Photo Share #3 - Rhine River Germany, Heidelberg Germany and the Rockefeller Plaza

Hi Friends!  Still sharing photos . . .nothing crafty today.  Honestly, I haven't stepped into my craft room for over 2 weeks.  I've been busy doing photography stuff lately. Actually,  I finally stepped into my craft room today and finished up a card but I'll share it on another day.  

I took the photo above when we did a short cruise through the Rhine River in Heidelberg, Germany or was it in Lucerne, Switzerland.  LOL!  We did two cruises and I can't remember if the photo was of Lake Lucerne or of the Rhine River.  It was close to evening and the skies were gray so I had to Photoshop the photo a bit to give it some life otherwise it would have looked gray and dreary.  On the rock is a statue of Jesus.  It was really pretty

I took this photo while on the tour bus while heading to Munich, Germany.  I think we were still in Heidelberg, Germany when I too this photo.  I was amazed to find in Europe that there were rarely any SUVs or trucks. . . .just all these small cars.  In most of Europe, the roads are similar to the US meaning the driver's side is to the left.  Not all are on the left side. . .the only part of Europe that I visited where the driver's side was on the right was in the United Kingdom.  It can be hazardous when crossing the street because you are looking for cars in the opposite direction . . .so be careful when you're there!

This photo is of the Rockefeller building in New York City.    I believe this is the back side or the side of the building.  Or even the front?  LOL!  I didn't know which was the front of the building but it doesn't matter, all sides looked great.

Again, a photo of the Rockefeller building.  This was the side that faces the Christmas tree and the skating rink during the holidays.  Rockefeller center is a rather huge building and plaza with stores and restaurants below.  At the top of the building is the observatory deck called  "Top of the Rock".  Top of the Rock quite honestly had a better view to some degree of NYC than the Empire State Building because you can see a view of Central Park and at the other end, the Empire State building across.  At the Empire State Building, you aren't able to see Central Park.  I highly recommend you visit it if you're in NYC!

Anyway, hopefully my next post will be something crafty!  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Etsy Shop: Inspired & Unscripted

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Photo Share #2 - Hollywood Sign, Oceanside Pier, and San Diego County Fair

Anyone who follow my blog are into photography?  I love photography but I always feel my photos aren't good enough, especially when I see all the beautiful photos I see on the Internet so I really don't like to share photos I've taken.  I'd like to take photography classes one day.  

My very first camera that I owned was in the 6th grade and through the years, of all my friends, I was the only one who owned a camera.  I would bring my camera everywhere with me and take photos of my friends.  The only problem was photos had to be printed and it was so expensive to have film processed back then.  Gosh, if digital cameras existed when I was young, I would have gone to town taking photos. 

Anyway, during the summer last year, my daughter and I walked up the trail up a hill in Hollywood across from the Hollywood sign and took a photo.  I believe the hiking trail to the sign itself is closed to the public but I was able to take this photo of the Hollywood sign. from across the way    Thought I would play around with the hue and add a little pink color to the photo.

I don't remember if I ever posted this photo on my blog.  I took this photo at the Oceanside Pier in San Diego.  On the pier there are restaurants you can eat at and there are a lot of people fishing on the side.  Oceanside beach/pier rarely ever get crowded . . .unlike Santa Monica Pier or Huntington Beach Pier so you can lay in the sun and not worry so much about over-crowding.

This photo was taken at the San Diego County fair last summer.  I love going to the county fairs here in Southern California.  There are actually three of them, San Diego, Orange County, and LA.  Honestly, I like the San Diego fair the best.  They had a lot more food vendors.  LOL! But. . .the LA County fair is huge!  I believe it's the largest in the country.  Problem is you have to do a lot of walking to enjoy the different sections of the fair.  

Anyway, that's it for today. 

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Photo Share #1 - New York City, San Diego County Fair, and Paris

Initially I was thinking of starting up a new blog to post photos I've taken and going to take but decided that I'll probably neglect it so I decided to just keep life simple and post my photos on this blog.  I actually started a blog last year of my photographs but posted once and never posted again!  LOL!

This photos was taken while on my trip to New York City at the Empire State Building.  How did I take this photo.  Well I put the strap around my neck and dangled my camera over the balcony so I could take the photo without obstruction.  Not to worry. . .there was another balcony right below so if my camera were to have accidentally fallen off, it would have fallen on to the next balcony below.  I guess it's a safeguard in the case people decide to jump off the balcony or accidentally drop their camera.  LOL!

