Stop and Smell the Roses...

...or at least notice all the beauty around you!

All of these shots were taken with my iPhone the other day while I was out walking my dog, Casey, through the woods and park near our home.

"Now" texture compliments of Kim Klassen.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Texture Tuesday, and Sweet Shot Tuesday.

Wisteria Lane...

Yesterday, my friend Heather and I took a road trip down to the Niagara wine region.  Among other things, we visited a fabulous shop in Jordan Village called Stitch. To quote them, they are "a sanctuary for knitters, quilters and needle artists".  We found some wonderful treasures to use in our fibre art!

Just a few doors down, there is a lovely bed and breakfast with the most beautiful side arbour, covered in wisteria!  As you can see from these images, there is the most glorious covering of purple blossoms.

After spending more than we should have at Stitch, we enjoyed a delicious lunch outside on the patio of Zooma Zooma, a great little restaurant in the village.


It was a perfect day, spent with a wonderful friend.

Both images have a layer of Kim Klassen's 'teatime' texture (from her mini May set) added at a soft light blend mode of 50%.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Texture Tuesday, and Sweet Shot Tuesday.

Tulips Two Ways...

 For this weeks 2-For eDition, in addition to using two textures on the image I'd also do two different images, in two different ways.  I was intrigued by these purple tulips and the fact that one still looked so beautiful while all of the others had dropped their petals so I took this shot, and as I was processing it this quote came to mind...how perfect for that one tulip to hang in there in spite of what was happening around it.  :o)

The second image is another colour palette.  I just about went crazy making it because my colour squares kept coming up sort of soft and almost pastel and it just wasn't right.  I actually deleted all of the layers and started again...Note to self:  Make sure brush is at 100% opacity before stamping! :P

If you're interested in the steps I used for processing, you can see the screen shots of each image below.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Texture Tuesday, and Sweet Shot Tuesday

Water and Ice...

I took this photo a few weeks ago while exploring along the Bruce trail.  It was a mild winter day, and the textures in the ice and the water were stunning.  I did a couple of very minor adjustments to the levels and contrast and then I added a subtle gradient mask to get a bit more of the sparkle back in the water without loosing the definition in the ice.

I added a layer of Kim Klassens "cool grunge' texture using a hard light blend mode at 15% and then finished off by creating a soft frame using an inverse selection and adding a colour adjustment at a low opacity with a soft light blend mode.

The final steps to the edit were to add the quote and my signature.  The quote uses 'Journal' font.

As much as I like the beauty of the ice and snow, I look forward to images of Spring, hopefully in the very near future!

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Texture Tuesday, and Sweet Shot Tuesday

This Is One Crazy Chicken!

Bonnie's challenge this week for Photo Art Friday was to do an abstract image and I had a lot of fun playing with a photo of a chicken that I shot back in the summer.  Happily I can say that I also learned something new in Photoshop Elements while doing it!

Mouse over photo to see the 'before' image.

The first step was to extend the area to the left of the chicken so that I'd have enough room for the text so I copied the left part of the image and flipped it horizontally before using the clone stamp to draw in the extra parts of the chicken wire to create the three triangular 'thingies'.  I then played around with the blend mode so that I could change up the colours to make it a more fun, graphic image.  Unfortunately, I did so many things to the image, in a trial and error sort of way, that I don't know everything that I actually ended up doing.  Suffice it to say I had a lot of fun playing.

I drew in some extra 'hair' to augment the already funky head feathers that she had, and then I found a woman's face on the Internet by doing a Google search for 'blue eye'.  This is where I learned something new.  When I used the elliptical marquee tool, I discovered that you can click on a box that says 'refine edge' and the dialogue box to the right opens up.  From there I was able to feather the edge and adjust the edge detection so that it actually selected a more precise shape around the eye than what I had originally captured with the elliptical marquee tool.  In the 'output to:" section I could choose to make the eye selection a new layer and then I just had to move it into place.

Once she had that funky hair and her new and improved eye, I just had to give her a nose job too!  I found a clip art nose, which I had to flip horizontally so that it was pointing in the right direction.  The next step was to pop in Bonnie's PDPA Faded Fresco texture.  I decided to move it into the background and use it as a frame.  I rotated the chicken image slightly and then used the eraser tool to remove some of the image along the outer edges so that it wasn't such a stark square and it fit better into the 'frame' in Bonnie's texture.

