My New Year's Wish For You

This was a poem written twenty years ago by Sandra Sturtz Hauss. For me, it is the most beautiful way to express my hopes and wishes for all of you for the New Year.

MAY YOU ALWAYS FEEL LOVED

May you find serenity and tranquility in a world you may not always understand.

May the pain you have known and conflict you have experienced give you the strength to walk through life facing each new situation with courage and optimism.

Always know that there are those whose love and understanding will always be there, even when you feel most alone.

May you discover enough goodness in others to believe in a world of peace.

May a kind word, a reassuring touch, a warm smile be yours every day of your life, and may you give these gifts as well as receive them.

Remember the sunshine when the storm seems unending.

Teach love to those who know hate, and let that love embrace you as you go into the world.

May the teaching of those you admire become part of you, so that you may call upon them.

Remember, those whose lives you have touched and who have touched yours are always a part of you, even if the encounters were less than you would have wished. It is the content of the encounter that is more important than its form.

May you not become too concerned with material matters, but instead place immeasurable value on the goodness in your heart.

Find time in each day to see the beauty and love in the world around you.

Realize that each person has limitless abilities, but each of us is different in our own way. What you may feel you lack in one regard may be more than compensated for in another. What you feel you lack in the present may become one of your strengths in the future.

May you see your future as one filled with promise and possibility. Learn to view everything as a worthwhile experience.

May you find enough inner strength to determine your own worth by yourself, and not be dependent on another’s judgment of your accomplishments.

May you always feel loved.

Fathers and Sons

The moment I saw these photographs in Barbara Gordon's shop on ETSY, I knew I had to feature them as part of this month's theme.

Until you have a son of your own . . . you will never know the joy, the love beyond feeling that resonates in the heart of a father as he looks upon his son. You will never know the sense of honor that makes a man want to be more than he is and to pass something good and hopeful into the hands of his son. And you will never know the heartbreak of the fathers who are haunted by the personal demons that keep them from being the men they want their sons to be.

- Kent Nerburn 1917- from Letters to My Son

There is something very special about the love between a father and son and I believe the quote and the photographs truly reflect that love.

You can view more of Barbara's beautiful work either in her shop on ETSY or on her website.

Spanning tradition over 3 generations

The Colorful Ewe is a collaboration of a mother, daughter and 13 year old granddaughter.

Take a look at their exquisite hand dyed yarns. This one called "Earth" reflects the beautiful colors of the earth as seen from the satellites.




The colors are rich blues, vibrant greens, and an array of browns.



A true family business, they hand-dye all their yarns one at a time, with care and attention to detail.

Each hank of yarn comes with a matching stitch marker as a free gift to you!

Want something completely different to call your own? They'll make it for you.

The Best of All Gifts

This was one of the nicest cards I've ever designed so I'm sharing it with you. I believe the quote says it all.


The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

Inspirational Family Quote

I came across this quote today. I hope you find it as meaningful as I did.

""Let your eyes light up when your children are around. Laugh more. Tell them how empty and quiet it is when they’re not there. Enjoy the things they bring to your life. Attend their activities, not as if they were compulsory for parents, but throw yourself into their lives."

--Valerie Bell, Getting Out of your Kids’ Faces and into Their Hearts

Featured Artist - December 13, 2007

Holly Stott, another ETSY artist, has a personalized necklace and pendant available in her shop. What better way to keep a dear one close to your heart.



Send her your photo and she'll turn it into a black and white sketch which is then made into a plastic pendant affixed to a black leather cord. This would make a spectacular gift for that someone special on your holiday shopping list.

Grafik Expressions' blog will feature not only its own designs but creations from other artists that remind me how beautiful life can be.

During the holiday season we tend to look back and reflect on wonderful memories in our lives. For the next few weeks I will be featuring items that reflect the beauty of loving family and treasured friends.

Here is one of my favorites for treasured friends. It is available as a note card from my shop http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7345313

If you have or know of an item which you believe would fit into this category, feel free to email me at grafikexpressions@gmail.com. I will try to feature it here during the coming weeks.

Tonight is the last night of Hanukkah. For those who are celebrating, may this Festival of Lights bring blessings upon you and your loved ones for happiness and health.





Our first featured artist is Daring Divas at Etsy

According to Daring Divas' profile on ETSY

We have been creating art individually for many years. If you combine those years….lets just say it would be staggering!

We currently sell our art at local galleries as individuals.

But we get such a hoot out of being together and doing art…so we decided to collaborate and sell our creations online.

We both live in cabins and in the woods with critters running amuck!
Loud music, good food and loads of laughter…that’s how these little works of art were created.

They have a beautiful 8x10 mixed media on canvas in their shop entitled Life Love Joy.

Welcome to Grafik Expressions. I sincerely hope you will enjoy your visit.