FRUGAL STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY

FRUGAL STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY

It will soon be  NEW YEAR 2014

Every year I like to try to do something new.

So 

 I have just signed up to participate in an on line course 

of 8 weeks for still life photography.

you can join too.

But you will have to be quick it starts on 6th Jan -24th Feb 2014

If you're interested   Click Here  and check it out 

@ Cheryl McCain Photography

Last year Mr France bought himself a new camera a PANASONIC DMC- FZ 48

 I have been trying my hardest to learn how to use it, taking photos for my blog.

My camera is also a Lumix-Panasonic DMC-TZ4 which I call an aim and shoot.

No fiddly buttons and just a few menus.

I wasn't going to tell you, I was going to wait and see if I made any progress,

but I'm sure there's lots of you out there,

 just like me,

 who would like to be able to take better photos.

I hope the above link Click Here works I'm not very good at linky things.

 I'm also going to put Cheryl's button on my side bar.

I'm feeling very excited, I can't wait to try!

. 

Wishing  all my friends

A HAPPY NEW YEAR 

2014

I found this on a blog I read today, however I can't remember who's it was.

If it was yours, please let me know.

 I thank you and hope you don't mind me using it.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

My Christmas Decor

My Christmas decorations have been minimal this year.
as Mr France and I will be spending the holiday with our daughter and our grandsons.

No sapin de noel .
a
 few branches collected from the woods, with some of my favourite things hanging from the twigs. 

 Present wrapping time, using my vintage lace.

and

another chance to use the music.

I wish all my friends and followers a wonderful

 Happy Christmas.

Joyeaux Noel

God Jul.



 à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Some of my decorations, using the pages of music.

Since all the pondering about defacing the music book
I've had a great time making cards
in fact

many cards, which have all been to sent to friends and family.

Then  I made these cones, which I remembered seeing last year
 in my favourite Danish magazine.


This is my variation.

The cones can be hung from a beam 

or placed on a side table with baubles popped inside,

or if you have a large tree they could look lovely hanging from a branch

 Many years ago I used to make little cushions with vintage lace which I put on our bed
and I have lots of odd pieces left over from my collection .

So it was just the thing to add to the vintage theme of the sheet music.

I also had some clear baubles I'd bought a while ago
and wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them !

I'd seen a few ideas in a magazine, using paper in different colours
 cut into strips and placed inside. so that gave me the idea to use the music.

 I still have a few other ideas for things to do, if I get time.

I hope you like what I chose to do with some of the pages from the book.

As Mr France & I will be spending the Christmas holiday with our daughter and our grandchildren
I haven't decorated a tree this year.
But I've had lots of enjoyment making these decorations, which I'll give to her and have the pleasure of seeing how she will display them in her home.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

My decision on using the sheet music.

In my last post I asked for your opinion whether I should use the book of music which  I found in a brocante After reading your interesting comments, which I'm extremely grateful to have received. Then chatting on face book, and emails from friends  it was almost 50/50. It wasn't easy to make my decision.
I did a lot of research into the book of  the opera music & also gave it a great deal of thought, it took me 10 days of pondering to be exact, before I plucked up courage to deface the book, a vintage book at that !
I hope I'm not going to make any enemies by doing this ?
As I  found  that the book was not valuable and knowing the music would never be played,  I didn't feel too guilty, added to that a lot of  you were thinking on the same wavelength as me. So I have neatly pulled out a few pages to make cards, decorations and a few little gift bags. All will be shown later in the week.

 I did some research on the fashion in France and Germany during the period when the music was written.
After I'd pulled out the first double pages, I wasn't sure if  it was guilt, but  probably it was my  vivid imagination, but I began to get a vision of a lady sitting on a stool at the piano with a gentleman standing nearby ready to turn the pages of her music. The lady dressed in a beautiful crinoline gown, her hair in ringlets. the gentleman looking handsome in a long jacket and slim fitting trousers & knee boots.

In case your imagination is not as vivid as mine here are a few fashion images for you.
1840-1850

Western style

French fashion 1840

German style

and as you all love the way the French ladies dress

this is what they were wearing in 1840.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the fashion from the period of my music book.
and
come back again soon to see my decorations.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

My fantastic music find for a decoration.

Look at my fantastic find, from a Brocante shop in a small town near where I live.

I was wandering down a side street looking for ideas for Christmas, when I saw the sign Brocante. The door was open and the owner was sitting in a comfy chair, soaking up the sun that was shining into his doorway,

I decided to go in have a browse. 

Knowing I had some ideas in my mind for making some decorations using sheet music, in my best French I asked if he had any pieces of sheet music, he said he thought he might have a few books of music, but wasn't sure if he could find them, so could I wait while he went out to the back of his shop. 

I had plenty of time so I looked around and saw lots of things I would have loved to buy, but as I was with Mr. France who hates old and dusty things, if it's not brand spanking new, he calls it junk.

I thought this was not the right time and I'd just wait to see if the owner could find any sheet music.

A few minutes later he came back with this book and asked if it was of any use.

Now as I hadn't gone out suitably dressed for rummaging about in a brocante shop, I had to be careful as he might think I was a collector or maybe a  dealer, as he could have put a high price on it. 

Also being English and smartly dressed in a small town didn't help, I was wondering how much he would say he wanted. I looked at it, as if it was of no use to me, but wanting so much to have this lovely vintage book.  I could see the pages were thick and not flimsy like the books of today. I asked how much he wanted, for it, thinking I was going to have to barter with him. I couldn't believe it when he said 2 euros. I couldn't get out of the shop quick enough, in case he changed his mind. 

Now that I have the book at home and have looked at the lovely design on the cover, even though it's torn and tattered it tells a story. It's the music for a comedy opera, written in German and French. 

I'm sure it's not valuable, but I almost don't want to tear the pages out from it, just to make decorations.

I never deface books, so now I'm in a dilemma, do I tear out the pages 

 or should I try somewhere else that might have sheet music ?

Do you ever feel like this when you touch something vintage ?

 that's so worn because it's  been used so many times.

The tattered cover.

I can't read music, but to me it looks as if it's quite lively.

That was yesterday and now I'm still wondering, should I use it for the decoration I want to make,
 or keep the opera music book ?

I'd love to have your opinion to help me make up my mind

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian