Thursday, September 6, 2012

New Custom Digital Images Now Available

We went to the Magic Kingdom this past weekend and of course I brought my camera and had a mission ... I am still working on a bunch of photos that I took for a specific purpose .. but the one I am talking about right now kinda jumped out at me .. last minute .. as we were leaving the park.

In front of the park, just after the turnstiles sits the Train Station ... with beautiful landscaping, a plaquard side that states The Magic Kingdom, and now this year a big display that says "Let the Memories Begin" ... and 5 frames of images of people none of us know .. so the idea came to me to crop the image in a manner and format the image digitally so I can "cut out" those frames and put my own photos in there. And since the entire image is only 8" x 10" the holes for the frames are fairly small, so pretty much any type of photo works - from facebook, from cell phones ... even from screen shots of online galleries. If you know anyone else who has a love for Disney and is looking for a way to display those WDW memories, please feel free to share the Etsy link or this blog with them. I do plan to create more theme park based digital images in the future ... does anyone have any requests?


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Testing My Green Thumb

So .. every year or so, I get this bug .. to garden .. to grow my own plants and veggies ... and every year they turn into little sprout-lings ... then I get distracted .. find something else to "Craft" and they die off ... leaving nothing to show for but an empty container of dirt and some gardening hopes down the drain. Well - here we are again .. in that "phase" .. I'm GONNA grow stuff and eventually my husband and I will eat what has been grown. I will admit, I've done a little more research this time, taking count of what grows best in what kind of light / shade / container. About 18 days ago I started Sugar Snap Peas, Sweet Basil, and Jelly Bean Tomatoes (photo coming soon) - they have sprouted and they are still alive :)



These seeds were started in a window sill on the west side of the house. After the sprouts broke the soil, they were reaching for the sun .. So i moved them outside to our front porch for now, there is partial sun/shade, yet still enough roof so they dont drown when it storms.

Now, I started another small batch of the Snap Peas and started them in a different window - on the south side of the house, more sun and I think I have discovered that seeds need to start in that window .. look at the thickness of the sprout and stem at only 5 days, it's not reaching as much for the sun since it's already there :)


Also, learning from the first bath, I've placed chop sticks in the containers so the vines have somewhere to attach to.
I also got a little creative in planting seeds, knowing all it would do is "waste" some dirt - better than wasting money when I throw bad food away ... so anyways .. I was making a stir fry the other night with mini bell peppers I purchased from one of those "LARGE" super stores in the area and figured, what the heck .. let me throw some of the seeds in the dirt and see what happens ... well growth happened!


After about 8 days or so there was nothing poking out of the dirt .. but I held on .. giving them a chance .. and look at them now! At 14 days I'm realizing I probably shouldnt have put so many seeds in that little container - hehe ... Looks like I'll be replanting them somewhere else in a little bit :) - but i'm quite excited that they did sprout ... I'm not looking for prize winning veggies ... just something that would taste good in salads and to cook with. I do understand that there are some veggies that are purchased in the stores that are hybrids and they end up not tasting what you had previously ... either way, it's not much of a loss, so why not try it out? :)

After seeing the progressing results of the bell peppers, I figured what the heck tonight, and planted some of the eggplant seeds from the eggplant I bought today and made eggplant parmigiana this evening.
During my online searching and blog reading, I found out about container gardening - using 2-liter bottles specifically and turning them into SIPs - (Sub Irrigating Planter). Below is my first one, with the eggplant seeds just under the surface of the soil.


One last thing that I have growing here at the house for now is some green onions. I had found out that if you snip the green onion off just above the white bulb, and stick the roots in water, that green onion will continue to grow and just keep growing until you snip again ... I "never" have to buy green onions again!

Once I prove to myself that I can stick with this and have some results, I do plan to start a salad container garden with lettuces and such ... :)

Do you garden? Have any suggestions of the types of veggies that are fairly tolerant to our Florida sun and weather - and semi-Green thumbs? Any information would be greatly appreciated :)



Thursday, August 30, 2012

Creative Digital Photo Tweaking

I like to create a lot of things ... I have many started hobbies and projects ... some get sent to the "back burner" .. some stay up front ... one of my passions that pretty much stays with me everyday is my photography ... whether it's specifically going out for the day to shoot .. or even capturing a couple image ideas on my camera phone ... I'm always looking at my world in different perspectives. Tonight, I took my love for  photography and art to a whole different level. I shoot in digital format. And typically I'll use Photoshop to resize my image, and do slight tweaks to prepare them for printing. Tonight was a little different ... I took those same images I resize .. but I didnt do just a slight tweak ... I utilized the digital tool box in photoshop and gave a few of my photos a whole new dimension. Sure .. I've used the fun artistic filters to give my images a clip art feel and such, but tonight, I manipulated the entire photo by hand and mouse - and i'm quite pleased with the results. I've posted 3 of the images I tweaked this evening in my Etsy shop ... below are the images - if you click the image, it will take you to the Etsy listing, which should enable you to see the image larger. I do not think I will tweak ALL my photos with these effects .. but there are some photos I take that could use that extra angles and contrast to make them pop off the page.


