Quote from Lady Bird Johnson

Loved this picture I found today from Flickr friend "Playingwithbrushes"....the best free textures.


This old lace dress,



combined with this park bench under the flowering tree.....
and topped off with this burned paper texture....
gave me this result. I did all that to use Lady Bird Johnson's quote "Where flowers bloom, so does hope." I totally agree!




As "they" say, it's five o'clock somewhere! And while it may not be the warm spring season all around the world, it is here in Louisiana. I'm loving it!

Springtime gets me buzzing......




I've been busy as a bumblebee.....yet I can't seem to figure out what I've done!





Oh, well. Now it's time to get on being busy. Perhaps if I figure out what I'm doing, I'll get some pictures!


Many steps to alter photos.....

I can literally sit for hours playing around with pictures and photoshop.

Yesterday afternoon was a great time to dibble around....too cold outside to garden...too overweight to go for ice cream...too lazy to go gym...too poor to go to mall, so I found a picture of two of my nieces and commenced to play.



I know it's an unlikely match, but next came a picture of the master's bedroom. Wasn't sure how this was going to churn, but what the heck...there's always an undo button in photoshop.

It was a little too messy so I painted over all the excess stuff.

Then layered the bed and the girls....and added this great burned paper texture.


Can you see the bed and pillows in the background? You really don't know it's the same picture, but I thought it added another element to the altered picture.



Next came the doodles and writing.
Now, aren't they pretty in this new setting.....Shannon and Kallie...they are the greatest!



Love Blooms Here

and here....



The pink dogwood cuttings nestled close to my Capodimonte lamp was too much of a temptation not to include in my daily photography and image altering!

A day in the garden

Taking upcycling to a new level....in it's former life, this was a book rack. I like it's new life better. Inverted and hung on the garden shed, it's the perfect storage space for my little clay pots.

Several years ago, I thought I needed a lot of small pots....boy did I ever make a wrong spending choice. Way too hot in the deep south....watering twice a day was not my cup of tea! But don't they make a great statement just hanging out on the garden shed.

Oh, and the little ladders are for the mice to climb and play on after dark. I aim to please all the night creatures!













And, then there is an old garden chair. It's so rusted out, I had to place it in a flower bed to keep visiting folks safe. Even though it has holes in it's bottom, it was too tempting to pass by. Many visitors just wanted to have a seat and watch my garden grow. So....I had to move it off the beaten path. I now use it to hold an in-season flower-filled pot.























Alliums in the garden - Before
























And after Photoshop play.

I learned about a new tool in Photoshop today. Truth is, I didn't know how to spell allium....I only had one "l" originally. By the time I decided to do the smart thing and check the trusty dictionary, I had already flattened and saved my altered picture. Determined to find a cure for my mistake, I first tried the paint, brush, eraser, clone stamp and more tools. They were no help (or more likely, I wasn't using them correctly). Then discovered a blur tool....Wow, I just blurred the misspelled word and typed it in correctly and voila....if I hadn't told you, you never would have known.

Now, my intrigue is up....what more can I do with the blur tool...I'm on a mission!

Crab Apple Blossom

The flowering crab apple blossoms are just spectacular in Spring -



In another view -

Photoshop Play Continued

Here's the original....which I really like.

but couldn't resist a little Photoshop altering....I like this one too. But who couldn't love a flowering quince in it's infancy?



PS....I think I'll start adding more text to my alterations. That was a fun trick I'm just beginning to feel comfortable with!

Hugs 'til later.

I love a giveaway - Don't You?


Oh, and what a great gift this will be. GerryArt is having her first ever giveaway. Go see!

Art Quilt/Wall Hanging

Here's a sip of my "Dry Martini" wall hanging. It's a taste of alcohol-free! Drink it in.....


Our house in a different light!

Sign - only if you accept the privacy policy!

I had a sew nice Sunday afternoon, so dinner was definitely not pre-planned. At the last minute, I decided to scramble up a few eggs, nuked a few slices of bacon, added toast and a serving of grits. Yes, we had breakfast for dinner!

While I was cleaning up, dearest went to clean the kitty toilet. He quickly came running back into the kitchen....he said he thought the litter box felt heavy, but realized the problem when a cat popped out! Poor kitty. I felt her pain.



I'm claustrophobic, so when I head to the bathroom - even though I want privacy - I don't close the door. And, without fail, huMAN starts to miss me and - blast it - there goes my private moment.



HuMAN and Finley are still in training. I think she'll learn the importance of privacy before her uncle does! I'm glad she forgot to close the door....this was a priceless moment I caught on film. She'll kill me when before she's 12!

What a difference a day makes!

The days have been warm and almost balmy for the past week....we spoiled ourselves and stayed outdoors for hours each day enjoying the sunshine. Nothing like natural vitamin D - the real D+. We're not the only ones basking in the sunshine - the mocking bird had a sweet bath then air dried into a nice fluff.




And the flowering crab apple blooms burst open and warmed my heart.



But baby, it's cold outside! Woke up to temps in the 30's this morning. Not a problem - I'll just make more bloomin' flowers! Little quilties are just the cat's meow.....

Photoshop Play continued

I took this
And this
And this
And this And made this


But I haven't done the dishes today!

A Frame Texture - Wonderful

I do love a surprise and what a surprise it was this morning when I found a new texture. Was fun using the frame to alter a photo of my coneflower art quilt.






Then added the frame to a picture of artist Kees Van Dongen's The Two Cousins. I have a most wonderful set of books purchased in a garage sale back in the 1980's (back when I was still trying to furnish and accesorize my home). So, this morning as I was flipping pages, I ran across this picture. Had never noticed it before....but aren't the cousins sitting pretty in this new frame?

Signs of Spring - Oh Boy!

A nondescript picture of one of my garden gates


Combined with a branch from the flowering crab apple tree



plus a couple of textures thrown over and blended in.....this could be a postcard!
Click on the photo to see more of the texture. I love my photoshop play.

Yesterday was just another day

A fellow I once worked with passed away a couple of days ago. Reading about the death of someone I know is never easy. HuMAN got to the obituary section before I did, so he was reading to me.

The conversation went something like this -

he said "Forrest Harvey passed away"

i said "Who?"

he said "Forrest Harvey passed away"

i said "I thought Paul Harvey passed away several years ago"

he said "Come in here and read my lips....Forrest Harvey - dumb dumb - not Paul Harvey. Forrest Harvey passed away."

Yesterday was my birthday. My hearing is better today. Or, did huMAN mumble a little louder this morning!

Please don't misunderstand....I am not making light of the death of someone I knew, just passing on the seriousness of humor in the Mason household in our "golden" years!

Watercolor Note Cards

Easy as 1 - 2 - 3




Come fly with me.....

Just another photoshop day!




Yes, I have truly enjoyed playing with Alphabet Soup's latest texture. It can really be seen here with thirsty boy. I did take the time to erase all the bricks, then changed the color hue a tad....wanted more the sepia look - as if it's close to sundown!