV trip to visit my in-laws. It was the first time in a long time that I was able to experience the magic of spring again. These photos are a celebration of the magic and life of spring.

Happy Valentines!
Lorissa