Category Archives: Arts and Crafts

Card Update

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This is my first card, second attempt. I’m using the app Canva. I was so excited to receive my first test order of “Red cards” yesterday. But there was something wrong. My excitement soon turned to disappointment.

I thought I had created a folded card with Red’s photo on the front, my logo on the back and blank inside so people can write a personal message. What came in the mail was this:

A flat two-sided card that was blank on the back. No logo. No fold. Not what I thought I had created.

I used Canva AI to help with the layout to make sure I had the pages set up correctly. According to AI, it was ready to go and AI even complimented me on my card!

After delivery, I immediately went to Canva’s website to complain that my cards weren’t printed correctly. Customer service was through a chatbot. What a world we live in! No human beings around. The bot told me that I had selected “Cards” when I should have selected “Folded Cards.” I asked where to find it and was told “Go to Home, click on Print Shop, click on Folded Cards.”

But of course. Silly me. Why didn’t I think of that. Instead, I clicked on Templates. Ugh.

Canva was kind enough to give me an instant refund. After finding “Folded Cards,” I was able to recreate the card properly (I hope) and ordered another small test run. (See first photo above.)

In the meantime, while I wait to inspect round two of test cards, I got my business license, I ordered business cards (with my license number) and I’m creating more cards.

One of my graphic designer friends who encouraged me in this project said, “Next comes your website!”

I’ve tried to stay away from AI, but it pops up everywhere.

Are you finding more and more AI in your daily life? Where and do you use it?

Do you have any suggestions for an easy website app that’s not WP?

Red Alert

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I had some amazing photo sessions with Red and Mrs. this week. Instead of taking photos from inside the casita through the window, I sat outside. Red landed within a few feet of me and posed. Mrs. did the same.

The result of sitting outside with my camera was clearer photos. Red and Mrs. didn’t seem afraid of me at all. In fact, every time I sat outside, they appeared and flitted around me.

I shared a few of my Red and Mrs. photos with my graphic designer friends I worked with back in my PR days in Palm Springs. They both moved a few miles away from our home but they moved here 15 years before us. They were so encouraging about my photos. They suggested I sell prints and make cards. One said that cardinals are very popular in Arizona and cards would do well.

I never thought of those things before. I followed their advice and made a card using Canva that is blank inside with a photo of Red on the cover. I ordered a few to see how they will turn out! I’ll let you know.

I even came up with a little logo to put on the back of the card.

Happy Friday! What are your plans for the 250th birthday of our nation?

Creating artwork

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I ordered a canvas print of Red to fill in the space to the right of our fireplace. A neighbor who is an artist and an expert at hanging paintings helped me with it. There used to be a Remington statue on this cabinet. But she moved it to the other side of the fireplace and placed this plant under Red. i’m excited with how it looks!

I was so excited with the canvas print I ordered of Red that I ordered one of the sea glass photo above. I’m not sure where it will go. Maybe in the casita. I’m having fun creating art with my photography. It’s a new way for me to enjoy it!

Finally, I ordered a third print of a pen and ink drawing of mine. This is the house I lived in from second grade until I went off to college. While I was in college my mom had to sell our home after divorcing dad. She couldn’t afford the upkeep, electric and gas. It was sad to lose our beautiful home, but she ended up leaving Snohomish and moving to Olympia. She married someone she knew from her high school days who lived there.

Finally, I’ll leave you with a Bird Buddy video of the star of my show, Red. There’s a smudge on the lens that you may notice. I’m thinking that mean old thrasher did that! But it was easily cleaned.

What’s on your agenda for this week?

The Final Month of Reading

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This is an iphone photo I took of our front yard yesterday when we returned from our morning walk. With everything in bloom you can barely see our house. I love this time of year with palo verde wearing yellow flowers.

I’ve reached the last two pages of my DIL’s syllabus for her AP English Class. I will confess that as the literature moved back decades in time, my reading fell off. I did a bit, but not all. I wonder if her students had a difficult time with these last few months of readings, too? I posted the syllabus at the beginning of each month if you want to take a look.

April Reading List

I’ve been more focused on photography than reading and writing. Here are a few photos from the past week:

A beavertail cactus in bloom with two flowers. There are more buds so more flowers to come!

Red hanging out under the birdbath.

