clarinet player

I'm still playing along and practising with Lisa's Photo Card Tutorial - Part 2  ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture  http://sideoatsandscribbles.wumple.com/2011/05/24/card-photography-series-2-iso-shutter-speed-and-aperture/ .  I have taken several pictures of  this very old photograph of a clarinet player using different ISO speeds and different settings for the white balance. This photo is a favourite of mine as the clarinet player is my dear father and the photo was hand coloured many many years ago by my dear mother. (both passed away now)

ISO 400

ISO 200

ISO 100

ISO Auto


I have used a tripod to take these pictures and  used Picnik to sharpen them as it was a very dreary rainy day.
Although, I think that the ISO 400 photo is the one I favour, it's the ISO 200 photo that resembles the original. 

Thank you sweet Lisa for offering these tutorials ... taking photos are getting to be more fun!

I received this Versatile Blogger Award from the very sweet and very creative Lai-Yoke! I love to visit Lai-Yoke’s beautiful blog walchow Design as there is always something wonderful to see, whether it’s tulips, a beautiful card or a gorgeous hand made bag!  http://walchowdesign.blogspot.com/  Thank you so much Lai-Yoke for giving this award to me, it is so sweet that you were thinking of me J !

To accept this award I need to

1. Thank the person who gave this award to me.  Thanks so very much Lai Yoke, you are the sweetest!
2. Copy the award and put it on the blog.  Done.
3. Tell seven things about myself:

1^st:  I am blessed with a wonderful husband, son, daughter and son-in-law.  We have two very old cats  (approx 17/18 years old).

2^nd:  I’m a country girl … I love to have trees, fields and wildflowers all around me. I love to hike, go for walks or just listen to the birds.

3rd: I hate bad traffic, honking horns and refined white bread .

4^th:  I love French baguettes, homemade soup and strong coffee.

5^th:  I don’t have a sweet tooth and was never too crazy for chocolate until my  girlfriend brought me home some chocolate from Belgium that was made with fresh cream  … that changed me forever … now I love chocolate!

6^th:  I love everything that is creative. That would include drawing, painting, sculpture, making hand made cards, cooking, baking and gardening. I’m so sad that there’s not enough time to do everything and work too!

7^th: When I make a hand made card, in my mind, I am really making a miniature piece of artwork .

... well , that's enough about me ... wishing YOU a wonderful week!

from my garden

Sending a hug ... from my garden.  This card is a collage of several images, some new, some from my stash. The stamped images are from Hero Arts and Tim Holtz.  This reminds me of Jacqueline's beautiful style   http://myscrapbasket.blogspot.com/ .   Sending you a hug Jacqueline! :)

Lisa's Photo Card Tutorial - Part 2

The second part of Lisa's photo tutorial  http://sideoatsandscribbles.wumple.com/2011/05/24/card-photography-series-2-iso-shutter-speed-and-aperture/  is focusing on ISO (film speed), Shutter Speed and Aperture. Lisa explains that the higher the film speed, the more you can see the film's grain in the photo. I am using a SONY 3x cyber-shot automatic digital camera.   The still life arrangement on my window sill was already there, I didn't try to rearrange anything for the sake of a perfect composition. I am just trying to get an understanding of the ISO function.  I think that I have absorbed quite a bit of the information that Lisa has been teaching ... but it's going to take some practice!  These photographs were taken at 10:00 this evening. I did not use a tripod. When I resized the photos to extra-large, I certainly could see the difference in the film's grain on the photo.  There was much more grain on the window screen in the ISO 400 photo than the other settings.  I liked the look of the ISO 200 photo. I apologize for not leaving the photos in the extra-large mode but they were too big for the blog.

ISO 400

ISO 200

ISO 100

ISO Auto


I hope that you are joining Lisa for this tutorial, it's a lot of fun!

The Only True Gift

The Only True Gift  ... is a portion of yourself.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
(1803-1882)
American writer

A few more ATC s to share.


