Digital Wordless Wednesday - July 17, 2014

A Humble Bumble (Digital) Collage

an image created in Photoshop from several of my own photos, artwork and textures.

wishing all a golden early summer day.

i've decided to respond to the invitation within my comments and link this with: NatureFootstep Digital Art meme Interest Survey.
if you are thinking that you might like to join in with your own digital art post(s) then hop over and add to the survey. we'll see what happens . . .

TAST/checkered or magic chain stitch ~ Photo Art Friday ~ 15 minute challenge ~

this week's optional challenge at Photo Art Friday was to experiment with using Bonnie's  "Signed & Sealed" texture.

Bonnie's texture/layer: "Signed & Sealed"

i used an archived photo of my orchid plant in bloom and came up with the above image.
i did find this texture a bit difficult to work with but it was good for me to experiment with something more challenging. stretching those digital wings is exactly how i will learn to do more with them. thank you Bonnie.

Sharon of Pintangle has presented the checkered or magic chain stitch for the TAST challenge.
this variation of the chain stitch changes color as you stitch it.
it was great fun. i did some playing around with it on my own christmas stocking using a white pearl cotton (size 12) and a hand dyed variegated cotton thread of the same size. both are threaded into the needle together but only used one strand at a time.
i also played around with 'the rythym' of the white and green placement within this curvy line of stitching.
what i really wanted to do was make a candy cane with it but i didn't feel like i would get the best color contrasts since the stocking's base is a piece of a red and white quilt. no matter where i placed the candy cane one of the colors was going to blend into the background.

so i decided to play around some more and ended up creating this candy cane/sled runner onto another work in progress. i used heavier cotton threads for this attempt and used a dark red variegated with the white. i continued to use the red thread to create the rest of the sled which worked out beautifully with the thread changing color just when i needed it to.
i thought that using the lighter weight thread was a bit easier but it wasn't too much of a challenge with the heavier thread either.

i think i'm getting this 15 minute practice thing down now and i happily have seven more days of success to report. this challenge is hosted by Kate at Life In Pieces. i managed to get the TAST practice onto a stocking this week :-)  as well as another project and i'm in the process of mending/darning socks. i suppose it's not commonly done but i have a few pairs of wool socks that i like to wear around the house in winter and they are well made really good (and a bit pricey to replace) socks so i'm mending them rather than purchasing new ones. it's time consuming but i actually really really like to do this which is good because i have several pairs yet to do.

i don't have a darning egg so i'm improvising with one using an inexpensive plastic easter egg.  it actually works quite well.
i have decided to keep it fun and am using wool blend threads that do not match the sock's colors. i will use same colored threads on each pair but change the colors for other pairs as i do them.
i really don't know what i'm doing and am not sure this looks too 'professional' but apparently, i'm doing a good enough job at it, as i'm now being asked to darn other socks~!
i didn't have the perfect thread colors but there isn't a hole there anymore~!

recent gifts include:

• finding out that i won a beautiful little quilt from Maureen at Pursuit of Quilts.
• being able to darn my own comfy/pj socks~not only does it feel good to do it but it's very satisfying to be wearing one's own stitchery even if only on the heel of a sock. 
• warm soup and stew dinners in front of the t.v. and a snuggle with the wonderful husband after for 'dessert'
• anticipating my family all together over the thanksgiving holiday . . . just a couple more days . . .

by the way, i'm wishing all of you who celebrate thanksgiving a warm, safe and full of love kind of holiday. if you don't traditionally celebrate this holiday i'm inviting you to make it a personl day of thanks and wishing you the same.

