9 muses musing - RESOLUTION

For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
~T.S. Eliot

Happy New Year everyone!  It's that time of year again, when many people make their New Year's resolutions. So I have to ask--are you a resolution-maker?  Or perhaps you are more of the reflective kind...looking back to assess the past year without making too many plans and promises for the future?

Me?  I wouldn't say I make any life changing "resolutions", but I do try to list (sometimes in my head, and other times written on a cocktail napkin) a few things I'd like to do each year.  This year I'd like to spend a little more time working on my knitting...perhaps learning a new technique or stitch, or maybe knitting a new type of garment that will challenge me.  I'm also going to focus on using my new camera to its fullest and learning how to get the most out of one of my Christmas gifts--Photoshop Elements 9 (yay!).  And I am hoping to reconnect with my childhood best friend who I haven't seen or spoken to in years.

Today I am giving away these hand knit fingerless gloves that I made with a beautiful 100% merino wool purchased at a sheep & wool festival in New York in October.  These gloves are perfect for all you photo enthusiasts who need a little dexterity to work the camera buttons while keeping the rest of your hands warm.

Link up below or comment and you will be entered for a chance to win these gloves!    I look forward to seeing your submissions for RESOLUTION. Share an image that depicts some of your plans for the New Year, a list of your resolutions (big or small) or a story of how you rang in 2011.

Thank you for spending the holiday season with us!  It was so inspiring to see the images and stories you shared showing how you celebrated in your part of the world.  Make sure to visit tomorrow on the More Musing Page to see the list of all of the giveaway winners.

Here's to a peaceful and happy 2011!!

~christy

9 muses musing - CELEBRATE

1. Catching snowflakes *EXPLORED*, 2. Day 2: Champagne, 3. {day 10} ~ twinkle, twinkle (II) ~, 4. {206/365}

Happy New Year's Eve!

Around the world there will be wonderful celebrations tonight for welcoming the New Year. In Brazil, people go to the beaches to take a midnight dip in the water, offer flowers and a wish to the goddess Lemanja. The English wait for the first person to enter their homes to tell them how next year's luck will be.  In Greece, children leave their shoes out to be filled with gifts. Italians hang mistletoe over the front door to bring them good luck. In Spain and Latin countries, some people eat 12 grapes at midnight, as a bell is rung 12 times with the hopes of happiness and luck for the next 12 months.

What will you be doing today to celebrate the end of 2010?  Does your family have certain traditions? Will you be out playing in the snow, spending the evening on the town, partying until midnight, or snuggling at home with your family watching the New Year's Eve ball drop?

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: CELEBRATE.

Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: RESOLUTION.

Today's Giveaway Gift is set of Kat's Black and White Postcards.

Have a happy and safe evening everyone! I look forward to musing with you in 2011.

♥ april

9 muses musing - SPARKLING

wonder by Austin Lee Barron

Sparkle is a member of our extended family. We visited New York in 2005 and bought her in a shop on Amsterdam Avenue which has sadly since closed. As a cuddly unicorn she has special powers, helping young girls fall asleep and protecting them from harm. She has joined us on many voyages around the world and while no longer white and patched in places, still retains all of her magical powers.

What sparkles in your life? Is it conversation with a loved one? The look in a friend's eyes? Is it a moment in time? Or beautiful light that makes something sparkle in a special way? I can't wait to see your sparkling visions.

Here's another chance to win one of Jaime's gorgeous necklaces.

Link in or add a comment for a chance to win the necklace of your choice from her etsy site.

I look forward to seeing your submissions for SPARKLING.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is... CELEBRATE!

Merry, Merry Everyone!

kirstin

x

9 muses musing - TRADITION

❄ Family Tradition: Fetching the Tree ❄by pixelmama

Traditions are what bind us together, what links the generations, what makes our celebrations meaningful. Even simple activities, repeated each year are often anticipated with delight.

Share with us your most treasured traditions repeated at this special time of year.

Today's giveaway is for a $20 gift certificate to be used at snapfish.com.

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: TRADITION.

Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: SPARKLING.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

♥ maureen

9 muses musing - STORIES

Keeping Christmas Real Simple by suzie•q

Each year at Christmastime my father would read Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales aloud to us...

...There were the Useful Presents: engulfing mufflers of the old coach days, and mittens made for giant sloths; zebra scarfs of a substance like silky gum that could be tug-o'-warred down to the galoshes; blinding tam-o'-shanters like patchwork tea cozies and bunny-suited busbies and balaclavas for victims of head-shrinking tribes; from aunts who always wore wool next to the skin there were mustached and rasping vests that made you wonder why the aunts had any skin left at all; and once I had a little crocheted nose bag from an aunt now, alas, no longer whinnying with us. And pictureless books in which small boys, though warned with quotations not to, would skate on Farmer Giles' pond and did and drowned; and books that told me everything about the wasp, except why.
 

