not too late

FYI
it's not to late to sign up for class
it starts monday august 2
i highly recommend it
marie is an excellent teacher
and in four weeks you will learn
tons of techniques to
sepia, vintage ,texture effects, frames
and layer and clipping masks
camera raw and actions
brushes, filters and layers
and fun projects to combine
all that you have learned
plus a bonus of goodies to use in your work
see some of our class work here

it's a great community of people

inspiring and having fun

the videos are wonderful

easy to follow and understand
i learned so many tip and tricks that i never knew about

playing around

with a little time today

i found a bunch of photos

taken a few weeks ago

all of telephone poles

they where just so grungy

above
a pole completely covered in tape

a few tweaks in ps and it looked

like a great background layer

then i found one of my statue photos from paris

some greek letters and a page form a math book

a few more texture layers

one from shadowhouse

lots of playing around

i must have tried every blending mode

and finally came up with this!

i wish i had time to play all day

new blooms

after the heavy rain last nite

and this morning

when i went out to access the damage

and discovered something new

i planted this hydrangea three years ago

this is the first time it has bloomed

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above, my photo with a mask from shodowhouse

using the difference blending mode

being inspired

after looking through carmi's

art girls guide to paris

i've been inspired to finish working on

my paris photos so i can make one myself

just as a keepsake to remember my trip

i'm on day 10 from my 12 day trip

and have over 5500 photos to go through


i'm hoping i'll finish this weekend
and then it will be the challenge on picking
my favorite 100 or maybe 200


all the photos above where taken
of the opera garnier

country grunge

everyone knows i love texture

grunge of any kind

so last weekend on our country road excursion

we spotted this tractor museum

it wasn't open for business

but the front was filled with old tractors and parts

i was in grunge heaven!!!

there was so much

i couldn't take the photos fast enough!!!


i take a lot of these types of photos
they make great texture layers in photoshop

here's one quick example

on the left part of a tractor and

on the right the roof of the museum

with the textured added

i used the overlay blending mode

set the opacity at 60%

and used the eraser to scrub away some areas

around the windmill
it just give the sky a little interest

my new favorite book

the next best thing to having your own personal

tour thought paris with carmi

is having a copy of her book

art girl's guide to paris
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i received my copy in the mail on my birthday

and have been enjoying it

each morning with my coffee

it is over a hundred pages of beautiful photos

a day to day guide through the neighbourhoods

trips and tricks on everything

places to stay, favorite shops,

flee markets and antiques, jewelry, fabric,

guided tours, attractions and the metro,

anything an artsy girl would need to know

with websites and phone numbers

it will definitely be in my bag for my next trip

but for now i can enjoy the memories

it is the perfect companion for anyone

traveling to paris

weekend shopping part 2

on sunday we spent 3 hours at the flee market

the prices where unbelievable!!!

i found all this lace and door pulls

for only $10

this metal drawer was filled with tin plates
door pulls and hooks
i pick up once piece and asked how much
$5 ," for one piece, no thanks"
"that's for the the box"
a steal at double the price
there was at least 20 pieces in there!!!



i collect kodak camera's
this one came with the three light meters
all for $10!!!
and the books where amazing
the encyclopedia of furniture circa 1930's
1896 illustrated catalogue of
jewelry and european fashions
from marshall fields and co.
and
1902 edition of the sear, roebuck catalogue
1162 pages of images and prices

all three book $5
------
it was a good haul!!!

weekend shopping, part 1

it was a wonderful weekend

and early birthday celebration

for ludgera and myself

we decided to take a drive down to rochester, ny

and visit the fine art store

when you google encaustic supplies

you get to their shop

when we arrive we were lucky to meet

cathryn bevier their encaustic specialist

i bought several enkaustikos products

which i'm looking forward to trying out

slick wax for cleaning your brushes

and xd wax medium used to create a glass-like topcoat

i also got some metal eyedroppers and a slotted brush

----

above a shot from the local coffee house-- java

very cool place with tons of art everywhere

after the art store we ended up at

hobby lobby where i found some cheap bezels

and some christmas stuff

(yes i said christmas!!!)

next stop joann's for some yarn,

crochet book and quilters iron

and a quick espresso for lu at barnes and nobel

and we where on the road to bufffalo

well sort of.........

we missed the cutoff to the highway and

figured we would just take the country roads back!!

the skies were blue and no traffic

we found several yard and barn sales

and lots of antique shops

at gibsonville

we met owner nancy walcott

who specializes in caning, rush and splint seats

i found 3 rusted tins filled with metal parts,

hinges, door pulls and hooks

plus some really cool barbwire

------

above, shots from nancy's store

gibsonville antiques and restorers

5864 gibsonville rd., leicester, ny

585.658.3164

one of the houses we stopped to take a look at




some of the stuff i found along the way
and at the flee market the next day
i will post more tomorrow

finaly some rain

it's been pouring rain since late last nite

and today the humidity is bearable

the grass is greener, the birds are enjoying

all the puddles

and my garden is looking very lush

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above , i love the way rain sits on

the lady's mantel

inside i've been busy with the invitations

double sided silver paper with matching envelopes

black matt and linen invites

wrapped in velum

with the corners punched

all tied up with a shear black ribbon with tiny dots

25 finished

and 25 just need the bows tied

it's been awhile since i've done this kind of work
i'm really happy how they came out
and most importantly
so are the bride and her mom!!!

keeping cool

with the heat still rising

thank god i have and excuse to be indoors

i'm making 50 wedding invitations

and they need to be done by tomorrow

both my printers have been on overdrive

25 sheets of sparkly linen paper

2 invites per page

25 sheets for the directions

plus rsvp cards and hotel information

good thing i have beanie the inspector on the case

-----

above, beanie trying to figure out just how they work

paper in here, more noise down there and

i'll just help them out here!!!

as both printer are on the go
i was busy cutting the sliver and black paper
for the invites
and 50 sheets of velum to wrap them up with
and beanie was busy guarding the printer
i needed a box to keep things organised
all i could find was a flat from the case of water

which bean used as a fort
finally she settled down and fell asleep
now i get to work layering, wrapping
and adding ribbon
i'll post the finished ones tomorrow

it's like a heat wave!!!

with temperatures in the 30's

(and with the humidity

it feels like 40 celsius)

it was a good day to stay inside....

going through some old photos

i came a cross my

winter file folder

it wasn't that long ago we where

wishing for warmer weather!!!!

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above, one of my photos from

earlier this year

i added a few textures

and using the color dodge and

color burn blending modes

relaxing in the garden

at the end of an extra long weekend

it was nice to really enjoy my garden

i even got in a nap

-------

above, a few things blooming

today in my garden

coral bells, foamy bells, hosta

beebalm, echinacea, hydrangea

and lilies

happy canada day!!!

to all my fellow canadians

happy canada day!!

-------

photo taken in my front yard

on my i phone and i added a mask

from shadowhouse creations

--------

and what would canada day be without

a little stompin' tom??