21 Rosemary Lane

Model House Tour Part Two "Poet's Walk" ~ The Upstairs

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:59:00 +0000

Well now that you have had some time to digest part one of this amazing house tour, are you ready to see part two...the upstairs? Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and find a comfy spot to sit...go ahead I'll wait.......(twiddling thumbs, doodling notes, filing nails, checking phone messages....)

Are you comfy? Is there a smile of anticipation on your face right now????? O.k. sounds like you are good to go so let's get on the the tour.

Enjoy!

Photo provieded by website

Photo provided by website

Wow...so what do you think? Fabulous right? I know I'm simply exhausted. We can take a little break here before heading back downstairs to see more of the first floor. Then it will be on to the entertainment/gaming rooms! Wahooo!

Ciao 4 now!!!

This home fully furnished is being offered at 1.9 million dollars.

Poet's Walk

Judd Builders

2 Whitman Court

Ivyland, Pa. 18974

Sales Associate ~ Lisa McDevitt

(215) 682-7335

Phtography Tip Thursday # 5~ My First Assignment is Due!

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:16:00 +0000

Last evening our first assignment was due on depth of field and shutter speed. Each student was responsible for bringing in 4 photos shot in the last 3-4 weeks. Two photos had to demonstrate the difference between shallow and deep depth of field, and two photos demonstrating the extremes in shutter speed, fast and slow. Then we spent over two hours critiquing each student's set of pictures...and some of these photos were really good! So what I will do today is show you what my assignment looked like and you can do come of your own critiquing...

First is my shallow depth of field shot. Remember in shallow depth of field only part of the image is in focus...the rest is blurred. This was taken in the morning sun so the colors are very vivid. The two lead flowers are in focus but then the rest are blurred in the background. I got this effect by getting my camera as close as possible to the flowers, so yes I was laying on my front lawn to capture this image.

Next is and example of deep depth of field where everything in the photo is completely in focus. Here every object in the picture from the end of the pool table to the items on the bar are in perfect focus. (Boy I would love to tell you that this is my home...not!)

The next picture is from my daughter Grace's basketball game a few weeks ago. The object here was to freeze motion so I had the camera on all manual settings and used an ISO of about 3200 and a fast shutter speed about 1/4 of a second. My aperture was most likely pretty wide since we were inside, probably at F-5.

And this last picture was shot using a slow shutter speed so I could blurry the motion in the photo. Here Grace is on a tire swing at the playground. This was tough to shoot since it was a very bright day and the shutter had to be open for a longer period of time, therefore a lot of light was allowed in. I probably should have tightened up my aperture more than I did to keep the picture from looking so washed out, but I think the effect is pretty cool!

There you have it...my assignment and a quick review of what was learned in lesson two of this series. And no I don't know what my grade on this is yet, but I do have the chance to reshoot any photo I'd like before the end of the semester if I want to try to improve my grade on any given assignment!

Have a great week and see you next Thursday!

Featured Today Over at the blog "Junk in Their Trunk"

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Today 21 Rosemary Lane's post "The Invisible Mother" is being featured as a favorite link from last week's party over at "Junk in Their Trunk". Thank you so much lovely ladies of Junk in Their Trunk for the honor of being featured on your wonderful blog! And if you haven't had the opportunity to read this story, I strongly urge you to do so! It is a wonderful way to keep what we all do every day as moms, as women, and as people, in the perfect prospective.

Today is also Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season for many Christians, and it is important to remember that what we do for others is not something to be broad casted or simulcasted for the entire world to know. What we do, we do because it is right, and is done in silence. We pray not for everyone to see and take note, but we pray from the privacy of our own homes. God sees all...all that is good and all that is not good. So in this season of repentance as those of us who celebrate Easter prepare, try to remember the tale of the workman carving the image of the tiny bird into one of the beams of a great cathedral as it was being built...the bird was carved not for the enjoyment of man to see and admire, but for God's eyes, and God's eyes only.

God Bless...

Yummy Taco Lasagna

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:33:00 +0000

A couple weeks ago I saw this recipe at one of the many Linky parties I was hooking up to and immediately knew my bunch would love it! So I have to say that I have made this not once but three times since finding the recipe, and my kids and hubby are always asking for MORE! But I feel like such a ding-a-ling because I didn't take note of the blogger who posted this fabulous recipe. So if you "Miss Taco Lasagna Recipe Blogger" happen to see this post...P L E A S E let me know who you are so I can give credit where credit is due! I also want to thank you for helping to make my family very happy!

But with that being said...I simply cannot keep this to myself...I must share!

What you will need...

2-3 lb. ground beef or turkey ( I prefer turkey or even chicken myself)

12-16 oz. cream cheese depending on how creamy you'd like your dish.

Seasonings...chili powder, garlic, onion powder, salt & pepper, cumin and red pepper if you like it hot!

2 jars taco sauce or you can put salsa in the blender with regular tomato sauce if you don't have any taco sauce on hand

4 cups shredded cheese or taco blend

About 14-15 lasagna noodles

1 cup of tortilla chips, crushed

What you need to do...

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and then boil lasagna noodles for about 8 minutes

2) Generously season your beef and brown in a skillet. Partially melt cream cheese in microwave and then add to the ground meat and blend.

3) Spray 13×9 pan with cooking spray and then lay out your first 4 noodles lengthwise and then cut one more noodle to fit in perpendicular to the other 4 to completely cover the bottom of the baking dish. Spoon 1/2 of the beef mixture onto the pasta. Pour 1/3 of the taco sauce over the meat, and top with a third of the taco or Cheddar cheese.

