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Last Sunday, I bought a beautiful coffee-table book which was entitled ROSES: Inspirations for Practical Gifts, Crafts and Displays by Gilly Love, with photographs by Michelle Garrett. Considering the price and the quality, it is very affordable in terms of the really valuable and lovely content of the book itself.

It comes along a glossy paper cover jacket which is exactly the same print as that of the book. The book starts with a brief overview of the rose and its history, and how various hybrids were developed through the breeding of original species brought mostly by travelers and horticulturists. It features the stories, myths, and legends about roses, various varieties and kinds of roses for gardening and designing, roses and their health benefits, lovely design and gift ideas, roses for perfume and taking care of skin and body, and how to make various refreshments, deserts and recipes using roses and their fruits.

I discovered that roses are edible and they can be used to make salads, mix with chocolates and creamy cakes and fruits, make refreshing rose petal and lemon cordials, mix with cooking spices, and even make candies out of whole, fresh blossoms.

Mixing roses with authentic cooking spices

Roses, with their exquisite colors and heady perfumes, have inspired poets, philosophers and lovers for centuries and continue to be the passion of gardeners and floral designers all over the world. Roses is a celebration of this unique flower, making delightful presents and producing delicious rose-flavored recipes.

 There are numerous ideas for decorating your home with roses, with table stylings and floral designs to making rose-scented potpourri and decorative candies. A section on making your own beauty products and using rose-scented oils in aromatherapy is also included. Gifts to make include pressed rose stationery, cards and decorated boxes. Rose petals, hips and waters form the basis of a wide selection of delicious recipes to tempt any cook and include rose hip jam, rose vinegar, crystallized petals and peach and rose sorbet.

The projects are illustrated with clear, step-by-step photographs and easy-to-follow text that guarantee swift and successful completion of the designs. Throughout the book are numerous tips and suggestions for different styling ideas and ways of using roses, making Roses a delightful and inspiring guide to rose crafts, floral designs and decorations, and a book no rose connoisseur should be without.   

– Roses, Cover Jacket

Below are some photographs from the book. They are very lovely and they inspire me and my imagination to make more beautiful art and be in constant touch with flowers and with nature. 

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me and my favorite red shoes, taken while I'm eating chocolate ice cream and watching people pass by the highway.

newly-sharpened pencils, my favorite medium:the watercolour pencils :)

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Art Mediums and Brands

Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencil Tin - 36 count (#117536)

Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencils provide artists with great versatility of expression when drawing, shading, and painting in watercolors. Rich pigments dissolve completely when blended with a wet brush. These high quality watercolor pencils are offered in 120 colors that are permanent when dry and color matched to all other Faber-Castell lines. (source: http://artgraphic.fabercastell.com)

Color & Co Oil Colours 

Color & Co fine oil painting sets are high quality colours for traditional oil painting. They have a high level of pigmentation, a smooth full bodied consistency, good covering power, uniform consistency, good lightfastness, and good working properties.

• Canvas or canvas board
• Good pigmentation
• Good covering power 

(source: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au)

REEVES Water Mixable Oil, Colour Set, 12 ml Tube, 24 Tubes

Paint with genuine oil colors without using solvents. Looks, feels, and performs like traditional oil paint. Features a high level of pigmentation, smooth-bodied consistency, and good lightfastness. Colors include: lemon yellow, medium yellow, brilliant red, crimson, phthalo blue, ultramarine, sap green, viridian hue, yellow ochre, burnt umber, ivory black, titanium white, orange, flesh tint, violet, permanent light green, burnt sienna, Payne’s gray, deep yellow, magenta, rose madder, cerulean blue, cobalt blue, and raw umber. (source: http://www.enasco.com)

Winsor & Newton's Artisan Water-Mixable Linseed Oil 

Winsor & Newton's Artisan range of mediums has been specifically designed for use with the Artisan Water-Mixable Oil Paints, allowing you to continue working with the same mediums you would use in oil painting but maintain the ability to use water to thin youroil colour and to clean your brushes and painting equipment. Winsor & Newton's Artisan Water-Mixable Linseed Oil is the main binder used in the manufacturing of Artisan Oil Colours, and adding it as a medium will allow you to reduce the consistency and improve the flow of your oil paints. It is also the most popula rmedium of the Artisan range. (source: http://www.artstore.co.uk)

Marie's Professional Gouache Color

Renowned for their brilliance, opacity and great tinting strength, Marie's Gouache colors is a finely ground, water based paint and ideal for students and artists of all ages. The sets contain most popular colors. Conforms to U.S. health ASTM D4236 and Europe EN-71 standard.12/14/18 color set available. All the tubes are secured in white plastic tray (source: http://www.arttool.com)

Stabilo Carb Othello Pastel Pencil 

This pencil is simply a chalk pastel with a wood casing and can be sharpened to a fine point. It can be dry mixed and blended or by adding water used as watercolour. There are 60 colours. They have high pigmentation, great luminosity and opacity plus brilliant results when used on dark backgrounds. They are easily blendable and completely non-toxic. Wonderfully dry and dusty, just like charcoal, the soft lead will also draw perfectly on delicate paper. Can be bought individually or in robust metal tins. (source: http://www.artshopmaterials.co.uk)

Fourty-first Post

27 September 2011 Tuesday

Finally, the electricity is back!

The storm outside is very strong and while I was in the store this afternoon, the wind was actually tossing the signboards, the trees, and the leather covering the jeepney which was being repaired. The wind reinforced the strength of the rain and it pours in many directions. The storm is still raging outside while I’m writing now, and it seems that it will last until tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I’m getting a lot busier these days, arranging stocks and maintaining orderliness in the store, monitoring our records, sales and customers, composing a huge painting, planning, writing, and reviewing a lot. I was sort of neglecting my rose plants because I have so many things to do and tasks to be accomplished, while the month of September is drawing to a close. I’ll probably have my roses caring time by weekend, God-willing. Hopefully, before this month ends, I have already arranged my papers for submission, and am prepared for the examination by the end of the year. I’ve been planning and waiting for this opportunity and I hope and pray that God will give me the chance and the blessings to pursue it. Now, I have something to look forward to achieving in my life and it really makes me a lot happier, determined, and it gives me a lot of energy to work hard and be patient with whatever trials that happen in my life.

The teardrop waltz humming in my ears brings nostalgia memories in me—particularly when I still have my laptop computer. I missed my laptop a lot as it had been my companion when I am alone. It’s been more than a year since it was stolen from me, and I wonder how the thief managed to use it because it’s already non-functioning and he has to spend money just so he can have it repaired. But at least, even though I no longer have a laptop, I am happy and content with what I have in my life. I have many dreams and probably they are also my source of inspiration in my life, I love to learn and pursue new heights, and by God’s leave, He will grant me the strength to achieve them.

It’s a bit late now and I still have to watch a thriller movie, Silence of the Lambs. 

Till next time, with lots of love and creative inspiration, coming from the lovely and weirdo,

Maica.

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Thirty-ninth Post

Yesterday, while I accompanied my parents on shopping on a thrift store, I  spotted a lot of clocks on  display and they looked so colorful, so I thought of  catching them with my camera.