ma vie trouvée

revisiting my word for the year... Simplify

 

Our life is frittered away by detail... Simplify, simplify. 

Henry Thoreau

Collage Obsession's theme for the week is "one word".  I thought this would be a good time to revisit my word for 2013... SIMPLIFY.

Have I practiced simplifying my life.  no.  I even tried to clutter this photo by adding the quote directly on the image (shown below).  There is a sense of quiet and calm in the first one.  Which, is the definition of simplify... to make less complicated, clearer, or easier. 

Which image do you prefer?  Simple or detailed?

 

 

 

I took this photo last week at the Singapore Botanical garden with my new lens the hubby bought me, a  Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 Pancake Lens (allows for great background blur - love it!).  I used Kim's textures Edith and Scripted Autumn.  I am also linking up to Texture Tuesday where the theme is free and easy.  Have a great week! 

 

 

Have you ever tried Chinese Cherries?

 

 

 

I found this redish-purple fruit in our little market this week.  I have never seen it before.  Its true name is Yangmei but is also called Chinese Cherry, Chinese strawberry, Japanese bayberry, yumberry, or waxberry.

It grows on a tree and is native to eastern Asia, mainly in China, where it has been grown for over 2000 years, one article said 5000! It is often planted in areas with poor soil because it is a nitrogen fixer and will replenish the soil where it is grown.  It makes an excellent crop for fields that need long-term nitrogen restoration, because it will produce fruit while renewing the soil.

The fruit is not sold in the United States because of pest concerns, but you can get the juice - called yumberry.  

It is hard to describe the taste.  It is a cross between a cranberry, a strawberry,  and pomegranate.  It is both tart and sweet.  D and I both liked them.  There is a small pit in the middle of the fruit. 

The fruit is very high in vitamin C and is rich in antioxidants.  It is said to reduce your blood pressure, lower bad (LDL) cholesterol, protect your eyesight and reduce your risk of cataracts, and fight inflammation associated arthritis.

 

If you see the juice, why not give it a try!

 

collage obsession - stairs

 

 

A mishmash of many of my photos - horses from Prague Poland, stairs from my visit to the Hermitage Museum in Russia, vintage wedding postcard from my collection.  Frame from "playing with brushes" and Kim's texture "Edith"

Stop by Collage Obsession and see what others did with "stairs."

TT - b&w and a touch of color

 

 

This week's theme for Texture Tuesday is black and white or black & white with just a touch of color. 

 

I took the photos this morning at the Botanical Garden here in Singapore.  H and I went out early to practice our photo skills. 

For the first one, I used Kim's texture Edith (overlay 63%).  The words are from Cindi Lauper's song True Colors.

Here is the original photo:

 

 

Isn't it fascinating how that one red flower is on the stem with all the pink ones? 

On the second photo I layered two photos, an old letter, and Kim's texture Edith (soft light 100%).  That really is one of my very favorites of Kim's textures.

 

Stop by Kim's Blog and see what others created for the theme.

 

art from the wooden stamps

 

 

I am really bad about actually using the art and craft supplies I buy.  I create art in my mind... but have trouble getting it out. 

The other day I shared a post on 16 wooden stamps I bought in India.  I was determined to ink them up so I invited a friend over to play.  We tried each and every one of them!  They worked better with paint vs ink.  Here is what I created:

 

 

 

 

 

It is a start!

 

Bangalore India

 

A few weeks ago we were in Bangalore India - what a fun trip!  To read all about our adventure, visit our Travel blog, TheXtraSuitcase.com.

I love the colors of India and found the graffiti to be particularly  beautiful.  I thought you would enjoy them too.  It is sad that posters were put across the faces.  I am glad people chose to peel them off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TheXtraSuitcase.com

 

 

 

Stampington's up up and away challenge winner!

 

Yeah!  I was selected as one of the winners of Somerset Place - Stampington's Blog Up Up and Away Ephemera Challenge!  Here is the digital collage I submitted:

 

 

From the article: 

In Cathy’s words:

This collage was created in Photoshop Elements, originally an image the hubby took of me in front of a castle in France.  I am actually in the photo – (under the pretty lady) my alter ego is my shadow, you see.  The castle was so beautiful it looked like a painted backdrop behind me.  I had always wanted to turn it into a collage and when I saw the ephemera balloon pieces, this image came to mind.

How-to:

Cathy digitally cut out the vintage lady from a scanned postcard from her personal collection. She placed the piece directly on top of the background image and added several layers from the Up and Away Dominos sheet. Cathy included the script “Le Ballon” along with the back of a scanned cabinet card to add an element of elegance. Varying patterned layers with different opacity levels ties the entire image together with a whimsical feel.

 

I won a $25 gift certificate to their WONDERFUL SHOP and a chance to be published in their magazine Digital Studio - fingers crossed! 

 

 Click here to see the full post along with the other winners.