Eiffel Pictures

A friend of mine recently asked me to take some photos for her – she had been on a jewelry making course and wanted me to recprd the effort and subsequent art work she produced.

I had never been asked to shoot such small items before (I usually work with children’s portraits and the occasional wedding) so I was surprised at the challenge presented. The jewelry she made was small and shiny – so – two obstacles to overcome.

1, Getting in close enough to the pieces to be able to properly focus and 2, building a light tent in order to cut down on the reflections.

This is a similar light tent to the one I ended up making:

Although I was using flash instead of halogen lights. Eventually we got th elighting right and managed to focus close enough to see the details of the jewelry she made:

And if you are interested in taking a class in jewelry making, this is the place she went to - Lake Erie artists – click the link to see the classes they offer. I think she only paid about $35 for her class, although they offer a range of jewelry making classes for beginners up to more experienced sort of artists who are used to working with metal and gems (plus goodness knows how many other sorts of things that people make jewelry out of nowadays.

As you can see from the photo, even though I built a light tent, getting the lighting right is extremely hard because the surface of the jewelry is so reflective. 

 

I’m getting married in the Fall of this year, and having finally (trust me – it’s been a BIG issue lol!) found the perfect Princess cut wedding band for the Big Day, we’re now finalising all the details with our photographer. Finding the right photographer hasn’t been quite so hard as the wedding ring hunt, but we’ve still had to think carefully about our decision.

A wedding is supposed to be a once in a lifetime kind of event and, like anyone else, we want perfection! Ok – maybe we won’t get a 100% flawless wedding day but we’re trying to get as close as we can! Between ourselves and our parents (who are contributing to the wedding costs) we’ve decided to go with a mixture of both formal and informal photography, as well as a video footage.

We’ve also chosen to have our album created by an overseas company, as we fell in love with the company after a close friend of ours used them because the bride was a native of the country that they’re based in (New Zealand). They’re utterly gorgeous, real individual albums, and though expensive, they’re worth every last penny.

All of our images will be taking with a mixture of both digital and traditional photography, though for the main we’re expecting more digital images. Our photographer has discussed all the finer details of both methods, and we feel that, for us, we want a blend of the two. We’re going to opt for traditional photography for the formal shots, and digital for the informal.

We’re also providing six small digital cameras for our guest to share and use throughout the day, as a means of capturing (we hope!) some very interesting images that our photographer may well miss! Our aim is to end up with an official wedding album, and an unofficial wedding album! Hopefully we’ll have one that we’ll be proud of forever, and one that will make us laugh and smile every time we bring it out!

Whatever happens, we can’t wait for the big day, and we’re 100% sure of one thing … no matter what we’re going to have the most wonderful day of our lives … as well as have it all in print!

Looking for a gift for that women in your life that more or less has everything? How about art? Art is something that very few people ever think of giving as a Holiday gift, but it’s one of the most beautiful gifts you could give.

It forces you to think outside your comfort zone about what the individual would love and also speaks to how well you know them. 

Think about it, if you’re buying something for your wife or significant other you don’t want to just line up at the cosmetic counter with every other husband out there for the latest wrinkle cream or buy her yet another bath robe. Put your mind to work and get her a piece of art.

Here are a few tips to help get you going

1. Think about her interests. Does she like to sew, knit, cook? Any of these things could be a clue as to what theme you might want to seek out for a piece of art.
2. Look at sites such as Etsy.com or Art.com. These sites house a massive amount of paintings, photographs and prints. For instance at Etsy you can literally just plug in a keyword of something you know their interested in and be presented with a bunch of unique gift ideas.
3. Start early. Don’t leave shopping for a piece of art til the last minute. You could end up having to purchase something you don’t feel 100% about, but don’t have time to continue to look around.

How love and art creates a connection between the artist and the art lover is an intense look into the science of human love.  Learn how this connects both artist and human to a new or heightened appreciation for art.  Understanding this opens an artistic expression the artist can utilize to connect to a broader audience of art lovers.  This in fact will also inspire a new audience of art lover.

Artist are known as creative and deep souls.  Do you feel this is a true measure of an artist?  Do you enjoy love in your life other than that of your art?  Is love a powerful muse for you the artist and human being?  Love is a common ingredient in art, it is said to inspire and motivate the artist.  

Many artist are not fully aware of how love can have an impact on their craft.  Pain is often associated with love and is often thought to provoke great artistic creations.  Have you experienced such a surge of artistic expression from the pain of love?  Is this something you intend to avoid in the future or do you entertain the thought of exploring such pain again?  

Regardless of you position on matters of the heart, love is a powerful motivator.  Making yourself aware of the six unique love types can unlock an artistic flow withing you that has other wise been locked away.  Exploring these six love types opens your world of knowing to an exciting new level.  Art is expressed by unveiling the human condition and what greater human condition is there other than love?  

If you’d like to experience a new height of your artistic work exploring how love effects us all just may be the most creative muse to date.  There are six types, the eros, pragma, storage, agape, ludus and mania with each having very unique and distinctive characteristics.  Becoming an expert on this human condition you can reach a more diverse group of art lovers.  The greatest quality any artist can attain is that of reaching and touching the people on a deep and personal level.  Learning the six types of love types opens an intense world allowing you to join art and love building connections to a vast community of art lovers.

Follow along as I share with you all I know about the six types of love, what makes them tick and that which draws others to them as if by magic.  The six types of love is clearly defined at today’s modern love.