TAST week 16 ~ french knot

the daffodils are officially announcing our spring by beginning to bud and flower . . .

this week it's the french knot on TAST.
i generally avoid the french knot as in the past i have found it difficult to control. so this practice was really good for me. and thanks to a few tips that i found i actually did relatively okay with it.

what would spring be without a bumblebee~!?
:-D
i've changed things up a bit and have used the stitch on a postcard rather than a christmas stocking this time. the card needs to be in the mail asap and i liked the idea of dimensionalizing (is that a word?) the bumble bee that was printed on the fabric with some of those french knots. in fact, i wonder if this counts as stump work . . . will have to look into that.
i'll get back to the stockings next week.

within the comments section of the week 16 post on Pin Tangle there are some delightful samples of this stitch in use. 

there are some lovely flowers using the french knot: grape hyacinths and these look like hollyhocks, or foxgloves or maybe even gladiolas . . .

tiny spring peeps are adorable using this stitch.

and there's even a clever stitcher who created some oxygen with this one~!

and last but not least, its all about beautiful textures on this blog~WOW~!!~

please take a second and check these sites out. you'll be delighted by what you see.

recent gifts include:

• rain coaxing the grass into green
• wind keeping things minimally muddy
• snow keeping away (~!!!~)

15 minute challenge ~ march 27

"Thus nature has no love for solitude, and always leans, as it were, on some support; and the sweetest support is found in the most intimate friendship." - Cicero

my weekly report card for the 15 minute challenge:

tuesday, mar. 20th: leaf onto AAQI quilt 

wednesday, mar. 21st: postcard work

thursday, mar. 22nd: flower garden top ~ TAST practice (barred chain & alternate barred chain 

friday, mar. 23rd: TAST (barred chain & alternate barred chain) onto two stockings 

saturday, mar. 24th: quilted on pink lemonade  (alternate blocks) 

sunday, mar. 25th: quilted on pink lemonade (alternate blocks)

monday, mar. 26th: quilted on pink lemonade (alternate blocks) 

i was out of town for a couple of days which totally messes with all of my schedules but i still did manage to get all 7 days in for the 15 minute challenge with the group found at  Kate at Life in Pieces.
once again i was grateful for the easily carried along pink lemonade quilt. i now have just over half of the alternate blocks quilted.

i used a tailor's buttonhole stitch to attach the leaf onto the AAQI quilt. it worked well as both a way to outline the leaf and sew it onto the piece.

this is a shot of some felting that i managed to get done on my felting machine last week. i'll be fiddling with it a bit more and then using it for postcards. i think.

love the new felting machine but i'm not very good at it yet so it's costing me a fortune in needles~!

recent gifts include:

• the joys of friendship
• a spare hour to hang out at barnes and noble, sip a smoothie and peruse the art magazines
• indulging myself with the purchase of a few of those magazines

TAST week 10 ~ running stitch

there have been some great responses to my photo challenge celebration giveaway. a big THANK YOU if you have joined in.

if you haven't yet and you would like to try to win a few of my photo art note cards click here.

time is running short and i will draw a winner on march 12.

effervesce:   . . . to bubble . . .  to show liveliness or exhilaration



this is week number 10 with the TAST challenge and it's all about the running stitch.
the running stitch is about as simple  as it gets but can also be very versatile depending on how and where you use it. when used as a technique it is often called by a different name:

The darning stitch is about making rows of straight running stitches near each other. The technique of darning is used to mend torn clothes, especially socks and looks like a woven patch.

Kantha comprises of the simplest stitch in the language of embroidery - the running stitch. It is the way in which this stitch is used, in different arrangements, that forms the complex vocabulary of kantha.

Originally it was used to join layers of old saris, to make quilts. It was also used as a means of self expression by both urban and rural women in Bengal.

sashiko: a simple running stitch born from the necessity of conserving and repairing garments at a time when cloth was not so widely available to farmers and fishermen.

