Sunday with an SX-70

This weekend we went out for mexican and spent time in the park and I took along my little friend, my SX-70. Sure, I really "should" get this camera adjusted so the images don't come out all over exposed. But I'd only do it out of curiosity. I really really love what comes out of this camera the way it is. They're like instant little watercolor paintings. With tidy white borders.


This beautiful book, edited by Jen Altman, is filled with Polaroid photographers. It is so inspiring that, after I got it, I bought my SX-70. I just had to capture some of the magic that comes out of a Polaroid camera.

I'm pretty sure the book has been sold out for a while, however, click here to see the list of photographers with links their websites. I hope these amazing photographers inspire you to pick up a Polaroid.

Camaro Bliss

Here's another digital collage from muscle car heaven. I found a box of old greeting cards from the 60's and 70's that I'm throwing into the mix now. That's where I got the sweet little flowers. I also mixed in a photo I took in New Mexico.

This is another collage I made yesterday. She's the Ambassador.



Both of these are available in my Etsy shop.

Vrrrmmm vrrrrmmmm....

Three on the Tree, Please.

While playing with Photoshop today, these two showed up. After I finished them, I wasn't sure what I had. What are they about? Do they have to be about anything? They're still in the vein of the muscle car-vintage-girly thing going on in my head. I'm not sure where these are going, but I'm going to continue.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Photoshop?

Some of the layers are my own photographs. Some of the layers are Polaroid shots. The women are from vintage magazines I have laying around my studio.

Both of these collages are available in my Etsy shop.

Leaves on Fire

This time of year, our 100 year old oak trees' leaves turn brown and take their time dropping to the ground. But we have a few japanese maples in the yard that scream for attention before they drop theirs. I'd save every leaf if they wouldn't haul me off to the funny farm for doing it. :)

See more photos here.

Facebook and a Frowny Face

I 've just joined Facebook! Yipee! I've found so many friends from high school that my brain is about to explode with goofy memories from that time. Wow. I'll report back once I've figured out how to use it. For now, I'm having a class reunion in cyberspace. Hmmm. That sounded kind of dorky.

I took the above photo last night, BEFORE I realized it was a frown or a conjuction. I just thought it was beautiful.

Just for Fun

These are just a few of the fun little things I've cooked up lately (hee hee). I've been playing around with shrink plastic! Its so FUN to watch it shrink down in the oven. I know, I'm a little too old for that kind of "thrill", but really am easily amused. These are available in my Etsy shop. And because it so fun to do, look for more soon!

Etsy Vintage LOVE

Lately, I've become more than a little obsessed with one of the coolest Flickr groups in existance. Wardrobe Remix has inspired me to get back into thrift stores, scour Ebay, brake at garage and estate sale signs and have some FUN with my clothes again. This mommy is stuck in the jeans, t-shirt, flip flop waltz! Well, not for long.

This obsession inspired an Etsy treasury that I made today. I can't believe how many exceptional vintage shops there are on Etsy. Below is a list of the shops I highlighted in my treasury. Click on them and have some fun!

GetReadySetGO

GreasyWaitress

vintagerevolver

shopambrosia

RedoRedux

greygardensvintage

IronHorseVintage

GoodEye

SantokiVintage

thevintagecloset

allencompanyinc

MaidenRaptureVintage

New Photos

I've been in bed this week, thank you to strep throat that I caught from my husband. We TRIED to stay apart, but I guess we caved too soon. At any rate, bored with silly television (yes, there really is a show about celebrities without makeup) and not in the mood to read, I searched through some old photos and played with them. The TtV is available in my Etsy shop. More posts soon....

Truly Honored

I am so truly honored to be included in a Treasury with some really amazing photographers. These are Etsy photographers that I have admired and who have inspired me to learn more and more about photography. Here's a complete list of the photographers and links to their Etsy shops.

Susannah Tucker

Friendly Made

Ketzelphotography

catherinebuca

AliciaBock

CitrusTree

sweetblue

ScarletBeautiful2

viewfinder

everydaymoments

Be sure to check out each shop. There are some truly amazing things in each.

Thank you SOOOO much jjbackman! You've made my day!

The Whites

A new series of polaroids called "The Whites". More to come. These are available in my Etsy shop as 6 x 6 Prints. I'm thinking of also offering these images with some others in a set of cards. I'm having so much fun with my cameras. I'm wondering if I will ever put pen to paper again....

