RedDancer-Studio

PhotoShop layers and peonies

I'm taking a year-long online workshop with Kim Klassen. We just finished week 1. I learned something new about the layers pallette. Here is the peony I posted last week before the added layer.

And here it is with the soft light layer. Now the peony really pops!

Amazing, simply amazing. Next will be layer masks which I way don't understand.

My first handmade book for sale

I created a wonderful handmade book that is just lovely. Here are a few of the photos to give you a taste of this wonderful work of art. I will be listing this item in my Etsy shop. If you are interested, please contact me directly.

Front cover

The following images are sections of the book. I had a lot of fun making this gem. This is the back side of a piece of crazy quilt that you'll see in another image.

The book measures approximately 5" wide X 7" tall and is 4.5" thick. I've had a lot of fun making the faux crazy quilt hearts and used one for the book.

There's vintage fabrics and laces throughout.

There are 3 signatures of 5 pages each. Here's the piece of crazy quilt that I mentioned above.

Each signature has a vintage cloth wrap. This particular vintage crazy quilt wrap is just wonderful.

The book just invites the viewer to keep looking at all the pages to see what is next.

It could be described as a vintage-type small scrapbook. I could make up a wonderful story to go with the book but I figure it's new owner would like to write her own story.

It's kinda like a wedding album/family album with bits and pieces of vintage fabrics saved from the couple's life together at the turn of the century.

But I don't think they had Tzo Zen tea at the turn of the century.

I think you can tell that I just had so much fun adding laces, trims, rubber stamping, images, etc. It was hard to stop. Reminds me of the Victorian era where too much was not enough.

Here's a look at two of the cloth wraps.

This is the back and spine.

And here is how it looks from the side. Pretty thick.

Bouquet of silk peonies - Pier 1

I have been looking at Joanne's and Michaels for silk peonies. I even tried Target. Finally found one small bouquet of white peonies at Pier 1. Beautiful flowers and the best part? They won't die. Love them. It's pretty difficult to find a peony bush in Flagstaff with our short growing season.

I am so happy I found this bouquet. I can see it being the star of many photography experiments. Thank you, Pier 1.

Gotta love the zoom lens on the Canon 50D DSLR.

I thought the colorful glass stones added to the beauty of the bouquet.

I finally removed the Pier 1 tag after this photo, but for this first attempt at photographing the peonies, it doesn't bother me. The vintage hat found at a church rummage sale adds another touch of romance and elegance. I didn't even have to make any adjustments in PhotoShop.

Kim Klassen "Oh My" texture layers

Awhile back, I signed up for Kim Klassen's weekly texture layers. This is the first time I've played with one of them. Here's my calla lily image:

And here's the same calla lily with a sweet texture that Kim calls: Oh My. Subtle but interesting.

The "Oh My" texture layer overlays my calla lily. In PhotoShop, I selected the Rough Pastels filter on canvas with diffused light. Sweet and nice.

I'm also taking a one-year long course with Kim, BEYOND LAYERS. You can find out more about Kim's free weekly layers from her website. Enjoy.

Handmade cloth journal by Suzy Quaife

I ordered a wonderful small cloth journal by the fantastic New South Wales artist, Suzy Quaife. I keep it close to me in the living room so I can handle it and look at often for inspiration and just the beauty of it. Enjoy.

Easter flowers

When I went to Gilbert with Suzanne, I only had my Blackberry for a camera. Found flowers at Fresh & Easy Market and silk flowers at Michaels. Can you guess which came from where?

This one is a freebie. The daffodils were standing in bundles in a box with no water. Gee, I wonder why they wilted.

Spring in Flagstaff, AZ, USA

Well, you might not think it was Spring with the still cold temps and the blowing wind, however, this is pretty normal for Flagstaff, AZ. We seem to be in a wind tunnel.

I took this photo before our last snowfall and I don't know what it is called. I used the macro lens for my Canon camera and got down on the ground to take the picture. The little thing only stood 3" high.

Next time, I hope to get a picture of my one and only daffodil.

Pink Rose Cottage Teacup Tuesday giveaways

I have no idea how I found this lovely site, probably through an image on Pinterest, but I love the look and feel of Pink Rose Cottage. She's having Teacup Tuesday free giveaways in March 2012. I pasted the link in my sidebar but you can also check her blog: http://thepinkrosecottage.blogspot.com/.

Take a peak at the Pink Rose Cottage blog and enter for a chance to win this or one of her other Tuesday teacups.

Emma's 2nd Birthday - What a beauty

We celebrated Emma's 2nd birthday at Brighton Gardens on the patio with Mom and at Troy's house. She's a cutie. She loves her daddy. And she loved the purple frosted cupcakes. She's waiving "hello" to the camera. This is her brother, Michael, and her mom, Stephanie.

Mom tried on Emma's princess crown during the festivities. And of course, I'm behind the camera as usual. We enjoyed fantastic weather in Scottsdale and I had a wonderful time with family.

Estate sale treasures

I recently visited an estate sale here in Flagstaff and found a few pieces of very inexpensive costume jewelry. Thought I would share. I even found a lovely silverplate bowl to use for photos and a vintage weaving loom spindle.

I wore the green plastic bead necklace to work and it is lovely. The pearls have a gorgeous rhinestone doodad and the green and plastic clip on earrings will be used in an assemblage of some sort.