keep calm

i had to post this

time to play

with a few days left before christmas

i actually got a chance to play around in ps
i downloaded a set of 6

snowflake brushes from my friend marie

thanks marie, these are so much fun!!!

i started out with a photo from the top of my street

i used the snowflake as an eraser to remove the hard edge

then with white and blue i alternated sizes, colour and opacity

using my new wacom bamboo instead of the mouse

i found it easier to work with this time

and think i'm really going to like the class i sign up for

starting january 15th

switching gears

now that fall is officially here

it's time to switch gears from gardening to jewelry making

today i filled my work table with lots of supplies

some things i bought on my paris trip in the spring

it was fun to go through everything

wondering what i will create

tomorrow i will start designing

on the weekend my friend karen taught me how to do

viking knit

it reminded me of a cross between crochet and embroidery

only way more time consuming

once i got the "rhythm" it wasn't that difficult

that and some skittles (i offered to open a bottle of bourbon)

it took me all day to make one small chain!!!!

i'm hoping someone will invent a little machine

that when you turn the handle out pops the viking knit!!!!!

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

-----------

above, my photo with a mask from shodowhouse

using the difference blending mode

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
--------

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

in the garden

it's our first long weekend of the garden season

time to relax , bbq, get the annuals planted

and celebrate

the queens birthday

happy victoria day weekend

to all my canadian friends

-------------

above, one of many cornflowers in my garden

and wonderful layer mask from

shadowhouse creations

and some text from and old letter

artist spotlight

i'm so honoured to have been chosen

by lorrie grainger abdo

for her "artist spotlight interview" series

lorrie found me through

one world one heart

i love the blog world!!

it has been a wonderful source of inspiration

and i have met so many creative and generous people

thanks lorrie

------------

above

one of the many postcards i found in paris

announcement

digital magic

online class with

marie otero

this is exciting news

my friend marie

aka lost aussie on the loose

is finally teaching what she knows best!!!

i once had the opportunity of spending

4 days with marie

learning photoshop,

types of printing and incorporating

them into mixed media works

we also spent a day

wondering the city taking photos

she has a keen eye and has taught me

that things you see on the street can

be transformed into something wonderful

with a few clicks of a button

marie is a pioneer in digital work!!!

long before anyone else

she was creating wonderful works of art

she is the best teacher

class starts june 14 and runs six weeks

i've already signed up

for the early bird special

$10 off if you sign up by april 30th

new on queen

macFAB

has arrived on queen st east!!!

it was always a trek to

get visit their old store in the west end

but now it's so close

the fabric and notions are great

but the things that caught my eye in the new store

was this mannequin

with it's feathered dress

and this one with the "lions" head

after a wonderful lunch i spotted this purse

and couldn't resist!!!

i've got mail!

all i can say is

WOW!!!

i love getting mail

and when i opened my package from

lisa jurist

(i won her owoh giveaway)

i was speechless

this is truly a wonderful

work of art and craftsmanship

even the little thank-you card

has just as much detail

you have to see it in person

to really appreciate

all the fine details

and elements

fabric, lace, trim, buttons,

beads,paper, photo, wood, sequin

hand stitching

how many layers

and to touch it!!

thank you lisa

from the botton of my heart

i will cherish it forever

OWOH winner!!

and the winners are....................

eden clare o'meara at artful fairy tales

check out her wonderful photography

------

gaby at colorful adventures

mixed media and collage

------

lynn stevens at trash to treasure art

altered art

--------

sherry goodloe at got art?

mixed media
-----------------

thanks to everyone who participated

and commented for a chance to win

quite time

finally, some quite time

i started my second

on-line digital photomanipulation class with

susan tuttle

i find it very relaxing to just sit and play with

all the techniques i've learned so far in week one

susan's class is very user friendly,

with easy to follow videos and instructions

and we have a flickr group to post and see every ones work

(you may have to take the class in order to view this page?)

you can see what i've worked on here

retro technique one


the sweet spot and the blur


vintage retro technique two
-------------
i can't wait to get started with week two
i'll keep you posted

one world, one heart

well today is the day

where bloggers get to meet new friends

get inspired and feel the love!

so to all my new friends

thanks for stopping by

and i hope you enjoy

please add a comment below

with your link so i can visit you

last year i made 200 cards

(50 of the ones above)

plus 50 mini collages

and gave away 5 necklaces

------------

the photo was taken in owen sound

and has inspired me everyday

i've created this necklace

with owoh in mind

this is the prize to drawn on feb.15th

so please leave a comment

to enter the draw

i will add a new prize for every 100 comments

so far i've made these three
---------------
anyone who becomes a follower
will receive
a R.A.K. gift
you must e-mail me privately
at
nancy_allpulpedout(at)yahoo(dot)com

