Monthly Archives: March 2011

Rumor Has It

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What catches your attention? 

 

This guy caught my attention while preparing lunch for hubby this morning.  I get sidetracked pretty easy.

And I do realize this has nothing to do with rumors.  See previous sentence, well the sentence before the previous sentence to be exact.

Rumor has it that I’ve fallen off the face of the earth or so that’s what my girlfriend (Linda – Hi Linda) down in FL thinks.

Ignore the white stuff slathered on the flower.  It’s just wax resist – It’s there to protect the flower from drying faster than everything else.  I just finished applying it to the handles after I shot this pic.

Rumor also has it that I won’t answer hubby’s calls…(Hi My Love)

He came home for lunch yesterday (teasing) stating that I won’t even answer his calls these days.

Rumor also has it that I really need a phone in the studio as I can’t hear it ring when I’m out there creating stuff.

But the one thing I am grateful for is this.  Hubby loves that I’m doing what I want to do when I grow up.  And I love that he supports my dreams and helps make them come true in every way.

Just for today, I finished up two purses that needed a little more attention.   And I’ll be closing up the studio doors so that I can get on with the cleaning of the house and laundry.  Yay, tomorrow is hubby’s Friday off!  I love these three-day weekends together.

So with that, I’m outta here.  Happy Weekend Everybody!

Blessings – Debbie

The Squeaky Wheel Did Not Get The Grease

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Or so it went with the bird fuss this morning.

While enjoying the morning sunlight, I couldn’t help but enjoy birds chirping and the soft touch of the breeze as it brushed by.

I also couldn’t help but overhear these two birds openly air their dirty laundry.  The Big Black Bird was defeated, as seen in the lower right corner of pic..

What I did notice was this.  “Big Black Bird” was making quite a stink.  He bounced all over that branch, squawked the most while “Big Bird” tho he did squawk, firmly held his ground. 

And Big Bird lived in peace and happily ever after in the canopy.  Yay for Big Bird!  I wish I knew what kind of bird he was.

But what I really wish is that I would have had my dandy zoom lens on at the time.  It was quite a show.

It was not so much a sunshiny early morning.

But the sun was there no less.  It just took a moment for the sun to burn it away.

Cheers to a fabulous day!  Back to the studio to play!

Blessings – Debbie

Test Samples

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Today was all about making a large batch of test samples.  I think there were at least 20 or so samples created this morning.

The goal is to use these pieces for glaze test samples.  

All glazes will be tested on these samples prior to using.

As the afternoon slipped away so did the time as I completely lost track of it.  Hubby rolled in at 6 pm and I was still up to my elbows in mud.  As a matter of fact, I remained in the studio ’til nearly 8 pm.

Hubby made dinner, fixed me a drink and insisted I finish what I was doing and that he had everything else under control.  He’s pretty amazing.

So while he took care of things, I finished assembling another handbag.  I should be able to wrap up the details tomorrow + start another project.

Right about now (yawn = sleepy), I’m ready to call this one very successful day.

Blessings – Debbie

Another Day – Another Creation

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Creating in the studio would be one of my favorite things to do.

Speaking of creations, this is the creation I came up with for lunch.  This was as enjoyable as the patio dining.

Utensils

Playing with my utensils

I lingered a bit longer playing around to see what else I could come up with.

And with that, we’re off to a great week.

Blessings – Debbie

Work And Play Friday

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A cool rainy day proved to be a productive and fun day all the way around.

This morning the washing machine and dryer worked while I played.  I had fun snapping pics between loads. 

By mid morning I worked on getting myself ready for a lunch date with hubby and his group.

By around 2 pm I was back home to finish up around the house before the weekend.  And part of that included taking more pics in the garden while dodging the rain.

The sky was so heavy.

I find it to be a lot of fun to toy with the camera settings while shooting in manual mode.  It’s a whole new world out there for me.

There are some days I want to linger a little longer in the backyard.

Taking a time out, yes, this would be my favorite way to do so.

It was so refreshing between the changing of the sheets, towels and moping of the floors. 

The last few days have been a bit too chilly to work in the studio (garage).  But I’ve found other things to do to occupy my time.  I feel warm and fuzzy as I’ve created some cool designs for the near future.  Stay tuned.

