Peacock Feather

'Be who you were created to be, and you will set the world on fire.'  

 -  St., Catherine of Sienna

I hope you enjoyed your weekend, ours here in the  US was a long weekend.  We did some work around the house and some shopping, IKEA and antique shopping. 

IKEA is huge.  We went in for picture frames and came out with a lot more.  We saw good deals and things we needed and put them all in the cart, backtracking is not an option in IKEA.  Megan, my daughter, suggested we 'go through' the cart before we get to the cashier to make sure we really wanted everything we threw in.  (She is getting smart.)  We ended up ditching a few things we thought we couldn't live without only an hour before.  Did I mention we were in IKEA 3 hours?

Our antique shopping was much shorter than the IKEA marathon.  Megan found an old key.   I found a white cabinet door, crackling, peeling and chipping... perfect.  I hope to take pictures with the door as the background this week.

I took these peacock feather photos a few weeks ago.  I just got around to post processing them yesterday.  I played with the images a little in Lightroom and added 2 of Kim Klassen's textures, waterfront7 magic, in screen mode, and painterly.  I do love the 'canvas' effect the waterfront7 magic in screen mode gives a black background, a little faint here but still visible.  The painterly texture, in soft light mode, lightened up the feather just a touch.   

The quote above was one I have never come across before, I liked it.  I thought it fit for a picture of a peacock feather because the male peacock seems to enjoy showing who he was created to be.

Today I am linking up with KIm Klassen's Tuesday Texture. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great week!

Michelle

Hanging Amaranthus

‘It is of the small joys and little pleasures that the greatest of our days are built.’ 

- Mary Anne Radmacher

‘See beauty in the familiar.’ - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

There was only one bunch.  I asked the owner if she had any more of this droopy greenish flower.  Like an adult correcting a child who just called a giraffe a horse, she slowly told me, hanging amaranthus.  I repeated just as slowly, hanging amaranthus.  I went home giddy with excitement.

I thought one of my big bottles would work great, it is 22 inches tall.  As I was gathering the rest of the props and thinking how pretty the hanging amaranthus is, I realized how easy it is to appreciate beauty of the exotic or different.  While the beauty of the hanging amaranthus is undeniable, there is also beauty around me everyday just waiting to be noticed.  That's when I grabbed my iphone to look at some of the pictures I took this week.

The sunrise.

Blue sky!!  A sight not always seen during Ohio winters

Light shining in my window.  The light was coming through the window just right to get the perfect glare on my iphone.  I bent down to moved my husband's shoes (bottom right) so I could get a 'better' picture.  When I stood back up, the sun moved.  The glare wasn't there anymore, showing me I need take time to appreciate beauty right when I see it.

These images were taken for the Be Still 52 assignment to create a scene and change the backdrop.  I ended up using a set up that is very similar to the one Kim has in the class video.  On the left image, I used a white board with white fabric hanging over it.  The right image has the tan painted wall as a backdrop.  I tried a black backdrop and it looked terrible.  I used Kim's preset dreamlike on both images, no texture on the set.  I found it interesting how the images have a slightly different color cast to them with just the background being changed.  I am not sure which I like better...

Today I am joining Kim Klassen's Friday Finds and the Be Still 52 class.  I used Kim's Lightroom preset dreamlike  as a starting point and textured the top image with Kim's texture flow.  My sunrise, blue sky and umbrella images were taken with my iphone and processed in Camera+.  My Finds this week are beautiful flowers and seeing the beauty all around me.

 

Thank you for stopping by!!

Have a great weekend!!

Michelle

One Word

'Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself.  Be bold.  When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore.  Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.'  

 -  Alan Alda

'Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.' 

-  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

'Freedom lies in being bold.'

-  Robert Frost

'Put a grain of boldness into everything you do."

 -  Baltasar Gracian

If you were to choose one word to guide you through the year, what would it be?

I chose 'bold'.

bold /bōld/

1. (of a person, action, or idea) showing an ability to take risks; confident and courageous.

Definition courtesy of Google

There is no part of me that is bold... at all.  I asked my daughter if she thought I was bold, she said,"Uhh...no."  I usually play it safe, do what is expected of me.  I am not one to rock the boat.  

This year I want to step outside my comfort zone in life and art.  I don't want to worry about criticism or live for praise.  I want to rock the boat, even if it is just a little bit.  I want to be bold.

Today I am joining Kim Klassen's Tuesday Texture and the class BeStill 52.  My images were textured with Kim's textures 0212 and 0603.  The assignment for Be Still 52 was to hang a bottle and take a picture of it.  

Thank you so much for spending some time with me!

Have a great week!

Michelle

 

A Beautiful 'Vase'

'The task is...not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees.'  -  Erwin Schrodinger

I posted the above image on Flickr for the Be Still 52 class before Christmas.  This was my caption:

This 'vase' is actually an old light fixture I found in the back of a closet and was going to throw away until my 13 year old daughter stopped me.  My daughter told me it looked like something I would take a picture of and it had great texture.  Wow, was she right.  So I kept it.

