Chiffon Wings: Child of the Staright

Am I back?

chiffonwings — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 11:24:19 GMT

After a 5 year hiatus, and a new laptop, I've started making icons again, and a lot has changed since I posted to my former icon journal locations, so I decided a new one was in order. You can now find me at undomielicons.

And a teaser from my first post.

Please: Comment | Credit | Do not alter - Textless graphics are not bases | Resources

Happy Halloween!

chiffonwings — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:33:43 GMT

Better late than never, I suppose... and yes, I totally "cheated" and used tonight's cap for bowtiesnbonnets for this. ;)

Hi!

chiffonwings — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 04:58:14 GMT

I've had my old layout up since last August, so I decided it was time for a New Layout, and when I'm not busy making/posting caps to bowtiesnbonnets, I've been working on some icons to post at lace_parasol and windsong_icons. So, hopefully within a few weeks I should have something to post! (Life has been really busy lately, so I haven't had a lot of time to work on them.)

Hope you're all doing well! Tell me what's new in your life, if you want to. :) I've been exploring new interests, like belly dancing! I've also been loving the latest season of Doctor Who, and Alice in Wonderland (2010).

Exciting New Project!

chiffonwings — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:19:20 GMT

I've been busy for the past six weeks or so putting together a "Cap-a-Day" community with my dear friend jess_squirrel at bowtiesnbonnets, where we'll take turns each week posting caps from favorite movies and television shows. I do hope you check it out and watch!

New Layout

chiffonwings — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:15:10 GMT

Featuring Amy Pond, from Doctor Who. It features one of my current favorite quotes.

"The good things don’t always soften the bad things; but vice-versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant."
-Doctor Who: Vincent and the Doctor

One of these days I'll figure out some use for this journal that's more than just announcements of things like layouts and communities...

New Icon Journal

chiffonwings — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:36:00 GMT

I will now be posting my icons to two places - at windsong_icons with autumnjoy, and lace_parasol with maiden_of_stars. They are both very dear friends and I'm honored to be working with them. :)

Tumblr.

chiffonwings — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 02:17:36 GMT

When I haven't been iconing, I've been quite busy on my Tumblr's. And yes, I have several.

A Merrier World - A collection of words and quotes.
Chiffonwings - My random, fandom, things that make me me blog.
The Secret Life of Daydreams - A fashion style and house design "inspiration board".
Said The Princess - Ethereal... Whimsical... Beauty.
Teacups and Rain - Whatever doesn't fit the themes of my other blogs goes here. Generally, it's Something Beautiful, but occasionally it might be funny or cute. :)
I'm On A Special Diet: This is Gluten Free - Pictures of foods that are gluten free.

If you follow me, would you mind leaving a link to your tumblr here so I know who you are? :) I can't promise I'll follow you back... I'd love to, but it can take me hours to keep up with my dashboard now, and so I'm constantly trying to weed out the ones that don't seem to have as much in common with my interests as I first thought, but even so, it's still overwhelming.

New Layout

chiffonwings — Wed, 12 May 2010 02:38:44 GMT

I made a new layout yesterday. I stuck with the Twilight theme so I can still use the lovely icon mata090680 made for me as my default icon. I hope it's not too dark for you as it is rather dark on one of my monitors... it looks weird though if I try to brighten it up. Hope you like! :)

New Moon Picspam

chiffonwings — Sat, 08 May 2010 20:31:18 GMT

I didn't start out planning to make a picspam. I was just going to make a quick text list of the things I liked best about the film to share with my friends. Then I decided that it needed illustrations, and voila! Picspam! Two weeks later, and this is the result. I hope you enjoy! There's lots of little comments about what I enjoyed. Also, be on the watch at windsong_icons. I made lots of icons from these scenes that I'll be posting in parts over the next month or so.

"Happy Birthday"
"Mine's not wrapped, so it doesn't count."
Charlie's teasing is funny... and his playful hand raising and practically skipping away (not sure how to word that to make it less... girly?) always makes me laugh.

