Secrets of a Butterfly

#9ofpride on Instagram, part 3

@shabon

The third and final post showcasing instagramers i love to follow, and their 9ofpride, a selection of their favourite photos to date, all together in a little grid. Gives such a neat overview of their style, and if you visit the tag #9ofpride on instagram, you can find SO many more!
special mention for my lovely friend Jules who's grid is below, and who has a passion for blue skies, trees and seagulls, oh and the odd beach or too as well! Jules originally comes from the area of north east england that i live in, and she is coming to visit me very soon. We shall have a cuppa and be taking plenty iphone photos i am sure (smiles)

also here's the links to parts 1 and part 2 incase you missed them

 

@thisisjules

@edengarden

@maemanee_ka

 

@lena_rin

@lisajanehumphries

 

And thats my conclusion to the sharing of instagram love, hope you have enjoyed the 3 posts and found lots of new people to follow, or been inspired by the quality of photos and edits that people create.

love and wishes, kat xxx

 

#9ofpride on Instagram, part 2

 

Following on from my previous post the other day, i wanted to share these instagramers and their #9ofpride selections. the first being by @kawaiigirl79

As you can see their are so many varied styles,colours and edits amongst those i have been sharing. Instagram is as varied and vibrant as life itself can be. There's much to be inspired by, to "sigh with cuteness" at and to chat about.

To visit their streams just take their name and type it in the search on Instagram. Today's are all about the littlies...a special mention to Ruby and Noah above,i especially love their dress ups and cute outifts, and their sibling love. And Milly below, love her colourful cuteness, along with her adventurous, creative spirit. (smiles)

 

@icklebabe

 

@sangthebird

 

@hesperdoodle

 

@confettis

 

@sundaypeach

 

@waldoloves

 

If you use instagram too, i hope you may enjoy discovering these new streams of photos to follow, and if you don't use the app, maybe these photos show you just what's possible and get you inspired to have a go yourself. Such a neat and simple way to capture the moments of everyday

love and wishes, kat xxxx

#9ofpride on Instagram, part 1

There's a tag going on Instagram which i thought would be nice to share with you here. It's called #9ofpride. the images above are my 9 favourites, you will recognise a few no doubt (smiles)

For the tag you pick your 9 favourite photos and place them in a frame. Visiting the tag has given me the opportunity to find new people to follow, as it's like a little showcase of their own unique style. It's also a lovely way to share with you some of my  long time favourite Instagramers, and i shall do that here as well as in some further posts, as there are too many for just one go!

Sourcing the photographer on Instagram....if you use instagram, you'll no doubt be familiar with how to find any of those featured. Its just a case of taking the name of the pics here and popping it in the search. Or you can google the name plus a @ sign in front of it, that would take non instagram users to the webstagram page online, where you can browse the photos as well. This is mine and at the top of this post are my own 9ofpride. My user name on instagram is the same as my blog.

@gingerlillytea

 

@cestmaria

 

@mint_candy_apple

 

@filmgarden

 

@cheyenneluvvs

 

@lh_aesoon

 

i think you will agree there are some wonderfully creative people on intagram, and it is inspiring to see just what they will share next. Each image is either a personal memory or a little story unfolding..

More beautiful instagramers coming soon, in part 2 and 3
If you have made a #9ofpride yourself, please let us know your account in the comments too

(smiles) kat xxxxx

 

 

 

Bluebell photo collage - using the iphone

This is a type of bluebell we have growing in the little front garden. I took this with my i-phone 4s, the camera is super on it. I thought you might like to know what i then did with iphone apps to achieve the end collaged photo.

First i put it through Magic Hour (still my favourite photo app)
To crop it square and lighten it using a filter

Then i uploaded that to the app Blender
And used another photo i have, of a sample piece of Designers Guild wallpaper, with little blue flowers upon it.
I blended these together.

 

Then i uploaded that image to Lens Light
I played about quite a lot adding flares, ligh leaks, sparkles and a concrete effect in a subtle wash

 

 

I then used the app Phonto to add the words in white, in a slightly faded effect

 

And lastly i uploaded the image to Hanko, and used a doilly stamp in white to each corner.

and there you have it, a collaged photo of bluebells in my garden (smile)

I really like using my phone for this as its a way to be super creative and yet be lying resting too.

