Popsicle Puzzles of the family

Its craft time again. My best friend is coming to town and bringing my niece and nephew. So I figured I could make something that could entertain them, even if its just for a little bit.

The craft this time is a puzzle. I've made two different types, one with Popsicle sticks and one like a regular puzzle. I went with the Popsicle sticks because of the age of the kids. 

My first step was to pick photos, I printed mine on regular paper. I gathered the Popsicle sticks, scissors, mod podge, a brush, some thin cardboard (I used a trisket box), and an xacto knife.  

I cut out the photos and cut apart the box (so that it would lay flat). I laid out the Popsicle sticks on the image to make sure i had enough out. Now its glue time. Brush some mod podge on the back of the photo and start laying sown the sticks (I worked in sections). Once the back is covered with sticks turn it over and brush a thin coat on the front to seal the photo in.

For the image on the box, I brushed mod podge in the area that the photo was going to be placed.  Then gently laid the image on the glue and smoothed from the center out (this will remove the bubbles).  Then I brushed a coat over the top of the image.  To make the back look nice add some scrap book paper to it, then trim off the extra cardboard.

Now that you have let everything dry over night its time to start cutting.  Cut between the popsicle sticks with the xacto knife, you may have to brush on another coat of mod podge once they are apart.  On the full page one just draw the puzzle shapes you want and cut them out.

Now go have some fun!!

The AV setting

I would like to encourage all of you out there to take your camera out of Auto and try one of the manual settings.  To encourage this I am going to walk through the different settings and how they work.  The camera I'll use for the example is a Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

Today we will start with the AV setting.  Do you see it on the dial bellow?

This is the setting I use the most.  It puts me in control of the Aperture (f-stop) and allows the camera to decide which shutter speed to use (more on that latter).  Both of which control the amount of light allowed to reach the "film," each in its own way.

In high school we learned our f-stops with our hands, still to this day when I explain f-stops to someone I use my hands.  Here's how it works, make the smallest circle you can see through with your thumb and pointer finger, that is the equivalent of f22; it allows in a very small amount of light.  Then make the biggest circle you can with both of your hands, that is the equivalent of f1.4; it allows in a lot of light.

Having control of the aperture allows you to control what is in focus and what is not, or the depth of field.  Here is an example of a small and large f-stop.

The first photo was taken with and f-stop of 1.8, while the second was taken at f22(this is the form f-stops are written in).  You can see the difference between the two photos (besides one being of a drink and one a landscape).  On the first photo I have shown you what is important by selecting what to focus on.  Where as the second photo everything is in focus, there for I want you to see the whole area.  These examples are quit different in subjects but its just to get the point across.  Changing the f-stop allows the photographer to decide what is important and make it be in focus.

All of this will allow you to have more creative control of your images.  Get out there and experiment!

Coming up next, the TV setting.

Beautiful Tuesday

Thanks for joining me on this beautiful Tuesday. Enjoy these photos!  

Share your photos with us. 

Still have slides

There I was out looking for topics to write about for this month and I came across this DIY project.  What a great way to take your old slides and turn them into usable photos with very little cost.  I know some of you still have those slides hanging around.



What to know how to make this contraption?


See how here. 


Let me know if you made this and how it worked out for you.

Photo Paint Collage

For me there is something I love about painting.  In college I had to take painting classes but was never any good at it or liked those classes.  Maybe I like the idea of being able to paint, does it make me more of an artist.

No matter the reason I always have some kind of painting set up to work on.  I still have my old paintings from school, always with the intention to add to them so I will like them.  Right now I'm working on a contest that a large part will be painted.

A few years ago I had taken some photos of my self trying to convey the feelings I had at that time in my life.  I don't remember having any kind of display plan for the pictures.  As soon as I had the photos in hand I knew how I wanted them displayed.  That was when I "created" the "Photo Painting."

This is a simple project to put together
Start with a canvas
Pick the photos you want to use

Get a rough idea of where the pics will go on the canvas
Tape or glue the photos into place
Start painting

In some cases I have painted parts of the canvas before placing the pictures down with glue.  When I do this I make a mark for where the picture will be (draw around the picture with a pencil).

If you didn't paint a clean line around the edge of the canvas you'll have an unfinished edge, I would suggest you pick a color from the painting or black and paint the edge of the canvas.  This will make it look finished.

Unclean edge

 Not everything on the canvas has to be a photo. This craft is all about having a good time and showcasing your photography.