update on the 'my region' photography comp.

I just thought I give you an update of where I am at with the 'my region' photography competition.

Out of the all the entries from around the Nation (and there are a LOT of them) my photo 'The Promise' (the rainbow over the windmill) is running 4th in the Popular voting section.

If you have voted for it I would like to THANK YOU very much. If you have not yet voted you can click on this link

 http://www.myregion.strutta.com/entry/177443 and go straight to it. You will be asked to register yourself, and you can do this without Facebook being involved, and you'll be sent an email to verify that you are a real person, not a computer. Once verified you can vote.

The popular voting section is awarded for the top three place setters. I'm in the 4th spot.

I need your help. Voting closes this Sunday night (July 3rd). I'm about 100 votes behind the leader at the moment and only a few behind the image that's sitting in third place.

You can't vote on the same image twice but I would ask you to vote on 'The Promise' if you haven't done so yet.

http://www.myregion.strutta.com/entry/177443

Please forward this link onto your friends as I need all the support I can get to showcase our wonderful Lower Eyre Peninsula

cheers

Tiff

shutter bugs - sneak peek

Another July MAN of the Month in readiness for the reveal for Scrap Therapy.

Kids are improving, I'm still feeling really crappy as soon as the panadol wears off. Back to the Doc for me tomorrow.

t

star of the week

I've had a fairly unwell time the last 3 weeks. And so have the kids for the last two weeks as well.  Initially I thought I had the flu which took about a week to get thru. I lost my voice for a couple of days, and just generally felt like shit. Temps, chills, prickly skin and awful headaches when I coughed. I was nearly over it and then I fell in a hole again. Another couple of days without a voice and the same symptoms. Then Sean went down, followed by Annie. They both seemed to recover and bang, they went down with it again. I took Sean to the Doc last week and he has a chest infection. Annie and I saw the Doc today and we've the same infection. Annie was put in hospital for 4 hours to be observed and to get her temp down. Thankfully we were able to come home after those few hours.

This 3rd time around for me has really knocked the stuffing out of me. I spent most of today asleep, as did Annie until we could see the Doc. Sean's still recovering. He fell asleep as soon as he got home from school today and Kym let him sleep. I'll see how he is in the morning. He had 3 days off from school last week. Annie will be missing the first few days this week.

It's times like these that I am so very thankful that I don't have a 9-5 job. There would have been no way I would have managed it in the last few weeks with me feeling so crap, and then with the kids working their way thru it.

We are all on AB's now. It looks like we have our own chemist shop at home.

the promise - Scrap Therapy Shoot it, Scrap it Photo/Scrap challenge

HI People.

I've a new challenge at Scrap Therapy that involves what you've learnt from this month's Landscape Photography tutorial and using up some of your scrap stash.

 

I would love for you to pick out your best Landscape image/s and scrap it.

You will have all of July to complete the challenge and load it here in this thread. The Shoot it, Scrap it Landscape challenge will close on July 31st and the winner will be announced on the following Friday when all the July challenge winners are announced. Emphasis will be placed on the image and the overall effort of the LO.

Lee-Anne has very generously offered a $25 Scrap Therapy voucher to the winner. The voucher will be valid for one month after the announcement of the lucky recipient.

To get the ball rolling, I've actually 'sorta' scrapped 'The Promise'. I've matted it much like you see at the picture framers and used Bazzil as the mounting card. It took me quite a while to get my head around the mounting side of it, as you do it in reverse of how you would when you scrap. The image is on the bottom and you layer up, rather than matt and pop your pic on top. It did take me two attempts till I got it right.  And I really wanted the story to be involved but it seemed to spoil the 'look' that I wanted. So I've adhered the story on the back of the frame.

The frame is a double Lulu's that I had with a different LO in it. 24x12 inch.

ps. I've just had a typo pointed out. Can you spot it??

mum day (sean's) - sneak peek

I've been busy scrapping away for Scrap Therapy. I have been getting myself a bit organised in advance for next month's MAN (Manufacture) of the Month. I can't tell you yet who it is yet, but I can sneek peak one of the LO's for it.  ;o)

and no, its not Websters or Twiddleybitz lol.

the promise/lincoln times

I just wanted to say a big thank you to the Port Lincoln Times for the feature and raising awareness of my entry into the 'my region' photo comp.