 

This photo was taken at the San Diego County Fair last summer.  This is actually my favorite ride.  I always feel like I'm flying in the air.  I can't wait for all the county fair here in Southern California to start up again.

I took this photo while on a tour bus in Paris, France.  I'm surprised it turned out clear considering I took the photo behind a glass window.  The streets were rather empty because it was New Year's Eve.  A lot of the streets were blocked off because starting in the early evening, entrance into Paris by car is blocked off on New Year's Eve to prepare for the New Year's Eve events. Similar to Times Square in NYC being blocked off during New Year's Eve.  

At a certain time, you can only enter Paris via train and to encourage people to take the train rather than trying to drive in, public transportation is free in Paris on New Year's Eve.  It's also to keep drunk drivers off the road.

Anyway, I have more pictures to share.  I'll share more next time!  Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

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Valentines Card and Photo of the Day

Hello Friends! Today is my first day of being allergy free and I'm beyond thrilled! I'm now in the creative mood and I decided to work on a Valentines card. It also works as an anniversary card.

Before I talk about my card. . .I wanted to talk about my blogging activities. For the past year or so, I've cut down on my crafting and blogging. I also stopped creating tutorial and cutting files. It's just that I no longer seem to have the energy or even the mojo to work on extra things. I really had fun coming up with new ideas for my blog and sharing what I've learned through my tutorials. I sometimes wish I still had the same enthusiasm and energy to create them but they take so much time to do that I had to prioritize my time. I may from time to time create them again but I just wanted to let you know why I haven't posted any new tutorial for a while now.

Now back to my card. I had stamped the heart image by Unity Stamps and cut the image. I did this twice then I mounted the stamps on to the designer paper with foam tape. I also created a fabric flower using a strip of left over fabric and crochet the flower with scrap yarn. I created a beaded pin using faux pearls and a heart bead to create the floral design on my card.

Do you see the lace with the ribbon? What I did was I took a grosgrain ribbon and inserted it through the holes of the lace to create the trimming. Some lace have holes between each design so by inserting the ribbon you can create different lace designs for your cards or projects.

Here is the close up of the beaded pin and crochet and fabric flower embellishment.


Photo of the Day
"Stairway to Steve Jobs"

This photo if of the Apple Store in New York City. It's located on 5th Avenue across Central Park. We walked passed it and I took a quick photo of it. The building itself is not an Apple building. . .just the glass cube entrance and the store is located below. You can't really see it in the photo but the glass entrance is actually a large cube shape. It has a 3D appearance in person. It's a pretty structure. I read that the store was on renovation and had recently re-opened. It cost Apple 6.5 million dollars to renovate. Isn't that a ridiculous amount? Now you know, for you Apple people, where your money is going. . .LOL!

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Thank You Card

Hi Friends! Happy Sunday! I worked on a card today. It feels great to actually work on something. I've been sidelined with terrible allergies or a cold. . .honestly, I can't tell the difference and have been in an allergy medication induced haze. For the past few days, my nose and my eyes having been running and tearing non-stop and I was at a point of extreme frustration. I decided to take allergy medications to stop the overflow. I do hate taking allergy medications because it puts me in a haze that is a cross between being wired and drowsy all at the same time. It's a strange combination because you feel extremely tired but at same time very agitated and restless so you really can't focus on anything. It's a bit depressing sometimes. But. . .it's getting better. My eyes don't tear as much and my head isn't as stuffed up. I'm also getting accustomed to the side effects of the allergy medication.

I worked on a simple card using my Unity Stamps. . .again, a stamp I have never used. The sentiment is by Stampin Up and I had heat embossed white embossing powder to give it a epoxy sort of appearance.


I colored the image with my Copic Markers but honestly, I had difficulties coloring within the line because of the allergy medication. It makes my hands shake quite a bit so it's hard to color but I managed to accomplish it without doing too bad of a job.

Photo of the Day

Anyway. . .I wanted to share a photo I took at the New York Guggenheim Museum. The architecture of the museum is quite interesting. It's a white building that is a sort of coiled shaped on the inside as well as the outside. You walk up to each floor in a coiled sort of pattern and the walls are completely white. I decided to take photos of my daughter sitting at a center of a complete white space. When I was done, my husband approached my daughter and held out his hand to help her up and I took a photo of it. I call this photo "helping hand". . .:)

Anyway, I hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday!

Etsy Shop: Inspired & Unscripted

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Crazy 4 Challenges - C4C118

Hello Friends! Crazy 4 Challenges is back after a short holiday hiatus and we're rearing to go!!! This month Joanne will be hosting the challenges and because it's a New year….it's a great time to use a new ‘toy’ or do a new techniques. Use something NEW on your card/project.

