New Pic of Tweedles & a Psychedelic Look

Good morning to you all! I've been playing around with some animal images & came up with a new one of my dear little friend, Tweedles! Her moms haven't seen it yet so this will be a surprise for them to see their sweet girl up here this morning. Both of these images were done on the same background. It's pretty amazing how the look differs with a little color alteration. It was a free Google background. The other image was a freebie from morguefile.com.
Happy Tuesday everyone!

New Blog Design & More PSE

Good morning! Friday has arrived & it appears to be a bit cooler today.
I did a blog makeover yesterday. I like to change it up every few months or so. I never thought the day would come that I would actually use a piece of my own art for my blog header. I've come a long way baby!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Well, it is going to be quite hot today....probably upper 90's here. Time for a dip in some water!! The bottom picture I am posting turned out looking like a young woman rolling into shore from the ocean. I thought she looked very cool. The images both came from pdphoto.org. They have become one of my favorite sites. The top image was done on my art paper as a background & the image was a freebie. I positively LOVE this image. I have also acquired images from other VERY generous bloggers, another one being http://thesumofallcrafts.blogspot.com/
Happy Tuesday everyone!

Happy Friday

Good Friday morning to everyone! Today's pictures include a family one. The bottom picture is my mother-in-law & her mother back in the early 30s. The background, I believe, was from Elizabeth Golden. People are so generous with their artwork but sometimes I have a hard time remembering where I got something. On the 2nd photo both the background & foreground came from pdphoto.org. The top photo was a free clipart image & the background is some of my art paper I tweaked a bit.
I hope you enjoy & have a wonderful & creative weekend!

Friday Pictures

Friday is upon us! How quick it arrived. The week just flew by.
I have a couple of new pics I am posting this morning. It is getting very difficult to pull myself away from the computer. My preference is to sit & play all day with it. I did have a new follower this week that referenced a free image site called PDPhoto.org. That is where the image on the top photo came from. It is a wonderful resource for photos. You can donate (and I did!) to help keep these photos coming.
The 2nd photo was a freebie...the background & the image.
Have a great weekend everyone!

Obsessed with PSE

Good Monday morning! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I am officially obsessed with Photoshop Elements! I am starting to feel fairly comfortable with some of this so it's time to branch out a bit. This week I am going to sit down & read Susan Tuttle's book, Digital Expressions. Hopefully, I will learn to incorporate a few other steps in the PSE mix. I am certainly enjoying myself!
Todays piece is a freebie background as well as the image itself.
Wishing you all a creative week!

More Creating with Photoshop Elements

Good Thursday morning! This has to be the most pleasant summer EVER in California.
Still getting June gloom in August! Predicted high temperature today is 76!!!
That's about 20 degrees below normal for August. I LOVE IT!
I am posting yet another Photoshop elements creation. I was very pleased with this one. The background just made it for me. It was a freebie from Elizabeth Golden at lastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com. Elizabeth shares images with us quite often & I am very appreciative of her generosity. The other image was a freebie also but I can't remember from where! I hope you all enjoy it.

Home again from Paso Robles

Good morning everyone. I just returned yesterday after spending 5 days at our 2nd property in Paso Robles. I got a few things done there so that's a good thing. The place is looking great. The trees my husband planted seem to be growing very well.
I am posting a few pics of the property this morning. My husband loved this place but unfortunately, it brings me a great deal of sadness now in spite of its beauty.
You will see the entrance to Independence Ranch, some pics of the Poplar trees lining the driveway, various trees on the property & the BIG BARN. My husband put his heart & soul in this property & I know he would be loving the way it looks today.

I'm on a Photoshop Roll!

Monday morning again! It is a bit dreary outside but feels wonderful with the cool weather. This has to be the most unusual July weather I have experienced in a long time!
Here is another photoshop piece I did. The background was a freebie from ELizabeth Golden at http://thelastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com/http://thelastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com/. Elizabeth does gorgeous work & she is always sharing with her blogging friends.
Have a terrific week everyone!

Photoshop Heaven

Good morning to everyone. I am picking up a little obsession here with Photoshop Elements. It's becoming a morning ritual which I am enjoying so very much. The picture I am posting today was a free background from Julia at http://cemerony-share.blogspot.com/ & the image was under Google free images. This was one of my favorites so far.
I also picked up my best friend from the airport yesterday. She is here to spend three weeks with me & I am so glad to have her here.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!

More Experimenting with Photoshop Elements

I like to always start my blog posts with a big "GOOD MORNING" to everyone!
I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend.
I am posting another experiement using Photoshop Elements. The background was a picture I shot in Pioneer Square in Seattle. The angel image was a Google freebie.
I really like the look of layering the photos & I will be playing a lot more with this program. HAPPY SUNDAY!