I also wanted to clarify that I am not in the final cut YET, but fingers crossed and with the public voting, I hope to have a good run for it. And that the voting ends on JULY 3rd, not January 3rd as stated in the paper. tsk tsk.

this is the direct link to vote for it.
http://www.myregion.strutta.com/entry/177443

You'll need to registrar to place your vote and you CAN registrar without Facebook being involved. The voting closes on July 3rd and I'm about 100 votes behind atm so every one of the votes count.

I'm really stoked how many votes there have been so far considering I only entered this week and the competition has been open since the end of May. So thank you very very much if you already have. I would LOVE for you to pass the word and the direct link onto all your friends so they can get involved too.

If I am very very lucky I'll get to have a one on one workshop with Steve Parish. (WOW)

so fingers crossed and with all of your help, I'm giving it a shot.

tiff

smooch

Scrapping it for Scrap Therapy using this month's MAN of the Month, Echo Park Paper Co.

In this LO the products are Little Girl - Gingham Gaby, and Laundry Lucy. Summer Days Chipboard Accents.

From shmee

From shmee

From shmee

well then...

.... don't things change in an instant.

Sean has redevolped his cold and is worse this time round. So much so that his asthma has reared its ugly head. He and I battled it last night for most of the night. We both slept from around 5.30am onwards. He slept until midday and we are flat out on the Neb again.

So in light of that I didn't head up to Lock for lunch or shopping. I still may get there on Friday Scrap night depending on how Sean goes.

He's booked into seeing the Doc late this afternoon, but I don't think we can wait that long. I've packed our bags for a hospital stay as I'm fairly certain we'll be staying for a bit.

Poor little tyke. He puts on such a brave face and all I can say is, 'thank you to the person who invented the DS'.

Without that he would be climbing the walls being so revved up on all the ventolin that's being pumped into him.

will keep posted.

t

arrr

This is Annie's version of the pirate day at school for her album. The ship, the crab and the eyepatch in the top corner are all iron ons that I've used double sided tape or foam squares with. I switched my Facebook page to Pirate English to get the lingo right for this one. lol..... It's back to proper English now.

I haven't been out shooting this last week at all. I've been a bit crook with a cold that I've had twice in the last month. I nearly had no voice for the last few days (hard to believe I know), but I'm just about done with it now.

It seems that if I'm not shooting flat out, I'm scrapping flat out, and visa versa. Whatever I do to soothe my creative soul.  :o)

I'm working on next month's MAN of the Month for Scrap Therapy atm, as well at my next Tutorial and Challenge over there in Shutter Therapy.

And I'm heading up to Lock on Wednesday with 3 of my besties to shop, lunch and celebrate a birthday milestone. Looking forward to it a lot.

Best be off and scrap a bit  (wink wink)
t

my region national photographic competition entry

I've entered my Rainbow Windmill in the 'my region national photographic competition.  www.myregion.strutta.com/entry/177443 

the voting opened a couple of weeks ago so I'm behind the eight ball already. I would love for you to vote for 'The Promise' as an image that shows a portion of Lower Eyre Peninsula. and share the link for the Promise amongst your friends. Public voting is an important part of selection.
 much mwah.
tiff xx

pirate day - sean

A quick one completed the other night @ Scrapworkz. I found those awesome buttons in Spotlight so long ago. They make that pirate skull look kinda freaky!!!!! and the foil one down in the bottom corner is a metallic iron-on. Leonie has everything at Scrapworkz including the iron. (wink)

atc

After Annie finished her game of Netball at Tumby yesterday, Kym brought the kids home (we took 2 vehicles) and I headed down to Scrapworkz in Lincoln for the 2 to 2 Scrapathon. Kym and the kids left Tumby just in time as it started to rain. It would have been miserable to stay at Footy yesterday, esp in the fact that the boys games were all delayed so the A grade could have a night match. Would have been bloody cold and miserable indeed.

Anyway, talk about laugh till my sides split. I sat with Irene and across from Katherine and Sonia and had a ball. I can show you a couple of things that I've done, and a sneak peek of another  (wink)

All 20 odd of us were given a bag of goodies to produce an ATC (Artist Trading Card), with a twist. Instead of the normal playing card size, we opted for the 6x4 sizeto have a bit more room to play with. When they were done, each card had a number and we drew numbers out of a hat and were given the card with that same number. I have a sweet one from June.

This is what I made (and thanks to Anita for letting use her camera and popping it on my laptop.)

The texture for the wings came from my tutorial when I had a guest DT spot at Twiddleybitz last year. I used texture paste and micro beads to give the chipboard 'body'. The blooms are on little jewellery tags and the stems are the strings from those tags. I gave it a mist of purple to give it my 'signature' colour.

