photoshop and old photos

I've been organising my photos and playing around with Photoshop over the last week. I've been doing Kim Klassen's skinny mini ecourse for Photoshop. it's a short course with basic know how for putting textures, text, etc together. even though I've used Photoshop for a long time I've never completely explored all it's features, and I haven't had a lot of time over the past few years due to study, new job etc, so this has been a great way to get me back into the swing of things.

the skinny mini ecourse runs for a few days, has lots of little videos (good for us visual learners!), pdf downloads, texture, font and image downloads, and it's absolutely free....what a lovely gift from Kim

so.....here's couple of old photos I dragged out the archives last night. played with textures, colours, text, new fonts, brightness, contrast, rubbing back, adding on, and so on.....

I'm really enjoying getting back into using this program and revamping old photos.....watch this space!

this afternoon on my way home from work I stopped at a little country cemetery I go past often. I've been meaning to stop and take some photos for along time now and today the time was right

 the afternoon was rainy and stormy on the horizon so I was able to capture some moody shots

 looking at the names on the graves in this cemetery is like taking an inventory of families who have lived in this area for a very long time and whose descendants still live here. as always amongst the graves are some headstones for children. some as young as 4 days old, one who drowned at a nearby beach, a sixteen year old and her young siblings....I wondered what happened to them. some sad stories I'm sure...

I have visited cemeteries in other countries and they are such interesting places. I have seen the most beautiful tombstones and sculptures in cemeteries. maybe I will show you photos of those soon.....

hello

hullo.....

 is there anyone there??? are your reading along?

 oohhh! did you really do that? that was so funny....!

{sorry, just had to add a little cat humour today...a little light relief after a very busy few weeks}

abstract colour

sometimes I look in the most ordinary of places and find amazing colours, patterns and shapes. love, love love these oranges and greens.....

summer's fruits

the last of this summer's tomatoes nestled in a little corner of the garden....

wordless wednesday

(texture courtesy of kim klassen - thanks)

Magpie House

updated the shop on the weekend with these cute new purses and pouches.... a little country themed to go with our weekend wanderings.

 a cute little cow coin purse

 pretty vintage floral coin purse SOLD

and a pretty pouch just the perfect size for a pair of glasses....or your change, or makeup, or doo dads...!

our place

yesterday afternoon we went to our local gallery to view the current exhibitions and we came home via the lanes and back roads around our place. the real reason was because in the morning we had passed by a swamp and saw a pair of jabirus sitting in their nest and I sort of hoped that they might be there in the afternoon again so I could get a photo.......but no. I love to drive around these back roads off the main highway. there's always something to look at.......birds, animals, water lilies, swamps....

and no the countryside around us doesn't actually look quite like this.....I've just been playing again.....can't help myself.

happy week!

my church

I love old churches and in particular I love this one which is just up the road from my place. I love that I've known this building for such a long time. when I was a little girl I went to sunday school here, and I used play the organ (at least I would attempt to play!) when my Mum was cleaning the church. it's also where my son was christened when he was a baby. it used to sit in a different spot from where it is now, but many years ago a new highway was being built right through the middle of where the church was. so the church was carefully moved to it's new home not too far from where it was....but now closer to us. I love to photograph it at different times of the day, especially late in the afternoon when the sun is golden on it's walls and shining through the stained glass windows. and I love to wander in it's small yard especially in autumn....which is hopefully coming soon. do you have a special place or building that's a part of who you are? I'd love to hear about it.....

magpie finds

I was busy updating one of my little shops Magpie Finds on the weekend. lots of goodies still to get listed but here are a few ideas of what you can find there at the moment.

love, love

pretty sure I've shown you these blocks before but I've been taking some snapshots around my house so thought I'd give you another peek. love painting on these old and well worn children's blocks. I wonder how many little imaginations have been inspired by playing with these.....they have been used by my son and my sister's daughters and grandchildren and countless other little visitors to our homes. what stories they could tell. and the little birds? we found those in a shop in Varanasi....another treasured memory

chillies

I've been playing around with photos and my new image editing software. this was a fairly ordinary snapshot prior to a little playing....

vignettes

small collections and vignettes around my place