My Weblog

With a cherry on top...

Had such big plans to spend most of the day catching up on domestic chores. Started out well and then I made the mistake of hopping on the computer.

 And playing with my photos.

Watching a few more tutorials on Photoshop Elements...

...willing my brain to absorb the materials! Such a steep learning curve, but I'm determined...

Like anything in life, if you want to be good at it, practice. practice. practice.

 

Notice the two variations using this same photo? These are some of my newly acquired Florabella actions and textures. Once I FINALLY figured out how to get them into my PSE files, they work like a charm. Don't ask me how I did it, because even I don't know...These are bit more pricey but they are wonderful!!! Check out their site and link to their blog link as well...beautiful, beautiful.

Textures on this photo are from Kim Klassen.

Another version of this same photo using a FREE texture from Flickr (compliments of username Rubyblossom). If you type "free texture" into the flickr search engine there are over 50,000 items in that category.

Patti Brown photography offers several free video tutorials on using textures in PSE. She also sells packages of textures to download that looked very interesting as well.

However, if PSE and textures aren't your thing, go to your local's farmer market (or supermarket) and grab some of these...

 They are so delicious right now....
 

Recent finds...a fun giveaway...free images, and what not!

Whew! That's a lot for one title...buy hey, I'm trying to cover a lot of bases in one post. So many fun things going on in the blogosphere (and atmosphere).

Here's another little treasure I dragged home from our recent trip to Florida. And despite the unrelenting heat for months here in Georgia, my flowers survived my absence.

But the cloud formations lately have been so thrilling... (me thinks mr. sky is trying to apologize or compensate for his friend mr. air who has been scorching this part of the world)

And if you love sky scenes, check out these moon beam pictures my friend, Patty has captured in the skies of Virginia. She has a way of zeroing in on anything that shines...I loved these photos!

Despite the fact that mother nature is more than capable of doing her own decorating, I added a little tree beauty to her world in order to showcase another little treasure from my Florida trip...

I merely took advantage of those little branches that pop up randomly where they're not supposed to be on mature trees and "tied" my new tray to the tree.

While my usage of the outside layer to this photo does not due this artists' creations justice I did want to share with any photoshop veiwers a gorgeous blog offering fabulous textures. I am still learning photoshop where these textures will rock when applied properly...my rendition is a cheap version (strong emphasis on cheap) of just layering and using a transparency brush to reveal my photo. The "real thing" is beyond dreamy...

Check out Kim's blog and her beautiful photos! Her prices for these textures are so reasonable and she even offers up free ones if you sign up to receive her newsletter.

And speaking of free stuff...

Terri has recently posted a couple of wonderful digital image freebies here and here. Go grab 'em! I had the pleasure of meeting Terri and her FUN ART when she won one of my giveaways.

So guess where that leads me to next. Yep! A giveaway... Connie is offering up a couple of yummy things...

Here's one of them! Isn't she a beautiful seamstress? Yes, indeed! She also has two adorable grandbabies...one is brand new. Check out those precious photos when you visit as well!

Now that we're talking about giveaways, I just realized that this is my 100th post since moving my blog to Typepad. Time to pull together a giveaway of my own...hmmmm... so many possibilities. Stay tuned....

Warm hugs to all the fabulous souls in the blogosphere...you all fill my world with so much inspiration!

xo, sue

Digital Collage and Free Images

Playing around in my photos again...I could get lost for hours manipulating photos. The inspiration began as I walked along the beach and spotted these sorts of shells everywhere. Don't they look like little wings?

I thought so and decided to digitally extract them. Here's a copy if you'd like them for your own personal use as well.

As long as we're sharing, here's the little girl I borrowed from here...

Starting with a background of clouds from my own photos I began adding and adding layer after layer. Many thanks and credit given to Karen at the Graphics Fairy for the use of the dove {extracted from a postcard she shared} as well as using the vintage ledger page from her collection.

Peace... xo, Sue

Falling in love while on vacation...

I did.

I freely admit it. I fell in love while on vacation. More than once...and many of them I dragged home with me. To live. Forever!

The few who wouldn't fit in the car will be hitching a ride in mid-August and heading this way.

Here's the first boy. He is quite youthful in appearance, much younger than the rest I've taken in before...and despite his flaws, I instantly fell in love...

