Help!

I know I haven’t posted over here in awhile, I haven’t been creating anything other than photography lately. And I am so happy that I am up to 100 followers now too. That is why I am posting this at both blogs.

I am seeking advice, help, ideas, suggestions. Whatever you want to call it.

I want to start a website. I have a cool name for it all picked out. I sort of know what I want to do with it. I want to be able to attach my blog to it as one of my menu links.

I don’t want to pay the $12 a month that Squarespace charges even though I like the set-up they have.

I like how Karen has her’s set up so that you click on Project and can see all her different projects at Chookooloonks. I love how Mighty posted her life list and under it she shares how she accomplishes her list at Mighty Girl.

Those being things I want to be able to navigate in my website, it is very important for me for it to be clean and crisp. I also don’t want to spend a lot on it as right now it is just me and no sponsors or anything yet. Without giving away my idea, it is all about happiness and serendipity.

I tried using pages on Blogger once upon a time and had a really hard time adding to the extra pages and it still looking clean.

So, this is where you all reading this come in. I am up for any, all and bits of any suggestions and advice. Thank you. =)

My New Companion

Since I decided to start taking my camera everywhere with me, I had bought a bigger purse to carry it in. This was really starting to weigh on me though. I have been searching on Etsy for the bag I wanted. I found this

but it comes with a $85 price tag. I am still paying off the camera, I can’t afford that bag.

I was so happy when Cindy at Cameras and Chaos shared her new project yesterday.

I went to Kohl’s today (I wanted to go to TJ Maxx but it is on the other side of town). I didn’t want a purse as tall as Cindy’s because I only wanted to be able to put my camera, with lens attached, in it and have a little pocket for maybe wallet when out shopping. I mean to take it everywhere (except work). I left with this purse for only $31.65 (and $10 Kohl’s cash)

I picked up a piece of padding for $3 and material on sale for $5 (I ended up only needing a half of yard). As I have mentioned before, I can’t sew well. So I cut out my three pieces of padding and covered them each separately, using FabricTac to seal it all up. I then used small pieces of Velcro to attach the three pieces. I love it. I didn’t even take the purse in with me to buy the fabric.

Thank you Cindy for the great idea.

Moving to Wordpress

At least my new photography self. I moved all my photo posts over there but since they are here they will stay here too.
It is a lot harder to edit your blog there than here. I went through themes like no other trying to find one that left the pictures the right size and didn't cut into the sidebar. I have played around with the fonts, also not done like Blogger. I think it looks crisp and clean, let me know: http://lilisview.wordpress.com/

Shutter Love Tuesday with Trendy Treehouse

I tell you, I am seriously loving me some photo challenges. Another new one to me is and the theme this week is Cookies. I decided to make a trip to the mall and look in the luggage store for a camera bag that would actually hold my camera with lens attached. And while I was there I was going to take some pictures at the Tollhouse kiosk. I sadly learned, neither are there anymore. On the way home I stopped in Smiths and while deciding if I wanted to take pictures in the bakery aisle, I watched this lady cough all over everything so I decided to pick up some cookie and go. (Doesn’t hurt to have good cookies either.)

Handwriting Challenge

Did you know that Kevin and Amanda create fonts out of your handwriting? Just a thought as I have come across the handwriting challenge over at Vintage Wanna Bee. Here is my handwriting results (it has changed a lot over the years but the simplicity of it has stayed the same):

 

I boobooed on Cranberries but you get the gist. Join along over at .

iHeart Faces: Best Face of February

I know this is my second post today, but since I wasn’t following the rules on iHeart Faces before I want to make sure I only post 1 picture for the challenge. I have become a photo challenge maniac. It helps me take pictures and think outside the box. My 365 Days of Photos project also helps but some days I don’t get outside and have to find something inside to take a picture.
Here is my best face of February (it was hard to choose, but I wanted one I hadn’t posted before and this one jumped out at me). I also love how he is reflected in the water pooling under him:

(tho the button is not showing, clicking on it will still take you there)

Monday Rewind with Chic Homeschool Mama

Yesterday I entered a new photo challenge by Ashley Sisk, Scavenger Hunt Sunday. In the process I found some new photography blogs. One of which is Chic Homeschool Mama. Gina hosts a Monday Rewind party where you can post your favorite pictures of the past week that you didn’t enter in any challenges. Ooh, yea. I like that one.

