My Own Creative Muse
Like the character Cameo in yesterday’s story, I feel like I have the voice of a “muse” in my mind that drives me to create. Unlike Cameo, I haven’t turned away from that voice completely, though I’ve gone through dry spells. Maybe that’s why the story came to me and made me examine the relationship between our thought lives and our real lives. And if you ever battle with the still, small voice like Elijah, maybe Cameo’s journey will be enjoyable for you as well.
Though it’s not time to share more of her story yet, I want to share just a little from recent creative endeavors. The above photo is a close-up from the first good blooms on an azalea plant hubby got for me a few years ago. He did the research to find out what would make it grow, and it paid off well. I’m thrilled with the plant and with the pictures. I added a sparkly frame on this one because I knew how it would affect the images I got from Wombo Dream AI. Get ready for a barrage of pink and full instructions for any why might want to try designing images in Wombo.
So my first stop was to their browser page because they recently updated it with a new “edit” button. You can upload an image, and then tell it how you want it edited. Maybe you want the flowers in purple or the sky in green. Put your thoughts in the prompt box, and let it go to work. I told it I wanted the image in stained glass. The outputs were the same in the app as in the browser, so here are some from the app before I added the frame…
You can visit the website without downloading the app, so you can make your own fun edits at https://dream.ai/ and click on the “Start Creating” button. On the creation page, you can use my prompt (below) if you like, or create your own. When you add a prompt, you’ll notice a button that says enhance. That button will add some fancy extra prompts that are well trained into the AI. Once you have the prompt you want, it’s time to select a filter. Anything that doesn’t say “Premium” is okay to use. The latest filters are V4, and the V3 filters also work well. Once your filter is selected, you can choose generate to make your picture. It will download with a watermark if you don’t have premium, but it’s not bad and may be able to be cropped out in another program if it really bothers you. Here’s the prompt…
Turn these beautiful magenta azaleas into a stained glass window.
This is just the beginning of what you can do. You’ll notice you have image sizes to choose from in case you want to make a phone wallpaper size or a Facebook header size. And then you can look toward the bottom for the browse button where you can upload your own image. Or mine if you’ve downloaded it. That’s why I make most of my images Creative Commons. At some point, the page may ask you to create an account in order to download your images. I’m not sure if the gallery to store your images comes with every account, or only on the app, but having lost a number of gallery photos when they crashed last year, I recommend actually saving your favorites to a permanent location.
Now, because I’m a fan of abstract creations, there is a V2 filter I go to often. I’ll share the collage and prompt for that, and I hope to hear from readers that you’ve tried this for yourself and had as much fun with it as I do. The prompt (for use with the image at the top and with their enhanced additions) is…
Turn this into a beautiful stained glass window with the original magenta pink azalea and pink glitter frame colors intact. Intricate lead lines separating vibrant glass pieces, sunlight streaming through to cast colorful reflections, delicate floral motifs surrounding the azalea, subtle gradients blending pinks and purples, the window set against a softly illuminated stone wall, enhanced by shimmering highlights on the glitter frame that catch the light at different angles.
And here are the images…
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A Way (to Play) with Words
Since I’m in a poetry vein for April, I thought I’d create a decorated word tile poem from Magnetic Poetry® and show you how I do it.
First, go visit the Magnetic Poetry® Online website at https://magneticpoetry.com/pages/play-online
Once there, you’ll click one of the boxes to choose the set of tiles you want to work with. They are just like the ones you can get for home except that you won’t drop one and lose it until you find it under the refrigerator years later. 😂 You can choose from “Original Kit,” “Poet Kit,” “Mustache Poet,” or “Nature Poet” on the front page. Once you select your kit and go to the play page, they’ve also added “Love” and “Geek” to the selections.
On that page, you’ll have a myriad of words to play with. In addition to regular words, you’ll also notice the s, ing, r, es, and other endings you may need to create the right tense of your poetic lines. You’ll notice my “you + r” to make “your” in the above image, and the combining of in and to for “into” in one line. It’s a little bit of work lining them up (in real life kits as well), but it’s part of the creative fun. Also, the pile of word tiles you see is not all that’s available. You’ll see a button to add more words at the bottom, and it will give you a whole different batch from the same kit.
After you’ve played and created some fun lines, you can save and share it if you’re willing to give them your name and email address. If you plan to order any poetry tiles for home, you’ll likely give that to them anyway unless you choose to order from another source like Amazon. If you want to do what I did, just screenshot the whole page. But, before you do that, I recommend you move the piles of unused tiles as far away as possible, so you’ll have plenty of room for cropping your final image.