By the time I was nearly home I was very nearly out of diesel. I knew it would be close, but I think, according to the little info LCD on the dash, only having enough fuel for 2 more kms was cutting it a bit too close. As soon as I was home I was filling up the Hilux last night at 3am  ***insert roll eyes***

I post another LO tomorrow to space them out a bit.

:O)
t

mum day

Got this one done last night @ Scrapworkz.

Many thanks to Irene for that very special toothpick all the way from Japan. mwah.

This note is the one on the box in the photo.

Annie loves to write me notes, and she thinks she has me trained to keep them for scrapbooking.   :O) 

Gotta love that.

roll over - sean's

This months MAN of the Month at Scrap Therapy is Echo Park. I do adore this manufacturer. I've barely a scrap of paper left from my Echo Park stash.

This LO is for Sean's album. Products used are EP-Summer Days-Clouds (Pinstripe). Little Girl - Laundry Lucy (orange) and Gingham Gaby (dotty). Little Boy - Little Boy Borders (grid pp for the leaves). Wintertime - Blizzard/Icicle Blue. Summer Days Chipboard accents and Epoxy Brads.

Other product that I've found in shop are the Carolee Creations tiny Whoopsie red alpah stickers

Funny how colours like orange and red seem to work so well together, especially when I've been told all my life that they 'clash'. Bit like pink and red. Another combination I do like together.

geek

I've used up all of the Echo Park papers that I was using for my brief for Scrap Therapy, so now I'm scrapping the rest of the month for me.  ;o)  that is until my next parcels of product arrives for next months MAN. (now I can't tell you what that is, that would spoil the surprise  ;op  )

I've found out not long ago, now that the students have laptops come into the classroom for computer studies, they use the touch pad, not the mouse. So now I'm teaching him that. And I detest that little touch pad. It so doesn't work with what I do when I'm processing and stuff, but for him its a natural thing.

xx

braces - 17 weeks

It's just on 17 weeks since Annie had her brace placed on her top teeth.

She had an adjustment last week and we now on the home stretch. All the teeth are straight and now its a matter of closing the gaps. So she has a different type of rubbers on her teeth. This one is called a chain rubber. Its one long one that is looped onto each bracket and it designed to move the teeth to close gaps. The rubbers she had before were individual ones on the individual brackets.

After this round of adjustment I thought her teeth would be aching a lot since they're all moving, but not so. The first day they did a bit, not a lot she tells me, but other than that there's been no issue at all. Not even ulcers from the ends of the wire.

She's one tough cookie.  ;o)

Week 1

Week 17

I shudder looking at her first shot now. It's amazing what you get used to, and just don't see any more, until you get a chance to compare.

roll over - annie's

Rose and layering inspired by Amanda Hall

Scrapping for Scrap Therapy with June's Man of the Month - Echo Park Paper Co. Products used are available in shop.  Playground - Capture the Flag. Little Girl - Laundry Lucy. Summer Days - Clouds. Little Boy  - Little Boy Borders

couch potatoes

This is a fairly common, garden variety, of couch potatoes
. Found most evenings in this location. Needs minimal tending and fed daily with TV.

;op
t

concentration

The light bulb has switched on and is shining so brightly. All of a sudden he can write, and more than his own name.  He spells words to me, he moves around the flashcards of letters to make words, he tries to spell lots of different words that he hasn't visually seen but has heard of. He's chunking words into syllables and his lispy  S is significantly less noticeable.

He rushes inside after the bus, unpacks his bag, gets changed and hops straight into his homework. All without my prompting him. He's so red hot keen to write his new letter/sound of the day.

Dang. I'm more than a bit proud of him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

once upon a time

Loosely based on  Lisa Pate's digi LO 'ready' in CK Vol 16. Iss 4. Pg 38.


Been scrappin'  it for Scrap Therapy. More of this months MAN of the month which is Echo Park Paper Co. I just cant seem to get enough of this product.
The grid paper is Sweet Summertime Journal Paper Card. The different papers making up the 'patchwork' are Summer Days - Clouds (clouds and the stripe papers.) Playground - Capture the Flag (cross hatch paper). Wintertime - Blizzard Blue/Icicle Blue (light mint paper) Little Girl Gingham Gaby Paper (the mint dotty paper and the pink accent paper with the ribbon slide on it.) Summer Days Epoxy Brads and Chipboard Accents.

I've finished another LO which I'll post later, but all I have left of Echo Park is a few scraps. I'm determined to get at least one more LO done with them.

