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Sunday in Florida

Most men enjoy watching/reading News, right?
Well, my husband is no exception.

This past week as he was reading one of the online News sites,
he thought it was funny that it actually said
there was snow in 49 States!
–all, except Florida!!

He sent that news clip to our kids
(who were “stranded” at home in different parts of the country
due to the winter storms)…
He let them know they could always come back home.
Bless his heart.

It’s usually hot in Florida,
but this week it’s been nice & cool.

So, here we are, enjoying the Florida weather for a change.
Don’t hate us.

 

Click to enlarge unedited photo.

Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.

Psalm 69:34

Happy Sunday, everyone!
Have a blessed week!

Daisy

Amish Restaurant

If you’re ever in Sarasota, FL . . .

I highly recommend you plan to stop at this restaurant.

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I chose the buffet,
Just because I can try all the different
choices.
Everything is homemade,
and you can taste it!!

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They also have a beautiful gift shop upstairs with all kinds of items you will just love to look at!
Quilts, one-of-a-kind little things,
And a whole section just for
Vera Bradley items…

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This one was my personal favorite,
But I was good and put it back.

The day we were there they had all their Christmas items on clearance…

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The displays were so beautiful!
I bought some vintage ornaments that ended up being only $2!!

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They also have a “Country Store” section in the front with lots of goodies to take home, like homemade cookies, jams, apple butter, rolls, and so on.

Have I made you hungry??
I am!!

Have a good weekend everybody!!
Daisy

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I’ve shared before
a little on photo editing and how simple it is.
You can actually give photos what I call,
a “Photo Makeover”.
(We all need one once in a while, right?)

Right now there are some programs and Aps that you can upload
to your phone, ipad, kindle, computer, or whatever device you own.
(If you don’t own one, this would be a good excuse to
run out and get one).

Don’t run.  Walk.
(Sorry, this popped right from my
childhood, and all those times I was running down the hall
and was stopped by a school administrator.)

…Back to makeovers.  Ahem.

 

I just wanted to share some before & after photos
so you get an idea (if you’re new to photo editing)
how easy and fun it can be.

Here’s a before photo of my brother and my sister-in-law.

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And here’s the after:

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The “before” photo is not bad, but I wanted to bring the focus
into the center, and give an overall warmth to the picture.

 

Here’s another example, this time my son and daughter-in-law:

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AFTER:

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It’s just a little different look, but I like how it brings out their faces
and I also added a frame.  My daughter-in-law loves the country
and the old, vintage-y look, so I thought she’d like this.

 

Before:
I took this one of my daughter a week before her wedding:

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I cropped the photo, changed it to B&W
and made the background dark
in order to frame the Bride.

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It all sounds complicated, but it’s really simple.

 

Before:
This one was several years ago when all I had
was a little pocket camera.

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My son playing his guitar.
All I did was select the “swap color” option on my little
pocket camera, and highlighted only the guitar.
Everything remained B&W except for the original
color of the guitar.

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Before:
A nice sunset shot,
on the lake

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After:

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I cropped, adjusted the intensity of the color, and framed it.

 

Before:
I told them to just act natural.

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After:

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Just added a cute frame to go
with the fun photo
and added just a little warmth to the color.

 

Before:
Senior (Graduation, not 55+) photo shoot.
You can see more of this here.

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After:

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I added a dark background and a warmer color tint
in order to bring out the subject
and her beautiful smile.

 

 

Before:
The photo is not great, too dark and subject is
almost in the background, you might say.
I might say.
We all might say.

Sorry.
Back to editing marvelous-ness.

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After:

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I changed it to B&W, but left the
stained glass window untouched.
I also made the exposure level a little higher
to brighten the picture.
This is one of my favorites.

 

 

Before:
It was a cloudy day, I knew I’d have tons
of editing to do for these wedding photos
to turn out nicely.
Or marvelous-ly?

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The colors are too neutral,
nothing spectacular about this photo…

but…

I love the AFTER:

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What a difference!
Now the girls are “front and center”.
All I did was crop, brighten the color,
add a frame, and a little fading
around the corners.
It’s amazing what happens when we crop,
zooming in on something special like this.

 

These are just a sample of what a little editing can do.
Here are some easy tips to keep in mind:
*Crop
*Brighten color
*Add a dark frame to bring out subjects
*Crop
*Try B&W
*Highlight one thing, while keeping the rest B&W
*Crop
*Zoom in (another word for cropping)
*Add a fun frame (just for fun)

The easiest thing to do is to zoom in (crop).
It does away with all the other things your eye
would normally be drawn to.
It’s another way of saying, “Hey! Look at this, here!”

Experiment!  Enjoy!  Try something new!
You can always hit the “undo” button.
(If only we could do this in real life
and not just in pictures! ha!)

Have fun editing,

Daisy

A Blessed New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!!

