Put a little Easter Out

Finally put a few Easter decorations out. It's hard to get in the the Easter.....Spring mood with this weather. Got up yesterday to a ground covered with snow....It didn't last long but still that's not good.

The new Craft desk

Well, here it is...finally complete.  I gave the top 6 coats of black paint!  I need one more shelf to hold the rest of my ribbon.  As you can see, the bookcases work great for putting my machines on and keeping them within easy reach when I need them.  The other bookcase holds some of my nice paper from Papertrey.  I love their paper, its so nicely colored and a great thickness for cards. I made the desk so I can stand at it if I want or sit but my computer chair doesn't quite raise high enough.  I'm going to look for a bar stool chair.  Now to get more of my craft stuff moved out to this room.  I get tired of going to the hall closet to get stuff and then having to put it all back when I get done.  I want to put my most used stuff in that little desk under the window.  If the heat register hadn't been so long under that window, I would have been able to leave the top the same height as the door but as it was, I had to cut the door down by about a foot.  But, its still much bigger than the little desk I had there  so I should have a lot more space to work.

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Tufted Titmouse

It's nice to see the birds at the birdbath again after the winter although the only water in it is from the rain.

Had a hard time with the theme (darks & lights) for this week for project 57 so I'm just posting this snap that I took Thursday out the back door.

It wasn't much of an image so I added a few textures to it. A couple from Coffee House and one from Isabelle Lafrance. I think they help.



Pinball machine

The theme  for MCP project 52 week 10 is Childhood toys. This is more for the older child but it's about the oldest toy I have around here.  This has been in the basement for years. It doesn't get played much anymore but it's fun.

Express yourself

I love these little things. I eat one almost ever evening.

The theme this week is Express yourself.

Well you know me I can't leave anything as is. I did the usual tweaks on this image but the main thing I did was add a layer filled with 2e3192 exclusion blend mode and lowered the opacity some. That's me expressing myself.

Happy Anniversary, my dear friend

Hope it's a great day!


Edited by me to add the designers...had to leave for work before I could get that all done but wanted to get the card posted!

The paper is by Katie Pertiet from a free color kit challenge pack.  The buttons and flower are from 2 Peas as a free kit but there is no designer name in the file, just Hero's Art.  The sun is by Nitwit Collections.
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Birthday Card

 

This card has taken me 2 weekends to complete...LOL....mostly just trying to come up with an card I could make with my supplies and equipment.  I got the card idea from someones blog and for the life of me, I can't find the address again.  If I find it, I will edit this and post a link to it.   Anyway, the cardstock, ribbon, and buttons are from Papertrey Ink  and the label cut file is from Birds Blog 

I broke the label apart in my Sure Cuts a Lot program and cut it out on copy paper so I would have a template to add my saying and the clipart that I got from this site.

Something is going strange with this blog....my cursor keeps wanting me to center my text.  Hummmm...

I printed my sentiment and the floral design on Column paper from Neenah that I had left over from Jerri Ann's wedding.  Then I cut out my label from cheap paper and left the paper on the cutting mat until I got the printed copy situated underneath of the cutout so that I could run it back through my Cricut to cut it out.  It worked great!  I made the scallops myself and cut them with the Cricut but I bought the paper for them and the background from Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals.  The dictionary page paper came from 2 Peas. 

I think that is all of it....LOL

My image didn't come out as nice as the card is.  The blue is a bit off in the image..its a little lighter shade of blue.  Bill liked it a lot!  Maybe he was just saying that to get me out of the craft room...LOL

My cards would be so much easier to make if I had the time to sit down and really learn my equipment and software.  The Cricut has me pulling my hair out most of the time and PS is almost as bad!  

Tickets

I've never won anything but my luck changed on this.  On our local channel 9 news, they give away tickets to the 9th caller.  I was sitting here watching the news and happened to have my cell phone in my pocket.  I never dreamed I would be the ninth caller cause I just instantly dialed the number.  When he told me I had won, I was truly shocked.  This concert is during Bill's busy time, so Jerri Ann and I are going to go.

Our dry, brown ground is all gone again.  We got about 6 inches last night and due to get about 4 more tonight.  I'm so sick of white!!

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From the Grands

Our new refrigerator magnets that came in the Valentine cards from the Grands. Love them!
Also used it for my Project 52  week 7 theme....Open Your Heart.

