Something to do on a rainy day...

I wanted to bring in some color to the studio today
and thought of these great tissue paper pompoms
from Martha Stewart's site.
Nothing like hot pink and orange
to brighten up up a room!

They are very easy to make,
you can find the instructions here

It has been raining all day today...
but what was a typical rainy afternoon
turned into huge cherry size hail falling from the sky!
It was a sight to be seen AND heard...
Thankfully it only lasted a few minutes,
and now back to the rain :o)

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Baby shower gift

I recently finished a tote for my good friend Mariana.
She's having a baby shower in a few weeks.
I plan to fill it up with goodies
for baby Ana's room.

I embroidered
one of my little ink bird designs on the tote


and the rooted flower design
on the zippered pouch.

These are some simple cotton onesies
that will go inside the tote
along with a few more things I have to finish.

I kindly asked my friend Mariana
not to visit my blog till after her baby shower
to keep all the goodies a secret, so shhhhhhh :o)

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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High fashion bride

High fashion bride, originally uploaded by Ardent Photography.
This photo was taken in the ladies room at the reception. I loved the 1930's original subway tiles. I applied a Kubota action to this to try to add some drama to the photo.
Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Rooted flower stamp

Another stamp I carved this weekend.
This one's 4 inches tall.
I used VersaColor's Ultimate Pigment ink pad in Bamboo
to stamp it on watercolor paper.

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Songbird stamp

Here's little Songbird (4x4 inches)
in a different medium.
This time I hand carved him into a stamp.
I used a Staedtler Mastercarve carving block
& my Speedball linoleum cutters.
There is a great tutorial online
on how to carve your own stamps right here, if you're interested.
You can also take a look at my growing collection of hand carved stamps
by clicking here.

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Illustration Friday: MOON

Hand carved linoleum print on paper.


This is the original watercolor
that inspired me to give linoleum printing a try.

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Lil Green Buildings

Workin' the paint nib & ink today.
Acrylic ink on watercolor paper.

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Lil Red House

Just warmin' up the pen and ink...
Red Acrylic on watercolor paper.

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Illustration Friday: POEM

Salmos 119:1-8 (Reina Valera 1960)
Acrylic ink and watercolor on paper.
Click on it to see it BIGGER and read it BETTER :o)


Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Loseley Park Wedding

Karen & John now share their wedding anniversary with my birthday so it will be hard to forget the lovely July day spent at the beautiful Loseley Park. The wind blew the mornings threatening rain away and by the time the beautiful bride was ready, she was greeted by England's long lost sun.

After a civil service in the grand hall, the couple had a special blessing performed with a small orchestra to accompany the hymns. Once outside, the beautiful grounds of Loseley were in full bloom making for some great photo opportunities. The reception was held in the barn and after a relaxed evening where everyone enjoyed the warm evening outside, the cake was cut and the party started. Karen & John are now enjoying an amazing six week honeymoon in Australia!


The flower girls dress awaits the pretty flower girl

The bridal party preparations in full swing

Karen looking serene and relaxed

Arriving at Loseley

John awaits his bride

The grand entrance


A kiss in the drawing room after the first part of the service

The blessing begins

Loseley shows it's true colours


The lovely couple enjoy some time alone

Karen looks just lovely framed by the flowers


Grandmother and granddaughter

John's speech hits the spot

Bridesmaid and flowergirl, mother & daughter enjoy a race

First dance, I love the outline here, feels just like a drawing, the word photography is translated as drawing with light after all.Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Grace under water

I can think of no more appropriate image than this to highlight the wedding I covered on Saturday. Grace says it all.

Kate and Dan got married in the beautiful Romsey Abbey and were due to host their reception in the stunning Broadlands estate in a marquee by the river. But, and you've probably guessed if you live in England - the day before their wedding, their venue was knee deep underwater.