I miss my father so much, but I'm happy to have a special copy of A Child's Christmas in Wales that he gave to me, and which I read to my children.  And someday I'll pass a copy along to them, to read to their children.  And so on, and so on, down through the ages.  

Now, three days after Christmas, we're finally getting a chance to sit and appreciate our gifts, and among them are some wonderful books I can't wait to start reading.  Even though I'm a librarian and surrounded by books all day, there's nothing like a new book to get me all excited.  As Suzy Q says, "I enjoy reading because every time you pick up a book there's always the unknown discovery about what each story will reveal to the reader." 

Today I'm giving away a blank notebook made with handmade paper, and 4 colorful mechanical pencils to help you tell your own stories.

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: STORIES.  Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: TRADITION.

Until next year.

--lucy @ a little light reading

9 muses musing - SHARING

365.344 by marianna di ferdinando
"Love is the source of sharing." -- Susan Polis Schutz

The Holidays, no matter how you celebrate them, always present a conundrum.  We rail against the commercialism of the season, yet embrace the symbolism it represents.  Of joy.  Of compassion.  Of sharing.  We complain about the pains of shopping or spending too much money, yet delight in the happiness of an opened gift, food lovingly prepared and shared, gatherings of friends and family.  However you celebrate at this time of year, I wish for you and your loved ones the love that comes from sharing.

What thoughts or images evoke the feeling of SHARING for you?

Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: STORIES.
 

_______________________

Today's giveaway is the book 50 Photographers You Should Know.
Note that it's not the 50 best photographers, or most well known,
just 50 that you might want to have on your radar. 
I recently toured the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit at SFMOMA in San Francisco
and pored through this in the shop afterward (he's included).  Enjoy!

cheers to you and yours,

mosey

9 muses musing - SHINY

Choo Choo! by iluv2bauntie

“Sadly this Christmas passes away, so let us give thanks today, as we prepare for the year anew, with faith and hope to see it through.”
Author Unknown

Today I am giving away another gorgeous necklace.
It is a recycled scrabble tile with a birdie on the front. From Vanity Design.

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: SHINY.

Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: SHARING.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

♥ suki

9 muses musing - ORNAMENT

Emily bokeh by photomamato4

They may grace tree or wreath. They may be beautiful baubles or made of construction paper. The best ones are not the ones that perfectly coordinate the tree decorations. The best ones are memories, bright and shiny, that stay in a box and are pulled out once a year to be relived, together.

Today's giveaway is this colorful, handmade glass ornament from the island of Murano, Italy.

You can see the story behind this ornament here. 

Comment or link in today to enter to win.

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: ORNAMENT.
Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: SHINY.

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!
kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

9 muses musing - STOCKING

Ready To Hang My Christmas Stocking by Adventures of Miss ViVi Gold

For many, Christmas evening means hanging up your stockings at night and waiting with anticipation for Christmas morning to find them filled with small gifts and treats. But do you know how a simple knitted sock came to be associated with Christmas?

The Legend of the Christmas Stocking

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,  

In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there"

There was a kindly nobleman whose wife had died of an illness leaving the nobleman and his three daughters in despair. After losing all his money in useless and bad inventions the family had to move into a peasant's cottage, where the daughters did their own cooking, sewing and cleaning.

When it came time for the daughters to marry, the father became even more depressed as his daughters could not marry without dowries, money and property given to the new husband's family.

One night after the daughters had washed out their clothing they hung their stockings over the fireplace to dry. That night Saint Nicholas, knowing the despair of the father, stopped by the nobleman's house. Looking in the window Saint Nicholas saw that the family had gone to bed. He also noticed the daughters stockings. Inspiration struck Saint Nicholas and he took three small bags of gold from his pouch and threw them one by one down the chimney and they landed in the stockings.

The next morning when the daughters awoke they found their stockings contained enough gold for them to get married. The nobleman was able to see his three daughters marry and he lived a long and happy life.

_________

As a child, I never found a bag of gold in my stocking but I used to find Trixie Belden mysteries and sweets... to me, even better! 

Today's giveaway gift is a Brownie Holiday Flash camera from my private collection.

 

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: STOCKING.

Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: ORNAMENT.

The happiest of holidays to everyone!

♥ tammy lee of bliss and folly

9 muses musing - SNOWFLAKE

seaflake by kiersten bree

"Begin doing what you want to do now.
We are not living in eternity.
We have only this moment,
sparkling like a star in our hand, and melting like a snowflake...”
~ Francis Bacon, Sr.

