Illustration Friday ~ Clandestine

Maggie was the operative in countless CLANDESTINE affairs.

As she seemed to shout the word clandestine, I have reached into the archives for this week's entry for Illustration Friday.

© Nancy Lefko

Lovely Blog Award from a Lovely Blogger

I've had the pleasure, over the past few months, of getting to know the very talented Stacey Merrill of Artsnark's Artifacts. Recently, Stacey bestowed upon me this sweet blog award. Stacey and I met through an Etsy forum and we enjoy chatting and sharing ideas, inspiration and encouragement quite often. Do yourself a favor and take the time to visit Stacey's blog and the wonderful art in her Etsy shop.

In return, I will pass along this award to seven lovely blogs. It is never easy to choose seven from the vast number of blogs that set my heart a-flutter, but I shall obey the rules of the game :)

It would be time well spent to visit the lovely blogs of these fine artists:

Fannie Narte
Lisa Rivas
Pam Carriker
Kim Geiser
Aimee Dolich
Elizabeth Parsons
Kelly Jackson Brownlee

New Work

It was a long time coming, but I finally made it to my delightful new studio space to create some collage work. From Thanksgiving until now my time had been taken up by so many things that art had been put on the back burner. It felt great to light that fire again!

The collage shown is available in my Etsy shop. **SOLD**

© Nancy Lefko

Christmas at Home

Better late than never, here is a glimpse at the decorations that grace the Lefko home this Christmas season. The tree pictured above is in our front living room and is decorated entirely in vintage Shiny Brite ornaments, many of which graced the Christmas trees of my childhood.


The Dickens village and the tree pictured below brighten our family room and greeted Santa Claus upon his arrival.


My retro pink tinsel tree in our foyer gives the Christmas decor a funky twist.



I hope your Christmas was filled with love and laughter and I wish you all the best in the New Year!

Christmas Joy

With only a few days left to prepare for Christmas, I will shift into overdrive and start my cookie baking. (Eight days without power sort of put a crimp in my baking, but now is as good a time to start as any.)

The wrapping is done, more or less, and I have but a few small things to pick up at stores tomorrow. Another storm is forecast for Christmas Eve, so I plan to stay home then and enjoy my favorite day of the Christmas season...for me, it even tops the big day. Something my kids just don't understand :)

With my last post before Christmas, I would like to wish you all a blessed day surrounded by those you love. The power outage kept me from visiting your blogs as regularly as I would have liked these past ten days or so, but I always appreciate that you are stopping by to visit with me here.

Merry Christmas my friends!!

© Nancy Lefko

Christmas Wish

In addition to Santa Claus and Fairy Godmothers, you can add Power Company Linemen to the list of those who make wishes come true.

After a devastating ice storm hit New Hampshire last Thursday night, power company workers from all across the country came to help restore power to those 424,000 homes affected by the outages.

At our house we spent eight long days hooked up to generator power and, although better off than many, it was a very trying time. When the power truck made its way to our street today there was great rejoicing!

Shortly after our power was restored, Mother Nature thought a snowstorm was in order. As I write this a gentle snow continues to fall. When all is said and done, ten inches of new snow will blanket the ground. I think of those workers who continue to labor over the fallen lines, many of whom will be far from home on Christmas Day and still working for our benefit. I think of those who are still without power in their homes and may not have that restored until after the new year. New Hampshire and parts of Massachusetts have never seen such devastation. If you can say a quiet prayer for those still in need, it will be greatly appreciated.

May all of YOUR Christmas wishes come true.

© Nancy Lefko

The Spirit of Christmas

The spirit of Christmas is defined in many ways. For some folks Christmas is defined by bustling shoppers and brightly colored lights. For others it is the quiet of a candlelit church service or the closeness of those we love. The youngest among us are sure to define this blessed holiday by the generosity of Jolly Old St. Nick.

No matter your definition, the message of the Christmas season shines through as one of giving. This is so wonderfully expressed at the blog of my dear friend Fannie Narte who is hosting the most generous of giveaways. She and her friends "The Frostees" have shopped in many Etsy shops, mine included. The handcrafted items found there are all included in the generous giveaway.

Fannie is one of the dearest souls I have had the pleasure to get to know through this wonderful online art world. She has a heart the size of her state of Texas and of solid gold indeed. You would be remiss if you failed to stop by Fannie's blog ...for this giveaway, yes, but indeed for a whole lot more. Every day is a treat at Fannie's and you will never be disappointed.

© Nancy Lefko

Illustration Friday ~ Similar

Buddy and Jeannette were indeed quite SIMILAR to Nick and Nora Charles.

© Nancy Lefko