Happy Halloween!

I found a cabinet card of this lovely ol' lady at an antique store and knew right away that she'd make the perfect subject for a Halloween witch!

So every year one of my best friends  throws a big Halloween party.  She is a quirky, fun, and whimsical spirit by nature, so it only make sense that Halloween is her holiday.

In 2009, she had a strict zombie theme.  David and I originally had John Deere zombie (him) and 80′s zombie (me) ideas that just didn’t pan out with our makeup and unseasonably warm weather, so we went as just plain zombies:

Then last year, it was zombie or otherwise…just as long as you were dressed up (and those that didn’t dress up were penalized at the door with an application of fake blood to the face!).  So I went as Medusa as my curly hair was getting longer and David went as a ghoul…

Oh my, we were each 20 lbs heavier last year!

Then this year, it was an anything goes party.  However, the you-must-come-dressed rule was still in place and anyone not showing up in costume was forced to wear facial hair appliques – moustaches, sideburns, unibrows of all kinds.  Oh she means business!

This year, David decided to stay back as crowds make him uncomfortable (a true introvert!) so I went as one of my favorite singers, Amy Winehouse:

Oh my, that’s some high hair!

No, that’s not a super sized bump-it in there, but a shower pouf!  I learned it on You Tube when trying to figure out how to put my hair in a beehive, oh the things you can learn on that site!

My host, Peggy (dressed up as a Gilligan's island character); unfortunately the rest of my pictures from the party didn't come out as I had the wrong setting set as my default

We don’t get trick-or-treaters here because of the remoteness of where we live, so this party is the end all of Halloween for me.  Hope you have a fun, safe night (and here’s to hoping that you have power!!)

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New artwork! Loving Angel and Inspirational Hearts

Okay, so I was given the okay to start showing a few pieces here and there, so I wanted to share an angel I completed this week (one of 4 I created);  guess my Halloween inspiration is getting replaced by holiday (although these angels are year-round and not Christmas-specific angels).

I see this image being utilized by people who want to send comfort to others; I sell a lot of the goods in my shop to the cancer community or those who are trying to support those with cancer, illness, grief, so I thought this would be a great message to send to others.  Listed as a print in my shop now, but image can be used on cards, journals, magnets, etc. using the “Pick Any” option here.  I’ll be selling the 11×14 original down the road, so let me know if you want me to put a hold on it for you.

Last week I talked about the 8 hearts I created for my shop.  At that time, I shared 4 sacred heart images; here are the other four:

Hope you are all having a great weekend.  Come back tomorrow to see my Halloween costume for this year!

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Lovely sight

David’s weekend couldn’t have landed at a better time in the week as we got our first substantial snow storm of the season.

It was great huddling down in bed, watching Zombie movies (we watch non-stop horror flicks during the month of October) and doing some much needed work on-line with my shops.  Etsy has made some recent changes that have caused sales to plummet (for a huge amount of sellers) so I had to go back to the drawing board and spend many, many hours rewording titles, descriptions and tags.  Such a tedious, mind-numbing task, but under the covers, while watching movies and the snow falling outside made it that much more manageable.

It’s a chilly 9 degrees this morning and clearly we need to do some shoveling once it warms up.  Knowing Colorado weather and the bright sun that’s peeking over the ridge, it will likely be all melted by tomorrow.

Hope you’re all staying warm!!

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Cameras

I had someone ask me what cameras/lenses I use, so I thought I’d share some info here.

First, I do use a nice Digital SLR that my hubby bought me for my birthday a couple years ago, a Nikon D80 that I love …

It’s pricey for the average person ($1,000+) but not very fancy in the photography world, which fit my needs perfectly as photography is a very important part of my life and my favorite hobby.

The everyday lens I use is an all-purpose Nikon 18-135mm lens (which allows for close-ups and landscape shots).  Sadly this guy was already busted when I tripped on my tripod a couple months ago and my camera toppled to the ground.  But it finally bit it when I dropped it on the ground on my latest trip to Santa Fe while trying to wrangle several different items in a public restroom.  Dang, that hurt…and at several hundreds of dollars to replace, well, that’ll sting for a while!  Yes, I’m clumsy.

For super close-ups where I want to capture detail like this…

I use a Tamron 90mm micro lens which I love, but it only serves a specific purpose.  I’m okay with that and think it worth it.

I also have a 400mm Nikon telephoto lens which is great for capturing wildlife from a distance, though admittedly I don’t use too often as wildlife is fleeting and by the time I switch my lens, they’re gone.

But this past year, I decided to get a lil’ digital point-n-shoot.  I wanted to do this because frankly carrying all your gear everywhere is a pain and often I’d leave it behind when going on a daily trip or going to see family.  Yet, I didn’t want to miss those impromptu moments nor watching my nieces grow up.  So after some research, I decided on a Sony Cyber-shot 14.1 MP.  And I LOVE it!

This guy is quite versatile,  it’s quick and easy to grab, I love being able to record short features and take panoramic shots (like this one):

Many of my recent shots from Crested Butte and Santa Fe were used with lil’ camera!  Close-ups are admittedly not that good with this camera, but it’s great with portrait and landscape shots.

Now, I’ll be honest, I do edit most of my pictures, like almost all photographers and bloggers do.  Sure, sometimes pics look great right out of the camera if I use the right settings, lighting is perfect and if I have a good filter on my big camera.  But often I’ll do quick touch-ups in Picassa (because Photoshop is very expensive and very complex).  Picassa allows for that touch of lightness, darkness or saturation.  You can even add a hue of color, like the purple you see above.

So that’s the 411 on the equipment I use.  Photography need not be complex…a decent camera doesn’t have to break the bank, a rudimentary understanding of lighting, exposure, and composition will make a huge difference, and a little digital help with touch-ups will have you creating great photography in no time!

