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And here is December.

Here is my calendar ready to get packaged and send of to the recipients. I'm on time for the Holidays! Carole I have loved doing another calendar, although it always takes a lot of time to get it finished and printed; I'm happy with the result 🥰

When working on the calendar workshop I promised Carole that I would show my calendar when printed and today it is completely finished. I have taken a photo of a couple of pages laid out on the table. In the next post is the calendar ready to hang on the wall. I printed the pages at home but went to the Copy Shop, a local smaller version of Staples, to have a binding. I can't upload 2 pages on the same post because I have kept them at a fairly large size when resizing for posting.

I made this image for our last mask workshop from a photo that I received from my daughter in law. Today, there was an article on yahoo about this same deer crossing Lorain Ave near where they live.

When I come across a photo I admire or enjoy, I grab it and then hope to use it for a layout. I don't take that many pix but I like seeing what others do. This one was posted on FB for the Hillman Marsh, taken at sunrise on November 3. I used a Dissolve blending mode on it to intensify the spectacular colours. Then just played with bits and pieces to create the layout. Playing is fun even if the results are not stellar! The marsh is protected wetlands where birding is a favourite activity. The boardwalks make it navigable.

Sue I did a translation and it is in the same post where I said I do it after dinner, I think you might not have seen it there, sorry I better did it in a separate post

It is. I choose not to use a photo stacker, as it is a tedious process. Where you have to take a series of shots at different focal lengths using a tripod. Which also takes accuracy. That doesn't work so well when shooting moving insects. There isn't anything which is completely flat to obtain perfect depth of focus of a subject, hence I opt for trying to keep the camera absolutely flush with whatever I'm shooting, whilst more often than not positioning myself to achieve it. Which works for me. There are lots of photo stacking programs out there, many of them are free to download. When shooting macro, one has to understand the difference between depth of field and depth of focus. Mind you not choosing to use a photo stacker over the technique I opt for is my own personal choice. So I may have part of a subject slightly out of focus, like an antena of an insect, due to it being slightly angled away, so be it.

So adorable, the child and the layout.

Julie, this happens to me a lot; I post something here and see the mistakes I haven't seen while working for hours/days with the layout. 🙂 I just love fall colors, and the photo is beautiful. It's a perfect place to sit on a bench, relax, and enjoy the view.

And these are my 2 November pages.

I am waiting to meet with the Jane, who will be doing the printing of my calendar. She will show me a sample of the printed calendar, and I was flattered that she asked if she could print one for herself.

Julie that is a spectacular photo and this layout does it justice

I'm in now too.

In order for me to take macro photos, whether they are insects, frost, leaves, lichen, or anything else I use what is called a conversion lens. It's a small round lens which I attach to the camera. It is the Raynox 1.50 or 2.50 macro lens. Not all cameras support a conversion lens. Mine being a Panasinic FZ300 bridge camera does. As for the camera settings I use AFS/AFF mode. Setting is aperture. F4, which is the sweet spot for my camera. ISO 100. 2 second timer on stills. Aspect ratio 4.3. I can increase each image 4 fold, without loosing quality. When taking macro photos I concerntrate on the depth of focus. Making sure that that camera isn't in the slightest bit tilted. As I don't use a photo stacker program.

Thanks for helping out here Cristina. It might well have been Lilypad. And I can fully appreciate her feelings over some tough times and losses. She did a great job on that layout.

Week forty five. Well it's that time of year again, winter is moving in. We are already getting frosty nights, giving way to bright sunny relevantly warm days. Shooting hoar frost at this time of year doesn't give the best results, so this photo was taken last January when the temps plummet to 30 below and colder.

I have finished another layout to practice Cassel‘s Lab12-Module 03 Tutorials. Glitter4 – Paper Bow – Metal Plate I added Metallic Element and Engraving effects on the plate. Credits: DiHiller : Background Paper - (DiHiller_PSAugust2021_Paper1) / Grafitti (Paints/Transfers) - (DiHiller_PSJune2022) & DiHiller_PSAug2021 / Balloon (DiHiller_PSAug2021_Balloon1) Mermaid Clipart from Wallpaper.com Font: Mermaid & Mermaid Swash Caps (dafont freebie)

kasany, I very much like the effect achieved with the CSH file.

I should say, I didnt use the "thumbs up" because of the sad and lonely vibes, but for you using it some day on a layout.

In a recent visit to Halifax, we visited a cemetery that has victims of the Titanic disaster buried there. It got me interested in learning more about how the city and the people of Halifax stepped up to help. Halifax was only 800 miles from where the Titanic sank, so ships based there were used to find survivors and recover victims. It warms my heart to read that people are so willing to help others when disaster strikes. This is true everywhere in the world.

Corrie, I love your recognition of the Squamish First Nation. In the modern world they are now headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia and there is a town nearby called Squamish, but the road signs on the way to the town say 'Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh'. I did not know that their traditional territory went so far south. Well done on the image.

The Shadow stories class inspired this. The Hawaii photo is mine, the children and santa are from creative fabrica and the text is Fantasy Snowman (todays freebee from C F 11/7/24

You are welcome, it is a pleasure to help and no trouble at all. I'm very glad your friend is happy with my translation!

