Just Giddy

Illustration Friday - Hierarchy

   

Illustration Friday "Hierarchy" -- a digital collage.

I just love these birds that I found on istock last year.

I have used many layers in this image, so many that I created a file large enough to mess up my computer. I'm running out of disk space with my huge Photoshop projects. Oh well...maybe I need another hard drive with a hierarchy for Photoshop files. Yea, as if I know what I'm talking about...

Here are the images I used in "Hierarchy" -- Photoshop allows me to manipulate them like crazy to create the depth and texture that you see in the finished compilation.

  

Have a great week and don't forget your mom on Mother's Day!

Illustration Friday - Theatre

Illustration Friday Topic -- -- Theatre

"From the start it has been the theatre's business to entertain people ... it needs no other passport than fun."     BERTOLT BRECHT, A Short Organum for the Theatre

So... I present my own traveling theatre of fun.

Here are the images I used to create this piece called "Theatre" in Photoshop.

 

Thanks for visiting my blog. Have a great week!

rebecca

 

 

Illustration Friday ~ Impossibility

 

Impossibility ~ The Challenge

The Illustration Friday topic this week is Impossibility.

Whenever I am told that something is an impossibility I instantly view that something as a challenge. In my mind I don't consider anything impossible until I deem it so.

Neverthless, tonight I find it impossible to make the deadline for Illustration Friday with a new image, so I am submitting this image of the White Dove lifting and carrying the Heavy Elephant - one I submitted last year for the topic Heavy. You can read more about it here...3/15/08 IF Heavy.

It's one of my favorite pieces and has been printed and sold many times.

Thanks for visiting, I hope to get back in the groove with Illustration Friday. I miss it, just have alot to deal with right now with house and garden... as they say, "make hay while the sun shines" and the sun has been shining like crazy around here!

Possibilities of Spring

 

When you wake up to a new day, fresh from the rest of a good night's sleep, the day looks hopeful, bursting with possibilities and promise.

That's what a Spring day reminds me of. As we prepare to celebrate Easter - with love in our hearts for our Savior, I relish the hope and promise of a brand new day in which we can do as he would have us do, be as he would have us be and most importantly, love on another by following his example and word.

So I am wishing you, my friends, the possibilities of Spring and the promises of Easter.

With Love,

Rebecca

Follow Your Heart

  

Follow Your Heart ...

In one of my favorite Yahoo Groups In This House and Garden --- Susie LaFond is hosting an Inspiration and Affirmations Banner Swap. (whew, that was a long sentence)

Being the procrastinator I am, this is what I came up with in a hurry. Of course I had grandiose plans and tons of ideas but not the time to create them. In the end I was very happy with the simple statement this one makes. It has become my mantra in a way...

I try to follow my heart when I feel strongly about my passions. My passions for art, beauty and strong character. My passion for making the world I live in a little better -- by the actions I choose. By taking responsibility for myself and my actions. By being truthful to myself, admitting my faults and constantly vowing and working to do better. It's a daily thing; seeing progress through the years. Isn't life wonderful?

Have a really great day!

rebecca ~ justgiddy

Spring is here!

   

Well, hip-hip-hooray! Spring is here today.

I LOVE those plump and fluffy white clouds supported by azure blue sky, shades of green and distant mountain views, cattle grazing lush new blades of grass. I'm at home here, a minuscule dot in the landscape of life, but grateful for this confirming Spring experience. Thankful to God for His radiant and abundant beauty.

 

Don't try this at home..

Snapping a photo of Mt Shasta as I'm driving... But isn't it so beautiful and majestic? By the way, the steering wheel makes a pretty good tripod...

 

Mt Shasta from the little town of Weed, CA. How much for a 5 acre lot with this view? Who knows, but oh what a temptation. 

So as Spring settles in and astonishes us with her refeshing beauty, I hope I can remember to just stop now and then -- to be grateful for all that's good, the blessings in my life and the promise of hope that Spring brings.

Happy Spring wishes to all of you-

Rebecca

Illustration Friday - Instinct

   

"Motherly Instinct" -- Illustration Friday topic Instinct  

I have always been intrigued by a mother's instinct in caring for and raising her child. An instinctive mother listens for those promptings and intuitive messages that relate to her child's needs and well-being. Many times I have felt that my child needed me to attend to them -- heeding those promptings I have found that they indeed needed me at that very moment.

For example, my son Jason was an occasional sleepwalker. When he was about 10 yrs old I was awakened from sleep in the night by a strong premonition that I needed to get up and look out our front door. Of course I was shocked when I saw Jason standing there in his pajamas, shivering from the cold and standing upright -- sound asleep! He hadn't knocked or rung the bell, he hadn't made a sound but I knew somehow that he needed me right then. I put him straight to bed with some warm heavy blankets and made sure the deadbolt was locked. The next day Jason told me that he had dreamed he had walked to the school bus stop in his pajamas.

