I See Whimsy

Well, hello. I've been away a while. Busy. Hot. Summer guests. 

Then I messed up my back again. I tested it's strength by taking a short walk yesterday, keeping my eyes open for things to make me smile.

Mission accmplished!

A 100 year old woman once remarked, "Something good always happens if I can get outside."

What's for Lunch?

It's not every day that's National Junk Food Day ...

But when it IS National Junk Food Day, pizza rolls, Cheetos, Nilla wafers, lemon iced tea and Gummy Nerds are on the menu. (My guts are begging me for fruit and veggies now).

It's also Global Hug Your Kids Day. So I spent some time with Jodie and Abby doing just that.

Morning Snack

I worked outside for several hours yesterday morning. Pruning. Transplanting. Cleaning. Fertilizing. Propagating. As the temperatures started hovering around 80 degrees, I stepped inside for a break to cool down and stretch my sore muscles.

Then I realized, it was National Raspberry Cake Day!

What's a girl to do?

These might as well be cakes rather than muffins. They're sweet enough to eat without butter - or icing.

It was good to share them with Kit, too. They'd come over to "play in the dirt" with me.

Yum!

Beans & Franks

Yep. Another minor holiday. July 13th was Beans and Franks Day. 

That made the question about what to have for dinner easy.

I haven't had this combo in years. It was a blast from the past.

The fun of celebrating minor holidays is tapping into something just one step out of our ordinary daily activities.

The Simple Life

Each morning after our walks, Dale and I sit on the patio to cool down and enjoy the breeze.

It's a nice morning view. Our wall of Morning Glory vines is filling in nicely. Give it a couple more weeks.

:: chef's kiss ::

Celebrating Another Minor Holiday

Yesterday was National French Fry Day.

Yes, please.

We drove through McDonald's ... they had a 2-for-1 deal on fries.

Then we took a ride out in the country, drinking in the views and eating up the yummies.

The summer harvest is in full swing.

Celebrating Minor Holidays

Yesterday was National Blueberry Muffin Day. Did you know?

I had these ready for Dale when he came in from his morning walk. Mmmm. Made from a mix, but with a big fresh blueberry on top.

I used "special" foil cupcake tins. Sparkly in the sunlight.

We ate them down to the last crumb. Yum!

Celebrate the little things.

Berry Sweet

by guest blogger, my daughter, Jodie Delsere

Sometimes, when Abby goes down for her nap, Mimi and I take on a project. Often this looks like some household to-do that can’t get to-done with a toddler underfoot. But today we needed a boost, so we painted some rocks.

I planted four new strawberry plants this year. I eagerly watered and watched as the first bloom turned into a fruit. And just when it turned perfectly ripe… a squirrel took a big chunk out of it. So Mimi offered her stash of rocks and paints to make strawberry look-a-likes that deter all manner of scavengers so I can keep more fruit for my morning parfait.

Mimi and I always find ways to add a little extra magic to our time together. You’ll note evidence of delicious chocolate milkshakes, plus “Baby TV” in the background. (Our favorite programming is watching my daughter snoozing through her baby monitor.)

As we painted we noted some of the ways we do the same project differently. Some lines narrower, others bolder. Some seeds clustered, others more sparse. But when grouped together, they all look like family. Go figure.

Sometimes craft supplies take Mimi to a time and place. She informed me that this can of spray seal was purchased when she lived in an apartment in Coeur d’Alene before I was born. It’s seen many hundreds of beautiful projects pass through her studio.



Time to place the strawberries in their patch. I’m particularly fond of this upside-down one.

They’re all in place! The birds and squirrels and bugs don’t know what they’re in for.



As always, Mimi and I find a way to make our time together berry, berry sweet.

Process Story

This is a story about having an objective to make a thing that will disappear.

Well, not disappear exactly, but become totally unobtrusive. It's a photo backdrop.