Quilting is a stitching technique which is traditionally done by hand utilizing a needle and thread to stick together two or more layers of material in order to make a quilt.
Classic quilting is completed with three layers - quilt top, insulating material and backing material. In the process of quilting, the quilter passes the needle and thread through all layers and then brings the needle back up. A running stitch is normally made use of in this process, and these stitches are useful, decorative and can be elaborate.

i decided to use it as a quilting stitch. something i'm very familiar with and i thought it would bring a nice texture as well as a subtle bling (metallic thread) to part of my wonderful daughter's stocking.
i used a single strand of metallic thread (both copper and gold) and stitched using an 'echo' technique for patterning.

i almost didn't do this as it didn't seem very adventurous but after thinking about it i decided that it could produce the effect that i wanted and it's not always about doing something new. for me this challenge is about completing a project in a creative manner using the stitches as they are given.

i think it was very effective used in this way and i'm glad that i went ahead with it.

there are many examples of the running stitch used decoratively and beautifully here at Borduur as well as at Fat-Quarter. i like the way that Elizabeth has used it to create the effect of shadow. and how about this creative mosaic making use of the running stitch~!?!

if you think that you may be interested in learning embroidery or practicing the stitches you already know it's well worth a visit to Pin Tangle to join in with this project.


recent gifts include:

• the sun's invitation to sit outside and feel the warmth of the  day
• feeling the light melt pleasantly right through my skin
•  the wonderful rhythm of stitch i feel while practicing the running stitch aka quilting

i've been tucked behind the  computer for most of the day playing in photoshop.
i'm proud to say that i made the background image myself from one of my painted journal pages and my own  macro photo of the surface of a rock. i used the image of the triple frame from a scrapbooking suite (It's My Hx) and i used the lady, the compass and the clock face with a dragonfly from Deviant Scrap/Colorsplash.
in addition to the background, i used my own photos of a clock face(the larger background image) and stained glass hearts (within the triple frame) as well as my own layer of text.

Seeking Direction

today's gifts included:

• the ease of leftover homemade pizza
• clouds and a small afternoon rain to ease the heat of the day (90's)
• time to create today's post

Morning Glory Memories

this morning i went for a visit to see what Bonnie at Pixel Dust Photo Art was up to. i like her artistic style and today she was offering two of her beautiful textures as a freebie to play/test out. they were irresistible and this evening i've given them a little workout.

this first photo is one that was taken while i was in Honduras this past Christmas. i didn't think it was a great shot for a variety of reasons but i wasn't ready to totally give up on it either. so i tucked it away for possible future photoshop play and today while i was looking through my photos it popped out at me as a possibility for using with Bonnie's textures.

so this is what i did:

• cropped it square
• duplicated it
• added the Silent Memory texture at 40% opacity - hard light
• added the Fleeting Memory texture at 30% opacity - overlay
• flattened it

i'm very happy with the results. thank you Bonnie. i hope to play with these textures again very soon.

Morning Glory Memories

it's interesting how seeing and experimenting with this shot brought back so many different memories from this special trip. it was the first time i had seen my daughter in over a year and a half. not only was i happy to see her again (all whole and happy and oh so freckled) i was also pleased to be able to experience the country and people that she had been involved with during that time. while there with her i realized that she was a young lady with extraordinary discipline. she's tough as nails on the outside and amazingly resilient but inside she has a heart/spirit that aches to make the world a better place. what a winning combination (!!) and such a blessing in my life.

today's gifts included:

• a visit from a close friend
• trying out the newest kitchen gadget: a handy dandy cherry pitter.
• smelling the fresh lemon that i sliced for iced tea ~ lemons smell really good~!!~

Texture Tuesday/ 8-9-2011

it's all about the small stuff over at Kim Klassen's Cafe today. i used her  free 'Not too Shabby' texture with one of my photos (square crop). Thank you Kim~!~

today's gifts included:

• playing tug and fetch with River (she's not 'lost' anymore)
• watching the hummingbirds chase each other around the feeder
• participating in the texture tuesday challenge this week

Texture Tuesday/7-26-11

good morning. the texture tuesday challenge this week is 'Dream'.

