Red Gerbera Daisies Get a Make-Over

As an amateur photographer, I have tons of blurry, bad plain pictures. I delete tons of them also. Then I remember when I was in college and took a course in Photoshop to learn how to improve a certain image. So these last few months, I started to play around with my photos again.

Though I don't have Photoshop software anymore, I find some pretty great softwares online for free. These software are much simpler, doesn't take much storage space on the computer, and easier to manipulate.

I don't want to improve my pictures since I want to keep them in their original stage. However, I got the idea of using the bad ones and turn them into an art piece, especial if the pictures have some nice features about them.

To avoid shocking you, I will present the finished art pieces first, and then show you the original blurry ones.

The Transformation

The Original Blurry Picture


The New Look


The Original Blurry Picture


The Make-Over


The Original Blurry Picture


The New Look


The Original Blurry Picture


The Make-Over


The Original Blurry Picture


My Photoshop software change from time to time, but these are my preferred ones below:

1. FlauntR--This is a fun online photo editor! You can give all kind of different effect to your photos.
2. Paint.net--This is a free image and photo editor for window users.
3. Photoshop Express--This is a free version of Photoshop
4. Dumpr--You can make all kind of fun effect with your pictures using this software
5. Photo Filtre--This website has a tutorial section, which I found very interesting to learn.

Look over these sites, and see which one you like or work best for you. We all have different needs, different type of computer, and limited amount of time, so find a software that can accommodate your desire. At the moment, I am testing out FlauntR, and will see what I can learn. Though other people have suggested Dumpr, and PhotoFiltre, I will have to wait for a later time to experiment with them.

Little Purple Flowers

This plant grew right next to the driveway at my little boy's school, and the flowers had a purple color on them.

I don't know what it is and I will never might, since this is the last day of school for the children.

First and foremost, I apologize to all Entrecard droppers for the lacking in my dropping. I have a legitimate reason though, and that is every time I do my dropping, (this doesn't sound good), my computer warns me of "a virus has been detected."

I have taken the time to report this problem, but also haven't heard anything back from Entrecard at all. Therefore, I am hesitated in continuing my visit. At the moment, I can only return dropping from trusted sites. I can't venture to new sites since I don't have time, money, or risking the chance of losing all my work.


This morning I click on a new site to return their visit and then my computer goes haywire! It is aggitating to me that someone likes to do bad deed to others. I don't understand why and probably will never know the intention behind it. I have to stop cold on my track and clean my computer.

There goes the morning, a beautiful Monday morning and it was only 6:30 AM! This is my time to catch some quietness to write, blog, return comments, answer emails, and read.

I didn't anticipate in such trouble, and yes it happened many times before, but I feel bad for not returning drops. I hope Entrecard could check out all the sites for viruses before accepting them into the system.

Have a good Monday!

On a very hot summer day when the temperature was in the 90 degree, I didn't want to take the boys to the park for fear of burning. What we ended up doing was filling up the pool and the water balloons so the kids can splash around on our driveway.

It took a while to make those little balloons and got set up, but these boys were all excited.

Testing the Balloon


My nephew squeezed the balloon to see if it would burst! He was so happy to swim in the little kiddie pool with balloons all over him.

Sprinkler Added


Since the pool was kinda small, JoJo decided to add a sprinkler to it for more fun. This helped them to stay cool from head to toes. Pretty creative if you ask me!

Now What?


They threw most of the balloons at each other and burst most of them. It was awkward for them to see me with my camera snapping pictures, so I hid it for a while.

Washing the Balloons


As if the balloons were not wet enough, they ran through the sprinkler again! The funny things about these kids are that they got excited easily, and got bored very fast also.

Run Through


The pool was put away, and now it was time for just the sprinkler and Roco was not very happy with water shooting in his face though. He shied away!

Helping Hand


My daughter decided to give a helping hand with Roco, and stirred up the excitement. We had a full day of fun without going anywhere.

As I grow older, I find that the heat can tire me out very fast, so I opt for safety and stay comfortable in the shade.

Have a fun weekend!

Swans Bathing

Just a little video for you to see the craziness of this swan bathing!

Happiness Comes in Ordinary Thing

I find happiness in the oddest thing, which had my children questioned about my sanity, when they see that I took hours taking pictures of the following old flowers.

In a certain light of days, these flowers, or whatever left of these flowers, are just so beautiful. So many years have passed, and so many years I neglect to see the beauties in ordinary things.

Can You Tell?


Can you tell what it is if I didn't tell you that this is an old flower, or whatever left of it? When I first saw this flower in the sun, the little white heads are just amazing, and they call out for my camera to snap a few pictures.