4) Make another layer of noodles like the first and then add the other half of the beef, add another 1/3 of sauce, and then another 1/3 of the cheese. Top with last 3 lasagna shells.

5) Pour the last of the taco sauce on top, then sprinkle on the last of the cheese.

6) Grab a handful of chips and crunch them up on top of the cheese.

7) Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and dish is heated through.

And Enjoy!!!!

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Model House Tour Part One ~ "Poet's Walk" Ivyland Pa.

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:07:00 +0000

One thing my sister and I love to do is stroll through these mega mansion model homes and this one Kim found is certainly no exception. This house is located in Ivyland Pennsylvania and was built by Judd Builders. The home is part of a new development called Poet's Walk and let me tell you that this is one spectacular house!

I am going to take you for a tour of the home however since it it so huge (I must have somewhere around 50 photos to share with you) I am going to break the tour down into 3 or 4 posts. Today I will begin by sharing with you the kitchen and living space adjacent to it! Hang onto your hats folks...this is one fantastic tour!

Photo provided by website

This home fully furnished is being offered at 1.9 million dollars.

Poet's Walk

2 Whitman Court

Ivyland, Pa. 18974

Sales Associate ~ Lisa McDevitt

(215) 682-7335

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Free Printable ~ Knock-Off from Country Living Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:02:00 +0000

I loved this page from the March 2012 issue of Country Living magazine so much that I made my own printable. It took quite a bit of time to create so I am going to share this with all of you!

Country Living's Poster...

My knock-off poster printable...

Just click on the image and it will take you to Photobucket and then you can print it out from there!

Have a great Day!!!

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Bargin Vintage Chair for Grace's Room

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:51:00 +0000

Yesterday I was down visiting my sister Kim and we took our monthly trip over to ReStore! There I found this cute little swivel chair in perfect condition for only $35 dollars...an absolute "perfect" fit for Gracie's room!!

I think she likes it!!!

Love you Gracie,

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Wahooo...I am a Featured Guest over at "Whimsical Musings...It's a Women Thing" Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:30:00 +0000

I have to say that every day is an adventure here in blog land and today was no exception! I truly have met some of the kindest, unpretentious, happy and not to forget incredibly creative people here in the DIY blog community. Wonderful bloggers and talents like Aimee from It's Overflowing, Kim from Savvy Southern Style, and Pam from Be Colorful, have been such an inspiration to me only to name a few...goodness I could go on and on! And this week I was lucky enough to have stumbled upon the awesome blog, gotta love the name, "Whimsical Musings...It's a Women Thing" and discover the incredible world of it's creator Cindy Adkins. I linked my Valentine's Day Tablescape up to her party this week and voila...today I am a guest feature in her wonderful corner of the bloggy world!

;

I will admit that I spent a good amount of time the other day poking around Cindy's site and immediately became a fan! I read through several...if not all of her seminars on blogging and she provides a lot of great advice. She has so much to offer bloggers, especially novice ones like myself, who are still asking some of the most basic questions like..."How do I get anyone to even look at my blog?" She talks about how helpful many experienced bloggers were to her when she was just beginning her own journey and now she offers her personal experiences as learning tools for new bloggers. Cindy also highlights how nurturing this community of bloggers happpens to be by nature...everyone is out there cheering everyone else on, wanting to see them succeed!

So to be featured today by someone who I have only begun to admire and without having anymore contact with outside of just reading some of what Cindy has put forth on her blog, well all I can say is that it is just an exceptional honor!

Thank you Cindy so much for the feature spot...simply put...you rock!
(As I am bowing out backwards)

And please please everyone have a wonderfully inspired weekend!

Post Script...As happy as I am that I found Cindy's blog, she did make the announcement in today's post that she will be limiting her blogging to once a month. I know I'm a bit bummed but I do understand her reasons as to why she has made this decision. And yes I will be waiting on pins and needles each month to read Cindy's enlightening post.

Pesto and Pinenut Appetizer

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:09:00 +0000

I don't know why I think I can remember everything and not have to write anything down! My sister-in-law brought this to the family Super Bowl party 2 weeks ago and I asked her for the recipe. Well needless to say I didn't write it down but I think I got it right!!!

This is a super yummy appeteeeeezer. Using a thin crust Boboli crust all I added was pesto, mozzerella, sun dried tomatoes and toasted pinenuts!

Amounts of ingredients and place on crust in this order...

1 Boboli thin crust

1/2 c. pesto

1 c. mozzarella shredded

2 oz toasted pinenuts

1/2 sun dried tomatoes sliced in stips

Bake in oven preset to 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes

Super easy, super yummy!!!

Have a great weekend so Ciao for now!

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Phtography Tip #4 ~ White Balance

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:23:00 +0000

Oh dear I seem to be getting later and later with these posts but I do promise to get them up!!!

One thing we talked about in class Wednesday night was white balance. What exactly is white balance?

Digital cameras have the ability to adjust themselves for color temperature (cool and warm) or white balance...pretty smart right? This means that the camera can remove unrealistic color casts and render white object which are white to the eye, white on photographs. The human eye is very good at seeing white in all different types of illumination, but the digital camera, as wonderful as it is, can't do this very well under the automatic setting. Depending on what type of lighting is available, the camera left on the automatic setting, can produce casts of orange, blue and even green on the final picture. Therefore understanding digital camera white balance can help you avoid these colors casts thus producing better photographs under a wider range of lighting conditions.