Free To Fly



i've used a recent shot, a layer of 'not too shabby' and a quote that i like.
the layer is a freebie from the very generous and talented kim klassen.

today's gifts have included:

• a few extra minutes of sleep
• the beloved ritual of watering/tending the houseplants
• frozen grapes on a hot summer morning ~ yummy ~!!~

Texture Tuesday

here we are at another tuesday. the challenge at Kim's this week was to use at least one layer of her (free) texture 'aurora'.
my columbine have mostly finished their bloom time and now present their funny little jester style seed pod heads.

 Sweet Surrender

i used the (challenge) texture of 'aurora' as well as 'pour vous' on these two images.  the second image is different only in that i've added a border.

do you prefer one more than the  other?

Sweet Surrender (with border)

today's gifts have so far included:

• waking up in my own bed (i've been out of town for a few days)
• cinnamon rolls for breakfast
• the ability to 'lose' myself while playing in photoshop

Texture Tuesday

it's Texture Tuesday again over at Kim's Cafe. the challenge this week was "pink".
i had fun with two different images but failed to write down which textures i used and now i've forgotten.
so . . . my challenge to all those who participate in this weekly event is to give me your guesses within your comment. i do remember that i only used one on Linen Love but there were several used on HollyHock Daze. Have Fun.

 Linen Love

HollyHock Daze

Today's gifts have included:

• deep satisfaction with the weekend garden projects
• cool morning air as i admire the blue summer sky (and the weekend's garden projects)
• ibuprofin as i recover (from the weekend's garden projects (!)

Texture Tuesday

it's actually late monday for me but tomorrow promises quite a bit of work in the garden and i didn't want to take the chance of not getting a chance to post.


Kim's challenge this week was the number 3 and the use of at least one of her textures. since my favorite number is 3 i decided to do three Texture Tuesday exercises this week.

this first one used one of my shots of last summer's moss rose. i cropped it square and  used one layer of kim klassen's (free) texture "not too shabby". i kept it pretty light handed on this one.

this second one used my own shot from spring 2009 when some of the willows in the area were doing their thing. i also cropped this one but used a 5 x 7 format and once again used the "not too shabby" texture. this one is even more subtle. i don't think one would know that there was a texture there if i didn't reveal it. it did add depth to the shot though . . .

the third one is much more involved and dramatic. the original still life was taken in 2008. i added three of kim's textures: mayzee, portrait and pourvous.

today's gifts included:

• celebrating the blessing of being an American
• the deep cool shade on a hot day
• the happiness of 'family' 

Texture Tuesdays

this week on TT the challenge was to use the layer (free) "golden" by kim klassen.

this is the original image i shot. we had some blackberries in the house so i used a handful of them and some mint sprigs to create a quick still life. i used a small white shell shaped dish and the contrast was so great between the blackberries and the dish that i felt the shot was harsh . . . i shot a lot of images, using a variety of settings/adjustments within camera, but just couldn't really overcome the problem. so . . . it was textures to the rescue . . .

Blackberries A La Mint

this was the result. i think it has a much softer look now. i would be interested to know: which do you like better? what suggestions do you have regarding the original problem of contrasts and harshness? do you like blackberries?

today's gifts include:

• homemade blackberry syrup
• the discovery of rosebuds within the garden
• a recount on the goldfish: there are 15 rather than 14

Texture Tuesdays

it's Texture Tuesday again and this week the challenge was to work with at least one of kim klassen's textures and a photo of a person or people.
i chose to work with a photo of a photo and the texture warm sun.

