self portrait for class

One of the 3 classes I am taking this semester is a photoshop class. Having no previous experience with the software I am struggling, but hope to catch up and do well in the class. Our first major assignment was to create 2 selfportraits. I really don't like the other one, but I'll post the first one I did.

After a few hours and tutorials later this is what I came up with. Lisa took this photo of me on New Year's Eve so props to her for making me look so glowy and pretty. : ) All I did was crop the photo, then add a some festive brush strokes and glowing lines to make it wintery Yep, thats about it, thought I would share.

life drawing torso series

Don't think I've mentioned it here but I am taking 3 classes this semester at community college. One of them is a life drawing class, with yes, nude models. It is a class required for digital illustration, which is my current area of interest at the college. Our first full week of drawing was the torso series. We weren't obligated to draw head, arms, etc, just the torso and neck focusing on proportions, muscles, and structure. Here is a sampling of the work and no, it's not really safe for work, they are nude of course but not overly graphic by any means! :) Click read more to see the pictures.

because my cat is so cute

Remy humored me the other day while I took some photos of him.  These pictures aren't really necessary but they make me happy. How could you not fall in love with this tabby and white cat with his big eyes, giant eyes, little head, and  raccoon tail? I dare you to try not to!

 

home in the high country

 Last year my parents bought a home in the high country of Arizona. It's a relaxing place to get away and spend quality time with the family. I've been up there several times, the last time for Christmas. The house is also close to Prescott and Jerome, which allows for some quick trips to historical towns. I wouldn't mind going up there every weekend if I had the time.

The donkeys below don't belong to us, but the neighbors. They are quite friendly and will come up to us to say hello. The views as you can see from the pictures below and after the jump are fantastic. They are close to down, but are on 4 acres in on the outskirts. There is such quiet out there at the house, a silence that it is relaxing and beautiful. Although we haven't had the house for that long, it already feels like home. 

birthday surprises

Wednesday was my 25th birthday, and I got a few nice surprised through out the week. 

The first surprise was a box of treats my coworkers made for me. First she lied to me and told me she would be out of the office that day. So I wasn't expecting anything special, except for a decorated desk which our team at work does for everyone on their birthday. Instead she made these awesome cupcake shoes.

I also got some beautiful birthday flowers from an admirer. :) I took them into work so Remy wouldn't eat them at home. I wish I could have them at home too, they smell nice because of the pine in them and they are nice too look at.

 

After work my date and I met my parents, sister, and brother in law for dinner at Macayo's downtown. As you do at Macayo's, I stuffed myself full of Mexican food. Mmm...yummy. Then afterwards, our group minus the parents went to The Handle Bar on mill where I got a couple of delicious cocktails. 

On Friday I got a letter from my longtime friend Nellie from North Carolina. It was a super cute birthday letter where she went through every year of my life and noted a big event that happened. It was so thoughtful and totally made my day. It was another nice suprise to add to the list. I should also mention I got gifts from my sister, parents, and grandparents, and are definitely thankful for those too.

Yesterday I also got a very unpleasant surprise, the flu. I woke up with a slightly sore throat but since I felt okay went to work. Very quickly things went down hill from there. I got cold, tired, and sore within hours of being at work. I also developed a hacking cough and fever. By lunchtime I was miserable and couldn't focus. At 3pm when I finished whatever I was working on I left. I just don't know how it came on so fast, but I'm pretty sure I have the flu. Some nasty bug has been going around the office, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, and maybe I should have gotten a flu shot.

Lately I have been going on a crafting spree. It makes me so happy to be doing something creative. I've tried a new technique using mod podge and decorative papers. There are so many more possibilities of things to create, it leaves me inspired and eager to try more. Here's a look at what I have done lately. Warning this is a long post because I haven't updated in a long time:

This is a secret Santa present I created for one of my coworkers. I was so happy she ended up liking it because I wasn't sure about her artistic tastes.

More pictures of projects in the rest of the post.