I ❤ Macro July 31, 2011

Joining Lori of  Studio Waterstone for I Heart Macro.  

Click on the button and check out all the other Macro Lovers.

La Gargouille

Gargoyles are said to scare off and protect from any evil or harmful spirits.

This little gargoyle watches over our garden.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

I ♡ Macro July 24, 2011

Busy, busy weekend, but I'm making time to post a couple of macro shots.  I really look forward to I ♡ Macro Sundays and I usually spend the week thinking about what type of picture I want to post on Sunday.

The first picture is of an interesting button I bought at Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago.  Every now and then I would pull the button out and contemplate what to do with it, but just didn't feel the inspiration to make anything.  A couple of weeks ago I was piecing together a bracelet design that I had bouncing around in my head, but I couldn't figure out what type of clasp I wanted to use and had left it unfinished.  A few nights later, I suddenly woke up and thought about the button.  I finished the bracelet the next day, and the button worked wonderfully.  I really like how the bracelet turned out.

I also took a couple of pictures of an abandoned snail shell that I found in our backyard.

I love shells like this, with the perfect spiral pattern.

And I love the texture

I'm joining Lori @ Studio Waterstone for I Heart Macro.  Click on the button and join us.

 

Have a wonderful week!

I Heart Macro July 17, 2011

A couple of pics from the deck in our backyard.

The central spadix of the Spathiphyllum or Peace Lily flower

 We are having a drought and I can't remember when it last rained here.  Hubby has been helping me keep the plants watered, but most of the flowers have dried up from the heat.  I was happy to see the bloom on my Peace Lily.  I also managed to get a shot of a creepy crawly before it flew away.

Please join us at Waterstone Studio for I Heart Macro.  Add your own macro shot and check out the other wonderful pictures posted for this week.  Have a wonderful day!

I Heart Macro July 10, 2011

Can you guess what this is?

 This is the eye of a painting by artist Jim Brace, who is a friend of my husband.  When I first saw this painting, I fell in love.  Besides loving the colors, the painting reminded me of my youth.  Being the nostalgic dork that I am, I really wanted to buy it, but being the frugal/practical dork that I am, didn't think we could afford it at the time.  My Sweetie Pie of a husband, knowing how much I wanted the painting, worked out a deal with Jim and bought the painting for me.

This is the rest of the painting.  If you can't tell or are not familiar with, the painting is of guitarist and musician, Jimi Hendrix.

Click the link below to check out the other Macro/Up close photos posted to the day!

Enjoy your day!

Inspired by Nature Challenge, Week 2, Feather

I have been wanting to branch out with my jewelry designs and have been intrigued with the beautiful beads that other jewelry artists create with polymer clay.  I bought a couple of books to read up on the subject and finally bought a colorful selection of clay.  My first couple of attempts at bead making didn't go very well.  It seems to take a lot of work to make the clay pliable (unless I bought old/dry clay) and this was frustrating.  Someone told me that a pasta machine helps, but I'm not ready to invest in one just yet.  I over cooked the first batch of beads, so I knew that I needed more practice with the oven temperature and the length of time that the beads were in the oven.

I decided to try to make a pendant for the Inspired by Nature, Feather Challenge and I'm relatively happy with how the pendant turned out.   When I took the piece for the pendant out of the oven, I could see that the clay bubbled in some spots.  This was probably due to my impatience with how long it was taking for the clay to soften.  I'm not giving up just yet and will be more patient the next time. 

Check out all of the challenge entries that are posted on Flickr.

Bead Table Wednesday

I'm trying to get back into the creative grove.  I have a couple of projects that I started a month or so ago, that I need finish.  I also have new ideas floating around in my head, but I want to finish the other project first.  Here's whats on my table right now.

I making a necklace in purples and blacks for a coworker.  I'm also making a bracelet using some some gorgeous porcelain jasper beads and some beautiful glass pearl beads that I received from Rings & Things.   As you can tell from these pictures, I also need to spend some time perfecting my picture taking and learning more about my camera and Photoshop. 

Enjoy your beading adventures!

I Heart Macro July 3, 2011

My husband recently brought this home for me.  I'm not sure if it's an old locket or a compact, but I like the etching/engraving on the top.  I think it would make a nice vintage looking necklace, so I'm going to clean it up a little bit and try to attach a chain.

Join Lori Plyler of Studio Waterstone and check out all of the "I Heart Macro" slash "I Heart Close Ups: Up Close Photography for Macro Makers and the Camerologically Challenged" entries.

Have a wonderful Independence Day Weekend!