Hello everyone! Today's giveaway is this beautiful set of four dandelion TtV prints provided by Hey Harriet. Each individual print in the set  is 4x4 inches (10x10cm). I chose these photos because the delicate nature of the dandelion seed heads remind me of today's theme of snowflake...they are both so airy, unique and transient.  They can be here one minute and gone the next, carried through the air to places unknown by a strong gust of wind.

Tracy has a lot of cool photos in her Etsy shop and she hosts Shadow Shot Sunday on her blog each week...so be sure to check her out!  Link up or comment below to be entered for a chance to win.

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: SNOWFLAKE.

Please add your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: STOCKING.

A peaceful and joyous holiday season to you all!

~christy of urban muser

9 muses musing - CANDLE

8th night by damiec

Candles are are a part of so many holiday traditions at this time of year.  The lighting of the menorah; the Advent wreath; the crown of candles worn by Santa Lucia; the seven candles of Kwanzaa; and  the candles lit to celebrate the winter solstice (which, coincidentally, is traditionally observed today).

Today's prompt is CANDLE.  Share with us how candles fit into your holiday and seasonal celebrations. Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Today's giveaway is a bit of holiday sparkle -- a handcrafted silver and ice blue beaded bracelet on memory wire, in its own little zippered bag.  Leave a comment for a chance to win this little bit of bling.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: SNOWFLAKE.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

April

9 muses musing - FAMILY

Saving Some for Santa by Suzie q

Christmas is such a lovely time for families. We join together to sing, to eat, to enjoy one another's company. And there's all those lovely festive traditions too.

Suzie q's picture shows a cheeky side to making the biscuits for Santa. I love that little hand reaching in to take one; it's such an sweet point of view. But will there be any left before Santa gets here?

My giveaway item is one of Jaime's gorgeous necklaces.

Link in or add a comment for a chance to win the necklace of your choice from her etsy site.

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: FAMILY.

Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: CANDLE.

Merry, Merry Everyone!

kirstin

x

9 muses musing - SWEETS

snowflake cookies by Sarah Krause

From the simple red and white striped candy cane, to elaborate show-stopping-once-a-year-desserts, the holiday season abounds with sweet treats. Sarah's photo of beautifully decorated cookies brings back happy memories of baking and decorating cookies with my boys as they were growing up. {However, I don't think we've ever made cookies that beautiful.} I'm looking forward to seeing what sweet treats you share during the holidays.

To encourage you to print your photos from this special time of year I'm giving away this photo album that holds 36 photos. You may of course, personalize the front cover image however you wish.

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: SWEETS.
Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.
Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: FAMILY.

Happy Holidays Everyone!
♥ maureen

9 muses musing - VILLAGE

hope for the holidays by ewitsoe

I live and work in a town with seven villages.  Every year each village has a Holiday Stroll where people visit the local businesses, historic homes and libraries; meet Santa; enjoy food and festivities; and celebrate with their friends and neighbors.

But more and more, even here on idyllic Cape Cod, there are people who live along the edges of our vision who need us to see them, too.  They are just as much a part of our village life as the librarian and shopkeeper and restauranteur.  When we open our doors and our hearts this season, we must remember to open them wide.

Please visit ewitsoe's flickr page and read the story that accompanies his powerful photo.

Today I'm giving away a set of two antiquarian Christmas books and a book of classic Christmas poems.  Leave a comment for a chance to win all 3!

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt:  VILLAGE.  Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is:  SWEETS.

Happy holidays to all!  Until next time.

--lucy @ a little light reading

9 muses musing - JOURNEY

the road home by jaebn
"I am thankful for safe journeys and beautiful places."

Fifteen years ago I moved cross-country for a new job, ostensibly for a year or two, but life being what it is, I ended up meeting the man whom I would later marry and have a child with and building a new life.  So journeys have become a theme for me, journeys back to where I came from and the people I left behind there, and then journeying away again to my second home.

The holidays in particular are a time when we journey - to see our loved ones, to reconnect, to return to our homes.

What images evoke the feeling of JOURNEY for you?

Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: VILLAGE.

______________________

Today's giveaway is just about the niftiest little doo-dad I ever did see:
a combination macro/wide-eye lens from Photojojo for - get this - your cellphone!
With the explosion in iphone photography, this is sure to elevate your cellphone images.

cheers to you and yours,

mosey

9 muses musing - BELLS

silver bells by jan@twoscoopz

“Time has no divisions to mark its passage, there is never a thunder-storm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols.”

Thomas Mann

I am giving away this bracelet today by Mandy Crandell.

It is handcrafted. The word Love written on a small scrap of plastic.

