Handmade Greeting Cards

Have you checked out the price of greeting cards these days? Oh, it’s enough to give you a fright! Several years ago, I decided to forgo my regular visits to the local Hallmark store and avoid the greeting card aisle at Wal-Mart. What’s a budget conscious gal going to do? Make her own! 

I started out doing stamped designs, but then later changed to making cards using my own photographs. The cost per card is a fraction of store prices. It’s also much more satisfying to create something uniquely beautiful. As a bonus, recipients appreciate the thoughtfulness of receiving a handmade card in this cookie-cutter world. 

I like to make two cards out of regular size cardstock. A finished card is 4-¼ ” by 5-½”. Envelopes are easily found for this size at office and paper supply stores. For a double border, I size rectangular photos down to a maximum width of 4-¼” and print four to a page. I use to Epson's Premium Presentation Paper with a matte finish. I also go through through my stash of cardstock to find colors that complement the photos. 

I gather up my other supplies and tools, such as my nifty paper trimmer with a rotary cutting head, double-sided adhesive, bone folder, basic cardstock, black cardstock, and custom self-adhesive labels. 

The background colors I picked are keepers! 

Next, the photos get trimmed up and stacked. 

The photo stacks are ready!

Then I start taping the photos to black cardstock pieces (to help make the images “pop”) and colored card stock. 

The next step is to cut the matted photos apart and trim, leaving a ¼” margin all around. 

I cut the cardstock in half and score each half down the middle for folding. I forgot to take a picture of the scoring board earlier! You don’t have to have one of these, but it does make the job a little easier. And you’ll notice that I didn’t use a plain white cardstock for the cards, but one with multi-colored speckles. 

Then I start taping the photos onto the cards. The final step is to apply a decorated adhesive label on the back of each card. I designed and printed out the labels using a free Avery software program. The rabbit silhouette was created with a Martha Steward punch. 

And here are the final results of my card-making endeavor. It is a little time consuming, but I enjoy the whole process. If I ever get to the point of selling my cards, then I will be exploring the use of printing services. 

 

Katmai Brown Bears - Fishing for Supper

The Katmai brown bears series continues at the Brooks Falls fishing hole!  

There are a lot of considerations that go into photographing these big furry creatures while they are fishing. First of all, they are far quicker than the your trigger finger. When they catch a fish, you need to be ready to snap that shot! And you better have your camera setting on a fast speed or else that bear will turn into a blurry mess. 

At the same time, you have to consider the subject’s background. Do you want it in focus or out of focus? How is the quality of light? Is it sunny, cloudy, or raining? What direction is the light coming from? Front, side, back? Where are the shadows? Glare is coming off the water, so how much is it tricking the camera meter? Which lens should you use? Of course, the longer the telephoto, the more impact any motion will have on image sharpness. Adding to all the technical restrictions, you are literally wedged on a platform, elbow to elbow, with a multitude of other photographers. So you can’t move around for an optimum shot. The list goes on. What you see is what you get. Deal with it! 

And as you are doing the mental gymnastics about all of those factors and making camera adjustments, those bears are not going to wait and pose for you. They don’t care if you get a good shot or not! They want their fish! The big boys at the Brooks Falls fishing hole were definitely a challenge to photograph. I was really pleased this particular image. It’s a tight shot and sharp. I was able to catch a straight-on position of both the bear and the fish. A viewer gets the impression of being right there in the water with the bear, perhaps located only an arm’s length or two away. The droopy ears and the overall soggy condition of the bear are downright comical. Drips of water cascading off of the bear and the fish help tell the story of how fast the action happened. The river beneath the falls is so turbulent that it foams. And the expression on the fish is priceless. This photo was one of my favorites of the bears. 

Most of the time, I was mentally pleading with the bears to pose for me when they caught a fish. “Hey, mister bear! Turn around! Pretty please, with honey on top?” Not a chance. If they stood still for a millisecond, they would be pointed the other way. What to do? Take the picture anyway! 

Ah, but then there were the scavenging bears. They would let the big boys do the hard work of fishing. After a salmon meal was finished, then a member of the cleanup crew would venture forth and compete with the seagulls to pick up the scraps. Now these fellows were easier to photograph! Can you see that this bear has some scars on his noggin from a previous tussle? 

The next post in the series is a fishing tale!

4-Year Blogging Anniversary Celebration!

My blog turned 4 years old on January 1st, and I promised to have a little celebration to commemorate this milestone. I planned way back in early December to have a different kind of giveaway this time. Unlike most giveaways, you don’t enter on this post. All my faithful friends who commented during the month of December were included in a surprise drawing! 