When I began my photography journey I wanted to take nice pictures for two purposes:
    1. To take close-up photos of flowers
    2. To take photos of my crafts and stitchery that would look good on my website.

To that end, I began gathering photo equipment to make that photography easier and more enjoyable. One of my favorite pieces of equipment is my photo cube. With it I have a nice blank background so that the objects in my photos take center stage. 

On top of the plain white background, I add colored or patterned photo backdrops. I've got a great collection now. But I didn't have a purple backdrop.

Last year I found a roll of thick purple felt at a thrift shop. I wasn't sure of the size, but it seemed like I could do something with it. It turned out to be long enough, but quite narrow: 66 inches long; 16 inches wide. My photo cube is about 25 inches wide.

So to make a usable backdrop, here's what I did:

Folded the felt in half lengthwise. 

 Cut it. One of these pieces is the center of the backdrop.

The other piece was folded in half, cutting it to make two long narrow pieces. These are the sides. I wanted the center of the backdrop to be the widest part so that if I'm photographing smaller projects, I can avoid seams showing in the background.

Then I made a chalk line 3/4 of an inch away from the edges on both sides of the wider/center piece.

Since the felt is so thick, I didn't want to make a traditional seam. Instead, I layered the narrow/side pieces on top of the wide/center piece up to that 3/4 inch chalk line.

I pinned the two side pieces in place, overlapping the two side pieces on top of the center piece. I wanted to make sure I could keep that center section as wide as possible.  

Then on to the sewing machine. Since the felt is quite thick, I needed to loosen the tension on the foot of the sewing machine. This way the felt would have an even stitch rather than being pinched or bunchy or slightly gathered. 

I changed to a zipper foot so that the foot could line up right to the edge of the fabric. I sewed both seams, then flipped the fabric over and sewed down the other side of the seams on the other edge of the fabric. This way the seams lay nice and flat.

Then I trimmed off the top and bottom into a nice straight line. Since felt doesn't ravel, I didn't need to finish the edges in any other way.

Done!

Though I've experimented quite a lot with lighting my photo cube, I still have some trouble getting nice pure lighting. Part of the reason is because the cube sits on a dresser that has a window up and to the left. Depending on the time of day, the lighting gets quite wonky, like in this overall photo.

So here's my latest setup. The test photos came out quite nicely yesterday afternoon.

There's a dowel across the top/back that sits in two Velcro hoops (built into the photo cube). Along that dowel I've draped an LED light strip. With it, I can brighten or darken the back lighting behind the object I'm photographing. I can change the color of the lighting, too with the strip's color changing ability.

Onto the dowel I've attached three clips with adjustable Velcro straps. This particular backdrop is not as long as I'd hoped. But I can stretch out the clips to allow the backdrop to hang lower and give me more fabric beneath the object being photographed.

My computer desk sits right next to my photo cube, along with the ring light I use during digital conferences. I experimented using my ring light on TOP of the photo cube to bring in consistent light from above. So far, this is working well!

If needed, I also have a couple small LED spotlights I can use to focus light on the subject from the front. (Not shown in this photo).

Here's the final shot. Rozalie's helping me out again. 

If you look closely you can see one of the seams in the purple backdrop, but it's not very obtrusive. If necessary, it'd be easy to remove in my photo editing program.

So ... I took plenty of time thinking through the process, some creative engineering, and a lot of doodling to make the photo backdrop that, if working correctly, will disappear. It allows the object being photographed to have all the glory while it patiently does it's job - being part of the supporting cast in the photo setup.

Knock Knock

 Whose's there?

Artie

Artie who?

Artichokes when he eats too fast

I've been watching this artichoke plant growing all Spring. I walk by it on my usual route through the neighborhood. It was fascinating to watch the sturdy stems get bigger and bigger as the "flower" swelled in proportion. This particular plant had four artichokes. A few days ago, they started going to seed. Then they got their vibrant dandy spikey top hats.