Edward Cullen
I love Edward's cool walking here, and I love that hint of a smile. It really wouldn't hurt him to smile more.... I know he's serious, and can't forgive himself, and all that, but come on! I also really like the song (Monsters by Hurricane Bells) they chose for this scene. It's one of my favorites on the soundtrack.

"How come Jacob gets to give you a gift and I don't?"
Love that little teasing lip-biting-ish smile Edward makes.

"Jasper! No fair with the mood control thing!"
"Sorry, Bella. Happy Bir - er, never mind."

"Can't trust vampires."
"Trust me."

The reactions of the students to R&J, especially Eric's
One thing about Eric, you can always tell what he's thinking... this scene always makes me laugh.

Romeo and Juliet
'o, here
Will I set up my everlasting rest
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars
From this world-wearied flesh! Eyes, look your last.
Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, O, you
The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss
A dateless bargain to engrossing death.'
Shakespeare isn't really my thing, so I wasn't prepared to enjoy this as much as I did. I think it's Edward's quiet recitation. Also, it makes me laugh the way Mr. Berty is all disgruntled and you can practically hear him thinking "Darn. He got it right. Again." I also love this scene because it's one of the rare times you get a real smile out of Edward.

"It is my job to protect you...
from everyone, except my sister."

"Dating an older woman? Hot!"
-Edward flabbergasted expression.
- Emmett "What?"
Oh man! Gotta love Emmett... first few times I watched it, I thought he said "Huh?" instead of "Hot!" and it made me chuckle, but once I caught the "Hot!" well, it was full laughter then...

The Cullen’s
I couldn't resist putting together these nice shots of the family.

Carlisle
Carlisle is my favorite character after Edward. I love his gentleness and kindness. I thought he deserved his own little picspam within the picspam. ;)

The Breakup
Honestly, not a favorite scene, as I really don't like goodbyes, but it is kind of necessary to the story, so...

Lost Inside
I've not had a breakup, but I have experienced deep grief... and it's left it's mark on me. I know the "sit and stare" all too well. It always makes me cry when Bella starts to scream in her sleep.

"But you hate shopping."
"Girls night. Shopping. I like it. Go buy.. some... stuff."

"You don't get on the back of some random losers motorcycle! Crazy!"
Jessica's chatter is hilarious! Also, right now, she has more sense than Bella.

"Scrap Metal"
"You shouldn't have."
"Yeah... I mean it's completely stupid and reckless... when do we start?"
Bella's all prepared for Jacob to say no... and then he says yes and she can't really believe it. This is as good a place as any to say that I like Jacob better with long hair.

"I convinced you to build two wheel death machines."
Haha! The age teasing is amusing. Something tells me the fights are a common occurrence.. and I think Bella got the $5.

PizzaWrenches
The pizza/wrench throwing is pretty cool! The song playing through this scene though - it's good, but too catchy. It's hard to get out of my head.

You shouldn't have said that.
Every time we watch this scene my brother or I will say "You shouldn't have said that. You should not have said that." whenever Jake says "It's a total rush."

"How hard did you hit your head?"
Bella crashes her motorcycle so Jacob jumps on his. Also have to laugh at the "How hard did you hit your head?" line.

"With guns... adrenaline"
"that's my thing."
Though I don't really like the language in the movie, I can't help but laugh at the silliness of the whole "you put your gun down, you put your gun down, both of you put your guns down or I'll shoot you." thing going on. Also Mike's reaction when Bella tells Jake he's "really hot." is hilarious.

"I know what he did to you..."
I liked Jacob a lot more than I expected to. I thought this scene was really sweet.

"I will find the place where I can see him again..."
The Meadow... I think it's prettier in New Moon than it was in Twilight.