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: BELLS.

Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: JOURNEY.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

♥ suki

9 Muses Musing - LIGHTS

~ winter shadows ~ by Nordljus (LonelyLibrarian)

If you've read my recent muse university post, you know that I love the lights of the holiday season. It doesn't matter what kind... they bring a spot of brightness and cheer into our otherwise long dark nights this time of year in the northern hemisphere. There are so many ways to capture and portray the season in lights!

For today's giveaway, I'm sponsoring a spot in my new online course:
Find Your Eye: A photo course with heart and soul, which starts 9 Jan 2011. 
Link in or comment today for a chance to win!

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: LIGHTS.
Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: BELLS.

wishing you a bright holiday,
kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

9 muses musing - GIVING

Day One by Arin S

Thank you for spending the season with us. We will be featuring one photo from the flickr pool and announcing a special Holiday Prompt Word as your DAILY photo assignment.  Each day, the Linky will stay open until the next prompt is announced. And for those that link up and/or comment, we will be randomly selecting one person as the winner of that day's giveaway.  Today's word is GIVING.

Holiday gift suggestions

To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

- Oren Arnold

Use the prompt to think outside the box. Consider a different perspective, an alternate meaning, or a new photographic technique.  On your personal blogs or on flickr, we encourage you to expand upon your creativity with some journaling, poetry, or haiku. What does the daily prompt word mean to you and your families? Does it evoke special childhood memories? Does it make you want to start new traditions? 

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: GIVING.
Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: LIGHTS.

My giveaway gift today just may be the coolest gift that you receive this holiday season...

A camera lens mug! Equipped with an easy to clean, heat preserving, stainless steel lining. Also, a lens-cap lid, rubber-grip focus and zoom rings, and auto-focus switch that actually switches. How FUN!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

♥ tammy lee of bliss and folly

9 muses musing: ARE YOU READY TO PLAY?

1. Happy Cliche Saturday BAM: picture of a picture being taken... [17:52; 98:365], 2. Candy Cane Magic, 3. 340:365 Meowy Christmas, 4. christmas spirit, 5. Introducing......Pongo, 6. snark in a cup 345/365, 7. :), 8. Connection, 9. tiny, 10. "Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.", 11. Can't forget the Christmas tree bokeh!, 12. Snowing in Athens, 13. Kaycee's note to Santa...

9 MUSES MUSING
18 Days of Holiday Prompts and Daily Giveaways
December 15th - January 1st

Thank you for spending the season with us. For the next 18 days, we will be featuring one photo from the flickr pool and announcing a special Holiday Prompt Word on the website as your DAILY photo assignment. Please continue sharing HOLIDAY photos in the Mortal Muses flickr pool. Make sure to take some time each day to spread some comment love and holiday cheer with your fellow musers.

Use the prompt to get creative. Think outside the box. On your personal blogs or on flickr, we encourage you to add another medium such as journaling, poetry, or haiku. What does the daily prompt word mean to you and your families? Does it evoke special childhood memories? Does it make you want to start new traditions? 

We will be adding a Linky with each prompt so you may share your photos and musings with us. Each day, the Linky will stay open until the next prompt is announced. And we will be randomly selecting one lucky person as the winner of that day's giveaway gift from ALL the comments and linkups for that day.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is... GIVING!

The linky will open at 1:00 am!

Happy Holidays!

Tammy Lee, Kat, Suki, Mosey, Lucy, Maureen, Kirstin, April, and Christy

and the new theme is... HOLIDAYS

9 MUSES MUSING
18 Days of Holiday Prompts and Daily Giveaways
December 15th - January 1st

Thank you for spending the season with us. For the next 18 days, we invite you to share all your wonderful HOLIDAY photos in the Mortal Muses flickr pool. Make sure to take some time each day to spread some comment love and holiday cheer with your fellow musers.

Starting on December 15th, we will be featuring one photo from the flickr pool and announcing a special Holiday Prompt Word on the website as your DAILY photo assignment. Use the prompt to get creative. Think outside the box. On your personal blogs or on flickr, we encourage you to add another medium such as journaling, poetry, or haiku. What does the daily prompt word mean to you and your families? Does it evoke special childhood memories? Does it make you want to start new traditions?

We will be adding a Linky with each prompt so you may share your photos and musings with us. Each day, the Linky will stay open until the next prompt is announced. And for those that link up, we will be randomly selecting one lucky person as the winner of that day's giveaway gift.

We look forward to spending the season with you and your families.

xo Tam, Kat, Suki, Mosey, Lucy, Maureen, Kirstin, April, and Michel

A button for your blog... Show your followers that you will be spending the holiday with us.
 

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