To illustrate take a look at the photographs below...

As you can see the first photograph has a bit of a yellow or orange cast to it. By setting the white balance on my camera, I produced a picture much closer to what my eye naturally sees. I have a Cannon EOS Rebel T3i so on my camera, in the manual setting, I adjusted the white balance to tungsten light which is basically all indoor lighting. There is a feature on my camera's cross keys where you see the letters WB. While in the manual setting if you hit this button, lighting options will appear on your screen for daylight, cloudy, white fluorescent, tungsten and so on. I chose tungsten and re shot the same photo and you can easily see the difference. This is particularly helpful when I am shooting indoor photos of tablescapes, room redesigns, crafts and so on. This option is also available to me on the priority settings of my camera. (Check your manual to find out where this setting is on your camera.)

Short and sweet today but I think this lesson on white balance is probably the most useful to me. Have a wonderful day and see you next week!

Interior Redesign ~ A Contemporary Living Room

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:05:00 +0000

Yesterday morning I was over at my dear friend Lara's home for an interior redesign. Lara and her hubby bought this gorgeous traditional style home 4 years ago and are now raising their 4 beautiful children there.

When they first moved in Lara went through the process of purchasing new furnishings for the living room, and although very happy with her choices, she just felt that the room's arrangement could look better. So she called on me to come over and help give her room a little makeover.

This is what the living room looked like before...

The room is a good size but it was feeling a bit sparse. Now Lara herself loves the cleaner lines and minimalist look of the contemporary style, and there is simply no denying her passion for bold color. But the red sofa under the red artwork was too much red to all be on one side of the room. So we pulled her sofa off of the wall and placed it facing the fireplace.

Although we loved the look, Lara was a bit concerned that the sofa would be too obstructive to the entry of the room from the foyer, so we took this arrangement and turned it 90 degrees.

Now the sofa is on the opposite side of the room from the wall with the red artwork thus more evenly distributing the red color in the room. This arrangemnet also leads the eye right to the room's focal point...the fireplace.

In the effort to break up the large wall to the left of the fireplace, we moved the small cabinet and lamp from behind the sofa to the wall. We then lowered the picture hanging above the fireplace and placed 3 metal bowls we found in Lara's kitchen cupboard, on the mantel.

We also brought in a leather topped bench from the master bedroom to help anchor the red artwork. This way the artwork doesn't feel as if it is just floating on the wall.

Lara pulled out of her closet this beautifully hand-crafted Armenian backgammon set, so we placed it under the bench seat to add a little interest!

We moved the target-like artwork to behind the sofa to add color to this wall.

Lara had brought in this step ladder when we went to lower the painting over the fireplace...and then I had an idea...

We placed it in the corner of the room on an angle and then stacked three more silver bowls to mimic the arrangement on the mantel.

Now Lara has a beautifully arranged living room which is color balanced and expressive as well as very functional, plus we had a blast working on it! Lara said that she couldn't believe we were able to give this room a whole new look just by using items she already had in the house!

So I hope you are enjoying your new living room Lara...it is a real beauty!!

Love...

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Happy St. Valentine's Day and my 31 Gifts Tote Bag Giveaway Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:21:00 +0000

Good morning everyone and Happy St. Valentines' Day to you all!!

I am so excited today to announce the winner of my very first giveaway and it is Teresa Boyd of the blog Teresa Boyd!

Congratulations Teresa!

The winner was selected by using Random Number Genearator

Thank you to all who took the time to enter!!! And a big shout out to Becky over at 31 Gift's for sponsering this givewawy!!!

Enjoy a wonderful February the 14th!

Pairing Wine with Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:37:00 +0000

Mmmmmm...Wine and Chocolate!

If you are a chocolate lover like I am all I can say is that these two together is like heaven on your tongue! And did you know that red wine with a semi-sweet or dark chocolate is very heart smart? Perfect for the the holiday which is all about love and symbolized by the image of the heart! Well here's a little info how to go about getting the most out of both your chocolate and your wine. In pairing these two together there are three rules to follow in order to set you on the right track!

1. The wine you select must be inherently sweeter than the chocolate you are pairing it with.

2. The wine must be big enough to cut through the chocolate's richnes

3. Both wine and Chocolate must have similar flavors.

Now that you have the three basic rules, let me give you a few ideas of what pairings work best.

White Chocolate

Pairs well with a sec or demi-sec (sweet and moderately sweet)champagnes and with Rieslings

Milk Chocolate

Pairs well with a sweet Tawny Port or the right Pinot Noir

Semi-sweet Chocolate (50%-70% cocoa)

Pairs with a Cabernet, Bordeaux or a Ruby Port

Dark Chocolate (71%-100% cocoa)

Pairs with Zinfandel, Shiraz or a Grenache

The way you want to enjoy your chocolate and wine combination is to first take a sip of your wine and coat your mouth. Then a bite of the chocolate followed by another sip of wine! But do this process slowly so you get the full enjoyment from the flavors melting together.

Heading off to grab a glass of wine and some smooth yummy chocolate...what a perfect St. Valentine"s Day treat.

Have a wonderful evening!

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The Invisible Mother ~ A Must Read for Every Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:04:00 +0000

A friend sent me this story the other day and I have to say that I've found a lot of truth in it. Sometimes I do feel very invisible when it comes to my kids. I can’t tell you how many times I have said to Grace and Michael that “I am NOT the maid around here!” and feeling as if it was just falling on deaf ears. They’ll toss a dish in the sink and leave it for me to rinse and put in the dishwasher. Or they will disrobe and leave their clothes where ever they are standing because mom will pick it up. “What’s for dinner?” will be asked and after my reply I may get a “No thank you.” It was only 10 short years ago that I was in college studying for my nursing degree and working full time in a job that not only made me feel useful but I collected a paycheck at the end of each week. Now at times I have felt very invisible with regards to my children, like I'm simply a service of which can be continually called upon 24/7 with not even so much as a “thank you” being said.

