Texture Tuesday

Once again the week has rolled around and it is Texture Tuesday over at Kim Klassen's Cafe.  Unfortunately as I have had the flu for over a week I wasn't able to post a textured photo last week, but today am back into the swing of things, well mostly, when I'm not sniffling, or blowing into a tissue or dozing off on the lounge with my comfy knitted blanket.  I know tough isn't it!

So todays shot of a coral tree bloom has been duplicated, and the golden texture overlayed twice first on 59% and then 100%.  I tweaked the brightness and contrast and the levels.  I also erased the texture and adjustments from the coral coloured blooms.  I rather like it what do you think?

Texture Tuesday

On a recent early morning walk I was so happy to see the many tiny dew drops just hanging on the tips of branches.  On closer inspection they all held a little secret of their own, a tiny mirror of the surrounding landscapes.  I textured this image and added text for this weeks texture challenge at Kim's place.

The recipe is copy the background of course then I did a levels adjustment, added Kim's Silence texture on Softlight at 100%.  Added the text in two layers to get the colour of text I was after and then brushed a vignette around the edges.

Similar picture but I wanted a grungier look for this one so after adding the text I did a brightness/contrast adjustment, then a levels adjustment and then added Oldworld on soft light at 82%.  Two different looks.

I am just showing this one again I didn't feature it last week but I did post it here.  I have used Kim's texture over one of my photographs as the background layer.  Fabulous ways to get the most from your textures.

Texture Tuesday

Once again I am contributing to Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday postings, I really enjoy doing this, it keeps me fiddling, not that I need anything more to fiddle with at the moment.  As I said yesterday, I am teaching myself to do digital scrapbooking, and digiart.  A mean feat I must say.  There is so much to learn and I am not the most patient person, if I can't find out how to do something fairly quickly I can get a little frustrated, to say the least.  I don't lose my cool though, I just become totally obsessive, spending hours scouring web sites, tutorials and what ever I can dig up, to help solve the problem. Hmm maybe I'm not impatient just obsessive?  Arghh,.....  there it's out my total frustration at not being able to do some of the things I want to do right now, oh and at buying a book that says you can get online web pictures to play with, and they aren't there.  And of course when you email the author they don't answer, phooie to you blah!!!!

Okay calming down and above is my SOOC (straight out of the camera) shot of the bug on the agapanthus, to fit the theme this week of "In the Garden".

Now textured here he is again.  I didn't want to lose the brilliance of the purples, I just wanted to edge it up a bit, you know add a little grunge to it.

So firstly I DUPLICATED the photo, as always I will say duplicate, duplicate, always duplicate.

Then I did a levels adjustment, followed by a brightness/contrast adjustment, then I layered Kim's October texture over the top on colour burn at 58%.  I also added a vignette around the edges. Voila my bug on the agapanthus in the garden, ta da......

Also I have started making some pages for a book I want to make for Elle, either for her birthday or Christmas or maybe just because.

The background is a paper from Kim's textures too, it's Warm Sun, layered with one of my photos of autumn leaves and then with the embellishments added and shadows applied.  Rather sweet I think.  See you can use the textures under and over photographs, isn't it wonderful!

Playing with texture, colour and so much more

As you may know I am participating in Kim Klassen's fantastic, super duper, wonderful, Skinny mini e-course and so I am constantly editing photos at the moment.  Seriously glued to my computer, oops I see an RSI happening here.  Oh well I am drooling.  So anyway i didn't take this shot, Ashleigh and Danielle did while in the States a week or so ago.  I had to play with her.

Some graffiti shots the girls took and I cropped, textured and generally played with.  Last year when they were in Germany they got the most awesome shots of the graffiti in Berlin and on the old wall.  We adjusted them a bit and ended up framing them they are great.

So that's where I have been for the last week, what have you been doing and if you're free come rescue me.  I am being held hostage by a host of photos and creative juices, I need to get out, please help me!!!!!