With incredible help from friends and family and the famous British get it done spirit they managed to re-host their wedding reception at a local Romsey Hall, replete with all the fantastic hand made decorations, trimmings, games and catering. The old hall was unrecognisable in it's stunning makeover.

I cannot say enough about the grace Kate & Dan showed on their very special and memorable wedding day and I look forward to showing you the whole wedding story once complete.Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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ABCs

This little alphabet
is the latest addition to my ever growing
hand carved stamp collection.
The "y" & "z" didn't fit in the box :o(
I'll have to find a bigger box
so they can all be together.
By the way...I flipped the image so you could see the letters straight.
If you want to carve out some letters remember
to draw them backwards.

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Cabin love

The move to the cabin was great
...it took a lot of organization and planning
to squeeze all of our stuff into this wee 700 sq.ft cabin.
We are enjoying it so much!
Living in the middle of the woods is beautiful,
I'm inspired by all the lush green, the birds,
squirrels and bunnies we have for neighbors.
I've created a new set on my Flickr
with pictures of the cabin if you want to
take a peek :)

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Journal pages for July

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Singing bird embroidery

I'm embroidering the series of ink birdies I made last month.
This is the first one, made into a pillow.
This has been the most time consuming embroidery project I've done so far
and it was totally worth the time put into it.
I used a single thread in order to have more detail.
The fabric for the pillow is a heavy linen/cotton blend I really love.

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Yay!

After a long long time (almost a month!)
I've missed my blog and you guys sooooo much and it feels great to be back :o)
Thank you for visiting this blog while I was in "offline world".
I'll resume my regular posting tomorrow, I've got tons of emails to reply to...
Big hug to all!

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Two Become One - July 14, 2007

Two Become One - July 14, 2007, originally uploaded by Ardent Photography.
The bride and groom did this themselves. Like I said... DREAM COUPLE! I just told them to go into this structure. I originally wanted to do just the bride, but the groom's silouette just looked too amazing. I'm glad I saw the bigger picture.
Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Saturday at the Sandbanks

I obviously didn't think through my 'whose shoes' idea for the blog thoroughly enough, just what would I do when the bride did not require the getting ready pictures captured? Fortunately there was an easy solution ready made for me when I arrived at the Sandbanks Hotel in Poole. A stunning, mouthwatering chocolate cake.

Anne and Brian got married at the Sandbanks on Saturday 14th July. With the hotel literally on the beach itself this wedding was full of fun, sun and lots of beautiful photo opportunities.

Their full wedding story will follow shortly.Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Friday the 13th - Lucky for all

It was my birthday on Friday and I had the pleasure of spending the day at the lovely Loseley Park in Godalming with Karen & John. The sunshine graced the stage throughout the day, enlivening the fully bloomed gardens making for a fun, beautiful and memorable wedding day.

As ever their full wedding story will follow shortly, but here's a peek at Karen's shoes.Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Unity

jandrain rings 071407.jpg, originally uploaded by Ardent Photography.
This photo was inspired by Scoobs1969... what a great way to showcase the wedding bands. This shot is straight out of the camera... however I did do a slight color balance modification in Camera Raw.

This photo is one of the MANY awesome frames that I took at yesterday's wedding. Janelle and Eric were the dream couple. Sophisticated, stylish, and most of all totally in love! They just fell into every "pose".

I also tried something new at this wedding. I downloaded frames to my MacBook and did a small slideshow before we left. By this morning I had 3 brides inquiring for 2008! YAY!!!

I will create a set of more shots soon.
Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Wales, Wisconsin

058meier.jpg, originally uploaded by Ardent Photography.
I love this shot. Look at the love that is beaming from their eyes! I nailed this one! Very proud!
Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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Chanel Iman at Behnaz Sarafpour FW2007

Chanel Iman at Behnaz Sarafpour FW2007

Chanel looks like the true darling that she is at the Behnaz Sarafpour autumn/winter 2007-2008 show in New York City. Click the thumbnails for full-sized versions.

Source URL: http://lifestyleartsblogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/
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