Faux Cupcake Giveaway & New Cottage Picture

Okay, sweet chicks, we've reached the 25,000 visitor mark. Now, I know that isn't much by some standards but I think it's pretty significant. I mean that you even consider my blog worthy to visit is an amazement to me!! I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for tuning in and listening to my ramblings. I know they can be boring sometimes. I hope to continue but I have to admit that posting each and every day takes a lot out of this ol' lady - and OLD lady!! I may not be posting every day from now on. I have a hubby and house to take care of ya know!!

So now I'm officially offering this "painting" of cupcakes and roses for a giveaway. Just leave a comment on THIS post and your name will be entered. Let's give it until wednesday night for the drawing. That will give anyone who wants a chance to enter. If you want to win you must leave me an email address to contact you. Otherwise, how will I let you know?!!

Isn't this gorgeous??!! I saw it as a banner on another blog and tried finding it on the internet. I love this artist and found this for a fantastic price from someone's website and ordered it. It just got here today and I have to say it is even lovelier in person. She is absolutely my most favorite artist. So I thought I'd share it with you all. Click to enlarge to see it's beauty. :-) Nuuuuuuuuuu, this is NOT part of the giveaway!!

New Fabric for Camper and a Table

With the help of Susan from Urgangardens I was finally able to find the fabric for the new camper and it arrived today. It really is pretty. It was $20.00 a yard for the top one with the big pink roses. The bottom fabric was $8.00 a yard and has coordinating tiny roses. The underside of the bottom cushions and the back side of the back cushions will have just plain white sheeting or something similar. Since it isn't on display no sense in covering it in expensive fabric. (Love Bunny's thoughts, not necessarily mine!) But that's fine. This will probably be a fall or winter project. I've other things to do now and some I want to do before I tackle making the cushion covers.

~*~

By now most of you are familiar with our television situation. We didn't have or want one but our kids came up for Christmas 3 years ago and bought us one just after they got off the plane! We had to make a stop at Best Buy for it because they wanted to watch videos they brought up with them. Then the television went right back into the box. Hubs made a plywood top to fit it and I threw a temporary cloth over it until I could make something for it. The time has come, chicks and today was the day.

I had that popular quilt with the roses on it on both sides that was very popular 2 years ago on ebay for pillows. I think I sold one computer bag I made out of it and that was it. So I have a couple of these quilts left. So it is for the top of the "table." Then I didn't have enough of any one fabric that would go with it for the bottom. Jumped into car, drive to Joannes and came home with a suitable fabric and sewed it up this afternoon. Below is close up and a far view of it. The green really does match the top and it nice looking. I love skirts on tables, but especially on top of things that aren't what they appear to be and we want to disguise them. This was the case here. Prior to today it had a green matelassè cover thrown over it and it was just too big for it. This new one fits nicely and looks pretty.The green fabric was very good quilting fabric and I got 7 yards for $21.00! It was the better kind and I had a coupon so it was a really great fabric for 40% off. A good day all around, little cherubs!!

Last of Photo Tips for Now!

Good morning, sweet chicks. I'm sooooo tired of taking photos!! You think YOU'RE bored?!?!?! Nuuuuuuuuu, it's me taking the pix and taking the notes and posting endless boring pix of the same plate and jar!! (Excuse me while I have a nervous breakdown for a few minutes.) Leaving room sobbing.....................

Okay, I'm back. Chocolate cake works wonders for "nervous breakdowns"!!!!

BUT I got another tip from a photographer monday night. She's a professional and teaches it at a local high school. In lieu of a costly filter she suggested 2 things. One is a tissue and the other is a piece of card stock. I took it with the door and blind closed so absolutely no artificial light came in. I took it in the dark at night. I used only 2 items: a jar and a gold encrusted plate. Both have been my nemesis when it came to capturing even a "good" photo. These came out beyond my wildest imaginations!!

Take a piece of card stock to about the size of your flash. I can't photograph my own camera or I'd show you. Anyway, cut it and score it so that you can attach it to your camera with a piece of scotch tape so that it is attached just below your flash - shielding the flash - and the flash will then "focus" on the piece of card stock and the light will "bounce" UP. Then I held a piece of card stock ABOVE the camera out of sight of the camera view. I tried it several times and have most of the results below with a few notes as I went along. Remember, this is FREE!!! I did it this way because I have no desire to become professional, just want to blog and sell items here.

First pix with card stock. Each succeeding photo was adjusted just one "notch" for light as I went along. See photos as I go along.
Second pix with card.

Third pix with card stock.

Fourth pix with card stock. With the jar and succeeding pix below I tried to get closer just a bit as I clicked the photo.

Fifth pix with card stock.

Sixth pix with card stock.

Yep, goofed here. 7th pix

This one I edited out the little front spot with my iPhoto. That's all I did to this one.

Did not edit out spot on this one but got closer to jar with camera.

Did not edit it out on this one either, but got closer with camera.

This plate is so heavily encrusted with gold that I have NEVER been able to get a good photograph of it. This is the 1st photo - no filter.

This is with the "kleenex tissue filter."

