Another Cyber Monday Post

I created this set using permanent dyed purple violet and green fossil beads. The spacer beads, disc pendant and paisley pendant are made of Tibetan silver. I have to say that I'm surprised at how well my camera picked up the tiny black veins in the purple violet beads but I'm sure glad it did! Again, if you would like a chance at winning this set, leave a comment and your name will be entered. Just make sure you leave a comment by Midnight Monday, November 28th, Pacific Standard Time. And keep checking back for more images giving you more chances to enter.

Cyber Monday Give Away Preview

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we can all start focusing on Christmas, right? And it all begins with the infamous Black Friday Sales running through Cyber Monday Sales...if you can call them sales. I haven't seen any really good deals yet. So I was thinking it might be fun to offer a Give-Away on Cyber Monday. What a bargain! You don't have to purchase a thing. You just have to leave a comment for a chance to win. I think that's a pretty good deal, if you ask me. Where else will you find a deal like this? The pic below shows my newest menagerie of hand-strung, hand-made jewelry that I just finished. Might one or more of these be given away? I will be posting through Monday the items you could possibly win. That way it will give you more chances to win. Monday @ midnight Pacific Standard Time, I will combine all the comments from the Cyber Monday Posts (received from now until then), and draw one or more names. Please leave an email address with your comment so I can notify the winner(s). I will post the winning name(s) shortly after the drawing.

*Cyber Monday Preview of what's to come*
Do you see something you might want to win above?

4x4 Friday Challenge - Every Leaf

"Turkey in the Leaves"

The theme for 4x4 Friday challenge this week is Every Leaf. I think I have plenty of leaves on this one from medium size leaves that are embossed to one giant shadow maple leaf and every leaf in between and smaller.

You can view more of this theme at:
http://4x4friday.blogspot.com/2011/11/4x4-friday-every-leaf.html

SPA Challenge - Framed

Since I created these two images for Thanksgiving, I thought it appropriate to wait until the day of to post them. Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, you can appreciate the theme of the end of a harvest season, right? AND what is even better yet, is that these two images fit the theme over at SPA. How lucky is that? Enough to be thankful for yet one more thing this year.

You can view more "Framed" creations at:
http://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/youve-been-framed/#comments

On a personal note: I am ever so thankful for the abundance of joy this blog gives me as well as the many other blogs I visit often. I wish you all smiles, a loving heart, and much to be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving, Harvest Greetings, An Autumn Hello, or Have a Great end of the Week & Weekend!

Texture Images for two Challenges

I've been having some fun again with textures! I thought you might like to see the layers of texture I used for the background and effects in my finished Deer in the Woods Image to give you an idea of how I work on one of my play days. Perhaps it will inspire some of you to give it a try! It really is quite fun!

I began this venture with one of Nancy Donaldson's beautiful encaustic textures that she has so generously allowed us to use. You can find the challenge at her site using the texture images provided at: http://allpulpedout.blogspot.com/search/label/challenge

Next, I layered this photo of my old cherry tree from a previous winter. Once I added that, I then used the multiply effect and that was quite pretty but I still wanted to play a little more.

So, I layered this really cool photo of one of my star junipers, rotated it to the bottom of the image, and blended it. I couldn't use all of it so I used the eraser to remove what I didn't need.

By this stage, I felt it needed a deer so I went to Google free images and found this beauty! It worked out perfectly! All that was left to do was a bit more tweaking and I was finished. Here is the final creation.

So now I have another entry for the DMS challenge on textures. Here's the link for that challenge: http://dmstudiochallenge.blogspot.com/2011/11/november-2011-challenge.html

Hope you all have a fantastic week!

4x4 Friday Challenge - Frost Queen

Once upon a time in the land of Icy Forest, the Frost Queen had a daughter named Iceserina.

Now wouldn't this make a cute winter story? Thanks to the challenge at 4x4 Friday, my imagination has taken a journey into storybook land. Perhaps someday I'll write this story but for now I'll enter this enhanced image into the current challenge. I borrowed this cute little image at a bling-type site which can be downloaded if you're interested. You'll have to search through google to find it, though, since I can't remember what the site is named.