Here are my other faves from last week:

There is this road going through the west side of Albuquerque that is one of the original streets. There are old, Spanish style houses, really big houses, grand estates, you can find almost any style house. Pastures. Livestock. Maybe even a buffalo. I was on the hunt for this house that has a giant lizard worked into the stucco. I drove past this sign and made a metal note to stop on my way back. As I got back in the car to drive off, I realized this sign was outside the house with the giant lizard wall. I will go back and take a picture of that another day.

This shot was taken the same day as my fill in the blank sunset picture. This more accurately represents the New Mexico sunsets I was talking about, but there still isn’t as much color as I have seen on a really windy day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shot was taken the same day as my fill in the blank sunset picture. This more accurately represents the New Mexico sunsets I was talking about, but there still isn’t as much color as I have seen on a really windy day.

Same day as above. We were leaving baseball practice and I knew I needed a picture. That is the base of the Sandia Mountains with a view of the sky facing away from the setting sun.

Find a Solution

Most people are more comfortable with old problems than with new solutions. ~~Charles Brower

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I recently found Ramblings and Photos with Ashley Sisk. Every week she hosts  . I thought it would be a good idea to play along, another reason for me to make sure I take pictures. It was fun trying to figure out what to do for each item.

1. Diptych

I was out driving the other day, looking for pictures to take for the black and white challenge and when I saw this pink barn, I just had to stop on the way back to take its picture. There is a sheep in the corner that I wish I had gotten a better view of.

 

2. Book

Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books, but it wasn’t the book that I was after but the fanning out of the book.

 

3. When I think about how ___________ is in the ____________, I just have to _____________.

When I think about how sunset is in the area, I just have to take out my camera and take a picture. The times I have moved away from New Mexico I have really missed the sunsets. Because we have so much dust in the air a lot of the time, we have some amazing sunsets. This doesn’t even begin to cover it.

 

 

4. A taste of Italy

A (Roman) Catholic church

 

5. Reminders

Once upon a time I was a flight attendant for an airline that did 90% of the Air Mobility Corp flights. Because of this I was able to fly all over the world. My first international trip was to Ireland. I picked up this set of candle holders for my mom. At some point she broke one so I picked her up another set. (Instead of giving me the extra one, she threw it away.) Every time I see these candle holders I am reminded of my first trip to Ireland and that I had to pick up my mom another set.

My theme and title and direction

Sometimes I wonder if I seem like I have blogging ADD. Or the opposite of OCD. Whichever way you want to look at it, I seem to be all over the place. I read posts on blogs about this all the time. As I have mentioned before, I started out on Word Press with a customer service directed help blog but as I got more into the blogosphere I saw all these great crafty blogs and I wanted to be one of them. I made the switch to Blogger because I liked what I saw from there.

In the 6 or so months I have been blogging, I have changed the look of my blog many times. As I learn new things, I want to try them out. All part of craftiness, I think. I also started out as Lili’s Buzz but when I upgraded the service that domain was not available. I played around with names and one night Purple Paisley Pinwheels just came to me. As I have moved into the world of cameras and photography I keep wondering if Purple Paisley Pinwheels is still right for me. Except for the lone purple pinwheel I used to have in my blog banner, I didn’t have anything to do with pinwheels. Then the other day I looked up pinwheels and it reminded me that they used to be called whirligigs (when I was a kid). I envisioned running around with a whirligig in my hand, it blowing in the wind. And I realized that Purple Paisley Pinwheels is a perfect name for my blog. I am a whirligig of ideas. I have gotten back into the crafting world, even though I have slowed down a lot since the Christmas craft fair bust. I got a new camera and am getting into the world of photography, I love all the challenges I keep finding to help me go take pictures. I also love to share all the great blogging tips and tricks I find useful. I am getting into the scene of transformations, restoring, repurposing, whatever you want to call it and want to share that. So Purple Paisley Pinwheels is here to stay.

On that note, I would love to have a “seal” to put on my pictures instead of the text I have been adding. Anyone know how to make one? Or know anyone that will make me one that isn’t too expensive? Take a look at Manic Mother Photography, she uses one.

On another note, I was thinking about incorporating a new series, of interviews. To start a new business you need to do a business plan, with a good market analysis. What better way to begin this process than by doing interviews with those that I have found that sell their repurposed goods, or are amateur photographers or just plan crafty? What do you all think?