Blessings – Debbie

Yesterday's Blessings

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What happens when friends get together?  Well I’ll tell you.  I met Vicki in her lovely home in San Diego and from there we commenced to paint the town.

We started off with a quick stop (in and out) at the local Starbucks and from there we went to the local pottery supply store.  Loved shopping with my buddy who equally enjoyed the whole experience.

Glazes, oh the glazes.  And there was enough glaze purchased to paint the town.  Not to mention all the tools we we walked away with as well.

Time was on our side as we didn’t have a set time to be home.  All I know is from 9 am ’til noon we covered Starbucks and the pottery supply store.

From there we hit Olive Garden for an amazing 3 hour lunch/visit.

I arrived back to the home front to these cheerful flowers.  Of course I had to play in lightroom, it’s becoming an addiction incase you can’t already tell.  🙂

I love spontaneous days,  we look forward to many more just like this.

Now the wheels are turning and I look forward to slinging mud around with all my new toys.

Blessings – Debbie

One Of Those Days

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It was one of those days I had to get back into the groove of housework, laundry and ironing.

One of those days I packed hubby’s lunch for the first time in a week.  Not because I didn’t want to, rather he was home with me, sick.  He did see the doc yesterday, but still struggling with that nagging cough.

One of those days I lived in my jammies all day long.

One of those days I took a nap.

One of those days I needed to absorb the great outdoors.  It’s a source of inspiration.

And I love that all these pics were taken in the comfort of my jammies/backyard.

Lots of thoughts crowded my mind.  Thoughts of my studio and pottery and wondering exactly where I’m going with it.

Will I strictly be known as the purse lady or what else shall I create?  Shoes – high heel shoes – fun strappy high heel shoes – bright colorful shoes – flip-flops – perhaps shoes and purses – matching shoes and purses – just one shoe or will I make a pair?  Oh I don’t know, these are just a few of the many thoughts running through my mind…

Even though the questions go unanswered, I’m creating and doing what I love.  In time, the answers will come.

I had more fun in lightroom this afternoon.  When playing in lightroom, I think about pottery and all the colors out there begging to be used.

I strolled the winding paths in the backyard.

And found the lilies, lots of them.  But the little snail on this one caught my eye.

This rose hails from a bush that must be 7 – 8 foot tall.  It’s loaded with roses.

That rose underwent the lightroom as well.

But for now, the plan is to clear my thoughts and enjoy the remains of the evening with hubby.

For more outdoor fun, enjoy a trip over to A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday!

Blessings – Debbie

How 'Bout 'Dem Britches

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My grandma, for as long as I’ve known her has called pants/slacks, britches.  Britches happens to be one of my favorite words.  I got tickled over Christmas when I said britches and my step-daughter thought I was referring to underwear/panties.  We all got a nice chuckle over that.

So, here’s my take on this decorative pottery handbag with britches in mind.

This was such a fun piece to fabricate.

There are still a few areas that need a little smoothing but I couldn’t wait to share.

Bits and pieces

  • Hubby’s not well as he’s been fighting a cold the last few days.  I’m trying to take care of him.
  • Food shopping is on my to do list today
  • I’m already excited about the next handbag.  I pretty much have the pattern and design all figured out.  I may be back in the studio over the weekend.
  • I hope to share some studio pix in the days to come.
  • Hubby has given me one of the stalls in the garage and I couldn’t be happier.  The perk is that I can play in the mud while hubby enjoys working in his area.  How fun to tinker together.

Blessings – Debbie

Welcome Wednesday

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or good evening would be more like it.  Once again I found myself pouring my heart into pottery all day.  The new purse I started has lots of interesting features.  I’ll share a pic as soon as I get the last few details secured.

I spent a little time in the garden around sunset.

Hello Lightroom.

I’m all tuckered out but we still have Survivor and American Idol to watch.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold up for both shows.  *yawn*  This may be a good excuse to turn on the chocolate raspberry coffee…I think I just talked myself into it.

Blessings – Debbie

A Glorious Day In The Studio

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The bland handbag is alive!  Today I attached the handle, finished the belt, signed the bottom and finished smoothing .  It’s currently under plastic as we’re shooting for a very slow drying process.