Happy Valentine's Day to You!

Words

MCP Project 52 theme for this week is"Words". This is my take. Wish the words at the top was a little more out of focus but I take what I get.  This dictionary is around 35 years or so old and both of my kids used it all through school. It no longer has a back on and it's so big and heavy and with spell checker I hardly ever get it out anymore. Maybe I should....LOL
It snowed so hard at times today I couldn't see the house across the street but luckily it didn't last long. We only got about an inch or so. It's now going to turn bitter cold. I'm ready for spring.

Sock Yarn

I have been participating in "MCP Project 52".  The theme for this week was "Muse" and I had a very hard time coming up with anything to snap. With this lousy weather there's not much going on to inspire a person,but I do want to start another pair of sock as soon as I finish a scarf that I have been working on for to long. So.....this pretty yarn is my "Muse".

Blizzard 2011

This has been one active winter since Christmas got over.  For the first time in 27 years, I had the day off due to weather.  The post office was off because their freight didn't come in either.  Today I drove through tunnels of snow...just wide enough for my package car to fit and just barely able to see over the tops of the piles.  Heaven forbid I meet anyone on those roads....one of us would be backing up!  The first image is of my bench and the snow is up to the bottom of the seat.  In the second image, you have to remember that my flower box is 2 feet tall and then the flower bed in front of the porch is another foot taller than that.  Notice that only half of my pump is sticking out. I have drifts on the north side of my house that reach 5 feet and my side front yard is now completely level with the rest of my front yard when in reality, its about 3 feet lower. 

The next two images were taken back about 2 weeks ago.  This is the second time we've had hoar frost since Christmas and its always so beautiful!  Of course, that building is almost one of my favorite sites to photograph so I couldn't pass it up again.  But, I was on my way to work, so it was just taken out of my car window.  Makes me think I should buy a window tripod..

And that lovely family in the bottom pic...they are some of my wonderful customers!  They have cold hands but very warm hearts!

If I have time tomorrow, I'll try and get a shot of some of my tunnels of snow...unless I don't have to drive through them.

Thinking about Valentine's Day

Starting to think about what to do for Valentine's Day for the Grands. Hope I can come up with something cute this year. Haven't done to good for a couple of years.

My take on the Poinsettia's

Here is my take on this lovely plant.  I think I got water on the leaves and they left those spots.  I can't believe I've had these for 2 months and they are still alive!  Took this image outside on the deck.  The snowman is painted on a window that is sitting on the deck behind the chair.


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Poinsettia

Brent brought this Poinsettia home to me from the Lion's club Christmas dinner and I haven't killed it yet.
It looked so pretty today with the sun shining so bright and the snow outside that I had to take a snap.
Can't decide which one I like best.....Nothing done on the first one......the second ran a vintage action then tweaked a little. Which do you like????

My Beautiful Bella

My beautiful, sweet Bella.  I've never, ever taken a good picture of this adorable little girl.  She is not big on having her picture taken and usually just gives me a frown or a smirk.  But, not this time...this time, she gave me a smile that melted my heart.  She is such a charmer and has such a giving, wonderful heart.  I see her dad in so many of her expressions....This image is being printed and added to my family room wall.  I've had 4 frames just waiting for some good images.  I got one of all of them this time!  Now to get them printed and framed.  Don't forget to scroll down....posted twice today!

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Christmas 2010

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Jackson 2010

Not a great image but one heck of a great memory!  I just happened to be pointing the camera at him when he pulled these socks out of his stocking!  These were his exact words and the look on his face was priceless. I was still trying to adjust my camera settings and flash for the early morning light and didn't have my shutter speed high enough to stop the motion but I wouldn't delete this memory if my life depended on it.  It was just too funny.  Now to figure out a better layout for it!

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Chickadee in the snow

It's snowing like crazy here today and we already have about 4 inches. It so pretty if you are lucky enough to be able to stay inside and watch out the window. Next year you will be one of the lucky ones.

I love seeing the Chickadee come in for food but wish they weren't so fast. They dart in grab a seed and off they go. It's hard to get focused they are so fast.

Squirrel in the bird feeder

This was outside having his lunch in the bird feeders. Maybe this is why I haven't seen many bird lately.

