A Slice of Life

Inspiration

Lately I have decided not to give away every single thing I create!

I have been wanting to keep a journal for many years but am uninspired by a blank book from a store... so I thought I would use us some supplies and just have a bit of a free for all more 3-dimensional journal... no rules attached kind of thing... and it seems to be working and I'm really enjoying it. I used the basis of my inspiration from a catalog I love called Anthropologie. They have a line of wallpaper I fell in love with... so I recreated the b/w cover with my kind of spin on their design using two stamps I happened to have (hardly own any) and a black pen and doodled on some white cardstock. Had some paint and bits and pieces of embellishments of course hanging around the studio as well as some lace I picked up years ago with the idea of doing 'something' with it. Here is the  4 x 6 book so far.

Ooh and I have been making recycled enveloped from an art book someone was going to throw away. How can you throw out a Gauguin book? Sure it wasn't in the best of shape but I tore out the pages and opened up every size of envelope I could scavenge around the house and retraced them and glued them. (Had to keep Gauguin's nude prints out I'm afraid for US Post Office, as they might be not be too impressed. That would be half the book!) I'll hand give those ones to friends!

And I'm totally inspired to really get my teeth into digital scrapbooking and have been downloading lots of stuff online and starting the learning curve.

More photoshop techniques

Here's a new technique I learned today: its called a gradient mask. It means that a large photo doesn't have to overwhelm the rest of your design, so that you can keep the primary focus.

More learning curve with Photoshop

Today I played around with this thing called Overlays. It's about placing a photo over a textured background. Here is the result:

Practicing for classes coming up

I'm signed up for two classes. One is manipulating photographs for vignetting and darkened edges and better colorizing techniques. I've got books on my shelves on how to do things like this but thought an online course with daily prompts and an online member forum and gallery would be more inspiring. The second course is not till June but it's an intermediate course on digital scrapbooking and it has great reviews. So in order to be 'intermediate' level once that signs up (as I'm actually a beginner) I got the books down and dusted them off and am practicing some techniques. They are trickier than you think. Here is one of Dave Harney when he and Greg came visiting Arizona for a mountain biking experience. You can see the before and after:

Couple more pics while I'm at it

I hardly ever post pics of me. Always either a plant or other people. So here's one of me at the very posh and very lush and very southwestern Royal Palms Hotel in Scottdale feeling all wonderful after a 90-minute massage courtesy of generous Karen. I do have to say this was my very first facial and it just happened to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I had no idea. It was a citrus facial and I got to take home an 'ampoule' to use every night. My skin felt totally different for an entire week afterwards. And then here is a special pic of the saguaro cactus but a crested one, which is a mutation and very rare. It's at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens. Cool eh?

Raise a toast for Pete and Paula!

Karen from Chicago flew in recently for Pete and Paula's wedding. I have known them for a number of years now. I took these photos and then made them a scrapbook album (which they won't see till it arrives in the mail as they don't know I have a blog!). And then there are two pictures at the very bottom of my post of my good friend Terri - we took a day out to go to the beautiful Boyce Thompson Arboretum I used to work at. Isn't it lovely there with all the ice plants and everything in bloom. I'll be a better blogger and start back again with my at least once weekly posting.

This one is for you Liz

We have been Bowie fans for how many years now? Remember we talked about your white poster painted face and thinness in school during his Thin White Duke stage.. or hang on... wasn't it his Ziggy Stardust stage?? Yu must show this clip to Christian.

Anyhow, have you seen this clip on YouTube? He is a much better singer than actor, but he's still got it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv6mEv_rDdE

Love it love it, love it. And love you. And crumbs.. what a hot man. Phew..

Art and Life

Art - and life - is about improvisation, discovery and awe. It is about leaning over the edge and staring deep into the abyss. It's about staring into our own inadequacies and, just as we think we might come up short, finding the answer that we need was there all the time. As we create we not only reveal Reality, we reveal ourselves.
[ Todd Henry ]

Food: the staff of life

It's weekly cooking time again. I love it! The best part is all the preparation. Well actually I'm wrong. It's the scoffing it down with fantastic company of course!  But I love the process: finding the recipes and then making a large shopping list.. then after getting the ingredients the challenge of making sure it all works out. I've been cooking for God knows how many years but it's always a challenge. but I love it. Here's tonight's recipe and Ralph and I are hoping that the usual 7 weekly guests will be able to arrive... yeah that's cooking for 9: Mushroom stroganoff, Campanelle with tomatoes and feta, (hope I can make it look like the pic!), Sauteed greens with cannellini beans and garlic, and Garlic bread (sounds like a lot of garlic... never too much right?)... and to finish: good old Apple pie and English custard! I don't think that my friends know what this strange yellow and sweet liquid magic is... but I guess they soon will.

Merlin the Magician

What a man. You are the world to me. I love you.

To everyone that has been worrying about Merlin's open heart surgery... Merlin is now out of intensive care, off the normal ward and HOME! Yippeee!!!1

You're the man Merlin. You're the Magic Merlin. And by the way. this was a great night... remember the dancing? And you know how bad I am at dancing! I do love you.