I’m so excited with the next decorative bag I started.  I have high hopes for lots of fun in the studio tomorrow.

Blessings – Debbie

First Day In The Studio This Year

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What can I say, I love this time change, but, I did not adjust very well this morning.  I went right back to bed after hubby left for work.  And there I stayed ’til 8 am.

The first thing I did was hit the coffee upon getting up the second time around.

I also had my first day in the pottery studio this spring = fun – fun – fun

This is the decorative pottery handbag I worked on today.  I still have some smoothing of the clay and some embellishments to add.  Back tomorrow to share the outcome.

The brightest thing happened in the middle of the day.  Hubby showed up with lunch for two.  Love unplanned lunch dates with hubby.

I hate to admit, I’m getting ready to watch the grand finale of the Bachelor. 

Blessings – Debbie

I Love

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Hi and welcome to the weekend!

I love that today is the day we get to “spring forward”!  In fact, I’ve been looking forward to this day for the last 6 months.  Cheers to spring!

I love that this magazine (Good Housekeeping) continues to show up in my box even tho I didn’t order it.

I love that it’s the weekend.  We’re busy planning a few things we want to do.

I love that a dinner date is incorporated into the plan.

Cheers to love!

Blessings – Debbie

Play Date

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Hello x 2!

Crazy thing happened, as you can see.  Before my play date (yesterday), I was trying out the timer on the camera as I haven’t used it in a while.  I had no idea of the reflection ’til I downloaded the pix at the end of the day.  I like to think of it as a happy mistake.

My tripod was already packed – I had plans to set it up and take some pix of Beth and me.  Long story short, we had so much fun and ended up not getting pix of ourselves.  One day…

But we did have fun and enjoyed an amazing lunch date.

And a trip to wine country!  Just a short 30 min from my house.

There are no words…Other than the fact that snow-covered mountains are so beautiful while we enjoyed our nearly 80 degree afternoon in the sun.

Our afternoon was spent visiting right here.

Our visit was so refreshing and good for the soul.

You know me AND Lightroom by now, so I leave you with this.

Blessings – Debbie

ISO

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I realized (after the fact) that yesterdays pix were not given the proper ISO.  Basically ISO means sensitivity to light.  The higher the number, the greater the sensitivity or more light.

Here’s another back to back example.  However, this time I used the exact same angle for both shots.  The ISO was adjusted from 400 to 100.

Can you see the difference between the next two shots?  Hint from yesterday: Depth of field.

That same pic after a trip to Lightroom.

And just because I love color.  I couldn’t think of anything as colorful in the house as these pool balls.  In case you’re wondering, this was done in Photoshop Lightroom where I love to play with color.

So there you have it.

I’m going on an adventure today.  I hope to work some practice into the agenda.

Blessings – Debbie

Depth Of Field

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I’ve come a long way baby!  That goPro photography workshop taught me basically everything I know about my new camera.  Before this, I was a point and shoot camera kinda gal.

I’m shooting in manual and that right there is a very “big deal”.  I’m also shooting in RAW instead of JPG.  I feel like a big girl now…

ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, DOF – Those are a few terms I knew very little about before the class.

Today I want to share just a snippet about depth of field (DOF).  And aperture because DOF and aperture go hand in hand.

The picture below is an example with a very large depth of field.  Meaning pretty much everything you see is in focus.  From the trees in the background to that large clay pot in the background.  Again, everything in the pic is in focus = large depth of field.

The following shot was taken in manual with a large aperture setting of 25 = A very small opening.

Reminder to self – The larger the aperture setting = a smaller opening for light.

Below is an example of the extreme opposite.  This would be a short depth of field meaning the subject is in focus and everything else is very blurred = short depth of field.

The following shots were taken in manual with a very small aperture setting of 4.5 = A very large opening. 

Reminder to self – The smaller the aperture setting = a larger opening for light.

Another example of a very short depth of field.

And here my friends is my take on that pic above.  Once again done in Lightroom.

Practice ~ Practice ~ Practice…Those were the words Tyler used when I asked should I continue taking more classes.  Thanks Tyler, I’m taking your advice to heart.  I still have a long way to go.

Blessings – Debbie