December was a tough month for us because of hubby’s surgery. So I wasn’t able to post as much as usual. My dear blogging friends stuck with me, faithfully commented when I posted, and lifted our spirits. You have no idea how much you brightened our days! And it is precisely because of such dedication that I continue this blog and try to bring a little cheer back to you. 

So here is the surprise gift! I recently made up a batch of handmade cards that feature some of my scenic Alaska photos. 

As a token of my appreciation, a set of cards will go out to the following four winners:

 

Kim of Homesteader's Heart

Donna of Made in Heaven

Irene of Irene's Desk

Ann of Ann's Snap, Edit, & Scrap

Congratulations! And THANK YOU for being my friend!

Lovely Scene, Lovely News

Ah, we need a bit of a break from the furry bears, don’t you think? Yes, we do! Here is a lovely photo to cheer your day! I captured this vignette of wild roses and a picket fence when we visited Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. The lone flower, nodding over the fence railing, was begging for my camera’s attention. I adore cottage scenes like this! I processed the image with a high dynamic range (HDR) filter, added some “glow”, and toned down the saturation. Viola!

So what is the lovely news, you ask? My sweet baboo visited the doctor yesterday for a 6-week checkup. The verdict? Hubby is doing splendidly with his new bionic hip! He no longer needs to use the cane and does not require any outpatient therapy. And, he was also delighted to hear that he can now drive again, so he’s not tethered to my weekend chauffeuring services. He will continue with his at-home exercises and have another follow-up doctor's visit in three months. He appreciates all your inquiries and good wishes!

Katmai Brown Bears - Big Boys at the Fishing Hole

When my husband and I first arrived at Brooks Falls, we were shuffled over to the riffles overlook because the falls overlook was already at maximum capacity. We had to wait an hour before it would be our turn to get on the closer platform. Even at the riffles overlook, the photographers and day-trippers were packed in tight, and were two-people deep in most places. When you’re as short as me (5’1”), it is impossible to photograph over the heads of anybody except a small child. 

But I soon got settled in along a railing and was able to use my camera lens to zoom into the falls area a couple hundred feet away. This big boy was one of the first big bears I was able to watch. His fishing area was staked out near some moss-covered boulders, and he was jumping up and around them like it dry land. 

Bear coats come in various shades, ranging from blonde to dark brown, and even red. This fellow was obviously a natural redhead. Bears also begin to shed their winter fur in the early spring and summer. So their appearance can be quite tattered. I believe that this bear was definitely having a bad hair day!

Eventually, we got moved over to the falls overlook and I was able to observe him closer. He was clearly one of the best fishermen of the falls area. He caught a salmon about every half an hour. While the salmon are running, a large bear like this will eat about 100 pounds a day.

One of the things that was totally surprising was the agility of these big brown bears. In the blink of an eye, this guy hopped up on the top of the falls with his trophy, and then scampered off into the woods to eat his meal in peace.

This bear’s name was purported to be Genghis, presumably because he was so huge. He probably weighed around 900 to 1000 pounds. By far, he was the best fisherman of the falls and commanded a designated, extra foamy area called the “jacuzzi”. He occasionally had a few other bears challenges him for that fishing spot, but he always won the discussions.

It seemed like Genghis caught a salmon every 10 to 15 minutes. He had a voracious appetite! He had a really funny eating style too. Every time he caught a fish, he would temporarily leave the "jacuzzi", walk over to the shallow bank, and lay down facing away from the viewing stand. Then he would proceed to eat his catch like a popsicle!

Stay tuned for more fishing tales!

Katmai Brown Bears - Platforms and Trails

At this point, you are probably wondering how the Brooks Camp area is set up for bear viewing. Let me try to explain it for you, with the help of this map provided by the National Park Service. There are three platforms that have been constructed by the Park Service to allow visitors to safely observe the bears for long periods of time: lower river, riffles, and falls. 

The closest to the lodge is the lower river platform. It is located about 1200 feet from the lodge and is reached by a trail and then a bridge that goes over the Brooks River. 

There is a park ranger stationed on the land point before the bridge and also one on the platform. They radio back and forth to confer about any bears spotted in the area and whether visitors are permitted to cross the bridge. In bear safety class, we were taught to maintain a minimum distance of 50 yards. It is a very long bridge, so the rangers consider how long it will take someone to cross and how quickly a bear could possibly approach the structure. 