This, That and the other

Eight weeks today until Christmas Day eeekk!!!!  Really how did the year fly by so fast.  I can clearly remember last Christmas Day, after opening the presents Alicia and Paul gave us the news they were having another baby.  Of course we all cried and cheered and laughed and cried again.  So here we are again almost another year gone.  Baby Elle is here with us and you know how happy that makes us.  So I think of Lucas again, not so sadly but with a longing to know what he would be like now, walking and chatting and falling down and getting up again.  Smiling and trying us for all he is worth.  He would be 17months now.  Whenever I water my boy in the bowl for some reason I am reminded of Lucas. I know we will never forget him.

I know I must seem like such a flibberty jibbit, all over the place with regards to my projects.  I have begun the vegie patch and my studio and headbands for Elle and her mobile and I start and then you don't seem to see the finished project.  The story of my life at the moment and it drives me nuts.  So Adrian and I started and almost finished our chook pen on the weekend.  We have this old shed, insulated and with a cement floor and roof and all in the back yard, actually kind of the front but seeing as there is 9 acres it isn't exactly the front.  Anyhow we dug holes hey I actually used the post hole digger for the timber post, amazing I know.  We ran the wire round and the vermin mesh on the bottom, I hate mice and snakes so we are trying to keep them out.  It looks cool I think and I can't wait to get some hens and have our own eggs.  This is hilarious cause I am so not the country girl, but I am loving this.  Next weekend we'll do the perches, take the pots to the dump, they were left here by the last owners, and get some chookies yeah!!!

Like I said it's nearly Christmas and the stores are in full flight again with their decorations taking up a huge space near the entry of most stores.  I smiled to myself when I saw these very Australian themed pieces.  A surfing Kangaroo..he he!!

So we have Santa on a crocodile, crikeys mate, who are they kidding here!!!! and very Australian the Santa in thongs and hawaiian shirt and can of soft drink, very funny.  Oh and the sunnies yep gotta have sunnies at Christmas well summer anyway.

Actually we are looking forward to summer here, we have a pool now and this will be our first Christmas here, so I'm sure we'll all enjoy the swimming.  The weather bureau is predicting a wetter than usual summer though so who knows.

Cannot wait to get all my African friends over for a swim, the kids love the water.

Oh here are Elle's headbands too, found them while scouting for other shots, see I do finish most things.

Lastly another photo adjusted for Kim Klassen's Skinny Mini e-course.

When you go to court, you are putting yourself in the hands of 12 people who weren't smart enough to get themselves out of jury duty.

Fiddling with photos and music

Today begins Kim's Skinny Minny course on using PSE8.  Some of this I guess I'll know but Kim is so talented that I just want to pick up all that I can from her.  The first class was a tour round PSE8's workspace and then the second was adding text and cropping.  I have done this before but it made me just look at a picture a little differently so I could add text.  Oh and of course textures which also are Kim's work.  Talk about creative.

No words here but textures abound.  Spring is sprung and some of the flowers are already losing their petals.  This climbing rose surprised us when it bloomed with a mass of tiny yellow flowers.  It looked a bit worse for wear and we weren't expecting much from it.  A new garden is always interesting as the seasons wind on.  There are little things popping up around here I never knew were here.  

A request please.  I have a new car and it takes a usb stick that I can load literally thousands of songs on.  So of course I have downloaded all my golden oldies and some really are oldies.  Remember I said some time back that for about 13 years I never listened to anything but christian music, so MC banger, hammer, whatever and hip hop, jump up, jump down, swing your partner all around, etc, well they are not as familiar to me as to some of you maybe.  But I love music, all sorts, except dirty songs, yuk, why would you, and heavy metal.  Hip hops not my fav but a little is ok.  So I have been trolling the net listening to youtube etc and putting songs on my little stick,  370 odd so far how cool is that!  Jamie  at Lyrical Journey has pointed me in the right direction through her amazing blog, which includes a song for every occasion.  So my request is please, leave a comment about some of your favourite songs, so I can include them if possible to my collection.  It'd be really neat to know that I am listening to your favourites too.

A day without sunshine is like, well, night.