Week 3 - B&W Selfie - Skinny is an Option

- Starting the year skinnier and fitter
- Hope to stay that way.
- This morning calls for the Shrimp & Grits 5K!

My secrets?

- Get a new mattress so your back doesn't hurt.
- Run.  A lot.  But, start with little jogs and walks.
- When you get random leg numbness:  ignore it.
- Try a piercing...belly button.  Instant motivation to not have extra rolls.
- Pay big $ to a weight loss clinic team approach that includes eight pills a day.
- Face the threat of losing your job because your waist is too big.
- Dig out "skinny" clothes from years ago and enjoy the reunion.

- Reward yourself with art supplies and fancy panties.

- Learn to love being sweaty.

- Run some more.
- Direct all your subordinates to get rid of the candy in their offices because you have no self control when you're working after 1700.
- Spend $10's of dollars at a time on iTunes.
- Don't be afraid to dance in your driveway.
- Sign up for random races and actually do them.
- Believe massages are therapy and get them often.
- p.s. That's not my nipple...it's my ID card jammed in my bra just in case I pass out and someone needs to know my name and that I'm an organ donor.  haaaaaaaaaaa

HipstaMonday

It's way too early on Monday morning and I'm actually enjoying coffee at the house where my husband lives (and I normally don't because we happen to live in different towns even though we love each other) while I check out some BSBP blog posts.  I have been so busy doing some hands-on creating that I haven't opened up my computer all weekend!  I was Blissfully engaged in learning new things and meeting new people at Artbliss on Friday and Saturday.  Thanks to Cindy and Jeannette!  I have lots of new skills to try and want to share all those results, but in the meantime, I'm going to go with a photo post...yes, it's the "easy" way out for an early morning post, but it's gonna have to do.

These are Hipstamatic shots from my trip to Gig Harbor, Washington, back in August.  I went out for a walk one morning and didn't feel like carrying my big camera so I just took my phone.  I ended up spending more time stopping for shots than actually getting sweaty, but it worked out since I got to see lots of pretty things.  I used the "shake" feature in Hipstamatic that will randomly change up the filters and lenses when you shake the phone.  You never know what you're gonna get!

I love these retro tones with the texture of these purple blossoms...

 The black and white of this shot brings out the contrast between the roundness of the buds and the lines of the branches.

 The brightness of the flowers draws me in, but then the focus drifts down to that juicy, shiny berry.

 Since I was actually walking along the waterfront, a little "nautical" shot that brings out the patina just wonderfully!

If you've been venturing out with some Hipstapics, I'd love to see more so feel free to comment and share a link!  Maybe we could start a new photo-blogging trend!

Fire and Beer

I got my new Barbara Lewis book--Torch-fired Enamel Jewelry: A Workshop in Painting with Fire--today and went to happy hour to celebrate the fun, amazing art in this wonderful tome.  With three dollar beers we had a great little party!

I've been to two of Barbara's workshop and I really believe she represents all the basics wonderfully through the photography and narrative in the book.  Keep a lookout for more enamel adventures because the blog world is gonna be celebrating in late September and October with a "blog book tour" featuring projects from the book as well as cool interpretations of the technique.  I'm going to have a friend help me do some torching this time so I can focus on the fun stuff and less on the beads rolling off onto my apartment's carpet!  haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Oh, and one note, in case you're interested...I took this pic with my iPhone and then used the ColorSplash app to create the black & white/color effect then used Photo Effect Studio to bring the color of the book up to the hot, sweet red that it needed to be!  I love both of these apps and for an evening like this where I'm chilling out with a beer and a book at the bar by myself, I could spend hours taking pics and playing.

Words in Pics

My sweetie totally hooked me up with a birthday treat...I loooooove my new iPhone.  I have to figure out an easier way to blog directly from the phone, but in the meantime, I got it linked up to Flickr so I can do something with all the pics.  I downloaded Hipstamatic immediately--Heather over at Humblebeads uses it all the time and I love the effects and filters.  But, there's this other app that I can't stop fooling with...it's called Wordfoto.  You can create a typographic effect on a photo with whatever words you want!  I know "Jen" isn't all that original, but I was playing.  This is a photo of a flower that I worked on a "custom style" using all the different color filters and text options.  I could honestly spend days on just this one picture and love every minute of it.  Picking fonts is my favorite part.  :)

Here's another version of a flower in one of the "ready-made" options (which I might have tweaked a little bit, I don't remember).  I fell asleep last night thinking about options for a new blog header.  I am a nerd.

It's my last "official" day of vacation.  Time to head back to the real world in Hampton and leave my honey behind here in the city.  It has been a wonderful week but we both lamented last night how much we want to get back to our regular schedules and work and working out and crafting and such.  I can't believe that it's almost the middle of the month!  I'm driving up to Annapolis next weekend to hang out with Barbara Lewis and get some more torch action on.  Is anyone going to be there?  We need to link up!