Playing around with some of my garden flower photos, and decided to convert a couple to HDR. I think they look sort of surreal, but still really pretty! I especially love the gladiola, above. This is the same photo that I posted a couple of days ago, but now it's in HDR. Not saying one is better than the other - just think both are pretty and very cool in their own way!
Here's an apricot colored daylily. There's something about this photo that just feels so fresh and clean to me. I'm not necessarily an apricot person, but I really do love this color!
And, finally, a photo from the Sandia Mountains - the HDR effect isn't quite as pronounced here, but it does have a nice "look" to it.
Enjoy!
There were such beautiful blooms in our front yard today, I couldn't resist snapping a few photos to share! The above photo is of a gladiola that I planted in one of my pots (along with moss roses) - I just love the color of it!
And, this lovely pair of blooms are day lilies, which are blooming for the first time since I planted the bulbs/corms a couple of years ago. Some of my day lilies are still quite small, but eventually, I'll have a wonderful day lily patch!
And, finally, this close-up of another type of lily that has started blooming for the first time in the garden. I planted the bulb/corm a couple of years ago, so I don't even remember what type of lily this is! LOL! Still, it is really pretty and worth the wait.
Enjoy!
Mom is visiting for the weekend, and this morning was a lovely morning for a flight! So, here's Mom and her pilot, Jeff, getting ready to get on board and take off!
Here she is in the co-pilot seat, enjoying the view.....and not flying!
This was the view we were enjoying! We're now having the monsoon flow, so it rained a bit the last few days, and has "greened" things up!
Enjoy!
We had a metamorphosis happen on our back patio over the past week or so. The above photo is of a little caterpillar that attached itself to the ceiling of the back patio. It was busy working to form its cocoon.
In about a week, the cocoon was fully formed, and the metamorphosis was happening inside, out of sight! I was waiting, rather impatiently, for the magic to happen!
And, then, this morning, the magic happened!! The butterfly emerged, and spread its wings! I have to admit, I wasn't here at this moment - my wonderful partner, Jeff, took this photo! In a couple of hours, the butterfly's wings had sufficiently dried, and it was gone. Sigh......still how great to have captured this!
Enjoy
This ATC swap called for a cat (or cats) to be the subject, and also have some text reflecting whatever thoughts just might be going thru their little kitty minds! Altho all the ATCs that I made for the swap didn't involve my little kitties, those are the ones I'm sharing on this blog! The above ATC is of Toutle, when he was just a wee little baby kitten. He was lying in wait to attack me, behind a fake greenery potted plant I had on the floor of my office. He has certainly lived up to this quote, tho! What a character he is....and I wouldn't have him any other way!!
This ATC, above, is of my other little darling kitty, Tatoosh, the very first day she was home with me! She loved to curl up in baskets and small dark enclosed places (and in my lap). And, she is the princess, and is just a sweet little girl kitty!
This is also Tatoosh, in one of her less princess like moments. Still, it speaks to just how relaxed and safe she feels here at home (she was a neglected kitty for the first few months of her life, so was a bit skittery when I first got her). And, no matter how wonderful, every kitty has that kitty attitude of what's good for you is just fine for them, too, and I guess that includes laying around and vegging! (Altho I'm sure she's imitating her "dad", Jeff, here!! LOL - sorry, sweetie!!)
Enjoy!
This ATC swap had the theme and requirement of being an altered playing card, altered using flowers and something that flies. For the card above, I chose a napkin that I applied to the card itself, and then punched out some butterflies to apply on top of the napkin. I chose to keep it sort of monochromatic because the roses on the napkin just seemed sort of soft and gentle.
For the above card, I also used a napkin, with a large peony-type bloom, It, too created a softer feel, but not as soft as the roses, so I chose to include a purple dragonfly to satisfy the "something that flies" requirement, and add a little zip. However, I only put one into the piece, so the flower could still be the focus.
This last piece is just pure fun and reminds me of summer! As with the other 2, I used a napkin, this time with bright boldly colored blooms and leaves. I added a couple of dragonflies and a butterfly to finish it off. This is just such a light, fun piece, looking at it just makes me smile!
Enjoy!
Tried this new technique the other day while creating background pages for my travel journal for this August's vacation and really liked the way it came out. It's easy as pie!
Materials:
Watercolor paper
White gesso
Stencil (optional - you can paint a design freehand if you like!)
Acrylic paint in the colors you choose (I used a turquoise and bright green)
Water in spray bottle
How to:
1. Apply the white gesso to the watercolor paper, either freehand or using a stencil. The more gesso you apply, the more textured your design will be, so play with it! Let dry thoroughly.
2.Apply layer of paint to entire sheet with paintbrush. (I used the turquoise first.) Let dry.
3. Spray sheet with water and use a paper towel to wipe off immediately. The gesso'd part of the paper will resist the paint, and it will appear much lighter. The more you rub, the lighter the paint will be over the entire sheet.
4. Add dimension by lightly applying the second paint color (in this case, bright green). I use a baby wipe to apply paint when I do this, and it works perfectly!
That's it!! I think I'm going to try this technique with tags, ATCs and some library card envelopes to create some nice backgrounds for them as well! It's very fun, doesn't take long (you can use a heat gun to help dry the gesso and paint), and, like I said easy as pie! Actually, in my case it's easier than pie, since I have a tough time with pies!
Enjoy!