 Becoming a Ghost

this is a photo that i took of an antique photo that i won in a give-away from Eileen of Keeping it Rural in Wisconsin quite some time ago.
i know that normally this sort of thing is scanned into the computer but my scanner and i are not on as good of terms as my camera and i so i just took a photo of it.
anyway i find these photos fascinating. who are these people that somehow end up in an antique store and eventually are "adopted" by a buyer who finds them interesting in some way? they have faded out of family memory and into the realm of ghosts . . . who were they? what did they live through? photos attempt to tell a story but what was hers? do you have any ideas? go ahead, leave me a comment that helps build her some sort of history. what is she telling you?


today's gifts include

• having my hands in the warm dirt planting some flowers 
• being surprised by the discovery of a clematis vine full of beautiful mostly white flowers. this vine has struggled every year since we moved in (nearly eight~!) and i've never seen it bloom before. and not just one or two blooms but MANY.
• seeing that the climbing rose that i planted last year really has pulled through the winter and is just now beginning it's "climb" through the summer months. no flowers (yet) but a small green branch just beginning to thicken and flourish

Texture Tuesdays

it's Texture Tuesday's over at kim klassens again. this week we were encouraged to do our own thing using at least one of her textures. i used three: warm sun, not to shabby and sweet tart.

 Not to be Forgotten

this is the original sepia image that i used; one of my own still lifes from the archives.


i've been out of town for a couple of days and much of life has gotten ahead of me so it's short and sweet today.


toady's gifts include:

• a bright blue sky
• hot chai tea as i wake up
• a good nights sleep

Texture Tuesdays

this Texture Tuesdays challenge was to use text within our image as well as at least one of kim klassens textures. i used two textures: not to shabby and stained linen.
i was pretty light handed with them and did some erasing on the textures from the parts where i wanted the flowers to really remain light and bright. so they are subtle this week. i was also careful with the text as i wanted it to just be a "whisper".

 Beginnings

this is the original photo taken from my garden a few days ago.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

and then being the overachiever that i sometimes can be (or maybe i'm just having a really good time) i had to do another one. this one much more dramatic. this time i used only one of kim's textures: warm sun.

 Widening Towards Enlightenment

i even was inspired to write a cinquain (a five line poem) to go with it:

moon snail

radiant symmetry

an inner mystery

widening towards enlightenment

growth glows

 the black and white snail shell is one of my own photos taken from my archives. i don't think it's a very good photo as a stand alone shot but i didn't want to dump it either . . . i think it worked well here.

this is a photo that i took of a fallen rose petal several summers ago. i loved it's color and luminosity as well as the subtle details.  i hoped i might be able to use it as a texture layer someday. it was fun to work with and i'll use it again i'm sure.

today's gifts include:

• time to work/play in photoshop
• some joyful giving
• a friend's shared happiness

Texture Tuesday

it's Texture Tuesday and here i am right on time~!
:-)


using two of kim klassens (free~!)wonderful textures this time: Not to Shabby and Portrait

if you haven't already discovered this great site and you're interested in photography and  what you can do with your own shots you should really click on the Texture Tuesdays button on my sidebar and check it out. i've been dancing around this activity for years and finally feel like a have a wonderful community of support in which to actively learn and use these skills. i do have a lot to learn and a long way to go to get as good as many of the participants but their talent and sharing spirit is totally inspiring.

this week it's a "garden party" going on over there~it's okay to be fashionably late but do at least come and partake a little~!!~

 Anticipation

this is my original photo which is part of a series of shots recently taken in my garden. i shared another of these shots in a recent post but felt this one was a bit "washed out" looking. i do love what the textures did for it.

today's gifts include:

• starting a new novel and being totally drawn in (The Help)
• seeing many different (and beautiful) birds at the feeder as they make a pit stop on their migratory paths
• water warmed and at the ready whenever i should want or need it (that shower felt good this morning)

Texture Tuesdays with Kim Klassen

yep, i know it's not tuesday but i'm a bit slow with the texture challenge this week. i'll keep practicing and and eventually i'll get faster (i hope).
once again the texture comes from kim klassen. this one is called "yesteryear" so i did something yesteryear-ish with it.

 Faded Memories

this is the original photo. again one of my own still life shots from my archives.


today's gifts include:

• waking up wrapped in flannel sheets on a chilly spring morning
• happy memories of my grandparents
• a cup of hot chocolate made with warmed milk