Today I...

Today I went jogging for the first time in a month (after trying to heal a hurting knee). I am not sure that my knee was happy, but I was. I enjoyed the crisp air and always welcome sight of water.

Today I tried my new "phone leash" and loved it!!! I go on daily walks/runs and always have my phone in hand so I can listen to books and music and also to take photos at moment's notice. I don't want to count how many times my hand tired and the phone fell... This simple contraption keeps it safe on my wrist and ready for action :-)

Today I took a picture of my friend the bird. I wish the phone camera was better so that I could capture this guy more clearly. I consider him to be my friend, because I see him often and love his calm energy. Don't think that it is mutual, because although he lets me come close, he usually becomes annoyed with me and flies away...

Today I made THIS lovely soup. It is velvety and rich in flavor and nutrients and just what I wished for. Appropriately called "Luxurious 7-Vegetable and 'Cheese' Soup" (no cheese in it).

Today I painted on a lacy piece of tree bark...

Today I started a new painting....

I was very conscious in recognizing all the good in this day and being grateful. It makes a difference when we really try looking at things expecting to see/feel/experience/share good. 

Happy weekend!

Digital journaling (my favorite apps)

Happy August!

Some of you may remember that I started using my mini iPad to capture daily snippets way back in January. And would you believe it - I stuck to it, and now have captured memories for each day of this year. I call them "snippets", because that is what they are... little bits of days that weave together the story of our life. I love looking through them and seeing the big and small, good and not so good things that happened.

Since I know that many of you have iPads and might want to do something similar (I received email questions about it), let me share which apps I use. The main one that houses my digital books is called Noteshelf. This is how my "shelf" looks right now. I will start a new book for August this evening. If the stripes on the covers start bothering me, I can change them quickly. For now - they make me smile.

To create super quick collages (like the one below) I use an app appropriately called TurboCollage. I made the heart with Photo Stack (free app) and added it over the collage. 

Can you see the butterfly in my daughter's hair?

Most pictures I take are with my iPhone, so the quality is far from perfect. My favorite app for photo manipulation is PhotoToaster. It can do almost anything! There are many very artsy options, but I use it mostly to crop the pictures and pull out as much detail as I can (the ducks below are a good example of that, as they were not very close to me and were moving quickly).

One of my other favorites is TitleFx for it's amazing lettering capabilities. The example below is not imaginative at all, but I used it simply because I wanted to have this blue picture here, as it was really a happy, amazing day. The photo collage below is done also with TurboCollage, after I cropped the photos and added frames with PhotoToaster.

There are other apps that I use from time to time, but the ones I listed continue to be my favorites. I would love if you add to the list and suggest some of your favorite apps :-)

Cheers! Happy August!

February Free Collage Sheet

 I'm a bit late, but better late than never. Here is my collage sheet for February - free for you to download from the Printables tab (on the top of the blog). Just last month I said that I will try to create a collage kit each month... and I already didn't do it. At least I am keeping with the free sheet :)

The way I chose to use the image from this collage sheet is as a transfer in my journal. 

 I added some collage bits and paint, and now the page is ready for me to write. 

When will that happen, nobody knows as I feel more in the mood to play than write most of the time.

Let me know if you use it how it turned out. xo

Inspired by iPhone art

What do you do when you watch TV and it's really not interesting but you watch it anyway?

I play with my phone. 

I've been working with Photoshop for many years, but was never drawn into manipulating images with it as I am with phone apps. Probably because they are so easy... push of a button and magic happens. I am constantly amazed by the unlimited possibilities to change an image. 

 I started with a blurry, dark, not specially interesting photo of a jelly fish and changed it to this:

 Layered the new image under the original.

 Cropped and changed colors.

Added more punch to it.

And finally, distressed.

And then I was so in love with the colors that I had to see them come alive under the brush. 

It didn't turn out the same (of course), but it was good exercise and a lot of fun.

Daydreaming

Test. Test. Test.
Just wondering if I can blog using my phone...

I'm back

I can't believe that it has been almost a month since I did anything art related! I was pretty much unplugged most of the time, traveling and enjoying real-life connections with people and nature. I can't believe that I am smiling or laughing in every photo! That doesn't come to me naturally, so I'm sure it's a sign that I relaxed and enjoyed everything.

Can you believe that tomorrow is the last day of May?

This year is moving fast...

Hope to be back with some art soon (if I didn't forget how to create).

xo