Scavenger Hunt Sunday - December 23, 2012

Welcome! - Won't you join me for the last Scavenger Hunt Sunday of 2012.
This weeks prompts:  Joy, Tangled, Silver, Guilty Pleasure and Angel.

Coleen wasn't able to get all of the prompts for this week but I am going to share the 2 that she did take pictures of first.

JOY:  She took a picture of our Christmas rug which we use as a wall hanging and then asked me to print the word "JOY" on the song book that the littlest snowman has.  She thinks they look so joyful and they make her smile with joy as well.  She hopes to do more SHS in 2013.

ANGEL: Her Sunday School teacher gave the kids Advent Calendars and this little Angel was one of the gifts from the calendar.  She worked very hard getting this picture to look exactly like she wanted it to.

Okay now here are my photos for the prompts:

JOY:  We spotted this among the many decorations in someone's yard the other night.

TANGLED:  - I decided to wear a certain pair of earring and a necklace to church this morning.  Unfortunately all I manged to wear were the earrings because this is what I found when I picked up the necklace.

Hubby worked patiently to get them untangled for me.  He must have spent about 1/2 hour working on getting all 4 necklaces untangled.  Wasn't that sweet!

SILVER:

Coleen picked out this Silver bird as her Christmas ornament to put on the tree this year.  I buy ornaments for her each year so she'll have a good collection by the time she grows up and has a home of her own.
GUILTY PLEASURE:  Okay I can't show you my real holiday guilty pleasure because if I made them they would be all gone by now.  I love Russian Tea Cake cookies but rarely make them because I can eat the entire batch all by myself!  Instead you get something else that is a real weakness of mine as far as resisting: Red Hot Cinnamon Taffy,  Yum!!!

ANGEL:  Spotted this one in another yard while out looking at Christmas lights. Snow added as it hasn't snowed here (yet).

Please stop by Ashley's blog (Ramblings and Photos) and check out the other participants.

Wishing everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! - Thank you all for your wonderful comments this year and I wish peace, joy and love to you all.

A little holiday fun

Coleen and Captain Cuddles want to wish you a Merry Christmas!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - December 16, 2012

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date...Scavenger Hunt Sunday that is.  - I almost forgot about posting. - Before I share the prompts and my photos I want to apologize to anyone who stopped by last week and left a comment and I didn't get around to commenting back.  I just couldn't swing commenting last week but hope to do better this week. 

The prompts this week are:  Sparkly, Door, Decorate, Stripes and A Few of My Favorite Things.

SPARKLY - This was an "accidental" shot taken yesterday as we decorated my mom's Christmas tree.  It's one of those blurry photo's but the unexpected Bokeh certainly is sparkly.

DOOR:
Wasn't sure about this one and then I thought the little door on my Christmas Cabin decoration would work.

DECORATE:

This is something that we don't see much of around our house.  Hubby generally puts up the tree and puts on the lights but he doesn't do much of the decorating of the tree.  I buy ornaments each year for everyone so I tell him he has to at least put his own ornaments on the tree!



STRIPES:

This little Gingerbread ornament looks so cute and that little candy cane striped scarf  and striped peppermint buttons are the perfect touch for holiday charm.

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS:

Ahhh...Christmas pillows and Sleeping cats...These are a few of my favorite things!

Don't forget to pop on over to Ashley's blog and check out the other participants.

Scaventer Hunt Sunday - December 9, 2012

Hi,  Yes for those wondering I'm still alive.  I've been absent from blogging for a couple of weeks now.  So much going on during the Christmas season that I just haven't had much time for blogging.  I've missed 2 weeks of Scavenger Hunt Sunday and decided this week I was going to participate if at all possible.  Some of my photo's might be a bit of a stretch for the prompts but I'm going with them anyway.

This weeks prompts were:  Season, Colorful, Weather, Silhouette and Calm.

