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I have a one legged Savannah Sparrow, who has been here for 13 days. His disability doesn’t inhibit him in any way what so ever. I felt I had to feature him in this layout. It’s so dry and dusty here, there isn’t any standing water anywhere, the closest is 7 miles east of me. Lake Diefenbaker. I have an oasis which provides food and water for all living creatures. The native Sparrows won’t feed at the feeders, I have to scatter it on the ground for them. The Goldfinches and Siskins arrived on Monday. Only the Wrens left to arrive now, they are always the last. For the background paper I used one of my photos, of a Savannah singing his heart out in the horses field. I manipulated the image a little to fit the whole page.
Wonderful layouts ladies. The dandelion, is probably a gardener’s least liked flower, regarded as a weed. Yet every part of the dandelion is edible, and contains so many vitamins, beneficial to our health. When I was a child I was told not to handle dandelions as they will make you pee. Although handling the dandelion won ‘t actually make you pee, but when digested it is a natural diuretic.
I will be taking part in the sketch challenge, I could do a snake layout. Seeing as Minka has already covered that subject, I will be doing a double page of Sparrows of the open Prairie. I love snakes. Here in Saskatchewan, we have 2 species, the bull snake which can grow up a length of 6 ft, they fascinate me, I have watched them go down one gopher hole and come up another one, with it’s tail still in view as it disappears down the hole, and emerges the other end. Garter snakes are very common. I’ve seen them emerge from their dens after a winter of hibernation in their hundreds. They favour derelict houses with basements. They are completely harmless, living on insects like grasshoppers, mice and voles. Although, if they are threatened they will excrete a horrible smelling chemical through their scales. I know, as it took me days to get rid of it off my hands. Now I wear old gloves when I handle them Here are two shots from this year. In the UK, we have the Adder, (poisonous) and slow worm (grass snake) which is harmless.
Annie, don’t panic I won’t send you to Coventry my friend! I actually agree with you, I prefer the black. Seeing as it was a frame challenge. I don’t usually create such ornate frames, therefore by adding the gold guild I went over board. It just goes to show that there aren’t any limits as to what can be achieved in psp.
Oh my goodness, how PINK are they! That is such a beautiful layout. I must admit all the layouts used in the boot camp are extremely versatile. Even though you used a lot of colour, the eye still homes in on those gorgeous birds.
I have included the original which I used.
It was rather late last night when I found this challenge. I made a start last night, finishing it off this morning. Lots of really lovely interpretations of frames. I have also learnt that there are so many different frames to be had. Mind boggling actually. I went a bit over board on the main frame. I added a few extra borders. For the largest border I used paste into selection the photo after I edited it, as you see it in the frame. I darkened it a little then using effects, tiles. I used the random tool until I found something I could work with. Using the triangle, and editing the settings I came up with this. I wasn’t happy with the black rectangles, therefor I selected them using the magic want and flood filled with the gold. Now then, there are a few spots on the right side, that didn’t change to gold. I tried several things, even used the lock transparency and brushed over it several times, to no avail. I closed the page and reopened it, and still nothing. I could try this option as I flood filled with gold on a new layer. Anyway, having the odd spot not filled gives it a little character. I used the bracket technique for the text frame, and Cassel’s custom brad. Also did chisel frames around the background paper. A little OD’d on the frames!
You are most welcome Annie. The bird houses are 15 yrs old this year, and are standing up well to the elements. I whole heartedly agree. We don’t need to feed the birds or provide accommodation for them, we do it purely for our own pleasure. Mother Nature looks after her own when not interfered with.
Karon, I’m impressed with you, you must have gone through every post diligently. Thank you for your kind words on my pages. I’m pleased I made you smile with the ground squirrel page. I congratulate you on your beautiful page.
Thank you Lynda,
Annie, Here are a few pics of some of the designs of houses I have. The size of the entrance hole is specific to each species. The Wrens having the smallest hole. For the Swallows, their hole is larger, but not to big to allow the sparrows to get in, but not all sparrows are bigger than the Swallows. I have only ever opened the lid on 2 houses, while being occupied. One Swallow and an a Wren. These are nestling Tree Swallows. The houses are showing their age externally. Every year, once the inhabitants have left, I clean every one out, and plug the holes, ready for another season.
Something a little different for a change. Native Sparrows, top: Lincoln’s Sparrow, left: Savannah Sparrow, right: White Crowned sparrow.
