Cloth Paper & Scissors

My most favorite of the magazines that are available out there, my most favorite.

Did I mention yet that my article got published in the upcoming Jan/Feb 2010 issue? No?

Gorgeous cover!
Here's my article with the chubby little houses in question.

To say I'm thrilled would be a colossal understatement!

There are always so many fabulous things and artists' in this magazine that I feel so humbled by being included.

LOVE this magazine, hehe...Hi Mom!

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I finally received my new camera and have been playing with this awesome piece of equipment. I actually feel bad for my 'other' camera even though it's not working any more I still feel like I'm cheating on it somehow.

I got the Canon Powershot SX 20IS.

I feel so professional...*snicker*

I tried snapping a picture of my new camera, err, wait a minute...*where's that darn delete button?*

Take my word for it this thing is so awesome that even though I haven't bothered to read the manual *manuals are for normal people* just take a look at a couple of pictures I took.

Mind you, I've done zero editing on these...zero.

Pyracanthus berries.
Gorgeous little Emily. She looks all grown up here but she's only a few months old. This was taken about 20 feet away. She's such a pill.

Happy Holidays!!

I've got some exciting news to share but will wait until my much anticipated new camera arrives so that I may share this great news with some exciting pictures!!

Here's crossing my fingers that it doesn't actually take me 6 years to figure this new camera out like it did with the last one, may it rest in peace... *missing it dreadfully*

I will, however, take a moment to wish everyone a wonderful and exciting Holiday!

Are Computer Viruses Really Necessary?

I mean really.

Not that it excuses my extreme absence lately, just for the last two weeks but come on!

Apparently, according to everything I've read, this one was a pretty nasty one. I did however, manage to get my computer back up and working again, (knock on wood...yes, I'm a tad bit superstitious, hehe) but, and here's the amazing thing, I did it myself. Well, with help I found on a computer forum.

Now if you've read my blog you all know that a computer expert I'm not. I can't even figure out how to make my blog a three column for heavens sake...so sad.

Interested in knowing how I "think" I acquired this nasty? I was simply searching the Internet on information on how to 'sex' baby hamsters. That's right, you heard correctly. I was trying to download hamster porn, hehe.

Actually I took in a mother hamster and her babies and simply wanted to see if they were boys or girls. Just trying to avoid having even more hamsters.

Unfortunately my digital camera ended up with some issues that I don't think it is going to recover from. I guess superwoman status will just have to wait...darnit.

I have, however, been busy making a few things here and there and do have a few pictures to share. Will that, (slightly) make up for being absent so long?

A little Ralphie Christmas ornament.

And chubby house stuffed ornaments too.

Shots from the garden and more Holiday Houses

My beautiful garden that once was nothing but a bag of seeds that I left in the fridge for what I thought was just too long.

Every day I am amazed that it is still so beautiful, so full of flowers and amazingly enough there are still new ones sprouting and blooming every day.

It is November isn't it?

I had given these purple flowers up for nothing but exceedingly tall bushy weeds but them they started sprouting these gorgeous blooms.

I love love love these flowers

Don't they just make you happy in looking at them?

They made this little bee very happy. He was sooo loaded down with pollen that I was amazed he could still fly. I'm even more amazed at the shot I captured here.

Want a closer look? Isn't this amazing? I love that his shadow was just starting to hit the edge of the flower there. I swear, I didn't even plan this, I'm not that good. Hehe.

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I finally got the rest of the little holiday houses done and they had their photoshoot.

Patiently awaiting their turn.

I think he looks like he has a candy cane moustache.

And he has a red and white stocking cap on.
Wishing for some colder weather.

Little Holiday Houses

Just thought I would quickly share a couple of the little holiday houses I've finished up.

The rest are patiently awaiting their turn at the camera but with the days getting shorter and shorter and my indoor photo space not completed yet, we make do.

Home Made Marshmallows

It sounds so terribly simple doesn't it.

Making your very own marshmallows.

I certainly was sucked into believing that I too could make my very own yummy little marshmallows.

Now I would like to point out that I'm not overly fond of marshmallows. Of course I like them but I could go the rest of my life without them if pressed to do so.

It's just that I saw some blueberry marshmallows and was smitten. Totally smitten.

I did some research, found some blueberry flavoring, ordered it and found a wonderful recipe on Martha Stewart.com.

Bought myself a cute little beater with a whisk, as per recipe, and a new glass pan.

Lined up all my ingredients and managed to completely botch my first attempt with two swift strokes.

Okay, shrug it off...you can do this. Lined them up again and "carefully" read the directions again.

It went horribly wrong...horribly horribly wrong and I have something called "Marshmallow" to prove it.

Snort *giggle*

I admit I totally underestimated how gooey and stringy said mix was and how completely the stuff could glue 'things' together. Things like my fingers to the bowl, whisk, counter, nearby television and front door over 100 feet away.

Seriously, this is not a mutant skinned chicken.

Oh I can hear you all now, hey that's not blueberry! This monstrosity was my test run, oh yeah, I'm going to give it another go. I haven't learned a thing. I can just hear my High School Home Ec teacher cringing from here, hehe.

Want to see what a beautifully perfect home made blueberry marshmallow is supposed to look like? Have I ever got the etsy shop for you. She's got all kinds of amazing flavors in her shop and when my next 15 or so experiments fail as miserably as this first one did I shall see you all over there. MiaMallows is her shop name and aren't these just beautiful marshmallows?

I just hope she isn't horrified to find her beautiful marshmallows any where near the monstrosity above.

Of course I find a much more helpful youtube video AFTER the monstrosity was born.

A Real Eye Opener

White balance.
I knew you needed it on your camera. Was relatively sure I had it on my camera. Really had no idea for sure that it was on there and no clue whatsoever on how to not only find it but how to use it once I did.

So so sad.

A manual you say! Who needs a manual! You actually have to read said manual and I certainly don't have time for all that manual reading, (okay, this should read...too darn lazy!), hehe.

So after dealing with pictures like these on a sunny day outside I kept getting more and more frustrated. I was spending ALL day touching them up in Photoshop which, I might add I have no idea what I'm doing there either, and that's just one one photo as well, or at least series of one item.
I left these as is with no touching up whatsoever just to give you an idea of what I was dealing with. Just look at all that blue! Outside. Sunny day!

Well no more friends and neighbors!

Same house, same day, same place no re-touching whatsoever!!

I found my white balance!!!

I'm so happy!

Hope I saved those settings on my camera as I have no idea what I actually did, hmmm...