Corbel Close-Up

I've been trying to decide what to do with several photos I took of architectural elements during our last trip to San Francisco.  I finally got to work today to try a new project.  Here is a picture of the first one in a series I have planned.  This is one of my favorite pictures of the elements I took; one of a corbel.  I love corbels and how they've been used in architecture over the ages.  Sometimes  referred to as brackets or cornices, the name's not important, but the beauty is.

I printed the photograph onto regular printer paper and adhered it to three sanded and painted pallet boards.  I used ModPodge and black acrylic paint.  You can see the steps in the picture below.

I had originally thought I would  frame the picture with smaller strips on the front, but  I decided to keep the front flat with the photo being the focal point.

The boards are held together by another pallet board that I split and nailed as braces from the back.  I then attached a saw tooth picture hanger on the back.

                     

It now hangs near our door leading out to our garage.  It will remind us of our visit to San Francisco to visit our son every time we leave the house.   You can read more about the pictures I took on our trip here.  It's my blog post about one of my favorite online photo editing programs....Picasa 3.

I hope this project gives you some ideas for ones of your own.  Please let me know if you have any questions...or suggestions for making this project even better.

Thank you!

~ Alison

This post was linked up at:

The Boogie Board Cottage
Thrifty Decor Chick
Home Stories A to Z

"Picasa 3, Meet California Street"

Most of you know, by reading  many of my former posts, that our oldest son lives and works in San Francisco.  You probably also remember how much I love to visit his beloved city.  I thought I would post a few pictures that I took on one of our walks down California Street from Pacific Heights to the Embarcadero. My son takes this walk every day as he goes to and from work.  What a lucky fella!

I have a dear friend who lives in New York City who told me during my visit to his city to always LOOK UP when walking our finest cities.  He was right!  I do this in every city I visit now. I am astonished at the beauty that can be found high above eye level.  All three of the pictures I've posted here were taken of buildings along California Street as I walked around... looking up.  ~  I must insert a safety warning at this point.....urging everyone to please have someone with you guiding you as you attempt to take pictures in a crowded city as you walk....looking up.  It can be dangerous! ~

I've always been fascinated with architecture and architectural elements.  I love altering the photos with photo editing programs and software.  Since I'm a true Google Nut, I love Picasa 3.  It's a free downloadable photo editing program produced by Google.  You must try it!  I edited the photos here with Picasa 3, and then uploaded them to yet another program, PicMonkey, to add the borders.    

So, there you have it:)  My photo editing secret....Picasa 3! With a little help from PicMonkey.  I just love sharing tricks of the trade for others to use.  I still love Adobe Photoshop ~ I just wish it wasn't so expensive.....

I'm curious to know what you think of my photos of California Street.  Can you identify the buildings?  Have you been on California Street?  I hope you have had the chance to "look up" in one of our nation's most beautiful cities.

~ Alison

This post was linked up to:

Home Stories A to Z

Give Me the Goods Monday @ Better With Age

Master Piece Monday @ Boogie Board Cottage

Create and Share @ The Trendy Treehouse

Inspiration Friday @ The Common Ground

Homemaker on a Dime

Catch as Catch Can @ My Repurposed Life