Pictures of Plasma

Yesterday, I posted pictures of all sorts of lovely things that I have on my desk (including, but not limited to, Silmarils and Jim Bone the Desk Diplodocus).  There was one major thing, however, that I did not photograph.


That was, until last night.


Meet my husband's plasma ball:

Yes, it really is a plasma ball.  (And yes, it really does belong to my husband--I am just borrowing it.  For an extended period.  Really...)  Purchased from thinkgeek.com, this lovely little beauty is attached to my computer via USB and is constantly swirling with purple/pink plasma.  


It is absolutely mesmerizing, and fantastically geeky.  It is also ridiculously hard to photograph.  But there is no challenge that my new camera and I will not face!  Of course, I should mention that it was my husband who figured out the best settings to use, but ah well.  He shows me these things so that I can look good, right?


Here are the fruits of our labor:

I was happy with the distinct lines visible in this picture.

This picture captures more of the plasma's movement.

Plasma ball from above...  fun with different angles!

I have also been playing around with a new photo editing software (nothing fancy, but still rather daunting--to me, at least).  So far, I haven't figured out how to scale images down to different sizes, but I have learned to take this:

...and turn it into this:

And I didn't even have to get my husband's help!  ;)  


I have been having an extreme amount of fun with this whole process.  It looks like my original picture project has just taken on a whole new light!  (And, no, I don't do crazy effects on my store photos--that was just for fun.)


Let's see what I else I can take pictures of around here...  Watch out, world, I've got a camera!

More Pictures...

Today, I have been taking pictures of everything.  Why?  Because of my new camera, of course!  *and there was much rejoicing*

I have already posted some pictures of jewelry here, but I decided to also post some of the other random photographs I have taken with it.  After all, it is a multi-talented piece of equipment!  :)

It all started last night, when I first got home with the camera.  First things first, my husband and I wanted to see if it would actually take pictures for my shop.  We first decided to try with my wedding ring:

Holding my wedding ring...  yes, that is my hand.

Close up of the ring itself...  It really is a beautiful design.
(You should be able to see more of the detail if you enlarge it.)

Of course, by that time it was close to midnight.  At that point, I was exhausted--and, excited as I was, I needed to go to sleep.

That was only a short hiatus, however.  This morning, soon as I woke up, I found myself taking pictures of everything I came across.  Despite it being grey and gloomy outside, I trundled into the cold to get these shots:

View of the tree over the roof...  if you can enlarge it, please
do so--there is a lot of beautiful detail on the branches.

The giant sycamore in the front yard.

When I got too cold, I came inside and took some pictures in the kitchen:

The beautiful poinsettia that is adorning a kitchen cabinet.

Even mugs are exciting when you have a new camera!

Then, I trundled back into my room and took pictures of things on my desk.

A silly treatise on a language I created. 

Meet Jim Bone, my desk Diplodocus.

Another shot of Jim Bone...  note his anatomically correct
neck, which is horizontal to his body and not like that of a
Brachiosaurus.

Peacock feather that I have peeking over my laptop.

Large Silmaril that I have on my desk.

Smaller Silmaril, also found on my desk.

As I am sure you can imagine, my desk is a place full of shiny things!  From here, I then took the jewelry shots already posted here.  

All in all, I have had a lovely day--full of photography and pretty things.  After a week of being sick with the stomach flu, this has been such a wonderful change of pace!

New Camera!

Remember what happened to my camera in this post?  That's right, it accidentally got run over by a car.  Miraculously, it still worked after that!  However, my husband used that as an excuse to get me a new camera for Christmas / my birthday.  Usually I don't like presents for those two events getting lumped into one... but in this case, I gladly made an exception!


The new camera is a Nikon D3000.  It is absolutely stunning.  I have been playing around with it all day (and last night, too).  I am still learning the ropes, since I am a newcomer to shutter speeds and ISO levels...  Most of my pictures thus far have been on auto.  Yet, despite me being a novice, the pictures are amazing.


Honestly, just look at these!


(This is also a shameless way to showcase the projects I have been working on...  I make no apologies.  *grin*)

I made this necklace with a clear Swarovski Crystal with an
AB finish.  It actually is more pink/gold than blue, but the
lighting made it look like this, and I decided not to argue.

Another shot of the same necklace.

Earrings to match the above necklace...  Closer to the true
color of the crystals themselves.

For my birthday, my in-laws gave me a gift certificate to a
bead store.  I used it to pick up the pendant for this necklace:
a beautiful carved Agate Leaf.

Another shot of the Agate Leaf Necklace...  Just look at
those striations!

A new, fancy variation on my Silmarils...  Getting
perfected before I start listing them on my store.