Had a lovely, lazy, social lunch, afternoon & evening celebrating a mate's 40th. I think there would have been somewhere around 30 adults and as many kids all at his home. The kids all got on so amazingly well. Not one proper argument, not one drop of blood spilt (amazing I thought considering the amount of activity) and from all ages. I am pretty impressed!!

We've gained a little boy for a sleep over and lost Annie to one of her friend's home for an impromptu sleepover. Got to love that things like this can happen without any planning. We've always got spare toothbrushes and PJ's.

I'm hoping to scrap a bit tomorrow before I head off for a shed inspection with a basket of hot scones, homemade jam and thickened cream to warm up the fellas. All volunteering to dismantle and relocate a shed out to the ''Flat' showgrounds for the shearing shed grandstand (I think)

keep warm.
t xx

rainbow windmill

Had an awesome time out in the elements yesterday afternoon. Swollen grey skies, the occasional spot of golden sun, and not too windy or too cool. All the ingredients I was looking for to catch this image. Catching a rainbow is a huge bonus. And in the right spot too lol.  It was there and gone within 30 seconds, and I changed lenses too.

I had a PO with this one. I knew it was in the bag as soon as I took the shot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love that feelin'. And that's why I love getting out there and getting in it!!

Meaning of PO according to the Pete Dobre Dictionary...... Photographic Orgasm!!!! And he's spot on too.
 :O)


And just to top off yesterday and make a great day even better.....


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I've had an enquiry on using some of my images for an upcoming glossy tourist magazine.

I can tell you, I'm mighty flattered by that. And a bit humbled too.

This leaves me in a bit of a quandary tho. I am a keen amateur as far as taking images. I've been toying with developing what I do and my name into a business. I'm very unsure if I want to take this step and make it into an enterprise. I've been tossing around the idea of shooting images for Stock, and for that I need to be a business. I want to keep it simple and fun. Not be bogged in paperwork, tax invoices and BAS statements.

I feel as if I'm at a cross roads and I feel torn.......

justification

LO inspired by Joannie McBridie's 'Spring'  in CK Vol 16 Is 4 pg 25.

Been scrapping it for Scrap Therapy recently. This one is for June's MAN of the Month which is Echo Park, num num num. I'm loving this Company.

I've used Little Girl - Laundry Lucy, (Orange Paper) Playground - Simon Says Border Strips.(Minty Blue dotty paper). Summer Days Epoxy Brads. American Craft Thickers.

Journaling says:   this is why I love my scrapbooking.
                          it's a memory jogger for them
                          and a creative outlet for me.
                          18.4.2009

have a great day
tiff  :-)

reflect

I had such an awesome time out there with Laura and this windmill. I just had to share two more with you.

:O)

easter 09

I scrapped for me a while back which was refreshing, but I am enjoying scrapping for Scrap Therapy a lot. I seem to work better when I have a schedule and a due date rather than just at random.

windmill vista

I took Laura out to my windmill location today. At first the sky was dreary and threatening and no chance of a spot of sun at all. And it all changed in 20mins flat.

This is my shot of the day.....

A different angle to the previous one (posted here) as the cloud action was on the western horizon today.

I've a variety of landscape images on Tiff Firth Photography on Facebook.

Martin's lake - dawn

I took a little jaunt yesterday morning. I rose pre-dawn (and I am NOT a morning person!!) and headed out to a property that has a home overlooking a lake.

After taking an extra couple of roads that I hadnt counted on (lol, yes I was a bit lost and thank goodness for mobile phones) I got there just in a nick of time to pick up Miss C and whizzed around to the western end of the lake.

As far as a sunrise goes, it was a bit of a non event, but it was great to just be out there.

golden gum

I saw this tree glow about a month ago and I hadnt been near it since then, or at that time of evening with a camera..... until Saturday night.

Using the very last rays of sunshine as the sun dipped below the horizon. It took 45mins of waiting patiently standing on a ladder to get the 45 second burst of light that I wanted, then the sun was gone for the night. 

Patience is a virtue!!!

mischief

LO inspired by Tara Scobie's Freckles in CK Vol 16 Iss 4, pg 92


Scrap Therapy has announced the June MAN of the Month and it's a rippa.

Echo Park   num num num.

This LO of Sean is my showcase for this week using Little Boy, Little Girl and Summer Days lines.

Announced as well in my Shutter Therapy forum is a tutorial, challenge and competition on landscape photography. And how you can use those camera settings for shooting larger groups of people.