In the meantime, to view more Frost Queen images, just hop on over to:
http://4x4friday.blogspot.com/2011/11/4x4-friday-frost-queen.html

Have a Great Weekend!

SoArtful Challenge - Gypsy Spirit

Original by Gene Pressler

"Gypsy Rosaleaves"

Altered for the SAC challenge.
Here is the link to view more:
http://jeanette-soartfulchallenges.blogspot.com/

Fun With ATC'S challenge - Clowns/Zirkus

Fresh out of photoshop! Step right up! Don't be shy now. A collage of wonders to inspire even the young ones. LOL The ATC above was created from several Dover Publications images and then you know what I did next. Photoshop and I really do have a wonderful time together.
And if the above wasn't enough for the young ones, this one is. I actually created this one a few years ago but I figured I would add this to the challenge for those who might have missed it way back when. Hope you enjoy them and thanks for looking!

You can see more Clowns/Zirkus at:
http://funwithatcs.blogspot.com/

SPA Challenge - Poppies

Once again...Same but different. I used the same Dover Publications image for both but they are really different. Which do you prefer? I'm really enjoying the image with the red poppies.
Here's the link for the challenge if you would like to view more:
http://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/

Digital Montage Studios Challenge - Textures

The challenge this month is textures. There are textures everywhere! I have to say this gave me a wonderful excuse to have a camera play day. Well, not exactly a whole day... more like 20 minutes before the sun went down. You might be surprised at how many pics you can take in a very short time and since you might be rushing a bit, you never know what the final results will be until you stop clicking and start checking. The following two examples will show you what I mean by that followed by the results of what happened when I combined them.

There are so many textures on my weeping tree. Even as it was getting dark out, I snapped a quick picture. I was so delighted with the results, I just had to use it for this challenge.

Here are four layers of textures. Starting from the bottom - Pavement, then pine needles, a ground cover surrounded by teeny tiny pine cones, and one larger pine cone on top.

And here is the final result that I enhanced in Photoshop CS. This challenge was so much fun that I might just have to create a few more images. Thank you Cynthia for another great challenge! http://dmstudiochallenge.blogspot.com/2011/11/november-2011-challenge.html

Om Mani Padme Hum

"Great Elephant Spirit"

Generosity, Ethics, Patience, Wisdom, Renunciation, and Diligence purifies Pride, Jealousy, Passion, Prejudice, Poverty, and Aggression. Om Mani Padme Hum. "The Jewel of the Lotus." If you would like to learn more about this mantra, you can go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_mani_padme_hum

*While I was working on the Chakra challenge, I stumbled on these amazing elephant images. There was this gentleness about them that grabbed my heart and instantly calmed all the stressful moments of the day. AND this is the same comfort one can achieve from the Mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.* It is my hope that you will feel and receive this sense of calm as well.

Chakra theme - Postcard

All the Chakra Colors along with the Energy Life Force and Glow says it all... and now I am at Peace with this Undersea Garden Creation. This is one of those creations that seem to take shape all by itself - perhaps sent by guides of the energy life force that comes from the within/without. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

4x4 Friday Challenge - Chakra

I had lots of ideas this week but not enough time to complete them. Hopefully there will be a repeat of this challenge in the near future. To see more images with the chakra theme just go to this link: http://4x4friday.blogspot.com/2011/11/4x4-friday-chakra.html

Pink Saturday Winner - Kathleen

Congratulations Kathleen! You left a very nice comment and for that...Yes indeed...You are the winner! I hope you will enjoy the Pink Saturday Hummingbird set!
I'm sorry this announcement is a bit late and I would really love to have a good excuse but alas, I don't. I actually just forgot it was Saturday today! Doh! Anyway, I will get it in the mail as soon as I can.

Take a Word Challenge - Time

This week at Take a Word the theme is Time. R&R was obviously on my mind so here are my Rest and Relaxation creations for this weeks challenge. My thanks to Dover Publications and Photoshop plug-ins! Hope you are all having a great week and that you find a bit of R&R too.

