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Last night the northern lights were visible right down to our area in southwestern Ontario. I wasn't out and about to take pix, but I did find a local photographer who did. His name is Steve Biro and I think he works out of Windsor (Ontario). Many years ago I worked as a summer student at a fishing camp in far north Ontario where the northern lights were on bright display. They were so wonderful to see.

I might not be scrapping often, but this time, this particular photo deserved a layout. What is the most surprising is that to the naked eye, we can barely see the colors, yet, a good camera captures something fantastic.

As a followup to the layout on Wonderful Wisteria I did, I just HAD to post this image of the largest vine in the world. People are allowed in to see it one day a year! Just amazing! This ONE plant covers an acre of land. No layout, just the image FYI. (Photo by Patrick Pelletier in 2016) There is a video on YouTube that showcases this spectacular plant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxJcb_-f45E

Papers and elements from Chantalia Designs (always free). Font is Octagon Calligraphy from Creative Fabrica. Parts of the text are so thin that they almost disappear when the page is sized down to 600.

Playing with Corel's freebies for Mother's Day I came up with this after a bit of manipulation, size-wise. The photo is from One Planet.

Another Corel freebie for Mother's Day. This time with a Great Egret guarding her lonely blue egg...

I have to agree with you. Julie's work is quintessence of her style. I have described her work as ethereal on more than one occasion. Now then do you know how to correctly pronounce ethereal? I ask, as when I was a child in school, the english teacher asked who can pronounce it correctly. I stuck up my hand, of course I was completely wrong. How some things stick your head for ever. This is the correct pronounciation, e th ee r ee ul.

This is incredibly beautiful Julie. It's is papers/elements blended. It's so ethereal. I looked up "ethereal" to make sure I'd used the word right. And meaning of the word is perfect for this layout. e·the·re·al /iˈTHirēəl/ adjective 1. extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world.

I appreciate those kind words. I take my colours from the photos. I don't use kits, or colour palettes. Mother nature provides me with everything I need to showcase my photos.

Week 19 marks the end of my stay with my family. I have enjoyed being there and taking part in their daily lives as well as going on some weekendtrips together. I spend some quality time alone with each of my granddaughters, which we both cherished. I even did some volunteer work in the class of my youngest granddaughter where they could use some help with the bookinterviews! The children had to tell about a book that they had read and they had to answer some questions about it. I got a list of questions to ask depending on the kind of book and I was very impressed how eloquent most of them were! Now I'm slowly adjusting back at home where my husband is glad that I came back in one piece😉.

I finally got some PSP time in. Busy week and finally some down time. And just in time for the Q&A. I was driving home from grocery shopping this morning and a local Lube shop always has a funny quote on their sign and this was the one I saw today. I had to keep repeating it over and over because I couldn't pull over on that road to write it down... and my pen was in my shopping bags way in the back. 4 fonts used: Mandala Vintage (for the womb and board) Mansdefia (Mom) Magestica (Thanks) Marcgravia (Happy Mother's Day 2024) Papers are by Gina Jones (Digital Scrapbook) Kumbaya papers See you at the Q&A! All the cool kids go there....I hear.

I had to use different settings than my normal to get anything. Manual mode, ISO of 1600, F stop 5 or lower, and a longer shutter speed. All articles I saw on it, said to use a shutter speed of 15 seconds with a tri-pod so there is no movement of the camera. I didn't get my tri-pod out so used a shutter speed of 1 second and stood with my arm and back braced against the door jamb/frame. Even though I didn't get any northern lights, I got night photos like I've never gotten before! I tried both my Canon T5 and my Canon SX740 since they both have manual mode. Even my Canon SX 540 has manual mode. Every one was saying to use a cell phone but I knew that wouldn't work for me since my hand shakes when I try to take photos on it. I also have no idea how to make any adjustments to settings on it since I don't use it for photos very often! The cameras were easier for me and I'll always prefer to use a camera.