I'll post the rest of my calendar in this forum. October - both sets. The Halloween picture is from CF of course - a watercolor. The photo was taken by me in 2020 at an RV camp in Alabama.

Bonnie congrats and well done, not only the pickleball championship but all the layouts I just admired! I have only one complaint: I want some of that delicious looking ice cream 🍦

I had missed it, anyway, I appreciate you taking the time to translate these documents. Jack is absolutely chuffed to bits to finally know what the documents say. As you rightly say, he wasn't Dutch, but Norwegian.

Lovely depth of field achieved in this shot.

This week we have fog or low clouds, it is grey! Monday we had just a small glimpse of sun for a couple of minutes only, when I passed the stretch of grass in front of a building bloc. I have taken some mushroom photos there lately and just noticed some fly agaric (amanita muscaria). Btw is there another common name for this mushrooms? I have the new iPhone 16 which has gotten a great camera update which allows you to select the f value and exposure time by hand. I'm experimenting with it and here it worked great; foreground and background are blurred. When the weather improves..... I want to do more experimenting, however the grass has been cut and all mushrooms are gone for now.

Seeing as I didn't take the frost photo one day this week, here is a shot I took last night. First quarter, waxing crescent moon.

Never heard of it...what is a CSH file?

Next /better than previous/ pick.

This is very cool. I have had no time to even look at what I downloaded/installed. But this is super awesome! Hope I can figure it out like you did.

Corrie, here is the other document which accompanies the invoice you so kindly translated. Again, Jack would be most appreciative if you were to translate the front and the back. The initials L P stand for Lars Peter. Many thanks Sue

I learned about the Elf on a Shelf when my family moved to the States 5 years ago but I have seen it pop up now in the shops as well.

I love this layout but on the other hand it makes me feel sad and lonely. The old typewriter letters are so fitting here. I hope you don't mind if I use this on my part as a scraplift too, not immediately but I can see use for it some day.

Cool effect for a lovely pic.

Here's mine for Week 43 - an original watercolor by my daughter, Debbie Lennox, titled "End of Summer at the Mendo Zendo" (that is the new name for Big River Farm that actually started life as a Buddhist retreat, complete with gong.) It is now an Airbnb and art gallery.

There's a country song that says, "There's no such thing as too much fun." I agree! Just being together is fun...then add good food, ice cream, shopping, pickleball. Yep, fun, fun, fun.

This is the Month of Remembrance, and I've been doing quite a bit of posting for the veterans and their families in my hometown. I write mini-bios of the veterans and post them on the local high school FB page to remind us of their duty and sacrifices. Longer bios appear in the local Legion newsletter from time to time. There are a number of local "boys" who did not come home from the wars and are buried overseas. And all of them so young. One of the cemeteries that is the resting place of some of those lads is the one in this layout.

I also love it! I was looking on the internet for Aliens Clipart, and when I saw it, I had to grab it. Here is where I got it from. 🙂

Cute little critter! Did you make him with vectors?

I'm back! I was MIA for a while b/c life can sometimes get in the way of our plans and other activities. When things are rocky, I tend to withdraw and lick my wounds until I regain my balance. I couldn't produce anything for a while; the simplest layout was beyond me. I visit cemeteries quite a bit. As a family historian and general history researcher, both cemeteries and obituaries are goldmines of info. Folks with these types of interests tend to favour time spent with the dearly departed. This layout features the small rural cemetery where my family are buried. It's such a tranquil place with a huge garden behind the actual burial ground. The granite bench (put in by my family) that you can see in the bottom right is where I sit while I am visiting. The quiet is absolute and restorative. Rarely a vehicle goes by, only birdsong and the wind. Sigh. It restoreth my soul, as they say. I was interested in playing with lines and stitches based on a layout I saw that used these elements. There are so many different bits in this that I couldn't list them. The white crosses at some graves are indicators of war veterans.

My niece's engagement/proposal. Template by Tinci Designs #116. Word Art by Rachel Martin, Hilary Word Art. Green and blue papers by Janet Kemp, Boehmian Love Solid Papers Kit.

Template 251 by Bourico Casper, AKA, Lady 22. Georgia Golden Olympics. First time Jerry and I have been able to compete in the 80+ age group. I also competed with Michelle in the 60+ age group. She is the youngster. Players can play down in age...so, I at 80 can compete with 60+ players. We won bronze...not too bad.

Good luck, Michele! 🤞

I'm working on getting a new laptop so I can get PSP up and running again.

Here's my November Wild Cat Calendar featuring the Pallas Cat. They are found in Asia and are threatened as a species. Accredited zoos have breeding programs to help species in distress. Granddaughter Jackie's Nashville Zoo was recently working in Botswana with giraffes. This Pallas cat or Manul is being called the new Grumpy Cat. I posted a full size .png on our Facebook page for printing.

Great!!

This is simply fabulous! I love everything about it. I'm impressed with how you were able to add shadows to the transparent balloons. I end up adding a shadow and erasing the part that's under the transparent part. How did you do it?

Wow, clever and beautiful, Corrie. I wish it was MY birthday!! 😉