I ordered a large canvas print of Red for our living room. For the five years we’ve been in this house, there is a blank spot to the right of our fireplace. I’ve been looking for art for that space, but never found anything I was crazy about. Red will go nicely there! A neighbor is coming over Friday to help me hang the print. She’s an artist who paints large canvases and an expert at hanging art.

What does April have in store for you?

Happy April First!

Views from the Pool Bar

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I put a birdseed block across from the pool bar yesterday. I enjoyed sitting quietly in the second chair from the left to wait and see what happened. I like hanging out to shoot photos of critters because I’m at eye level with them. They don’t seem to notice me when their appetite gets the better of them.

Here are photos I took from the pool bar, bird blind:

A mourning dove was the first to bite.

Then came a solo quail.

Pretty soon, the quail had friends.

Another quail shared the block.

Squirrel!

Red came into the yard a few times, but he’s been so quick it’s hard to get photos. Here’s two I managed to get:

I liked how the morning light hit Red’s crest and legs.

Here’s a profile pic of my handsome guy.

I hope you enjoyed my pool bar shots of dove, quail, squirrels and sparrows. Red too!

Which photos did you like best?

Sea glass project update

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I’m working on my Semester project “Sea Glass: Memories and Meaning.” This photo was taken in the morning light with sun rising in the east. My professor gave me lots of ideas of how to take photos and recommended backlighting. So this is an example.

He also suggested sorting by color, size or shape and creating patterns. I did try that, but it was in noon light and not as dramatic. I’ll try the color arrangement in the morning light another day. Other ideas were to place the sea glass on white paper or even aluminum foil. He must have given me 10 separate ideas to try. I spent a few hours sorting colors from greens, browns, whites and aquas. Then there are some special colors of only a piece or two: royal blue, yellow and lavender.

Although I like the first photo of sea glass better, I do like the pattern our pool made in the background.

In my proposal for the project, I mentioned that I had photos of my kids collecting the sea glass, but no longer had the negatives. He suggested scanning the photos and using them in the project, which could be a slide show, photo book or who knows?

In our last class we learned all about scanning images and the best equipment to do that — a flat bed scanner. I used to have one, but it died. No worries really because it was so old it couldn’t talk to our computers. A tip I learned, if you are scanning a two-sided document or a photo with words written on the back, place black construction paper behind the document. That way the back side doesn’t bleed through.

My other project is a new month of reading (see Wednesday’s post HERE.) I realized I don’t own any of the books. I ordered a few from Amazon, paperbacks that weren’t expensive because the books are relatively old. I’ll check out my library before I order more.

Now for a couple bird shots:

I believe this is a Song Sparrow. I have trouble differentiating between sparrows and finches so I googled it and the article said that sparrows tend to hold their tails horizontally while finches tails are more up and down. Also, it said to check out the color of the legs. These have color!

Red looking sharp as always.

Mrs. on the rock.

Have a great weekend!

What projects do you have going on?

What plans do you have for the weekend?

Seeing Red

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Now that I’ve been home for a few weeks, I’ve been enjoying photographing my backyard birds. I find it relaxing as well as rewarding. Red and Mrs. stop by several times every day. I think I have another male cardinal, too. At first I thought it was Red, but this guy is a little chunkier and has a dark gray spot on his beak.

How can I be sure if there’s another male, because Red and the other guy are never in the backyard at the same time. Last spring, I saw two red Cardinals chasing each other, flying at full speed over our house. That’s the only time I saw two males together.

This one is definitely Red. See there’s not a gray mark on his beak. The photo below is the imposter Red. Or, it might be Red with a bruised beak. My first few days home, I took photos of this guy, thinking it was my Red.

Here’s Mrs. on a planter at the edge of our fence.

I was pleasantly surprised with this finch photo because of the sharp detail on the barrel cactus.

The birds love their perch on a flamingo.

Here’s a view looking out the casita window with my telephoto lens set at 80mm instead of 400mm I use for closeups of critters.

I haven’t seen the cardinal with the gray spot on his beak lately. So that brings the questions of the day:

Do you think I had an imposter Red? Or, did Red bruise his beak and now it’s healed?

What’s your opinion and why?

JoyRoses13 from Nuggets of Gold wrote a fun story on her blog using my photos and another photographer’s. You can read it HERE.