Happy 4th and It's Party Time!

So here it is again, our "4th" as some of us call it. An amazing 233 years of celebrating our nation's birth and independence! Today I am thankful for this beautiful country and those who have given so much to make and keep her free. May we never forget!

My heart is full of gratitude to God, righteous and industrious citizens and those serving our country in so many ways.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Please keep her free and preserve our liberty.

Here is a fun USA.gov site with some cool facts about this day.

And if you're in the kitchen or lighting up the barbecue, check out this great "How to cut a watermelon" tutorial by a darling young mom Natalie!

She has some awesome and yummy recipes on her blog that she shares with equally talented friends. KitchentoKitchen

Have a fun and memorable 4th!

rebecca ~ justgiddy

Another Illustration Friday - Worn

Illustration Friday topic - Worn

I couldn't pass this week's topic up as worn is what I love!

I created this Photoshop piece with an image I cropped from a large historical photo of the school children gathered to garner the vote for the new school building in early 1900's Orland, CA.

It was a black and white but I couldn't resist colorizing the flags, adding a texture border and heart shape (in background) from an old handmade valentine.

Here's another piece I created today with a worn look to it.

Man, do I ever LOVE PHOTOSHOP! I have been so busy that I haven't had or made the time to create anything lately, so now that I'm back at the computer I realize just how much I miss it.

Here's another worn image. Some of you may recognize this one. It was create awhile back for the topic Wrinkles. You can see the images used and some step by step for creating Wrinkles here....

Have a great 4th of July!

Rebecca ~ justgiddy

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 mom on Mother's Day!

rebecca - justgiddy!

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.

Thaks for visiting my blog -- have a great week!
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...

Romancing the Blog redirect...

If you are looking for my Romancing the Blog post for February 14th hosted by Flatwoods Folk Art, please go HERE>>> Just Giddy Typepad Blog for Rebecca Woodward.

Free images!
Four giveaways too! Drawing will take place Tuesday Feb. 17th in the evening...

Thanks!

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...

Keeping in line...

Where does one find time to keep up with their own blogs? Sheesh, I imagine that I just have way too many irons in the fire here to keep an interesting blog with timely updates and all...
There's a time and place for everything I guess, it sure would be nice to share some art and happenings here for friends to see.

I did make this invitation for Stephanie's birthday party. You are welcome to click on it and save it to you computer and use it for your very own party if you would like...

I also made up a quick colorized version of a favorite album - updated the format from cassette to CD.

The Toston Flats Band LIVE vol.6.
Dave Williams, Robin and Micki, and Avery Williams
I LOVE this music!

Please don't save this artwork to your computer. Thank you...

Have a GREAT week-end!

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.

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 digital 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

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.

The "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 and 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... (oops, forgot to add the little bird illustration)

Thanks for visiting. Have a really wonderful day!

Illustration Friday-Hoard

She Had a Habit of Hoarding Hats

The Illustration Friday Topic this week is Hoard. I don't hoard hats or any other items of clothing for that matter. But if I were a clothing hoarder it would probably be hats.

Now if we were to talk about art supplies, antiques or ephemera, well, that would be another thing... that's all I'm going to say about that, for this could be a very personal and soul searching topic.

Say, what nice weather we are having...
perfect for hats!

If you would like to join me for a fun, fun, fun online party with Vanessa, from A Fanciful Twist, check out my Mixed Media blog here -> Just Giddy Typepad Blog

Illustration Friday-Forgotten

Past Lives Forgotten

In my dreams I see myself in a dark and magical forest, looking directly at a very handsome frog – a frog I had kissed before.

I had already determined he wasn’t my prince…so I bid him good-day and moved on, again.

A dream forgotten…until it happened again, oh, and again...

Illustration Friday-Baby

In my heart of hearts I love this Illustration Friday topic -- I could create Baby art all day long! Since one baby is wonderful, then would two be even better? That's why I opted for Two in a Pea Pod. But I have been trying to get their attention all afternoon...they just have so much going on around them, and they can't tune in! Maybe when they need a diaper change...

Today as I was in the garden picking some peas to scan I noticed the sweet peas needed cut too, (they smell wonderful by the way) so I had to used them in this piece. The wheels are little buttons I scanned.

Here are the elements & images I used in Two in a Pea Pod ---

• 
  Textured and Solid Background Layers Blue and Green
  Textured Clouds
  Yellow Spherical Shape for Sun
  Scroll Ironwork Image
  Caterpillar Image
  Butterfly Image
  Scanned Sweet Peas
  Scanned Buttons for wheels
  Scanned Pea Pod
  Baby Photo from my Collection - color added
  Image of Grass I made with the brush tool
  Scroll Brushes for the border
  Brown shading layer for depth
  

Altogether with the mask layers, filters and layer effects, etc., I counted up 51 layers for this piece. What did we ever do before layers?

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great June!

Illustration Friday-Worry

No WORRY for this fine lady... She Keeps Her Eye on the Ball

The topic for Illustration Friday was perfect this week as I finished this Digital Collage on Thursday. Oh, by the way, we ate this fish that my husband caught, it was so delicious. Another "by the way"...my husband just shook his head when he saw this illustration, I'm sure he does not get it, but it makes perfect sense to me!

The ball is a selection of the fish eye - I was amazed at the great variation in it when it was enlarged and I applied a blending mode, plus bevel and emboss. The border is a photo of rust on a solid background with a blending mode applied, I love the texture.


I created 3 variations of this, if you would be so kind as to leave me a comment with your favorite of the three I would really appreciate it. You can also see the images used to create this piece below.

• Here are the images used to create this piece:
  
  Cinnamon colored solid layer
  Tan colored solid layer
  Scan from old store ledger
  Photo of rusty metal, cropped for frame
  Sky with clouds image
  Calligraphy Image
  Image of Domenico Ghirlandaio 1488 painting
  Fish my husband caught (yum), with selected fish eye

Thanks for stopping by!

Illustration Friday-Wide

Illustration Friday - Wide
Digital Collage

She has traveled Far and Wide, does she measure-up?

This little lady has quite an imagination. She travels Far and Wide in stories she tells herself. Safely tucked away in her dear and favorite flowers, she knows that dreaming will bring her to far away places and allow her to travel wide. Oh, the things she has seen…
This was an extremely difficult topic for me.
I'm going to go see what everyone else came up with this week for Illustration Friday.

The second photo shows elements used for this collage...
I applied Layer Blending Modes, Artisitc Filters and varied Opacity levels to create the final image for this topic.

Several of you have emailed me about the Wacom I use. I couldn't work without my Wacom tablet now as I am totally addicted! It's amazing the time I save and the creative process is less inhibited with the use of it. I have the Intuos 3 Graphics Tablet. It's just the 4x6, but that's what I chose as I like to limit the size of things on my desk!!! Well, I try to make a conscious effort anyway...