BEHIND THE SCENES

About two months ago I made a green baby-doll top by myself. (Well sort of. . . I had some help from my mom when I was cutting it out and a little bit on the how to put casing (I think that is what it is called) on the the sleeves for the elastic.

We got so far and it seemed to be taking forever. Now I must tell you, I am not a very patient person when it comes to making things for myself. If mom is making me something, then I have no problem waiting, though she can sew a lot faster (and better) then I can.

So one Saturday when I was cleaning my room, I stumbled upon my long lost sewing box. I remembered Mom going on about how fashion designers (that is what I would like to do when I'm older) have to know the construction of a garment, before they can design anything.

So needless to say, I got it in my head that I was going to finish that shirt without any ones help. So I got my sister's sewing machine, opened up my sewing box, laid out the material, and finally brought out the pattern envelope. I reached into that innocent looking envelope and pulled out my worst nightmare.

I salute anyone who can read (and understand) store pattern instructions. I swear that people would be more willing to sew if only they could understand the directions.

I will admit I was tempted, quite a few times, to just give up on trying to sew the shirt by myself, and go ask mom for some inside knowledge on what half of it meant. But along with being inpatient I am also stubborn, and I was not about to be defeated by a piece of paper, no matter how confusing that piece of paper was.

So after sewing the sleeves on wrong a total of three times, putting the hem on the outside of the shirt, and shortening the elastic in the sleeves and collar twice, along with other little things like Hmm...measuring around the shirt so I could put the band around the bottom of the bust because even though the picture showed the band, the people who put together the pattern decided not to put that "little bit" in the directions that told you how and where to put it, I got it finish and here is the end result.





Even though the directions were hard to read and it took all day to do, the look and praise from Mom, made it all worth while.

LOOOONG TIME NO SEE!

Hey there. It's me you know the girl that hasn't posted in over a year. I am going to turn over a new leaf though. I will post more often, I will. I will post twice a year now;)
So, what have I done in the last year? Um... I got my first dog. Her name is Molly and if you click here you can get to her blog.


I volunteer at the library now. the summer reading program is my favorite time of year.



I turned 14, but I will soon turn 15. (Man, time flies by fast!)




O, and of course








I hung out








with friends

Foto Friday - Assignment #5

Yeah! I know it has been a long time (again).

Click here for all the Assignments given to date.

Here are "my" eyes. This little cutie is my bestfriend's youngest brother.

I love eyes, and I adore brown eyes. To me brown eyes are like warm, kind, gentle, comforting pools of love.

Miss N. you should know this cutie pie. I'll confess that I did use flash on this photo, though. As you can see his face is white in the middle (I tried to darken it up a little with sepia.) But by the time I had turned the flash off, he had crawled/walked away. Then when I caught up to him he wouldn't look at the camera. Oh, well.

Assignment #3 - Retake

If you would like to see the original instructions for this assignment click here.

This was Mrs. N's suggestions to improve my pics:

Now. For your pictures. I hate to do this to you, but I am going to have you try this assignment again. Your photos are nice (I LOVE the close up of you!) but I want you to look closely at the close up one. Click on it on your blog and you'll get a BIG version (which helps me as I critique actually). If you look, you will see the leaves are perfectly crisp but your hairline is not. SO, while at first glance it IS in focus, it isn't AS focused as it could be.So, try this again but do it using a different subject. It is VERY difficult to get a perfectly focused self-portrait so I want to see you get a perfectly focused portrait of something else first...and once you succeed there then you can practice on self-portraits. So tell your Mom and M that they simply HAVE to cooperate with you. It's an order, from ME! ;-)

As you can see, Mrs. N, I got NO cooperation from the photophobiacs in my family. Only Samantha would support me. The nice thing about her -- she doesn't move. Well, not unless the wind blows her over.

Oh, Say Can You See? Assignment #3

As Mrs. N would say, "This is by far the most unnecessary tip ever. But is it?The subject of the photo HAS TO BE IN FOCUS and the image ought to be sharp.I mean it goes without saying. It's absolute common sense. Surely EVERYONE ought to know this already!BUTI have seen countless RUINED photos that would be otherwise really great, simply because the snapper wasn't paying attention. Even on my own camera."

Go here to see the rest of Mrs. N's Assignment #3

A couple of weeks ago I went to the eye doc., where I found out that I am slightly near-sighted. So yesterday I went with my family to pick up my glasses. I didn't think I would really wear them a lot, because I thought I could see fine. Well...once I put them on, I knew differently. I could see details more clearly. I could read signs perfectly on the high-way. Deer weren't just a fuzzy, smudge of color in the farmers feild across the road. IT'S WONDERFUL!!!!

5

My eye sight isn't really that bad, but you get the idea of the way things looked to me (unfocused).

(Note for Mrs. N: Mom took this pic.)

5
When I put my glasses on and ask Dad what he thought (he wasn't there when I picked them out). He said,"You lNNk like your grandmother!" Of course I have always looked like my grandmother, so it is just one more thing to add to the list.

(Note for Mrs. N: I took this pic by crouching down and steadying my arm on my knee. Nice and crisp and clear -- just the way I am seeing things now -- in FOCUS!!!)

5
(Note for Mrs. N: I used self-timer on this one.)

Okay, Mrs. N, how did I do?

Assignment #2

Wow! Can't believe it but here I am moving right along to Assignment #2. It's all about "Breaking Rule #1". (Oops, sorry -- guess that's the rebel in me). Maybe I should say it's all about "Using the Background to Give Feeling to Your Pics". I'll give you the short version of the rule taken from Mrs. N's blog, but you should really go to Renaissance - Foto Friday and check out the whole assignment. It could help YOU take better pictures for YOUR blog, too.

"THIS week we have a variation on a theme...still I'd like to talk about backgorunds, but THIS week, I'm going to talk to you about BREAKING the distracting background rule.SOMETIMES, the background is important! Backgrounds lend feelings to a photograph. If you want to feel serene and calm, nothing will get you there faster than to gaze at a photo of winding road fading in the fog hovering over a wheatfield. If you want to feel intensity or hustle-bustle, nothing will get you there faster than a photo taken on the bustling streets of Vegas or NYC. Sometimes serene is what we are looking to portray and sometimes, it BUSTLE.In other instances, the background BECOMES the subject."

So here goes. . .

PHOTO #1 (Uncropped) 6
I'm going for that "Quiet Country-Life Feeling"

PHOTO #2 (Uncropped) 6
When we go to town, things are a little more "hustle, bustle" . . . Hey! Get Out of My Way!!!

Okay, now... Mrs. N, if I were to take these pics. again, what would be a few pointers?

Assignment #1

Okay, Now the photo assignments begin. I have been off to a really rocky start, but now hope to post a little quicker. We'll see. So far Mrs. N*** has given three assignments, and yes, I DO know that I am only on Lesson 1. Thank you VERY much! I said that I'd try to do better.


Tip #1: BEWARE of your BACKGROUND

When you are taking a photograph, you become so intent upon the subject (the main focus of the photograph) that sometimes, people forget to look around at the rest of the frame (the entire part being photographed). You may think that this isn't that big of a deal but it really truly is. It's a general rule to have uncluttered a background as possible. Sometimes you can effectively use a background to create feelings of clutter, if that is what you are going for, but often times-the LESS your eye is drawn to the background, the better.
Above is the short version of the assignment quoted from her blog. Click here to see all the assignments to date.
Here's my shot at the first assignment:

PHOTO #1 6(Uncropped)

PHOTO #2 6(Slightly Cropped)

PHOTO #3 6(Really Cropped)

What d'ya think, Mrs. N**?