Getting Close to the Bears

Yesterday we experienced the grizzly bears at the MN Zoo.  The zoo has three Russian Grizzly bears - Sadie, Haines, and Kenai.

We were able to get pretty close to the bears, we fed them a treat, and toured the "behind the scenes" view of their pens and kitchens.   We also learned about the the zoo's enrichment programs and how the zookeepers and vets care for these animals.

The zoo keeps the groups small, up to 6 people, and the program begins before the zoo opens.

A very awesome experience!

Haines (the darker bear) and either Sadie or Kenai (had trouble telling them apart) coming outside from their holding pens.

Haines sitting on top of the tallest set of stones.

Haines coming down to check us out.

Dave and I - with a blurry Haines in the background.

Kenai eating a fish that he caught.

Haines checking out the waters edge - hoping a fish will come close.

Sadie eating an apple that I tossed out to her - look at those toenails!

This is Kenai - patiently waiting for someone to toss him an apple.

Just so cute!

At over 900 lbs and more than 6 feet tall - it's nice to have a good, strong fence between us.

Bye, bye (or is it "talk to the hand"?)

Hope you had great weekend!

Good Morning Friday

Looking forward to a summery weekend . . .

I hope you have a wonderful weekend too!

Dark and Moody

A little drama for today.
A bouquet of dried red roses have such character, add a silk ribbon, and strong light from the side and you have drama!

I'm joining Texture Tuesday and BeStill52 today!  The image above (and below) was "textured" with Kim's Organic preset - I love the drama this preset creates.

I hope you have an awesome day!
Be Wonderfully odd!

Hello March!

Welcome March!

I welcome the longer daylight hours of March and the signs that spring is just around the corner.

A bright and cheerful image for the March calendar!

March 2015


The March calendar freebees are here!
Grab them here:
Desktop wallpaper - click here - (right click on image and save as desktop image)
Phone wallpaper - click here - (click on image and save as wallpaper image)
iPad wallpaper - click here - (click on image and save as wallpaper image)
iPad mini wallpaper - click here - (click on image and save as wallpaper image)
Note - the phone and iPad images can be adjusted and moved on your screen by pinching and centering the calendar!

Have an awesome month!

Be Wonderfully Odd!

"Painting"

I'm "painting" with phone apps again.  And I'm joining App Happy Wednesday too!
A
 few weeks ago I processed a picture of one of my face drawings (I love making faces!) through a painting app and I loved how it turned out.

This week I'm giving it a go again - and I think she is super cute!

Girl in swimsuit


I processed this drawing by taking a photo with my phone's basic Camera App and then using the Brushstroke App to make it look like a painting.  I used the W5 paint setting, the Duke paint pallet, and the orange colored canvas option.

Here are a couple of other versions using the Mextures App for a grungy look and the Waterlogue App for a soft and blurry water painting look.

Have an awesome day!
Be Wonderfully Odd!

Day Dreaming

Day Dreaming

The photo challenge in this weeks BeStill52 photo class was to shoot a vignette that included bunting (or ribbon, or something draped).  I'm also joining Texture Tuesday today!

I made the tiny bunting in these images by cutting diamond shapes from pages pulled from an old paperback, pressing the edges into a brown ink pad, stamping the letters in black ink, and folding the paper pieces over a brown string to create the triangle flags. I hung the bunting with strips of polka dot patterned Washi tape.

This photo challenge gave me a chance to play with my "new" old stack of worn and weathered books.  I love the frayed edges, the spines, and the brown-aged pages of old books!

I used three of Kim Klassen's textures on the image above - Sonnet, Goldenhour, and PumpkinGrunge.  I also used one of Kim's wreath stamps (from her mini holiday brush set) to add texture, and repeat the swag shape, in the background behind the bunting.  I used Kim's Cinnamon texture in the image below.

Dream

Here's to a dreamy day!
Be Wonderfully Odd!

Making Faces

Currently on my work bench . . .
Faces that I created from clay last week now have layers of paint - Mars Black, Burnt Umber, and Titanium White - pretty neutral right now.
Their cuteness and personality are starting to shine through :)
Next up - some color - pinks, reds, and maybe some blues and purples too.

Behind the scenes

I hope that your day is a happy one!
Be Wonderfully Odd!

Flower Love

I'm loving these sweet orangey pink mini roses that I picked up last weekend at the grocery store.

I'm joining App Happy Wednesday today!

I used the PicTapGo app and applied four layers (Old Glory, SX-70, Fade to Grey, and Warm it Up) to the image.

Have an awesome day!
Be Wonderfully Odd!

Good Morning!

Good Morning!

Just a quick post to share this weeks photography class photo challenge (a still-life image of breakfast) and to join the Texture Tuesday group.
The image above is textured with two layers of Kim Klassen's "1111" texture.

I hope you have a bright and beautiful day!
Be Wonderfully Odd!

Currently Working on . . .

Making faces!

Making faces

Next step - painting (many, many layers of paint)!

Have a great day!
Be Wonderfully Odd!

A Painting - with Phone Apps

Playing around with phone apps again - just so much fun!

I'm just delighted with this image!

After I finished sketching a sweet girl in my sketchpad, I wondered what would happen if I snapped a picture and processed it in the Waterlogue App?

And this is the result!

Sweetheart

I love how Waterlogue softens the pencil lines and lightens the colors.  I will certainly try this again with some of my other drawings.

I'm joining App Happy Wednesday today!

I hope your day is wonderful!
Be Wonderfully Odd!