All posts tagged: photography

Sweet Blessings

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A beautiful  Sunday, and Happy Mothers Day. I made a special cake for my sister today to celebrate Mother’s Day with the family. A Vanilla Strawberry Buttercake. Its the first time I’ve used this giant cupcake tin, so a little trial and error, but some great results. And some wonderful ideas for future baking were discussed by us girls….  A Mothers Blessing Thank you, Holy Father, for Your special gift of mothers; for the example of Your unconditional love they share with their children. Thank You for the mother who lets her child know without doubt he or she is loved, and for the child who returns that love. Lord, today we pray You will protect and guide mothers everywhere; that You will grant them Your wisdom in loving and teaching their children. Today, may children everywhere remember the warm caresses and whispers in the night; the tears dried and Band-Aids, the peach cobbler, the laughter; and the blood curdling scream, ‘No!’ at the brink of danger. Thank You for the mothers who played with …

Beeted Chocolate Fudge Cake

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The crisp cool mornings have arrived with the changing colours of our trees, and the early evening smoke clouds from chimney tops from warm lit fires. Autumn is here, and with it beautiful Autumn vegetables. Pumpkins, Squash, Parsnips and beautiful, beautiful Beetroot. I bought this beautiful bunch of beetroot from our local Organic Grocer, such wonderful fresh produce, this bunch cost AUS $3.50, and I used it for a couple of dishes. My first idea was to make that gorgeous magenta rich Bosch soup, but I didn’t have too many green flags on that one..so I thought I might be a little sneaky and make a chocolate fudge cake..everyone loves chocolate! I had seen red velvet cupcakes before made with beetroot, lower in calories and beetroot gives the mixture a smoother, moist texture. Scouting through many wonderful new and exciting beetroot dishes, I found this one from the ‘girls’ from the BBC program ‘Cook yourself Thin’, I have adapted it due to the amount of coffee in it, not good for the smaller generation. It …

Texture Tuesday – Let’s get Creative eDition

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Vintage Roses This weeks challenge, was even more a challenge for myself, I was determined to sit down and learn something new in Photoshop Elements, instead of my usual fly through with Picasa 3. What better way then to sit down with Kim Klassens, Beyond Layers and her Photoshop Test Kitchen – Elements The Essentials. Headphones, coffee and a learning will to ensure a new direction to textures and my photos. original photo + kk_mustardseed + kk_dream, mixing both blend modes and opacities. ‘We are born at a given moment, in a given place and, like vintage years of wine,we have the qualities of the year and of the season of which we are born.  Astrology does not lay claim to anything more’  Carl Gustav Jung Have a wonderful week, my friends Yvette…x

You First

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Another challenge with Kim Klassen’s ‘Beyond Layers’. Bit by bit, layer by layer, finding the true inner self and capturing those wonderful moments, and times that I as a person grab onto the ‘me’ time. Last weeks self portrait challenge, wasn’t easy for myself and some other members of the group, but hey! it was a release to confront the self image, the reflection of the ‘true’ me and with Kim’s encouragement continue on this self discovery journey. So what better way to continue but ‘take the time’, embrace the ah ha moments that I can truly say, I’m doing this for me, I’m taking some time (and not feeling guilty) to do the things I love. I grabbed the moment of spending a few days with a wonderful friend, who was on her mission to excel in her new years resolution, of making time to visit family more often  Family not at her doorstep, travelling to the ‘bush’ some kilometers away from her home. I too, was on a mission, find time to do …

