RamsdenDesigns

How To Destroy Something

“’If you want to destroy a barn,’ a farmer once told me, ‘cut an eighteen-inch-square hole in the roof.

Then stand back.’”

-architect Chris Riddle

Amherst, Massachusetts

How easy it is to ruin something. I have a dozen such holes in my roof right now. They were put there ages ago and I didn’t realise the impact they’d have.

It’s not long now before the roof caves in.

I know i should be doing something crafty right now. Or even a bit of cleaning would be proper but today I am distracted by my Christmas tree. I was so inspired I photographed a few favourites…not all mind you, some ended up a bit blurry. I really really need a tripod. Mmmm, possible gift from Santa?

Look at this girl, she totally rocks. We bought her because she reminds me of Little J.

This awesome little fella was aquired from a Christmas swap I did on the internet. Nothing compares to his fab-ness and I’m afraid my offerings were not nearly as good as this.

This ornament I made myself for another Christmas ornament swap with 10 other people. She’s cute, I love her. Hopefully there are still 10 others of her hanging from peoples Christmas trees all over the world.

Oh IKEA, how do I love thee. Let me count the ways.

What Would Jane Austen Do?

Well, for starters I think she’d find these triple chocolate brownies Little J and I made simply delightful.

I am sure she would declare most heartily “My dearest Jacquie, how simply delightful. There is a time for everything – a time for balls and plays, and a time for work. And today, my dearest friend I proclaim it a day for brownies”

And then we shall laugh and dance and announce to the world, our joy.

Then, once the brownies have been eaten and we find ourselves before a roaring fire we’ll both pour over the latest book I have purchased from the local store. And we shall not be in want of employment that night.

For we shall have a whole book of craft projects to desire over and be in awe of. Jane of course will be amazed that she finds herself the focus of a book and positively shocked at the discovery of photographs and printed images in colour.

And now dear reader I must make my leave, for I have a whole other century to dream about and adore.

The Modern Antiquity Brooch and Button Bouquet

I’m not getting married. Not yet any way but I just had to blog about my friend Liza who made this amazing and beautiful bouquet.

Some things in life are pretty and some things, like what Liza makes are drop dead stunning.

It’s called Modern Antiquity. And I know, crazy right, where have you heard that name before? It’s the same as this soap I have.

Ok, so Liza's version is so very much prettier than mine, but that’s only because I can’t put antique brooches in my soap. Nor do I have her skill and talent but I think if we were having a competition on whose worked better in the shower, then mine would win, hands down.

So pretty Liza.

The Latest Empire of Delight Entrepreneur

There is a buzz in the house these last few days. Little J has opened up her own Etsy shop selling her handmade bookmarks.

While counting her views and hearts is exciting enough for an 8 year old she has also made a sale on her very first night. This resulted in a lot of early morning, bleary eyed jumping around and she wasted no time in getting her first order ready to post.

It takes her a whole week of chores to make the same money she made in 1/2 an hour yesterday (not to mention that making the bookmarks are actually an earnable chore).

But Wait There’s More

Her grandmother was shopping for discount Christmas cards and was boasting about Little J to a gift and card store. The owner was impressed and asked if Little J would bring some bookmarks in and she’ll sell them in the store. That’s right, she’s been in business less than one week and already has a wholesale account.

I’ve already started looking for a bigger house, it won’t be long and she can buy us a more expensive home.

Free Four-Fold Downloadable Christmas Cards

I was making some Christmas cards yesterday and thought you might like them as well.

Love Hearts Card

Christmas Scarf Card

Heart Card

Directions:

1. Click on the links above…marvel at the prettiness (view the whole page…all the magic happens in the lower half).
2. Print desired card.
3. Fold paper in half with image on outside, fold in half again.
4. Give to a loved one and bask in their delight.

Revisiting Some Favourites

Occasionally I’ll go through my Favourites list on Etsy and remind myself why they were favourites in the first place.

Magnum Ice Cream USB Flash Drive, La-Te-Da Ornate Mirror

Plum Poppy Clutch Purse with Silk Lining, necklush

Wing and Petal Strand, I want to rock with you

1 Corinthians 13 - Love is Patient, Lightness

for the other-DRAWING FOR A CURE, Studio Doll – Scarlet

of blossom bells and sultry things, Burkhalter Rose

Things I Want

But can’t think of a single reason to buy…

Left Column:

Nice Day for a White Wedding by clairelafaye

Luciano the Mouse by cynicthelamb

Grey/white Antique Buffet by SparrowsNest1

Bird Cupcake Stand by whitneysmith

Custom Wedding Cake Toppers or Centerpiece by dandelionland

Middle Column:

Baby Legs Ceramic Salt and Pepper Shakers LooK Still Kickin by modernfx

necklush ultra – red by necklush

IVORY Raw Silk Victorian Inspired Shoulder Wrap by bonzie

Eddie Friedman's Porcelain Dental Mold by blogbloglog

Right Column:

Tiffany Blue Chair by SparrowsNest1

Keep Calm and Carry On Print Poster by queensorder

Standing Fern Kitchen Towels by themudpuddle

Vintage Lace Wedding Shrug by hollystalder

Treasury Fever

The lovely Smith & Bird put me in a Treasury she created showcasing West Australian Artists/crafters.

In Other News

I finished painting the feature wall in the kids playroom today. And apart from the splashes of green paint on the cornices and all over myself it was a total success. No picks yet…I need to clean up first.

Also got my first Etsy Treasury today. It was so exciting.

I dedicated it to my favourite thing in the world. Chocolate. The people who know me know me well enough to know that if the family and a block of chocolate were going down with a sinking ship I’d save the chocolate first before the kids. And I’d only save them so they could help me rescue more chocolate.

Tutorial - Blurred Effects On Photographs

I thought I’d give a tutorial on how to get a nice macro effect on your pictures. I always think close-ups look nicer if they have out of focus bits, it looks like you spent way more on your camera than you really did. This is super easy and takes just minutes in Photoshop. I’m pretty sure too that you could get the same effect using other image programs.

• Crop your picture so you’re happy with the composition.

• Duplicate that image onto another layer

• Add a blur effect to the top layer. Make it as blurry as you want the out of focus pats to be

• Now select your eraser tool, set it to the size you want the focused part to be and make sure the hardness is set to 0% (so the eraser has a nice fuzzy edge). Then just erase out the parts of the top layer that you want to be in focus revealing the sharp focus image underneath. I went in a horizontal line across part of the lower half in this image.

• Just save the image and you’re done. One product image that looks professionally taken.