4 Pane Window Picture Frame DIY

Here's one for the do-it-yourself-ers.

Woo-hoo for me. I have finally completed my project. I picked up this 4 pane window from a friends junk pile, took it to work for a couple guys to add an L shape for more accessories, added a little Cricut touch, door hardware and keys, walla! I decided since it has a vintage look why not add some of my favorite pictures. I chose an old grist mill, Dr.'s office, barn and house. Here's the final piece of art, what do ya think?

Up,Up, Away

On the road again, or should I say in the air!!
Rick and I had a complete day away from the house on Saturday. We were up and out of here by 6:15am. First stop Fort Madison's Rodeo Park for to watch the hot air balloons launch. It was amazing at how fast the wind lifts them up. They were over the Mississippi in no time. Now we took our journey to davenport for lunch and to visit some friends. On the way Rick saw a sign for the Pine Creek Grist Mill, okay I'm game. So off the beaten path we go. I'm so glad he was in the mood for exploring. The place was fantastic. This would be a great location for Senior photography but I live too far away, dang!
It's time to eat, we've been going since 6:15 and it's now noon. We went on into Davenport and decided to eat at the Machine Shed . If you've never ate there and you live in the Midwest states you need to go! The food, atmosphere and prices are wonderful.

Now on to the "man" store - Harbor Freight. Now for some reason, I came out of there with allot more than Rick did. Oh well, gotta get those flower beds prettied up. I know now why they make a seasonal section, it's for the ladies!!

Next stop back to Fort Madison for the balloon glow. What a day this turned out to be. We arrived back home at 10:30, exhausted!

Enjoy the video! You can see the pictures full sized here here. I almost forgot to do a little bragging. I told you back in May that I won a photo contest for Access Energy again this year! One of my eagle pictures titled " Soaring In The Sky" will be posted on July for the 2010 calendar. I received a couple calendars the other day and love it! Also did I mention the number of views are increasing more and more each day on my web site. Thanks to everyone who shared the link.

Now I feel like a give away! Actually I will be doing a giveaway each month with a grand prize in December. How will we do this you may ask? I will be drawing a name from anyone who makes a comment on this post for a free framed 8 x 10 picture of your choice from my flickr uploads. The contest begins now and will end on July 31st. When making your comment please put your name, city, state and email address and I will contact you if you are the lucky one.

Have fun and good luck!

Mud & Smiles

Today was the perfect day. A gentle breeze blowing and the sun was not beating down on us. To add to the list of good things, I had a beautiful model for todays shoot. Nicole was fun and very photogenic. I rented the costumes for a "heirloom"type session ( as I mentioned in my last post) It's not just an art store they have so much more. Check it out if you are in Burlington. The lady there was very helpful and talk about costumes, they have tons!

On to our session. Nicole and I had a great time and lots of laughs today. People in town were staring us down, but I guess we did look a little odd prancing around town with saloon girl type dress on. ( Nicole, you are a great sport!) Here are a few of the pictures, more can be seen on my web site !!! Yeah I have it all set up. Please leave me some feedback on the new site as well as this post. I'm trying to get my name out and your help is greatly appreciated. As always follwers always welcomed. I have been stuck on 4 forever. Now when I look at the blogs I follow, hummm, my list goes on and on, something is wrong with the picture here. Maybe I need to spike it up a little. What would you suggest I do to attract more followers and.or viewers? Let me know but submitting a comment at the end of this post.

Happy Birthday America

I can say it sure has been a busy time for me. I'm working on my photography web site which I hope to have complete today or tomorrow. If I could stay out of Wal-Mart, stop lounging in the pool and working in the yard, I may get it finished. Oh well, it's that time of the year when outside is what I like!! How about you?
So I've been stalking birds again- I'm not sure what kind this is but I can say one thing, she's a mean one. I let her build her nest at my back door over the light. Well, I didn't actually let her, I knocked it down several times as she was building but within 2 hours of my back being turned, she had it complete. The reason was, she was ready to lay those eggs! Several of them I might add. Here's a shot of the babies. I hope I don't come outside one day and one has fallen out! Talk about ugly ducklings, these sure are some ugly babies! I took my camera and tripod to the garage to stand because when I approach her nest from the backdoor, she dive bombs me!
Fireworks in West Point! Rick and I drove up town this year to watch the fireworks and I got some pretty good shots.

The weather here has been a little crazy. Here Rick is battening down the hatches. Hot one day, cool the next and did I mention rain! I think we got 9" in the month of June alone. I hope July is not as bad. All the rain seems to make the grass and weeds come on a little stronger. The only thing I need the rain for is my "contest" corn. You know the old saying, "Knee high by the 4th of July." Well mine is but I bet I'm along way from winning the contest. You can read more about the contest HERE .
Now for a funny note- We went to Wal-mart ( I know stay away from there, right ) and I bought some Jiffy Pop popcorn. This way we could act like we were at the movies as well as reminisce about the good ole days. Anyway, Rick had to show me how to pop it. Now I know I'm getting old but come one, not being able to pop popcorn, geez!
OK back to the corn.I need some pointers on how to make it grow faster and taller. The corn behind me in the picture was planted later and is taller. HELP !!! If you have any ideas let me know by posting a comment. If I win, I will send you a really nice gift. How does $50.00 in pork products sound to you? The contest ends in October.

I have my heirloom photography session set up for July 12th. It's going to be a great shoot. I have contacted a costume shop so I will have some really nice outfits for my model to wear. Look for the fun and exciting post next week. I will also be posting the link for my web site.