Chirstmas Card Pictures...

How many people stress about the picture that they put on their Holiday/Hanukkah/Christmas/New Years card? A few days ago I pulled out some decent clothes, moved the Chesterfield sofa from the bedroom to the backyard, and set up the tripod. Seriously...why is this such a difficult process...

I even tried to get a family photo, but apparently my neck was broken and the Smurfs were...



100 pictures and 20 minutes later I had a few good pictures of the kids...

another of the family..

but ended up using this...

happy holidays...

rachel :)

DIY Wooden Picture

As soon as I saw this video, I wanted to share it with the world! Best idea ever! And cutest video ever...enjoy!!!

Let me know if you do this and how it turns out!

Rachel :)

Thinking About Nudity...

You read that right...I'm thinking about nudes. As in the kind you hang on your walls. You know...the kind that show a little...ummmmmmm...something...

For the record, I heart them.  Seriously. When done well, I think they can be beautiful, capturing the essence of the human soul. My medium of choice is charcoal, although I like oil and acrylics as well. Last week I was in an antique store that sells on consignment. I found a charcoal of a nude woman that I loooooooooved. Really, really loved...

me, "Would you ever let me hang a picture of a nude woman on the wall?..."

Mr. T., "NO." "Absolutely not." " Double hockey sticks no."

It was basically a conversation as simple as that. Oh yes, we have very different ideas when it comes to art. Extremely different. While I'm not big on prints, for years I wanted this:

Gustav Klimt

Anything by Klimt makes my heart beat a little bit faster. I love his work and I think this is beautiful, loving and warm...Mr. T thinks I'm odd. Recently I've seen several original works on etsy that are just as wonderful...

etsy

 

etsy



etsy

I would love one or any of these...have I completely offended you? What's the general take on nudes...?

Rachel :)

Photography Challenge. Day 12.

Sunset.

I started taking pictures about 7:30 and shot for an hour. I used the landscape setting, and set the ambiance to vivid with effect to strong. I also set the scene type to sunset and used a UV filter. I'm actually starting to learn a few things!

Rachel :)

Photography Challenge. Day 11.

Something blue.

Smurfette made this for me last year for my birthday. I love everything about it. The size, shape, glaze, and details on it. My heart melts when I look at the "Love" etched below the star.

Rachel :)

Photography Challenge. Day 10.

Favorite childhood memory.

Campfires and s'mores. Ahhhhhh...fall is in the air!

Rachel :)

Photography Challenge. Day 9.

Someone I love...

Rookie mistake...I left my filter on from shooting clouds.

Created a fuzzy and dark image at night. When I took it off...

I was going to conclude my post from a few days ago about projects gone wrong. Instead, I think I'll stick with the photography challenge for today and focus on what is right.

Day 9. Someone you love.

Here are my 3 someones I love.

More than anything.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Rachel :)

Photography Challenge. Day 8.

The clouds came out today in full force! After days and days of crappy weather, I grabbed my camera and headed down to Riverwalk. It was a beautiful morning!

I think I took almost 200 pictures but nobody wants to look at that many clouds! I was shooting towards the west at about 10 am, so the sun was behind me. I used the landscape setting setting and a FLD filter which made the sky oh so blue! Headed out to enjoy the rest of my day!

Rachel :)

Photography Challenge Day 7

Day 7. Bad Habit.

This is a picture of a gallery wall in my hallway. You are probably thinking...bad habit? hmmmmmm... Look closely at the four center pictures...that's right, there are none. It's still the stock photo that came in the frame. We won't even talk about how long ago...

That's my bad habit. I am queen of starting projects and never finishing. I can be oh so close and still fall a little short. I really need to work on focusing on what I want to accomplish and not stopping until I finish. I have been thinking about what I want on the opposite wall from this picture gallery...really...but not until after I pick out four more pictures...

Rachel :)

Photography Challenge Day 6

Today's Photography Challenge is a picture of fruit. I didn't have any this morning and I never made it to the grocery store. Instead, I climbed up the attic stairs and found this...

Inside. Portrait setting. Flash. Glittery jeweled green apple. Don't ask...

Rachel :)

House Numbers

Have I mentioned how much I heart Pinterest? And blue doors? And Pinterest? And house numbers? Ok, so I probably haven't mention that I like house numbers. But, with my love for anything numbered, it's a given. It's  funny the order that things happen sometimes...

Yesterday I went to Lowe's to scout out a few things. While somethings didn't pan out, a few did. Ever since I painted our backdoor blue, I've been on the lookout for a nickel kick plate and numbers. The kick plate we need...it's amazing how dirty the bottom of a door can get...and the numbers I want. It's our backdoor, so I wasn't looking to spend a lot. I've found it hard (and expensive) to find a 30" kick plate and numbers can get pricey. But, to make a long story short, I found the numbers yesterday at Lowe's. They were $4 each and my total came to $17 and some change. I also found the kick plate but wasn't ready to spend $40 on backdoor accessories. And we have two backdoors, so really I would need two kick plates which would bring the total closer to $60...no thanks...

Anyway...I came home with the numbers, straightened up a bit, cooked dinner, got the Smurfs ready for bed, and checked Pinterest. Probably not in that order...it was probably more like I came home, checked Pinterest, put away a shoe, checked Pinterest, put away the other shoe, checked Pinterest, made rice, checked Pinterest, made peas, checked Pinterest...you get the idea...

At some point during my Pinterest addiction I saw this...

via Pinterest

Ok, some serious door number love going on there. But, to my surprise, when I clicked to read about it I discovered she had painted the numbers on her door...seriously! Why didn't I think of something so simple? Turns out I already had silver paint...so guess what...I went to work. Here's how it went down...

1. printed off the numbers from Microsoft Works.

2. cut out the numbers

3. taped the homemade stencil to the door

4. traced the numbers

5. filled them in

Here are the pictures:

  

For the record, Mr. T wasn't crazy about the "no." part of this project. I thought it looked cute though, a litttle different, and not something you see everyday. These pictures pretty much stink...it's rainy and foggy and I still don't know how to work my camera. When the weather is nicer and I've put out some fall decor I'll have to take some more. Today's picture has to be taken from a low angle. I'm assuming that mean from the ground shooting up...? Maybe?...

This project went from being almost $20 to free!! I love it when that happens!!

Rachel :)

many thanks to Mrs. Limestone and Rachel from Pencil Shavings for sharing this great project with the rest of us who can come up with no good ideas on our own...

 

Skirted Sink

Did you read this post about my most favorite of all time kitchen? Here's another picture...

for the love of a house

Oh how I heart the linen skirt under her kitchen sink. Such an easy fix to break up lots of bottom cabinetry...genius! I pulled out the sewing machine (technically it was out because of these...) and got to work...before...

and after...

This was a cheap and simple project...the best kind! I removed the cabinet doors, sewed a rectangle from 2 yards of burlap with a hem at the top to thread a tension rod through. The burlap was $7.20 (I had a 40% off coupon from Hancock Fabric) and the tension rod was $5.99 from Kmart. I could have gotten one for $2.99, but wanted one a little more sturdy. I'll let you know how it holds up. The shot today for the Photography Challenge has to be from a high angle. One more of the kitchen...

Happy Sunday!!

Rachel :)