Sneak Peek at the New Annual Inspirations book for Close To My Heart

What a great 2014 convention we had it is something I never want to miss.  We get to hold the New Inspirations book in our hands.  I must say that mine is already dog eared up.  I can wait to get on the plane where I can look it over front to back and then back to front.
We will have over 250 new items all of which are so fantastic.  I will be putting out some new product video's on them.  I already know the is the best Inspirations book ever.
Here are just a couple of the new things you will see.
Keep checking back there's plenty more to come.

The new Annual Inspirations Catalog

At Convention I got to make this cute mini Album.  I will share more with you on that after I get home.  But for now you can see the cover.
Here is a sneak peek of the Catalog
This is the best one ever. 

Artfully Sent, The New close To My Heart Cricut Cartridge

Convention has been very exciting.  I have so many things to tell you about.  You should have heard the scream when they announced that the new Cricut cartridge was a card maker's dream.  It is called Artfully Sent and you are going to love it.  Just when you think that CTMH could not possibly do it better.  They show us this!  Yep a pop up card and that is not all. 
Keep checking back to see!

Close To My Heart Convention 2014

Well I am off on an Artistic Adventure.  Sounds like fun right!  It will be, we are off to Disneyland for our annual Close To My Heat Convention.

This will be my 2nd time to go to Convention.  Close To My Heart does a great job in putting these on.  I learned so much when I went before.  I can't wait to see what they have in store for us this time.  We know that we are getting a new Cricut cartridge.  We currently have 3 and they have everything that you need for Crafting, Cardmaking, and Scrapbooking.  So I can't wait to see what this one will have on it.
Keep checking back because I will be updating as we go with all the newest and greatest products that we will have.
Be sure to check my website for all the great deals that you can get now on the While Supplies Last and the Retiring Items.  You will find some great deals there that you won't want to miss out on.

Old Barns

I just love photographing old barns.  They have so much character.  When I see them I just have to stop and shoot them because the next time you go by they might not be there.
I love the way the old wood looks and the way parts can fall off the barns and they are still standing.  Sometimes you can just see right through them.  I bet they have some great stories to tell about their lives.  If only they could tell us the real story behind every fleck of paint.  It does make you wonder doesn't it?
What are your favorite things to photograph?

June Kard Club Swap

It has been awhile since I have posted about our Kard Club Swap.  I have a lot of fun with the ladies.  We all seem to have a great time.  So here we go.  Our card theme was Ethnic.

This is Laurie's she made it with a heart punch, folded them and made the clover.  

Here is Pam's, she photo copied a bag that she liked and glittered it.  The button is the world.

This one is from Tamara it is made with a punch.

Tamara made this one as her make up from last month.  I just love the little ones.  They fit into a pocket on the inside

This one was made by Jody.

Donna Jean made this one with Bird Song.

Erin used Graphic 45 Bird Song to make this one too.  She used a glitter brush marker.  I love how subtle the glitter is.

Kathy made this one.

My SIL Debb used leftover fabric from a quilt that she made on this card.

Jeannine's used a stamp set that she bought awhile back in New Mexico for this one.

My SIL Lani made this tag with the Doll stamp set.  The saying is Hawaiian.

This one is mine.  I used an embossing folder from Tim Holtz.  Everything else is from Close to my Heart

Well that is all the cards.  The craft that we made at the end was to make  necklaces using the Bling and Base wearable crafts from Close to my heart.  Everyone got to choose what they wanted to make.  Either square or round and a charm.  I also had them choose what they wanted to put in the holder.  You can see it all here.

I did not take a picture of our desert.  I made a recipe that I usually make for the holidays.  Its called Toffee Bar its very rich so a little goes a long way.  I can't take a picture of it now because it was all gone and that's the way I like it.  My Granddaughter and my Grandson severed everyone and they had lots of fun doing that.

Thanks for stopping by.

How Has Scrapbooking Improved Your Photography?

If you have scrapbook'd even a couple of times I bet that your photography has improved.  You'll find that when you look through the lens you will see your image in a whole different light.  (Pun intended!)
If you look at older photos you see that if you had just centered this part and left more room around the image you would have been able to better crop it.  Well with out even realizing it, that is what has happened to me.
I now find that I almost never fill my photo with an image and I do my cropping in my view finder while trying to visualize what my page will look like with this one on it.  Plus I find that I don't zoom all the way in I would rather crop my photo and get more of the details in.  The pixels seem to be better at less than full zoom at about 70%.
I do find that I take more shots, one vertical and one horizontal because it never fails I will need the one I don't have.  I don't do that with every shot but when I take the picture and it was a good one I will take another the other way just in case.  I know that is waste but that is what I have found works for me. I will go back later and delete what I don't need.  I am also more selective with what I take pictures of too.
Here is a cropped photo of the Full Moon last night Friday 13, 2014 at about 10 pm.   I didn't have my tripod so I had to hand hold it and that was why it is not a clear as it could be.