Once I’ve got my screenshot, I open the image in the Photo Studio Pro app. I can’t tell you how other programs/apps work yet because that’s all I’ve played with so far. In the app, I crop out all the extraneous page info and save just the white background with black-on-white words. It’s not bad just like that, but I like pretty papers and stuff, so my next step is to use the app’s blend menu to create a background. They have a lot of gorgeous designs to choose from, or you can choose your own images or browse an online page from Pixabay public domain images. You can even have their AI design a background for you. And then, you’ll just use the slider to make the image as dark or light as you want with your words.
Here is a collage of my screenshot, then cropped, then blended image…
I saved my original cropped image as a “project” in the app, so I can go back and play with different backgrounds if I want. And there you have it; a way to play with words. I’d love to see your creations if this technique works for you. Maybe I can create a group on Flickr (my favorite photo site) just for people doing the online poetry tiles. Now, go play with words.
Here’s one more quick set of small ones I made recently…
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🎵 Savage Grace Release Day!
(All Rights Reserved)
I’ve listened to the song multiple times now, and it’s got great lyrics, vocals, and music. Super proud of my brother!
As I promised from his story in yesterday’s post, I’m bringing my readers the video release and some links where you can get a copy for yourself. If you are a radio listener, you’re welcome to ask your local Christian station to give it some airplay as well. Help me help him make this a great release week with lots of interest.
So first, here’s the link from YouTube…
Next, here’s his website info where you can find his Facebook and Instagram pages, check out some of his merch, and sign up for his newsletter… https://www.shaynesavage.com/ And while you’re there, I recommend a scroll to his Liner Notes (blog) for some perspective posts. The latest post is all about the difference in faith and trust. Go directly to that one by visiting the next link…
I’d love some comments here, or if you stop by his Facebook page, please tell him you found out about him from his big sister. 😁 Enjoy the music, and thanks for letting me have a little time to promote this talented musician and singer.
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Grace by DNA Story–About Shayne
It all started one Valentine’s Day in 2018. A life-changing blessing with a journey that still continues.
Back in the early 2000s, hubby found a company that did DNA to look for genealogical connections. I was happy when he found a few cousins and wanted the same experience. But they didn’t do women’s DNA. Fast forward to Ancestry DNA, and they did. So my gift was the test kit, though I was really hesitant to spit in that tube. That hesitancy pushed me to the middle of the year, but I think the timing was perfect.
Shortly after my results came in, hubby was viewing the site since we had it in his name, and he told me, “You’ve got a message on Ancestry that I think you’re gonna want to see.” And there was this beautiful message from someone Ancestry said could be a very close cousin or grandchild. What? I’m thinking, wait I’ve already seen how the numbers look for my first cousins, and these numbers are way higher. I did some quick research to see how the stats work on DNA, and ours were more likely to be half-siblings. I’d met my other half-siblings, so this new connection was both confusing and exciting.
I wrote back right away and told this new relative that I thought he was likely my brother, and I’d be so excited to get to know him better. Then I called my half-sister in Texas and told her I thought we had another brother. There’d been a bit of distance between my dad and I for a few years (that’s a whole ‘nother story), so she called him to ask if we had another brother. At first, he said we didn’t, so I checked with his brother, my uncle, and he said he wasn’t even in Arizona during that year. Now this called for prayer. In the meantime, we spoke on the phone, and I learned that he’d been adopted as an infant and had never met anyone to whom he was blood related.
Fast forward to May of 2019, and Shayne, with his wife Heather, were on their way from Canada to the US for our first meeting. That’s the first image above, but the airport background wasn’t pretty, so I replaced it. Hubby made them the welcome sign they’re holding and has been a huge support as God has expanded this territory in my life. It would take too many words to tell you all we discovered about each other, but it was so neat every time Heather would notice similarities and state, “Oh, you guys are definitely brother and sister!” Though he’s a bit bolder as you can see by his fishtank antics. 😁
We met again in October of 2019 in Nashville, and shortly after that, I was able to fix things with my dad enough to get a phone call from him and then plan a visit to see him and his wife. During those calls and visits, I was able to tell him all he was missing by not acknowledging this son of his, and I quoted him a Bible verse to dissuade some of the guilt he may have been fighting about not having been there all his life. Of course, he was excused because of not knowing about Shayne, but I still wanted him to feel like God showed favor to him because of children he had fathered–not necessarily children he had always raised. That verse is…
Psalm 127:4-5 BSB
[4] Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth. [5] Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. He will not be put to shame when he confronts the enemies at the gate.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.127.4-5.BSB
Now forward to November when Hubby and I were able to get a stay in Branson, Missouri, for ourselves and my sister and brother-in-law. She’s the one with whom I share both parents, and we were raised together for most of our growing up time. We all went together to the small Missouri town where our dad lived with his bride of 10 years, Cheryl. We had a wonderful visit with both of them, and we left with encouragement for our dad to contact Shayne. On Christmas Day of 2019, my brother heard his father’s voice for the very first time. (happy tears)
All the wheels were put in motion for Shayne to meet his (our) father after the winter weather let go in Canada, but that was 2020, so you know what happened there. Borders couldn’t have been shut any tighter. And again, we all went to prayer. In the meantime, I lost a very dear aunt in Arizona who was like a mom to me and my sister. That was just before the lockdown, and it filled the year with chaos and stress. Meanwhile, a good friend was watching her mom struggle with Alzheimer’s, and I was trying to be supportive of her. A crazy year but God’s presence sustained all of us.