Snowflake

This is not the best snowflake snap but it's the best I could get and since the snow is all gone now it will have to do. I took about a dozen shots and this was the best of the bunch.
With the macro lens I need to be pretty close to the subject and it was just to cold to sit on the ground so I took a stool out on the porch and then used the camera LCD monitor to try and focus enough to get a shot. I missed a little...... I will give it another try if we get any more snow.....I'm sure we will.

Santa and his reindeer

One of my favorite houses that I pass every morning on my route. I'd love to have these decorations.  Whimsical, colorful, darling!  Love them!


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Snap of Jessi Christmas Eve

Someone snap this shot of Jessi in the middle of all the mess of unwrapping gifts Christmas Eve. It was either Brent or Neal and it turned out pretty good. I always forget about the camera in all the havoc.

The week after Christmas

I have no image to post today...not that I don't have any, just that I'm too lazy to process and convert them from raw to jpg.  But, I was browsing some websites and came across a quote that really spoke to me. I, continually, get down on myself when I can't accomplish something.  Like my cooking....I'm not a good cook, just passable, and it bugs me when I'm in the kitchen trying to make a recipe that everyone will ooh and ah over.  And when I'm visualizing a photo and it doesn't turn out, I'm so hard on myself.  When my flowers don't grow, I blame myself...even through mother nature is probably more to blame than I.  So...when I found this quote, it really spoke volumes and made me realize that I don't have to be good at everything.  I can just be proud that I've tried.

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you fail by default" - JK Rowling

May the year 2011 bring us love, hope and peace. 
And, a winning lottery ticket...LOL




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Christmas Bokeh 2010

Some Christmas Bokeh.....After looking this morning the linking party is closed. I was to slow. So I'll just edit my post to say. Just trying to get some snaps that maybe I can use on Christmas Cards.....Next year....lol

Snaps of Christmas

Just a few of my decorations.......Small hurricane with gold, silver & white ornaments is something new this year that I picked up at The Cobblestone in Waynesville, Ohio. The larger vase and mercury (fake) glass ornaments I've had but added a few more ornaments this year. The stacking snowman I made a long time ago....Maybe 15 years ago and I still love it.

Used Florabella's actions and a texture from Love that shot. The frames are mine.

Hope I can get more shots tomorrow.

Paper Whites

Finally got some shots of the Paper Whites......I think they are so pretty wish I had planted a lot more.

A Merry Christmas Water Color

We have a little snow on the ground and it's so cold. Winter has started already.

The Ceiling Tile

Just about forgot that I told you I would post this.  I picked this up a few years ago at our Chautauqua in the Park.  It's been hanging on the front porch wall ever since.  It used to be a bit brighter red but the sun has faded it down.  I still like it.  I'll post an image of my front door one of these days....I'm still thinking it is too bright of a red and I'll probably repaint it in the Spring.  But....it does show up from the road now...LOL....when it was painted the light green, it didn't show up much.


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Seasons Greetings

Picked these up at Wally World on Thanksgiving day.  I also bought gold hummingbirds but those shots didn't come out too good.  Anyway, thought these would look great on my outdoor tree along with the hummingbirds. They were just want the tree needed.

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On the other side of the window

Tufted Titmouse




Hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did but I ate way to much good food.
The kids, Grands and the rest of my family was all here but Neal and he was working. That's ok just glad he has a good job.

I sat my camera and tripod up in the sunroom last Saturday to try snapping some shots of the birds at the feeder outside the window. Not a good idea at that time to much sun. All the brick you see on the right side of the image is reflection and since it was late afternoon when the sun in lower in the sky I decided to wait till morning and try again.......Rain for the next 3 days....... Soooo....... this is the best of the ones I snapped that day, but I'll keep trying. Want to get a shot of the Chickadee's and Nuthatch when they stop by for a snack.

Staples are from Shabby Princess.




End of the Season

Not the best image but I was in a hurry the day I snapped these.  These are the only mums left that are still pretty and they are in my window box.  I put them in with some ornamental cabbage.  They don't really show up cause the Japanese Maple has gotten too big and it blocks them when its leaves are still on.  But, since the leaves have fallen off, you can now see the mums..

