Just in Case

I didn't want you to think I've deserted you, I'm still here, just busy with other things. 

There comes a time in your life when you realise it's time to downsize your collection. Not just sending one off to allow you to buy a new one, but really cull them hard. It's always been difficult for me to see them fly off to new homes, even though I may not have "played" with them for a long time.

All my Blythe dolls went some time ago, along with the odd doll here and there. More recently, several of my Paola Reina Las Amigas have found new homes. So I thought it would be a good idea to make photo books of my different collections, before they all go. 

The three books I have done so far are all quite different. The first was "Tales from the Elvin Forest", which not only features photos of all my elves, it also includes all the stories I have written for them.

The second one, "Ball Jointed Dolls ~ Human Versions" features photos of the dolls by themselves detailing how I created their characters, as well as some which were used for their photostories.

The third, "1:6 Scale Interiors" features all the dolls which have been photographed inside my 1:6 scale roombox. It also has information about how the rooms themselves were designed and arranged.

Books don't take up as much room as dolls, nor do they take much time or effort to look after. At least now, if I ever have to go into aged care, I can take all my dolls with me!

Photography Experiments

I don't use Photoshop, purely because it's all very techo and far beyond my capabilities. However, I have found a way to enjoy playing around with photos.

Step 1: I took a photo using my phone, of my little Acorn (RealFee Soso) standing on my desk with a very uninteresting background.

Step 2: I used Remove Background to do just that, then saved the "png" image to my computer.

Step 3: I used Paint 3D to import a background which I had previously purchased from Etsy.

Step 4: I overlaid the "png" image of Acorn and cropped the photo to the size I wanted.

Step 5: I overlaid a further "png" image, which I had also purchased earlier, so it looks like Acorn is singing a tune.

This was fun and for an oldie like me, I think I've done a fair job of creating an interesting photo. What say you?

Garden in Bloom

Autumn is such a pretty time of year in my garden, it would be perfect if it were not for all the leaves! We have three big deciduous trees in out front yard and right now we cannot keep up with all the raking. Hubby has got to the point of using the mower rather than the rake!

So here's some of my Azaleas in bloom ~

The tall shrub behind the Azalea is a Camellia, we have four of those, they are just beginning to flower, but they'll come into full flower a little later. 

The leaves that fall on the garden beds make great mulch and keep the moisture in our normally quite dry ground.

Don't ask me the names of the different varieties, I can't remember! I do know some of them have double flowers like the pretty pale pink one above.