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Finally new artwork

Okay, breaking the silence!

Well, just a lil’ bit…I decided to create some artwork the other night that would be exclusively for my shop because waiting until January to share the pieces I’ve been working on for my new portfolio is just too long to keep new, fresh pieces out of my shop.  And because I worked on 4×4 wood blocks, it was easy to create a bunch in a relatively short amount of time (3 hours).

 

 

After my trip to New Mexico, I’ve got sacred hearts on the mind, so I set out to create some of my own with inspirational words centered around courage.  Because it takes great courage to push past your fears, to keep going when things feel uncertain and it also takes great courage to go into uncharted territory to chase after your dreams.

I’ve got four more inspirational (not sacred) hearts to share that I also created…but I’ll save that for next week, so come back ‘kay? 

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Shop Update & a Sneak Peek

As mentioned yesterday, I’ve given my lil’ art shop some attention this week and added some new options featuring my previous works, including several postcards, magnets, note cards and yes, those collaged frames I’ve made eons ago!

And here’s a sneak peek on tomorrow’s post…yes, I’ll be sharing some new artwork just for my shop

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Adios Santa Fe

Sorry I’ve been MIA for the better part of this week!  I had a great time trekking with my sis; we returned Saturday night and she sadly left on Sunday.  I then had to crank out 15 orders awaiting my attention and I’ve just been trying to give my lil’ shop some much needed attention since it’s been a bit neglected this fall.

Anyhow, I can’t help but share with you some last round of pictures of our trip…I’ll combine in collages so you don’t feel like you’re flipping through dozens of someone’s vacation photos…

When we reluctantly left Taos, we took the “High Road” out – no, literally, we did!  It’s a GORGEOUS scenic route between Taos and Santa Fe and felt a bit like we were being transported from CO mountains…through a Tuscan countryside…then onto AZ dessert landscapes.  Bizarre changes of scenery, yet stunning all at once.

On our way, we stopped at El Santuario de Chimayo to visit a very old, quaint church (my sister is a devout Catholic and me, well, I just appreciate the art of religious icons, especially old ones).  There were several other chapels on the grounds with beautiful sacred heart icons, which I just love.

After our visit, as well as some tamales at Leona’s, a local icon in it’s own right, we made it into Santa Fe and just soaked up the beautiful weather on the Santa Fe Plaza…

And we visited more churches, including the oldest church in the U.S., the San Miguel Mission which is said to be the oldest church in the U.S. built between 1610 and 1626 (which appropriately sits across the street from the oldest house in the U.S., built in 1646).  That’s my petite 4’11″ sister fitting perfectly inside the petite doors!

We fell in love with the beautiful adobe architecture, especially against the azure blue sky…

And enjoyed the beautiful artwork, sculptures and galleries on the famed Canyon Road…

Oh, that sky…There was beauty everywhere you looked.

And with great hesitation, we needed to make our way back to Colorado…with no car radio and no cell service to stream music (we sang our hearts out and shared funny stories…what sisters/girlfriends do best!)

But the sadness of leaving the beauty of the Southwest was quickly replaced by the awe of the sunset on the CO mountains…

My sister and I, being set 2,000 miles apart, try to make our sister’s getaway an annual event and next year, my sis has her eye on Sedona, AZ.

More red rock and blue skies.

And I can’t wait.

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I’ve found the next best place

Taos, that is.  What a charming, quaint town!  It looks like Colorado but with adobe-style architecture, lots of folk, Hispanic and Native American inspired art everywhere and some awesome New Mexican fare.

We started off the day eating at Michael’s Kitchen, a place a bit away from the main plaza that the locals frequent where we enjoyed Breakfast enchiladas and Eggs Benedict smothered in a pork green chile sauce.  Good thing we walked the distance so we could walk some of that breakfast off!

We visited lots of galleries and wonderful boutiques…

And lovely cobble-stoned alleys…

And circled back onto the main Plaza…

We were enjoying ourselves so much that instead of heading out of town at noon like we originally planned, we decided to stay the full day and night to try to take in as much as we could of this incredibly magical town.

Looks a lot like Colorado, right?  I thought so too, from our entrance into town as well as our way out to see a local tourist spot, the bridge over the Rio Grande Gorge…

This sucker is high!!!

Or should I say that gorge is LOW!!!  It popped out of nowhere…

This picture is actually the road to the bridge…it was a crazy scene, a literal 360 degree view of mountains all around us, but this valley part of it was pretty desolate.  It was out of this that we essentially happened across the bridge.  Because it’s such a neat sight, they’ve set up parking on both sides of the bridge and a very accessible pedestrian walkway across.

On our return trip back from the bridge, we stopped at another locals favorite spot, Orlando’s, and enjoyed great chile rellenos, fajitas and sangrias.

I think we are content staying here…

But alas, Santa Fe is calling and so we will oblige the call and make our way down tomorrow…

I think I want to be a professional traveler when I grow up

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Road tripping

I’m road tripping Thelma and Louise style with my sister…minus the tragic ending of course…

She flew out from Connecticut, rented a car, stayed a night at our place and wanted to trek to NM.  Like me, the West not only appeals to her but agrees with her.  The climate, the scenery, the people, the overall energy.

There was a lot of driving in wide open spaces to be had…

And we spotted lots of antelope on the way, but they are skittish and I didn’t bring my telephoto lens…

Then we came across this neat rock out-cropping on our way into Taos, NM.

Taos is a very charming little town, filled with adobe style buildings, lots of art galleries and boutiques and New Mexican fare.  There will be lots of chile sauce had on this trip.  More pics to come!

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Because they’re cute…

…I couldn’t resist posting these latest pics of my fur babies.  Happy Tuesday

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