SAN DIEGO BAY

Every time I walked by the boats on the beach, I thought, I should bring my camera. Well, as you know from Friday's post, I did just that. This is the original shot without alteration.

This is posterized with some other filtering.

And this, as you may have guessed, is my favorite! I know these colors are not everyone's cup of tea, but they sure do make me happy!

Obviously, this is not an often used boat as the sand and water inside would make it difficult. I still love the way it looks. This is the natural color with no manipulating yet.

I think that black and white always makes for a striking image.

No telling exactly what I did to get this effect, but I like it.

I don't think these are used very much either. However, it is high tide and once the water recedes, at least they are not full of sand.

I used some kind of blue filter to make the water a color it never is here.

And this has either a purple or a magenta filter, among other things.

When I am playing in Photoshop, I frequently come up with color combinations and effects that I then have no idea how I got. It is fun though. I tend to really love the very vivid, bright, neon hues the best. That's just me. Like I said, they make me happy to see.

GORGEOUS SUNRISE

It was a particularly beautiful sunrise this morning. And I actually had my camera with me. I am going to do my best to remember to bring it on my walks from now on. I often see shots I wish I could take, if only I had my camera. When I walked out the door this morning and saw the wispy clouds, I turned back around and got the camera. So glad I did!

The best thing about getting up so early is I see similar sites most every day. There's nothing like a beautiful sunrise to start the day off right!

AT IT AGAIN OR STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER

I got these vintage seed packets from edytheanne.typepad.com. Although this was her One World One Heart giveaway, I didn't win. She was kind enough to offer them, though, to any of those of us who entered her drawing. I couldn't resist ordering them. These are just two of the fifty images I received. Talk about a great deal!

As I cannot seem to leave well-enough alone, I was playing in Photoshop and the following images are what I came up with. At some point, I will probably use them on pillows and most likely in the original form. I just like manipulating and altering them to see what I can come up with.

WHITE DUCK SLIPCOVER

I love working with duck cloth. It's not as heavy as denim and is just as durable. Duck also comes in about a million colors! And still, with all those choices, I find my clients tend to go with white more than anything else. To make it more interesting, this chair and ottoman have a blue and white gingham welting.

My signature buttons are also in the gingham.

I LOVE THIS CARD

www.MinaLeeStudio.com

PAY IT FORWARD

A while back I participated in the Pay It Forward Challenge. I received this collage from Mary at Vintage Patina last week. Mary normally works with very subtle tones and lots of whites and creams and nothing like what I like. Because of this, making this gift for me was very challenging. I think it turned out great! Thank you, Mary, for stepping outside your 'normal' comfort zone and making something in brighter colors just for me!

I LOVE THE SUN

I sometimes get tired of posting the same old thing. I mean how many slipcovers do you really want to see? Besides, I've been doing a lot of pillows lately and I usually forget to take pictures of them. Anyway, the weather in Coronado/San Diego has been amazing lately: sunny and warm. Perfect winter weather as far as I am concerned. According to the weather report though, we are in for some more rain. Which only makes me think of how much I love the sun.

This sun hangs in my bedroom.

This one over the window in the kitchen.

This one is outside on the patio.

And so I would never be without the sun, I got this one on my lower back! It used to not show, but then styles changed and bathing suit bottoms got smaller. Now it peeks out from my swimsuit and other various clothing, especially if I bend over. It's not like I can see it, unless I look in the mirror, but I like knowing it's there.

MORE ALTERED PELICANS

I couldn't help myself. I just had to post more of the pelican pictures. Since I can't really tell you what I did to each one, I'll just let them speak for themselves.

PELICANS

I have to give credit where credit is due, and the inspiration for this Photoshop frenzy came from Julie at Being Ruby. I have to admit that her sea gulls were very subtly altered. As you will see in the following images, there is nothing subtle about what I did.

So, thanks Julie for sparking this idea!

The original shot, taken on Christmas Day 2002 in Santa Barbara.

With a blue filter

For the remaining shots, I can't exactly tell you what I did. Everything I know how to do in Photoshop has been learned from experimenting, so I cannot be specific with HOW I got the outcomes I did. I played with hue and saturation and filters and brightness and shadows. And when I got a combination that I didn't like, I just un-did it.

I am always amazed at what happens when I play on Photoshop. It is so addicting. I realize that some of the color combinations I came up with are not everyone's cup of tea, but I LOVE the ones I've posted.

WE HAVE A WINNER

Maggie from Magpie Collectables is the winner!

My hot pink tulle/ballerina girl will be making a new home in Canada!

Thanks so much to all 186 people who left comments. It was a wild ride!

ONE WORLD ONE HEART

UPDATE:

I'll be taking comments up until I use the random generator to determine the winner of my giveaway. I will most likely do this Monday morning around 8a Pacific Standard Time. So if you want to be included, get your comments in!

Good luck to everyone.

(I just finished visiting each and every blog who was playing this year! There are some amazing giveaways and plenty of talented bloggers out there!)

If I can figure out how to do it, this post will stay at the top of my blog until the One World One Heart/Magic Carpet Ride is over.

It's finally here!!!

What IT is: Created by Lisa Swifka in 2007, this event is a worldwide opportunity for bloggers around the world to meet. Last year, there were 911 participants from 28 different countries!

What YOU need to do to join in the fun: You can choose to just leave a comment on this post or you can leave a comment AND add your own giveaway. Just go here and get all the details.

Now for my giveaway:

My tulle/ballerina girl will be going to a new home. All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post. Be sure to leave your contact info so I can get a hold of you if you win. This event will run from today, 25 January 2010 until 15 February 2010, when I will use the random number generator to pick a winner.

This girl is approximately 14" tall and 14" wide. Her body is paper mache covered with black and white toile, then sprinkled with silver glitter. She has over 200 yards of tulle in her body and took me 12+ hours to create. I haven't named her, so that would be up to the winner.

Let the fun begin!!!

Depending on the number of comments I receive, I may add another tulle/ballerina girl to be given away.