There are times when bear activity prevents crossing for a significant period of time. When this happens, it is called a “bear jam”. During our last day, we waited for over an hour to cross the bridge to go back to the lodge! 

In the photo below, this bear came right around the point from the lake and beach area (probably after greeting a floatplane, LOL). The ranger (wearing the backpack) was in the process of getting a group of visitors to back up on the trail. From the looks of them, this crowd consisted mostly of day-trippers. They were not well equipped (e.g., no raingear or hiking boots), and there was even a older toddler in the mix being carried by an adult (go figure). The bear acted in typical fashion and totally ignored them.

The lower platform is quite extensive. The bear action in this area is less than near the falls. As a result, we found this overlook to be rarely crowded. It provided a great opportunity for photographers to see some of the smaller bears traverse the marshlands and fish, and it was located close to the lodge. 

The scenery was incredible from this vantage point. Here is a wide-angle view, looking northwest, over the marshland. A young ranger is shown on the left. Hubby (in the middle) and another photographer are searching the horizons for bears. There is one that shows up at a tiny little dot in the water, located above the back of the ranger’s hat. (And yes, it was raining.)

To get to where the heavy bear action is located, Brooks Falls, we had to hike over a mile and a half, mostly on a bear trail through dense forest. No rangers are stationed along the trail. We walked in groups, paid attention to our surroundings, didn’t dawdle, and made constant noise. Our tour guide carried bear spray, but we didn’t always walk with him. We never stopped long enough to take a picture of the trail through the forest. But here is a bear trail example near the lodge that goes down to the beach. (Please note that this is hubby’s photo.) The trail going to Brooks Falls is wider and much more worn. 

So after a long hike to the falls platform, this glorious scene was our reward! 

Next, you’ll get to see some of these bears up close!

Katmai Brown Bears - Arrival at Brooks Camp

Wasn’t the bear from the welcoming committee a nice start to our adventure? All of us were howling at the sight. Later on, I noticed from the vantage point of the overlook platform nearest the lodge, a bear would venture out toward any incoming floatplanes. It was like - “Hey, more tourists are coming to take our pictures!”

Once the bear plodded off further down the beach, we disembarked. Oh, how I hate those tiny little stairs on the plane! But the burly guys help steady me so I wouldn’t accidently dismount into the lake. As the bags got unloaded, we looked at the beautiful distant mountain views and began to pinch ourselves.  

We had arrived at the famous Brooks Camp!  

First things first. We were quickly hustled off to the ranger’s station right up from the beach. It was time for a bear safety and orientation class! We sat through a video and lecture by a “Ranger Rick”, which drilled into us the rules of how we were supposed to behave around the bears. This area is known to possess one of the highest concentrations of brown bears in the world. We were also visiting in July, which is a peak month for visitors and bears. So the park was going to be crowded with photographers and fishermen. And sure enough, we were packed in like sardines in the classroom. Hmm, that’s probably not a good metaphor since bears are so fond of fish…  

After our training session was completed, we headed off to Brooks Lodge for a hearty lunch. A huge rack of antlers on the main lodge building greeted us. Some online photos of Brooks Lodge can be found HERE. The building is quite comfortable inside, with a large fire pit area in the front for relaxing, the food serving bars in the middle, and the dining hall, equipped with picnic tables and benches, in the back. Hey, the food was terrific - hearty, tasty, and plentiful!

After we got our bellies full, we followed our tour guide, Eric, to the bunkhouse. Here he is, carting our luggage up the trail. Eric was a gem and took such good care of us on our Alaskan adventure! He was also our tour guide on the British Columbia trip we took in 2010 to photograph grizzly bears in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. 

The bunkhouse was rustic, but reasonably clean. The rooms were small and furnished in vintage camp style. The bathrooms were tiny and included a curtain to pull across for a little privacy for exits from the shower. Each room was equipped with four bunk beds, a table crammed into a corner, and a solitary chair. There were 14 of us in the tour group, including our guide, so we got assigned a total of 4 rooms. I bunked with two other gals, and hubby got to bunk with our guide and another fellow. The walls were paper thin, so we could hear everything from the adjacent rooms. We were asked to refrain from flushing the toilet at night because it made too much noise. On one side, we heard loudmouth fishermen. On the other side, we heard one of our gal travelers fall out of the top bunk in the middle of the night (unhurt, thank goodness).  

I didn’t sleep much at all. I have to admit that the room was the worst I have ever had. It was also the most expensive. To top it off, we went to a lot of trouble to get there.  

Ah, but it was worth it! 

