Serious Play

Bleeding Heart

So, I have a bleeding heart bush right beside my front door.

 

It greets me every time I walk along the path and up the steps and it makes me smile. I don't know how it does it, but it goes from 2 inches tall to 4 feet tall in one weekend! Of course, all of the rain we have been getting helps. I love the little pink blossoms and the wide fresh green leaves. 

As a little girl, I remember my mom had bleeding hearts in her yard, and so did my grandma. It just seemed like the right thing to do to have them in my yard too! I like traditions...just as much as my bleeding hearts!

 

 

 

Easter Cactus

So, my Easter Cactus is blooming.

 

Funny story... when I bought this cactus, I assumed that it was a Christmas Cactus. Since we are still experiencing bouts of snow, I was inclined to think that my cactus was having a bit of an identity crisis! However, at supper the other night, my MIL informed me that there are also Easter Cacti and that must be what I have. Who knew?

I will most definitely be adding it to my Plant Profiles Mini Album.

How can it tell when it's time to bloom? That's what I want to know.

Another Snowfall

So, we had a big dump of snow again this weekend!

I really thought that spring was making its way into my city. But, alas, I was mistaken. It snowed non-stop for the last two days, which amounted to about 6 full inches! We saw nothing but grey and white for hours on end. I was preparing myself for the worst.

To my surprise, however, we awoke this morning to sunshine! The sky was brilliant blue, and the reflecting snow piercing my eyes. I felt joy in my stomach. It was the kind of day that made me throw open the windows and clean my bathtub...not sure of the connection there, but I did, in fact, clean my bathtub.

Because of the sunshine, my day was quite cheery. We started off with a trip to Starbucks and a race at Sudoku. Then to Superstore to buy ingredients for lunch. Sean made his tasty homemade chicken soup, which we soaked up with warm focaccia bread.

In the afternoon, Jess and I went wandering through our neighbourhood with our cameras. I thought this was the perfect opportunity for some TtV shots. We happened upon these dynamic snowmen that someone obviously had great fun crafting in the park! Seeing these creations made the previous days' worth of snow all worthwhile.

The brilliance of the day brought about a few more fun shots...

And the fun carried on indoors...

This last one Ashley took when I wasn't looking. She did a great job, didn't she?

How is spring shaping up in your town?

 

Spring Mini Album

So, I couldn't take such inspiring spring photos and not do anything with them!

I made a mini album entirely from scratch (no purchased album) to welcome the entrance of spring!

I figured out my own method of binding the pages together. This is the challenge of creating that I love the most... unique forms of binding.

I used all supplies that I had on hand in my stash. In fact, almost everything is from Stampin' Up. I used to be a SU demonstrator.

I wanted a seventies look and feel to this mini album as dictated by the photos.

Each photo warranted a single word or short phrase to identify it. I did that in my own handwriting.

All of my pages are sewn into the album, which is kinda visible here.

I absolutely love how it turned out. It made me giddy... even though it snowed in my fair city today.

Most importantly, it was given the approval from a very reliable source...

Oh yeah, and I will share the process for making this album tomorrow!


 

Signs of Spring

So, we made it to warmer temperatures!

This week we have temperatures above 0*C for the entire week! After school today, the girls and I celebrated by going outside to 'play'. I was shooting with my Anscoflex and Jess was practicing with her new Diana camera. We were in our element for sure!

My goal was to capture the current signs of spring...

Knowing that this is probably only a teaser and that we are certain to have a few more snowfalls before Spring officially arrives, I am going to use these photos to keep me cheery for the next few weeks!

What are you doing to make you happy in these days leading up to Spring?

 

February 2011

So, I think I have happened upon my method for documenting 2011.

After playing around with my new TtV contraption that I rigged up, I had a few good shots! When I put them all together in a collage, I really liked it. 

Because I had purchased my Anscoflex camera in December, I tried to make a contraption right away, but was unsuccessful a few times in a row. I became a bit discouraged and set it aside...for all of January! As a result, I do not have a nice collage of happenings for January.

However, I did take a few shots in December with the temporary contraption that still let light through. They are a bit wonky, but I think that gives them character. So I put those together in a collage as well.

So this is it... my method of documenting 2011. One collage per month. I can do that.

What do you think? Have you got a plan for documenting 2011?

Shooting TtV

So, I have found a new way to play.

It is a method of photography known as TtV, which stands for Through the Viewfinder.

I found my very first Anscoflex camera at an antique shop this past December while on a weekend away with my husband for our anniversary. I was so tickled to actually find a duoflex camera after searching for one for nearly two years!

There are many different base cameras that you can use to achieve the TtV look. I really like the results that I get with my little investment. Each camera gives a unique effect according to the condition of the lens. I can see a new camera collection forming for me here!

Most of my information about TtV came from these sources...

TtV Flicker Pool

Russ Morris

Kodak

Hula Seventy

Because you are shooting with your regular SLR and just using the duoflex for its lens, you need to start by making a contraption to block out the surrounding light. I made mine out of black foam core board that I bought at Walmart and it looks like this...

 
Anyway, in a nutshell, that is my new way of playing and I am loving it!

I have more shots to share with you tomorrow...