A Blog Called Wanda

A pretty bride card!

Hey everyone...I'm sitting here in shock watching the live stream news about a giant fire in San Bruno, CA which is very near where I lived and worked for several years of my life. It looks like a gas main blew up and it is really scary. I'm sending some prayers out that way to all the residents and emergency personnel that are dealing with a horrible situation right now. Somehow, stressing over my blog post for today seems pretty minor.

Tonight I'm changing out of Fall mode to share a custom card I made for a photographer friend. She wanted to send one of her brides a thank you note using her wedding color (pink) and a photograph. My friend gave me this very artsy, cool photo she took and I made it into this clean and simple/elegant card...

 

 

My "go to" wedding font is usually Scriptina...which I used here. I printed the words on a piece of vellum to soften the contrast of the photograph. Vellum always seems wedding-y to me too.

 

Layers of white and yummy pink Bazzill cardstock...

 

 

A gorgeous Prima flower...

This is a great technique to use for scrapbooking too. Pretty with portraits, weddings and such. For our honeymoon scrapbook album I printed out my vacation journal entries on vellum and then put the vellum sheet over some of our favorite pictures.  I need to get crack-a-lackin on some new Fall projects! Take care and have a wonderful night!

Happy Fall! Taylored Expressions #126 Challenge Card...

Yay! So, Fall officially starts in a few weeks...but at my house...it officially starts today - September 1st! I have always been a Fall person. I love everything about it. Cool weather, cute sweaters, college football, craft fairs, fog, new binders, apple cider, beautiful leaves, harvesty scented candles, Thanksgiving, my birthday, our wedding anniversary, Halloween...shall I go on??? ACK!   Bring.It.On.

I put up a new blog banner today for the season. In the past, my blog banners have all been digital images I've taken. This new one is from a photograph made using film (gasp! remember film?). I scanned it into my printer on very high resolution and it came out fine. I was worried it wouldn't look right since it didn't start out as a digi image. It's a picture I took on our honeymoon. The hubs loves Fall too...so we were married October 3rd, 2001 and our honeymoon was spent in Boston, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and New York. We got married on Cape Cod - in Chatham - in a pretty little gazebo right by the water. Our honeymoon was the most wonderful trip ever. We took 28 rolls of film! Then we had to wait for them all to be developed! It killed me! The best thing about digital photography is the instant gratification part. Don't you agree?

Thanks for listening to my story...I'm sure I'll be rambling on more and more about how much I love Fall. Especially once football starts. That's a whole different story...

My card for today is my entry into the Taylored Expressions Challenge #126! Yes...I do have a card for today! haha.

 

 

 

Here is the sketch image from Taylor:

 

 

I was going to use flowers, or hot air balloons, and all sorts of things for my card...but then I recalled a photograph I had taken last Thursday night and it was instant inspiration! Instead of bright and colorful, I went sort of moody and monochromatic for this challenge. I really like how it came out. It would make a nice masculine card, I think.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my inspiration photo - a lovely cappuccino I had at dinner Thursday night. I went out with my bestie JP to Cafe Bernardo. For the Sac-town crowd - it's at the corner of 15th and R. The food is delish and fresh and healthy and the atmosphere is casually elegant.

 

This is another photo I took at the restaurant Thursday night! I have been dying to share it with you and I feel like it really fit the mood/tone of today's post. The ceiling in the restaurant is painted all black and then there are different types and sizes of chandeliers hanging all over. LOVE IT!

Are you as excited as I am about the change of season? What is your favorite tradition? Have a wonderful day all!

What a week!

Here it is...Thursday... Or as I like to call it...Friday Eve! One more day to the work week and then it's time for a little rest and relaxation. It's been quite a week. Tonight it took me over an hour and a half to get home from work. A total of 28 miles. Ugh. I think I might be traumatized by this. We'll see.  

Last night we signed the loan documents for our home refinance...which is a complete blessing! I am so grateful to all the peeps who helped in the process. Part of our loan doc signing was electronic! Can you believe that? Well, our poor notary (very nice lady) wasn't 100% sure of the situation so it took two hours! Anyhoo...very happy that is done and very relieved to have a lower house payment! It's a good thing.

Not too much time for stamping this week...I made the card for Taylor's challenge and that's it. I thought I would use today to post some silly and/or fun pictures that have been hanging out in my camera just waiting for the right post!

I hope to get in some stamping time this weekend...and maybe a movie too. I really want to see "Inception." I hope you have a wonderful weekend and hope you like the pictures. Take care!

 

What? How much? No way I weigh that much! Really?

 

This was just plain weird. We were out at the little strip mall getting a coffee...when this happened. It was the day before Easter...but I don't think that's a good enough excuse! Wh-aaat?

 

Got any good gossip?

 

Hi Mom! Extreme close up!

 

A pretty scene at the Crate and Barrel at the mall...

 

Our pretty little impatiens in the front yard early in the season!

 

Warning...you're going to be hungry after you read this!

So you all know that I'm always saying...you have to bring your camera everywhere you go! You never know where beauty will be found and ya need to be ready. Here in Northern California we have this great grocery store chain called Nugget Market. The stores are gorgeous and the food is always fresh and beautiful. When I went there last week to buy the items for the mango salsa...I busted out the camera and took some pictures. I really liked how they came out so I wanted to share them with you. I'm warning you, though, you're going to be hungry after you see these...

 

 

 

Can't say I didn't warn you! Don't you want to go cook now??

Greetings from California!

Hi! I hope you had a wonderful Easter and a great weekend. It was pretty cold here on Easter Sunday...but luckily the rain held out for most of the day. We had a nice day at church and then breakfast out. The afternoon was spent cleaning up the old stampin' room.

