Miracles DO Happen...

Here i am....late as usual!  I knew it was too good to be true that last week i finished my homework and was not doubled up on anything for a change.  Things have a way of reverting back to that when life suddenly jumps in and tosses you a few fouls.

Let me just start by saying that i have a very, VERRRRRY long way to go with this whole text on a path, text on a shape thing in CS5.  For this past week, CS5 has been one gigantic thorn in my side....and so it continues!  Given the kind of week i have had....Monday a biopsy (still awaiting results), Tuesday zooming around trying to find backsplash tile and countertop and making decisions on sinks and stoves for the kitchen remodeling, wednesday, sitting for 2 of the three grands, and again a bit today after realizing this morning that THIS Sunday is Easter and rushing to the store for things ofr the egg hunt here and the lunch...tomorrow another round of tile stalking, and a bit more shopping....oh, and did i mention i just began a 30 day Clean Eating Challenge, which has boosted my energy level to the point that i now fall asleep quickly when i GET to bed around 11 or 12, but find i am awake around 5am....WIDE awake.  My wish for longer days seems to be coming true!

Tonight, after dinner, absolutely determined to get my text to behave itself on some sort of path, i decided to bypass CS5 until i can give it my undivided attention (read: Sometime this summer at the beach on a rainy day!) and just go with Elements11.  (just when i had gotten E10 down to a science they make me get and learn another and i am not quite sure i am liking the changes....it looks a bunch more simple....but so far i am finding it more confusing).  I am pleased to announce that after an hour of twiddling with it, i have finally produced 2 that i can deal with!  One (the sweet easter eggs shot) of Kim's, and my shot taken at my very favorite secret garden.....which for some reason made me think of Easter last week when i was there.  The words, He is Risen, popped into my head when i saw this metal stake that looked like a cross....and the burlap brought to mind a burial shroud....it stuck in my head as i was walking away....nudging at me to go back and reel off some shots.

That's it for tonight...altho my 3 year old Lileigh Bean PROMISED she would let me do my homework today if she could stay with me instead of going home...."pacuz, Mmmm-ma, I love you TOOOOOO much!"...she lied!  We had a lot of fun....but this did not get done until tonight and that bean that i love TOOOOOO much back, wore me out!!

Have a wonderful Friday and a Blessed Easter....Passover....or whatever your heart desires!

Oh, My!! :)

Oh, My!!  i did it!  i did a chalk lettered piece....again, not wonderfully wonderful, but i like it!  it was relatively easy to do, and i am ok with it.  The second part of the challenge was a Layout...and i really REALLY did try to do it in CS5....but i am abysmal with that program, having had it for awhile and not ever being able to make it do what i need it to do.  I fight with it more than use it and get frustrated and then stop, switch to Elements 10 or 11 and just do what i have to do there.  To my credit, i do go back to CS5 when i am not frustrated and try again, until the frustration returns.  i seriously need Kim classes for that program....sigh.  To ease my frustration i worked this challenge out in my favorite summer beachy colors.  i am SO beyond sick of winter.

The last challenge for 2BD8 was a Matte Finish shot.  That was really quite fun and gave such a pretty look to the shot of the vivid blue orchid...made it so much softer.  This style would fit quite nicely with the card sets that i make, and the ease of the recipe makes me inclined to use it more often.

OK....I am pretty sure that by the time i get this posted there will be a 2BD9 waiting for me, but i am so delighted that i actually finished a whole challenge on time that i am just sitting here smiling!! YAY me!  i guess i do work better under pressure, as i have a ton of edit work to do, and i am in a good place with that so far too.

Hope you all have a delightful week and i look forward to perusing your shots...such fabulous inspiration for my artistic soul!!

Experiment in Chalk

This is just a quick post and run tonight without a very big story!  i played with a chalk text on a texture with another texture on top. i am not thrilled with it, but it is almost midnight, and i am tired.... my youngest daughter surprised me and drove all the way up from Manassas, VA. to spend her 2 days off work with me! She did not tell me she was coming....

SO here it is...for now this is what i've got....til tomorrow possibly...or wednesday.....maybe....DANG, so much to do and so little time!  I still need to do a template-less template shot and a matte shot....and probably this weeks homework and two edit jobs......sigh.....when it rains it pours, or in this case, snows.  i hate snow....

See you soon!

POV...Shots From Above

Kim Klassen 2B D6....revisiting a lesson on POV (Point of View)
Perspective is a funny thing.  It can make you see things so differently,  expanding how you think of things, and opening new worlds of exploration.

Looking down on Lileigh Grace's "princess dress and work boots" i saw more than the mess on the floor.  I saw the scattering of little girl hopes, wishes and dreams.  The moment of a whim, that came to life, danced and twirled, and then moved on.
Looking down on Faith the Wonder Dog (trust me she deserves that name for all her troubles, as it is a wonder she is still among the living!) i saw the love and hope in her eyes.  The subtle hint of begging for perhaps a dropped morsel of something from me at the kitchen sink, or from the snack bag as i was doling out portions to my grand beans!
Looking down on the warn and tattered old book on my windowsill, i saw a well used and loved source of knowledge.  Where seeds of interest and curiosity took root and grew for someone long ago.

Perpective..... POV...........it is ALWAYS worth the visit and the revisit, for you never know what you will find.

Short piece tonight...sitting for a 1 year old that only sleeps about an hour a day, and a three year old with boundless energy and no naps makes for a VERY mellow Mmmm-ma this week.  Normally i am up, playing and editing and enjoying my time in the quiet of the house....but for now i think i just need some sleep, because "sitting" is a misnomer with these 2.....it rarely happens!