Experimenting with Photoshop Elements

Good Morning to all my blogging friends! I am really treading in unknown waters now! I have been experimenting with Photoshop Elements & really don't have too much of a clue on what I am doing. Basically, I am attempting to familiarize myself with all the PS lingo. I have been playing with hue saturation, opacity & layering one photo over another. I like the pieces I have come up with but they would probably look very simple to the digital artist.
Nonetheless....I had so much fun! I sat at the computer for hours & ended up with a sore shoulder. I am feeling like it was worth it for the enjoyment it brought.
Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Top Cat & the Love of my Life

Good Morning! It is going to be cooking in California today! It's feeling very warm already & it's not even 7:30 yet.
Today I am wrapping up the feline pictures with the one known as TOP CAT in my house. He was here before Cosmo, Cooper & Chloe so Mom tells him he is still my number 1 special boy! Dexter is a Bengal cat. I received him from my brother who breeds them. Dexter will be 4 years old come October. He is drop dead gorgeous & a little bit snooty but he is the apple of his mom's eye. He is wonderful with the kittens. He wants to bathe them all & especially clean their ears. He's a great brother!
Happy Thursday everyone!

And...This is Chloe

Good Monday Morning everyone! Today I am posting my 3rd rescue kitten. Say hello to Chloe. She is one of two females that we rescued from Paso Robles. We found it hard to part with Chloe (she was my hubby's choice of kittens to keep) so we KEPT her!
She's got a much different personality from the boys. She's a bit prissy & tries to give you the impression that she's a sweet little angel when she is really every bit as wild as those boys. She is a little instigator too! As you can see, she looks much different than Cosmo & Cooper. She is quite the lover & the only one that will lay smack dab in my lap. The other ones lay against you or partially on your lap but not all the way. She's a very sweet girl & we are so happy to have her with us now.
Happy Monday....Have a wonderful week!

Greet Cosmo's Brother, Cooper

Good Friday Morning Everyone! I am posting pics this morning of our 2nd kitten we rescued from Paso Robles last year. I am re-introducing COOPER! Cooper holds a VERY special spot in our hearts. Just look at that face! Mama caught him sleeping in the first picture with his sweet little tongue sticking out. Is this boy striking or what?? Cooper likes to love you from a distance sometimes. If you talk sweet to him he rolls his little head around like he's rubbing against you, but without touching you. It is sooo funny! Another thing Cooper likes is the little plastic ring that fits around the milk lid. If I pull a gallon of milk from the fridge he comes running. They all have their little rituals. You'll see some other pics of Cooper when I caught him in the middle of yawning. Next week I will post #3 kitten, Chloe & wrap it up with the one I call "TOP CAT"
in the house, my little (little??) Dexter the Bengal cat.
Have a wonderful creative weekend everyone!

Say hello to Cosmo

You probably remember our kitten rescue last year. A Mama cat delivered 5 kittens up at our 2nd property in Paso Robles. We brought all 5 home along with Mama when the kittens were approximately 6-8 weeks old. We found homes for 2 of them & kept the other 3 kittens & Mama. Cosmo is one of the 3 that we kept. He is approximately 16 months old now & these cats have brought us an incredible amount of joy since my husband passed away. In the bottom picture, Cosmo is relaxing. He loves showing that belly off. The middle picture is him resting on the contraption I bought for him to sharpen his nails on. He likes to just lay there & look cute! He is so sweet & loving & just reminds me of a big fur ball. That fur takes a bit of grooming, though. When Aunt Gail comes to town he gets the furminator treatment.

On another note: Blogger is driving me crazy! It's either posting just part of my comments or it posts NONE of them! Can't figure out why it takes Blogger MONTHS to solve a problem.

Happy Wednesday!

Bleached Photographs

This weekend I decided to bleach some more photographs. I really love doing these because you never know for sure what you're going to see. For a little refresher....these 35 mm photographs are dipped in a 50/50 bleach & water solution for approximately 7 seconds. Remove from the bleach solution & rinse in cold water. Once dry, pull out your watercolors & add a little accent. I use Doc Martens watercolors. HAPPY MONDAY!

Some New ATCs

Here we are in to July already! Where has this year gone? I am quite happy to see a marine layer out there this morning. Hopefully the weather will be nice.
I'm posting a couple more atcs I just made. I love the fact that these are small & easy to store. They are such fun to make & so many things you can do with them.
Wishing you all a safe & happy holiday weekend!

See Blog Giveaway

Good morning! One of my blogging friends, Lori Anderson, is having a giveaway. It is a beautiful bead pendant. It would normally retail for around $65. I am posting a picture of it & a link to Lori's blog. Go over & check it out!
http://lorianderson.blogspot.com/2010/06/jewelry-giveaway-you-know-you-want-this.html. Enjoy your Thursday!

P.S. As you can see I STILL can't seem to reference a "CLICKABLE" web address. I cannot figure out why this no longer works. Any ideas??

Wednesday's Flowers

Good Morning! Today is flower day for me ao I am posting a few pics from the yard.
The bottom picture is a Hydrangea, the next is an Azalea & the top one is a Dahlia.
Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction

Good Morning! Tim & I headed down to the Orange County Fairgrounds this weekend to attend the Barrett-Jackson auto auction. We've watched it on television many times & when we heard they were coming to California we decided to attend. It wasn't exactly what I thought it would be but it was great to see some of the gorgeous cars. It was a nice little getaway. Have a wonderful creative week everyone!