I made this fun card to say "Greetings from California!" I started off with the main image and then I did some digging around and found all those old stamps of stamps! I had taken some pictures of our State Capitol a couple of weeks ago and I thought they would make a nice combo blog.  

Here ya go...

No matter how much 'ugliness' is going on inside there...the building is beautiful! Those clouds were to die for and that crisp blue sky...oh my.

A close up of the focal image. I colored it with my Copics of course. This is a stamp from Carmen's Veranda - memba them? They used to be at all the stamp shows. Cool stuff.

I'm including the next two pictures to show that I went to the vault for this card! I remember buying this stamp set at this tiny little stamp store on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland - back in the day. Everyone had this set. I have loved Hero Arts for a long time. I hardly ever get rid of my stamps - each one is like an old friend, or a memory of something.

  

Yes, I  bought this stamp set in 1995! EEK.

I don't know where I got these two stamps!

A few more shots of the Capitol. I work just a few blocks from here and sometimes I need to take it all in and go for a walk at lunchtime. It really is remarkable.

 

 

Have a great week ahead everyone! Thanks for stopping by today! 

Simple, Quiet, Spring Beauty...

Does anyone else remember this old song?: Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free. Tis a gift to come down to where we ought to be. It has a nice sing songy rhythm and a sweet lilt. I was going through the pictures on my camera from the past two weeks and I was struck by how many of them are of a simple image of Spring. They were a good reminder  to me to be present in the moment and take note of what is around me. I thought I would share some of the pictures with you today - since I don't have a card made right at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

I started this post with a quote from a lovely old Shaker song from the 1840's. I will end the post with a quote from one of the wisest men of MY generation:

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."   Ferris Bueller

 

As lovely as a tree...

This post is about the AMAZING Camellia tree that has been my artisitc muse for the past week. This tree has captivated me with her astounding beauty. She sits at the far edge of the park that surrounds our grand State Capitol building. She leaves a carpet of pink petals beneath her. She stopped me in my tracks. The morning light was more than I could take.

Gather round, and get some popcorn - the big tub - cuz this is a long post. I took about 75 pictures and it was very hard to select only a few to put on the old bloggy blog. Thanks for coming by today and I hope these pictures inspire you as well. I'd love to hear from you.

 

 

 

 

 

  
 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I THINK that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

 

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

 

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

 

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

 

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Joyce Kilmer, author

 

Another Tuesday Trigger Challenge Card!

DO SOMETHING CREATIVE EVERY DAY! I have been trying to live that statement this year. Take a picture, cook something new, make a card or a handmade project...Something creative each day. It has made me a happier person. I carry my camera around with me now. I take the time to sit down and create things I am proud of. I try to help others in their crafty endeavors. It's been wonderful.

When I saw the Tuesday Trigger image from Moxie Fab this week I gasped - SO gorgeous. I adore that color pallete! Such a beautiful collage of items. Here it is for you to enjoy:

I mean really, can you stand it? I could have made 50 cards from this inspiration. What caught my eye most was the center image on the right hand side with the pink flowers. I had recently taken a gazillion photos of the most amazing camellias blooming near my work. So, I decided to combine a photograph with my stamping. I hope you like my card!

 

 
 

The closed front of the card - yup, another easel card, folks!

 

 

 

 

I had some paper left after finishing my TT card, so I decided to make some more cards with the same color scheme. Here is one I'd like to share with you!

 

 

Here are some of the fab women who help me do something creative every day! Love this crazy bunch!

   
I will do another post, hopefully soon, with all of the pictures from the Camellias blooming. I have some favorites...Have a Creative Day!

Signs of Spring...

It stopped raining long enough for me to get out in the front yard and photograph the first signs of Spring at our house!

The daffodils bloomed about a week ago and I have been waiting for some nice light ever since - to show off their wonderful sunshine color. They are the first cheery signs of a change in the season...

See the nice, even, bright color? Contrary to what you would think, wait for an overcast day with nice even light. Bright sunlight would not have worked here. These pix are straight out of the camera.

 Some Spring bokeh for Pioneer Woman:

I love the contrast of the bright yellow against the brick and the green:

Here is a close up of one of my prized Nikko Blue Hydrangea blooms left over from last year. They say not to prune them...so I didn't. Love love love the texture of this:

The sure sign that more gorgeous blue hydrangeas are on the way! Yippee!

So, all this Spring folly sparked my creative juices in the craft room. I have been waiting for the right opportunity to use my new bird/branch punch from Stampin' Up and the new Memory Box Papers. The key to this card? Lots and lots of layers....

  
  Close up of my little birdie friend:

Some of the supplies:

 
I hope Spring is headed your way too - especially my friends on the East Coast. Have a wonderful week ahead. Take care. 

The Light Box Experiment...

I have been complaining about taking pictures of my cards, and not being happy with the results. SO...the DH and I bought all the stuff this past weekend to make a Light Box. The theory is that you make a perfectly white light box so that you get true color and eliminate shadows when taking indoor pictures.

The directions I used to make the box can be found here: http://www.studiolighting.net/homemade-light-box-for-product-photography/

I bought the foam core board and tape at Michael's and the lights/bulbs at Lowe's. Total cost was about $35.00. It took us about an hour to make it. I followed the directions exactly and the finished light box is a 20 inch square. Here are some photos of it:

My final thoughts on the project.

I think that the box is too large. If I made it again I would probably make it a 15 inch square. Be sure that whatever type of light bulbs you buy, that the box says 'daylight' so the color of the light is not yellow. I used 100 watt daylight CFL bulbs. Also, the more light, the better. I may end up buying another light to put on the top pointing down. Overall, the colors in the card photo above are much closer to reality than what I was getting without the box. This experiment is still ongoing...

Please let me know if you have any suggestions that have been working for you!