Photography: Autumn Colors

Since photos are at the heart of scrapbooking, I'm always interested in improving my photography.  We've been having a beautiful autumn here in Minnesota, which has given me some great opportunities to shoot some fall photos.  As I mentioned in my last post, I'm going to be introducing some new labels for my blog over the next few days, and today the new label I'm introducing is "photography."

Below are a few fall photos I'd like to share with you.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Minnesota's rich fall colors in those photos.

Speaking of fall colors, the challenge for this week on the October Afternoon blog was to create something based on four colors from an autumn photo posted by Lexi Bridges.  The colors are orange, aqua, black, and white.

I decided to take the challenge, and I first pulled this aqua paper (above), which to me looked like feathers.

Next I pulled these cards (above), and when I looked at the blue and orange bits of those patterns, I imagined round eyes and a pointy beak (below)...well, it was immediately clear to me that I needed to make an owl!

I ended up creating and framing this wall hanging (below) for my son's room.  He loves birds of prey (especially owls), and he loves music, so it just seemed perfect for him.  My son is also an enthusiastic student of kung fu, so, for an extra, whimsical touch, I gave the owl a stylized kung fu sash.

Supplies: patterned paper, stickers, buttons, ribbon (all from October Afternoon), ink (Versa Color), glitter glue (Stickles by Ranger), gel pen (Sakura), frame (second hand).

To make the owl, I cut my own template from scratch paper.  I think this is sometimes easier than searching around for a template that has the look you want.  Folding the scratch paper in half and drawing half of your desired shape on the crease (see below) allows you to create a shape that is symmetrical.

That's it for today's post.  "Owl" see you again soon!  :)