Blog Hop: Challenge of Color

I wrote a big long post last night that was all scheduled for this morning, but now here I am retyping the  thing because it has somehow disappeared.  Lovely.  So, you're going to get the highlights:

~ This is the 2nd Annual Challenge of Color Blog Hop.

~ Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati is a prolific inspirer and is our host for today.

~ Erin invited participants to choose from 12 color families. 

~ I picked pink, even though that's not really a "winter" color and I wasn't sure what would happen.

~ Erin chose personalized palettes designed by Jessica Colaluca of Design Seeds.

~ My palette, called "sweetened tints," is based on a cupcake.  Awesome.

~ I love the recycled sari ribbon from Darn Good Yarn.

~ I just happened to have a brand new (can you have a "brand new" thing of something recycled?) skein of ribbon called "Fall Nightfall" that has all my cupcake colors.

~ I am recently obsessed with crocheting little shapes with a big hook.

~ After making a pile of little shapes out of ribbon, I picked one to create a pin.

~ The ribbon bits + steel wire + random pearls = pretty bit for atop a scarf or coat.

~ The hardest part of the whole thing was the actual pin piece; had to make it big enough to hold up the "flower" and smooth enough to keep from ripping up whatever it's pinned onto.

~ I wanted to display it on a cool and creamy (buttercreamy, specifically) scarf but didn't get it done; hence, the pictures are all posed on a half completed scarf and it's accompanying yarn.

~ If I didn't have to go put on camouflage to go to the office, I'd wear this right now!

~ Because I think the ribbon is so awesome, I want to give some away from my stash, a few yards of each of my faves.

~~ (This is a sub-bullet...this is how we write at work! haaaaaaaaaa)  Leave a comment and tell me something funny and I'll draw from the comments on Friday to pick a winner.

~ There are a ton of other great inspired bloggers out there...go see their goods:

1 Norma Turvey ~ Teal ~ Color Crave

2 Jeannie Dukic ~ Green ~ Mineral Tones

3 Mary McGraw ~ Teal ~ Embellished Hues

4 Jo Tinley ~ Red ~ Decadent Tones

5 Rebecca Anderson ~ Pink ~ Tulip Tones

6 Kristi Jaro ~ Red ~ Temple Entrance

7 Stephani Gorman ~ Green ~ Dew Tones

8 Melissa Meman ~ Green ~ Fruit Star

9 Kathleen Lange Klik ~ Teal ~ Silk Hues

10 Cynthia Riggs ~ Red ~ Autumn Comfort

11 Heidi Post ~ Teal ~ Flora Bright

12 Cece Cormier ~ Teal ~ Merino Teal

13 Amy Freeland ~ Gray ~ Cultured Tones

14 Alice Peterson ~ Blue ~ Island Play

15 Rose Noble ~ Gray ~ Autumn Stacked

16 Kristina Johansson ~ Yellow ~ Sunny Flower

17 Kirsi Luostarinen ~ Teal ~ Dragon Hues

18 Tari Kahrs ~ Orange ~ Citrus Tones

19 Mallory Hoffman ~ Purple ~ Petaled Dark

20 Molly Alexander ~ Brown ~ Peppered Tones

21 Regina Santerre ~ Red ~ Frosted Berry

22 Emanda Johnson ~ Teal ~ Color Purl

23 Amy Severino ~ Orange ~ Winged Tones

24 Bobbie Rafferty ~ Teal ~ Lime Hues

25 Tanya Goodwin ~ Gray ~ Pecked Tones

26 Lisa Lodge ~ Blue ~ Nocturnal Tones

27 Hope Smitherman ~ Blue ~ Bloom Tones

28 Linda Landig ~ Green ~ Cacti Dark

29 Ambra Gostoli ~ Teal ~ Perched Autumn

30 Lori Bowring-Michaud ~ Blue ~ Sharpened Blue

31 Pippa Chandler ~ Teal ~ Hungarian Hues

32 Keirsten Giles ~ Purple ~ Mineral Brights

33 Jennifer Justman ~ Blue ~ Autumn Rays

34 Sandy Richardson ~ Purple ~ Moroccan Brights

35 CJ Bauschka ~ Teal ~ Teal Air

36 Shaiha Williams ~ Teal ~ Sushi Hues

37 Kay Thomerson ~ Purple ~ Autumn Spectrum

38 Sally Russick ~ Purple ~ Golden Gate Tones

39 Cilla Watkins ~ Purple ~ Autumn Infused

40 Shirley Moore ~ Purple ~ Frozen Heather

41 Jenni Connolly ~ Gray ~ Paw Tones

42 Tamara Soper ~ Green ~ Field Tones

43 Sharyl McMillian-Nelson ~ Blue ~ Nested Blues

44 Jen Velasquez ~ Pink ~ Sweetened Tints

45 Maria Grimes ~ Red ~ Bright Bloom

46 Elisabeth Auld ~ Gray ~ Petaled Tints

47 Susan Kennedy ~ Pink ~ Zinnia Tones

48 Shannon Chomanczuk ~ Gray ~ Autumn Leaf

49 Holly Westfall ~ Yellow ~ Sprinkled Tones

50 Patty Gasparino ~ Red ~ Color Carton

51 Angela Little ~ Pink ~ Singapore Brights

52 Lizzie Zawinski ~ Green ~ Budding Hues

53 Kristen Stevens ~ Pink ~ Scooped Tones

54 Dawn Doucette ~ Brown ~ Jarred Tones

~ Thank you to Erin for hosting, Jessica for coming up with amazing palettes, my blog friends for being a piece of the party, and my blog readers/commenters for coming along for the ride!