I said a few weeks ago that abstracts are not my thing, but I had a lot of fun with this!  The best part was not having any preconceived notions when I started.  One thing just led to the next and the further I got into it, the sillier it became.

After The Storm

After the two day snow storm last week, we awoke to the most beautifully breathtaking sight out our windows. The neighbourhood was covered with a thick blanket of snow and it was early enough that it was still pristine...no footprints or tire tracks to mar the perfect covering of about six fresh inches of snow.  Then, we realized that because it was so wet and sticky, our snowblower probably wouldn't cope well with it and we'd have to shovel that heavy stuff...'sigh'.  But, on the bright side I got lots of exercise and fresh air!

Needless to say, I also took some pics.  This one was tinkered with in Lightroom, to bring up the blue tone in the sky just a bit and then I added Kim's kk_wonderfulmagic_scripted texture using a screen blend mode.  I decided to use the Sweetly Broken font for my text since I believe that's what Kim has used in some of her text around the border of the texture.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday

I'm Choosing JOY!

Inspired by many influences, I've decided to choose an inspirational guiding word for 2013 to help frame my thoughts as I move into the new year.  As I said to a friend in an email this morning, it's so easy to slip into the bad habit of focussing on what is wrong but then we forget to enjoy and celebrate all that is right in our lives!  I have so much to be grateful for and so much JOY in my life.

I'm working on the title page spread for 2013 in my Art Journal Calendar, using these same words (I'll post that when it's done) but Kim's challenge in Beyond Layers today lent itself so well to this same topic that I wanted to use them on her sample photo as well.

For those of you interested, I used two of Kim's textures, kk_chalkmagic and kk_clarity, and the fonts I used are 1942 Report, Stamp Act Jumbled and aka Frivolity, respectively.

Gorilla Love

Bonnie's photo art challenge this week is to create an art image using her texture 'Signed & Sealed'.  Yesterday my friend and I were at the Toronto Zoo and I got a great shot of a gorilla's hand.  My image today was simply a matter of adding four layers of Bonnie's texture, 3 using a soft light blend mode (100% opacity for all three) and the forth was added using a pin light blend mode at 73% opacity.  Simple but fun!

Thanks for the great texture Bonnie!

This photo is being linked to This or That Thursdays, and Photo Art Friday.

The Charm of Old Rust...

I don't know what it is about old, rusty things that attracts my attention, but I think there is something about their mysterious history and the stories that lie within that call me to them.  Fortunately I've always got my iPhone with me when I'm cycling because I tend to see a variety of old vehicles, barns and outbuildings, in various states of disarray on the back country routes I travel.

Thanks to Jerry Jones at Shadowhouse Creations I have some wonderful 'grunge' textures that further add to the fun of these images.  The other source of today's fun photo embellishments is Fuzzimo, where I found the great old polaroid frames.

I've included the original images (click to enlarge) I took so you can see the difference after my processing in Photoshop Elements 9.

Bonnie, thank you for the wonderful prompt this week.

These photos are being linked to Our World Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Photo Show Off,  This or That Thursdays, Photo Art Friday, Shoot, Edit, Submit, Fabulous Friday, and Photo Friday Link Party.

Look Up...Way Up...

Kim's challenge this week for Texture Tuesday was to have us looking up.  This is the perfect time of year for this as the colours in the autumn trees are spectacular!  I added three of Kim's textures to this image: Just Stitched, Trust, and Warm Sun.  I love that bit of zigzag 'stitching' at the sides. I brushed away some of the texture from the centre of the image so that the colours of the leaves were a little more intense in the centre.  

This next image, of my dog Casey snoozing on the dock, was taken a couple of weeks ago, the day before we closed up the cottage.  Bonnie's challenge for Photo Art Friday was to use her Leafy Landscape texture to create our 'photoartography' (that's my new word for today...Have you read the book Frindle?...just saying...).  I started by adding a gradient map to take the original image to black and white.  After adding the texture, I added a 'sponge' filter and bumped up the hue/saturation levels. 

Notice my signature?  That's another neat trick Kim taught us in Beyond Layers!  And, I just found out that Kim is starting the third session in January!  I highly recommend it if you want to learn more about how to use Photoshop Elements or CS!