Rhymes with cereal...almost.

Week 19 A quiet moment on a sunny May day.

Thank you, those are my own words. She provides the stage, the subjects to photograph in all their colours, textures and shapes. From the tiniest of insects to the largest of mammals, flora and fauna. I get a glimpse into her introcate ecosystems.

Another food that defines my childhood and adulthood is bar-b-que. Layout from 2020 Storytime Challenge.

This weekend we went to San Luis Obispo and highway 120 that we had to follow is the historic El Camino Royal. In the hills above San Luis Obispo we stayed in a cabin on a camping and because there is no light pollution, the night sky was so clear with the stars much more visible then at hone. I stood a long time outside looking at the sky! The next day we took a scenic route and came by Soda Lake an alkali wetland with a salt crust that was already used in earlier times by the indigenous people of the area. We followed a winding road along part of the San Andreas Vault and you can see the difference in the landscape where the vault runs through. Our next stop was at Daou vineyard where we had a tasting of their wines, that is my son in law and I, my daughter was driving and the girls are to young. The story of the vineyard and the explanation of their wines was very interesting and they served nice food to go with the wines as well.

Week 16 and I have arrived safely in California and of course it was fantastic to see them all standing at the airport to welcome me! At home there were 2 exited dogs to greet me as well. In the first weekend we got to see some of the flowers in bloom on the meadows. It wasn't quite the superbloom of last year, but nevertheless still pretty impressive to me. I took a lot of photos and I have no doubt that those will come to good use in the months to come.

My week 18 is about Yosemite National Park where we stayed for the weekend. It is very imposing with the granite rocks and the waterfalls. It was still early in the season, so there were no crowds, but we have had all kinds of weather, including snow! At first it started to rain in the afternoon and when we were having diner the rain became snow. The temperatures dropped below zero and the snow blanketed the roads, which were closed to all traffic. Only one road stayed open and we had to use that one to drive to the camping where we had a cabin. It meant we had to take a detour of over an hour to get there in the dark on winding roads; luckily my daughter had rented a 4-wheel drive because of the weather predictions! The next morning there was a layer of approximate 5 cm of snow but is was sunny and the park rangers had cleared the roads with snow ploughs. When driving along a road we could see some cars that were stuck there and the people in them had been evacuated by the rangers; they had a busy night! It was quite an adventure in conditions that doesn't exists in the Netherlands.

Oh my oh my! Everyone has been busy creating fabulous pages, each and every one, positively unique, and inspiring. Last night's project. I'm getting later and later now as the days are getting longer, to settle down, sort through photos to document them. Over the years I have come across many banded birds, the majority of them being birds of prey. This male Tree swallow is the first seasonal visitor Swallow I've had which is banded. I played with textures, overlays and blend modes. Chalk texture technique. The ribbon and bow is bow 3 script using the grosgrain pattern technique, found in the creative scrap.

What a loss for your friend. 😞 But the card is beautifully made, Julie. Simple and full of sentiment. I like your work very much.

I was glad someone had a reasonable camera to show those colors as mine gave me NOTHING!

Smoke from northern Alberta and BC rolled in yesterday morning so nothing for us to see. I missed the friday night show, bummer. I remember watching them when I lived in Alberta when i was a teenager. Now the city lights are too bright to see them regularly.

Well said, that's an incredible quote.

Several of my neighbors got photos last night in west central Ohio of them. All I saw with the naked eye was a slight pink glow. They were saying that we could see them again tonight and I've been out every 30 to 40 minutes taking photos but no luck. Even a friend in Dayton, Ohio (an hour south of me) got photos last night.

I too was picky as a kid. I wouldn't eat my mother's famous carrot cake with cream cheese frosting b/c of the carrots and cheese! I missed out on a lot of good slices for many years! That's what your reminiscence made me think of.

Welcome back, Corrie! So glad you got to experience Yellowstone, it is one of our Wonders!

