Focusing on Life - Week 1 - A Pondering Woman

That's me.  The pondering woman.

I'm thinking of all the things I'd like to do this year and how I wish I had the energy to do them. 

I'm thinking about how I want new glasses.

I'm thinking that I should wear eyeshadow more often.

I'm thinking that the skin on my nose is really dry and it's a mystery.

I'm thinking my haircut is cute and I'm relieved because I had to try a new stylist because mine moved.

I'm thinking I should get my eyebrows waxed more often.

I'm thinking I should get some bigger diamonds for my ears.

I'm thinking about being less frustrated by my job.

I'm thinking about going to the gym.

I'm thinking about the next 51 weeks and the photo journey I'm on.

I'm thinking that I compare my life to others' too often.

I'm thinking I'll get another beer (lite, of course) and go play.

Wreathtastic in Williamsburg

Curt & I took a Saturday afternoon and had a little adventure up in Colonial Williamsburg.  We were focused on a dinner date, but I made him go up a few hours early so we could wander around and get some photos.  Well, we were lucky to have a nicely overcast day (with good natural light) and the village was decked out for the holidays with all sorts of natural decor.  I heard one of the villagers, aka a person in colonial garb, talking about the decorations and, apparently, the homes in the historic section can only be adorned with materials that would have been available in the 18th century.  As we were walking I joked about coming up with a blog post about this and Curt chimed in with "wreathtastic" as a descriptor...we laughed and laughed and now here it is!  Enjoy!

 Chowning's Tavern

 A little more detail at Chowning's...love those little "ales"

A few close-up shots...love the dried floral & fruit details

Even with supposed limits on the materials, the creativity in these bits isn't limited at all!  I didn't get many good shots of the more non-traditional materials like cotton or feathers or antlers.

And, finally, while we waited for dinner, a little shot of us.  :)

Typographic Homesteads

My Aunt April saw some of my photoediting work out on Facebook and asked for a couple of pieces for her friends using pictures of their family homes and their names.  I tried using my iPhone app, WordFoto, which I love, but it doesn't allow for a prioritization of names.  Meaning, I couldn't make the mom and dad bigger than the others.  I wandered around the Internet looking for a tutorial and found several for typographic portraits, but all are done with full-up Photoshop, and not Elements, so I couldn't get past the second step.  So, I improvised and got creative with plain old brushes and color sampling.

  

The gift exchange was this weekend and Aunt April reported that the recipients loved them! 

It's a little late for Christmas, now, but if you're interested in something like this, email me through my blogger profile and we can chat and see about working up a project! 

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!

My first week of Photo Magic

Rooster Number 2, originally uploaded by jenjuddrocks.

Very originally titled "Rooster Number 2". This is one of the crazy roosters down the road from my sister's house in Dutch Corner near Bedford. I'm learning how to use my Photoshop Elements (finally) and this is one of my practice pieces from the first couple of lessons. There is waaaaay too much potential for lost hours! I've been working here for four hours and it feels like four minutes! Crazy! I can't wait to do more!


This is the original....

This is my first class with Marie Otero and so far I'm loving it...full-up videos that walk you through every key stroke to create specific effects.  That's what I was looking for...the books and magazines were not working.  :)

I Heart Macro: Stones

I'm on Day Two of big agenda-free weekend and ready to rock my Sunday!  I can't wait to share more about my adventures yesterday.  I spent a few hours Skyping with my new bud, Bette, working on her new blog:  Art Pages Etc.  Her paper and journals are completely awesome so I can't wait to see more!   I have lots more to say about learning new blogger "stuff" and figuring out how to make things look just like I want but that's for a whole other post.  Today is just for pretty shots...like this one of some special tourmaline that I splurged on for my birthday back in July.  (If you really believe it's just masquerading flourite and garnet, please don't burst my bubble!  haaaaaaaaaaaaa)

I've had them out on my table for months just waiting for the perfect project.  My goal today is to use them--at least a few of them--in something awesome.  Now that I laid them all out in those gradient rows I think I may actually try to stitch something!  Hmmmmm.  Ooooh, or maybe work them onto a thick brass cuff...oooh, or maybe sew them on a leather cuff!  Uh oh, I need another cup of coffee before I delve into that one.

Here's a little bit of a start on a memory wire bangle using some of them.  Since it's getting close to Christmas I end up with people asking if they can buy things who are then shocked by what I want them to pay for them.  Alas, it's the crisis of handmade artisan goods.  Instead of devaluing my work overall, I'm trying to mix the pricier pieces like artisan beads or super-pretty semi-precious stones with less expensive construction methods that are still high quality and in my own creative style--hence, the memory wire.  

Dozens of other creative souls are out there today "sharing the love - up close" thanks to Studio Waterstone's inspiration.  Click on the button below to see others.  :)

Hipstamonday at Fort Monroe

Curtis came down to visit this weekend and we spent time appreciating the simple things in life...

Sleeping in even after the fire alarm went off at 7 flippin' am.

Giftcards that were lost on the desk that lead to a free meal.

A fat cat who likes to snuggle.

Fresh breezes in the bedroom window.

Sunday crossworld puzzles.

And, most importantly, pretty sand and scenery at the beach.