But after reading this story I looked at things with much different eyes. So thank you to my friend for sharing this with me…your timing was simply perfect!!
____________________________________________________________

The Invisible Mother

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, ‘Can’t you see I’m on the phone?’

Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??

Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, ‘What time is it?’ I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel?’ I’m a car to order, ‘Right around 5:30, please.’

Some days I’m a crystal ball; ‘Where’s my other sock? Where’s my phone?, What’s for dinner?’

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She’s going, she’s going, and she’s gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, ‘I brought you this.’ It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription: ‘With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.’

In the days ahead I would read – no, devour – the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals – we have no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, ‘Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was Almost as if I heard God whispering to me, ‘I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.
No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, ‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.’ That would mean I’d built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he’d say, ‘You’re gonna love it there…’

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

From one mommy to another...

The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.

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St. Valentine's Day Tablescape and Vignette

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:11:00 +0000

All ready for a St. Valentine's Day Feast...

To learn how to make this darling ribbon cupcake click here...

And remember all the little Valentine's Day crafts I did??

Enjoy a Wonderful St. Valentine's Day!!!

Love,

This post was featured at...

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Only 2 Days Left to Enter!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:51:00 +0000

Hurry...Don't Miss Your Chance!!!

There are only two days left to enter my tote bag giveaway from 31 Gifts as it will be ending this Monday night at midnight.

All you need to do is click here to be taken to the link for the giveaway and just follow the simple rules to enter. This tote bag is a $25 value and the winner will have 3 beautiful patterns to choose from!

So if you haven't entered do it now ,or if you want extra chances to win follow the link!

The winner will be announced on Tuesday February 14th!

Good luck!

Darling Ribbon Cupcake...

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:55:00 +0000

St. Valentine's day is almost here and I have to say that despite my proclamation of not being a crafty person...I do have to admit that I had a lot of fun making the few V-day crafts you've all seen posted here at 21 Rosemary Lane.

So I have one more craft to show you and then I am hanging up my crafting hat for awhile. I have a garage full of projects that I've been putting off doing because of the "cold weather". Plus I also have some inside painting on my "To Do" list that needs to be tackled

Just to fill you in on how the idea came about for this little cupcake craft, I actually found it in all places, a crafting magazine. I had purchased the magazine and then some how managed to misplace it. ( Story of my life...) I bought the magazine specifically to make this pretty little cupcake, so when I realized that it was M.I.A. I had to approach it from complete memory.

What I used to make this cupcake was...

2 1/2 inch Styrofoam ball

Grosgrain ribbon 5/8 width

White rick rack

Chiffon Ruffle ribbon

2 paper baking cups, not separated

Long pearl top pins

White top sewing pins

Some small white buttons

And finally I made a circle out of card stock the diameter of the bottom of my baking cup

And a littl' bit o' love!!

I began by taking two pieces of the grosgrain ribbon about 6 inches in length, and wrapping them around the Styrofoam ball so that they criss-crossed and left 4 equal quarters of white Styrofoam exposed. I secured each piece of ribbon with a pin.

Then I cut about 8 three inch long pieces of the grosgrain and slightly overlapping, I covered the rest of the Styrofoam securing each end of the pieces of ribbon with a pin. Then taking 2 three inch pieces of the rick-rack, I again crisscrossed them at the tip of the ball and secured them with a pin on each end.

Next I placed the card stock circle in the baking cup and carefully pinned the cup to the ball. (I used white pins since the baking cup is mostly white.) Once the two were pinned together I took the chiffon ribbon and twisted and pinned it it as I wrapped it around the ball right at the top of the baking cup. Finally I took 4 two inch long pieces of the grosgrain ribbon and folded each one in half lengthwise as I was working with it. I folded down a tiny portion at one end of the ribbon and pushed one pearl top pin through the fold. Then in accordion fashion, I folded the rest of the ribbon on to the pin and pushed into the top of the ball.

I repeated this process with the other 3 pieces of ribbon. Then I added the buttons using both white top pins and the pearl top pins and was done!

I know this tutorial is a bit more involved than any before, but to be honest, I had to play with the grosgrain ribbon for a while before I got it to look the way I wanted. But hey I didn't have the book so it was a bit of trial and error on my part.

Overall I think my little ribbon cupcake came out just darling!

Have a wonderfuilly creative week!

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Photography Tip Thursday #3 ~ Depth of Field

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:51:00 +0000

Hi everyone and welcome back to my Photography Tip Thursday. I know I'm getting this out late but believe me when I say it was busy today at 21 Rosemary Lane. Now here we are so lets get down to this week's lesson.

As you may remember last week we talked about the three exposure modes photography that determine your photographs final outcome. They are...

ISO

Aperture

Shutter Speed

I also discussed a little bit about something called depth of field. Simply stated depth of field is the area of the photograph, front to back, which is in focus. For example last week I used a picture of fruit to demonstrate the meaning of depth of field.

There is deep depth of field which will look like this...

Every part of the photograph is in focus, both the apple and the fruit lying behind it.

A photograph with shallow depth of field will look like this...

