Cais Rediscovered

A few weekends back, I was sitting in my studio trying to figure out what piece I wanted to create.  Well, ideas were few and far between so I starting digging through my jewelry chest and found these lovelies, the Cais Earrings, that I made back in August 2010 (I actually had to look that info up).  I had forgotten all about them!

Once I saw them, I remembered that I had planned on making more but it seems I got distracted by other things...which I'm sad to say is a very common occurrence around this studio.  So, I've decided to bring them back for a bit and have used a couple of new color combos to boot. 

These earrings are a lot of fun to make.  I've got more ideas for color combos, so stay tuned for more! 

Mango Salsa. Yum!

We finally wrapped up Elijah's school year and had a little celebration barbeque this weekend over at my parent's house.  I made this very yummy mango salsa especially for my Dad who loves mangoes.

I got the recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens website and tweaked it a little bit.

• 1 1/2 cups of chopped & peeled mango (one large mango)
• 1/2 cup of green bell pepper (1 whole)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (2 whites and greens) 
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons lime juice (I used the juice from 1/2 a large lime) 
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (I used 1/2 a pepper because mine was REALLY hot) 

In a medium bowl stir together the mango, bell pepper, green onions, cilantro, lime juice and jalapeno pepper (I also added kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste).  Cover and chill at least two hours before serving.  

 

I served mine with multigrain chips and it was supper yummy.  Even my very picky son loved it.  Good thing I took a picture of it as soon as I put it on the table because it went fast.    

 

I also made an avocado salad but I forgot to take a picture of that.  It was a big hit too.  I'll make it again soon and share the recipe and photos with you.

Outstanding Musician

As I mentioned yesterday, Elijah's high school band had their annual Spring Concert last night.  It was a wonderful event filled with beautiful and fun music.  It was also a surprise night for my son who won this year's Outstanding Musician award!  Way to go Elijah!  

Pink flip flops

I had a wonderful birthday!  Thanks so much for all the sweet birthday wishes from family and friends.  Each of you helped make it a truly special day.

The next two weeks will be incredibly busy around the house as Elijah finishes up the school year.  His high school band is having their annual Spring Concert tonight.  The kids work very hard to get ready for this event and I can't wait to hear what they have in store for us this year.  Hopefully I will be able to snag a picture or two to share.

After the hustle and bustle of the school year winds down, I'll be ready to spend some quality time chilling in my new pink flip flops. Summer is definitely calling my name.

41

Well, today I turned 41.  I don't feel any different, but according to my son its all over now....ahhh teenagers...so much fun.  This morning I treated myself to some of the gardenias that grow near my front porch.  I wish I had a scratch and sniff widget so you could smell them too - yummy!  I was in a hurry so I stuck them in a hot pink plastic cup and snapped a quickie picture before I began the day.  I can't wait until the birthday cake tonight...its my very favorite thing about birthdays!

Here's the pic of the gardenias. When I have time, I think I will go back and try to re-crop the photo to see if I can improve the composition.  Anyway, I saw a tutorial on Pugly Pixel to add an ombre effect to a photo and wanted to try it out.  I really love the way this came out.

I took the straight out of the camera shot and tweaked it a bit before adding textures and actions from Florabella.  After that, I converted it to black and white before adding the ombre effect.  

After tweaks and the addition of the Florabella actions and textures

Straight out of the camera

Fake model photograph. Photoshop.

Earlier this week I stumbled across an easy Photoshop tutorial that you can use to create a fake model photograph.  I gave it a whirl and came up with this result:

This is the original, straight out of the camera shot:

As you can see, the original shot was very boring.  This was one of several (boring) photos I shot in the car while driving home to Mauriceville from Orange.

I tried the steps of the tutorial out several times before I got a result I liked.  I preferred brightening and exaggerating the colors before adding the special effect.  

NOTE - After you switch back from Quick Mask, you will need to invert the selection you created using the Gradient tool.  If you do not do this, you will blur the strip in the middle during the next step instead of the outside areas.  I didn't see it mentioned in the tutorial, but maybe I overlooked it.

Here are a few more before and afters.  The first one is from New Orleans, the second and third are from around Mauriceville.

 

 

  

A new direction.

Howdy!  As you've noticed, I've moved the old blog to a new place.  As my followers know, I tend to be pretty fickle blog-wise - I briefly love the blog and then totally abandon it for long periods of time.  Its kind of like a hit and run accident.  I'm using this move to focus on what direction I want to take things blog-wise.  Hopefully this will help work out the kinks in my love-hate relationship with the blog...fingers crossed.

Three of the big loves of my life - my son Elijah, Scooter the cat, and jewelry.  

In case your interested, the Photoshop actions and textures used in the photos are from Florabella.  The layout template is from Pugly Pixel.