Amaryllis in Blueberry

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Amaryllis in Blueberry ***** (excellent) by Christina Meldrum “In Meldrum’s intoxicating first adult novel (after 2010’s Madapple) a family undertakes West African missionary work only to find its members profoundly transformed. Polish-American pathologist Dick Slepy lives with his bohemian wife, Christina “Seena,” in Danish Landing, Mich. They have four daughters, each following the other by two years. There’s pretty Mary Grace, now 18. Mary Catherine is “always-obedient” and pious, whereas Mary Tessa is a “trouble-maker-in-training,” and the precocious Amaryllis, their youngest at 11, is an “emotional synesthete,” who tastes, smells, and otherwise “consumes” the pain, rage, love, or joy of others, and is suspiciously dark-featured. Fearing that his wife is having an affair, Dick seeks the council of his local priest, Father Amadi, who suggests the Slepys take a mission to West Africa to help his nephew, Mawuli, run an aid organization. They go, but the mission is anything but the salve Dick had hoped for, and one event after another…shove the family into deep crisis. With every chapter, Meldrum jumps viewpoints and shifts time …

Texture Tuesday – free & easy eDition

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With every crack and chipped painted wall, (signs of a child, who hung posters on her wall), there’s something about returning to the four walls of a house, you call ‘home’. Reminiscing of many good times and sad ones, having the comforts at your fingertips and your Mum, home cooking and wanting do do everything for you, just as it was when you were a small child. I’m enjoying the Easter break holiday vacation time, relaxing with my camera and a couple of good books. (novels and a few inspirational cookbooks), writing up my next school programs and catching up with long time friends. Photographing the last of Mum’s flowering rose blooms, capturing them in the early morning stream of light from a window for a Texture Tuesday shot. Experimenting with composition, and light sources, and learning my new camera. Just a little time for me.(sigh!) I love the transparency of the rose petals… Beautiful roses,and just a little subtle texture. Free and Easy for this weeks Texture Tuesday. Linking to Kim Klassens Cafe. Have …

The Violets Of March

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The Violets of March **** (Good Read) by Sarah Jio I’m linking to Jain at Food for Thought and Mary at Home is Where the Boat is, please go and check out their book review, and if you’re interested in reading and baking this is a diverse way to create..just email these lovely ladies for the years book list to join in. Now to this fabulous book… This book is a mix of romance, love, secrets and family history. A book that has you hooked from the beginning, and one that I read over a weekend. Soaking up the romance of young love, and intrigued by making my own endings, and hoping for the happy one.This book was captivating. This book is about Emily who is trying to find herself, and by visiting her  great Aunt, she falls under the magical spray on Bainbridge Island, to not only find new love but solve the secret mystery within her family. “Mix a love story, history and a mystery and what takes root? The Violets of March, …

Marshmallow Velvet Cake

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Hello Lovelies, I’ve really missed these times of creating in the kitchen, and believe it, this is my first recipe of the year. A wonderful ‘fluffy’ start to the countdown to our most chocolaty time of the year – Easter. My mind is whirling with recipes and creative threads for Easter, and time allowing I hope to show you a few in the upcoming days and weeks…It’s not long so that means for us here in the southern hemisphere our first holiday break. And I’m so looking forward to it! Marshmallow red velvet cake, smothered in mascarpone frosting, half with coconut and the other with mini white marshmallows. Served with Arabic coffee. This truly is a luscious moist velvet cake recipe…

Tranquility

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I wanted to share these  photos with you friends, of a couple of my relaxing days this Summer with friends and finding the tranquility of our beautiful beaches and waterways. Relax this Sunday, won’t you… Yvette…x

White eDition

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I thought I would have found a little more time this week to do the things I love…but here I am and it’s Friday tomorrow. This weeks Texture Tuesday with Kim Klassen was to use one of Kims fabulous textures and the image to centre around the colour White…White, my favourite colour, light, purity, clean crisp white. Some weeks ago,(actually, the truth maybe now a month ago) I was visiting a place so dear to my heart a beautiful place where friends have gathered, laughed and cried. A place where I find refuge amongst the Australian eucalypts and cool soft nightly breezes. Awaken to the king of roosters and hear the symphonies of birds, and the cry of peacocks.Yes, that cry of peacocks…a bevy of peacocks. They are beautiful, but oh!, such a piercing loud call.                                   Photo Recipe: Original photo Yvettes Twistedvines + kim klassens textures:  kkawaken + kkorganic + adjustments of light and shadow. This beautiful white …