We went for a walk down on Fort Monroe.  On 1 October it ceased to be an active military installation and now it's part of Hampton as a park.  It's going to be a great place for walks and runs now that it's not so painful to go through the gate without a DoD car sticker.  Here are some huge seagulls...and a purple sky!  Love my phone.  :)

As we walked, I shook the camera just to see what would come up--the lenses and films change randomly--and took shots.  This is some ridged sand:


And how about this one?  The seagulls were huge!  Most of them ran off while I was walking down there, but the crazy lens on this one took such a cool shot!
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Here's a bit of wall where the water will be at high tide.

If you have an iPhone and haven't downloaded it yet, click here to find the Hipstamatic app.

Things that are Awesome

- A new white shower curtain liner that replaces the one that I tried washing twice but couldn't get the soapy pinky stuff off.
- The exterminator folks who called me today to let me know that they thought the huge payment I sent to them by accident while paying bills after three beers was wrong; now they're giving me a discount and sending me a refund.
- Chocolate in the candy jar in the front office while waiting for the boss to show up for a meeting that was on her calendar but for which she is 25 minutes late. 
- Early morning on-line iPad shopping.  Now I just need to pick a cover.
- Marshmellow goggles and crumb-y lips after winning Yahtzee by over 300 points.

- Crazy bruises on my arm that look like I got attacked by an alien in the middle of the night and are, apparently, nothing but bruises even though they showed up for no apparent reason.
- Brined chicken cooked by my brother-in-law on the huge new rotisserie grill.  I'm so glad I claimed all the leftovers!

- Random gifts from friends that show up in huge boxes that are hard to carry up to the apartment but end up being wonderful adventures in gift-opening.

- Successfully using my paper beads in a design.

- Jackhammer noise that's constant outside my workaday window...the wind tunnel is almost gone so the noise and dust and burning smell may stop soon.

- White grape Crystal light...but only if it's mixed just right with two little bottle packs in a full-sized Pampered Chef mix'n'stir pitcher.

- "Modern Girl" pink nail polish with just the right hint of glitter.

- Cat breath right in my face first thing in the morning.
- My mom in the kitchen.

- Jigsaw puzzles...but not the one on my table right now because there's too much of it that looks like wood so it took a long time to figure out.
- Rugs from faraway lands.
- Daily challenges dealing with the indecision of leaders who only focus on money and issues inside the beltway and don't give a damn about the people those indecisions affect.

- Being reminded by your mother that when you were little you thought marshmellows came from a plant.

- Turning marshmellow goggles into a perfect smore and then actually getting a good picture of it.

- Snuggling on the couch under my very favorite blanket that I got as a birthday gift in 1989 from my aunt and uncle while on a band trip to Europe.

- Cats who let you clean their ears and cut their nails and give them allergy shots all in one sitting.

- Troops who take care of business even when it's not fun.

- Cool fonts. 

- Blogging.

Hipstamonday: Sunshine in Pennsylvania

Curtis and I had a fantastic weekend up in Pennsylvania.  It was the second weekend of the huge Fall Foliage Festival, so I got to spend some time with my friends serving up some walking tacos to the masses.  That was only after we celebrated my sweet nephew Liam's 4th birthday.  How do these boys get so big so fast!?


We stopped at the rest stop just over the border in PA and there were some huge sunflowers planted around the building.  Nerds that we are, we were up in looking at them trying to figure out how the seeds are up in there.  I didn't have my "big" camera so I busted out the Hipstamatic and took a shot...love this yellow!

I have to get back to laundry and get ready for this short week.  Only four days until the next weekend...that means I need to get to work on projects featuring my very own enameled beads for the Painting with Fire book tour.

Macro Sunday

Curt and I went to the Newport News Fall Folklife Festival yesterday.  In the midst of craft booths, funnel cakes, and muddy walkways Curt saw this really cool fungus among us.  It's kind of gross and kind of beautiful all at the same time, so that's my close-up shot for this week's I Heart Macro Sunday post.

The follow-on activity from any fall festival is the cozy couch nap...my boys have perfected their napping skills.... 

And this photo was an accident from yesterday when my friend, Jeff, was trying to explain white balance and I got tired of listening...cracks me up because I apparently look like this most of the time. 

Hop on over to Studio Waterstone to see the latest up-close interpretations of life...

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!

I Heart Macro: Seattle Sidewalk

These little purple squares are actually windows into the underground tunnels below the sidewalks in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood.

I initially thought they were some kind of shell by the way they were layered and the tone of the purples, but finally got down close and figured out they're glass.


This isn't my picture, but it's a view of the lights from below in the tunnels:

That's about all I can muster on this lazy Sunday morning.  haaaaaaaaa 

10 Days

I can't believe it has been 10 days since I made an update here...lots going on, I guess, out here in the real world.  
I was out of town for a few days in Gig Harbor, Washington, for a lovely wedding.  My friend, Alicia, and her love, Brad, were married in a gorgeous garden setting on a perfect Sunday afternoon.  I caught this shot of love and adoration and played around with it a little.  Who says cavalry guys don't cry?  haaaaaaaa

I got to wander around Gig Harbor and Port Orchard, thinking back to when I lived out in that neck of the woods when I was a young enlisted chick.  1994...it's approximately an eternity ago!  It was before cell phone and handheld GPS so I never ventured far from the beaten path.  Plus, I was so busy with college and work that I didn't have time for many adventures.  It was nice to experience the area again.

and here is a final shot for this Friday night...some lavender shot against the backdrop of a really cool street in Tacoma.  I have lots more Tacoma shots to share, but a.) I want to do some work on them and see if I can come up with some cool jewelry design inspirations and b.) Curt just got here!!!  I haven't seen him in two weeks!!!