wildflowers and friends

 Wildflowers and friends. You can never have too many of either.

I love the way blogging has connected me with so many women. I've found support and encouragement, shared laughter, sometimes tears, and many, many virtual hugs. Which are just as powerful and real as in-person hugs.

{that tilted jar bugs me too}

I'm posting today at the i-Studio about inspiration and making new friends. And about how I recently 'met'  Heather at Post Road Vintage. You know how when you land on a new blog, and you instantly feel at home? That's how I felt when I found Heather's lovely blog. Blue canning jars, white chippy paint, farmhouse style, *sigh* all the things I love. 

I hope you have time to visit me at the i-Studio for some weekend inspiration, and to visit Heather's lovely blog.

have a fabulous weekend

xoxo
maureen

happy purple tuesday with a side of texture

It's been a bit since I've posted anything for Happy Purple Tuesday, and this purple was a bit of a surprise. I was  camping this past weekend and had a photo shoot idea in mind. I knew of a field in the area that I thought would be just right. But I never imagined it would be full of beautiful purple flowers and so many butterflies. It was almost magical, all the lovely butterflies dancing above all that gorgeous purple. These are a few of the photos I took that afternoon.

After I finally loaded some free PSE actions I played and played with these photos and tried out the new actions and a few recipes.

I've also been wanting to play around with a storyboard template from Kim Klassen. These are really fun to make.

And of course you knew the Bud Man wouldn't be far from my side. And since I didn't have any lovely female models,  I had to settle for him. I think he's lovely. *smile*

We are sharing our inspiring corners at the i-Studio today. Pop over and have a look, you can even see my space where I sit until the wee hours of the night playing on my computer.

I'm also linking up for Texture Tuesday at the Cafe.

happy purple tuesday

xoxo

maureen

focus 52 & bokeh

Good grief, I'm so far behind in my photography projects. I'm not sure I can even claim them as being legitimate projects for me any longer. *sigh* Me thinks perhaps I took on too much? I feel like I need an entire week, sort of a photography retreat week, to catch up. I've been taking photos, I just don't seem to have time to process and post them. Not to mention keeping up with flickr friends, IG friends and blog friends. Heh. But I keep trying. A little here, a little there. And I figure this winter I'll be glad to have so many photos on my hard drive to sort through. I'm posting these photos for Jan at twoscoopz for the weekly Focus 52 group. Jan asked for bokeh this week. Luckily I had these shots on my camera card.

I took these photos last week when I was planting some perennials in my 'new' landscaping in front of my house. This is a great time of year to add new plants to the landscaping. The plants have less transplant stress when planted in the fall. Not to mention there are amazing sale prices on plants at the local home improvement stores. One of my best deals was two containers of Knockout Roses for $2.50 each!

This plant, stonecrop, is a new one for me, I've always liked them, but never tried them in my own flower beds. From what I've seen, they look like hardy, low-maintenance plants. Exactly what I need. And apparently Mr. B liked them quite a bit too. What about you? Have you added any new plants to your gardens this year? Any favorite no-fail-perennials you can recommend?

hope you have a great week!
xoxo
maureen

going places

I have exciting news!
I’m now a contributor at Kim Klassen’s Inspiration Studio!!! 

                        happy dance

I am over the moon excited to be part of the i-studio.
Oh my gosh, if you haven’t been there this week, you should check it out immediately.
Wait!
I mean after you read this post, that is.
The i-Studio is back after a summer break with a new look, 'old' and new contributors and new categories!
So far this week there’s been a recipe, book review, DIY craft, and an inspired music playlist.
There are more categories of lovely inspiration yet to come.
Kim has done a fabulous job of revamping the site and offering new inspiring content.

If you are not familiar with Inspiration Studio{from the i-Studio website}:

the inspiration~studio is:

• all about inspiring others to live an inspired life.

• it's about spreading kindness & encouragement

• it's about showcasing the beautiful work of amazing talents all over the blogosphere.

So, hop on over, check out my first post say ‘hi' and have a look around at all the inspiration goodness there. I'm sharing flickr fabulousness today.

And while you are there, sign up for the new i-Studio newsletter. Just look for the box on the right side of the blog, enter your email address and you’ll stay up to date on all the juicy inspiration.

{These are some images I've been playing with recently, along with a mosaic template from the PhotoshopTest Kitchen.}

 
Have a great weekend!

xoxo
maureen

inspiration shared

{ Scripted Autumn, and Autumn Burst textures used. Both soft light, 100% }

inspiration.

