Digital Wordless Wednesday - July 17, 2014

A Digital Wordless Wednesday

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 . . .

TextureTuesday with Kim Klassen and some green goodness

i'm joining up with Kim Klassen for Texture Tuesday. today is the 'Anything Goes eDition' and i thought that i could use one of my own created textures and several different photos from within my archives and join in.
the base texture for this image is the same one i posted a few days ago.
it's always interesting to see all of the different talent that decides to join into this event.


i mentioned that my phalaenopsis (moth orchid) was  sending out some stalks with buds . . . no flowers yet, but i can be patient . . .
if you don't happen to be feeling that patient, check this out.

my small nine patch from Cheri's SAL is now basted but i can't seem to get serious about choosing and starting the quilting.
maybe i'm a little distracted by the seasonal changes . . .









recent gifts include:

• waking up to sunshine
• hearing the birds celebrating that sunshine in all out spring song
• seeing a few gold fish in the pond as they begin to feel a bit warmer and move around more

can anyone guess what this last shot is? i'll send a small sweet surprise to whomever guesses correctly first. (within the comments)

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 31~34 and the 15 minute challenge as well as Photo Art Friday

 

this image began in my garden with a macro of a kale plant . . .
the fish was a fabulous freebie from Deviant Scrap.
i'm becoming a little more relaxed within my photoshop elements program but it seems to take enormous amounts of time to complete anything. i'm sure that's because i don't read quite enough and choose to randomly experiment most of the time. it is loads of fun though~!!~

spontaneously linking up with photo art friday this week.












i have another group of photos/practice stitches from the TAST challenge hosted by sharon b at pintangle. remember that i'm quite late getting the TAST work posted and the stitching was done several weeks ago but it's been a great way to practice some stitches that i'm familiar with, learn some new stitches and keep me going on the christmas stockings that i hope to be 'hanging by the chimney with care' this upcoming holiday season . . . can you believe it's already late september~!?!

week 31~ algerian eye stitch:
i used a gold colored silk thread (24 wt) and placed this stitch on my wonderful daughter's stocking. i've once again positioned the stitch within a lace piece that has been sewn onto the stocking. i like the way that this area is beginning to look. each new stitch adding another layer of complexity to the area.


this is also true of an area within my own stocking that i have added a bit of vintage antique lace collar to. . .
week 32~cast on stitch: i've used a white pearl cotton (sz 12) and this has created a white on white effect, adding a raised textural quality to a section of the collar.


i've include a before (right) and after (left) shot for comparison.

once i figured it out i had an easy time with it and decided to also practice/use it within a fabric postcard that i was working on at the time for my mom's birthday.

i think that this stitch is really pretty and potentially quite versatile. i will definitely be using it again.

 

 

week 33~pekinese stitch:

 

now you are going to think that i'm using the same photo as in week 31 because i once again added onto that bit of lace that is part of wonderful daughter's stocking. if you look closely you will see a subtle addition. i used a heavy white cotton as the back stitched portion of the pekinese stitch and 3 strands of metallic red thread for the woven/looped part of the stitch. i worked this stitch with the stocking upside down so that the "line" created by the red metallic stitches was not interfering with the previously placed  buttonhole wheel stitch (week 24).

 

 

week 34~linked double chain stitch: 

i practiced this one first and used several different threads/colors within the practices to get a feel for what i could do with it.

 

a mid weight single strand of orange cotton
spacing the two components of the stitch differently

a mid weight single strand of purple cotton
once again altering the spacing within the stitch

 

a mid weight single strand of red cotton
this time keeping the components of the stitch equal


in the end i used two strands of a variegated "rainbow tweed". a mixed fiber (44% cotton, 39% wool, 17% acrylic) thread with a distinct wool like character varying the two parts of the stitch only slightly.

 

this stitch was placed on my stocking. you'll notice that i hid the beginning part (looks like a pitch fork) of the stitch behind a bit of lace. i thought it a bit awkward and not at all like the rest of the stitches.

i will probably build off of this area with other stitches yet to come . . .

 

 

 

 

 

i continue to meet my daily goals with Kate for the fifteen minute challenge  (despite my not linking up as frequently as i should) and have worked on numerous projects while doing so.

thank you Kate~!!~

 

one of those projects has been a christmas stocking that i made and embellished for another community fundraiser. it won't go up for auction until mid october and hopefully someone will see it as a great way to get a jump on their holiday buying. it's just short of 20 inches long and i'm wondering what sorts of surprises i should fill it with . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

recent gifts include:

• a trip out of town (included time with the wonderful daughter, a movie and dinner) to celebrate wonderful husbands birthday
• time to play in my photoshop program
• lots of generously shared juicy ripe pears 

i have been wanting to participate with the sketchbook challenge for quite a while. i haven't followed through because i felt like i had to be committed enough to sketch on a daily basis and i knew that was unlikely. recently i re-read their guidelines and realized that i could join in on a far less regular basis and still grow creatively. my goal (for now) is to sketch at least once a week and to post a minimum of two examples within their flickr group each month.
the prompt/challenge for january 2012 has been "doodles". i have managed to get my sketchbook out as planned and although my doodles aren't impressive in any way i am pleased to have finally jumped in.

you can tell that i've been heavily influenced by the zen doodling practice that i've done . . .  and i see a bit of quilt-like mark making . . . i guess it's a start.

Lyric Kinard recently posted (within the sketchbook challenge blog) on the topic of turning doodles into art. she explained as well as stepped out exactly how she uses the thermofax process to print unique fabrics from her own sketches. she then pieces these prints into beautiful abstract fiber art.
her question at the end of the post "What ways can you think of to make use of your doodling?"  got me to thinking . . .

i've become very interested in combining traditional art techniques such as drawing/doodling, stitching, photography, painting, etc with the more contemporary field of digital art. and so i played with that as a jumping off point for how i could use my own doodling . . .

and so i isolated one element off of my doodling pages . . .

combined it with photographs that i have taken of some of my paper/mixed media hexagon work, subtly layered in my own textures and within a reasonably short period of time came up with a digital image that i could live with.

and best of all: i had fun.

i'll get my chosen images into flickr tomorrow and have met my goals for the month of january.

:-D

recent gifts include:

• celebrating 31 years of life together with my wonderful husband
• making a start with the sketchbook challenge
• a faster internet speed (~!!!!~)

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 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