SEASON: Tis the "season" for making and sending Christmas cards.  Part of the reason why I've been absent from the blog the last 2 weeks.  I've been making cards, 35 all different designs.  Still trying to get them mailed.

COLORFUL:

The lights between our house and my mom's make a colorful display in the neighborhood.

WEATHER: 

This sweet little squirrel braved the weather ( rain and a few snowflakes)today to eat some of the seeds and corn I put under the trees in our front parking strip.
SILHOUETTE:  Okay this one stumped me a little.  I think though my photo fits for the most part.

The trees in over the fence in our back yard look like silhouette's against the glorious sunset a few nights ago.

CALM:

Same trees as above just at a different time of the day and a bit of a different grouping.  We had a lovely, calm looking day this week where the sun actually came out longer then a few minutes.  That had a calming effect on me and others longing for cheery looking skies instead of gloomy gray ones.

That's it for this week.  Be sure to stop by Ashley's blog and check out the other participants.  I hope to post again before Christmas and will try to get around to commenting on your blogs which I've also neglected to do so lately due to there just not being enough time in the day to do everything that I want to do or need to do.

Photo Art Friday - November 30, 2012

Wow this is the last Photo Art Friday of 2012.  Bonnie asked us to share our favorite piece of Photo Art this week.  I'm a bit late getting mine up but I chose this piece as my favorite:  I chose this because I just loved how the flower and the texture looked together.  It's cheery and the verse is something that I am trying to practice everyday.  In fact this piece is the very first piece I've done that I actually had put on Canvas.  The finished worked hangs over our television so I can be reminded of the verse on a regular basis.

I have so enjoyed the challenges Bonnie has offered this year for Photo Art Friday and all the wonderful texture's that she has graciously offered.  It has challenged me to look at photography in a different way then just taking pictures (although I love to do that as well).  I look forward to learning and growing more in the coming New Year.

I've been absent from my blog for a week or so and just wanted to let everyone know that if I haven't been by your blog or commented much it's just that this time of the year is super hectic for me and I am not always able to spend time on the computer like I would like too.  I want to thank everyone for supporting me in my Photo Art and Photography.  Your comments mean a lot to me and I appreciate your input and blog visits more then you will ever know.

I'm leaving you with a photo I took this week of a brave little flower still attempting to bloom even through the colder weather that we are now experiencing.

Please stop by Bonnie's blog and check out the other participants and also there are some great new texture's there available as well.

Take care & I'll see you back in 2013for Photo Art Friday when it starts back up.

Photo Art Friday - November 23, 2012

Greetings! - Wow, Thanksgiving is over here in the US and I survived Turkey Day!
It was a quiet day here with just our family of 5 as we tend not to have big family gatherings at Thanksgiving.  Lots of cooking for me and I tried a few new dishes, some tasted good and others will go in the,  (Don't ever fix this again) file.

Now it's time to join Bonnie over at Pixel Dust Photo Art for Photo Art Friday.

This week she asked us to use one of her textures: Signed and Sealed in our art pieces.

I wasn't sure exactly what to do with this texture so I decided to go through my photos and see if I could find one that I thought it would work with.  I am not sure why exactly I chose the photo that I did but I think it went well with the texture.  I also added a layer of  Vintage Craquelure to my piece. 



Here is the original photo:

This Dinosaur figure is one of the many animals etc...that are displayed at a local RV Park.

Here is what I transformed him into:

After adding both of the textures, Hardlight @80% and erasing the script off the dinosaur I used the Intrepid edit feature on Pic Monkey to give it a bit of a different effect.  Then I went to Pixlr-o-Matic and added the sparkle, I thought it added a whimsical touch to the piece.  Pretty different for me but I think it's rather fun.

Don't forget to check out the other participants.

Have a great day.   Off to help put up the Christmas lights. 