------------------

link back to my main page

link to my photos

link to my encaustic

link to my jewelry

countdown to OWOH

it's that time of year again

next monday is the start of owoh
an event started a few years ago in the blog world
by lisa swifka
and was featured in artful blogger
it a great way to meet other bloggers and
there are prizes!
i will have a great giveaway posted on the 25th
all you will have to do is leave a comment to enter the draw
and the winner will be drawn on feb. 15th
-----------------
last year i was overwhelmed by the response

i thought maybe a 100 or so people would participate

well to my surprise, over 900 did

and i received

492 comments

i gave away 150 handmade cards

55 mini collages

and the main giveaway

i made 5 necklaces

---------------

i hope you will stop by

hint, hint

my prizes, yes, there will be more than one

my prizes will be wearable art

salem and sss

on our september road trip

one of our last stops on the east coast

was salem, massachusetts

i've been looking for these photos ever since

i downloaded them from my camera

put them in a folder, then in my vacation folder

so i thought

(getting old sucks!!)

while searching for something else

i found them

i haven't posted for

shadow shot sunday

for 3 weeks

and thought these photos would do

the "neat" border/frames

was a tutorial from my friend marie

over at lost aussie on the loose

a quick and simple way to frame your photos

a day at the ago

galleria italia

---------------

my favorite spot in the whole building

over 400 ft long and 50 ft high

connecting all the galleries on the north end

it's nice to be able to take an break

and sit in the light

over looking the city

everything is make of wood

the floor, beams, furniture and art

the architect

frank gehry

i could live in this room

one of my favorite exhibits

"I realized that electric light would be

my greatest ally in getting variety into fashion pictures.

In the later years of my work for Vogue and Vanity Fair,

there were lights going all over the place.”

– Edward Steichen

i was pleasantly surprised by the calder exhibit

i had never heard of him

which is funny because i love wire

wild rumpus

after visiting martha's blog

i felt compelled to contribute to

her knit-up project

since i don't (can but won't) knit

i decided to make a few crochet flowers

and today took a little drive to

the west end to mccormick park

i love the

"wild rumpus"

theme

while adding the flowers

several people walked by

and curious enough no one asked

what i was doing

they just smiled and kept walking

---------

there seems to be a

global knit off happening

one i really like is an entire

phone booth in london

also check out this you tube

-----------

and to find out more about guerrilla art

check out this

------------

read more about martha and

the global knit up at

the star .com

lynne perrella class

i was so excited working in class

that i forgot to take a picture of

my canvas in the begining

first we layered on gesso

mixed in tissue and cheesecloth

then rubber stamps, stencils, tools

anything that would help create some texture

lots and lots of texture

once it was dry the fun began when

we started adding the paint

you could see the texture come to life

above: after a few layers of color

i spent so much time on the painting

that i didn't get time to add any images

and i didn't want to rush it

we folded it in to book form


i love all the edges




i still have to paint the back
which will make them pop



i've scanned the whole project and selected
some of my favorite areas
it's amazing how much texture and detail
is in every square inch
(click on the image to really see the detail)

this class was sold out
so they are bringing back
lynne perrella
for october 10th and 11th
check out the ink pad
for details
a special thanks to
anna , dante and v

i'm so honoured

i'm so honoured

i've received two awards

the sisterhood award from brendalea

at purple lady's art

and

the renee award from aimeslee

at paper paisleys
thanks ladies!!

--------

it's been a joyful year blogging

i've "met" so many wonderful, talented,

creative, inspiring, fun, caring and giving people

i think everyone deserves an award!

character project

i rarely take picture of people

this fellow intrigued me

last summer during the italian festival

while sitting on a patio enjoying

the food, drinks and music

i couldn't resist taking this picture

and of course , the one time i do snap a shot of a person

i get caught!

he was sweet and said he didn't mind

======

while flipping through one of my fashion mags

i noticed this "pull out" advertisement

CHARACTERPROJECT

i was intrigued by the photo

so i looked inside and found some wonderful shots

featuring 11 photographers

from alaska to new york

set out to capture the character of america

they have an amazing site and book

my favorite

(you can "skip into" to go to their photo page)

david eustace highway 50

joe fornabaio salon style

which i could relate to being a hair stylist

mary ellen mark ny festival in b/w

eric orgen michigan music

close to my hometown and some really

cool photos of bootsy collins and iggy pop

sylvia plachy spirit of the south and

richard renaldi the 49th state

they have also started a flickr page

for everyone to join in