A Busy Weekend

We have lots to do this weekend so no crafty post today.  The weather has been dull and rainy here.  In case your weather is similar, I thought I'd share this photo of a flower growing in our friend's garden in Italy.  Just looking at the bright colors and the sun will chase the cloudy day blues away!

Have a great Sunday!


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Real Flowers - printed and cut for a card

Monday was a "catch-up" day for me.  I was finally able to find the top of the pool table in my craft room "annex" (after our sons left home I spread out into the adjoining room - and filled it up too!).  I was sorting through piles of projects and I found something that I started a couple of months ago.  So I finished this card to share with you.

This photo of a rudbeckia (brown-eyed susan) from our back yard was the starting point.

I did some photo editing and heightened the contrast to make the flower stand out.  One of my favorite things to do with my flower photos is to turn them into digital elements that I can use for my digital scrapbooking.  I have accumulated quite a few flower images as PNG files that I can use for page layouts, cards and other projects.

I used the Creative Memories StoryBook Creator 4.0 software (on sale this week for only $41.40) to remove the background and create a clean image of the flower.  I realized that with my Silhouette machines I have the capability to take these flower images and cut them out perfectly.

I saved the PNG file to my desktop and then dragged it into the Silhouette Studio software.  (You do not need the designer version of the software to do this).  Then I used the trace function to create a cut line around the edge of the flower.  I filled a page with various sizes of the flower.  For some of the images, I created an offset to leave a white edge around the flower when it is cut.  

Once my flowers were cut out, they looked very realistic - because they are actual flower images.  I could also skip the printing and use the cut lines that I traced around the flowers to cut plain cardstock in the same shape. 

I chose three flowers in small, medium and large sizes, and cut some basic card mats for an A2 card.  The card base is Bazzill heavy textured cardstock, the brown layer is Core'dinations cardstock and the green design is from Momenta.  The yellow chevron ribbon is from May Arts and the sentiment is from Craftwork Cards (I rounded two corners to make it a little more interesting).

 I placed the ribbon across the front of the top layer and folded it over onto the adhesive on the back before I placed the green layer (3 3/4 x 5 inches) on the brown layer (4 x 5 1/4 inches).

I inked the edges of the layers with some Vintage Photo distress ink.  Here is the finished card base before I added the flowers and sentiment.

I chose this ribbon because the chevron pattern matches the design in the green dragonfly cardstock.  I used Scor-Tape to attached the sentiment to the ribbon and the cardstock.

To add dimension to the flowers, I used some foam dots.  I adhered the largest flower with Scor-Tape in the center and curled up the ends a bit.  For the medium flower I used one foam dot and for the smallest flower I stacked two foam dots.

I overlapped the flowers as I placed them on the card.  This photo shows the different levels.

I have also done a print and cut project with some daisies and I am working on other flowers that I have photographed.  I really enjoy taking my photos and finding new ways to use them.  You can make a totally personalized card and once you take the time to create the files you can use them over and over again.

I am linking up this project to Link Up Tuesday HERE.  The past few months have been such a busy time for our family.  I don't go to the message boards much anymore but I'd like to keep in contact with the blogging community - I may even start a link day here.

Every so often I am asked if I sell my photographs.  I haven't done that (yet) but I am considering creating and selling SVG files to print and cut my flower images.  Please let me know (by leaving a comment or by email) if you'd be interested in these or other SVG files.  I can't sell them as .studio files (see Kerri Bradford's recent blog posts) but SVG files can be cut by a number of machines, including the Silhouette machines if you have the designer edition of the software or another program such as Make the Cut.

Our weather has started to cool down a bit and fall will be here soon.  The schools here usually start after Labor Day but I know that in many parts of the country children are already back to school.  If you have school age children, I hope that they are off to a good start for this year.

I wonder what other projects I'll find as I continue to sort out my craft room!

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Photo Tips for Flowers and Fireworks

Thanks for all of the nice comments and emails about the flower photos I shared yesterday.  I do enjoy taking and editing photos and sharing them from time to time.  Of course, my husband gets the credit for growing all of the pretty things in our gardens and doing all of the hard work maintaining the decks and patios.

A lot of people have asked about my camera.  It is a Nikon D40 DSLR (digital single-lens reflex).  I have had the camera for almost five years.  At the time I bought this camera, it was the entry level DSLR in Nikon's line.  I wrote about my camera and some tips for taking photos recently, so I won't repeat everything in this post.  If you click HERE, you can read the details about my photos that I shared in May.

brown eyed susan after editing

brown eyed susan direct from camera

The "secret" to most of my photos is cropping and editing.  I use the Creative Memories Memory Manager 3.0 program (currently on sale for just $19.95). 

daisy - straight from camera

daisy after editing

In May, I mentioned the possibility of doing a video to show how I edit a photo.   Several people expressed an interest in seeing the process.  It really doesn't take very long to do and it makes such a difference in the final images.  I have upgraded my video software, so I will try to make some more videos later this summer.  The next few weeks are going to be very busy with family events and visits.