WHIB?

Where have I been?  Why, sitting right here on the couch!  haaaaaaaaa  


I haven't been here on the couch the whole time I've been missing from the blogosphere, but have been here plenty.  I've been working on a Marie Otero workshop trying to learn Photoshop Elements and am THRILLED with the lessons.  I was overwhelmed by all the options, at first, but Marie has videos that walk through every adjustment step by step and I have since spent hours working on making pics that are "just right."  For instance, here's one with a little bit of a teaser for an upcoming blog hop...

In addition to this gorgeous ribbon, I've been in a fiber mode.  While walking through Michael's a couple of weeks ago, I saw some pretty yarn and decided I should break out my crochet needles to make some Christmas gifts.  Next thing I know, I'm spending a whole day making little crocheted flowers...for no reason!!  I have no end result in sight, but really wanted to learn how to make little flowers.  That little flower obsession may also show up in a blog hop soon.  :)


In other life developments, I was hugely stressed out at work over some major civilian personnel actions and my dissatisfaction with the way the whole process works and since I didn't have anything nice to say about it, I couldn't really go writing about it.  I still don't have much to say about it, but have come to some sort of peace with the fact that I'm just a tiny cog in a giant bureaucracy and will continue to advocate for taking care of people even if the decision-makers don't care to listen.  :)  And, then I will spend plenty of time at work investigating my retirement options!  haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


Other than the stress of work, I survived the Thanksgiving holiday in spite of lots of hours logged in the car and on planes.  It was wonderful to spend time with my family & out in Kansas with Curt's.  I have more to report and photos to share, but I have to get busy on the project for the blog hop that's due in two days!! haaaaaa  When did I become so completely last minute?  Or, have I always been that way?


Hope you all are doing well and having fun since it can be a challenge with all that goes on during these frantic end-of-the-year weeks!!  Even though the official day of thanks is over, I'm thankful for you...anyone who takes time to be creative and is willing to share!

Red Leaves and a Random Building

I'm waiting for my Nyquil to kick in, so I have a little time to play with some new pictures.  I went out on a "photo safari" in Washington, DC, last weekend and had a fantastic walk around Connecticut Ave with a little group of folks led by a local photographer, PJ Barbour.  He was a great teacher to our bunch...we all held our cameras out and looked at him hopefully as we tried to get the perfect adjustments to capture the local scenery.  It was a great experience and I'd highly recommend it if you're around this area...there's one in Old Town Alexandria next weekend and I'd go if I wasn't going to be up in Pennsylvania eating turkey until I bust.  Here's the link:  ThingstodoDC.

This is one of my fave shots and I used some PSE tricks to pump it up a few notches.  I don't remember what the building actually is, but the way the sun was coming through the leaves and bouncing around the curves of the building it was just gorgeous!

Here are few more shots that I haven't messed with yet...but I still think they're good as is.
This one is a "roaring door" with the reflection of the leaves in the glass.

This is view of Gandhi from in front of the Indian Embassy.  I need to edit that little nugget out of the bottom of the shot.  :)

I wasn't trying to get a silhouette shot of this plant, but I think this came out really cool!

A candid shot of PJ trying to get us all sorted out...all that aperture, exposure and stuff!! haaaaaaaa

We all practiced getting our shutter speed right to capture a big leaf toss.  This is my best one...PJ posed for us (and threw a lot of leaves).

My little green pills are settling in, so I'm off.  I have lots of craft ventures to share but haven't had time to sit down and compose:  crochet, glittery ornaments, paper boxes, photography.  I've got a little bit of everything going on and a whole lot of nothing getting done!  haaaaaaaaaaaaaa  Cheers to you and your November!

I Heart Macro: Rusty

While out walking near the beach at Fort Monroe last week, I got some shots of a nearby building that has been in the elements for a looooong time.  The wear of the paint and metal was just too cool!  This is a bit of window and sill.  I'm not really sure what's inside of the building.  I think it's some kind of mechanical shop but since it was a Sunday afternoon, there weren't any people around.

Here's a bit of the sun-touched rusty finish on the side of the building.  I took dozens of shots...even had Curt holding me up precariously on a pedestal so I could get the right angle of light.  He is such a good sport!

And then I practiced my photoshopping a bit with this one and I love it!  

Here's a final shot that's not so macro but still captures more of that crunchy texture:

Enjoy your extra long Sunday!

Lightposts at Home

Home in the fall, originally uploaded by jenjuddrocks.

Here's a shout out to the girls of Downtown Bedford for these lovely lightposts! They've done amazing work with all the additions to the sidewalks and storefronts.

I took this picture while home for the big Fall Foliage Festival a few weeks ago. The posts were all decorated with cornstalks and the sky was gorgeous and sunny. There was a kid standing nearby working one of the many parking lots for some high school fundraiser who watched me crawl around on my knees looking for the best angle. I think this picture was worth his staring and my sore legs from crouching. :)