My daughter showed me what I didn't see.  I was looking at a dirty old light fixture that was taking up space in my closet.  Why would I want to take a picture of that?  She could see through the dust.  She saw the texture and the shape of the light fixture and reminded me to look closer, change my perspective.

This week my husband found another 'vase' for me to play with.  I like the warmer feel to the second image, especially since it is so cold outside.

Old man winter is difficult to love.  I keep trying.  Now I feel he is giving me the cold shoulder since it was -7° F actual temperature when I woke up yesterday morning.  But I will continue finding reasons to be grateful for him.  Today I am grateful for old man winter because he keeps away many bugs that cannot live in cold weather, no fire ants here.  This also makes the bugs we do have somewhat smaller than warmer climates.  Thank you old man winter!

Today I am joining Kim Klassen's Friday Finds.  My images were tweaked in Lightroom and textured in PS Elements with Kim's textures waterfront1_bestill and flow.  My Find is a 'vase' from my husband and to keep an open mind or I might just miss something beautiful.

Thank you for stopping by!!

Have a great weekend!!

Michelle

 

Memories

'Pleasure is the flower that passes; remembrance, the lasting perfume.'  -  Jean de Boufflers

'We do not remember days, we remember moments.'  -  Cesare Pavese

'To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.'  -  Thomas Campbell

This was my Grandma's perfume bottle and handkerchief.  My sister found the pair and thought I would like to take pictures of them.  She was right.

Twenty years later, memories of Grandma still put a smile on my face.  Each time I drink pop from a glass and the fizz hits my nose I think of her, because pop was a special treat only at Grandma's house.  Playing croquet is another time I think of Grandma, I learned to play in her backyard.  We made oranges with cloves stuck in them one Christmas, and now they always remind me of grandma too.  I hope someday, in the very distant future, I have a grandchild to make memories with...

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.  I enjoyed my Christmas with family, the break always goes so fast.  We did not have a white Christmas, but this morning I woke up to about 4 inches of snow on the ground.  School is cancelled and my daughter gets to sleep in, so much for getting back in the routine of things.  I will have to venture out with my camera later to capture what winter has created for us.

Today I am joining Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday.  My images were processed in Lightroom using Kim's preset prairie and in PS Elements using her textures waterfront7_magic and gift.  

Thank you for stopping by!!

Have a great week!!

Michelle

 

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
I am looking forward to seeing you again after the Holidays!

Michelle

The Ocean

I love the ocean.

I love taking parts of it home with me, seashells, sea glass or rounded stones.  They are reminders of family time, carefree days of just being together hunting for ‘treasures’.  We may find the perfect piece, or none at all, it doesn’t matter.  The fun is in the hunt.  Walking up and down the beach, toes at the edge, eyes on the beauty in and above the ocean, and hands juggling finds or ready to snatch up something pretty in the water.

A day spent with salty kisses and sandy toes is a good day.  My little bowls of shells here and there throughout my house transport me back to those days and puts a smile on my face.  

Today I am joining Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday and the class BeStill 52.  The assignment in the Be Still class was something tallish with a printable in the background.  My images were tweaked in Lightroom and textured in PS Elements with Kim’s texture tuesday.  

Thank you for stopping by!!

Have a great week!!

Michelle

 

Kindness

My computer has a virus.

The day my computer was given the virus I went to Trader Joe, I had to get out of the house.  I got my favorite marinated mozzarella and an evergreen wreath.  The cashier made the mistake of asking how my day was going.  I let it all out, the short version, and then apologized for complaining.  He told me it was ok, to go ahead and vent if I needed to.  I told him thank you, it did help to let it out.  I made it almost to my car when I heard behind me someone yell, “Excuse me, ma’am.”   I turn around and the cashier was holding a bouquet of flowers.  He handed them to me and told me he hoped my day got better.  I cried. 

   

I guess there really are good people still out there.  

I am still keeping my Winter Gratitude List (check out this post if you would like to know more about my list).  It is helping me find reasons to like winter a little better.  For the sake of brevity I am going to share my five gratitude favorites from the past two weeks: 

Black coats – when snowflakes land on them you can see the individuality of each and every snowflake.

Icicles – I just really like icicles.

Winter Berries – they brighten up my home.

Quiet – the snow seems to act as a natural sound buffer absorbing noise and creating a quieter world.

Holiday Gatherings – reconnecting with family and friends.

Why are you grateful for winter?

Today I am joining Kim Klassen’s Friday Finds and also the class Be Still 52.  My images were textured with Kim’s texture wednesday.  The class assignment was – square, from above and two sides.  My Finds this week were kindness and a beautiful bouquet at Trader Joe, the rose above was part of that bouquet.

Thank you so much for stopping by!!

Have a great weekend!!

Michelle