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - November 18, 2012

My PAF can be found HERE:

Welcome! - It's been a busy week.  PT on Monday and Friday. - For those that don't know I have been having problems with my ankle and started taking PT.  They tell me I have a classic case of Achilles Tendinitis.  Let's just say it's a bit painful but the Ultra-Sound treatment and the Cortisone Medication are helping.

Oh and I survived my Dental appointment on Wednesday.  I was dreading it because I had to have a lower tooth worked on and the last time they did work on that area of my mouth they hit the Lingual nerve and I've got partial numbness (permanent) on the left side of my tongue. 

But you didn't come here for that did you?  I didn't think so.  So let's get started on the hunt.  This weeks prompts were:

Vision, Strong, Buttons, Map and Favorite Fruit.

You can view the other participants by clicking on the link to Ashley's blog, (Ramblings and Photos).

I struggled to be creative this week and to even get photos.  So some of these are archived photos or I would have had to pass on the hunt this week.

VISION: - Cat's (big or small) have keen vision.  This cougar is a statue taken at a local RV park.

STRONG: 

I had Coleen do some "strong" poses for me using my shaker weight.  I loved this one with her tough girl look.

BUTTONS:  Not to original here but I need a button photo so this is what you get.

MAP:  Again I just wasn't all that creative this week and didn't want to take a picture of a map to post so I dug through the archives and came up with this.  It's a "picture map" layout at the Whitman Mission showing what the area looked like during the period that the Whitman's lived at the mission.

FAVORITE FRUIT:  -  Again my other Archived photo because seriously, Strawberries (my favorite fruit) are out of season here locally and I didn't want to post a picture of the store bought berries in their plastic tub so you get a picture of a Strawberry Pie that I made earlier this summer with our fresh, delicious local berries.

That wraps up another great hunt. - For my American Friends and Viewers I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving this coming week.

Photo Art Friday - November 16, 2012

Hi! - It's so good to have you stop by for a visit.  I hope you enjoy your stay.
It's time to link up for Photo Art Friday over on Bonnie's blog, Pixel Dust Photo Art.
This weeks optional theme is, "Still-life." -  I must confess that I was intimidated when I read what the theme would be.  I had no clue about creating a digitally altered still life at all.  Bonnie sent me a nice email reminding me that she had posted a link about creating a still life.  I checked it out today and came up with something that I am happy to share.  Since we here in the U.S. will be celebrating Thanksgiving next Thursday I decided to create a Thanksgiving themed still life.

Here is my original photo:

Here is my finished piece:

For this piece I used Bonnie's texture, Leafy Landscape - Multiply 80%
Then I added an Overlay layer of Vintage Vellum at 80% as well.  I did some minor adjustments to the brightness/color as well and then added the text. - I did all of this on Pic Monkey - Which by now you may have guessed is my favorite go to place for photo editing.  It's really easy to use and it's free.

So there you have it.  My first digitally altered still life.  Thanks Bonnie for the challenge.  Be sure to stop by the gallery and check it out.  Amazing work is posted there.  You won't want to miss it.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - November 11, 2012

Welcome - How was your week?  Mine was busy, busy, busy.  Seemed like everyday this week I had somewhere to be or something to do.  I wasn't sure that I'd even get to the prompts this week but somehow I managed.  I started off the week with good intentions of getting all the prompts as quickly as possible.

Monday was a gorgeous day here in "Wally World" (aka, Walla Walla).  It was actually 71 degrees outside!  By the end of the week though the temperatures had drastically dropped and today it was barely 40 out and it tried to snow a little.  Brrr...so not ready for winter.

Tally Ho it's on to the hunt!  You can find all the other participants by click on the link to Ashley's blog right HERE:

The prompts this week are:  Nature, Vintage/Retro, Whimsical, Cooking and Weeks Best.  - Thank you Danelle for the great prompts.

Click to enlarge photos:

NATURE:  Wow this category was hard....Why?  Well there's is just so much in nature to photograph it was hard to narrow it down.  However today we took another drive up Scenic Loop, probably the last one of the year since it's a dirt/gravel road that is generally closed in the winter.

