2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt June Linky!!!

#15 a flag pole with at least three flags

Ah, the best laid plans . . . 

Today I am hosting a linky for everyone who is participating in this year's summertime photography scavenger hunt. Please link directly to a post about the hunt . . . it can be a new post or a post from earlier this month. And please try to go visit a few of your fellow scavenger hunters and leave a comment.

Yes, well, back to the well laid plans. . . . 

there is a beautifully picturesque light house just up the coast from where I live and most days there is a flag pole with four flags on it (you can read about the light house and see the flag pole here). So, today, in anticipation of this post, I got out my big camera and went to take some photographs.  

And. . . nothing. Not a single flag on that flag pole!

So, I'm sharing a back up photo I took with my iphone while at the baseball stadium last week. There's a flag pole that actually has five flags on it (one for each time in the division), and now I'm really glad that I snapped the photo when I noticed it.

Because that's the way the scavenger hunt rolls.

Grab the photos when you find them because you never know when your well laid plans will flop!

So far I've found 7 of the 21, which is right on pace to finish by the end of the summer. For those of you who asked, it's definitely not too late to join. You have until September 22 to find all the items on the list, and that's plenty of time! For all the rules and to see the list, click on this link.

What have you found so far this month? Please share below. 

Some Angels Wear Airline Uniforms

Last Thursday I dropped my just-barely-17 year old daughter off at the airport. She was scared and excited; traveling by herself for the first time and headed for Peru. The first leg of the trip was a short one - San Francisco to Los Angeles. From there, she would have to get over to the international terminal and get on a flight to Lima. And once in Lima, go through immigration and customs, go to the domestic terminal and find her flight to Cuzco. We went over it many times. I kissed her good-bye and waved as she headed off through security.
A few hours later, she called. She was in tears and just beside herself; filled with panic. She was in L.A. and had lost her wallet, which contained her passport and boarding passes. I tried my best to calm her down. She retraced her steps a bit, convinced security to let her into the international terminal to try to talk her way onto the Lima flight with her drivers license and copy of her passport. No go.
She called again; more panicked then ever because the clock was ticking and she knew she wouldn't make her flight. Just as I was trying to calm her down, the other phone rang. 
It was Laurie from American Airlines. They had found her wallet. She said she would leave it at the American Airlines ticket counter. Laurie stayed on the line while I tried to get Clara to calm down and go get her passport. By this point, Clara was so upset she couldn't find her way out of the international terminal. Laurie heard me on the line with Clara and said, "Tell her stay where she is, and I will bring it to her." Laurie imagined Clara - a 17 year old with a brand new passport, on her first trip, panicked and about to miss her flight - and went out of her way to cross LAX, convince international security to let her in and find Clara. All of this was above and beyond what she had to do. She was truly an angel, sent to help Clara in her time of need. 
Clara still ended up missing her flight and had to navigate her way to an airport hotel at 2:00 a.m. But she managed. And the next day, she returned to the airport, boarded the plane to Lima and then on to Cuzco, Peru.

I'm so proud of my girl for sticking with it and not giving up. And so grateful to Laurie, an angel in an airline uniform, who helped Clara on her way.

Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt Linky Coming Soon!!!

#9 A Tent

Thought I'd share a couple finds for the 2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt.

I was doing some final pre-trip shopping with my girl at a sporting goods store, and I spied these really cute scale model tents (they were about 9 inches tall) on a shelf. It seems an ingenious way for people to see what the various tent models look like!

#12 A public restroom, bathroom or toilet

And a find from earlier this month. It's in the Detroit Airport Westin Hotel, where I travel several times a year for work. It's a beautiful bathroom, but I don't understand why it needs ten sinks! It actually has more sinks than stalls. 

The first month of the Hunt is almost over, and that means it's almost time for the first Linky! Come back mid-week and share a post about the Hunt. You can write a new post for the round-up or link up one from earlier in the month. Can't wait to see what everyone has been finding.

My Favorite Intern

Item #17: Two or more people in uniform

This summer, my son Henry is working as an intern with a minor league professional baseball team called The Vallejo Admirals. He's working in marketing, media and on-field operations. He's learned a lot in just his first week of work of what goes in to running a baseball team.

So, this last weekend, I went to go watch one of his games. He spent most of the game selling tickets and talking to fans.

Meanwhile, on the field, I captured some of the action.

As a bonus, I captured an item for the summertime photography scavenger hunt (#17).

I'd say the boy hit a home run with his summer internship this year. 

I'm looking forward to going to a few more games this summer.

Do you mandala?

My friend Deb of Paper Turtle has been drawing mandalas; lots and lots of mandalas. Her love of mandalas and the joy they bring her shines through on her blog, and she created this tutorial to bring that joy to others. On a recent business trip, I took along a sketch pad and decided to make a few mandalas.

 

These were the first two I made. They were pretty clean and basic. The only art supplies I brought along were a small container of water color crayons, a few pens (black and white) and a water brush. The top one I drew free-hand, but for the others, I used a plastic cup to help draw circles. And then something happened. . . . 