Love and wishes

kathryn xxx

Pink petals and sky

These photos are so beautiful, they are inspiring to me.

I know nothing about Fangchun15, other than these are taken in Japan.

 I found her work on flickr and just love it so.

I like it when i stumble upon someone's photos that speak to me.

I like it when i find prettiness and especially close ups of flowers.

shared with peaceful wishes and love,

kat x

Tanneke Photography - moments of grace

Tanneke Peetoom - her photography takes my breath away

These are photos of her daughter, who models with such grace and natural ability.

I discovered her through Instagram and made this collage for my stream there, and she has a website Tanneke Peetoom
You can also see an overview of her work here
love & blessings

Mosaic on monday - Susannah Tucker

Endlessly inspiring, perfectly peaceful, enchantingly magical, all of these descriptions for me apply to the photography of Susannah Tucker.

Warm, thoughtful, considerate and generous, all of these descriptions apply to Susannah herself, who has shown me so much kindness over the time we have known one another through flickr and blogging.

I was browsing her etsy shop  on Sunday and i thought to myself i must share some of her magic with you. I picked out some favourites from her flickr stream. A different colour palette to the work of hers that i have featured before at  Secrets. As in the past i posted about her butterfly range which is more pink and turquoise.

As well as the butterflies, i also love the nature photos she takes - the soft dreaminess of the beach ones, the muted tones of leaves and typewriters, wild flowers and fresh blue skies that seem to go on forever. Here also in the collage are some of her beautiful daughter and son. If you get a chance to pop by her blog, you can see more of her world and work,

love and delicate wishes

Creating photos for Instagram

Instagram, which is an app for iphone and ipad's, is less about the technical perfection of an image, and more about the everyday moments of life, shared with everyone. Its like twitter but in image not words. And the square format and instant sharing is reminiscient of taking a polaroid.

My favourite photography apps are listed below, quite a few of which were upon Christina's recommendation.
Christina keeps a beautiful blog Divas and Dreams, and has been running an Instagram post every monday with her tips and advice. It was through her first post in this series that i started to realise the potential for instagram in terms of creative expression and also just how sweet it is to see the world through the eyes of so many people in different places around the world.

When using the Instagram, you can simply take a photo and then use the filters within that app to change the look and then immediately share. Or you can have a play around and use other programs/apps to get a desired affect.

There are so many photo apps these days it can be quite overwhelming so i found Christina's posts pointing me in the right direction, were a big help (thanks Christina!) and its partly inspired me to put this post together, to pass on which apps i'm liking to you too.

camera+ - find this has a better camera than my iphone3Gs itself, and its very quick to make it square and add better frames or filters than on instagram. save to camera roll and then upload

PS express - a simple app to follow for adjusting and cropping

Photoforge2 and Pic frame - read about them on Christina's post here

100cameras - lots of different affects, some filters, alot are like overlays, to give textured appearance

Photo Toaster and Camera sharp - read much more about these two, from Christina's post here

I also found the following for adding little extra details.......

Magic Hour - filter heaven, with so many variations to use, and then even more to download free, that anyone on the App can create and share

Smilecat - a japanese app, with cute frames (like the one of Whisper above) and the option to write onto your image which i use even if i don't want to frame it,(like in the top photo of this post) and stickers you can add as well, gives a stationery feel to images which i like
Just a note - if you do search for the app you'll find the free one is easy enough to follow but some of the stickers are in japanese, its worth trying it out, but then purchase the other one if you like it, as it has more words in english to use.

Masking tape - i just got this, but it seems good, and you can add different colours of tape and write on them like i have below

Looking forward to this book on sewing projects using liberty fabrics!
Hope you find this post useful if you're a fellow instagram addict.

