Scavenger Hunt - Stacked Up, Winter Wonderland, Sweet, Hole & Frozen

So I had a very exciting start to the week! I uploaded my laundry shot from last weeks Scavenger Hunt onto Flickr, and I got "Explored"!!! (Insert screaming and happy dance here!)  Now I don't really understand how Explore works, I understand it's determined by an algorithm. The next morning I wasn't on there anymore, but for a few hours I was, and it was very exciting and very cool!
Anyway, having said that I've been in a photography funk all week, yep go figure. I've felt so uninspired and behind with things. On Friday I hardly had any prompts done and thought I'd be stressing out all weekend, then in 24 hrs I just surprised myself by getting it all done. Funny how things work out! :-)

1. Stacked Up

I couldn't decide which to put up. I took them both for the prompt.

 Coins, or

 Gelati cups!

2. Winter Wonderland

Processed with Isabelle Lafrance Baby it's Cold Outside action and Starry Night overlay

 This is from the archives but I think you'll forgive me considering it's summer here and it's actually been the hottest weather here in four years. But even in winter we don't get snow and rarely frosts.
Anyway I did this photo for Christmas 2010. It's a snowman figurine in front of a story book. Then I edited to make it look really cold and frosty. I think it makes it look like a magical winter wonderland! By the way I loved this song when I was little.

3. Sweet

 Tea party with cupcakes! My son's on school holidays so we've been having some fun!

4. Hole

I love the colours of these paper straws! You drink your yummy drink through the hole! ;-)

5. Frozen

When I saw this prompt I knew I wanted to do an ice-cream desert. It's summer here after all. I'd never photographed ice cream before though and it was pretty nerve wracking how quickly it started melting in this heat. My mum gave me these dessert bowls, she didn't use them and I've loved them since I was a girl. I usually have these lights hung around a mirror but I think it makes it look festive. And the ice-cream and raspberries tasted so yummy!! 

Can't wait to see everyone's interpretations for the week!

Journey Around the Sun - Days 180 through 192

Wow, what a crazy/exciting week I've had!  I've started a few projects this year to keep myself motivated in my 365 (I have half a year left as I started in July) and I also wanted to use my Flickr account more. I uploaded some photos at the end of last year, but Flickr scared me a bit and I didn't really know where to start, so it's been pretty quiet. Anyway I've joined two 52 project groups, My Four Hen's and Paint the Moon.
Can you believe that at the end of the first week I was featured as one of Paint the Moon's picks of the week, for my damselfly shot below.  Yay!!
Then my week got even more exciting, when I uploaded my laundry shot (from Scavenger Hunt) for week 2, theme responsibility, and I got "Explored" on Flickr!!! (Insert screaming and happy dance here!)  Now I don't really understand how Explore works, I understand it's determined by an algorithm. The next morning I wasn't on there anymore, but for a few hours I was, and it was very exciting and very cool!
By the way if anyone's on Flickr come by and say hello so I can get a link to your pages. 
Anyway, I've been so far behind with posting my 365 as we were away most of December, but I've finally caught up.

Day One Hundred and Eighty

We took a walk along the beach and I loved the light and reflections in the wet sand. 

Processed with Johnna LaFaith's Whisper action

 This is my mum, she didn't know I was taking a photo of her, I love how she's out of focus, lost in her own thoughts.

My family!

Day One Hundred and Eighty One

Day One Hundred and Eighty Two

 Loved the textures and colours on this log, washed ashore.

Day One Hundred and Eighty Three

Processed with The CoffeeShop Blog Velvet truffle action and Florabella's Worn Linen texture applied

 Seed pods

Day One Hundred and Eighty Four

New Year Eve

We played Kubb (A Scandinavian game) on the beach. And watched the sun set on 2011

Processed with The CoffeeShop Sunkissed action and Florabella's Burnished texture applied

Processed with The CoffeeShop Velvet Truffle action and Florabella's Burnished texture applied

Day One Hundred and Eighty Five

New Year Day

Processed with Oh My Goodknits Hazy B&W

 We forgot/ran out of time to do these sparklers on New Years Eve. I need to work on my low light photography.

Day One Hundred and Eighty Six

 Our last day at the beach.

Processed with Isabelle Lafrance's Soulful Everyday Vintage and Florabella's Tranquility texture applied

 Along the path to the beach there is an old Banksia tree. I love the "cones" from the tree, they are actually old flower heads. Every time I pass one on the path I remember a book from my childhood by Australian author May Gibbs, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, the link is to pictures from the book on Flickr. It was so magical and based on Australian flora and fauna.

Day One Hundred and Eighty Seven

Processed with The CoffeeShop Blog Velvet Truffle action and Florabella's Antique and Heirloom textures applied

 Taken for the Scavenger Hunt "One Dozen", they are stamped with "Ecoeggs with Love". How cute!