The apple is in perfect focus while the grapes and lemon look fuzzy in the background.

There are 3 factors which will affect the depth of field in your photographs and they are...

1. The size of the aperture or the setting of the f-stop

2. The distance from the camera to the subject

3. The focal length of the lens

So let me talk about focal length of the lens or we can say short (wide angle lens) versus long (zoom or telephoto lens). How does length focal lens affect your pictures? Well when using a short lens you will take in more or the scene you are shooting and the smaller it will make each object in the picture. Conversely when you use a long lens you will see less of the surrounding elements and the main object you are shooting will seem closer. My text book had a great way to clarify the difference between the two types of lenses. Take your forefinger and your thumb and create a circle with them. Hold your fingers close to your eye, or lens. You could probably view most of your surroundings with your fingers close to your eye. Pick out an object to focus on with your fingers still close to your eye...now slowly move your fingers away from you and what happens...the surrounding aspects of the scene begin to move to the outside of the circle, and the object you have focused on begins to look larger in size. This is exactly what happens when you change from a short to long lens.

Now that you have this concept the next question is how does lens length affect depth of field? When using a short lens to shoot an object you are capturing more of the scene and with more scene in the photo you have a better idea of the distance between objects in the foreground verses objects in the background. Let me see if I can give you an illustration.

There's our doggy Buster lying on the couch where he is so not suppose to be, but for the sake of this tutorial I will let it go. We can see the plant the the coffee table in front of Buster, this is a deep depth of field. In this field you can get a pretty good idea of the distance between Buster and the plant, but look at what happens to that relationship when I zoom in on the plant...

As you can see it is actually difficult to tell how far apart the dog and the plant are because the depth of field has been made shallow by using a longer lens.

Here is the exercise we did in class to demonstrate depth of view. Trying to keep the roll of paper towels fairly close in size in each picture, we shot the photo on the left close and using our wide angle focus. Then we were asked to back up and zoom in on the paper towels. You can see as we lengthened our focus the depth perception of how close the paper towels are to the door behind it has changed. The paper towels in the photo on the right actually looks closer to the door.

The next factor affecting depth of field is the proximity of the camera to the subject. The closer the camera is to the subject the larger the subject will appear in comparison to the objects in the background. This creates a bit of distortion but also can be used as a creative tool.

Below a photo of a baby's foot. Notice the size of the foot in comparison to the rest of the baby's leg. Also the background is a bit blurred out. This short lens created a shallow depth of field due to its proximity to the main subject.

The third way of controlling depth of field is aperture or F-stop setting.The smaller you go with your F-stop setting say from f2 - f16 the greater is your depth of field. So as the aperture becomes smaller less light is allowed in and the sharper the image will be. Let's go back again to my fruit pictures. The first shot below has a an aperture setting which is large say f-2.8 (remember the size of the opening of the aperture has an inverse relationship with the f-stop number.) thus creating a shallow depth of field.

This next photo has a tight or small aperture setting thus creating a deep depth of field with all components of the picture in focus.

Remember what I said last week was that the only way to really wrap your brain around depth of field is to get out there with your camera and start experimenting. And that is exactly half of what my first photography assignment is! I need to produce two photos showing a change in depth of field. I need also to consider the 7 C's of creative image making which was covered in lesson one of this series. So you may want to give it a whirl yourself. Play with the aperture setting, focal length and proximity to subject so to get a working handle on these concepts. Practice practice practice!

And have a great week!!!

Linking up to these parties this week...

Being Featured Today!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:37:00 +0000

Today over at

One of my favorite and most popular projects of 21 Rosemary Lane is being highlighted in the Reader's Space over at DIY Home Sweet Home. I wrote Jamie the other day and sent her my post on the watermelon pink vanity I painted for my daughter Grace's room and today she has it posted. Jamie has this wonderful feature as part of her blog where she shares what other bloggers are doing. All you need to to is hop on over to DIY Home Sweet Home and click "Get Featured" on her navigation bar. Then just fill out the information and send it off to Jamie! It's very easy...heck even I was able to do it!!

Thank you so much Jamie for featuring that $5 watermelon vanity...I swear it was the best dang $5 ever spent!!!

Have a great day everyone!!!

Guest Post ~ Going Green in Real Estate Staging and Diy Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:31:00 +0000

Good morning and I hope that your week is winding down nicely. Today I have another guest post from Chris Coleman of Signature Furniture Rental in San Diego California, one of my favorite cities! As you may or may not know, I have done some interior redesign and real estate staging in the past, as a result I was contacted by Chris about doing this special guest post. I think it has some real super ideas and definite thoughts about how to make your home as green as possible for prospective buyers.

I know I will be trying at 2 or 3 of the green DIY projects Chris talks about in my home. So grab a cup of joe, find a comfy chair, and enjoy the read!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the biggest reasons people take advantage of the benefits of rental furniture these days is for home staging purposes. We are often asked by home sellers for our tips on home staging and what they can do to entice buyers more than the usual furniture configurations and room decorations. There are several things to keep in mind when staging a home for sale like minimizing the clutter, making sure it is sparkling clean, and removing all personal objects; but what about those prospective home buyers that are looking for something more? One of the major trends we're seeing these days is the desire for a "green" home that already demonstrates to future home owners how they could use their new house to save money and be eco-friendly. Follow these green home staging tips and check out our easy do-it-yourself projects to impress prospective buyers.