My mandalas turned in to art journal pages, with lots of writing. .  . . 

And my own mandala style started to emerge. My favorite one of these five is the one up top because of the blended colors and the journaling. I really enjoy making mandalas. It's very calming and it's a perfect thing to do while on the plane or sitting in an airport. I only wish that my sketch pad was square and that I had a selection of circle templates. But I will definitely continue to make mandalas, especially when I'm on the road.
And I'm not the only one making mandalas. Over at Deb's World, Deb (English Deb, not Arizona Deb) made some pink/pink/orange mandalas and this blue/blue/green mandala.  She's making mandalas for Summer of Color. And clearly enjoying herself. What about the rest of you? Do you mandala?

Two pinks and an orange (summer of color week 2)

Kristin at the Twinkle, Twinkle blog is hosting her annual "Summer of Color" event. She selects a color palette and artists create using that palette - six weeks, six palettes, six creations - tons of fun! This summer, I'm working with plaster strips, as part of my creative focus on 3D mixed media this month. This week's combination two shades of pink and an orange. I used magenta, rose and pyrrole orange. I embedded some puzzle pieces into the plaster before I added washes of the colors. The images are from napkins; the feather is from the chicken coop. I really enjoyed the process, and it came together more easily than last week's creation. I think that's one of the wonderful things about working in the same medium each week - it gets easier and more developed.
Here are my creations from my first two weeks:

I think the both feel very summery, so I plan to continue with that as a theme. These are also pushing me to realize that I really like this style for 3D mixed media. I might experiment with a few other things this month, but I'm feeling like I may have found my groove early this month!
To see more pink and orange creations, go to this link.

A lot of Scavenger Hunting going on!

#18 An overloaded truck, car, bicycle or other vehicle.

Hello Blog Friends! I'm back in the classroom for my IRL work, so I haven't posted in a few days or commented on blogs, but I've had lots of fun visiting and seeing posts show up about the 2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. You can find all the details here. I've even found a few items, including an overloaded truck spied while driving home from the office the other day. I'm saving some to share on June 30 when I host the end-of-the-month linky where everyone who's participating is invited to check in with their progress.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few interesting posts I've seen:

Deb of Paper Turtle went to Disneland and blogged her finds in this post. My favorite part is her story about this photograph for #17 at least two people wearing matching outfits or uniforms.

And check out this version of #12 a public restroom, bathroom or toilet:

Yes, those are flower-shaped urinals shared by Eileen T of In My Playroom in this post.

Finally, thanks to Julie Kirk of Notes on Paper who made this image of the list in case you want something pretty to carry around with you or to pin to pinterest. It's a jpeg and she says everyone is welcome to down load it, print it, share it and everything! Because, even if you haven't started, it's not too late to join the Hunt! The facebook group (Summertime Picture Scavenger Hunt) is going great guns, as are the posters on instagram (#rindas2015photohunt; follow me @rinda1961). The more the merrier! See you on June 30 for the end of the month linky (if not before).

Scrapbook Friday: Chippy Layouts of the Boy

Keeping up with my 2015 intention to scrap at least four layouts a month and post them here on my blog on Fridays, here are two I completed recently at a crop. After I pulled the photos and papers for these layouts, I was feeling a little uninspired. So, I decided to find some inspiration by turning to a neglected embellishment (which I have a ton of): chipboard and its fancy Tim Holtz cousin grunge board.  The top layout uses over 25 pieces of chip board and tells the story of Henry's summer employment. For the bottom layout, I used a chipboard house and then some grunge board elements to create an embellishment for a page about him moving out of the dorm and into the fraternity house at University. 
So, confession time. Do you have a big stock pile of a certain embellishment that you haven't used in ages? What is it? Any plans to get it out of your stash and onto a page? I gotta tell you. It feels good!

2015 Summer of Color Week 1: Blue + Blue + Green

Kristin over at Twinkle, Twinkle is hosting the "Summer of Color." For six weeks, she will post a weekly color combination and host a linky for people who create something with the palette. Each artist decides on her own medium. This year, I'm making 3D mixed media creations. For week 1, the color combination is two shades of blue and one shade of green.  I started by painting plaster strips with acrylic washes. My colors were spring green, sky blue and ocean blue. I created a patchwork background with the plaster strips (adhering them to  a canvas board) and then added a variety of embellishments in the same hues (or neutrals). I haven' played with plaster ad paint in a while, and I ended up pretty pleased with my result.  I had a few pieces of plaster left over, so I created a second piece.

It's the same color palette but a much simpler creation. I didn't mount this one on canvas board. I don't think I will usually make two pieces but it just felt right today.
You can see other creations from Week 1 at this link. Are you playing along? If so, what media are you using?

Photo Pairs: Zoom In, Zoom Out

Sharing two of my favorite photographs from a recent visit to the Filoli Estate. It's a classic zoom in, zoom out pairing of a bird bath in the garden. Linking up with Helena's weekly photo meme called Photo Pairs. You can check it out here.