Sometime in the late summer of 2020, my brother was able to find a way to get him and his wife Heather across the Canadian border. And they drove down to meet Dad. I was getting the play-by-play and so excited for both of them. Almost a week later, I got a call from the friend whose mom was struggling offering to take me to Missouri to see my brother and my dad. I will never be able to pay that gift back, and I’m forever grateful for the moments she gave our family before Dad left this world. And the miracle of timing for my brother to meet his father and our father to meet his son. (melt)
Again, there’s so much more to tell (which is why I want to write the Grace by DNA book), including the fact that I got another sister out of the deal because Heather and I also shared a lot of similarities–especially about spiritual things. So I’ll close this here by telling you why I chose to share all of this today. It’s because tomorrow’s blog will be all about a big event for my brother, and I’m super proud of him. He is releasing his first single from what will be his first album. I’ll share his website and teaser for tonight, and all the release stuff, including why he chose his particular performer name, tomorrow.
This YouTube page has links to Shayne’s website (where you can sign up for his newsletter), Facebook, Spotify, and Instagram…
https://youtube.com/@shaynesavagemusic?si=j2u8FhzTK-7x8PjG
And here’s the teaser from his Insta post…
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🎵Photo Walking
What’s the most fun way to exercise?
Daily Prompt by Day One
If I can get myself out the door with a camera around my neck, I tend to enjoy the steps I get a little more. A trip–back in 2022–to Azalea Path in Indiana is my favorite of all time. I’ve been there more than once, but that year, we just seemed to arrive during the best color display I’ve seen there. Here’s a collage of some of the captures from that day, all straight out of the camera (SOOC). It was cloudy, so I used a higher color setting, but I was very happy with a few of the shots out of 1200+ I captured. I especially love the ones with waterfalls.
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And even though these are not lilies, this reminder from the words of YahShua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ The Messiah) are a fitting comfort that goes well with such an array of colors.
Luke 12:27-28 BSB
[27] Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. [28] If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith!
https://bible.com/bible/3034/luk.12.27-28.BSB
And since I used that verse, well, I might as well share the beautiful song with the same words, right?
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Heart of Grass
It started snowing late on Sunday the 25th of January. And then the temps dropped, so by the time the entire 10-12 inches had dropped, it was trying to become a seasonal fixture. Single-digit and below zero temperatures stayed around for almost 2 weeks, and then today arrived. 16 days after the big storm, I finally saw grass in my yard again!
Yesterday, it warmed up enough for me to get outside and soak up some sunshine, but the yard was still almost completely white. It was so nice today, though to be greeted by the green stuff that had been hiding beneath the white blanket. My mind went straight to parody mode and thought of the title.
My next stop was to my Wombo Dream app to make some images to go with the title. Here are the prompt words I used…
Create a heart made of green grass in a field of multicolor grasses, pastoral scene, HDR, amazing atmosphere, beautiful scene, melting snow at the edges of the field, bright sunlight illuminates the scene
I tried a variety of filters and had some cool results. My favorites are usually abstracts, but the literal heart of glass seemed like the best intro picture, especially once I added a frame from the Photo Studio Pro app. (You can find that one at the Google Play Store by clicking on the name of the app). I also used that app to make a collage of all the different designs I created so readers can see a bit of my process. Here’s the collage…
So here’s hoping some green grass and sunshine, plus a whole lot more steps than usual, will actually be good for my heart. I know it was good for my spirit because I feel better than I’ve felt in the last 2 weeks.
While we were out, we grabbed dinner at one of my favorite places, so here’s a quick shout out to an excellent waiter at Texas Roadhouse just in case he stops by my blog. Michael, you were super friendly and did an excellent job tonight. I hope you find some fun reading here, enjoy some cool images, and later enjoy some great tea with your girlfriend. I really think the variety box from “Taylor’s of Harrogate” has some of the best teas, so (for Michael and all other readers here) click the title to find them at Amazon (affiliate link for tracking). My favorites are the Sour Cherry and Rose Lemonade, but all 8 flavors are delicious.
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Others’ Posts I’ve Liked
Crystal Writes A Blog 