Once you have edited your photos, you can get even more creative with the images and add text or embellishments.  A photo with a nice quote, verse or phrase will make a very nice simple card.  For the image at the top of this post, I used this flower photo and then added the bible verse and applied an oil painting effect to the image.

actual photo of flower

Oil painting filter applied to flower photo

I used the StoryBoook Creator 4.0 (currently on sale for $48.71) to change the image and add the words.  Working with these two programs, I feel like I have limitless possibilities to create with my photos.

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Photographing Fireworks

If you are planning to go to see some fireworks for the 4th of July, Nick Kelsh has some tips for photographing fireworks.  Normally, the more in depth explanations are for subscribers only but he shared all of his tips with everyone on Monday - just click HERE to get some great information.  You can sign up for free daily emails from Nick or buy a subscription for more in depth photo education.

They are predicting rain for the 4th - which could cause trouble for the planned events.  We'll just have to wait and see what the weather does...

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Summer Garden

It's been a couple of weeks since I last updated the flower photos from our garden.  My husband has been busy finishing a new patio area and repairing the deck (decks don't like New England winters).  Lots of lilies are blooming now.  I thought the way the sun caught this one was very pretty.

The Clematis vine along the side of the garage is nearly finished but the hydrangeas are getting full now so we have some color.

I thought that the color of hydrangeas is determined by the soil but we have both white and blue growing on the same bushes.  The blue is one of my favorites.

The snowball bushes (vibernum) are overloaded with blooms.  I cut a few that were falling on the lawn but they don't last very long in a vase.  I can see these from the kitchen window.

We have a few coneflowers (echinacea) blooming.

These have a pretty pale purple color and the centers are raised in a dome shape.

Do you remember this photo of the ferns that were starting to come up in early May?

Here they are now - very full and fluffy.

There are more hydrangeas next to the ferns - once again in a mixture of blue and white.

This is the stone wall that my husband finished building today.  We needed to raise up the ground level between the two trees where we hang a hammock in the summer.

The wall curves a bit and there is a step up and to the right where we now have a small patio - just big enough for two Adirondack chairs in a shady spot that catches some breezes.

This pink astilbe grows on the side of the house.  The flowers are so soft and delicate.

There is clump of another variety of lilies near the garage.  These have a more ruffly edge.

This is my favorite photo from yesterday's walk around the yard with my camera.  This is a type of dianthus (common names, pink, sweet William or carnation) and I just happened to catch a bee that landed on the flower.

Today would have been my mother's 89th birthday.  She was an avid gardener and ran the flower show at the Grange Fair for many years.  It's been 17 years since she died but whenever I see a pretty garden or an interesting flower I think of her.


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Saturday Garden Update

We have had glorious weather here in Massachusetts for the past few days and it is expected to continue through the weekend.   It's been a couple of weeks since I updated the garden photos - here's what's new...

Stella D'oro day lilies - these are low in height and have a lovely yellow color.

Foxglove - these always make me think of a fairy story.

The snowball bushes are starting to get their flowers.  They are actually a type of vibernum.

They start out in this sort of acid green color and then the white blossoms appear.

Daisies - some in places we expected them and others that pop up randomly!

The clematis is doing exceptionally well this year.  This plant was a birthday gift from my friends a few years ago and has become very well established in the side garden.

The color and the shape of the flowers are favorites of mine - I guess I am more partial to purple than I realized.

I think it is interesting that the number of petals can vary - some flowers have four, some have five...

...and some have six.

We will be joining with some of our neighbors Saturday morning to work on refurbishing our "mailbox house."  The structure covers the rather utilitarian boxes so they fit in better with the neighborhood.  It needs some boards replaced, scraping and painting.  I am also doing a little project to add a finishing touch - photos to come.  There are some plantings that need trimming and weeding and mulch to be spread as well.  It looks like a good day to work - not too hot and not humid.

Several people have sent me questions about the free Father's Day cards in the Cricut Craftroom.  I am not sure what will happen after the "free" period expires.  I saved each card as a file and exported it to my desktop.  I believe that I should be able to upload it to cut even after the "free" time ends.  I didn't see any information on the Cricut site clarifying this.

I did not have any luck exporting the cards as .gypsy files - when I open the file, they show the name on the tab but there is no image.  If you were able to successfully save the cards as .gypsy files, please leave a comment and share how you did it (it would be helpful to state your computer and software versions too).

Thanks for the good wishes for my Dad - we will see how he is doing today.  I am hoping that it isn't serious but at 87 almost anything, even a mild cold, can turn serious.

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