Creative photos color tinted by picmonkey.com

Summertime!!
It is time for parties!
In my spare time of being Grandmother, selling old photos, and hunting for the latest cool things to make,  I am also a party planner and recently I got excited about making a mannequin made out of photos of some of my past pictures..
It is for a wedding shower of a costume designer, I knew she would appreciate it...and I wanted to share them with you all..

First, I started out with scans, these are now other people's photos, but you can see what you can do with what you have..

and here goes..

thought you all might enjoy..there are scads more..but just a few photos show what you are able to do...stay tuned to the project, it should be done in another week...yahoo..love being creative!!
cathi

Springtime is once again in the air!! (Whew!! thought that winter would never end!)

We live in Chicago, that means that much of the times, we live indoors, during those cold months..but when the seasons change...we love to be out!
So this week, the sun stayed longer in the sky, the snow finally left and spring has come (my allergies have proven it!)
Recently, I have been crafting banners and wedding planning..as well as my true passion, collecting photos. Here are a few of my faves:

Truly from a different era! The top photo..I love..because it shows the dramatic of the early 1900s...
The second, I think she might even be pregnant, since I have yet to see a dress from that era without a waiste accented. The bottom, well that is spring to me, the dog out, the jacked on..but there are shorts..oh and there is also a kodak box!! (now where is kodak today?)

Some cool photos to look at....
Enjoy!!

over a year and I am finally here again...what happened?

Funny
Blogs can be so addictive in the beginning, writing as much as you can..and then time goes by and it falls off..until here I am foolishly admitting how negligent I have been in my photo blog...so so sorry...(of course I have excuses, we all have excuses!!)

Well, here are a few things that I have learned in these past many months:

#1. Time goes fast and memories are what you have to hang on to
(so take some photos)

#2. There are never enough photos to capture a moment (although the iphone with the moving photo is really cool!!)

#3 Most people never mark when the photo was taken and where it is

#4 That photos are definitely becoming a thing of the past and soon they will be extinct (so sad!! and yet they are becoming so much more valuable!)

I have also learned that with grandkids..there is never enough time because you are trying to get the most out of what you are doing with them..and afterwards because you are a grandparent and quite a bit older than you were when you had kids..you are pooped...


So, enough of that on to

Photo news:

Well....let's see, if you have been following my auctions, you will see that
this past year I was able to land some AMAZING dance photos..always a plus!!
I also scored some amazing Wedding photos and some amazing portraits of socialites..as well as various other cool finds..
but I will say that it is painfully obvious to me that this is getting harder and harder to find..and the prices are getting higher and higher..
but that is for me on my end, I still try to start low in my auctions and put up good prices in my store and work hard to either show great quality photos or great subject matter photos..or when it is really amazing..you will get both!!

This week I am featuring a few that are my favs and I will show you them here:

1890s Man with Beard

a rare photograph measuring 5.5x8 of a man with a beard dated 1890  real neat glimpse into the past.

Dancer with long hair

an ethereal dancer with a dress that was definitely copied 50 years later by a major design company.

Children in snow

a true work of art... this photo would be amazing framed in a home~
Have I told you how much I love photos..oh yes...that is right..you know that!!

cathi

2014 has finally come....cold weather and all

Well it has been a long time dear blog of mine..
2013: A hard year..no less than 12 total close friends of mine/and family died in the past year..
Sometimes it was tough just to keep going...
I listed and sold on ebay and etsy  and spent loads of times visiting hospitals, hugging grieving friends, going to funerals..even flying out of the country for one..

a long year...one i hate to say i was happy to leave...

but it has passed..and with it all the adjustments that it means to have gone thru a year of grief.

There were good things in 2013,
we do have a new home, (equipt with a BIG photo room for my collection and shop)  a new grandchild...
and i still sell and collect photos...
loads of them...
and i still hunt for them...all the time...
and lately i have also been doing wedding planning and tablescapes..even won a contest for my tablescape..
(well 2nd place..but that is pretty good..when it is for the whole country, eh?)

So without further ado..(just had to let you know why you have not heard anything new)
I want to update my latest finds..

This past week was a winner...I mean..it was amazing to have found some of the cool ones i did!!!

I really found some beauties..so nice i have a hard time selling them...but i have to pay for Christmas..still..
(hehehehe)

this weeks wonderful find is this charming little lady..isnt she a beauty??? Love the profile..the color, the wonderful lace dress..oh this one is frameable..oh yes it is!!

and even more of this charming young miss...

and oh so much better in person!!Don't you love her playing with her favorite dolly!!

love the hair....i think they did them with long strips of fabric...and rolled them up...
Ahh..childhood...how beautiful...sometimes when life is tough..we have to remember these days.....


happy photo hunting!!

cathi

Life's moments

I found some really wonderful children's photos..photos that so many of you love to collect..
Children's photos are great..because they capture that moment in time when all things are new ....

I have a grandson these days and my daughter is expecting #2! Well, my grandson is 19months old ..and is a handful...yet everything is so exciting to him..
his very favorite thing in the world are dogs! (we have 2) so he is over daily..playing with the dogs..
although he doesn't quite talk..he often barks..telling us he wants to see the dogs!!

When I saw this photo..it reminded me of that wonderful look of wonder...
When all the world is full of hope and life..

oh may we remember what it is like to be a child..and keep that in our own hearts...

cathi

Portraits ~ Stories a face can tell

I love old portraits..I love the art that a face has...and this week for sale on eBay, I have many portraits (ok, I usually have many portraits!!) but this week, I have quite a few that I LOVE. I mean, I looked at them and went..WOW..if only we could know the stories these faces could tell.

One of the things I did when I was young was go to Antique stores and buy old cabinet photos. I would look at the old pictures and make up stories about the faces...making up characters for stories..making them good or evil..or a bit of both!

Anyhow...you must check out some portraits!! God's work of art!!

have a great week!!

Cathi

2013 ~ A New Year!

Well...after a Long hiatus from my blog...
I had a daughter's wedding, a best friend with brain cancer, a father with bone cancer, a daughter who just announced a new arrival..in other words...life has been a lot lately...

So I did what every woman wants to do...
I took off work, redid my office, which meant fixing the walls, repairing the problems with the electrical (ok, it is an Old house!) putting up crown molding, painting, getting new office furniture..and reorganizing my photos..

It has been fun..a bit crazy...especially when my entire office ended up in the living room...

but today it is finished, the furniture is in...and i am cleaning out the living room!!
Spring cleaning really helps during tough times...

I have so many beautiful photos that I will be showing you soon...I have been getting some real art photos..
I am so in love with them..things that are not just the ordinary..but the rare..and beautiful..

hope your winter is good..and that if things are hard a bit of house keeping helps ...

cathi  ( some photos of Daughter Hayleys Wedding...soo beautiful!!)