Three Challenges in one - Sort of

While browsing a few challenges from the WLDA group, I found some had similar themes so I created the Black and White first for Fun with ATC's: http://funwithatcs.blogspot.com/

Then I checked out Think Monday, Think ATC at: http://tmta.wordpress.com/where the challenge was Skeletons/Mummies and so I added Orange to the black and white Skeleton image just to add a bit more of a Halloween feel to it.

AND then I checked out the Black and White challenge at: http://takeaword.blogspot.com/
and I already had the word Creepy so I just added a bit of red to change it again.
It looks like the theme will be TIME if you would like to participate in the challenge next week.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Mine was very creative! : )
Yay for Challenge Blogs!

It's a Pink Saturday Give-Away!

Yes! Pink Saturday is here once again and this time I am offering a give-away of a Beaded Pink Swirl Jade Necklace and Earring Set complete with some lovely Tibetan Silver Hummingbirds. If you would like a chance to win this set, just leave a comment to enter the drawing. It's that simple. I will announce the winner next Pink Saturday. My apology for the poor quality photos but I assure you it is a lovely set. The necklace is just short of 24" in length and the earrings drop down a shy 1 1/2". The earring fish hooks are surgical steel. Who will be the lucky winner?



Happy Pink Saturday! I hope you will browse on over to Beverly's place to view more Pink Saturday.
http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/10/pink-saturday-october-22-2011.html

Please note:
You need to contact me if you win so I can get your email and address. That means you'll have to check this blog next week to see if you're the winner. : ) My last give away is still here because the person who won never contacted me. You can contact me at:
joanshomestudio@yahoo.com
Thanks and Good Luck!

SPA Challenge - Bats

Here come the bats! This past week was so much fun working with new custom shapes! I wish I had downloaded them sooner but at least I have them now. You can find these custom shapes at:
http://www.free4photoshop.com/pgs/shapes/free_photoshop_custom_shapes.html

"Getting Batty Out Here"

If you would like to view more batty images, here's the link:
http://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/bats
Hope you all have a Spooktacular Halloween Weekend!

4x4 Friday Challenge - Black Cats

I tried something new this week with the goal of just using new custom shapes, a few brushes, and special effects in photoshop cs. I have been having fun to say the least although I made a "OOPS" in the first image with the size. For some reason or another, I thought the black cat challenge was postcard size instead of 4x4. Silly me! Having said that, I now have to admit I don't care for the the second image as well as the first but at least it's the right size. ;-)
Anyway...here are the two images so you can see what I did. You can check out other black cat creations at:
http://4x4friday.blogspot.com/2011/10/4x4-friday-black-cats.html

Digital Montage Studio Challenge - Photography

I combined five of my photos from the Southwest and the Northwest to create this and
then I added the frame-work using Photoshop CS.

In this one, I used two photos and then, once again, I added the frame in Photoshop CS.

Perhaps you would like to join in the challenge going on. You can find out more about it at:
http://dmstudiochallenge.blogspot.com/2011/10/october-challenge-2011.html
Hope you're all enjoying a beautiful Autumn weekend!

La noche de los muertos vivientes

OK...this has to do with night and the living dead. I think from that you can figure out the title translation. No? Here's another clue...there is a movie named this. In these times, you can't be too safe in protecting yourself from copyright infringement laws, right? The three foreground images were provided by Dover Publications. The moon is a custom shape from Photoshop CS and the two backgrounds are images I found on Google under the copyright free image listings. Believe it or not, I was originally going to work on "The day of the dead" theme but this one just screamed to get finished first! And you probably noticed already, but I've changed my layout coloration, added a new Autumn header, and a new Autumn profile pic. What a creative day!

4x4 Friday Challenge - BOO

"Run Away Boo"

"Halloween Boo Greetings"

4x4 Friday challenge was to use the word Boo and I have to say this was great fun! I may have to make another! To view more Boo images, you can check them out at:
http://4x4friday.blogspot.com/2011/10/4x4-friday-boo.html

Autumn and Halloween Creations

"The Gathering"

"Happy Halloween" Postcard

Yes, Autumn has arrived with Halloween close to follow. We are approaching the busiest time of the year when I won't have as much time devoted to creating images in Photoshop so I must get what I can done now. Having said that...above are two new creations.