Another shot of the above necklace.

A new design of earring, using black teardrops with
rainbow coating.

Necklace that the above earrings were designed to match.
It truly is gorgeous!

Obviously, I am still learning...  But, wow!  I am so excited to see what else my lovely new camera can do!

Merry Christmas to All...

...and to all a good night.

Christmas Cookies!

It's that time of year again!  Yes, indeed, it is the time of year to make cookies!


(It may be unoriginal, since it seems like many people make Christmas cookies...  But cookies are so good!  I am not ashamed.)


My family does not have many recipes that have been handed down through the generations.  Well, perhaps I should be more specific.  We do not have many recipes that have been handed down through many generations--I have plenty from both my parents and my grandparents.  But from my mother's grandmother's grandmother...  those recipes are few and far between.


And one of those special generational recipes is for White Cookies.  They are not sugar cookies.  In fact, they are light and fluffy and cakey--and not too sweet.  (One of the ingredients is, I kid you not, sour milk.)  I have never encountered them anywhere else--not in bakeries or other stores.  My mother makes them every year for Christmas.


And this year, I tried my hand at making them.

All ready to go into the oven
(yes, there are trees and stars and bells and the Christmas Duck)

Out of the oven, cooling

With icing!  Just perfect, because the cookies themselves
aren't too sweet--the sugar isn't overpowering

My friend getting ready to sample the success

They turned out very, very well--especially for a first try!  They went very quickly, too--my husband didn't even get any before they disappeared!  I think making some more may be in order.


Speaking of making more, those are just one of the types of cookies I've made.  With one of my friends, we have overall made five different kinds of cookies, with two more to go...  We have made chocolate chip cookies (two batches), sugar cookies, the aforementioned white cookies, oatmeal cookies, and Andes mint chocolate chunk cookies.  Still to go are the snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies.


Yes, indeed, it is that time of year again!

Snow, Snow, Snow...

It was such a dry summer...  and now, all of a sudden, there is SNOW everywhere!

Our Backyard...  taken on Monday, 12-13-2010

It has been snowing every other day, it seems--not giving the first round a chance to thaw, either, since the temperature is hovering below freezing.  (Imagine, it's snowing now, as I type this.)  


And, with snow, comes a wonderful bevy of problems...  including, but not limited to: 

1. difficulty getting in and out of the driveway
2. dropping my camera in said driveway and accidentally running over it 
3. having our mailbox be taken out by out-of-control vehicles twice on the same day (first time took the top off, the second time took down the post)--and no, none of us were the ones that hit it

Fun times!  Still, even with that, the good has been outweighing the bad...  we are all safe and cozy.  There was no mail in the mailbox when it got hit.  AND my camera still works.  (Amazingly!  It now has lots of personality--in the form of superficial scratches--and I think I should be part of a camera commercial!)  

The Sky...  taken right after my camera got run over
(I took it to see if the camera was still working--and it was!)

And what's more--the Christmas tree is up, there is egg nog in the fridge, I am wearing jingle bell earrings, and I have happy slippers (early Christmas presents).  Even as grumpy as I have been the last few days, I am remembering that life is a beautiful thing...  and so is snow, as long as you don't have to go out in it!

Picture Project - Update 13

Statement of the obvious: it is no longer November!


What does that mean?  That means that I am once more working on my Picture Project!  Today was dedicated to taking lots and lots of pictures, and then replacing old pictures with those lots and lots of pictures.


Here are the fruits of today's labor...

Apples and Cider - Earrings

Lady Lynneth, Dragon Walker - Earrings

Petroglyph - Earrings

Petroglyph - Hairsticks

Petroglyph - Necklace

Gift to Emily - Twilight Hairsticks

Moonweb - Earrings

Moonweb - Necklace

Royal Pink - Gold Earrings

Marion Ravenwood - Earrings

Marion Ravenwood - Necklace

As one might imagine, I still have more to go...  but I am quite content with today's progress.  Hurrah!

Labyrinth's Masquerade - Hairsticks

I thought I was done posting items to my store for the night.  Honestly, I have to wake up early tomorrow, and was hoping to get some sleep.  But I just couldn't help myself--I wanted to post the hairsticks that I made to go along with this set.*


And so, because I am in love with them, here are the hairsticks of the Labyrinth's Masquerade:

They are surprisingly light, and I love the contrast between the iridescent topper and the dark dark wood.  I have half a mind to keep them for myself...  but I thought I would offer them to the world, to see if there was someone else who loved them just as much as I do.


---
This morning, I actually made 8 separate pairs of hairsticks.  Three of them were the StarCraft pairs.  One of them was a custom order.  The remaining ones were original ideas...  This set was one of those original ideas.