Happy Jacks

These jack-o-lanters will greet those who appear at our door for treats.  The one of the left is the typical orange pumpkin and the one on the right is white.  They were carved by my husband who prefers a white pumpkin but when we couldn't fine one, we purchased an orange one.  Then, of course, we found a white one!  No problem - he carved both.  Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

This was a dollar stamp at JoAnn's and it is an Inkadinkado image.  I stamped it on black on a watercolor background and added a bit of glitter pen here and there.  The black is the air vent die cut adhered to a piece of orange cardstock.  A line of stain ribbon is on top and I matted the skull and crossbones on two labels made with a die cut.

This image seemed more "stylish" than scary, but I don't think I want to be that type of stylish.

Windmills

It's another scene from the wide open spaces of WY but this shows another element that was very common - a windmill.  I don't think I've ever seen a concentration of windmills as I saw going through WY and SD.  Of course they are practical in that they usually pump water for the livestock but they also have a sort of beauty all their own.  Or maybe it's my imagination and their mystic.  In any event, I always enjoy seeing them.  They also remind me of a friend from about 40 years ago who had a collection of photographs of windmills.  She did a lot of research and could tell the brand and some of their history.  I thought it was a unique hobby.

WY Open Spaces

My husband and I traveled to South Dakota a month ago.  We went east to Denver and then pretty much north from there until we headed east again to get to Lead.

WY and SD have big skies and lots and lots of open area.  It seems to go on forever but there's quite a bit to look at, too.  This is a fairly typical scene, though structures are few and far between.  They don't show well on the photo, but there are also cattle to the back on the right hand side.

This was "drive by shooting," meaning I just took a shot out the window without stopping the car.  It's my form of entertainment when I'm not driving.  I haven't tried it while I'm driving as I suspect that would diminish our chances for a safe arrival at our destination.  Anyway, my mind is well occupied when I'm driving so there isn't a need.

"Painted" Sunflowers

Some of the photos I take are just tools for my art, like a brush or a marker.  Using Photoshop Elements and Topaz filters one can explore a whole new world of manipulation.  I can't remember all I did to this photo but it involved a "simplify" filter and the addition of digital brushes.  I'm sure that's "Greek" to a lot of you, but trust me it is interesting and fun.  I never have a preconceived notion as to what I'll do; I just crop the photo and start playing.  When I get something I like, I save it and then try something else.  The circle around the flower, the text and the little butterfly (you did see that didn't you?!) are all brushes.  They work sort of like rubber stamps but you can make them different sizes.  This was an atc that I submitted for an exchange.

And just a little personal note from my morning's experience:  You have to be a little crazy to buy a McDonalds Frappe and consume it when its 28 degrees outside.  It may take me the rest of the day to get warm again.

Due to requests from my fan club (thanks!) I'm back.  I don't know how often I'll be posting or exactly what I'll be posting but we'll see how it goes.   Did I get a lot accomplished on the other project to which I referred when I took my leave?  Not really, though I made some progress.  But it didn't seem to be my blogging that was getting in the way.  So here I am.

This card started with the three monsters that were lurking inthe $1 bin at Michaels.  They begged to come home with me to haunt people I know.  The lime green mat has a border punch and I added a punched rat and bat.  The spider dangles from a thin filament and I added a ribbon and bow.  Each of the spooks has google eyes.

They look more friendly than scary.  Don't they?