We weren't there for the accommodations.

We were there for THIS!

Katmai Brown Bears - The Trip Begins!

Hold on to your bonnets and bloomers! This is the first, long-awaited post about our trip to Katmai National Park to see the famed brown bears! I have teased you long enough. Now I am starting to even get pestered by my (normally) sweet hubby to hurry up and start this series. All right, all right! It is time to roll out the photos and tell the tales of this wondrous adventure of a lifetime.

You may have a vague recollection of some National Geographic or nature television shows that feature brown bears standing on the top of the waterfall, and the salmon are jumping into their waiting mouths. Despair, Inc., even features ones of these iconic images on their outrageously popular “ambition” poster.

We ventured thousands of miles this past summer to that tiny, exact spot on this big earth. It is located at a place called Brooks Camp in Katmai National Park. Undoubtedly, our time spent here was the highlight of our Alaska trip experience. I captured a multitude of photos that will help provide me a lifetime of memories. And I now have a deeper appreciation for the word “incredible.”

So where is this isolated spot on the globe? Katmai is located several hundred miles southwest of Anchorage. This is the remote bush country of Alaska, so it is not an easy place to get to. In terms of visitation, it is rated in the bottom ten of the National Parks. But the time, trouble, and expense are so worth it if you have a passion to see extraordinary wildlife such as brown bears!

We first flew from Anchorage to King Salmon. Then we transferred over to an air taxi for the final leg of our trip to Brooks Camp. A drizzle of rain had already started to fall, the wind was whipping up, and the air was filled with mosquitoes. But there was no turning back now.

Yes, the air taxi is a floatplane! Our tour group got split up into two flights. Eight us (including the pilot) squeezed ourselves into the little aircraft, along with our duffel bags and camera gear. Hubby tells me that it was a DeHavilland Beaver, a favorite of Alaska bush pilots. He got to sit up next to the pilot and enjoy the view out of the front window. I’m sure that it brought back many fond memories of the youthful years he lived, hunted, and fished in the wild countryside of our 49th state.

We didn’t fly very high in elevation, so we could easily see the marshes and lakes that finger-painted the terrain. After a smooth landing on beautiful Naknek Lake, the floatplane coasted up to the beach.

At this point, we were all wired up with anticipation for our brown bear photo expedition to begin. A couple of young men got the aircraft secured and opened the doors. Just as we were about to embark, we were quickly told to stay put. There was a husky bear coming toward us on the beach. It was the head of the welcoming committee, LOL! After watching this furry fellow run into the water and dive around for fish a few minutes, he finally ambled along in back of the plane and went on his merry way. As he strode past, I popped out of my seat and took this photo from the plane’s open door. Our bear adventure was underway!

Wildlife Wonders of Alaska - Coyote

This handsome fellow is dubbed Wile E. by the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center staff. He was named after the famed coyote that got outwitted by a roadrunner bird, time and time again, in “The Road Runner” cartoons (1940s–1960s). Wile E. lives in the brown bear enclosure at the Center and is normally quite elusive. On the day of our visit, he ventured out just a few brief moments to check us out. We never did see any of the bears!

Here’s the tender background story that the staff told us about Wile E. He came to the Center as an abandoned pup and was raised to adulthood. Then they decided to release him back into the wild. Wile E. must have decided that life was pretty good at the Center, because he showed back up several months later and managed to get back in the enclosure. They never did figure out how he managed these feats. This was the only home he knew, so he found a way!

This is the last of my series Wildlife Wonders of Alaska series. I hope you have enjoyed seeing photos of many of God’s great creatures!

Counting the Bears

I have been working on a few more of my bear pictures this Sunday afternoon. Oh my, they are such beautiful creatures!  I know that you are counting the days until the Katmai brown bears series begins. 

By happenstance, one of the gals who was on our Alaska trip last year just sent me the link to this video. It shows a field counting and tagging exercise for black bears in Ontario, Canada.  Perhaps this will tide you over a bit.  Enjoy!

Wildlife Wonders of Alaska - Harbor Seals

One of the marine mammals that you can usually spot during a cruise around the coast of Alaska is the harbor seal. We saw this group off of Aialik Bay in Kenai Fjords National Park. The harbor seal is known as a “sea dog” since it looks like an earless dog when it sticks its head out of the water. Their faces are quite adorable, and some of the ones in this photo look like they are sharing a private joke about the pesky tourists. 