Well. . .because my "Christmas" gift was my trip to NYC, I don't exactly have a new toy to use but I do have a new stamp that I've never used. That fits the challenge, right?


I decided my first card of the year will be a Christmas card. My plan is to create at least 5 Christmas cards a month and by the time Christmas rolls around at the end of the year, I should be ready and good to go!!

I decided to use a snowman stamp from Unity Stamps. I actually have a bunch of stamps that have never touched ink and my goal this year is to use as many of my unused stamps as much as possible.

No new technique on my card. . .just stamped it, colored it with my Copic markers and added a bunch of embellishments. To create the snow, all I did was add glitter. That's about it.

The snowflakes are actually buttons that I had clipped off the back so it can lay flat on the card. Anyway, stop by C4C and check out the fabulous cards the crazy gals created or stop by their individual blogs:

* Barbara Anders
* Cindy Haffner
*Dawn Easton
* Frances Byrne
* Jessie Rone
* Joanne Grzelak
* Joycelyn Pelkey
*Lynda Benden
*Silke Ledlow
* Silke Kittmann
* Tammy Hershberger
*Vicki Garrett

BTW. . .I'm still trying to get my act together. I really want to really start crafting. When I got home from New York trip on Monday, I started to have allergy attacks or developed a cold and have been sidelined since. Hopefully I get over whatever it is that is ailing me soon! Ugggh!

Photo of the Day

Before I go, I wanted to share a photo of NYC from the Empire State Building. Doesn't it look like I took it hanging over the ledge looking down at the city? To take the photo, I actually hung the strap over my neck, hung my camera over the wall and used the display to look at what I was taking. I really love the effect! You can see the shadow of the Empire State Building slightly right of the center of the photo. There are two sections to the Empire State Building. . .one I believe is the 83rd floor and if you pay an additional $15, you can go to the top on the 106th floor but that part of it is covered with glass.

Hope you all have a beautiful Saturday!

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Happy New Year

Hello Friends! Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. I had a blast! We vacationed in New York City for little over two weeks over the Christmas and New Years. I'll talk about my trip and share photos at a later time because I do have a lot to share!

The photo is a shot of the sunset off the pier to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. You can't really see it but next to the sun is the Statue of Liberty. It's my very first sunset on the East Coast!!! I find that exciting!! The sunset on the East Coast is beautiful!

I also want to let you know that my Etsy Shop is opened again. I had closed it while I was on a trip. I'll be adding new items in the near future! I'm hoping to add crochet and sewing items, as well as card making embellishments. I just got back from my trip 3 days ago so I'm a bit worn out right now. I need time to regroup and hopefully, I can get back on full blogging mode real soon!

I look forward to the new year . . .I have a lot of goals for the year that I would like to accomplish. I'll talk more about them as the days and weeks go by. Anyway, I hope your new year started off with a bang!

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Photos of the Day - La Jolla, San Diego

Hi Friends!  Happy Wednesday. . . gosh, I almost didn't know what day it was.  Time flies so fast.  Speaking of time. . .I was meaning to post these photos a few weeks back  but I kept forgetting to do so; therefore,  I decided to just post them all at once.  I drove to La Jolla, a town located in San Diego, a fews weeks ago.  It's an upper-scale community with beautiful homes, beaches, shops, and hotels.  My goal for driving there was to take a photo of a sun setting at the beach.  Believe it or not, since moving to California from Hawaii a little over 6 years ago, I've never stuck around to wait for the sun to set at the beach. I was a little bias I believe.  In Hawaii, I've seen a lot of beautiful sunsets so there was never a strong desire for me to see it set here in California.

While waiting for the sun to set, I took a bunch of photos at Seal Cove.  The photo above was an "intentional" shot. . .meaning I had my daughter pose because I wanted to capture a "serene" back drop but when I looked at the photo after I downloaded it to my computer, what I felt was a sense of "loneliness" instead.  How strange is that?

I took a ridiculous amount of photos. . .LOL!  I hope you don't mind all the photos I posted.   Do any of you watch Hawaii 5-0?  Well, I don't know if you noticed that it almost appears that the show is taken in "technicolor", where the scenic back drop appears almost "Photoshopped" and unrealistic. . .but there is some reality to it.  It is a bit over worked in the lushness of it but, in real life, the mountains are very green, the beaches and sky are very blue, the sand very white, and overall, everything do appear much more brighter and colorful.