Huge Wolves
Had to include one of the wolves. :)

"I guess the wolf's out of the bag."
"Come on in Bella, we don't bite."
"So you're the vampire girl." "So you're the wolf girl."
"It's a wolf thing. Alpha's orders get obeyed whether we want to or not."
"And check this out, we can hear each other's thoughts." "Would you shut up? These are trade secrets. This chick runs with vampires."
"Jake's right. You're good with weird."
This is probably our favorite scene in the whole movie. It's one of the ones that we'll rewind and watch over again before continuing with the rest of the movie. There's a lot of great lines, and it's really fun to watch the whole interaction between the wolf pack. Normaly, I wouldn't make so many graphics of half-naked guys, but I have to laugh at the expressions that Embry makes during this scene... they're rather cute, if I might say.

I had to make this special extra little banner. This scene always makes us hungry. We've actually baked blueberry muffins after being inspired by seeing them this scene, more than once... even so far as to put the movie on pause to go make them.

"I've got a vampire to catch."

Hearing Damage
"Jake's hunting Victoria, and Charlie's hunting Jacob..."
This scene features my other favorite song from the movie. (Hearing Damage by Thorn Yorke.) It paced the scene perfectly. This is as good a place as any to say that I love Victoria's outfit from this movie.

Jacob on the Cliff

Cliff Diving
This was one of the few sets made just for story continuation.

"It's a wolf thing."
"No, it's a Jacob thing. You're just warm. You're like your own sun."

"I have never seen anyone more prone to life threatening idiocy."
"Bella, werewolves do not make good company!" "Speak for yourself."

I can never take this part seriously because...
one of the first times we watched it, my brother and I had this conversation.

Brother: Is he in Brazil?
Me: I think he was.
Brother: Yeah, he's in Brazil, 'cause there's Jesus!
Both: *laughs*

So now, whenever I see it, that's all I can think of, and I can't watch it seriously.

Urgency
Another thing that makes me laugh - Alice's expression of "Why do you hang out with someone who dares stick his head through my window?".

Yellow Porsche!

The Race to Rescue Edward
The little girl is so cute.

Go Bella!
She made it on time! Yay!

Volterra
Even Vampires have to wait on the elevators.
The Volturi are insane.
I really dislike the red robe on Edward and Alice's dress.
The back slam on to the stairs makes me cringe. Every single time. The rest of the "fight" is rather cool, though.

Home

The Vote
"Shut up!" makes me laugh every time. So does Emmett's response about "Picking a fight with the Volturi some other way."

The Treaty
This was another "continuation of the story" set.

Marry Me
*gasps*

Credits: screencaps. Coloring technique based off of this tutorial, but heavily edited.

I'd love to hear what you think! :)

Anyone know of a good webhost?

chiffonwings — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 14:21:46 GMT

I am looking for a new webhost, and if you can suggest one, it would be greatly appreciated! It's been so long since I've needed one that I don't even know where to begin to look. I would prefer one that has a yearly, rather than monthly plan, but I'm open to anything at this point. Thank you very much!

P.S. I thought I'd let you guys know that for the first time in about a year, I have half a batch of icons made and ready to post. I'm hoping to have time soon to finish the other half and post it at windsong_icons. (It's been a stressful, exhausting year, let alone several computer problems, that have kept me from making them.)

Things I Love: 03

chiffonwings — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:20:06 GMT

by raptureicons

Food: ♥ GF Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas - the desserts look sooo good! ♥ Lemon Bar Cupcakes (not GF, but could easily be made so.) ♥ Apple Cup Pies (also not gf, but so very cute!) ♥

Crafty, Fashion, and Decorating:
Crafty: ♥ Fancy Velvet Headbands ♥ Amber Crystal Necklace ♥ Super Simple Scalloped Crochet Bunting ♥ WhipUp.net - Lots of Inspiration ♥ Salt Dough Ornaments ♥ Advent Garland and check out some of their other cute tutorials. ♥ Ruffled Messenger Bag ♥ Sandalwood Fan Favors ♥ Placemat Bag Tutorial ♥
Fashion: ♥ Vintage Inspired Accessories ♥ Bettie Bangs Tutorial ♥ Modern Interpretations of Fashions through the decades ♥ Inspired by... (500) Days of Summer - never saw the movie, but the fashions look pretty. ♥ Cardigans - Three Ways ♥ How to Achieve Classic Style ♥ Hats! ♥ More hats! ♥ Inspired by... Emma Watson ♥ Hammered Star and other pretty necklaces by The Vintage Pearl ♥
Decorating: ♥ Christmas Trees in Unique Containers ♥

