extra long weekend

i'mback, from my long weekend trip

we started out friday driving to kingston

and in between all the rain

I still manage to take 77 pictures,

this one is my favorite. we then drove to montreal where i took over 800 photos

and on the way back home we stopped in the nations capital

ottawa , and just before a big storm blew in I took 250 photos

my brain is "mush" and i'm tired and aching from all the walking

so i promise i will post some of my favorites tomorrow!

foggy mood

illumination

tuesdays challenge-illumination

the most amazing exhibit of illumination that i have seen

is the Chinese Lantern Festival

last year i spent hours wondering around Ontario Place in awe,

taking tons of pictures, wondering how much work went into making this happen

larger than life lanterns of dragons, ancient structures, soldiers and more,

on land and in the water lit the whole island

i can't wait to experience it again.

idle hands

i can't sit for very long, i get "ants in my pants"
i've never had a "sit down" job, so if i do sit

i have to have something to do

watching TV or just sitting on my deck

i'm usually twisting wire, crocheting, or some other work like making jewelry

i took a class a few years ago at AU with Richard Salley and loved it!

i started out working with galvanized steel

and then combining beads and now just beads

i can't "forge" the metal any more

i need an assistant!

that would be wonderful, someone to do all the things my body won't let me

thank god my eyes still work, knock on wood!

i made my first beaded bracelet a few weeks ago,

since then I've made 15 and have 6 on the go,

plus I started making earrings by request and have over 50 pairs made

ineed a break so i think i will work on some more backgrounds!

hoarding

illustration friday

this weeks topic -- Hoarding

i must admit i am a bit of a hoarder

really, how can you not be!

with all my interests and curiosities, i can't help it

no matter where i go, i'm on the look out ,

for that little bit of something to spark my creative thoughts into a piece of art

i have rooms, closets and cupboards dedicated to my "stuff"

shelves full of baskets and boxes filled with everything and anything you can imagine

i usually clean and purge my space once or twice a year

just so that I don't get overwhelmed with too much

as my interests change I move things around ,

put some stuff away, and give some to my friends

if i never accumulate another thing i will have enough to last at

least two lifetimes and still have some leftover!

i went to a giant yard sale last weekend and found this great little shelf

so i decided to fill it with some of my stuff.

on a roll

now i'm addicted!

i could have played all nite, but i need my beauty sleep.

this is one of my "post no bills" posting from last week

i cropped it 9 times and moved, rotated, rearranged

and tried every blending mode on every layer!

i've saved several versions and liked this one best,

but there is still room for experimenting!

thanks again to Marie and Lennie for all your help and inspiration.

blending modes

this is the original photo

and this is after i played with it in PS, cropping the same photo into smaller detailed bits and using different blending modes on each of the six layer


I found this idea on Roben-Marie's blog and was wondering how it was done. With a couple of e-mails to my friends Marie and Lennie, I've been playing with several photos, using all their tips, and having a lot of fun. It's mind blowing how may ways you can alter one photo, and I still haven't adjusted the hue/saturation , opacity levels or curve settings!

OH MY!

I wonder what would happen if i threw in some filters?! I'll keep you posted

bright

moody monday challenge

movement

i really needed a distraction today

so i decided to look for a photo for Photo Friday challenge of movement

i went through thousands of pictures looking for one and found several

so i decide to post these two

both were taken at the EX last year

and reminded me of a happy time strolling through the mid way,

all the sounds of screaming and laughing,

the flashing lights and the smell of Tiny Tom's donuts!

my favorite

so i usually have a bag on the way in and one on the way out!

how many more days left! can't wait!

dad

happy fathers day

i miss you

post no bills

not that long ago I came across this "plywood wall" that is about 3 blocks

it was covered with at least 10 layers of posters

this wall has been here forever and i never had the time to stop

so finally i did and i couldn't stop taking picture

i knew that they would make some great backgrounds

and of course when i got home and started playing with them in PS

i thought i should have taken more

I finally got a chance to go and take more photos only to discover

that the wall had been cleaned!!!!

thank god i got the ones i did.

day tripping

i spent the day in leslieville with my friend Lennie.

shopping, thai lunch, rummaging through junk shops, galleries and boutiques,

and of course taking lots of pictures.

here are just a few of my favorites!

perspective

one of my all time interests is buildings, of any kind

since i was a little girl and was introduced to the 7 wonders of the world

long before i was taking photos i was drawing buildings

it was something i came by naturally

which lead me to studying drafting and interior design in collage

part of the course was photography

i'll never forget my first photography lesson

LOOK UP LOOK DOWN LOOK BACK

these are some of my favorite NY shots

great weekend

what a fab U lous weekend!

beads, beads and more beads

after being glued to the computer

i thought i needed a break and decided to go shopping

at my favorite bead store, Arton.
i can't resist buying everything ! you can never have enough!

not knowing what to make i visited my favorite blog for inspiration

Deryn Mentock

i love everything she makes and wish i had her "stash of stuff"

i started with the blue bracelet, and then got on a roll

so i continued with a black and white theme

which quickly turned into making a matching necklace and earrings!

I hoping to sit in the garden this weekend and see what else I can come up with.

tuesday challenge part 2

now that i have the weeks straight I can hopefully keep up with the challenge!

i'm sure everyone will recognize the manhattan bridge.

it's one of my favorites and this shot was taken in D.U.M.B.O.

down under the manhattan bridge overpass

it's a neighbourhood i found out about back in the summer of '05

it was featured in a issue of National Geographic Traveller Magazine

i so glad we took the time to walk over the brooklyn bridge and found this spot

it's also in the opening credits of the tv show rescue me.

tuesday challenge

this is actually last weeks challenge, oops,

i'm still learning all that is out there in the "blog" world

and how everything works

the challenge was brick

my sister Dede was in town for a visit and

we spend part of the weekend in "the distillery district"

it's a great spot for exploring and taking pictures, tons of restaurant's,

outdoor patios with live music, galleries and specialty shops

and all the buildings are converted warehouses

which made it easy to complete the challenge!