I'd love to know what you think ... which one of these 3 pops out at you first?

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Etsy Treasuries :)

Such an honor ... On Etsy, fellow members can post a collection of creatively crafted pieces for sale all on one page, called a treasury ... so far, since I've found my creative focus once again, I've been featured in quite a number of these treasuries. Here is a direct link of each treasury one of my pieces have been featured in. Please take a look at each link, that Etsy member did NOT have to include my piece, or anyone else in fact, and they did because they felt those pieces deserved to be a part of a specific collection ... to me, it's quite an honor to be part of that selected few.

Butterflies for Big People

I'm ready for my close up

Glow

Gulf Coast Crafters Team - A Walk in the Woods

Lost in Time, and lost in space; and meaning...

Paint a Magical Campground

}}}*Happy Trails to You*{{{

Autumn Joy

Wingin' It

Inspiration Station Treasury


So meany beautiful treasuries!!!!

Here is one that I put together of fellow Etsy member's photography pieces:

The Art Collector

AS always, THANK YOU for taking the time to read my blog and see what I am up to.

You can also join me on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/creativeflydesignz I'd be honored if you "liked" my page and became a fan :)

Friends of the NRA Dinner

Last night was the Fort Myers Friends of the NRA dinner my husband and I, (and the rest of my family) attended, and it was a blast as usual!!! It was in a new location this year, Harborside Convention Center in downtown Fort Myers, and wow was the space needed! I was quite impressed with how the number of guests grew to over 350 people!!! Last year was about 150 ... What a great turnout! You are probably reading and wondering why I'm even mentioning this ... well last night I had a piece of photographic art on canvas in the silent auction for all to see, along with some mini-photo cards. It was very exciting to see my work out in that kind of setting. It was great to see a piece of my art and creativity have an opportunity to go into someone else's home for them to enjoy. I'm now on a search for other auctions and events where I can donate my pieces, to get my name out there locally and show my work.
Next year I will certainly enter another piece for the silent auction, and next year I also plan to submit a few framed pieces into the bucket auctions and if I can get the right image, a larger one for the live auction.(We've already been brainstorming ideas :)

For more information on the Friends of NRA, go here: http://www.friendsofnra.org/default.aspx

Here is the image that was printed on canvas in 3 vertical pieces:
Post a comment below if you see something that reminds you of "Love" in this image. The image you may see was NOT a photo manipulation, it was a happy accident a few photos in of shooting from this perspective :)

Click on any image in the gallery below to see all of my creative pieces for sale:

Friday, August 3, 2012

Yay! Moo Cards!!!

I'm excited! My Moo Cards came today!!! I love the way they look and feel. The design process was so easy too! The major thing that got me interested was that you can upload as many images for the front side of your card as you are ordering, and as a photographer - wow was that an awesome option!!! ... I ordered a pack of 50, so I could have had 50 individual images. I had about 23 that I wanted to use. I suggest any artist who is looking for professionally made cards to check them out. I had seen them a few years back, but never ordered any, and I'm so glad that I did!

If you're thinking of checking them out, if you use the following link, it'll give you 10% off http://www.moo.com/share/59b7h8


See below for a couple of snapshots of all my cards laid out!






A quick lil disclaimer ... I do not work for Moo, and they did not ask me to write about their product ... I'm just an excited photographer who wanted to share her thoughts on a product that she thinks is awesome!


Monday, May 21, 2012

2012 Prints for Sale!!






Please take a look at my newest prints for sale: Creative Fly Designz 2012 Prints for Sale
$10 each (including shipping) - 8" x 10" - Glossy Prints. Just taken this past weekend at EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival.
Email me for details. Creative Fly Designz

Monday, May 7, 2012

Grandma, YOU will always be MY angel!

My Grandma was a strong, wonderful, loving woman. She was a breast cancer survivor starting at the age of 81. The first year after her surgery she seemed to be doing as well as an 81 year old woman could do. However, she never fully recovered. The following 4 years was full of struggle, pain, and she was so tired of being tired and weak and drained. Within the last year, the cancer was discovered within her bones, and we believe into her stomach. Her last 2 months were the hardest struggle she had ever experienced. In and out of the hospital and the rehab facilities. We were there for her, to help her feel as comfortable as possible.
On April 29th, 2012 she passed away. She was 85. She hung on for her 3 sons to travel to her to be with her in her final days. She knew her family loved her as much as she loved us. I miss her. But I know now she is watching over us. Forever and always, YOU will be my Angel, Grandma.

August 6th, 1926 - April 29th, 2012


Thursday, February 17, 2011

The scavenger hunt begins!!!


I am so excited!!!!! Jones Soda has chosen one of my photos for their labels!!! Here is the label sheet: http://www.jonessoda.com/gifs5/labels/dec10/December%202010%20Soda-F1.pdf 4th row down, in the FuFu Berry labels .. there you see, it's a "Creative Fly Designz original Aromigarumi!! The Pink one that was for sale a while back!