Inspirational and Pretty:
Pretty: ♥ Cupcake Liners ♥ I love these photo's from the Born Shoes 2009 Catalog, and you can also "get the look" - Wild, and natural, and amazing. ♥ Blue, Rose, Black ♥ Icons by raptureicons - they're always so bright and pretty. ♥ Crown of Candy Canes - it's a magical look. ♥

Life:
♥ baking my first gluten free pie (apple) and loving the crust better than the "regular" kind. So buttery, tender, and delicious. Was the perfect ending for Thanksgiving. ♥ Playing the Chronicles of Narnia video games with my brother. ♥ Blueberry Ice Cream ♥ The Lost Ones ♥

Please note that I may not agree with all views presented on these blogs. Sometimes, maybe not even all views expressed in an article posted here - sometimes I just find things interesting and thought provoking. Also note that most recipes linked to have not yet been tried by me. Oh, and I can't eat gluten, so anytime you see "GF" it means it's a Gluten Free recipe, but many of them are workable for you regular all-purpose flour people… if even all it does is provide menu inspiration.

Hope you are well! In case I don't have time to post another one of these before... Have a Merry Christmas!

Things I Love: 02

chiffonwings — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:04:12 GMT

by eternalphoenix_

Food:
♥ Roasted Pumpkin Seeds - A little late for your jack -o-lanterns, but maybe Thanksgiving? (If it wasn't such an informative post, I would search for a more spiced recipe, but basics are always good, right?) ♥ Vegetable Broth It seems very versatile. ♥ (GF) Pumpkin Pie Bites - these have a lot of ingredients but they look really good. ♥ Banana's - one of the few fruits I used to hate, but now enjoy. ♥ Using Waffles for Sandwich Bread ♥ Apple Week - Apple Crisp (not GF, but could eaisly be made so.) - Candied Apples - Caramel Apples - Apple Cider ♥ Gluten Free Thanksgiving ♥

Crafty, Fashion, and Decorating:
Crafty: Matryoshka/Russian Nesting Doll Card - Adorable! ♥ Secret Treasures Bag ♥
Fashion: Inspired by Marie Antoinette ♥ Petite Crest necklace ♥ More Pretty Necklaces ♥
Decorating: Pretty Organized: Workspace ♥

Inspirational and Pretty:
Inspirational: ♥ I Love When God Shows Up ♥ The Best Tree in the World ♥
Pretty: ♥ Thursday Glimpse ♥ What A Cute Dog ♥ Pretty Flowers ♥ Things I Love: Violet and Lilac, Sleepy Blues, and Sweet Frosted - her blog is filled with beauty. ♥

Life:
♥ Harry Potter marathons and finding "No dragons were harmed in the making of this movie." in the credits. ♥ Fun purchases like a red and black plaid headband and gold sparkly nail polish. ♥ Spending time with friends. ♥

Please note that the author of this post may not agree with all views presented on these blogs. Sometimes, maybe not even all views expressed in an article posted here - sometimes I just find things interesting and thought provoking. Also note that most recipes linked to have not yet been tried by me. Oh, and I can't eat gluten, so anytime you see "GF" it means it's a Gluten Free recipe, but many of them are workable for you regular all-purpose flour people… if even all it does is provide inspiration.

I tried to post this yesterday, but that didn't happen. Thursdays are generally the second busiest day of the week for me, so Fridays will probably be my "posting day". (Though they probably will be posted late afternoon or evening, more often than not.) I aim to post every week or every two weeks, depending on how many links I have.

