image{s} of the week

Lily 1

camera: likely my Canon Rebel xti
settings: unknown 
behind the lens: me

Atop my spring cleaning list is "organize blog image files" because, in order to build some of the features of my new website, I need to locate and resize all Lavender Honey images to date. This may seem like a mundane, simple task and you're right, it would be - if I had been organized from the beginning. Not only are different versions of the same image saved on multiple computers, I've also been giving ambiguous names to photos, such as "cool lighting," "awesomeness," or "yum." Needless to say, my mindless spring cleaning task has turned into a puzzle. 

I did, however, rediscover a few images along the way. These lilies are one such example. They live in our backyard, near the stairs to the deck. I remember photographing them sometime late last summer when their fragrance was at its peak. Lovely, aren't they? The smell of lilies reminds me of prom; not a specific prom, but many vague memories packed into one collective idea of what prom smells like.  

Lily 2

***Photoshop Nerd Alert, Technical Discussion Ahead***

When I found the psd files for lily 1 and lily 2, they were untouched. Minimalist retouching is my taste these days, so both have very little adjustments. Lily 3 (below), on the other hand, has some more intensive retouching.

When I opened the file I could tell by the existing layers that I was using what I call my "Versace" Photoshop style. In 2006 Vincent Versace published a book called, Welcome to Oz 2.0: A Cinematic Approach to Digital Still Photography with Photoshop that shifted the way I used Photoshop and perceived digital photography. I scoured his book for tips on layer masking, especially his development of "image maps," which are essentially layer mask opacity maps.  The other technical take-away for me, exemplified here in Lily 3, was his use of Lighting Effects (filter>render>lighting effects), specifically omli-lighting. The results in Lily 3 are far less severe than Versace's work, but it's interesting to see his influence on the image. 

Lily 3

Below is an animated gif that attempts to illustrate how each successive layer changes the image. Pay particular attention to the foreground at the bottom of the image...the subtle shift is nice, no?

 

Going through my images has been a lot like cleaning out my closet - there are always a few forgotten gems tucked away, begging to be rediscovered!

WedWed - Wedding Wednesday {12}

The Bolero. You're a curious kind of cover-up, aren't you? And for a late September outdoor wedding in Seattle, I need you don't I? If only I could find the perfect one. 

Top: Alencon Lace Bridal Shrug by Elizabeth Dye for The English Department; Center Left: Bow-Topped Bolero (back) by BHLDN; Center Right: Bow-Topped Bolero (front) by BHLDN; Bottom: Rosemund Bolero by BHLDN.

Elizabeth Dye's lace shrug (top) is nearly perfect for my dress. I question, however, whether additional lace is something I'd want to see. 

I like BHDLN's cover-ups, but either the detailing or the color throws me off. For example, their Bow-Topped Bolero (center left and right) has a nice bow in the back, but the two in front, along with the ruffles, are overkill for my taste. I have the same thought about the Rosemund Bolero (bottom): While I adore the drape, there too many flowers and the purple won't coordinate with the colors I'm working with.

Sadly, it's beginning to seem as though I may have to design a bolero for myself. I've accepted that. To get myself started, I browsed Etsy to see what vintage bolero patterns were available.

Top Left: Advance 5030 available at SelvedgeShop; Top Right: Butterick B5136 available at PatternPeddler; Lower Left: Advance 8087 available from OhSewCharming; Lower Right: Hollywood 1556 available from CatnipHill.

I enjoy the peter pan collar and the added drape in the Advance 5030 pattern (top left). Also, I'm interested in the Butterick pattern (top right) because of the closure in the back at the base of the neck. The second Advance pattern view 2 (bottom left) with the closure at the waist is nice as well. The gathered sleeves in the Hollywood pattern (lower right) seem exciting! I could play with those to make them more modern looking, right?

In the end, my favorite look was the McCall bolero (below), particularly view B. I'm unsure where I'll go from there but at least I have a good starting point for this project too!

Project Bolero to be continued...

Above: McCalls 8472 available from swoonantiques (was available, I bought it!).

4000th heart

Today, I'm feeling lucky! 

In February I just so happened to be studio kmo's 4000th Etsy heart which, unbeknownst to me, meant that I got to enjoy a buy 1 get 1 free 11x14 city art print! I'd been an admirer of Karen's city map cutouts and art for sometime so this was a great surprise.

Above: screenshot of studio kmo's Esty shop.

For my two prints, I chose Paris and Cophenhagen: Paris because Chris and I are headed to the City of Light for our honeymoon in September. Copenhagen because My Nona is Danish so I thought it would be nice to have the map here to remind me of her. 

Over the weekend, Chris and I found frames we liked and hung them in the guest bedroom downstairs. Here's what they look like on the wall:

Above: studio kmo city prints in their new frames!

Above: Paris city art print by Karen M. O'Leary.

Above: Copenhagen city art print by Karen M. O'Leary.

Thanks Karen! 

image{s} of the week

Patchwork Apron

camera: Nikon D80
settings: f/4, 1/125 - with no adjustments! I love getting it right in the camera.
behind the lens: me

I've given up discretionary spending for Lent. (sigh.) So in lieu of purchasing fabric for a discretionary project, I've made a patchwork apron following instructions from Rashida Coleman-Hale's I Love Patchwork using left over fabric from Addyson's teething blanket.

Something bugged me about my apron while I was taking pictures. I ran through everything I saw wrong with my sewing - the gathers weren't my best work, the edge stitching left a lot to be desired, etc. - but that wasn't it.

Then I realized my apron was  annoying me because it was too clean. No apron is ever that clean. It's like going over to someone's house where a bunch of decorative, unlit candles have been perched all over.  The virgin wicks are white and pristine and this makes me uneasy. If you're going to buy candles you should light them, enjoy them, use them. An apron is similar in that way.

 Ah, flour. It's beginning to look normal... 

someday, somehow

The new website will get done. Someday, somehow.

I've written additional content you can access now, such as an About Me page, a Why call it "Lavender Honey" page, and a Say Hi contact page! 

The April 30th deadline looms.