You are loved forever

The older I get , the more I understand that love is more than the sum and total of what we do for others in a given moment..!

Love is leaving a tangible part of ourselves behind for others to remember and enjoy..!

Which is why gifts from the heart mean so much to me...Art pieces ... Photo journals of good times together.... Essays..Short stories...Poems...Music..!

Finding a creative outlet and SHARING our creations is an act of love..We channel our feelings into something beautiful for others to enjoy, long after we are gone..! 

Ocean view shot in Galveston..I worked with layers in PhotoShop to give this image a surreal quality :-)

Linking up with   S~ A(R)T~urday

Whirlwind

Every now and then I will pick up some live cut flowers from the grocery store..Those flowers which get severely discounted due to being a couple of days too old..I tend to do this when it is dreary outside...More often then not, I shoot still life photos with these flowers as my subject...Then I move to editing..I enjoy editing and altering photos almost as much as I do shooting them..When I am working on my photo edits, sometimes I feel bored with using the same editing style... I test one plug in / filter after another on one or two images such as these shot with my Samsung Galaxy 5..I am still a fairly new user of  Photo Shop and Light Room..I still have to find my way well enough to get a better idea what this software is capable of..

Anyway I think this is how I see my world before I get enough coffee in my system :-)

Winter Walks

Happy Monday! With my first cup of morning coffee, I enjoy  reading  the first few blogs shown on my reader..
This morning there was one common thing I noticed about each person's story and photos..
You are covered in snow!
For those of you who are buried in snow, let me send you a little sunshine :-)
Yesterday's walk featured partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the 60's..
I rarely get snow...It is either gray clouds with dreariness, or beautiful sun...

A fun Valentine gift for your sweetheart :-)

My first attempt at folded book art :-)

My sister gave me the inspiration to try this fun form of art..She  gifted me with two of her folded books , one of her book pieces is pictured in yesterday's post :-)

There are several ways to make your designs and fold your books

This U - tube is one method for those who know how to draw -measure-plot

I will move to this method as I become more advanced..For people who have Photoshop, there is an app to convert shapes into lined patterns for folding books with this method.. U-tube tutorial is included at the end of this post..

For now my process was simple,  as this is my very first folded book art.. I used a ruler and a pencil to make my marks, I worked from a free pattern I found on line....I was fortunate this pattern worked well with the size book I used.. If you use a pre made pattern, look for size and page specs in the pattern..It is essential that the book isn't too tall, squat or thin..

I learned that I needed to fold the pages in my  book project at a 90 degree angle and I folded them all in one direction...



Here is a 7 lesson course on book folding ..This was the method I used with my free pre made pattern :-)

For those of us who have Photo Shop

From stills to storms

I woke up early this morning intending to chase a sunrise, but ended up being a Miss Lazypants...

After I got a couple of cups of coffee in me I decided it was time to shoot some still life shots while the light was still nice ...Yesterday I received a birthday/care package from my sister in the mail..These goodies became the subjects of my stills..

Then I did my chores..

Then I became a Miss Itchypants..Right before a storm I decided to take a drive and a walk..

These are photos of my  happy Saturday :-)

I crocheted these last night when I had a touch of insomnia..

My sister made me this

Goodies included in my package except for the glass bead..

Hand made heart my sister included in my package..She bought this years ago at the Bayou City Art Fest..We went to this art fest together every year for many years...

An after the storm walk on the beach

At Sunset, a nice ending to a good day :-)

Trees

Trees
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree. 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest 
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; 

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray; 

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair; 

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain. 

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Trees
Joyce Kilmer

My bird visitors

Every January the cardinals and wood peckers come to visit me..They venture down to the lower branches and model for me, lol...The cardinals will also look for food amongst the leaves in the grass..Weather permitting, I have spent every morning this week birdwatching ( and stalking with my camera ).

May all of you have a Happy New Year full of fun, joy, blessings!!!!