Thursday, March 31

After The Storm


It has been raining all week. Not to mention storming, complete with tornado warnings/watches and all day weather coverage on all channels. Now, though, it's Thursday night and all is clear going into the weekend. Yay! It didn't quite clear up before causing a little destruction, though.

Here's our neighbor's tree, minus one large limb.

Just because it rains doesn't mean everything is washed clean. My poor Hydrangeas were doused in mud during the heavy rain fall. I'm happy the petals are still intact, though. Those winds were harsh, so I was surprised.

The rain has been great for my Chrysanthemums. They're growing incredibly fast. Hopefully they'll be blooming in no time.

My Double Knockout Roses are blooming so pretty. There are new blooms every morning.

...and guess who did NOT enjoy the storms at all!

He was scared, but he was a good boy and held it all morning while it poured and stormed outside. No messes! Yay!

I hope anyone reading this is having pleasant weather. Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, March 25

Skinny-Mini E-Course

I haven't been very creative this week, unfortunately. I tend to not be creative on the weeks Joel's out of town. I did just sign up for another round of the Skinny-Mini eCourse given by Kim Klassen, though. I started it during the last round and didn't get through all of it before it was over. So I resigned up to finish. It's totally free and she's a great teacher. It's for Photoshop Elements, but she shows you how to do the same in CS, so it's good for both. Here are a few of the images from that.





All photos were taken by me with a Nikon D70. So far these are the only lessons that have been posted, so I'll show the rest later. I believe the March Skinny-Mini session is closed, but she has one every month I believe, so if you're interested just keep a watch on her site.

Wednesday, March 23

Hydrangeas

They're still alive and beautiful! Okay, so it's only been a few days.



Hydrangeas are my favorite flowers. I'm not exactly known for having a green thumb, though, so place your bets now on how long they'll last. I'm extremely determined to give these beauties a long life. Wish me luck!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, March 21

Ribbit

I haven't seen a frog at our house in a year or two. Actually, Kolby informs me it's a toad. I really couldn't tell ya the difference. This one crossed my path tonight while walking Sheldon.



I named him Prince. Maybe some lonely lady will kiss him and he'll turn into her dream guy? Or maybe I'm sleep deprived and my imagination is working overtime.

Night people! I'm off to read my new book and grab some Z's. I'll tell you about the book and my initial impression of it tomorrow.

X's & O's,
Rischa


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

There's an app for that...

I'll show you my apps if you show me yours!












Most of them are camera or photography related apps. Besides those I use the social media ones a lot and the restaurant one. The rest I use just enough to keep them around. I'm obviously using the BlogPress one as we speak. I may rate the photo apps in order of favorites at a later date.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, March 18

Messy Photos



I asked Joel to take some pictures of me yesterday just for fun. I really don't like my photo being taken because I'm soooo not photogenic. I thought these might turn out fun, though.


Joel said that one shows my cooky personality. Thanks, Sweety!

I didn't paint or create anything today other than some stuff in Photoshop. (above) I was planning on working on this recipe box I bought at Michaels last week, but I think I'll just be lazy and maybe fix myself a drink. Rum & Diet Coke anyone?

x's & o's,
Rischa

Wednesday, March 16

Caribbean Ladies & Blog Decision

First let's talk about the blog decision. I have decided to close my personal blog and just consolidate the Art and Personal blogs into one. This one. So get ready to start seeing both on this blog. It's a way to simplify and a way to save money. My Typepad blog was costing me around $70-80 a year. Why pay for that when Blogger is free and easier to use? I haven't decided whether I'll keep it the same name or come up with something new. I'll probably stick with the same as I like it and have graphics already made and in use for it. I'm sad to see the other one go. It was my first one and I kept it for 6 years or so. I like the look of it and have more posts there than any of my other blogs. Other blogs being this one, my Tumblr one (which I never update) and The Doxie Blog. I update the Doxie one the most as I tend to take millions of photos of my fur children and it's easy to just upload a pic and be done with it.

I know I haven't been showing off any art recently. I think the last thing
I showed was my Sketchbook Project back in mid January. I haven't been making art daily, but I do still create. I play in my art journal, do exercises in books, doodle while I'm in bed, and constantly keep it on my mind. I just haven't felt especially chatty about it. I've also been using my big girl camera a lot more, so check out my Flickr link on the sidebar if you're interested.

I came across a local artist at an Art Stroll in downtown Mt Dora
recently. Her name is Jane Slivka. I googled her and found a web site where she sells an instructional DVD. So this past week I've been working on that. I've made a few Caribbean Ladies in her style so far. Next I plan to try her way of painting flowers. So here are the ladies.

These ladies were painted in my new Mixed Media Strathmore Visual Journal. I think it's my new favorite journal. This one's around 5x8". I'd like to get the larger sized one next time.

I've been doing a little shopping recently, too. I bought lots of new paints and painting stuff. Here's one of the things I picked up. It's called a Masterson Sta-Wet Pallet.

I found it in the clearance bin at Michaels for $4. It's pretty nice not to have to worry about paint drying out. I also learned recently if you put pennies in the bottom of it that will keep it from getting moldy. Neat trick, right?

x's & o's,
Rischa