This is the same picture but I edited out a tiny bit of the spots on the upper part of white on left and the lower right where you can see the light a bit.

As you can see it gets better and better with the kleenex tissue.

Tad better here. At least there is no "light" spot on this photo.
Still room for improvement but that's just it - KEEP PRACTICING until you can say you are getting a really good picture.
~*~

While I'm here, my little chicks, and so you won't be complete bored to tears, let me show you my latest round of practice roses. Most of you know I've been practicing roses off and on - mostly OFF - for about a year or so. These are the latest. I'm simply looking for a impressionistic shabby (I got that part down right; they're definitely "shabby"!! Plus I am SOOOOO sad****......well, I'd put the word in here but then I'd have all the weirdos looking at my blog!) type of rose because I'll NEVER EVER (because I don't think my life is that looooooong to allow for it!) be able to do one like Ronda or Cindy or Gail or Rhea or whomever........... Sob....... But this is my latest and I may do a painting as a "giveaway" but don't let that scare you away, chicks!! Remember, it's FREEEEEEEEE!!!!

NEXT to Last of Practice Photos!

Let's talk about lighting now. I've said I'm not an authority on photography but I have learned how important lighting is. I'm not completely lame, ya know, chicks!

On your camera there are different settings for different lighting. (I was looking for some fabric lately for the trailer and came across some that showed blue in one photo and green in another photo on the same site. This was clearly a light issue. I've experienced similar issues myself.) On any camera there will be a sun setting, a cloudy setting, an incandescent/tungsten setting, a fluorescent setting - mine has 2 fluorescent settings, one for halogen and one for regular fluorescent - and a custom selection setting. I generally use the auto light except when I'm outside in the sun or on a cloudy day. But if I'm indoors and it's on auto then I turn out ALL the lights to shoot the pix. Otherwise I'll get an orange cast. Let the camera flash do the light unless Romantic Country is coming to photograph in which case let them handle it! :-) I should be so fortunate! LOL

Here are the last pictures of my experimenting with the camera taking up close photos. Just take a look at how enchanting they can be. Well, I think so!

A very very close photo of a little stick with chicks on it that Rhea gave me because I call all my gals "chicks"! I just love that chick - uuhhhh Rhea I mean......

Another artist I bought this little vintage drawer from on ebay. You'll have to enlarge to see the vintage wood grain of this beautiful drawer.

A sweet birthday gift from Karen who has more talent in her little fingertip than all of my fingers and toes combined! We have to keep telling her this. Now, would this face lie to you!?!?! Nuuuuuuuuuuu

Another little cottage picture on the "slant." See how ethereal it makes it look.

Even these little cherubs I stole.........uhhhh, I mean got from my daughter have more of that dream-like quality with the "feathering" around the print.

I tied some vintage seam binding on the glass jars but no matter how hard I've tried I cannot get the reflection from my windows to stop glinting off that glass. I'll work on that, chickees.

Eye candy that smells absolutely yummy! You chicks don't know what you're missing by not buying my fabric faux cupcakes scented with plumeria and rose oil. (Shameless plug for my selling blog site. Ha!!)They fragrance up my home like you wouldn't believe. In fact, a woman came over to visit with me last week and walked into my home from the garage through my laundry and just stood there and said, "Your house smells like roses." Yep, it does. My whole house smells yummy from the things I make and stuff with oil scented "stuffing" and the stuffing is a big secret that you'd probably not guess. ;-) But this little photo was also too close up and looks out of focus plus I "feathered" the edges giving it even more ethereal look. (Uuuuuuhhhh, see what wonders some mistakes can bring about??!!!) :-)

I've forgotten who this artist is but I saw her art somewhere on the internet one day and just fell in love with the "ethereal" aspect of her roses. Yep, almost "too perfect for this world" lovely.

As you have got to know by now if you've been with me blogging for any amount of time, I'm so into mixing the old with the new, the elegant with the shabby, the rough with the shine and the sublime with the humbleness.

One of the most favorite things in my home. I mean it's up on my top 10 list!

The very old with the kitschy of new. Also barely peeking through on the extreme bottom right is a little photo of me as a very young child. ;-)

My Faux Cupcake Giveaway Soon

Don't laugh now, but this is my first little shabby cupcake painting. It will be given away when the total of visitors/views reaches the 25,000 mark. I thought we should celebrate that. Notice I didn't put cherries on top; I put little roses........yeah, yeah, I know, I'm using that term very loosely!! But to be an equal opportunity cupcake painter, there's one in blue, pink and yellow. Now, don't get tooooo excited about this, chicks. Remember, this is my first one. The frame is included but there isn't a hanger on the back. You can, however, hang it on a nail because there is a wide lip back there. The canvas it is on doesn't seem to be a normal size so it just fits in there........precariously. Hey, it's free; what do ya want.....Monet. Oh, I know! I'll be called "Grandma Chickadee." If you haven't read my Profile page then you won't know I'm a wanna-be-rose-painter. I've flunked but I forge ahead. :-) Maybe next one will be roses in some fashion.