Playing with Polaroid

I've pulled my two Polaroid cameras out of the closet and played with them a little over the past few days. Here's a sampling. You can see more on my Flickr.

Also, I've found an AMAZING blog project that I plan to check every day. It's called the Noticing Project. Each day, two friends and artists, Alicia Alferman and Heather Smith Jones, post a photo each. They decided to do the project together when they discovered that they noticed similar things on the same day, photographed them and posted them on their Flickr's. The blog is both beautiful and educational. I particularly appreciate how they each tell a story without including all of their subject matter in the frame.

Stay Awake!

Just back from a FANTASTIC trip to Los Angeles, California. I spent some time alone wandering around Beverly Hills and some time with friends reminiscing and laughing. It was the perfect holiday. When I got on the plane, I thought it was over. Oh was I wrong! These are just a few photos I took from the window during the flight. Go to my Flickr site to see more. I'm so happy I stayed awake for this. Stay Awake!

Pay Attention

Every day I walk with my son to school and every day I see something new and beautiful. Today it was these tiny little orbs in the field we walk through. Mistaken for some sort of half eaten jawbreakers at first, then maybe some weird fertilizer put out by the school district, these tiny little things turned out to be a fungus. Mushrooms! I captured a few photos in the morning, but when we were back after school they were gone. These tiny mushrooms remind me of how quickly things change and to pay attention, to take time to see. We walk through that field every day and today was the first time we noticed these. I wonder what we'll see tomorrow.

We've Been Very Busy Painting Together

I love working with my husband. First of all, he's cute. Secondly, he's very talented. Thirdly, he's SO funny!

Over the past two weeks we have been completely repainting my brother's new house. Its been so much fun working together like we used to. And my brother was blasting 70's tunes all day, which made the days go by quickly. But we're finished now. This is just a sampling of our work.

You can see our decorative painting portfolio here. Most, if not all, of the work you see there was done by my very talented husband, Scott Dykema.

New Photo Cards

This morning an idea struck me as I was doing the laundry (a good time for ideas) and I just had to see it's fruition. So I spent the morning making some of my Through the Viewfinder prints into 4 1/2 x 5 1/2 Cards. I like how they look like there's an opening in the card that takes you to another time and place. Well, at least that's how I see it.

I printed these cards, as I do all my non-gocco printed cards, on Crane Museo Artist Cards. They're much higher quality than ordinary card stock. And my printer ink LOVES them. There's a slight texture to the cards, but not enough to look like watercolor paper or those Strathmore papers you see in the craft stores. They come in a couple different sizes - even a square size. But if you use the square card, be aware that the post office charges extra postage for this. Click here to find out more about Crane Museo Artist Cards.

All of these cards are available in my Etsy shop!

The Wedding Reception

The reception for my brother and his new bride was wonderful. I managed to finish the cake toppers and get them painted by the time the cake was delivered. Isn't that cake cute??? It was made by Creme de la Creme in Fort Worth, TX, who also made my sister-in-law's wedding cake. Deeeelish!


The grooms cake was made and decorated by my son (with some help from Daddy). He saw Mommy making the birds out of Sculpey for the wedding cake and decided he'd make some cake toppers too! There are four ducks swimming in a lake, with a "guy" and a horse looking on. I think Herb really liked it. Beautiful!

The paper Calla Lillies were the favors the guests took home. I made these flowers from beautiful hand made seeded paper from RecycledIdeas.etsy.com. Holly, from RecycledIdeas, went out of her way to make this gorgeous paper and get it to me quickly so I could finish all of these in time, and I really appreciate that.

I got the idea for these flowers from a great book I got from the library called Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Flowers by Karen Flamme. The book includes detailed instructions on how to make lots of different flowers from fabric, though I decided to make these from paper. The flowers can be enjoyed as they are, or the paper can be removed and easily germinated to grow wildflowers. Holly sent me easy to understand directions which I included with each flower. Fun!

Joy Through the Viewfinder

I'm having so much fun with my new Vintage Through the Viewfinder series. Oh, thank heaven for my camera!

These are all available in my Etsy shop now. More coming soon.

Fun with Cars

Today, my sweet husband urged me to take out my camera for the specific purpose to take some pictures for FUN. Hmmmm. I've been so busy lately I've not even considered that idea myself. Sounded good. So I did.

I ended up at a car lot full of vintage cars. It began to rain, so I had to stop. But I'll be back, for sure. See more shots on my Flickr. Some of these will be listed in my Etsy shop as prints soon, too.