Green Home Staging Tips Document All Environmentally Friendly Changes

If any green modifications have been made to the home, it is important that prospective buyers know of the savings and the long-term benefits they will reap. Conduct an energy audit pointing out the green changes and upgrades. Be sure to include changes like caulking, insulation, and lighting, and make a special note of any Energy Star appliances or HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, & Air Conditioning) system improvements that have been made to the home, like filtration systems. Highlight The Home’s Green Features Detail the home’s green aspects by displaying them on a drawn out floor plan. Include CFL’s (compact fluorescent lamps), solar panels, energy efficient appliances, water filtration systems, and flooring and other building materials made out of natural materials in your floor plan.

Display A Commitment To Sustainability

Make sure cleaning supplies in cupboards are non-toxic, recycling bins are visible, and plants outside the home don’t require excessive watering. Compost bins outside the home are also a great way to show the home is eco-friendly. Also make sure there are no chemical-riddled products, like Miracle Gro or harsh pesticides, visible in the garage or shed.

DIY Green Projects to Impress Assorted Glass Centerpiece

Group together an assortment of glass bottles and jars on a tray and fill them with flowers and leaves for this simple table centerpiece. You can collect bottles from home including perfume bottles and jelly jars or buy some from the thrift store for super cheap. The more variation in size and shape, the better! You will be surprised at how easy and how elegant this is!

Sweater Reupholstering

If you are considering reupholstering your dining room chairs, you may not need to look any further than the back of your closet. Simply cut an old sweater apart, trimming off the neck hole and sleeves, which will leave you with two large squares. (One sweater should cover 2 chairs.) Remove your seat cushions, which are usually unscrewed from the bottom, and cover the cushions with your sweater fabric. To secure the fabric, you can use small tacks or a staple gun. Voila! Brand new chairs on the cheap!

Cork Trivet

Don’t just toss those corks after opening a bottle of wine! Start holding on to your corks so you can create your very own cork trivets to protect your table tops from hot pots and pans. You will need to collect about 50 corks of the same size and arrange them into a circle. Use a metal hose clamp (8-10 inch clamps are best and you can find them in the plumbing section of a hardware store) to surround the corks and hold them together. Then tighten the clamp to bind them all together and trim the excess clamp with metal clippers. We promise you will enjoy the prep work for this project!

Plastic Bag Dryer

This one I am sure we are all guilty of: throwing away zip-lock and sandwich baggies after only one use. Did you know they can be washed and re-used several times? For the perfect plastic baggie recycler, you will need an old toothbrush holder and some chopsticks. Simply place the chopsticks in the holes of the toothbrush holder and then place washed plastic baggies upside-down on the chopsticks to air dry. Recycling at its finest!

Carpet Coasters

Did you know that carpet accounts for about 1.75 million tons of waste per year in the U.S.? We’re not telling you not to install new carpet in your home, but if you do, save any leftover pieces to make some awesome fuzzy coasters! Simply cut out squares of carpet and trim away any fraying parts. And if you stain them? You can wash the coasters in the sink with soap and water. These coasters will protect your furniture from water damage and cut down on waste at the same time, which is pretty awesome!

Natural Aromatherapy

Coughing? Stuffed Up? Sore throat? If you have been guzzling nasty cough syrup like it’s water, try a more natural remedy instead: hang a bunch of eucalyptus from your shower curtain rod. The heat and steam from a hot shower will activate the essential oils of the eucalyptus, which can help with congestion. You can buy fresh eucalyptus at craft stores and flower shops. “Breathe deep, seek peace.”

Images and Tips: Al, ToolBarn, WholeLiving Bio: Chris Coleman is the community manager at Signature Furniture Rental, a San Diego rental furniture company that has been in business since 2002. Signature specializes in residential and office furniture for a broad range of clients in home staging and temporary housing.

The Versatile Blogger Award

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:52:00 +0000

Today Dolly from the blog Cooking with Dolly so graciously bestowed on me the coveted Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you so much Dolly for this award, it really means so much coming from a fellow blogger!

To me this award is a nice way to say that another blogger's, most likely in the same genre, that your work has been recognized. Hey and I am here to share no new insight on the fact that having a blog, maintaining it, being interactive on it, linking to party after party to get your blog some exposure, is a whole lota work! But I must say work well worth the effort! So thank you again Dolly for the award..it means so much to me coming from such a creative person like you.

Now without further ado let tell you about the required rules for being an honored recipient!

1. Add the award to your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.
3. Mention seven random things about yourself. (see below)
4. List the rules.
5. Award to 15 bloggers.
6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here we go...the 7 random facts about moi!!

1. I simply adore old movies.

2. I ran the New York City marathon this past November on the day before my 50th birthday.

3.I have the absolute best husband in the world.

4. I have met actresses Ann Jillian and Valerie Bertonelli

5. Someday I would like to publish a book.

6. One of my secret passions is dancing

And the 7th random fact about myself...

I still want Marcia Brady's Hair!!!

OK...now I am on to the awards part of this post and so without any further anticipation and in no particular order, the Versatile Blogger Award is going to

The Shady Porch

Beyond the Portico

ddzine

A Lapin Life

My Trash to Treasure

The DIY Dreamer

The Taylor House

Room 363

The Essence Of Home

Be Colorful

Alderberry Hill
Maxwell House Interiors

Under Pile of Scrap

It's Overflowing

Teresa D. Boyd

So there it is...these are some of my favorite bloggers! Please check out their wonderful blogs...you will be amazed at the talent!! Congratulations to all awardees!!!

And please click here and make sure you check out the wonderful giveaway I have going on right now! Really simple rules and you can win this fabulous tote from 31 Gifts!

