Photo Collage

Creating a photo collage has become quite popular these days. Last week when I wrote about creating unique gifts from your photos I used a photo collage as an example. The original photo I used was a collage art created by my sister.

Collages are especially popular with scrapbooking too. I remember as a kid we used to have photo albums where you just slipped your photo in a plastic sleeve and kept them in the order they were taken. Looking back on old photos is always fun. A friend of mine once said, "Looking at old family photos helps you realize just how good you really had it."

But now we've graduated to digital photo collages. You can create just about any kind of photo album you desire. You are limited only by your imagination. I like working with an original image like the one above.

I chose to use the art sculpture image as the main theme placing different flowers, trees, winter scene and so on around this image. The resulting collage tells a story and gives you an idea of the fun we have when walking in our favorite park.

You can do the same around family reunions or other family gatherings. One of the tricks I like using when creating collages in this way is to use layers. You may or may not be familiar with using layers when you edit photos. They used to drive me crazy before I discovered their power.

You might say I was pulled kicking and screaming into the world of editing using layers. I would just get frustrated when I tried editing photos in programs like photoshop or the program I use now called GIMP. But then I read an article in Popular Photography & Imaging magazine. The article claimed that if you master layers you will never have a problem with Photoshop again.

Well they were so right. Now I love working with layers. I promise I will write an article explaining my tricks next time so you can have fun with layers too. In the mean time enjoy these photo collages that I created using layers. Imagine what you can do. Why you could take your art work and make multiple images for selling online. And no two will be alike.

Click on the thumbnails to get a better look at these each photo collage. By the way, in these photos it is pretty easy to tell what has been added. After all it isn't often you see daisies falling into the ocean. And the robin is just a little off in match with the bird bat he is sitting in.


And there are not many daisies painted on real dolphins. The dolphin in this last picture was actually taken at Riverwalk in Illinois, and the ocean sunset is California.

And finally I couldn't resist. You might have guessed I like things out of the ordinary sometimes;) These daffodils look kind of cool sneaking around those Sunset Cliffs in California. Are you ready to bring your photo collage art to life?

Next week I'll talk a bit about layers. See you then:)

Wisdom of Inspirational Gratitude

When You Are Inspired to Express Gratitude, do so with all your heart.

Have you ever considered the hidden wisdom behind those inspirational expressions of gratitude? How many hearts do you touch with one little thank you? A couple days ago I received an email that lifted my spirits for the whole day.

"Expressing gratitude for all that you send..thank you!
~ recently your message "Yes, you can have it all - just not all at once ~ focus..." embraced my creative heart as I have always known I could have it all.

The part about focus seems to be fine tuning as all the wonder-full creative ventures are lovingly placed in safe keeping for their focus time to be present. Current manifestation is exciting from Galactic Central to the crystal core of our Dear Earth Mother.

Internet focus is quieter for me right now - all in safe keeping. Thank you for sharing your valuable wisdom."

- Elise

The article that Elise was talking about is, Make Focus Your Top Priority For Online Success. It is the fact that she was inspired to express gratitude that I would like to talk about.

There is great wisdom in a simple expression of gratitude. You've probably heard it said that what we send out to the world returns to us a 1,000 times greater. And so it is with the act of being grateful.

Gratitude And The Law of Attraction

I know that I'm not the first person to tell this story. There are lot's of teachers and healers teaching the Law of Attraction these days. And they all agree on one thing. That is that we attract what we place our attention on.

And one little exercise in The Secret is to make a list of the good you see in your life. It makes sense that if we begin our day with gratitude then that is where our attention is going to be.

It really isn't a big secret mystery though. We can only place our attention on one thing at a time. We can try to multi-task and some of us are very good at it. But our attention even in multi-tasking is on the one thing that we are doing right this very second.

I dare you to try to think of something else while you are reading this sentence. You may accomplish the thought but I'll bet you hesitated if only for a split second.

Since this article is about the wisdom of inspirational gratitude, let's take just a second to examine what that means. First look at inspirational. Inspirational means providing creative or spiritual inspiration. I don't know about you but when someone shows gratitude for something I've done, I feel really inspired.

That inspiration in turn brings up a sense of overwhelming gratitude in response. It is a feel good experience by all. But it doesn't stop there. When you are really feeling that sense of gratitude don't you feel a little more inspired to be more creative?

And so the wisdom in expressing inspirational gratitude is the power to touch every life on the planet with a smile.

The Power of Words

Often we don't realize how powerful our very words are. Whether you think them only in your mind or write them or say them out loud, they will have an effect. Today I was listening to an audio interview with Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of Faith Hope And Healing and Linda Pannell from World Changing Wisdom.

He was relating a story about an art assignment done by one of his kids. This child had taken a sheet of paper and written WORDS over and over until it filled the page.

Bernie said, "Anybody listening to this pick up a pencil and write words words words with no space in between them and what you notice is they become swords. And when he brought it home and I looked at it, it was like, "Oh boy!", that you can kill or cure with words or a sword or a scalpel."