If you share my love of old European antiques and dress forms in particular, I know you would have wanted him too. He's unlike any dress form I've ever laid eyes on before...and fresh off the boat.

One of my favorite antique stores in the Destin area of Florida, Antiques on Holiday, were just unpacking their newest arrivals from their latest shopping trip in Europe. Nothing was even priced yet...but the beyond sweetest shop owners said to just ask and they'd check their inventory list and price anything I was interested in...

Do you see this little name plaque of sorts written on this little boy's chest? Misty, one of the sweethearts I met at the store explained the purpose behind this tag. It was her best guess that this form was custom made for some little boy probably back in the mid-1800's. More than likely he was from a very wealthy family, perhaps even nobility since his name was on the form. Rather than having to be present and go through fitting after fitting while his new clothes were being made, a custom dress form was used for the fittings. As this child grew, a new form would be made.

While standardized dressforms were commonly employed during this era, the presence of the name plaque is the dead giveaway that this form was custom made for a particular person.

As you can see, he's hit a few rough patches in life...but those battered places have found a way to add more character to his being...same as real life, huh?

Don't miss the word PARIS in the diamond-shaped stamp...

Not sure exactly where or how I'll display him yet. Any creative ideas?

He stands quite nicely when propped against something...And by the way, that pedestal and planter were clearanced-priced items I snagged at Hobby Lobby years ago for very little jingles. By running around to several Hobby Lobby's in my area I was able to find two of each. The money I saved I now put towards this newest little "manny"...at least that was my story to Mr. Wonderful who didn't even roll his eyes when he saw this tattered treasure.  

Still have lots more FUN STUFF to share when I get a chance. And the three items that didn't fit in the car but will be arriving in mid August are hitching a ride to the Scott Antique Market held monthly in the Atlanta area. If you're local to the area and love European antiques at very fair prices, Antiques on Holiday are located in the North Building, C2.

I'm so glad this little guy, or any of my other wonderful finds weren't made of wax or they would have melted on the ride home. Our dashboard thermometer read anywhere from 100 to {{{see photo below}}} for the whole six hour ride home...

How about you? What are the temps in your area like? 

Lessons learned at the Beach

her:  please don't make me go home...

him:

her: are you listening? don't make me go home...

narrator: "him" is laser-focused on computer screen.

 scanning through business emails appearing

as if holding his breath.

"her" is standing on balcony

gazing across the ocean

  with misty eyes

     and a look of desperation

   written across her face...

...him's heard this pleading before and has learned to tune it out...

...her does it every time they go to the beach...

WHAT I LEARNED ON THIS VACATION:

~begging doesn't always work

~begging can be irritating to some people

~the ocean is beautiful

~I could live by the ocean

~I want to live by the ocean

~I will miss the ocean

One more full day left in paradise and then it's back to reality. But I bought something here that has planted a small seed of inspiration as to how I might make reality a whole lot easier...at least in my household...maybe in yours too...

 
Smile.

Laugh a little.

And carry on...

xo, Sue

Ocean love...

If you're lucky enough

to be at the beach

YOU'RE LUCKY ENOUGH.......

 

 

Indeed, I am lucky enough...

Equally thrilling was to find the beaches free from any signs of a massive oil spill. Once in a great while you might see a small tar ball, typically the size of a grape, wash up on shore. But there are workers here and there still walking the beaches all day long scooping up anything that washes ashore.

Sadly enough, not all coastal areas have been this fortunate...but it's still comforting to know that some of the media reporting was a bit exaggerated, specifically as it relates to this area of the Florida Panhandle. Unfortunately, this type of misrepresentation  hurts these coastal communities whose economy is dependent upon tourism. 

Words matter, don't they? 
 

Free birdie images and we're off to the beach....

How did it get to be so late, so soon?

The calendar indicates that tomorrow we leave for the beach. You know what that means...a million little details to attend to before heading out. Well, a million little details if you're the mother. And I am the mother. So logic would tell you that I've been busy attending to all those details. NOT.

Instead...

A little birdie told me to start another art journal... {"start" and "another" are key words...}

 

I used this little birdie in my journal and made two different versions for you to grab if you'de like to use them in your own creations.

Here's a few other shots...

