• Blog - Photography

    Summer challenge #1

    I’ve been anxiously awaiting today since last August when I discovered the scavenger hunt that Rinda of Gallo Organico puts on each summer. 2014summerhuntI discovered it at the very end of summer and figured it would be more fun to play along from the beginning.

    Here is the super awesome list that I can’t wait to get started on.

    1. A sign welcoming people to your home town (or a nearby town)
    2. A garden gnome
    3. Birds on a wire
    4. A group of tourists
    5. A rack of post cards
    6. An urban street scene
    7. A rural landscape
    8. A tattoo on a person
    9. A bakery
    10. A photo bomb (someone found lurking in the background of photo; the lurker may have intended to disrupt the picture or may be doing it unintentionally, but the background lurker is a surprise to the photographer)
    11. A horn
    12. A mascot
    13. A sunrise
    14. A parade
    15. A juggler
    16. A sign in a language other than English
    17. A lamp post
    18. A water fall
    19. A public garden
    20. A bus (not a car, truck, lorry, camper or RV) with a picture painted on its sides.
    21. A photograph of you with something representing the season (recognizing that the season will be Winter for our friends in the southern hemisphere). Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.
    If you find something on the list too difficult, you may substitute one of the following items for anything on the list, except for Item #21:
    Alternative A: A kite, hot air balloon or blimp
    Alternative B: A bird house

    I’m not setting a schedule for my posts. When the mood strikes me,  I’ll post a few along with a brief description of how it photo fits the list item. In addition I’ll be posting the list each time with the items “found” with a strike through the item.

    I intend to use all new photos…nothing from my collection. I can think of so many of these that I already have…but what fun would that be!?! None.  And also not in the spirit of this challenge.

  • Blog

    Upcycling projects

    We all know how to recycle and I’m sure most do it daily. Newspapers, cardboard, glass and plastic are all readily recyclable in most cities, at least across the USA.

    This is wonderful! But I’ve been really focused on upcycling lately.  Finding a new use for something that would ordinarily be tossed out.  Wine corks, bottle caps, worn out clothing, stained linens, broken plates…you get the idea.treesI showed a sneak peek of these a while ago. I made a wine cork tree last year but this time I decided to change things a bit. I used a Champagne cork cut in half for the trunk.  I think they turned out really cute.

    sewing

    I’ve also been using some scraps from previous projects such as the denim remaining after completing a quilt or two.  As well as the remainder of the dress shirts that I made wine bottle gift bags from.

    cards

    In addition I’ve been making a bunch more cards. I’ll show more of these last two projects at a later date. The cards have much less upcycling in it’s truest sense but I am still attempting to include elements that might otherwise be considered unusable such as tiny scraps of fabric and yarn. As well as photo trimmings. I have a cigar box full of photo trimmings…they have such vibrant colors that it’s a shame to toss them out.

    It doesn’t have to be Earth Day to be a little “green”. Do a little more every day to be kind to our planet. Last time I checked…it’s the only one we have. 🙂

  • Blog

    T Tuesday: the monogramed mug edition

    20130805_2899I picked up a new mug from the clearance rack at Menards, of all places.

    One lone mug with my initial…I had to buy it.

    It’s much bigger than my standard size so I’m not sure I’ll use it for coffee or tea.

    20130805_2901

     

    Maybe I’ll use it to hold my paint brushes….

    I usually keep them in a cute little pink bucket.

    Hmmm….decisions.

     

     

    20130805_2907

     

     

     

    Although, it might work better here on my desk.  I’m going to leave it here for a day or two and see how I like it.

    Next on the list for today is knitting group, Target and grocery shopping.

    I actually have been  get some projects finished while attending my knitting group.

    knit dishcloths

     

     

     

     

    Here are a few dish cloths to prove it. 🙂

     

    turning leavesAnd can you believe this!?! We have leaves starting to turn already. I haven’t even picked a ripe tomato yet. Our growing season was majorly shortened this year.

    Alright …enough blather from me…I’ve got things to do, people to see, blogs to visit.

    What are you doing today?

    You could stop by the home of T stands for Tuesday for starters.

    mystery solved

     

    EDIT: For those of you helping me on my flower/weed identification…here she is! A sunflower!