Good Luck and have a terrifically inspired day!!!

Beautiful Paper Wreath

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:21:00 +0000

I fell in love with the idea of creating a paper wreath, which really doesn't look like paper at all, when I found this wreath by Lisa over at The Red Thread blog. She made a gorgeous Christmas wreath but I decided to adapt it to a St.Valentine's theme. This is probably one of the most inexpensive wreaths anyone has ever made!

There is really not a lot to it...all you need is a little patience and a kid or two to help out. The back of my wreath is nothing more than corrugated cardboard from one of the popcorn boxes left over from boy scouts, but you can use any type of cardboard. The leaves are simply wrapping paper. The only other items you will need are...

Pencil
Scissors
Two bowls that are approximately 13 inches and 9 inches in diameter for this size wreath.
Card stock paper to create template for your leaves
Stapler
Some ribbon
A lot of patience, but it is worth it.

First, trace both your bowls...one inside of the other and then cut out your wreath. Using the above dimensions my wreath ended up 15 inches in diameter with each leaf being approximately 3 inches long. Create your leaf template on the card stock paper and cut it out. Then start cutting out the leaves for your wreath. For my wreath I cut about 70 leaves total.

Take your leaf and with the print side facing towards you, fold the bottom of the leaf so that the paper curls up. (I followed Lisa's idea of cutting off the base part of my leaf to form a straight line...it's much easier to fold in this way)

Holding the end of the leaf together, staple it to your cardboard. Repeat until the entire cardboard is covered. I threw in a second paper in a silver to add interest but you can add a third or forth print...or do the whole wreath in one print. But don't limit yourself to just wrapping paper, you could use crafting paper, scrapping paper, even newspaper to create your wreath.

Once you are all done stapeling the leaves onto the cardboard, take your ribbon and make a loop, something like a slip knot, and staple it to the cardboard. The wreath is light enough that it can be easily attached to whatever surface with regular tape. Here I used scotch tape to tape the ribbon down.

I think it came out right pretty adding the perfect touch to my St. Valentine's vignette below!

And as a special St. Valentine's Day treat...make sure you check out my awesome giveaway going on right now! It is an incredible tote bag from 31 Gifts and the rules to enter are super simple. To see details click here. The winner will be announced on Tuesday February 14th!

Happy St. Valentine's Day!!!

Love...

Linking to the following fabu parties...

$25 Tote Bag Giveaway from 31 Gifts and A New Way to Follow 21 Rosemary Lane

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Good morning everyone and happy Monday!!!
I am so excited to be doing my very first giveaway...yeah! My dear friend Becky over at 31 Gifts is sponsoring this giveaway for my readers and she is offering a fabulous utility tote.

Take a look at this beauty...

Print: Black Parisian Pop

The tote's dimensions are

10.25 " H

15.5 " W

6.5 " D

and it is made of a durable laminate nylon with a webbed handle and seven inside pockets, two of which are mesh, to store all of your little goodies. I know it's a wee bit early but can I please say "perfect" for the beach!

And if you are not gaga over the print of the tote in the above picture it will be available to the winner in these two additional prints...

Paparazzi Dot

Harvest Floral

As many of you may already be aware...Google Friends Connect is being discontinued as of March 1st for all platforms except Blogger, however there is strong rumor that GCF will go away in the not too disatant future for Blogger too. So I signed up to "Linky Followers", created by the man behind Linky Tools that many of you fellow bloggers use for your weekly link parties. Linky Followers is free and you don't have to have a blog to be a follower. Just click here to check out the Linky Followers site.

So with all that being said, let's get on with the giveaway!

How to Enter My Giveaway

Just take these two simple steps...c'est tres facile!!

1. Sign up as a Google and or Linky follower of 21 Rosemary Lane and leave a comment on this post letting me know you are now following.

2. If you're already a Google Friends Connect follower of 21 Rosemary Lane, leave me a comment. If you sign up as a Linky Follower leave a comment too. (And then I will know to follow you back using the new Linky format)

For an extra chance to win email Becky at 31 Gifts telling her what you like about the tote bag Click here for the link.

And that's it!!!

Oh yeah...and if you'd like yet one more chance to win, you can "Like" 21 Rosemary Lane on Facebook and leave a comment on this post!

(I am so sorry to all of you outside of the U.S but this giveaway is limited to those living in the United States and are over 18 years of age.)

My giveaway starts today February 6th and will close on Sunday February 13th. The winner will be announced on St. Valentine's Day, Tuesday February 14th!

Good luck to all who enter!!!

As an added note...remember to keep this 31 Gifts customer special in mind for the month of February!!!

Linking up with the following...

"Altered Art" Picture Frames

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:13:00 +0000

Have you ever heard of Altered Art? I never had until I walked into this sweet little boutique in downtown Clinton last month and found that they were going to be offering classes in "Altered Art".

From what I have gathered from the Internet, Altered Art seems to be a by product of the ever so popular scrap booking or scrapping craze. Supposedly this form of art extends all the way back to the middle ages and was extremely popular during the Victorian years for obvious reasons. Two of the most well-known Altered Art artists are Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol.

So what exactly is "Altered Art"? By definition it is different pieces of art combined together to create one totally new piece of art. However today most people would understand this expression to mean the alteration of ordinary, everyday objects into artistic pieces using, for example, rubber stamps, fabric, paper, paint and so on.

Although I never took the class the boutique was offering, I decided to give it a whirl on some inexpensive picture frames purchased from Walmart.