Day One Hundred and Eighty Eight

Processed with Paint the Moon Macchiato action and Florabella's Bombay B&W texture applied

 Taken for My Four Hens' week one of 52, theme Resolutions.  I'm not really into resolutions, but I've wanted to do a photo like this for a while and it seemed the perfect opportunity.

Day One Hundred and Eighty Nine

Processed with Johnna LaFaith's Whisper action

 A dandelion seed head

Day One Hundred and Ninety 

OK I have a confession to make, I was having a really blah day, and I didn't like my photo from this day so this is actually from the day after. Oh well! I much prefer this one!

Processed with The CoffeeShop Blog Velvet Truffle action and Florabella's Ethereal and Antique applied

Day One Hundred and Ninety One

We spent the afternoon at the Botanical Gardens. 

Processed with Paint the Moon Spoonful of Sugar action and PTM Simply Vintage frame

I was on the fence about participating as I was a bit intimidated by the talent I had seen on the Flickr page. But I took this photo at the Botanical Garden's and edited and posted it as soon as I got home. I can't believe I could get close enough with my 50mm 1.8 and extension tube without him flying away.
I love going to the gardens, there's always something interesting to take photos of. I love the texture in these flowers as they dried. Taken with my extension tube also.

Processed with Paint the Moon Spoonful of Sugar action and Florabella Platinum texture applied

I haven't finished editing the photos from that day, so I might post them separately.

Day one Hundred and Ninety Two

Processed with Isabelle Lafrance Soulful Everyday Vintage action and Florabella Heirloom texture applied

My laundry shot taken for the Scavenger Hunt and "Explored" on Flickr!

Scavenger Hunt - One Colour, Laundry, Empty, One Dozen & Soft

Yay, Scavenger Hunt time again! I realised I hadn't done a Scavenger Hunt since the first Sunday of December. We were away from home most of December and had very little access to a computer. But I'm glad to be back. I loved doing Ashley's Memories, Dreams and Reflections. And I'm so excited to be back to Scavenger Hunting!
So here are my photos for this week.

1. One Colour

 In the words of Louis Armstrong,  "I see trees of green... red roses too, I see em bloom...for me and for you.  And I think to myself... what a wonderful world."

2. Laundry

 Summer is perfect clothes drying weather!

3. Empty

  I actually took this photo on Boxing Day up at my mum's beach house. We found this empty birds nest in my mum's garden. So much work the parents must have put into building this nest, sad to think it may have come down in a storm. I hope the birds had grown and flown away before it fell out of the tree.

4. One Dozen

 One dozen eggs! I always buy free range chicken and eggs. They're stamped with "Ecoeggs with Love". I thought it was so cute!

5. Soft

I love the soft pink of these flowers. I think they're Hydrangeas.

Can't wait to see all the interpretations!

Journey Around the Sun - Days 173 Through 179

I'm slowly working my way through the last couple of weeks of photos. We got back from New Zealand, unpacked, did laundry, and then repacked to spend Christmas and New Year at my mum's beach house with the family.

Day One Hundred and Seventy Three

Processed with Isabelle Lafrance Baby It's Cold Outside action, Isabelle Lafrance Christmas Stars overlay and Shadow House Creations In the Presence of God bokeh texture

 Tying silver thread on my new baubles. I was so proud that this photo was noticed by iheartfaces in a non competition holiday bokeh linky.

Day One Hundred and Seventy Four

Life n Reflection Postcard texture and Florabella Old Handwriting texture applied

Present wrapping

Day One Hundred and Seventy Five

Processed with The CoffeeShop Blog Velvet Truffle action and Florabella's Seafoam and My 2econd Skin Old Paper 10 applied

Green thread

Day One Hundred and Seventy Six

Processed with Paint the Moon Peach Tea and Florabella Platinum and Bellisima textures applied

Day One Hundred and Seventy Seven

Christmas Eve

My son and I had fun finding snails in my mum's vegetable garden. We picked them out then watched them slither back in. We'd gotten lots of rain, otherwise it's usually too dry to find snails.

Proof of the rain, a rain drop on a vine.

We took a walk along the beach in the afternoon, before following Swedish traditions and opening our presents on Christmas Eve. I'm not showing any present photos as let's just say that you can see that the weather wasn't that flash, there was a lot of jumping and running around and I'm considering buying a speedlight. But it was heaps of fun and then we enjoyed a Swedish smorgasbord.

Day One Hundred and Seventy Eight

Christmas Day 

We spent the day down on the beach.

Processed with The CoffeeShop Blog Velvet Truffle action and Florabella Sonata texture applied

More signs of the wet weather, we don't normally get mushrooms, spotted these ones along the path to the beach.

Day One Hundred and Seventy Nine

Processed with Johnna Lafaith's Whisper action and Florabella's Bombay and My 2econd Skin Art Grunge 4 textures applied

We found this empty birds nest in my mum's garden. So much work the parents must have put into building this nest, sad to think it may have come down in a storm. I hope the birds had grown and flown away before it fell out of the tree.