Lisa Audit 10/29/21 Lisa Audit 10/29/21

Giving Thanks

For me, Thanksgiving is about spending time with the loved ones in your life and just being with them uninterrupted, listening, laughing, and enjoying each others company and we can not forget about the incredible dinners we get to share with friends and family. Of course, I love flowers and like to bring a harvest arrangement full of blooms like goldenrods, and sunflowers for the host.

Thanksgiving is a celebration of being thankful for what we have and for all the possibilities to come.

Creating your own Thanksgiving arrangement is easier than you may think. I’ve added some of my favorite simple and easy tips and inspiration for you below.

What Thanksgiving traditions do you have?

Here in Canada, we celebrated Thanksgiving in October but, with so many friends, customers and colleagues in the US, I always make a point of celebrating a second time. Can you blame me?

Like many of you, we toast to the past year gone by and the many things to be grateful and thankful for, even when it’s harder to see the good things. It’s important to gather and remember the many things, big and small, that make our lives beautiful. Often, after dinner, I convince my loved ones to come outside and go for a walk to breathe in the fresh air and enjoy those last moments of peace and quiet before the busy holiday season begins. And you all know how busy Christmas gets.

Create Your Own Thanksgiving or Harvest Arrangement

If you have never made your own Thanksgiving or harvest arrangement this year is the time to do it! I urge you to get creative and make your dining table pop with beautiful and colorful natural arrangements. It is more simple than you think!

Here are a few simple tips to create your harvest arrangement:

Have fun with the color, texture, and size of your base: it creates the foundation of your arrangement and can help make the style pop whether you are going for a more rustic or modern feel. You can be creative with it and use anything from a basket or a pail to a clay pot or even more of a platter or tray instead of a typical container.
Find seasonal gifts from Mother Nature: you can find fallen leaves, pine cones and twigs to add to your floral arrangement to create a more rustic and fall feel. Or, if available, pick some flowers or grass from a field to bring some nature inside, if not, use the colors and flowers you see on your walk as inspiration and pick up some flowers from a local florist, grocery store, or craft store. Stay local where you can.
Strive for balance not symmetry: most people strive to create symmetry in a floral arrangement, but balance can be just as pleasing to the eye and visually impactful. Create balance with equal distribution of weight (equal amount of large pieces and/or bundles of small elements) and color throughout the arrangement.
Use seasonal fruit and vegetables to create a fun and festive centrepiece! Apples, squashes, mini pumpkins, or even dried flowers instead of real flowers to incorporate your own style and uniqueness into your arrangement.

Do you love traditional centrepieces? Get inspired by a cornucopia; a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket filled with various kinds of festive fruit and vegetables. Traditionally used by fruit pickers in antiquity times, it is now associated with Thanksgiving in North America and symbolizes prosperity, abundance, and nourishment. It is a gorgeous sight to behold. Whatever kind of Thanksgiving arrangement you make will be beautiful! I wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!

Lisa

Guest User 10/21/21 Guest User 10/21/21

Sunflowers, Perfect for Fall and All Year Round

While we may think sunflowers are a summer flower with their bright yellow petals, they are actually more of a fall flower and can be enjoyed until late October in many parts of North America.

I have painted many sunflowers in my life, and yet, every time it is like the first and I can’t help but smile.

While we may think sunflowers are a summer flower with their bright yellow petals, they are actually more of a fall flower and can be enjoyed until late October in many parts of North America.

When I think of sunflowers and the fall my memory takes me back to pumpkin patches, corn mazes and hay bale rides. And, of course, getting lost in the maze while running around to keep my fingers and toes warm. And now, of the future enjoying the same activities with my grandson! Did you know the biggest corn maze in the world is in Quebec? It is called Le Grand Labyrinthe Servlinks and it is over 70 hectares and full of sunflowers. If you have a corn maze near you, I highly recommend visiting to enjoy all the fall activities, sunflower fields, and beautiful fall colors of yellow, orange, and red.

Vincent Van Gogh made sunflowers famous, and I often wonder what he would think of my sunflowers.

If you are looking to bring happiness, bright energy, gratitude, and joy into your home, sunflowers and other yellow décor are the way to go.

Sunflowers in the home

Whether you love fall or miss summer already, bringing sunflowers into the home is the perfect way to bring happiness and positive energy into your space. You have many options from my Sunflowers Forever Collection from inspiring quotes like “See good in all things” or “ Keep life simple” to simple and elegant loosely painted sunflowers on a white background. And, don’t forget about the ever-popular bouquet of sunflowers in a wicker basket on a bicycle, the perfect combination of summer and fall all in one.

The sunny, yellow color Illuminating, is one of Pantone’s colors of the Year in 2021 and it is still going strong to be one of the top trending colors for 2022. Bring yellow accents and sunflowers into your home for fall and be in style all year round! Big splashes of yellow work best in a space that a lot of people visit, such as the living room and kitchen. But, you can always add accents of yellow into the bedroom or bathroom to bring you joy when you wake up and in every space of your home. As always, have fun with your home décor and decorate with as much color as your heart desires.