To begin I covered two of them with printed paper and one with plain old pink tissue. I then used ribbon, rick-rack, felt buttons and some other sweet items I found in the scrap booking section of the store to decorate my frames. And applied loads of Mod Podge!!! I chose the pink and floral printed paper so to keep with the St. Valentine's Day theme, but you can make it look anyway you want. If you'd prefer more of a contemporary look you could choose solid or geometrical printed paper.

The basics of what you will need...

This technique takes a little practice but once I have it down I think the possibilities are positively endless!

That's me with Gracie 4 years ago !!!

This is such a wonderful way to express your creative side, and it's a great project for kids to do. Depending on ages you may want to first apply the paper or fabric covering, and then let the kiddies go wild decorating them!

This post is linked to the following parties...

Photography Tip Thursday #2

noreply@blogger.com (Barbara) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:20:00 +0000

Overwhelmed by Post Processing? Check out our Guide to Post Processing The HelloBar - a little bar that gets noticed!Close

Open

Hi Everyone...
and welcome to my second Photography Tip Thursday. Today I will be talking about digital camera basics.

First off you need to know the following...

Make sure you have the proper memory card for your camera. You can check your camera's manual for compatible memory cards. Also know where the card slips into your camera and how to put in and remove the card properly. Make sure your camera is off when you put in and remove the card as static from an "on" camera can damage your card. Store your card in a memory card case to protect it from damage.

Also make sure you have a freshly charged battery for your camera. Digital cameras will not work without a battery. Also know where the symbol is on your camera so you know how much charge is still left in the battery. (Check your camera's manual) Nothing is more frustrating than to loose power during the middle of your shoot.

Now your digital camera has three basic functions...

1. View Finder

2. Focus

3. Exposure modes

The View Finder

Most digital camera's these days have LCD screens and people have a tendency to use them as view finders. While this is good for framing shots and allowing more creativity when taking your photos...you must also remember that they are battery killers. So if you choose to use the LCD screen use it wisely.

Instead you can use the SLR (single lens reflux) or the traditional way of viewing your photo's subject. Although is is not a convenient as the LCD screen, you can take all the time you need in lining up you shots.

The Focus

You have the choice here to use an automatic focus or manual focus. Find the setting on your camera which allows you to switch back and forth from a manual setting to automatic. When you are in manual you need to use the focus ring located at the farthest part of your lens. Focusing a shot using your own eye is the best guarantee of a picture which is in focus.

The 3 Exposure Modes

Remember the old film cameras? Remember having to select the film with the proper speed for what you were shooting? Well you still need to do this when you are using a manual setting on your digital camera. This is called the ISO (International Standards Organization) and this determines how sensitive the image sensor is to light. Typical settings for the ISO are 100, 200,400 and 800. My camera is a Cannon Eos Rebel T3i and has the additional ISO settings of 1600, 3200 and 6400. The general rule of how the ISO settings work is the same as when we had to choose film speed back in the olden days. The lower the number the less sensitivity to light...the higher the number the more sensitivity. For example you can use an ISO of 100 or 200 when you are shooting outside on a bright sunny day. An ISO of 400 or 800 is what you need to use in a cloudy day or in the evening time. At night time you should use an ISO of 1600. Image quality is better with a lower ISO so try to choose the lower setting whenever possible.

The next mode is aperture. Simply stated it is the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken. When you press the shutter release button of your camera, a hole opens up allowing your camera's image sensor to catch a glimpse of the scene you’re wanting to capture. The aperture regulates the amount of light which reaches the lens. The larger the hole the more light that gets in – the smaller the hole the less light. Aperture settings are measured in F-stops. The tough thing to keep in mind is here is that there is an inverse relationship of the size of the opening to the number of the F-stop. So an F-stop of 2 is the largest possible opening and a F-stop of 22 is the smallest opening. As far as composition regarding F-stops...using the smaller aperture will result in a good or sharp depth of field. (Depth of field is how much of your photo will be in focus). If you are shooting a landscape, you may want the whole picture to be clear and sharp so you would use a smaller aperture. Using a larger aperture will create a shallow depth of field. Sometimes you want to blur out the background to emphasize your subject. in this case you would use a larger aperture. The best way to wrap your brain around aperture is to get your camera out and do some experimenting. Find a spot where you’ve got items close to you as well as far away and take a series of shots with different aperture settings from the smallest setting to the largest.

Shallow depth of field

Good or sharp depth of field.

Shutter speed is the last mode I will talk about today. Basically it it the amount of time a shutter is open. When considering what shutter speed to use, you will need to think if there is any motion involved in the image you are trying to capture. If your subject is moving then you will need to decide if you want to freeze the movement or if you want to allow some blurring to occur. Shutter speed is measured in a second or fractions there of. The larger the denominator the faster the shutter speed.

1/1000 s

1/500 s

1/250 s

1/125 s

1/60 s

1/30 s

1/15 s

1/8 s

1/4 s

1/2 s

1 s

So if you want to freeze the movement like in the photo of the surfer below, then you will need a faster shutter speed.

photo by konaboy

If you want the motion to be blurred you will need to use a slower shutter speed. When using a setting slower than 1/60th of a second to blur the movement, you will need to use a tripod.

photo by flamed

Most importantly, changing any one of the exposure modes will impact the other two. This means that you always need to have the the 2nd and 3rd modes in the back of your mind.

Now go out and play with your cameras. That is actually my homework assignment for this week. The more you play with exposure settings the more comfortable you will become working with your camera.

Have a great week!

This post is linked to the following parties...