When I moved to California, I immediately noticed the color differences.  In California, the colors of the leaves, the mountain, the sky, the beach, the sand. . .appeared "duller" in color.  It took a while for me to become accustomed to it.  It's like seeing things through hazy tinted glasses. I still see things the same way after 6 years, but I've come to appreciate living in California.  There are so many things to do and see that just driving around never gets boring.

With this shot, believe it or not, I don't recall seeing this part of the cove . . .it's funny how our minds sort of just scan things. . .and we don't really see things, especially when there are many things to see.  The beauty of taking photos it captures things that we may have looked at but did not really capture into memory.

This is a photo of a tunnel through the rock .  I don't know if it's man made or it was naturally created.

As I walking on the rocks, I noticed that a lot of rocks had carvings of names.  I wonder how they did that?  The rocks must be soft or something or they spent a lot of time carving their names.

I call this photo "poop heaven".. . .LOL!  Do you see the beautiful white color of the rocks?  Well, the color was created by layers and layers of bird poop and it smelled like it too!  

There were a lot of birds just bathing and hanging out at the cove.  I was actually quite far away but I took the photo using a telephoto lens.  I took this photo at 300mm.

Aww, look at this seal. . .sleeping so peacefully.  I love how he tucked his tail in.

This bird looks like he is pondering life. . .just thinking.

Finally. . .the sunset. . .

Although I loved the sunset. .. the sun appeared so far away.  I now want to drive to LA or somewhere in Orange County. . .maybe Santa Monica or Laguna Beach and take a photo of the sun setting.  I think the sun will look bigger there.  Nevertheless, it was beautiful.  I'm glad I stuck around to take a photo of it.

Anyway. . .my goal today is to work on a few holiday cards.  I actually worked on a bunch of crochet hats but I still need to take a photo of them
 
That's it for today!  Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!



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Photos of the Day - Mr. and Ms. Dragonfly Photos

 

Hi Friends!  I've been focusing on photography for the past few days.  I do a lot of crafting and it's sometimes nice to step away and do something different.  Taking photos takes a bit of patience and the right opportunities.  There's this one dragonfly that always like to hang out on a particular plant in our yard and everyday when I step out in our backyard I would see him just hanging out but I usually don't have a camera with me so the other day, I saw him just having a grand ole' time hanging out on his special plant.  I ran up to my craft room upstairs and grabbed my camera and took a few photos of him.  The last 2 photos are the photos I took of him the other day.  The first 6 photos are of photos of 2 dragonflies that I took today.  Today, Mr. Dragonfly decided to bring along his girlfriend. 

All the photos were taken with my Canon 70-300mm telephoto lens at 200-300 mm macro.  I'm about 4 to 5ft away but zoomed in.  The macro capabilities allow the closest distance at 4 to 5ft at 200 or 300mm zoom or it won't let me take a macro photo.  The photo above is actually at 300mm macro and it's not a cropped shot.  It's the actual closeness of the dragonfly.  I did crop the right end of the photo because it was off centered but other than that, the shot is the actual shot of the photo.

Honestly, I can't tell which is the male or the female.  One is fuzzier and fatter than the other so I'm assuming the bigger fatter one is the male.  I believe in nature other than in humans, isn't the prettier one the male?

I think this is the female.  She is a little thinner and smaller.  I was able to take a great shot of her tail and at a different angle.

This is at another angle. I know I posted a lot of photos but I wanted to show the different angles of the dragonfly.  It's not often that a dragonfly hangs around and let you take photos of them.

This one is actually cropped but not by much. Once you crop a photo, you sort of start to lose the details of the photo.  I wanted to share this one because she's smiling at me and sticking out her tongue. . hehe!  I believe the dragonfly eyes are to their side. . not sure. .

I wanted to share this one because Mr. or Ms. Dragonfly was hanging out at the end of the plant. This was actually a difficult shot to take because the wind was blowing and the dragonfly would sway as the wind blows and I could not get my camera to focus.  A close up shot at a distance is difficult to take especially without a tripod because the lens have difficulties focusing when the object moves and my unsteady hands causes the camera to shake.

 

These two last photos are photos I took the other day of Mr. Dragonfly. It was later in the afternoon so the plant caused shadows on his wings due to the direction of the sun when I took the photo.

Here is the last photo of Mr. or Ms. Dragonfly.  I like this one because the dragonfly is nicely centered.  I really had fun taking these photos.  Maybe I'll do a bit of crafting today now that I've gotten my photography fix for the day!

Hope you like the photos!  Hope you all are having a wonderful Monday!!

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