Much Love and Success, Katie

www.todaysmodernlove.com

Accidents happen. It can be upsetting when it happens to glassware that we treasure. But I always remember that people are certainly more important than things. I do love my waterford flutes for special occasions. I was getting ready for a big party for New Year’s Eve and my granddaughter was helping. Hmmm. She was washing dishes and as she turned around she knocked over six of my Waterford champagne flutes that we were getting ready for the New Year’s Eve toast. Needless to say she felt horrible. It was obvious that it was just an accident. She didn’t mean to do it, she was being careful. These things happen. So I made sure that she wasn’t cut, we cleaned up the mess. And then to make her feel better, I told her we’d find inexpensive replacements right at that moment.

So I showed her how to go on ebay and search for the right Waterford Flute. I love the Waterford Lismore pattern and I showed her how many were available on ebay to buy that precise moment at Buy It Now prices. But then we looked at some auctions and the prices were much less. So we decided to place some bids and watch the Waterford flute auctions for a few days. It actually became fun. Within a week we had just the right Waterford Flutes at the right price. They arrived within two weeks already for the next special family celebration.

Susan Lordi is a world-renown sculptor who has created the gorgeous line of Willow Tree Figurines. Lordi handcarves or sculpts a prototype Willow Tree Figurine ensuring that each piece meets her personal standards. That prototype is then sent to a factory where it is mass produced using resin. The resin is a perfect medium for replicating the delicate knife marks that make a Willow Tree Figurine look like it was carved from wood.

In this way, many of us who could not afford an original piece of Susan Lordi sculpture can now easily include her work in our homes. Lordi named her figurines Willow Tree after the tree which stands so tall and strong, yet blows in the wind and adapts to the world around it. If you want to convey this sentiment to someone who is has a large problem to cope with, then a Willow Tree figurine is a beautiful sentiment.

I love to include a Willow Tree Nativity set in my Christmas decor. The simple and quiet design makes it the perfect home accent for a prayer corner. You can sit quietly and gaze upon the manger scene and think about the true mean of the Christmas season.

One of my favorite American recipes for pie is egg custard pie, and the following recipe is a version of that. This one, however, includes coconut. This is an old recipe, and like many old recipes that include milk, you’ll first need to scald the milk. I won’t get into a lengthy discussion here about why to scald the milk first, but I will explain how to do it in the recipe.

Coconut Custard Pie recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups whole milk
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 can coconut (3.5 ounces)
• 1 standard pie shell
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions: Scald milk by bringing it almost to boiling. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and vanilla. Gradually add milk, while stirring. Fold in coconut, reserving 1/3 cup. Pour mixture into pie shell and bake for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Mix together the 1/3 cup coconut, melted butter, and brown sugar to make a topping.

When custard has set, remove pie from oven and sprinkle with the topping mixture. Broil for a couple of minutes to brown the pie topping. Store pie in the refrigerator.

Glitz pageants are a wonderful way to spend time with your daughter or granddaughter.  Child pageants are for girls of all ages and can help build confidence and a sense of pride.  If you want to enjoy pageanting with your daughter, it’s important to remember to be objective and not to take it too badly when you don’t win.  As the saying goes, “You can’t win them all.” 

Glitz pageants can be great for building self-esteem and confidence.  Being in glitz pageants can also teach showmanship and poise.  There are many chances for learning when it comes to participating in the pageant world.  Girls can learn to win or lose graciously.  Being a sore loser is no good for any competitive sport and the same goes for pageants.  Being a gracious winner is just as important.  You’ll want your daughter to win, and when she does win, you’ll want her to be kind to those that didn’t.  This can carry over into many situations throughout life.  When your daughter doesn’t win, she will understand how important it is to be thankful when she does win.  Glitz pageants are also good for teaching your daughter how to carry herself.  You can use glitz pageants as a tool to teach your daughter that she is to act like a lady in every situation. 

Did you know you can paint on iPad? I’m sure you’ve seen those funky YouTube clips of people creating works of art on the tablet screen, but I’m not talking about that. That is drawing, because they are using a pen-type stylus.

Regular paint brushes will not work with the iPad’s touch screen as the bristles are not capacitive, so until recently all you can use is your finger tips or a capacitive touch screen stylus. This gave quite a blunt finish and made it difficult for artists to replicate on screen, what they would normally produce on canvas.

Now Nomad have produced a paintbrush that works on an iPad. The bristles are capacitive and crucially, they make enough of an impact on the screen to get the iPad to repsond and detect their contact, whilst still making the fine streaky marks you would expect from a real-life paintbrush.

Although this new tool will revolutionize the way artists can use their iPad,it is certainly not a case of needing just this one stylus. An artists tool kit should include the paintbruish stylus, a pen style stylus and ideally a fine point stylus. With this selection you will be able to combine the different marks they make to create a beautiful piece of digital art.

Scratching your head wondering what to get a guy for his birthday or to recognize a big promotion? If the man in question if a golfer, then you can use that as your gift theme. A golf figure recognizes something that is personal and important to the man, but it’s there’s no romantic overtones, if that’s an issue. And it often is as a men and women work together. It’s always imporant to maintain professional and business decorum, while you acknowledge a personal milestone.

But a golf figurine can also be for someone close to you. It is a great Father Day golf gift. Many men take up golf in mid-life, when they have the time to devote to it. If this is your dad, then a golf figure is a great gift idea.

Honestly it’s hard to buy someone a piece of golf equipment, like a golf club. You have to get the write grip, weight and length. The only way to do that is to see what’s in his golf bag and then talk to an expert. But clubs and other golf stuff is so personal, that it’s good to stick with things like golf figures, personalized golf towels or even a golf gps system.