Lomography {Framed}

Today, I am in Kansas City at the Nelson Atkins museum for an art teacher conference. We are doing boring things related to common core standards, but I am always up for a visit to KC with art teacher friends. Anyway, tonight is the 3rd Thursday art walk in Joplin and unfortunately, I do not think I will make it back for much of it. However, if you are down there, stop by the Fluffy Pop shop and check out my new photo strip  frames.

I made these frames using sticks. They are perfect for photo booth strips. I had actually designed them just for photo booth photos....but then I dug out the box of contact strips from the darkroom and realized that many of the photos were the perfect size for these little frames. The photos have been hand processed in the dark room, 120 film from both Holga and Diana medium format cameras.

They are reasonably priced, so make sure you check them out and take one home!!

The fotoclipss are from Photojojo.

They look much better in person....so make sure you find the big green and yellow RV parked on main street in downtown Joplin and go inside to see them for yourself!!

10 Cool Still Life Shots from around the house and garden.

Teacher Desk Makeover

The only thing I remember about Clarissa Explains it All (you know, that Nickelodeon show from the 90s) was how cool her bedroom was. She had the most amazing furniture and decor. Realistically, it wouldn't be very cool to decorate my entire home like a teenager's bedroom (even though my clothing is usually piled up in every room)but I have always wanted to paint a dresser or something to look like her room.

 This is a project that I have wanted to do for several years, I just haven't ever made the time for it. The design for my classroom desk was based on this basic mural painting.TIP: If you ever decide to paint wood, always use primer first. I was so anxious to get started, that I didn't want to make a special trip to buy anything, I just wanted to start. I did finish it off with a double coat of polyurethane so hopefully that will be good enough. I painted this desk with regular 'ole acrylic paint. I even painted my trashcan to match!

Here is all the owl stuff on my desk!

Favorite detail!

The work crew installed new cabinets in one corner...You can kind of see them in the 1st picture. While painting my desk, I started organizing. Then I decided to move my desk to a new spot...and move some shelves....and reorganizing. I've been to school several times this summer to finish up this project....and get things ready for next year. I will post a few more photos of my classroom once I have finished hanging up my new visuals for the year. To see shots inside my room from 2010 click here and here. Also, more photos are here and here.

Blackberries.

 Having picked wild blackberries before, this was my first experience with a 'you pick' berry farm. Luckily, I saw the sign advertising the fresh berries and made it down to pick on the very last day of the season. It was so hot Saturday morning; after only a few minutes the sweat was dripping down the middle of my back.

I literally took 100s of photos over the weekend....mostly random objects, but it felt good. This berry picking trip wasn't meant to be a photo outing, but it turned into one...and I really like some of the photos.

For a while, I felt like I was missing out on certain pleasures.... experiencing things only at lens length, always having my camera in between myself and whatever I was doing...so I took a break from carrying it everywhere. But lately, I've had my camera (and lens baby) with me at all times...and it feels good to be documenting again...too many times I just take one photo with my iphone, and it doesn't seem like I really capture the essence of the experience....like I can with my Nikon.

Now....I can't wait to make a blackberry cobbler. 

Berry King Farm. if you want to check it out for yourself. Its just south of Reddings Mill.

Retro Vacation Photos {Kalmar Castle}

Kalmar Castle gets its very own post because it is just so beautiful.The excursion to this castle was part of my Sweden trip and it was one of my favorite memories. Perhaps it was the perfect weather, or the relaxed atmosphere or the sheer beauty of the old structure.

Even though it was mid-June, the weather for most of the trip was cool and cloudy. The day we went to Kalmar, the sun came out and the locals were out and about. Seeing so many young people relaxing on blankets, reading and lounging made me so envious. What a perfect place to relax on the green grass with the beautiful scenery and the light breeze off the ocean.

Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookie + Tuxedo Brownie

Okay so you know how sometimes you have an idea and you want to use what you have on hand to make something special so you combine two recipes? Well I decided to combine the Pampered Chef (R) Tuxedo Brownies with the Cake Mix Red Velvet Cookies and top it with a fresh blackberry.

I used my mini muffin pan sprayed with cooking spray and dropped a scoop of the cookie mix into bake. After about 8 or nine minutes, I took it out of the oven and pressed an indention into the top. After they had cooled a few minutes, I used a knife around the edges to help me loosen them out. I only baked six at first to make sure it would work. I tasted one. It was a little bland so I threw in some chocolate chips. YUM! (white chocolate chips would've been good too). I'm calling them red velvet brownie bites, but if you want to get technical, they are really just cookies masquerading as brownies. If you want to get a real red velvet brownie recipe, I'm sure one exists....I just wanted to use up a boxed cake mix.

After baking the rest of the cookie mix, I let them cool completely. Before the event, I made up the tuxedo brownie topping and let it chill in a big zip lock in the fridge for a few hours. Then I piped it into the red velvet brownie cups and topped everything with a fresh blackberry. A raspberry would've been pretty too, but I had been blackberry picking that morning!

I took this beautiful plate of delicious treats to a Pinterest(R) Anonymous class and realized that it wasn't actually from Pinterest....and everyone loved them so much, I decided to make a blog post about it, just so I could share it with the crowd. 

Follow me on Pinterest for other recipes from the event: http://pinterest.com/nellie_mitchell/

 Ingredient list:
For cookie/brownie mix:

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package Red Velvet cake mix
• 2 large eggs
•  1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Bake in preheated oven for 8-9 minutes at 350 degrees in well-greased mini muffin pan.

For cream filling:

2	square white chocolate for baking
2	tbsp milk

8	oz  cream cheese, softened
1/4	cup  powdered sugar
1	cup thawed, frozen whipped topping
1	pint berries

Combine white chocolate and milk in large microwave-safe bowl; microwave on HIGH 1 minute. Stir until smooth; cool slightly. In large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar; mix well. Gradually stir in white chocolate mixture until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.
Pipe cream cheese mixture into brownie cups; top with strawberries. Refrigerate 1-3 hours before serving.

Lens Baby: Kansas City Art Walk

The Kansas City art walk is one of my most favorite things to do. It seems I only ever get to go in the summer, so it is always super hot.

I love wandering through the galleries and taking photos of the people in the streets in the Crossroads District.  I really really love the Hammerpress studio....and the Grunauer, the German restaurant.

A few of these photos are neat shots from the weekend in KC, but most are from the art walk. 

These are from a little Moroccan place in Westport.