These photos are being linked to Our World Tuesday, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Photo Show Off,  This or That Thursdays, Photo Art Friday, Shoot, Edit, Submit, Fabulous Friday, and Photo Friday Link Party.

The Beauty of Aging...

I had a lot of fun creating this digital journal page.  I tried something different with one of Kim Klassen's textures.  Instead of just using it over the photo images to enhance them (which I did by using 2 layers on each image, the first at soft light 100% and the second at screen 25%), I also decided to use it as my background 'page' for the collage.  The texture, called Autumn Burst, was the perfect choice because of the journal page holes along the left edge.  It also had the perfect colour for the warm Autumn look I was going for.

The three images were all taken in my garden last fall. I love the look of the black 'balls' left after the Black Eyed Susan's loose their petals and find them especially attractive poking out of the snow during the winter.

My favourite shot is of the wonderful skeletonized (new word?) Chinese Lantern.  It's incredible to see that perfectly round orange berry encased inside the delicate cage left after the orange skin comes off of the lantern.

I also really like the shape shape of the seed pods left after the Columbine flowers have died away.  Again, they add some interesting interest when poking out of the snow in the winter.  In the background of this last shot you can see the beautiful deep pink of our Sedum.  The Columbine's self seed very effectively and seem to pop up in the most unusual places, like right in the middle of other plants.  This can result in some confusion for folks who are not familiar with gardening since you get Columbine flowers blooming out of some odd foliage.  LOL

This photo is being linked to Photo Show Off, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, This or That Thursdays, Photo Art Friday, Shoot, Edit, Submit, Fabulous Friday, Flower Art Friday and Photo Friday Link Party.

Vintage Fun

This week I've been playing around with some vintage looks in my photos.  The first is a shot of an old Underwood typewriter I took at the Sundridge pioneer log cabin.

Mouse over photo to see the 'before' image.

I've added some layers of textures, including some with text, using some of the ideas I've learned in Kim Klassen's Beyond Layers.

This second shot was taken a couple of years ago in a bakery in Guelph.

Mouse over photo to see the 'before' image.

These photos are being linked to Photo Show Off, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, This or That Thursdays, Shoot, Edit, Submit, Fabulous Friday and Photo Friday Link Party.

Looking Down The Chipmunk Hole

Mouse over photo to see the 'before' image.

Today's photo is a silly bit of Photoshop play.  I took a photo of this little guy's hole, where he's been taking all of the peanuts that he comes and gets from my hand when he climbs up on my lap.  Using Photoshop, I played around with the blend mode, changing it to 'exclusion', to get all of these fun colours.  I especially like the wonderful blue lines which are little tree roots.  I then took a photo of the chipmunk and cut out the selection I wanted so that I could have it coming up out of the hole.  I then added a layer of Kim Klassen's texture, kk_peacetexture, at softlight 100%, which brightened the whole thing up a bit.   

This photo is being linked to Photo Show Off, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, This or That Thursdays, Photo Art Friday, Shoot, Edit, Submit, Fabulous Friday and Photo Friday Link Party.

Metamorphosis of a Monarch

Over the last few weeks, I've been learning about the beautiful Monarch butterfly.  One day, while cycling I noticed some monarch caterpillars on the milkweed plants along side the road.  I decided to bring some home, milkweed and all, and set up a terrarium so that I could observe them.  Wanting to learn more about them, I did a Google search and found a lot of interesting information.  

This first image is of the male Monarch that I have photographed here, from caterpillar through the chrysalis stage, the emergence as a butterfly and finally the beautiful adult.  I know it's an male because the black lines are very narrow compared to the orange areas.  In a female the black lines and the orange areas are about the same width.  I added one of Kim Klassen's textures (kk_vintage at softlight 100%), and then I used a trick I learned in Beyond Layers to add the opaque border.

Below is the storyboard showing the Monarch through all of the stages of metamorphosis.  It's interesting to note that the chrysalis is clear.  I'm not sure what gives it the bright green colour early on, but as it progresses, you begin to see the butterfly inside.  At this stage you can already determine it's sex.  I love the bright gold 'beads' that form on the chrysalis.  You'll notice as the butterfly emerges, it 'unfolds' and begins to dry.  It only takes a few minutes for the butterfly to emerge and reach the point where it hangs to dry, and then the drying stage takes a few hours before it is ready to takes it's first short flight.