It's everywhere isn't it? And it's certainly to be found all over the internet. Some days after a long session of blog surfing, I feel almost overwhelmed with all of the creativity out there being shared. Thank goodness for Pinterest, right? Such a wonderful place to save all that inspiration.

However.

How often do you go back and look at your boards and at the lovely inspired photos you've pinned? How many times have you actually made the craft, painted the room, sewed the curtains, simply done anything with all those pins?

{I used Pioneer Woman's Sepia action, then Autumn Burst, soft light 73%. Oh, and I flipped the texture before I applied it.}

I'll admit, I'm as guilty as anyone. Pin, pin, pin away, without looking back. Some of the pins are simply fun dreaming. But, I've a lot of pins that I originally planned to make or do. So, I've decided to pick one thing each week from my pin boards and, as Nike says "Just Do It!" And then? Do my best to find the original source and when possible thank the person for the inspiration. {Heh. Once per week might be a bit optimistic, but it's good to have goals, right?}

The above photos are my version of this pin from my pin board. I loved that I had everything readily on hand, (wine corks? no problem here) and it only took me a few minutes to put it together. It makes a fun new centerpiece for my table.

Source: morningt.blogspot.com via Maureen on Pinterest

Right, so it's not a big project, no paint cans were involved, no sewing machine, no glue guns. I'm just warming up. Next, Halloween projects. Ha! or should I say Boo!

So, tell me, what have you been inspired to make from one of your pins?

Inspiration. It's a good thing. Share it.

xo
maureen

And speaking of inspiration. I'm linking up today at Kim Klassen's Cafe for Texture Tuesday. Always lots of good inspiration to be found there. This week's challenge is 'Do' guess this counts since I was inspired to Do it! 

fortune telling

Have you ever had your fortune told? I must confess, once on a trip to New Orleans I had my palm read. It was as strange an experience as you can imagine. Literally a small dark closet of a shop, located on a side street alley in the French Quarter. The woman's husband was out on the sidewalk hawking customers. I don't even remember how much it cost, what she looked like, or much of what she said, but it was all hogwash. I wish I'd had a camera with me, at least I'd have some fun photos for my money.
I have been holding off with the Halloween decorations. I don't want to get them out just yet. Personally I'm not done with summer. But this little guy was too cute to pass up, so I did a quick photo shoot with him today.

I do love fall colors and decorations and I still get excited about going to the pumpkin farm. So many pumpkins, so little time.  I'd love to have all of the pumpkins and flowers in the photo above in my yard. Actually, I'll take that exact set-up for my yard thank-you-very-much.
I guess I'll start slow, I think I'll pick up some mums this weekend to replace my poor dried out dead petunias on my front porch, and spruce it up a bit.
 What about you? Are you ready for fall? Or are you like me, holding on for dear life to the last warm days of summer? Have you begun to get out your fall decorations yet? Do you decorate with a Halloween theme, or keep it mostly autumn theme? I do a little of both. Halloween inside, autumn outside. I want to use more of my vintage finds in my Halloween theme decorations this year.  Which means I really should begin digging through the boxes in the basement for that stuff. Hopefully I'll find it all in time.

And if you are on Pinterest, I have begun a Halloween board, check it out.

original image found here

This is one of the ideas I liked. Easy enough to do with my little typewriter. And what a cute idea to use calkboard paint on old books, perfect for Halloween.
 If you have a Halloween or autumn pin board, let me know, I'd love to have a look at it.

Hope you have an inspired weekend!
xoxo
maureen

school days

{I used Pioneer Woman's Sepia action on the photo, then brushed off just a bit on the box and blocks to bring back a bit of the vintage colors. Then added two layers of Cracker Jack texture, soft light.}

Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer for most all of us. The pools are closed, the kiddies are back to school, the weather here has even cooled off enough to throw on a sweater in the evening. (Well, for the last two days anyway.) With end-of-summer back-to-school on my mind, I went digging through my boxes of vintage crap treasures.  I found this well used, well loved vintage pencil box and flash cards. Fitting for this time of year don't you think? And a perfect match for Kim's texture Cracker Jack.

I've had a lovely, busy summer break and I'm ready to be back.

I've done plenty of this.

{I used Pioneer Woman's Sepia action on this  photo also, adjusted opacity to 71%, then added Kim's new texture Autumn Burst.}

Of course plenty of this also.

I'm feeling recharged and ready for cooler, colorful days of autumn and catching up with my blog friends.

I hope you've also had a fun summer, I'll be hopping around to see you soon

xoxo

maureen

I'm linking up at the Cafe for Texture Tuesday.  

Lot's of good texture work there, why don't you join us!