I love taking picture of the Moon.  It always amazes me that you can see all the craters and the dust patterns.  It reminds me of a cantaloupe with the way it looks.

Here is a photo of a Blue Jay at one of the water troughs out back.  I took it at about 8 am.

I was going to crop it down closer to the bird but I love the green Powder River Gate at the back and I wanted to leave some of it in, even if it was just a corner of it.  I love the way it contrasts with the rusty Iron brace to the fence.
I think he was watching me watching him.
I was standing on my deck about 500' away and was shooting through the edge of an Oak Tree.  I love taking photos early in the morning while I have my coffee.
I don't enhance my photos.  Well rarely do I do that.  When I do I am rarely happy with the changes that I have made and usually go back to my original.  Sometime is just looks fake and I don't like that.   Not sure why that is.  I know that most people do like to enhance their photos and that's okay.

What about you.
Do you scrapbook?
What do you do different now than you did before?

Cellphone Photos or Camera Photos That is the Question?

I don't know about you but I find myself taking pictures with my cellphone more than with my camera.  It is usually handy and I take it with me where ever I go.  That is an excuse more than a reason.
I have a Nikon D600 that I love.  It is 24m and a full frame camera.  I love it!  I have 2 lenses that I use all the time.  One regular one and a telephoto one.  I paid a lot of money for it and I do use it all the time too but it just seem more convenient to just whip out the cell phone and take the shot.  Then you can share it at will.
I do have a WiFi adapter for my D600 but that takes up a lot of space on my phone, because of the high data
file that it takes up.  But it is nice to know you will get a high quality photo that you can reprint at any size you want.  Although I don't find that I do many enlargement.

I recently saw my husbands cousin who is a professional photographer and has her own photography business for over 30 years.  She was kind enough to spend about 4 hours with me going over my camera and some of the settings.  One of her recommendations was to have a UV Protector filter and a hood for each lens.  So I ordered them on Amazon.com and now I am set.  Well at least better protected.
We walked around the neighborhood and talked about ISO, Shutter Speed and Depth of Field.  Luckily I have a Galaxy Note II with the S-pen so I was able to take notes without have to carry a note pad.  Boy did I take a lot of notes.   Patti showed me the ISO button on the back of my camera and boy did I feel dumb.  Yes it is the button that says ISO right on it.  Who would have guessed!  That is what I was trying to figure out how to do.  Oh well!  That is why she gets paid the big bucks.
Needless to say I had a great day with her and my camera.  I just hope I can remember it all.  Good thing I have my notes to fall back on.
I have used only a Nikon camera since 1972.  I started with a Nikon FM and so it was only manual no Auto at all.  I used to develop my own film for years.  So I should know how to use my new camera on the manual modes.  Well I don't.  Not sure why but now it is like Greek to me with all the buttons and knobs.  So this will be a long learning curve.  At least it will be a fun journey to take.
What do you use?
Your Camera?
or
Your Cellphone?
What kind to you have?
I would love to here from you.

Back on my Blog

I must apologize for not posting for months.  I am a caregiver for my Mom and love having this time to be with her.  She is requiring more of me these days.  I have gotten some help so that I can have a little time to myself.  I can feel it taking its toll on me.  I love my Mom very much and want to give her all the time we have left together but it is a hard balancing act for sure.  I really would not have it any other way.
Nothing ever goes smooth, but I guess that is the way it is.  You always hear to take care of yourself first.  But that feels so selfish sometimes.  So finding the middle ground is the hard part.  Hopefully I can do that now.
I would love to hear from any of you that are doing the same thing.  I know there are lots of you.

This picture is so much like life.  I live in a beautiful spot.  I can see the sunrise over the hills and set behind the hills,  but those darn wires are always in my view.  I would not change where we live and I can not change the wires so I have to learn to deal with the beauty as well as the imperfections.  

On the bright side there is always photoshop.  I used to photoshop my photo like this and that was a lot of work.  Now I have learn to live with it and look for the beauty in it, like the bird on the wire.  We get all kinds of birds that will sit on these wires like Hawk's, Owls, and the squirrels love to cross on them too.  It is a high wire act in my yard.  

As I always say "It is what it is!"

   

Celebrate 30!

Take a look at the great June special that we have going on.

This one has a little some thing for everyone.  You can pick the one you want for only $30.00 when you make a purchase of just $50.00. You will get to choose from 6 great gift collections.   It is a value of up to $65.00, but you need to hurry because it is while supplies last so get yours now.

Click here to get yours now.