Have a wonderful day!!

songbird

We have had more songbirds this year than ever ... and they're all bringing they families for dinner at our place ... so sweet to see!  Such a blessing!.

This card was made with several layers of patterned paper. HERO ARTS Friend Definition was stamped on the background.

Enjoy today!!  Thanks for visiting ... please come again!

oh so jazzy

I wanted to share two very jazzy tags I made with graphic45 Curtain Call Collection, Coredinations paper and a little bit of lace, ribbon and string. I also used HERO ARTS Friend Definition as a background stamp.

We've had a couple of beautiful days here ... perfect for strolling in the garden ! I'm so happy the good weather is finally here!

Thank you for your visit, please come again! Enjoy today!!

Lisa's Photo Card Tutorial - Part 1

Taking good photographs is a mystery to me, so I am very excited about Lisa's Photo Tutorial! I hope that you will join us  http://sideoatsandscribbles.wumple.com/2009/05/28/white-balance-tutorial/!  The first part of the tutorial is about White Balance.  Lisa provides us with a card to download so that we are able to compare our results.

I took the photographs of this card on the tile bathtub ledge near a south window that has a sheer white curtain.  The time is close to noon and it is a warm sunny day today  : )  I tried three different settings on the White Balance menu of my camera.

This is the WB setting .

                               

This one is the Cloud setting.

This is the Auto setting.


My whites range from yellow-white to blue-white!  I seem to prefer the card photographed with the cloud setting, even though it's a sunny day ! ?

Thank you for visiting!

the journey ... let yourself be moved!

My second ATC for today is made with 7 gypsies stamps and pattern paper.

... enjoy each moment of  the day!

a new beginning

This ATC was made with pattern paper, 7 gypsies stamps and Tim Holtz washi tape.

Thank you for visiting. I hope all is well!

my sanctuary

Today's ATC is made with Hero Arts Floating Garden, Bird Trio and Musical Collage. I added a little sewing, some twine and lots of gems. 

Thank you for visiting !  It rained most of today, but I took the opportunity to visit the garden centre during my lunch break.  So many beautiful flowers! I saw petunias that looked like black velvet with yellow stripes and there were some with pink stripes. I loved that rich contrast!  I am very tempted to get a few for my urn this year ... if it ever stops raining ! :(    

Enjoy your day ! :)

wonderful blessings

This ATC was made with HERO ARTS Flowers and Swirls Stamp. The fairy image is from Magic Moonlight Studio.

Thank you for looking. Have a wonderful day!

Pretty poppy

Pretty poppy, oh my ladies, Pretty poppy fresh with dew ...
This ATC was made with HERO ARTS Long Stem Flowers and Musical Collage, pattern paper, a little creative sewing and lots of gems!

Thanks for visiting! Enjoy today!

one life

Hello! I hope you're having a wonderful day! We're having lots of rain this week (where I live), which is okay because everything looks clean and fresh ... the plants are all growing and the flowers are blooming! Yay!

I hope you enjoy this ATC. It's made with Hero Arts Stamps Antique Engravings and Musical Collage, pattern paper, a piece of black ribbon, a few black gems and a little bit of sewing.

Enjoy today! Hope to see you soon!

A Beautiful Card from Barb

I received this beautiful card and all of these wonderful goodies, all co-ordinating :) , from Barb!. I love the gorgeous soft Spring colours and the delicate lacy butterflies, so elegant and feminine ... SO BEAUTIFUL! And so very thoughtful! (sending you a big hug Barb!)

so happy

So much to be happy about ...  Beautiful weather, the sun is shining and the flowers are starting to bloom!!

I made this ATC with the following HERO ARTS STAMPS: Antique Engravings, Florish Grids, Musical Collage, Friend Definition and the Rose stamp from Two Birds (3 Images). I backed this ATC with two pieces of cardstock, one white and the other aqua.