After having a very busy week, "The Gathering" was fantastic therapy. Just the background alone makes me feel all warm and cozy. Speaking of that...the background came from challenge 5 at DMS...thank you very much again! That background has become my all-time favorite! The birds are custom shapes I found at:
http://www.free4photoshop.com/pgs/shapes/free_photoshop_custom_shapes.html

In "Happy Halloween" I used the crow/raven and then found a bat and a cool Halloween font to add. I found those at: http://dafont.com and http://1001fonts.com Last but not least, the pumpkins were from Dover Publications.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

One more Zombie Postcard for SPA

I had so much fun making the last Zombie postcard, I just had to create one more!

"Zombie Crossing"

Bringing the dark side to a little brighter side of fun and play in a Zombie image was my mission this time around. I had saved the bird carrying Zombie from Dover Publications last week with no idea what I would do with it until I saw this challenge at Sunday Postcard Art. This challenge has been so much fun! I can hardly wait for the next one! Don't forget to check out more at: http://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com ...and... http://kat-nap.com

Want more Zombies?

There are plenty of those at:
http://kat-nap.com/2010/10/09/65-shopping-spree-12-small-world/
Check out the comical side of Zombies at Dead-Mart. It's innovative great fun!
Hope you all have a great week!

Zombie Challenge at Sunday Postcard Art

How about a Zombie Halloween Party? I was thinking this might make the perfect postcard invite for just that sort of thing. Thanks to this challenge, it has definitely put a bug in my ear to think of having a party! Now that might not take place for another year but I do think it would be a fun theme! AND since I'm old, it won't be too difficult looking like a zombie! Ha! Here's a little about the image. I have used an amazing sunset photo from my friend Robin. The haunted house background, creepy, bloody candle, and Henry the Zombie is from HSN. Yes indeed... I resorted to finding images from an online store and some of which are in a Martha Stewart line. I have to say that hsn.com has a really awesome Halloween section that you just might want to check out for yourself if you're really into Halloween that is. Oh yeah - going back to the image...I also used the hanging skulls from branch from Dover Publications (I think). And the last image I pulled from my file is that spider on the Zombies shirt front. That just so happens to be a brown recluse. I used many filters, glows, and enhancements in Photoshop CS and the font is called Black Chancery. You can check out more Zombies at http://sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com

Welcome to Fall and the WLDA Challenge

 Kathleen presented the "We Love Digital Art" group with the above image for our first fall challenge.  This is truly what makes Fall Beautiful!  Just look at all those Autumn colors!  The image inspired me to take on the challenge and you can now see what I came up with below.  My thanks goes to Kathleen for such a fantastic challenge!

 

I can't seem to figure out how to separate the two above images so I'll just have to start here.  

"Fall Prancing" is the first image and I used the challenge image along with two Dover Publications images (the horse and a maple leaf).  All the remaining enhancements were done in Photoshop CS.

"Turkey Crossing" is the second image.  I'm sorry that I can't give a reference for the antique cola truck or the covered bridge.  I couldn't find one for the truck and I lost the information on the covered bridge.  My thanks and appreciation goes out to the Google search engines for both.  The turkeys were from Dover Publications and the challenge image, of course, was provided by Kathleen at WLDA.  The remaining enhancements were completed in Photoshop CS.  What a wonderful way to start Fall, don't you think?  

Farewell to Summer - Hello Fall

 Hi everyone!  It's that time of year again where we have to say goodbye to summer and hello to fall.  The flowers are going to sleep until next spring and the butterflies have bid farewell.
That was my inspiration for these three images.  My original drawing created the starting point of the theme.  Unfortunately my African daisies won't be returning in the spring as they don't do well through the cold of winter but I'm sure the butterflies will return in the spring.
I hope you all had a lovely summer and I wish you the joy of an amazing and colorful fall.   

We have a winner!

And the winner is...Kris!

Kris commented on how she collects hearts and now she will have another for her collection!
So Kris...I will need your home address so I can mail this intuitive jewelry set to you.
Thanks!