I haven't always acted on those promptings, only to realize later that I should have.

Our instincts may be programed and embedded; but I know there is so much more to the "motherly instinct" than automated rearing of our children. Thankfully we can to be in-tune to personal intuition as it relates to that particular child.

Okay, on to the art/illustration...

Here are the elements used to create this digital collage in Photoshop. Bee and Nest clip art images from Antique Clip Art .com

 

My motherly instinct tells me that I have some kids to call now and check up on...oh, how I love this part of motherhood, and boy those children of mine sure do make me proud...

Until next time toot-a-loo...

We have our winners!

 

Thanks to all of you who visited my blog on Valentines Day and left a comment. Each comment was appreciated and relished. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Tonight I printed out the names of all who commented, tossed them into the hat, shook them up really well and drew out four names in this order.....

They are:

Jenny Fowler    Giveaway # 1  The Frame

Debbie Ragan    Giveaway # 2   Signed Collage Print

Donnell      Giveaway # 3    "Sister" Muslin Heart

Kim Parkinson     Giveaway # 4    Ticking Heart "Best Friend"

I will email each of you to get your mailing address -- then watch the mail your package!

Congratulations to all of you! Thanks for making blogging so much fun!

Rebecca ~ justgiddy!

It's a Party with Flatwoods Folk Art!

 

Any excuse for a blog party is alright by me! Join me here for some great giveaways and check out Lesley's Blog at Flatwoods Folk Art for all of the other awesome participants!

Giveaway #1   I am giving away this frame for you to fill with your own photos. Just leave a comment and some way to get back to you and I will draw names to see who gets some goodies... FOUR WINNERS!

That's right, there are 4 giveaways and some freebie images for everyone. If you want large image files to save to your computer, just go to my Rebecca's Free Images on my blog and be sure to check out both pages, lots of free images for all!

More giveaways:

 

Giveaway #2   Signed Broken Hearted collage print on 6X8 canvas board.

 

Giveaway #3   Aged muslin heart with old image,"Sister" label and aged ribbon.

 

Giveaway #4   Navy ticking heart with old image and label "Best Friend".

Now for the free images for all... either click on the image to enlarge it or go to my Rebecca's Free Images index to get larger JPG files to download to your computer.

   

I found this gem in my local Salvation Army store and just flipped for those sleeves. Wish this little jewel fit me!!!  I can't wait to use this in some art! Help yourself, I would love to see what you come up with for this image.

 

Another thrift store find...I'm sure you can think of something clever to do with this image...

  

Hand painted Sweet peas I found at the antique store. Heart be still...

Yours to use in your art.

 

And...finally, a digital frame to use anyway you like.

Happy Valentines Day! Wishing you lots of love today!

Now on to check out every ones blogs at Flatwoods Folk Art!

rebecca woodward~ justgiddy

Valentine's Day Blog Party Tomorrow!

   

It's almost here!!! The day for Lesley's Blog Party is tomorrow, February 14, Valentines Day!

Shhh....I'm up to my elbows in pink something...

Find out tomorrow here on my blog and be sure to visit Lesley's blog to get the whole scoop...

Illustration Friday - Time

 

Illustration Friday post for the topic TIME

There's barely time for me to get this in before the next topic is posted. You see, I wasted some perfectly good time on an image I wasn't happy with, so here's one I created last year. It's a sad one, as it relates to the problems facing beekeepers, their race against time and the impact it has on agriculture. Several of my friends are beekeepers and I am aware of their concern. 

Bees, may time be on your side...

Illustration Friday - Flawed (ouch!)

    

Perplexed she was, as...

Always expecting perfection - she noticed the flawed and imperfect world around her.

Come on now girl, perk up a bit will you and don't let the little things get you down. After all, you don't really expect me to believe that you are completely perfect, do you? I will see your flaws eventually, peeking through and presenting themselves for scrutiny, wouldn't you want me to go easy on you at that point? 

Your flaws will make you human and just like me!

Created late and flawed for Illustration Friday.

Digital manipulation by Rebecca Woodward.

 

Sugarplum Fairy Dreams

 

Last year I created this collage in Photoshop.  It's fun to look back now and see what was going on last December on my blog. You can check it out here if you like... December 2007 posts.

Yes, I do wish you all ... sugarplum fairy dreams and wishes that come true. Today is a perfect time to live our dreams and expound on our wishes . We can also allow love to touch our lives...

My daughter related an incident that happened last night on her flight from Salt Lake City to Atlanta. She happened to be seated in first class, and the man seated next to her asked the attendant to allow him to trade his seat with a young soldier in the coach section. A small gesture, but one from the heart, and the soldier was thrilled and very grateful, it was a new experience for him, my daughter said.

There are many beautiful moments to savor in life. I am grateful for family and friends who show their caring for others, by the way they live their lives, giving me hope and faith in the true power of love.