Thank you for your visit. Have a safe and happy day!

beautiful flower

A simple ATC using HERO ARTS Printed Flowers Stamp to make this home made flower, HERO ARTS French Post Stamp, printed paper of the lady with roses and three very tiny gems. This ATC is backed with two pieces of cardstock, one white and one coloured with charcoal ink. For instruction on how to make this Hero Arts Flower, please see my previous post  'Forever'.

Enjoy your day and thanks so much for stopping by!

forever ...

The hand made flower on this ATC is made with several stampings of the HERO ARTS Printed Flowers (three sizes), inked up, a hole punctured in the centre of each flower, all layers put together with a brad, flower misted with water, crunched up, shaped and left to dry. If that sounds a bit complicated, it's not. Also used was HERO ARTS All Occasion Messages, the leaf from Find Joy, the script from Bird Collage and French Post.  I used a small piece of sheet music, patterned paper, I did a little sewing and added quite a few gems.

I hope you had a wonderful day !

Here is another photo of the cubs, they're getting a bit bigger.  They were jumping and playing until they spotted me taking their photograph, then they became very interested in me!
Thanks so much for visiting!

... always

It's a beautiful sunny day here today!! 

I made this ATC with HERO ARTS Long Stem Flowers, Clings Dots, Friend Definition, a piece of sheet music and paper with the word  'always', a piece of string and three very tiny beads.  I coloured one poppy and several stems with Derwent Coloursoft Pencils and one Laurentien (Tangerine) Pencil.

I am giving this ATC to my DH.


Thanks so much for your visit! Hope to see you soon!

butterfly and yellow rose

Hello ... It's raining here today, but that's okay, it's always easy to keep busy!

I made this simple ATC with HERO ARTS Antique Engravings stamp and the Messages stamp.
I used patterned paper for the background, a bit of lace and lots of pearls and gems. I backed my ATC with two pieces of cardstock, one white and the other blue.

Enjoy the rest of your day!  Thanks for your visit!

a moment of inspiration

I photographed this composition of a butterfly with dandelions and wildflowers on the side of the road while going for a walk yesterday morning. I hope it provides some inspiration for you.


A beautiful young man came
up to me and offered me some
salted peanuts and he said, "I
wish they were emeralds," as he
handed me the peanuts, and
that was the end of my heart.  I
never got it back.

Helen Hayes

Thanks so much for visiting.  Enjoy your day!

enjoy the little things

I used the following HERO ARTS Stamps: Birdcage, Friend Definition and Messages. I filled my birdcage with butterflies (patterned paper) and added a white pearl, ribbon and a home made flower.

I wanted to share a poem that belonged to my grandmother. It's from a very old, worn, piece of newspaper that I keep tucked away in a special place. I'm kind of fond of this.

Some people go through this wonderful world
And never look up at the sky.
It's nothing to them that the lark sings there
While the great white clouds sail by.

It's nothing to them that millions of stars
Weave a silver web at night.
They do not know of the hush that falls
When the dawn gives birth to light.

Oh, pity the people with all your heart,
Who never look up at the sky.
So many beautiful sights they miss
As the pageant of God goes by.

Author Unknown


Thank you for your visit! I hope you are enjoying the little things today!

baby fox

I went for a walk this morning with my camera with hopes of finding spring blossoms but knowing it was still too early.  As I walked toward the old apple orchard, I remembered the mother fox I saw a few days ago and I started wishing that I would come across a family of fox again this year.  As my eyes gazed over the small hill, I noticed a colour that was warmer than any of the other part of the landscape. As I focused a little more, I saw movement, and knew I had come across the fox family!  I tried to move very slowly and quietly to get a little closer, as I knew the mother would be watching me.  One of the little cubs noticed me and got so excited, he jumped over the fence to get a closer look.  The mother fox must have scolded him because he returned quite quickly.

I hope you enjoyed these photographs. I wasn't fully prepared to take these pictures so they're not as clear as they could have been.

Thank you for your visit! I hope you are enjoying this wonderful day!