Looks Like Pine Cone


After I took the first few pictures of dandelion, and saw how beautiful it was, I kept my eyes for different shapes or look. This is one of them since you can see the head, which looks a lot like a young pine cone.

Leaning on the Side


Of course, I can't just take picture of the white little heads, and the head without taking picture of the other end, which is the brown part. It is fascinating to see the wonderful growing stages of even an old dandelion.

Still Green


I love the light green in this flower since it shows the youthfulness of it. How many times before did I walk by without notice how a simple thing like this can be so beautiful? It is just elegant and pretty!

A Circle


I have to admit, I didn't like dandelions before because they grow out of control in the yard. I never take a picture of it before, but this year is quite different. I actually seek for the unique form of dandelions, and follow their stages of growing/dying.

One Perfect Flower


This is a perfect flower in my book. It has all the little white heads, the pine cone, and brown part. I had many pictures of this new discovering, but still I am looking for more. Well, the saying "no two stars are alike, no two snowflakes are the same" are very true also for flowers.

I am out to celebrate my birthday today! Who knows what I may cross just wandering around..

White Twin Cone Flowers

My white cone flowers produce a unique one this year, a twin! At first, I didn't notice them since they grow slower than all the other flowers from the same bush. However, they make their present known though by reaching way out further toward the sidewalk.

We Are Twin


I love this stage of their growing, and with macro I can see all the fuzzy things on their buds. While the petals are just starting to form on the left bud, the right bud has already begun to show.

One of a Kind


It was difficult for me to try taking a picture that could show both cone flowers in the same frame. I have to focus either on one or on the other, especially when they are still facing downward.

Catching the Sun Shine


On a hot day sunny day, they perk up and look amazing! They thrive in sun light and I catch them at the right moment. These cone flowers become the joy of my summer for stalking their
stages of growing.

Twin Cone Flowers


The flowers are finally bloom, and they both are beautiful. The petals at the top joint part are fighting with each other for space to develop, but they are in harmony.

Together As One


The flowers are now more mature and the petals come together to look like one. I couldn't find a better angle than this. The left petals lace in between the right petals, and the heads are visible.

They have not reach the end yet, and I am waiting to see what they will look like. It will be fun to catch them in pictures if I can.

Dandelions

How beautiful is this dandelion? It's totally different if you see it through the eye of the camera.

When it's all opened, it becomes more like a dandelion because it's after all!

Moving Time

It is time to send my daughter to school, away from home! She is all excited about, and maybe a bit nervous. Moving in day is chaotic at West Akers Building, and parking is my most dreaded task!

My CRV is packed to the max, including five people and things! We drive about 90 miles to my daughter's university, park on the grass in front of the building, and she signs in to be able to get into the room.

The Building


This building will be her home away from home for the next six months. It looks overwhelming with so many people with their things, coming in and out constantly. Parents are busy moving their children in.

Busy Movers


The bicycle racks in front of this building is getting fuller and fuller as each student unload, and it is a way for the students to get around campus when the bus is not running.

Bringing the Bin


This deep bin looks big enough for all her stuffs, but it is not! We have to fill this bin many more times to get my car unpacked. I couldn't believe she that moves more than 3/4 of her room to school.

Filling Up


This is only one trip down to the dorm room, and there are more trips to go! It takes us hours to unload and move her into her new dwelling.

Down the Hall


On the last load, I come along into the building, and the smell of musty, old walls and damp carpet make my stomach queazy! The whole building needs fresh air so bad, and should have been disinfected, or maybe they did, but it didn't smell nice inside!

Into the Room


Well, the boys sure take their chance to test our my daughter's new bed. It is a small bed and there isn't much space for moving around. She is sharing her room with three other girls, so this will be fun for her.

Back to Home


We then say our good-bye while the boys are having fun with their water bottles. My heart is heavy but happy at the same. I have one more child grew up and blew the nest!

This is life, isn't it?

Blogging With One Eye Open

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I've just taken a plunge and bought a domain name for Wandering Thoughts. After many months trying to establish a page rank for this blog failed, I decide to venture into a different reign. I am not sure if this action will solve the problem, but I do not want to abandon this blog.

The new address for Wandering Thoughts is at http://www.wanderingthought.com/ without the "s" at the end. It is now Wandering Thought! For the next few days, things may not work out smoothly, and I have no idea how FeedBurner would handle this either. I am doing all I can to have everything back to normal as fast as I can.

If you're linking my blog to yours, please take a second and change the URL. Your kindness is always deeply appreciated!

I realize that I may lose all my subscribers, but I hope you won't leave me. Sometimes, things just have to change, for the better. Thank you for your understanding and patience!

In the meantime, have a good Sunday!