There's a black & white kitty she has drawn that I always assumed she based on Boo. That kitty turns up sometimes in a kit. He's adorable.

This is so lovely. The textures and blends work so well. As always, your colour choices are subtle and muted and gorgeous so the "critter" stands out.

Kasany, she is her own unique personality. She is very loving and spends hours with Judy, my friend with dementia. I think on some level she understands.

Thank you, Christina! I love the deer and watch them every chance I get. I love walking up on them in the woods. They sometimes run away and sometimes become very cautious and alert but allow me to photograph them. I find great pleasure in revisiting my photos. Memories like these are priceless.

When I first started to learn PSP a few years ago it was to improve old photos for my history articles. Then, with Carole and this group, I got hooked on learning more and just playing as a different kind of creative outlet, something removed from words which I deal with all the time in research. This type of layout takes minutes to create and serves a purpose when I just want a more personal kind of message to send to someone. This time it was made for a friend whose husband of 54 years died. I sent a "proper" card (in the mail), but followed up with this. I just like that I can do that.

I finished another page... It feels good to be creating layouts again. Credits: I used a template from Yin Designs with the necessary changes to fit my needs. I met this designer through Carole on Day 4 of the Double Take Workshop. Border Stitching by KAagard (KAagard_July17CCM_BorderStitches_5). I applied a gradient to it, which I had created some time ago. Cassel: Rivet - DateStamp#8 - Sticker Effect applied to the title Title: Font GrilledCheese BTN Wide Blk Edit: As it happens often, it was only after I had posted here that I noticed that the gradient was not applied to the whole stitching... I already corrected it.

Rene, it's sure a good feeling, isn't it? Congrats!

Almost all Torties are female - it's a genetic thing. "Brandy" is my newest visitor and is now showing up twice a day for meals. When I go out to feed her, I say "hello" and she answers "meiow!" ☺️ Torties are known for being a bit feisty. They even have a special term for it - "Tortitude." The font is Valentina.

Male Yellow Warbler. I heard him yesterday, and got to take a photo today.

Meg, lovely to be out riding with longer, warmer days.

Finally grabbed a quick pic of the wisteria arbour that grows in a fellow's back yard that butts up to the park where I walk the dogs. It's a bit past its best blooms, but still lovely to see. Not many of these vines growing in this area. I don't think many people have the patience to grow it or the time to prune it.

I get these cute little ones in my yard and at the feeders too. You got a great shot and made the usual lovely layout with a fab banner!

Visit in a very interesting museum iiiiiiiiii in WROCŁAW/BRESLAU. Read about this museum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrocław_Contemporary_Museum My work presents shots about one exibition. Pic/logo of the exibition is on the top of this work.

Chantahlia Designs, template 334. Plumbago is a tropical flower and my favorite. Remember, each time I see a "new" flower, it is my favorite. These photos were taken in Ft. Myers, FL in 2006.

Template from Lab 14-04. Texas Roadhouse would not seat us until our full party had arrived. The waiting room was frigid so we waited across from the register. Didn't take us long to look for michief. The birthday saddle provided distraction while we waited.

Photos from 2011. Template 121 by Lady 22.

I went all the way back to 2016 for these photos. Template 198, Lady 22. Font = Meows. Metal paw print by Sheila Reed; brown cat by Marisa Lerin, pet 001.

Template 295 by Chantahliadesign. Recent walks in the woods have yielded encounters with deer. I'm never too close to them. I use a 200mm lens. Word art from Creative Fabricia.

Many of the native sparrow species have already arrived. Much to my delight the White -crowned Sparrows turned up yesterday. I was pleased to welcome them back. A perfect opportunity to create a banner after watching the live masterclass on Sunday. The sparrows of the open field will stay, those like the White crowned will move on further north. I used a gradient which I created for the pennants using colours from the photo, and the light coloured wood frame