It was cold out and there had been some frost or snow in the area and we spotted some apple trees on the side of the road so I stopped and snapped this photo:

VINTAGE/RETRO:  Ah the best laid plans...I had intended to head to a local antique/farmers market to photograph there but when I arrived I discovered it was closed until the 14th so they could get ready for Christmas.  So instead I headed to a different store called, The Country Store which sells all kinds of old stuff.  The last time I was in there they had the coolest retro couch that I fell in love with.  Sadly it was gone today when I looked around. 

Instead I spotted this:

So is this Vintage, Retro or Vintage Retro?  Whatever you call it I think it's really fun, cute and kinda cool.

WHIMSICAL:  My 1st shot of the week for the prompts.  I took this on Monday the day it was 71 degrees outside.  I remembered this RV Park here locally that has all these animal figures and such placed around the park in various locations.  They have this cool chicken, a dinosaur, deer, elk, mountain lions, long horn cattle, etc...but when I got there many of them had been stored away for the winter.  I did spot this Giraffe and thought it had a rather "whimsical" expression on it's face.

COOKING: I confess that I tried to take a picture of this while it was cooking but the photo's just didn't turn out that great.  I mean taking a picture of something baking in the oven is hard.  So instead you get the results of my cooking efforts:

Fresh out of the oven (and probably still cooking a little) Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream on top,  Yum!

WEEK'S BEST:  -  Well I never know what to use for prompts like this.  I take a lot of picture during the week, some not so great and other's not so bad.  So how do you pick one as the best?  Still I'm going to go with this one:

This is the same field that was featured on SHS on October 28th.

See the photo below and see what a change has taken place in this field.

Next weeks prompts are:  Vision, Strong, Buttons, Map, and Favorite Fruit. 

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Photo Art Friday - November 9, 2012

Come on in and join me on a photo art journey.  It's time for Photo Art Friday
over on Bonnie's blog, Pixel Dust Photo Art.  This week our optional theme was the use of Lines in our art pieces.

I had a bit of fun with this first piece.
Here are the original two photo's that I used:

I cropped and then combined the two photo's and added the frame to get this...

I also decided to play a litte at BeFunky.com and came up with this pop art version.

I did a 2nd piece using this photo:

For this piece I cropped the photo.  Then added Bonnie's texture, Vintage Vellum overlay at 75%.  Did some adjustments with the color etc...(all on Pic Monkey) and ended up with the piece below.

"Whatever" Wednesday - Autumn Beauty Edition

Hallelujah the Election is over!!! - No more political ads on TV every 5 minutes, no more annoying political phone calls at all hours of the day, no more signs plastered all over the place urging you to vote for this canidate or issue.    I look forward to Peace and Quiet now.

So today instead of voicing my opinion about the outcome of the election I'm giving you Autumn Beauty!  Our fall has been spectacular after a slow start and would you believe it was 71 here on Monday.  Of course (_ _ _ _) is expected this weekend.  You can fill in the blanks.  I'm hoping that maybe if I don't type the word or say it that it will not happen.  I'm so not ready for it, that's for sure.

       Took this shot while waiting at the stop light the other day.  Look at all that color!

 

I love the way the leaves carpet the ground.

I spotted this lovely autumn drenched stream the other day and had to take a photo.

                   I love the lacey look of these green leaves edged in yellow with those little tips of red.

Spotted these beauties in a parkling lot of a local church and popped in to take their picture.

I liked this vining plant and the rain soaked leaves that had fallen on top of it just added to it's charm.

These pretty leaves had drops of rain just hovering near the edge waiting to fall to the earth.  Such delicate beauty.

Finally the sun was out on this day and just made this tree alive with gorgeous color.

Have a wonderful day and remember to give thanks for all the good things that are in your life.