It's Christmas Eve and I love that most of the flurry of the holidays is subsiding and I can finally kick back a little and catch up on the email  and some wonderful blogs I like to visit. Here are some blogs that I thought you might like to check out too:

• Angela Cartwright posted about some of her favorite ornaments and the memories they invoke. Check out her Said & Done blog.
• Chris Graf of Fiona Family fame has a blog now that I have posted some photos to. She has been way too busy to post anything, but you really need to check out what she has been creating in Paperclay for 2008. Her Tangledminds blog.
• Connie's ArtSeat blog has some cool photos of chairs and banners she has been creating. You'll be impressed, I was!

May you have a Merry Christmas; it's my wish for you.

Rebecca ~ justgiddy...and loving it.

Illustration Friday - Similar

 

Similar: Laurel of Studio Lolo fame suggested this week's topic for Illustration Friday.

It's a hit, as of this post, there are 311 entries on the IF site. I loved the topic but had the hardest time deciding what to create. I have a boutique coming up this Wednesday so I wanted to kill two birds... as they say. I think I can use this piece in something since it's kinda wintery.

I named it Marguerite's Mittens because I used a handwritten file card that has instructions for little girl's mittens from Jan 1929. I imagine that whenever you knit mittens you might want them to be similar in size and proportion. Maybe that's why I have only knitted caps and a scarf or two. I knew I could never produce mittens that were anywhere near the same or even similar. 

Check out the compilation below for a peek at the images I used -- including the old card with the mitten instructions (used in the background).

 

Thanks for visiting my blog!

rebecca ~ justgiddy

Illustration Friday - Balloon

 

Balloon fun time! Now this was a great theme and topic for Illustration Friday this week. I have used balloons in several pieces in the past, but decided to create something entirely from scratch using images available on the web from free image sources.

These are from Karen's Whimsy, an awesome source for public domain images, and also from the flickr groups Playing With Brushes  and Collage Images -- check them out!

The images I used are presented in this next compilation. It's a pretty basic piece with just a few images, but I played around for quite awhile to get them to blend well.

 

just for fun, here are two from the past with a balloon, they are very different in style.

 

Thanks for visiting my blog, any comments are appreciated...

Rebecca ~ justgiddy

Giving Thanks

  

With a warm and grateful heart this Thanksgiving Day, I do wish to give verbal thanks for family and friends dear.  It's always hectic and frenzied before the big day, but worth every minute of it as we sit down together and give thanks for all blessings. 

So if I could just give a little motherly advice, I would say hug everyone a little tighter, smile a little more often and never be afraid to just be nice. I'm going to try really hard to follow my own advice now as we scoot into the Christmas season. 

Special thanks goes to leahleaf on flickr for her free ttv (through the viewfinder) image.

You can see it in this compilation of images used in the Giving Thanks piece.

Blessings to all - thanks for visiting! 

Illustration Friday - Opinion

 

Well here goes folks, since the Illustration Friday topic is Opinion and I have none, save it be the wrong opinion at the wrong time, or too many opinions to keep to myself, I give you this nearly, oft times self portrait of myself. Well, maybe it's not me. I would never hold a bird that way...I have very strong opinions about how I would personally hold a bird.

This "Silenced" piece is a digital collage I made after my first semester of Photoshop with one of my favorite instructors at Butte College. Dennis Wickes is a teacher who doesn't just offer facts and priciples, but terrific wonder, insight and inspiration that expands the thinking and understanding. He knows his stuff!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Illustration Friday - Pretend

 

She is trying to pretend that he's not tugging on her heartstrings.

Oh my goodness, this was so much fun - what a great Illustration Friday topic this week!

This next image is a compilation of the images I used for this piece. I experimented with layer blending modes in Photoshop to get just the right feel for the piece and a sense of mystery with depth and shading.

   

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. Have a great week!  

Illustration Friday-Wise

 

Wednesday is a perfectly good day to post my Illustration Friday submission, isn't it?

A Wise Child of Nature - groomed to care for her own little world.

Here are the images used in this digital collage.

 

Thanks for visiting. Have a great week.

Illustration Friday - Vacant

 

Well here it is -- another submission for Illustration Friday and a return to the blog.

It's good to be back, playing with Photoshop again! Posting something on my VACANT blog.

The weekly topic is Vacant, so I had in mind this wild eyed character I found at my local antique store this summer. I passed him up the first time I saw him, but he was calling out to me on the next visit. Of course I envisioned him with a witch's hat or something but when I saw that Vacant was the topic I just knew he was in for a little make-over. The vacant building over his eyes is part of an old schoolhouse I photographed when I was in Idaho this summer and the glitter star is an old ephemera piece that I found at another local antique store.

These are the images I used in this piece...

 

Thanks for visiting. Have a really wonderful day!