The thick coats of the harbor seals tend to be grayish color with black spots or rings. Even though they molt yearly, these markings will remain and are unique to individual seals. Most of the darker colors appear on their backs. This is a defense mechanism so that they blend in with the water when viewed from above. 

Harbor seals are excellent divers and have something called a dive reflex. This dive reflex is activated when the seal submerges its head. It automatically causes the seal to hold its breath, slow its heartbeat, and reduce the amount of oxygen being delivered to all organs except the brain and the heart. This dive reflex works so well that the seal is even able to sleep underwater and subconsciously come to the surface for oxygen throughout its slumber. What a trick!

January - A Look Ahead

My blog is now four years old! It’s hard to believe that it has reached that milestone. I started this little spot on the web a couple of months after I retired, thinking that it would be a good pastime. Little did I realize how many great friends I would make along the way! I also had no idea how much it would spur me to improve my photography. It’s been a wild ride! 

I have traditionally held a giveaway whenever I have a “blogaversary”. This time is no different, except there is going to be a little twist. No entering will be involved. Stay tuned for a later post! 

This is a month for us to hunker down, stay warm, and stay healthy. I am over the nasty cold that flung itself on me right before Christmas, thank goodness. Hubby will continue to do his regular exercises and heal up from his hip replacement surgery last month. He’ll have another follow-up visit to the doctor in a couple of weeks. Until then, I remain the designated driver for shopping errands. He is progressing very well and deeply appreciates all the good wishes that my blogging friends have expressed. 

It is a month of indoor pursuits. Soups and chili will probably get featured a lot on our menus. We’ll feed the birds and watch their antics. My consulting work will continue. Our Kindles will stay loaded up with electronic books to entertain our minds. And, we'll be processing digital travel photos in our spare time. 

The famed Katmai brown bears will finally make their appearance this month on my blog. No ifs, ands, or buts. (Except for a furry kind of butt, LOL). The photos are long overdue. I am still torn about processing a few more. I can’t keep tinkering with the images of these charming creatures. I hope you will be mesmerized too.

A Look Back at 2011

It was an incredible year! Looking in my mind’s rearview mirror, 2011 is chocked full with memories and adventures.

• We spent our first entire year at our new Grey Havens cottage, experiencing every season. It no longer feels like we are visiting. It feels like home! 
• In January, I started a new consulting job with my former employer and put my retirement status on hold. The work continued throughout the year, and it will finally come to a close in a few more months. It has seriously impacted my free time, but the unexpected income has provided us a welcomed financial cushion in these difficult economic times. 
• We had several snowfalls early in the year, giving us an opportunity to photograph the cheerful birds that visited our bird feeders and our lovely neighborhood shrouded in a white cloak. 
• Our cottage welcomed the completion of some landscaping projects in the spring. We continued to spot deer and other wildlife as they venture into our yard from the adjacent woodlands. 
• In April, we explored national parks and other scenic areas in north-central New Mexico. We saw incredible vistas like the one shown above at Tent Rocks National Park. 
• During the month of May, we bit the Apple and switched over from old PC computers to new iMacs. Though the transition took a little adjustment (you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks), we haven’t experienced a single computer system problem since then. 
• My photo editing skills continued to improve during the year. We added Nik Complete software to our arsenal of digital processing tools. I also started to feature larger-sized images on my blog, linked to my flickr account. 
• My blog celebrated its 3-year anniversary, 500th post, and 600th post. Though I worked, my wee blog ended the year with an all-time high of posts. Numerous series about our travels and participation in the photo challenge contributed to this prolific achievement. I also featured custom blog headers and backgrounds throughout the year! 
• In July, we traveled throughout Alaska, photographing astonishing scenery and wildlife for three memorable weeks. It was truly a trip of a lifetime that we will fondly remember. If you followed my blog this year, you got a visual taste of our legendary 49th state. 
• In late September and early October, we traveled to the Canadian Maritimes and enjoyed quaint coastal scenery. I’ll be featuring photos from that trip later on this year. 
• My sweet hubby received a bionic hip this past month and spent three weeks at a rehabilitation facility to assist in his recovery. We celebrated a very low-key Christmas and gave thanks to the miracles of modern medicine. 

We have had our share of personal challenges throughout the year. Life at Grey Havens is not always a bed of roses. But we strive to focus on those moments that bring us joy, live our lives to the fullest, and show kindnesses along the way. Some of you started last year’s journey with me, and some began to visit later on. I hope that you enjoyed the ride. I certainly did! 

2011 is put to bed. It’s history. 

Okay, 2012 - bring it ON! Won’t you join me?