Now the hunt begins, Jones Soda does not send bottles out to those who have been chosen, so now I must find the bottles of soda on my own, or possibly with your help! If you would, while you are out and about, please take a look in your area for the FuFu Berry Jones Soda bottles with this label. If you find them, I will purchase them from you and pay for the shipping to get them to me. If you can help it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks as always for reading my blog and supporting my love for art and creativity!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

SoFoBoMo Inspired Project


Hello everyone! Thanks for still continuing to pop in once in a while to see if I have updated anything and what not. What a HOT and Humid summer it has been! But that hasn't stopped me from creating and being inspired. In the beginning on July 2010, I discovered a website www.sofobomo.org. It's an online group that inspires photographers and designers to set goals for themselves and create a book. I was quite excited when I read about it, and jumped right in 4th of July weekend. Then ... time got the best of me, and here and there I would shoot for this project ... well Today, August 1st, 2010, I used wix.com to create my online book.


I'm happy with the results, next year I will do it more in a photo book format, but it was a great experience, and it definitely opened my eyes to the possibilities, as long as you stay focused, and finish the project in the end.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

New Prints for Sale!!!!

So I finally got off my butt and took more photos around the house ... and I've uploaded them and prepared them for prints ... and they were approved today, and now they are available for sale!!!

Please take a look and let me know whatcha think!

check them out!



Most of my 2010 prints are right there on the first page - with no titles

Friday, June 4, 2010

Summer of Swag!


Monday is going to be a big day for Swag Codes, and it is - AT LEAST 5 different codes will be coming on Monday!

Swagbucks is celebrating it's kickoff to Summer of Swag! They've got some really big stuff that they will be debuting this summer - things you've been asking for - and TSG can't WAIT to share them with you. It's definitely going to be a summer to remember at Swagbucks.

In the meantime, this coming week is going to be a BIG one too. In addition to going code crazy on Monday we'll be highlighting a different bill every day - BIG bills, too. As an added bonus, every day the featured bill will be awarded to every 7th win on Swagbucks! On Monday, that bill will be the 25 Swag Buck bill.

SO, now's the time to sign up for Swagbucks. It's so easy!

Just click here!
After you sign up - be sure to enter in SUMMEROFSWAG to get an extra 20 Swagbucks to start you off with! - You have until June 11th to enter that in!

Also, Each day next week they'll be highlighting a different high value Swag Buck bill, starting on Monday with the 25. Every 7th searching win on Swagbucks will be awarded that big bill, meaning that more people will have big wins next week!

Like I said in my previous post about swagbucks, I'm saving mine for a Disney e-gift card ... but they have so many options, even Paypal and Amazon cards, it's like getting money for free!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Earn daily Swagbucks with a click of a button!

Swagbucks has just introduced a new daily poll feature that will allow you and your friends to earn Swag Bucks every day simply by voting! It's a great way to share your opinons with the community and be rewarded for doing it. All the polls are Swaggernaut submitted and those Swaggernauts whose polls are featured on the site earn themselves 100 SB (those can be submitted to:pollideas@swagbucks.com). This is a fun, easy way to rack up your free rewards from Swagbucks.com, the number one destination for fun, online polls."

Check it out for yourself!


On a daily basis I will get at least 2 freebie swagbucks by just submitting my opinion in the daily polls as well as the no obligation special offers ... It's so easy!

Then on top of that, when I use the Swagbucks search engine to search for some random stuff on the internet, I'll earn SBs there too!

I'm saving my SBs up for the $25 Disney e-gift card!

If you are thinking of signing up ... use this link :)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

The Nature of Inspiration



I know I haven't posted in quite some time again ... thanks for checking in from time to time.

Real Estate is going well, and lots of creative juices are flowing ... sometimes inspiration seems like it's so far away, and yet .. sometimes it's in your own backyard, or in your family's backyard :)


My sister lives next door, and lives on a horse farm with a beautiful pond. Well the other day I went down to the pond and brought my camera with me ... and got some shots that I'm really happy with ... there is a funny story behind the sunflower shots ... back behind the pond is where they throw the muck piles ... well the horses are fed black oil sunflower seeds .. and well you can probably figure out the rest ... gotta love that fertilization!!







Any thoughts on these photos ... do you think they are marketable on Etsy as prints or digital files? I'd love any input

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

I'm finding that creative inspiration once again...

I know I have been kinda MIA lately, and I do apologize. I just haven't been focused on creative projects. I've been focused on working with my new real estate career, and I have to say, it's taking off quite nicely!

Besides working towards being a successful Realtor, here in the Southwest Florida area, I'm always still thinking of ways to promote my shop on Etsy, and find new ways to be creative. This past week, I did just that along with the inspiration of my husband. I have a new small line of wire beaded jewelry coming soon, I don't know how many pieces I will create, but I am happy to say I will soon be offering rings and hair accessories once I complete the process.

I do wish everyone a happy month of February and thanks again for reading my blog :)