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Before & After

     Just so you can see how much darker it is. If you look close you will see that I didn't get the window box painted yet.  I'm going to re-cover the cushions on the rockers to either a black/gold mix or some kind of red. I'm thinking more on the lines of the black/gold.  I painted the bench black and the rockers are a deep/ dark brown.  I'm still thinking I'd like the red door to be a bit darker red but will wait till Spring to re-paint  it. I've got to paint my bicycle again and will paint it red this time.  I do believe this will be the 4th coat of paint that I've put on it....LOL....it was white first, then green, then a darker green and now it will be red.  The hydrangea is getting so big that it covers it up and no one can really see it. Plus, by painting it red, it will give me a triangle of reds on the front of the house, thus balancing things out more. My door is red and I have the red ceiling tile on the right side of the windows.  I'm painting the window box white and still debating on taking the shutters off the house completely.  Right now, they are painted the same color as the scallops in the porch peak. I really like my white trim with the dark color of brown.  I'm going to paint my garage the same color next spring but the shutters on it will be white because the trim around the window is so narrow that I think it will look too plain. I've never painted vinyl siding before but my paint company says I can do it.  The new garage/shop is about the same color as the scallops, so will not be painting it again.  The potting shed is going to be red.  

     So much to do...so little time.  LOL  I'm trying to convince Bill into rebuilding my potting shed.  It has a good concrete floor but the foundation is giving away.  I think we could just take the foundation out and re-build the walls on top of the floor. It will be a bit narrower than it is now but not by much.  I also want to put some windows in it and new siding on  the outside to match the rest of our place.

     You are correct....those are leaves you see...lol....I've picked up for the last time...what's left will be compost for the lawn.  The Cleveland Pear holds the leaves as well as the oaks till mid winter.  Those will be used for cover on my flower beds...unless the wind blows and they end up in someone else's yard.  LOL...I've picked up at least a half dozen times. I've got most of my flower beds cleared out except for the mums and the pampas grass and I leave them till Spring. 

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New House Paint

Project for today

It has rained for the last 3 days needed something to cheer me up some. Planted these Paper White blubs and 2 Amaryllis blubs. One of the Amaryllis was new but the other one was from last year. Had it drying in the garage. Have no idea if it will bloom or not..... Hope so.
Also did a little more shopping and I have several packages that should be here in the next couple of days. I have never had my shopping started this early before in my life. Has me a little worried....LOL

Finally found some Sunflowers

I have been looking for some nice Sunflower to snap for the last couple of months and I finally found some. I have seen them in bouquets but they alway looked a little ragged.

These are SOOC only edit is cropped.
I'm happy with the snaps and the Sunflowers make me smile.

Mighty Oak

Walked around the yard this afternoon looking for something to snap and this is what I came up with.


The ground is covered under one of our trees. The squirrels should have plenty to eat this winter.

When I'm watching TV in the sunroom I can see the squirrels run up & down this tree. That's more fun to watch than some of the TV shows.

Another Round

I keep trying to capture the light right but it never seems to happen.  I blew out the light in this so had to adjust two of the same images on top of each other to get the bulb right.  I still think it is a bit too yellow but couldn't figure out how to change it without blowing it out completely.  I wanted the age of the bulb to show too.  I'm quite intrigued by this barber pole and don't really know why but I like capturing images of it.  I know I can take two exposures and meter for the highlights and the shadows but then I have to get them lined up correctly and that doesn't happen.  LOL...or well, this is close to what I saw when I took it except the boards are a bit darker but only because I liked the look better. 

Anyway, this is it for me on the subject of round....unless I process one more image but I really need to get my butt busying doing something around this house.

What type of image should we shoot for this week?  Color, shape, theme?  You pick!

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Eight Ball

Well. it's not much but it is round!  LOL.....I took this yesterday morning but didn't have time to work with it until today.  This is on the window of a pool hall, here in town.  I took the raw file into PS and adjusted it to Black and White and then added a layer and change the blend mode to vivid light.  I don't know how or why but I love how it changed the image.  Got rid of the dirty window and gave the shadow a weird effect on the blinds.....added the black stroke and this is how it looks after.  I posted both images so you could see what the before looked like too.

I'm sure most folks would just say I made the image in Photoshop but I didn't...its really a photo.  But, it does give ideas for making clipart...LOL

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Granny Smith

Not very creative hope I can come up with something better before the week is done.

Got my PC back yesterday and it's working fine. Had to have a new power supply.

You are not going to believe this but I started my Christmas shopping. I would love to have it done by the first of December but I know that's just a dream.