Dreamy pastels

I came across the stream of Kiyomisu on flickr lately. I discovered its kept by Jamesy based in New zealand and that he keeps a little blog to match here Vaniteasee
The further good news is he has an etsy shop named Hey Clouds and at present there is a buy one print get one free offer running.
Above are a couple of my favourites...
K

Pinterest passion

Ever since i first discovered Pinterest last year through the lovely Ez of Creature Comforts, i have been pinning and enjoying the inspiration that comes through grouping images that you love together. I have developed quite a lot of boards. Through them i am able to keep track of where i want to store the different types of things that i find inspiring.

Sometimes i gather by colours, sometimes by words, sometimes by craft, and sometimes by the style of the image. I also gather for future projects, interior design and creative ideas i want to pursue.

I have varied interests but much of what i am drawn to stays within certain colour palettes. What's been helpful about pinning is it allows you to see what your drawn to the most and through that you can discover things about yourself. Or at least have things you already knew become more clear.

All the collections in this post are taken from my boards. You can find them here: Secrets of a Butterfly

These are the titles of my pinboards

INSPIRATIONS:
Favourites -I LOVE
Hope & inspiration
Meaningful words
Woodlands, fairies, nature
A walk through a magical meadow
Dreams to come true

PHOTOGRAPHY:
Dreamy photography
Touch of black and white
cute as can be

HOME & INTERIORS:
Interiors i adore
Simplicity
Interior touches i love
A touch of shabby chic
Vintage naturals
wallpaper love
candle light wishes
floral displays

GIRLIE & FASHION:
Gorgeous & feminine
Once upon a hanger
Peaches & cream
English style
Looks i love
My style pinboard
Liberty love
Jewels and trinkets

BY COLOUR:
Delicate pink
Sofest blue
Multicoloured dreamer

CRAFT INSPIRATIONS:
Paper passion
Favourite prints
Craft corner
Little handmade lovelies
Inspirations in fabric
Bookshelf
Lace to love
Crochet club
Wrapped and tagged
Wonderful weddings
Stunning christmas

JUST BECAUSE:
Gorgeous guys
Blogs i love
New blogs
Boutiques online

I always aim to pin only those things that i think wow, thats gorgeous, or that is SO inspiring. I don't want to gather too much. I think it would be best to end up with boards that have less content but are full of what i adore, rather than just things that i quite like. I guess the inspiration i feel when i look at the boards as a whole, comes through the gradual process of collating. Its as much about what you leave out of boards, as what you include.

So just what can you use collecting in this type of way for?

Well i think you'll have gathered from my titles and descriptions above, that there are many uses that your boards can take. Inspiration is what it's all about. So the boards are as varied as the people that keep them. You can begin with simply photos that make you feel good, or give you ideas for photography of your own.

Then there are boards that you can collect ideas for creating and crafting, be it in lace, crochet, knitting, paper, painting, wrapping, meals, baking, table settings, soft furnishings...the list is endless.

Then there are fashion boards, including hair and accessories.. lookbook images, magazine features, models and actresses, street style looks, bloggers pictures, and individual pieces of clothing from online shops.

Then there can be boards for occasions & celebrations you're planning, showers, weddings, birthdays, and seasonal events like halloween and christmas. You can gather ideas for diy projects within any of these.

Then there are nature boards, that cover the seasons indoors and out, winter, spring, summer and autumn. This may include photos of the countryside or floral displays specific to that time of year. Along with craft and decorating projects that come up on blogs or magazine's online.

Speaking of decorating, thats the other way boards can help...in planning new interiors. You can gather images of room settings, or specific ideas for small areas. Arrangements of frames upon a wall for example, or new wallpaper designs, fresh soft furnishing styles and ideas for renovating furniture. All the while its possible to gain confidence in your choices and colour combining. So that when you come to put those ideas into your own home you have more experience to draw on, and the results can better meet your new found tastes and style.

Pinterest is used by so many bloggers you will recognise, so its another great way to connect with those you know, or who you find inspiring in the creative design fields. We can quickly and easily share what has caught our eye in the online marketplace and tell each other what we are "loving".
There is a new Pinterest App coming any day now! Making it even easier to pin things you love. I have enjoyed sharing my passion for pinterest with you today, and hope you have enjoyed it too,

Love

x x x