 
...just felt good to play...and make a mess...and contemplate the wise words I used in this creation...still needs a bit more added before I'm finished, but those million little details I need to take care of need my attention first...

Hope to have some happy reports to share when we return informing you that the beaches of Florida's panhandle are still filled with white, sugar sand and not chunks of tar...

Xo, Sue

Metal Embossing

Most of us have a few things in our art stash piles that we would be hard-pressed to ever want to use in one of our artful adventures. Similar to the sentiments and reasoning of why we make copies of certain original photos.

Such is the case with this old metal piece...but one day I remembered all those metal embossing tools I bought at a scrapbook show years ago. Oh yes! Those things I've barely used...LOL! Come on. I know I'm not the only person who does this...

Now its been so long since I watched the talented gal demonstrate all the fun things you can do with metal embossing that I hesitated to experiment on those metal sheets that are a bit too pricey to totally flub up on.

BUT...how about using a cheap substitute? At those big party stores, you can buy heavy aluminum lids that fit disposable roaster pans for a buck each. Let's give metal embossing a try using those...I'll risk a buck.

Not too bad for a first try...good enough to make me want to try transferring some other images...

...like maybe trying it out on this gorgeous old tin I bought for a !!DOLLAR!! at the flea market last year...

The possibilities of what you might like to make a transfer from are endless...

But of course, you can always use one of the templates made purposefully for this art form as well. That big puffy looking white tool is called a paper stump. It's the only tool I used to transfer the cherub in the second photo. Bonnies Best Tools offers all these products on her online website. Actually, she offers products for a multitude of artsy-crafty pursuits {nearly 60 categories!}. Stuff I've never seen before...just fun to poke around in all the categories. But for the paper stump (retails for $5) click on the metal embossing link.

Hopefully, with a little practice I'll graduate to using the real metal sheets. And by the way, don't attempt this embossing method using the heavy duty aluminum foil...it doesn't work. Trust me. 
 

The little things...

My favorite husband has often playfully teased me {or is he sending a message?!} that I am the world's best starter of a million little things...a million little things that often have to wait a long time before they cross the finish line.

Unfortunately, I resemble that comment to a tee. Poo! 

BUT, {in my defense} often times those just short of the finish line projects look like this little 4 inch flower. Technically, they are finished.  In fact, there are numerous little bitty creations floating around in my stash just waiting for their day to be chosen for a bigger purpose in life.

 
 
 More often than not, me believes that art does imitate life, or is it life imitates art?
 

Some times it's okay, and maybe even necessary to just keep doing the little things especially when you can't see the finish line. Many things in life are a process. But one blessed day the bigger picture will come into focus. There will be a greater purpose for all those little things...

...even little ribbon flowers.  

dreams versus reality

Yesterday the movers came and loaded up my daughter's belongings which were doing an interim rest in our garage until the lease on her new rental began, in a new city...

My DH and I dutifully supervised the loading in an effort to make sure the right things got on the truck. Lots of "stuff" in that garage these days...sigh.

Then we blazed the trail for the moving truck to follow us to the daughter's new place...

After days of doing battle with this summer cold,

 that likes me so much it refuses to leave,

 and all the hours spent coordinating this move,  

I was looking forward to stealing some quiet time away

in my artsy craft room...

HOWEVER

When one walks through their back door and sees this waiting...

...evidence that there is a houseful of teen-aged boys, dreams quickly get traded for reality, don't they?

On Thursday an out of state visitor arrived to spend five days with our youngest. Since the little visitor --all 6 feet 4 inches of him--was a former neighbor and dearly loved by all, our home has become reunion central! It's amazing how many men-sized teens can bunk out for the night in one child's bedroom. 

Here's hoping that one day soon a little free time will emerge so I can share some of my recent finds and catch up not only on bloggy business but also on rest and life in general. Meanwhile, I'll sneak in this latest snag...

Twenty-something dollars at a local antique shop!!! It is large...maybe 30" x 36"...and the portrait is a pencil drawing! Still not sure just exactly how I'll use this when I do some re-fluffing of our home...will probably give the frame a paint job....hubs thinks the baby looks a little creepy {WHAT?!} so maybe it will have to be replaced...

More sharing is on its way when reality begins to align itself with my dreams.

She says hopefully....