I challenge you today to choose kind words of gratitude. And I want to say thank you to all who stumble upon this blog. May your hearts be filled with as much gratitude as mine in this very moment.

Special thanks to Elise for bringing to my attention the Wisdom of Inspirational Gratitude.

Love to All

Sally
www.heartholograms.com
www.heartknowings.com
www.natureandflowerpictures.com

Creating Unique And Unusual Gifts

Have you considered creating unique personalized gifts with your art and photography? Of course you have. After all you can't turn on your computer without being bombarded with the idea. Right?

Summertime and the living is easy. Okay okay enough of the corny cliches! But really what better time for family gathering than summer time. There are so many things to do together. Everyone thinks of gift giving at Christmas and Birthdays and other special occasions.

What about those times when you need something that will not break the bank? I have one of those family gatherings coming up this weekend. I live out of town so going to a family reunion is really something special for me. It's kind of like a wish come true.

The other time of year our family get's together is for Christmas. And oh those treks through ice and snow make it really hard to keep the Christmas cheer. So I always said why can't we have Christmas in July? At least the gift giving part, right? After all that's when all the sales pitches start.

So this year I decided to create a unique gift to offer the family. My younger sister created invitations using her new graphic arts skill. She is a wonderful artist so going to computer graphics is both fun and challenging. She sent me the image by computer and that's when my idea came to me.

Ceramic Tile Coasters From Photo Art By Sally

Meet the family folks. This was last year's reunion. I took the photo file and created a ceramic tile in my store. I use CafePress to create products from the graphics and images I've created.

In one afternoon I created the product and placed my order. Order processing time is said to be 2 to 6 weeks from creation to delivery. So I figured my offering would have to be sent out after our reunion. Imagine my surprise when the box of tiles arrived just 2 weeks later.

And ceramic tiles are not the only thing you can create with your art. There are many places online that you can create unique gifts with. But for the truly personalized touch I suggest you go with someone you trust and know. I've used CafePress for a few years.

Recently I've switched to Zazzle.com because of the ability to allow you to customize. I am also able to offer better prices too.. I suggest you do a little shopping before making a final decision.

Offer those unique gifts to your potential clients. If you are just in the market to create a unique gift for your own family gathering check out the gifts available on Photo Art by Sally. You can even upload your own pictures to the available products.

Speaking of putting you in the picture. Did I tell you I did not get to go to last year's reunion? I did get the pictures though. And one of them happened to be of all my brothers and sisters. We're the group in the middle of the tile.

I had my granddaughter take a picture of me while visiting them. Ideas come to me at odd times, okay? I put that picture into the original photo and for effect made it a little transparent. Click on the thumbnail to get a closer look.

I told the family I was at the reunion, if only in spirit. Everyone got a kick out of it and I got to share in the invitations for this year. So let me put you in the picture, any picture. Tell them you were at the beach this year. Contact me for details.

Make Focus Your Top Priority For Online Success

Focus is Key

Photographers deal with focus every time they pick up their camera. You might say it is the most important part of their job. The same is true for artists of any field. It is focus they are most concerned with. That point of interest may be the focal point of a flower, face, tree, or even the meaning behind the art.

But what about other areas of life? How important is focus? If you've ever tried to thread a needle, you know how important it can be. Here is another example. Watch a child who is just learning to tie their shoes. Their focus is nowhere else but the shoe laces they are bringing together into a bow.

So what is focus? And why is it so important?

According to the dictionary focus is one of those words in the English language that can be used as a verb or a noun. And so the meaning depends on how you are using it in a sentence.

Focus can be the main object in an artist's painting. The focus in this case will be that portion of the painting that will draw your eye. Everything else in the painting must compliment this point.

In photography this point will be the subject of the photo. Focus also means the difference between a clear shot and one that is blurry. You may even choose to have portions of a photograph in focus like a flower while the rest of the image is slightly blurred.

What about using focus as a verb? I can think of no better example of the importance of the verb version of this word than in succeeding at your online business.

In starting an online business you are faced with a multitude of choices. And the first choice is what will be the focus of your business?

Your business can be about any or all of the following:

Affiliate Marketing
E-Goods
Hard Goods
Information
Auctions
Network Marketing
Write an E-Book

As you can see there are many things you can focus on when creating an online business.

The best advice anyone ever gave me was to choose one and work all aspects of that focal point until you see results. If you are like me you may flit from one juicy morsel to the next like a butterfly.

This may work for butterflies but, trust me, it won't pay your bills. You will become frustrated and come down with that dreaded disease called Overwhelm!

Yes you can have it all! You just can't have it all at once. Do one thing well and then do the next if you like.

Scattered energy is weak energy that trickles like a dripping faucet. So turn up the energy on your success and pick one aspect to focus on.

Join Nature Tales And Turn Your Hobby Into A Successful Online Business

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To Your Continued Success!

Sally
www.natureandflowerpictures.com
www.heartholograms.com
www.heartknowings.com