Fun facts and a little history on sunflowers

The sunflower is a native plant of North America and no other plant has had such an impact or be as significant as a sunflower. From its inception, sunflowers have been used to cultivated food, as medicinal use, and used to make dyes for face paint, cloths, and baskets. Today, there are two types of commercial uses for sunflowers, one to produce oil and one to produce edible seeds. When we think of sunflowers, many of us envision a bright, big yellow petals surrounding a brown head which can produce delicious seeds, but with over 70 varieties sunflowers can bloom into varying shades of red, orange, and yellow.

Here are some fun facts about sunflowers

The tallest sunflower was grown in Germany at just over 30 feet, while the biggest sunflower head was grown in Canada at 32.5 inches across
Sunflowers are notable for turning to face the sun, a behaviour known as heliotropism
The sunflower is the national flower of Russia and the state flower of Kansas, USA

Did you know the Aztecs worshiped sunflowers and placed sunflower images made of gold in their temples and crowned their princesses in the bright yellow flowers? If that doesn’t show the importance of the sunflowers, I don’t know what does. So, I think we all deserve some sunflowers and joy in our life.

Lisa

Shop my Sunflowers Forever Collection on iCanvas

Shop my sunflowers forever collection on icanvas

Team Technica 9/16/21 Team Technica 9/16/21

Colours of Fall (and gnomes!)

Every year I look at the changing leaves and I am mesmerized by the colours this season brings. It also makes the impending threat of winter a little easier to manage.

At this time of the year, I am getting ready to slow down a little. After a busy summer, I will be getting back into the studio, painting and getting ready for show season. It’s always a great time to focus on new collections and looks for my customers.

I live on the East coast of Canada where nature is on full display every fall.

Every year I look at the changing leaves and I am mesmerized by the colours this season brings. It also makes the impending threat of winter a little easier to manage.

Get outside and explore

From the brilliant golds to dazzling reds, I highly recommend getting out and exploring the countryside to see the changing colours. Every time I take a walk I see something new … a new colour to re-create, a texture to capture in my art or an entire colour palette that will inspire my next collection.

Find your perfect spot to enjoy Fall colours

Here are 3 amazing maps that will help you plan your visit to explore Fall’s changing colours

Do you love gnomes?

I love gnomes. For the past few years, gnomes have really taken off again in home decor. I think we are all loving their whimsical charm. They bring a sense of charm, laughter and happiness to the home. In the past year we have all needed that more than ever.

Do you want a little sneak peek?

I worked on this fun fall-themed gnome collection earlier this summer. It felt so good to work on something that will make people smile. At the end of the day, no matter who you are, or where you live … no matter what you believe … we all need to believe in magic.

Team Technica 8/31/21 Team Technica 8/31/21

Hello Fall

This was a busy summer for me. Besides visiting with my family and spending time with my grandson, I moved my studio into a new space and finished so many new collections for 2022. And while I love summer, there is something so special about autumn and the changing seasons.

It’s hard to believe that summer is fading into fall in just a few weeks.

I often think about what it might be like to live someplace where there is summer all year long. I fell in love with Costa Rica before the pandemic and I have been missing travelling there for some much-needed beach and surf time. But, when I really think about it, if I lived there full time, I would miss being surrounded by changing seasons and all the beauty that each season brings.

For me, fall isn’t about things fading away, it’s about change, growth and possibilities.

I adore watching the leaves change from their light summery greens to shades of amber, vermillion and copper. As I take my walks out in the countryside, I am watching the grasses slowly turn more yellow day-by-day as the world seems to slow down, just a little.

Decorating for each season is important to me.

Changing out my decor with little touches of fall makes me happy and ready to take on these next cooler months. I especially love adding fresh fall flowers and branches throughout my studio. There is nothing like being surrounded by nature to inspire my creativity. These beautiful fall colours and textures always inspire me to paint new watercolour collections. I will never grow tired of creating fall-inspired art and patterns filled with pumpkins, leaves and fall blooms.

Take a walk in the woods

I adore my local florists but sometimes, gathering fall flowers, branches and grasses are just what I need. I recently started my fall decor planning with a walk in the country. I gathered the most incredible natural pieces and combined them with a bouquet and cuttings from my local favourite florist to create some early inspiration for fall decor.

Be creative when you are building your own fall arrangement.

I always suggest keeping it simple and a little wild.
Take your time. I always start with a vase or container I love and then layer cuttings and blooms until I am happy with the look. Don’t rush your creation. Try and take time to really be there in the moment. We are all so busy and I know it is hard, but being truly present when I arrange flowers brightens my day and gives me the space to appreciate all the good things to come.

In no time at all, Thanksgiving will be here in Canada and then later for all my friends in the US. Are you getting ready to celebrate?

I am already excited to start planning my family get-togethers. Food, family, friends and home will always be the most important things to me. I hope you find the time this fall to make some space in your home for everything wonderful about fall.

Lisa