Black and White

I went out today to look for some great pictures to turn into black and white. I found some awesome shots. I was taking them from my car and didn’t realize they weren’t coming out. I was shooting in Manual mode and everything was coming out too bright, too white. Bummer. But I have a few to share. I was able to salvage a bell from the bell tower in one of the photos that didn’t turn out. There is this gorgeous winery in Albuquerque that I wanted pictures of. But I got nervous about walking around since no one was outside. Not sure if it was allowed.

Just some house I drove by

The underside of my parents porch roof (the top is tiled)

Just another building I drove by

Outside Kohl’s

I Heart Faces weekly challenge

Ha, apparently I don’t read directions well. I had read I heart faces’ directions as to not enter more than one post. But I was only supposed to have one picture in the post. So even if it was something I posted before, I need to make sure I post that picture again by itself. (Sometimes it is nice to have the excuse that I am blonde.) =)

This week the challenge is hands, feet, anything other than the face.

Success

Sometimes success is better measured in smiles received, giggles heard, and hands held, than in dollars earned, deadlines met, and kilos shed. ~~Mike Dooley, Inspirational Author, Speaker and Friend

Fix it Friday

editing fun #88

Before:

I got into Picasa and then Picnik. I played around in Matte, not sure exactly what I did because I kept changing the color and the fade. I went into Blemish Control and removed the bug bite on her arm and then I went into Focal Point and clicked on the flower in her hair:

After:

My Cry for HELP!

The other day I cried HELP! Tonja tried to help me. Thank you. I went into my HTML codes and tried shrinking my header size and that still didn’t help.

Our Page Elements should look like this:

I borrowed this from Clover Lane when I was trying to follow her making a header in Picasa tutorial. She has awesome headers/banners. Though it is a little blurry, see how you can click on Edit on the Clover Lane (Header) (where I placed the red arrow)?

Mine doesn’t look like that. Most of it does but the (Header) box is cut off on the left side. I wanted to capture the screen to show you but I don’t know how to do that.

LOL, as I was going back and forth from here and my blog and Clover Lane I seem to have made my header line smaller while trying to make my banner bigger. So I no longer have this problem. I do, however, have a new one.

I have done this before. I had a perfect sized header. I now have the banner I want but it is too small. I played around with the size many times, exporting it each time from Picasa until I got it the perfect size (but I couldn’t tell you which one it was). I finally got it. I also had to borrow the CSS code from Clover Lane to center the perfect sized banner. Thank you so very much Sarah. 

It is a very good idea to share the tips and tricks you find every once in awhile because there does come a day when you need them again and all you have to do is search your own blog to find them.

HELP! And some advice

I have updated my blog today. What do you think? Is the background okay or too busy? I can’t change the color of the sidebar and footer because I think I must have it set in the HTML codes. Another day maybe I will figure those out.

As for the header. I wanted to change it up. I can’t. When I go to the Page Elements under Design I can’t click on Edit for the header because it is off screen. Any one know how to fix this?

Phone Photo Challenge

I know I already posted 10 random pictures today but those were taken with my Nikon d90. has a weekly photo challenge, that has to include a human face, and this week the challenge was phone photos. I just so happened to have this picture I took over the weekend on my iPhone4. I tried several times to get my niece, but the light coming in from the windows behind her were causing an issue. Finally I took the picture without HDR (or maybe with, I am not sure what it even is) and got this (I used the vignette in black on Picnik to smooth out the edges). The fact I got her face like this was just luck.

 

I also had this picture that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to enter instead (I took it in the rear view mirror and cropped it in the iPhone Photoshop app.)

10 Random Photos

A rock ant in the front flower bed

Not sure what kind of tree this is, it came in a little snowman at Christmas time. It will need to go in a bigger pot soon.

A lone feather stuck on a baron branch on a restaurant patio.

My latest project, a cheese cloche, I love how the glass came out in the picture.

My mom had a big party for my dad (turning 60 March 1) and his brother who turned 60 last month. This bottle was just sitting there so I took its picture.

I think it is amazing how you can’t see the dust just looking at the candleholder, but the camera sure picks it up.

Some carnations from my son for Valentine’s day.

My nephew and his papa.

My beautiful, spirited niece.

My dad was hammered when I got home from work, my brother wasn’t far behind. Not sure why he was hitting on dad. Kept making him fall out of the chair. My uncle was laughing so hard he was bright red. Made my brother keep doing it and my dad could barely breath from laughing. I thought he was going to throw up.