Three Photos and Twenty Words

I have always been enchanted by water lilies. 

I understand Monet's fascination.

  

 Can't wait to sketch these. Photographed at Filoli

 ******************************

A slight variation on Abi's One Photo and Twenty Words monthly meme. You can see more offerings here at Abi's blog.

Be Still #19: Organic

The prompt for Week 19 (yes, I'm doing some catching up) in the Be Still still life photography class I'm taking was "organic." Since we get a box of organic produce from a local farm every week, it was an easy choice to grab some of the contents for this week's photo shoot. I added my little blue honey pot and a rubber stamp shaped like a rooster to complete the scene. I shot with the light behind me and my camera balanced on a chair to get a nice sharp focus, even thought it was a gloomy day and this counter is in the middle of my kitchen. I was very happy with the results!

I also decided to shoot this bucket off lemons picked from our tree - our yard is very organic! I loved the color combination and the side-lighting, but it seemed a little plain.

So I added some garden gloves and some lemon-related kitchen implements. I like the story it tells about someone working in the yard, getting ready to make a lemon meringue pie or something. The bucket was right up against the sliding glass door for this one, which created some nice shadows I think. Got a favorite today?

Art Journaling and Musing on Health

Way back in 2011, I selected "health" as my one little word. It served me well, as I got into shape and became stronger and healthier. I made this journal with several intentions to become healthier. I did pretty well on most of them, but there were two that I ignored: find a doctor I like and get caught up on my "tests."

Well,this year, a mere four years later, I finally got around to those two very important tasks. I found a doctor I like and trust, and she set me up with all those scary tests. I am happy to report that the mammogram, PAP, and sugar level tests all came back fine. My blood pressure, cholesterol and pulse rate are all great! Today I went to have all my odd looking moles checked and had one removed. I created an art journal page with Tim Holtz's crazy birds stamps to congratulate myself on overcoming my fears and getting these tests done. And I'm hoping that I won't let these tests go so long before I do them again. I'm wondering if I'm the only one who puts these tests off for fear of a bad result. I know it's irrational behavior at its worst, but I can't believe I'm alone. Am I?

Scrapbook Friday: Scrapping at a Scrapbook Store

A few weeks ago, I met some friends at what may be the last scrapbook store in the greater San Francisco Bay Area (Scrapbook Island). There used to be a dozen within an hour's drive of me (including one in my own small town), but they have been shutting their doors one after the other. And it's a shame. Because cropping at a store is wonderful experience. I enjoy the feeling of community and, of course, the opportunity to shop.

It's wonderful to be able to wander down the aisle and find just the right embellishment to complete a layout. For these two layouts, that's what I did. I had brought page kits with me of  paper, photos and some embellishments. But both needed a little more to complete them. Can you guess what I bought for each?
Ready?
For the July 4 layout, I bought the little flag and the star bunting.
The The Hens layout, I bought the stickers of the hen, eggs and weather vane.
They added just the right finishing touch. Don't you think?

How's the Scavenger Hunt going?

We're a few days into the 2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt, and I'm wondering how it's going for everyone? Do you have any questions? If so, let me know! 
The Hunt kicked off while I was on a business trip, attending a conference at Seattle University, so I took the opportunity to capture my first find: #10 a college or university.

And, at the airport on the way home, I saw lots of people for #8 someone plugged in to social media. I captured this couple because their pink and purple color scheme is so fun (the phone cover, his hat with horns and her shoes especially)!
If you've posted any blog posts with your finds, let me know. I'd love to come visit.
Don't forget about the facebook page: Summertime Picture Scavenger Hunt and the instagram #rindas2015photohunt if you're into that sort of thing! So far #1 A Flower Bouquet seems to be the most common find on.

Photo Pairs: White

Last week I visited the Filoli Estate with Alison of Life in the Slow Lane. I took lots of wonderful photographs, and these are two of my favorite. I love the shades of white, the delicate yet highly textured petals, and the dreamy depth of field. I'm sharing them this week and linking up with Helena's Photo Pairs meme.

Setting an Intention for June: 3D Mixed Media

This year, I am exploring the various types of art and craft that I have practiced over the last ten years, trying to decide where each fits in my creative life (or even if it does anymore). So far, I have focused on still life photography, sketching, scrapbooking, card making and art journaling. This month, I am setting the intention to focus on 3D mixed media work (such as canvases, assemblage and plaster).  I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty and digging through my stash!

I think this will also be a terrifically fun way to participate in this year's Summer of Color event. If you've never played along before, you should definitely consider it. Details can be found at this link.  Last year, I made little houses but only completed five out of the six color schemes. I had actually selected paint, house parts and embellishment or the color scheme of tangerine, raspberry with a touch of lemon but never put it all together. So, yesterday I did, and here's the result (front and back).

And here are all six of my houses together.

 

Who else is doing summer of color this year? What are you planning to work with?