Foto Friday Sillouhettes aka profile shots

This week's Foto Friday consisted of sillouhettes HOWEVER true sillouettes are of the subject being dark and the background lit. I just didn't have much opportunity to experiment with that (except that spider photo which was not enhanced, was at least 5 inches around and was in my basement window inside, not outside) So I guess I really did profile shots more than sillouhette shots but I got the "general jest" I suppose. The good news is that none of these are archives, they are all from this past week (except mr. spider again who was from the week before) Please visit Renaissance for more (and better) sillouhette shots! :)

Foto Friday-Archive style

I am sorry to say I didn't have the opportunity to scope out architecture this week which saddens me because I LOVE architecture. I will be going out to take a few shots at some point and posting them here because I really wanted to participate, in the meantime however I am leaving you with some grandiose architecture from our vacation last year to Gettysburg National Park/Battlefield. Gettysburg is brimming over with amazing architecture, from monuments in rembrance of those who fought in the civil war, to old buildings that have been immaculately cared for and maintained since the civil war. To participate or view other's contributions, please visit Renaissance.

Foto Friday-Sky and Clouds

This week's Foto Friday was Sky and Clouds. Most of this week was full of dull, dismal, gray clouds but I was able to capture a few nice shots. Have a lovely day and visit Renaissance to participate in her Foto Fridays.

Foto Friday- Still Life

This week's Foto Friday was Still Life. I missed last week due to some old habits being broken and new habits started but I'm back this week-did you miss me? Probably not, but hey it's okay:)

To me a still life portrays a collection of items that have some sort of significance or tell a story. Typically still lives aren't composed of live critters, but my cat Moocha was staring out the window on the couch so calm, still, and peaceful I grabbed a shot because he was a still life-literally! :) I actually have still life material quite a bit around my house. I tend to group things in collections to be displayed throughout the home. One of my favorites, which portrays Mother's Day so well is my grouping of willow tree sculptures. I pulled out the ones specifically with mother and children. I thought it a perfect grouping to show the love of a mother to a child. The floral arrangement on the piano was a gift from my hubby. They had a banquet at work and he snagged one of the leftover arrangements for me, which btw is GORGEOUS..It looked so beautiful sitting on the piano and I can look at it often. I picked arrangements of items and things that I love. To be surrounded by things that warm your heart is a wonderful thing, so I truly enjoyed capturing them in still life form this week! :)

I hope you have a blessed Mother's Day and if you'd like to participate along with us, visit Renaissance :)

Foto Friday..Thinking outside my box.

This week's Foto Friday theme was Red. I tend to use my children as subjects quite often in our weekly challenges. Rebecca reminds us weekly to be artistic, creative, and think outside the box. This week that is exactly what I did. I decided NOT to use my children as subjects on purpose even though I had a couple cute ones of Christiana on our red slide. I wanted to put effort into doing something just a little different. I couldn't give up my nature shots though..sorry about that! :) I tried to mix it up just a little and challenge myself. I think I did allright, at least I tried :)

To join in or see other's perspectives on Foto Friday, visit my sister Rebecca at Renaissance..You'll be glad you did!

Yellow Nature Study (and more) :)

This week's Foto Friday was Yellow, which was super easy, all I had to do was walk out of doors (well, I cheated and looked at some other Foto Friday participants before I actually posted mine (I didn't take any ideas though, I promise) and saw that many of us were on the same wavelength this week..How could you not though, the Forsythia bushes are in full bloom, tulips are gorgeous right about now, and the dandelions are showing their beautiful color (sorry, I have never thought dandelions were a pest, in fact I've always liked them! :) ) I focused mostly on flowers this week, but I couldn't resist throwing a few of my littlest picking flowers for mama though- she has learned the art from her big brother who has been picking me flowers since was old enough to walk. :) Oh, and I know that the blue flowers are mostly blue, but there is yellow there too :)

I lost my grandmother in March of last year, and she was the floral gardener of the family. She loved flowers and her flower gardens were proof of that love because each blossom flourished under her tender loving care. I've always loved flowers as well, but ever since she passed away, I have become even more enamoured with them because they remind me so much of her and I miss her. I guess I would love to be able to "take her place" so that when people come to visit they can enjoy pretty blooms at my house just like I did at hers. I've planted lilac bushes this year, Pleaded with Bob to make me a flower garden and each week I scour the grocerers floral dept for discounted bulbs so that even though I may not enjoy them this year, I can plant them and enjoy them next year. The family who lived in our house prior to us planted a lot of bulbs in the back yard in strange places, so I've spent numerous hours digging up bulbs and replanting them in the flower garden.

I will also be filling up the fronts and sides of my house with flowers and flowering bushes as well. I have to do these things a little at a time, because if I did it all at once it would cost a pretty penny for sure, but little by little I hope to have a simply blooming home...A home blossoming with children, blossoming with love, and blossoming with pretty flowers :)

If you would like to participate in this week's Foto Friday, please visit my sister at Renaissance :)

Transformation Thursday

Parenting.com sent me a link to a blog with the coolest (and super easy) eggs, so I just had to try it! I've already posted this but I wanted to share it for Transformation Thursday too.

These eggs are pretty enough to be displayed almost anytime of year.

I showed step by step how I did it, now here is a brief description on how to do these beautiful eggs....

1. get in your hubby's tie collection and the ones that he never wears, see if they are silk and snag a few- or go to Salvation Army and grab some cool ones (they are super cheap there) just make sure they are silk (sometimes there is a tiny tag that will say so, so look carefully) Cut them apart, I ripped them and cut them directly on their seam in the back so I could use as much of the fabric as I could. Wrap your eggs up tightly in them, making sure the outside silk design is directly on the egg. I had mostly brown eggs so I took a chance with them, they are pretty, but you could see the design better on the white ones just so ya know :) Tie them at the top with string, twistie ties, or I used fuzzy pipecleaners cut up because they were what I had available (they looked cute too!) I only used two ties, because I raided my hubby's ties, but the more designs the better :)

2. Find some white cotton fabric, an old sheet or old pillowcase works great (I used an old pillowcase) Once again, Salvation Army is a great place to grab these if you dont have them on hand. Tie each egg up the same way you did with the silk tie fabric.

3. Using an enamel or glass cooking pan cover eggs with water, add 1/4 cup vinegar bring to a boil, then boil for 20 minutes (don't use a regular metal pan, it doesn't work well.)4 let cool down on a towel or a colander and once cool enough to handle unwrap to see your hidden treasure, you will be pleasantly surprized how amazing these look.The downside, you shouldn't eat them because the dye of the ties is probably not the greatest for you, and the vinegar saturating the egg might not taste too good either, and it takes a little while.The upside, these will make a beautiful Easter centerpiece (as I am using for Easter) and they are so fun to make. They are completely worth the time, and are very easy to do. Just make sure that silk is snug and secure around your egg, the better it is put on the egg, the better the design will adhere.