May 2014 be a blessed year for you & yours!

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Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits.
Psalm 103:1, 2

 

Love to you all,

Daisy

On the Road

We are on the road again,
Going through one of our
Beautiful western States.

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I won’t be posting until after Christmas
So I’m
Wishing you all a
Very happy Christmas!

Daisy

Notebook Cover

I’ve been busy making Christmas gifts for family & friends…
I’ll be posting them the next few days,
In case you could use some last-minute ideas
(Click on photos for a closer look)

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I made several notebook covers for friends. The above photo is the outside front cover.

Below is the inside…

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This is the outside back.
As you can see I put a little piece of elastic to wrap around the button on the front and provide a closure.

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This is the finished inside,
With the notebook placed inside.
I had fun making some bookmarks,
And other scrapbook-style goodies.

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Did you notice I also included
A small piece of chocolate?
I think that’s probably the first thing
my friend will notice 🙂

Happy crafting,
Daisy

Shoebox Exchange

This year my daughter and I participated in a fun shoebox exchange with others who enjoy quilting and sewing.

All year we collect fat quarters in the colors our “secret quilter” requested; two each month. We also add fun little items such as a pin cushion, ornament, sewing needles, and …chocolate!

My Shoebox arrived this week!
Let me show you all the goodies that came inside:

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Just look at all those fun fabrics! The colors I chose were red and yellow.
I can hardly wait to sit down and start planning & sewing.

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My “secret quilter” sent these cute little ornaments…

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Here’s a close up of some of the other surprises …

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She also included this fabric with beautiful scenes…

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And last but certainly NOT least
(Drumroll, please)
Homemade peppermint fudge.
Wow. So delicious!

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I also loved the pretty card she included,

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And a postcard from her home State

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It was so much fun opening my Shoebox and going through all the little gifts!
Thank you to my secret quilter friend!
🙂

Have a wonderful weekend!
Daisy

Beauty in Rain

There’s always opportunity for photography…

even in the rain . . .

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This was taken with my cell phone from inside the car
while we were stuck in traffic, going through a major
University town.

I’m not officially a “professional” photographer,

but . . .

I’m usually looking at things as if through the lens of a camera.
Taking “snap shots” of whatever surroundings I find myself in.
And I have been doing that since I was a kid.

It’s wonderful that today, because so many of us have
phones that come equipped with a camera,
we can capture what normally would be missed.

Here’s the same scene a couple moments later:

 

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We can see beauty even in the things we are
prone to complain about –
Traffic?
no problem!  — take photos.  🙂

There’s joy all around us.
Sometimes a change of perspective
(or attitude, in my case)
helps tremendously.

Go out and have fun seeing what’s
around you through a “professional”
photographer’s eyes (even if all you have
is a cell phone!)
A rainy night can become
a thing of beauty.

Happy Wednesday everybody 🙂

Love to you all,
Daisy

Small Book Cover

This is a small book cover I made for a little Bible I have. The cover was badly worn but the size is nice and compact, perfect for taking to church and on trips.

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I put a little notebook in the outside pocket for taking notes or writing thoughts.

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This is the inside. I put in two pockets, one on each side for pencil, highlighter, bookmark, and whatever else I need.

It was a fun and quick project.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Daisy

Wedding Photography

I have not posted in two weeks . . .
I’ve been busy editing photos and video that I took for a wedding . . .

I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you . . .

(click photos to enlarge)

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The church was a beautiful, old, historical building made of stone and brick,
located in a quaint Historical Downtown.

As soon as I walked in, I knew I’d be taking tons of photos
just of the church alone . . .
you know how I love old/historical houses & buildings.

 

 

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The church was beautifully and simply decorated.

 

 

PicsArtThe girls . . .

 
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So sweet.

 

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. . . with the Bride

 

 

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All the windows in the sanctuary were original stained glass.

I couldn’t pass it up . . .

This is one of my very favorite photos.
I think it will look beautiful in a silver frame,
don’t you?  🙂

 

 

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There’s just something about Black & White photos . . . even now.

 

 

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Bride, Mother, and Grandmother.  Three generations celebrating a very special day.

 

 

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I love this picture.

I know a little of what the Father of the Bride must have been feeling . . .
our kids are now married and I remember well
the mixed feelings of great happiness as well as a sense of loss
and that things would never be quite the same.

But here, a moment of pure joy and laughter was captured on film.
The little girl all grown up now;   Daddy still able to make her laugh.

 

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Friends.
How very important they are in life.

 

 

 

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IMG_0496Instead of throwing rice, the guests blew bubbles . . .

Good choice!  So much nicer that getting rice in your clothes!

It looks better in pictures, too 🙂

 

 

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Memories.

Praying their union will be a sweet one,

and that it will last “as long as they both shall live.”

 

Have a great week everybody!

Love to you all,

Daisy