This has been a good week for me and photography – I feel creative…I feel inspired…I feel really good. I even managed to get ahead of myself this week which is pretty awesome (and necessary considering that the holidays are quickly approaching). Anyways, it’s that time again…Scavenger Hunt Sunday. So, if you’ve been participating in the Scavenger Hunt each week, I hope this week’s items inspired you. If you’re new to the Scavenger Hunt…WELCOME!
The rules are simple:
- Anyone can participate.
- You’re encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge.
- If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I’m not too strict about it – I do my best to take fresh shots).
- Link up here on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest) – you can use the button above.
- Have fun!
Without further discussion…here are my interpretations this week:
1. Self-Portrait
The other day, I teased you with a “special delivery” from The Paper Mama! Well, as you can see in the picture above, she sent me my very own Paper Lady Crown with inter-changeable titles (including Property of Kitty Paw, Photo Nerd, Shhhh…I’m Blogging, etc). I love it! So…the other night, I wanted to show off my new crown and take a self-portrait for this week’s challenge. I also wanted to try a photoshop technique inspired by Captivus. She will be launching a new challenge on November 18th designed to challenge all of us using Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. This week’s prompt is “liquify.” As you can see, I used this tool (found under FILTER>DISTORT for PSE users) on my eyes and lips to create a cartoon look for myself. I think it’s pretty fun and I’m looking forward to playing with this tool a little more. 
2. Handmade (November 2010 Photo Hunt Item)
The photo above is the result of an arts-n-crafts project my mom and I tried the other weekend. For our wedding last year, one of our family friends made a very similar S. Unfortunately, it broke so we were unable to use the original for this holiday season. Luckily, we’re pretty crafty, so we were able to recreate the “S” wreath. I am not a step-by-step craft project photographer, so I have no photos of the process.
Materials: One sheet of large Styrofoam board (we used a really thin piece, you could also use a piece of left over cardboard), one package of sheet moss (you’ll want it on a sheet vs loose moss), some sort of adhesive (we used a hot glue gun, but spray-on adhesive might be less time consuming), a knife, scissors, decorative ribbon and patience.
Materials: One sheet of large Styrofoam board (we used a really thin piece, you could also use a piece of left over cardboard), one package of sheet moss (you’ll want it on a sheet vs loose moss), some sort of adhesive (we used a hot glue gun, but spray-on adhesive might be less time consuming), a knife, scissors, decorative ribbon and patience.
- Loosely draw your initial on the Styrofoam
- Use a knife to cut out the shape
- Lay your moss over the shape and use your scissors to cut the same shape out of the moss – leave a little extra room on the edges to fold it
- Use your adhesive or glue gun to hold the moss in place…allow to dry
- Fold over the extra moss around the edges as if you’re filling in the seam.
- Flip over your initial and use the extra pieces to complete the other side (we weren’t as neat since this would be the back)
- Clean up any bare spots with the extra moss
- Cut a piece of decorative ribbon to tie around center of the letter and hang from your door (we used a suction cup wreath hanger)
3. Orange (November 2010 Photo Hunt Item)
I love love love this beautiful autumn red-orange color. I was running a few errands when I saw this tree and how the sun was hitting it just right.
4. Candle
It took me so long to start participating in Katie Lloyd’s Scripture and a Snapshot, but now that I’m officially participating, I am really enjoying finding scriptures to support one of my Scavenger Hunt Photos. This particular scripture comes from Psalm 43:3 (the font is difficult to read).
5. Traffic Signals or Signs
I really struggled with getting what I thought was an interesting shot of traffic signals or signs…until I played with my post-processing. For this particular shot, I used My Four Hens – Slick and then applied an emboss layer which made the signals pop.
What were your interpretations of the items this week? I can’t wait to check them out. Be sure to load your pictures in your blog (or your Flickr photostream) and link up at the bottom of this post. Feel free to grab a button to display on your blog along with your scavenger hunt items. The linky will be open until Tuesday night at midnight (EST). If you didn’t participate this week, but want to participate next week, here are your items:
- The View Above (next week’s Paper Heart Camera theme)
- Something Hot (November 2010 Photo Hunt)
- Something Cold (November 2010 Photo Hunt)
- Electronic (Mandy‘s suggestion)
- Sparkle (Mandy‘s suggestion)
A big THANK YOU goes out to Chelsey and Mandy since they helped me finish out the Scavenger Hunt list this week. They actually suggested that I start to incorporate YOUR prompts as part of the hunt (which is great, because I’m starting to run out of ideas). I have traditionally used one item from another list (this group has moved away from the blog world…and this next theme was “brown,” so I thought that had been overplayed), two items from the Photo Hunt challenge of the month and then two other random items.
With that said, send me your ideas. Each week, I will select one reader’s prompt list, add those items to what is currently on tap, and give the selected reader a shout out on my blog during Scavenger Hunt Sunday. So, off you go…happy shooting!