I’m struggling to keep up with all the wonderfully inspirational, artistic, creative pages being posted daily. The camps is an absolute hive of activity. I won’t say roll on winter when I can spend more time on the laptop. At the moment I am seizing every moment of the lovely weather and everything else Spring is offering. I kayaked yesterday for the first time since last October. The water was icy cold, never the less it was lovely to be out on the water. I have to make the most of riding too, before the hoards of parasitic insects emerge, and plague the horses, which will make it unpleasable to ride for both of us. Winter does have some advantages. 🙂
I take this opportunity to thank all those who have commented on my pages, they mean a great deal to me. It means a lot me, that my photography is much appreciated, especially my macro shots of insects. The insects are slowly emerging for another short lived season. Combining the art of nature photography and the art of showcasing them gives me great pleasure, and always a challenge, which is a big part of the enjoyment.
I have to give credit to Carole for all that she has taught me over the years through the vast information she has in the campus, and to those who have inspired me with their posts, and quite often instruction.
Simple quick frame. I enjoy creating frames. For the frame I chose colours of the new green foliage, for the background paper and Carole’s lace tube I used colours from the bird, branches and dead leaf litter. All native sparrows are very small, and have the most beautiful songs.
Annie, you have the Australian Tree Martin, which is a Swallow. The Tree Swallow and wren houses were made for me by an elderly gentleman. He likes making bird houses, he’s very good at woodwork. He would come and cut down dead trees down for his log stove. In return he has given me all of the bird houses that I have. I go to jumble sales looking for tiny to medium sized teapots, and old working boots, which I have dotted around amongst the trees and hedges, making sure that they are well hidden with foliage. They attract many birds, from the small wrens sparrows and warblers, to the blackbirds and Robins. Thank you for your kind comment on the Swallow page. You create wonderful pages.
Annie, here a shot of one from 2017
Lots of beautiful pages being posted, and nice to see a new face, Joe.
Annie, those Australian Coot feet, are the same as the North American Coots. I Haven’t seen any Coots in my area for 3 yrs, due to the drought that we going through.
I always beam from ear to ear when the Tree Swallows arrive. This year I have 9 Tree Swallow houses, over the past week, 7 of the nine houses have been claimed, and nest building is now in full swing. I had previously created a template for the flair button, all I have to do is add the photo. It saves a lot of time especially if I use more than 1 button. Depending on the photo, sometimes I have to start from scratch. I used extracted swallows from a few years back. I promoted the Swallow from the photo, blur and other effects to create the background. as you can see from the promoted Swallow it was very blue. As for the word art, I thought it appropriate as this male after keeping guard of his house, stretched his wings and took off for a bite to eat. I say sweets, the North Americans say candies. Hence “sweet little’ referring to the candies and the swallows. ( My wired sense of humour) I used Cassel’s candy script, and one of her lace fonts.
Mary, Thank you ever so much for your kind comment on my Thrasher page. It’s ok to use the photo as an example to look at while creating your own. The instructions were a bit vague, but you should get the general ideal. You could always use a pre made masks, but I like to create my own, as some masks will fade/delete parts of the main subject. Always remember that when using masks black will block. Saying that it is possible to edit those masks too. There are countless ways to edit the background paper to achieve a different look on every image.
Michele, incredible layout. Slats do give a dramatic effect. I know what you mean, even having one slat being out by a pixel or two out will reflect on the image, and like you I’d pick it up, and it would bother me. great work.
Corrie, thank you for your kind words on my page. When it comes to nature I have all the patience in the world.
Annie, thank you for your kind words. They are much appreciated and mean a great deal to me my friend.
You ladies are doing wonderful work. I like the simplicity of them. Cristina, I love the colours you used. I have the custom confetti maker script, which is great. Saying that I do like to create my own confetti, I have now accumulated quite a few of my own confetti tubes in my picture tube folder. 🙂
I have several pairs of Brown Thrashers nesting out in the trees, they are elusive birds, staying low in the undergrowth. They come for baths, this one has almost dried off, after his daily dip in the bath. I duplicate the original photo. I created a mask of the bird. The layer underneath I edit, to achieve the effect on the outer edges, then I proceed to create the frame. No two frames are ever the same.
Everyone on here are posting wonderful pages. So much talent and imagination being displayed. A fantastic source of inspiration.
Michele, I love your tennis page, AnnieC has some unique templates.
Bonnie, your enthusiasm for pickle ball seems to rub off on the local wildlife. Wonderful work.
Anni, your work always amazes me. great stuff!
I used one of Cassel’s spiral binding tubes. I changed the colour of the binding to suit the book. The specs I found on pngtree. The lens wasn’t transparent, which meant I had to do some erasing. The Robins and many other birds start their day at 3.20, with a before dawn chorus. I decided to get up, with the widow open and a cup of tea, I opened PSP. This is the result!
