For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

After our trip to North Carolina, Brandon and I were looking forward to a few days of respite at home. But then we learned of a giant storm (the one that plagued most of America Christmas week) rolling through the Midwest. We would need to leave that day or miss out on the holidays with our families. So we hit the road!

Most of our annual Christmas traditions were postponed due to illness and nasty winter driving. We began to refer to the storm as the Blizzard of 2009. We were snowed in for a few days and Christmas Eve candlelight service at my hometown church was canceled.

When the snow and ice let up a bit, we gathered together on Saturday at my grandparents’ home.

They make THE BEST soups every Christmas Eve. Clam chowder has become a family tradition and the hamburger soup is so yummy too. It’s hard to choose, so I usually have a few spoonfuls of both!

Then we convened in the living room and tore into our gifts. Here’s Brandon with my cousin, Elliot.

We were thrilled when my sister Aubrey and her fiance Josh arrived. Their wedding will take place in just ONE WEEK!

Here we are at mom and dad’s!

Emma sure enjoyed her Christmas present too! She wore her festive red holiday bandana to chew her new bone. I love how puppy-ish she looks here.

We also enjoyed two editions of “White Elephant Gift Exchange”, one at my grandma’s and one at Brandon’s mom’s house. The white elephant involves bringing small gifts that are homemade, found, and generally not very valuable. Then each participant chooses a gift in order. Brandon spent several days creating the white elephant trophy for the exchange at his mom’s since it was our first year. The result is a colorful circus-themed work of art. He is so creative!

The glass cylinder is filled will peanuts, the white elephant’s favorite snack. His sister Rhonda, also a creative artist, sculpted this cute clay mouse to guard the door of the tent.

Isn’t he cute? I love his little worried expression.

The gift exchange was wonderful. Here I am opening my first gift choice…some lovely arrowheads and deer “scent” (pee).

Luckily, my nephew Brandon wanted the collection of hunting goods, and I ended up with this adorable pipe cleaner flower made by my niece Liz. Yay! It’s so pretty.

Brandon also opened a bag of lego candy from grandma that he LOVED!

And Brandon made my Christmas even sweeter by stealing this snowgirl that Rhonda made. She is whimsical, glittery, and even has a tiny flower in her hat!

Rhonda’s husband Wade was the lucky one who ended up with the trophy, so he will wrap it up for Christmas 2010! And there’s Rhonda documenting the fun evening in photos. You can read all about Rhonda’s creative adventures in her blog: http://rhonda4kids.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year, everyone!

xoxo

Erika

P.S. Just a couple of photos from the gingerbread house competition at Grove Park Inn in Asheville! Thanks again for sharing with us, Chris and Rayna!

Brandon and I were lucky enough to make a visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. We visited his sister, Rayna and her husband Chris at their home near Cameron the week before Christmas. It was a four hour drive from Cameron to Asheville and as usual, we filled the car time with Rayna’s stories of my husband as a kid (those are my favorites) and jokes.

Biltmore House is the fruition of George Vanderbilt’s state of the art dreams. Mr. Vanderbilt opened the doors to his mansion in 1895 for his lavish Christmas party. The interior space occupies 43 acres and boasts over 250 rooms. Many walls are covered in silk, silver, and gold. Today, Biltmore remains the largest privately-owned home in the United States and employs nearly 1,800 employees.

Touring the house at Christmas was a sight to behold. Here are some glimpses of the exterior (no photography allowed inside). I would have easily filled ten memory cards on each floor…

We walked around the grounds right before sunset and the giant greenhouse was a real treat! Each wing supports a unique climate for its plants.

I loved the patterns and textures. Brandon took the photos in the cactus section. Beautiful!

And the pineapple was so tempting!

There was even a large Koi pond in the center with Oriental plants all around.

Chris and Rayna enjoyed some time together in the courtyard as we sipped hot cocoa from one of the on-site shops.

That was some yummmmmmy hot cocoa.

Of course, Brandon called ahead to color coordinate with the vegetation : )

Not really sure what the funny face was all about.

Biltmore has several gift shops, each with their own specialty. This one had ornaments similar to those adorning the trees inside the mansion. These little flocked and feathered birds were so cute!

As we left, we enjoyed one last magical view of Biltmore’s majesty.

Peace and love,

Erika

Here is Nicole Shelaine’s new business card design. Please visit her site and say hello!

Have a great week, friends.

My sweet baby sister is getting married in January. I was so excited that she asked me to help throw her bachelorette party next month! Her fiance, Josh is a wonderful man and Aubrey is the apple of his eye. I am so happy for them! They have a beautiful lifetime together ahead.

Here is the postcard design that Aubrey’s friends and family will receive soon!

Aubrey and Josh are coming to visit Brandon and I in Denver this weekend. We’ll be shopping for my pretty black dress on Saturday. So excited!

I’m announcing my first set of digital goodies today! Introducing, matte buttons and embellishments. 14 colorful buttons and 6 original stacked fabric flowers to make any digital project prettier. Use them in designing custom cards, digital scrapbooking, or purchase the commercial version and use them on your website, business cards, and thank-yous! They add a great three-dimensional embellishment to any project. The colors can even be adjusted using Color Balance in Photoshop.

Each button and embellishment comes as a PNG, ready to drag onto your project. Using them is so easy!

Coming soon…a set of matching digital papers! 

I really loved working on this business card for Kelly Mendoza. If you’d like, visit her blog and check out her photography.

Business card designs start at $120.

Thanks again, Kelly!

What does that mean? 

It means that upon visiting my studio, you’ll find tubes of watercolor paint right next to the paper clips, cords, and digital equipment. You’ll see an easel in the corner with a paint-splattered apron hanging from it. Because I am an artist first, you won’t be able to tell where the paintbrush ends and the Wacom tablet strokes begin. 

Here are a few photos of my current studio. My husband and I will soon by moving a few miles west and closer to the gorgeous Rocky Mountains. 

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My good friends Kristy Lane and Brenda Acuncius are offering an incredible opportunity for aspiring photographers to learn some of their secrets. It’s called Bloom Workshops. I created their bloom logo that you’ll see above and on their site and blog!

They have an upcoming online workshop this week called Bloom Beginnings. It’s for those who are starting out in the world of photography; getting to know your way around your camera and Photoshop. Brenda and Kristy are there to guide their workshop students every step of the way. They will cover exposure, depth of field, the rule of thirds, perspective, and even editing tips! And if you’ve seen their work, you’ll really treasure their advice…

There are also goodies! …Talented guest speakers, prizes, actions, tutorials, and a visual forum to hang out in!

Tomorrow (May 13) is the last day to sign up, so please hurry and join if you’re interested by visiting www.bloomworkshop.com and clicking “About.”

Enjoy!