Bring the Inside Out

I signed up for Kim Klassen's new class Beyond Beyond and decided to try to get back to regular blogging along with taking this class.  Today's assignment was "bring the inside out".  These starfish were originally outside but I keep them in a big bowl in my family room, so they were brought out by the pool for this photo. I also applied two layers of one of Kim's new Downton Abbey collection textures called "Sybil".  

Speaking of Downton Abbey, Jeff got me watching it and we've been watching it together.  I'm totally hooked! We have the first two seasons on DVD and are partway into the second season.  The third season is currently on TV, so we'll probably have to buy it so we can get caught up before the next season starts. It's fun to have a show that he likes to come over and watch with me.  He get's dinner out of it and I get the pleasure of his company!

Liberate Your Art

 
For the past few weeks, I have been participating in a postcard swap. Kat Sloma of Kat Eye Studio created "Liberate Your Art 2012 Postcard Swap".  Artists of all types were invited to "liberate their art" by printing an image of their work on a postcard. Many different types of artists participated from photographers to painters, sculptors and jewelry designers.  We sent off five self-addressed postcards to Kat who distributed them over the course of the next five weeks.  Such a great way to connect with artists from around the world!

The photo above is the shot I decided to send.  It is an Icelandic Poppy taken in Virginia at Monticello last May and the word art is by Ali Edwards.

The first postcard I received was from someone I knew!  I met Cyndy Ireland Bresden at Camp Shutter Sisters last year and will be seeing her again at Oasis this year.  Her postcard was of a lavender flower and had a recipe for Lavender Lemonade on the back.  Bonus! 

You can see more from Cyndy on her blog at studiomphotos.blogspot.com and on Instagram at cyndyib.

Next I received this wonderful postcard from Dawn Pietzsch.  Her blog is called girlunwinding.wordpress.com.  Each Monday she posts a new "Natural Mandala" that she has created. I looked up the word "mandala" and it translates to mean "circle". She creates these circles out of natural things and they are stunning!

You can follow her on Instagram at dawnsrays.

Then I received this one that is my all time favorite flower, the white peony with the fuchsia center, from Michelle Gyauch Dzema.

Isn't that just stunning?  You can see more of Michelle's work at michellegd.com and you can follow her on Instagram at michelle gd.

I did receive two postcards which didn't have any website or blog information on them, unfortunately. But at the end of the swap I received this wonderful postcard from Kat Sloma, the organizer of the swap!

I knew I wanted a way to display all these wonderful cards and did a bit of research and found this display piece at Pier One:

You can see that there is still room to add more photos.  It is available at most Pier One stores and you can also find it online here.  I have it hanging on a narrow wall between two closets in my office and love looking at it every day!  Several of the postcards you see displayed are from other members of Focusing on Life who participated in the swap.

And finally Kat did a blog post and video of all of the art she received and distributed.  It's wonderful and I hope you will take a few minutes to watch it.  You can find it here:

This is was so much fun and ended all too soon.  I really enjoyed opening my mailbox and finding these little pieces of beauty waiting for me.  I will definitely be doing it again next year!

Storytime

This picture is for a linky party at Focusing on Life blog that I write for. The beginning of the story has been provided and anyone participating gives a picture representing the ending of the story. Here's my picture! Leave your guesses below on what happens next.  It will be fun to see all the different endings that people think of!

The rest of the story is to come on Sunday!  Be sure to check back to see how all the stories turn out.

Follow this link for the beginning of the story. In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy guessing where this picture leads.

A Week at the Beach

At the beach for a week. Loving every minute! Back later with more photos.

Five Facts Friday

The idea for Five Facts Friday is from the online blogging class I took called Behind the Scenes.  Created this layout to illustrate five of my "loves" right now.  Thanks to Viv Halliwell for posting the link to the template she used!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Today at the collaborative blog that I write for, Focusing on Life, I posted a story about my chicken tortilla soup, just the story, no recipe.  Well, after several people have requested the recipe, I decided to post it here.  So here goes:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 chicken breast halves, including skin & bone

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

2 32 oz. cartons of chicken broth + 1 14.5 oz. can of chicken broth

2 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes

2 chipotle peppers in abobo sauce (or less if you don't want it too spicy)

1 medium sweet onion

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

olive oil

1 bag frozen sweet corn

cilantro, chopped

avocado, chopped

tortilla chips

Cover chicken breasts with water in large pot; add garlic powder and salt.  Bring to boil and then lower heat to medium and cook for approximately 30 minutes until chicken is done.  Remove and let cool.  Dispose of cooking water.  Chop onion and saute with garlic in olive oil until opaque.  Add onion/garlic, one can of tomatoes and some of the chicken broth to a blender and blend.  Pour into same pan you  used to cook the chicken.  Add second can of tomatoes, some chicken broth and chipotle peppers to blender and blend. Pour into cooking pot.  Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, shred chicken, discarding skin and bone.  Add chicken, corn and cilantro to soup and heat for 1-2 minutes.  Break tortilla chips into serving bowls, spoon soup over chips and add avocado.

That's all there is to it.  Enjoy!

Behind the Scenes Mouseover

I have been enjoying all the amazing techniques I've been learning in the Behind the Scenes class with Kim Klassen and Xanthe Berkeley. One technique that Kim uses a lot is called a "mouseover" where you can move your mouse over the photo and see the before and afters. To create the image above, I used two of Kim's textures, "Epiphany" and "Sunday", both at soft light. I liked this so much that I ended up printing it at 12x18 and framing it for my studio!  If you want to see the "before", just move your mouse over the  photo. Enjoy!