In my case, that first short flight resulted in my beautiful fascinator.  He seemed pretty content on my head, wandering around a bit but staying on my for about 30 minutes or so while I enjoyed a coffee and read out on the deck.  Finally, when he was ready he flew off onto a nearby hemlock tree where he stayed until the next morning.  Bonnie, how's this for an improbable pairing?

These photos are being linked to Photo Show Off, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, This or That Thursdays, Photo Art Friday, Shoot, Edit, Submit, Fabulous Friday and Photo Friday Link Party.

Sunsets: Focussing on the Fading Light

Inspired by Kim (Texture Tuesday) and Bonnie (Photo Art Friday), this post a collection of sunsets and sunrises taken over the last couple of weeks.  

My husband and I go for a leisurely boat cruise each evening, and many of these shots are taken while either out on the boat, or from the dock once we return from our cruise.

I love the glowing reflection of the sunset on the lake.

 "Red sky at night, sailer's delight."

We certainly like to see the beautiful pinks and mauves that signal another beautiful day to come.

I love the wonderful silhouettes of the trees.

Another glowing reflection of the sun on the water.  This is actually the sunrise.
Sometimes, before the pink sky come these wonderful blues and oranges.

I especially love the evenings when there are some clouds in the sky to add texture and dimension to the shot.

Here I captured my husband's silhouetted profile  in the foreground of the shot.

This shot was taken only a moment later, but I love how there is a double sun - other worldly...

This is one of my favourites.  I love the variety of colours in the sky.

These photos are being linked to Photo Show Off, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, This or That Thursdays, Photo Art Friday, Shoot, Edit, Submit, Fabulous Friday and Photo Friday Link Party.

Fences

   Bonnie's theme this week for Photo Art Friday is "Fencing" and since I'm always cycling, and have my iPhone with me on these adventures, I took several shots of different fences that I encountered in my travels.  I played with this first one in Photoshop, added a few of Kim Klassen's textures, and enhanced  to the warm glow of the sun on this field.

   

  

 I just love this wonderful old wooden silo and the cedar rail fence on this farm in Magnetawan.

In this shot you can barely see the simple wire fence delineating the farmers field.

These remaining shots were taken on a late October day, last fall.  

The beauty of the old stone fence covered in ivy, and set off by the bright colours of the maple tree immediately caught my attention.

Here's another cedar rail fence.  I just love the natural beauty and shape of these fences.

The bird houses on the top of each of the fence posts in this photo caught my eye.  I didn't see any birds, but I'd be interested to visit during nesting season to see how many of them are occupied.

These next two shots show a wonderfully curving cedar rail fence with a touch of frost on it.  Isn't the shadow it's casting wonderful!

You might want to check out some of these other sites to see more wonderful photography.  Perhaps some people included the sport of fencing as their contribution to Bonnie's challenge.

These photos are being linked to Photo Show Off, Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, This or That Thursdays, Photo Art Friday, Shoot, Edit, Submit, Fabulous Friday,Flower Art Friday and Photo Friday Link Party.

Peace

Mouse over photo to see the 'before' image.

Kim's word for today, in Beyond Layers, is peace.  You can see from the 'before' shot that I cleaned up the branches that were in the top right corner and then altered the tree line at the bottom.  I used a painterly texture from Jerry Jones at Shadowhouse Creations.  

Beekeepers

Mouse over photo to see the 'before' image.

This week in Beyond Layers, Kim's challenge to us is to come up with a quote the speaks to the assigned word of the day.  Monday's word is Life and yesterday I shot this photo of a bee.  Considering the whole 'birds and the bees' thing, it seemed like a good image to work with.  When I found this great quote by Sue Monk Kidd, I knew I was on the right track.   

I have added Kim's 'Sunday' texture as well as Bonnie's 'Antique Farewell' texture.  I've also added this minimally processed version, to the right, because I really love the original shot, too.  I just did a bit of cropping and added the subtle frame.

These photos are being linked to Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, This or That Thursdays, Photo Art Friday, Shoot, Edit, Submit and Photo Friday Link Party.