Things I Love: October 31st, 2009

chiffonwings — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:58:52 GMT

Things I Love
Things I Love is a new feature I am adding to my journal. Every so often, I will make a post linking to various blog entries, and occasionally other websites, with things that have caught my eye throughout the week(s). For the past couple years I have posted posts like these on my personal journal, but wishing to avoid public posts on that journal I decided to move them here. I have made two backdated entries with the archives of those posts. I hope you enjoy looking through these links!

Archives: December 2007-2008 ♥ January-March 2009

Please note that the author of this post may not agree with all views presented on these blogs. Sometimes, maybe not even all views expressed in an article posted here - sometimes I just find things interesting and thought provoking. Also note that most recipes linked to have not yet been tried by me. Oh, and I can't eat gluten, so anytime you see "GF" it means it's a Gluten Free recipe, but many of them are workable for you regular all-purpose flour people… if even all it does is provide inspiration.

These are split into groups of 20 to make it easier to read.

So, finally a new "Things I Love" post! I haven't done one of these since St. Patrick's Day, partly from knowing I was planning on moving it to this journal, partly from knowing it was going to take a long time to write it since it has been so long. Anyhow, because of that, this post is huge!

Baking, Cooking, Food/Health:
♥ GF Coconut Cupcakes ♥ Maple Cinnamon Pecan Vanilla GF Pancakes ♥ GF Tiramisu Roulade ♥ GF Blueberry Lemon cornbread ♥ GF Big Banana Muffins ♥ GF Lasagna - dough and all ♥ GF Chicken Panini's ♥ Slow Cooker Rice Pudding ♥ GF Lemon Sponge Cake ♥ GF Fish and Chips ♥ Chocolate Tiramisu Cake - no flour! ♥ GF Roasted Asparagus and Mushroom Eggs "Benedict" ♥ GF Passover Orange and Apricot Sponge Cake ♥ French Toast ♥ GF Sundried Tomato Feta Spinach Quiche and Natural Dyed Easter Eggs ♥ Snickers Tart ♥ 10 Tips for Traveling Gluten Free ♥ Roasted Tomatoes ♥ Roast Lamb and Pomegranate and Wine Reduction Sauce ♥ Asparagus with Poached Eggs and Parmesan ♥

♥ GF English Muffins ♥ GF Lunch Meat List ♥ GF Submarine Rolls ♥ Make your own Powdered Sugar ♥ GF Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies ♥ Gluten Free Cheat Sheet ♥ The Difference between Sweet Potatoes and Yams - and a sweet potato fry recipe ♥ Swine Flu, and a recipe for Immune Booster Soup ♥ GF All Purpose Flour Mixes and tips ♥ Coconut Love ♥ Philly Cheesesteak Pizza ♥ GF Double Chocolate Brownies ♥ GF Hot Dogs and Sausages ♥ Lemon and White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes ♥ Mini Pizzas with a crust made out of rice! ♥ GF fried dough! ♥ GF Peanut Butter Lollipop Cookies ♥ Simple Cauliflower Recipe ♥ GF Mini Crab Cakes ♥ Spring Green Vegetables and Whole Soft Cooked Eggs, with Vanilla flavored Vinaigrette ♥

♥ Haagen-dazs FIVE Ice Cream Gluten Free ♥ GF Flour Tortillas ♥ GF Onion Rings ♥ Asian Chicken Fingers and Sweet and Sour Sauce ♥ Betty Crocker GF Yellow Cake Mix, Improved ♥ Lasagna Tart (NOT gluten free) ♥ GF Clam Chowder ♥ GF 4th of July ♥ Homemade Ranch Dressing ♥ GF Chocolate Angel Food Cake ♥ GF English Muffins ♥ GF Pierogis ♥ Cherry Pie ♥ GF English Muffins ♥ GF Crustless Cheesecake ♥ Mapo Tofu ♥ GF Milan Cookies ♥ GF Milan Cookies ♥ GF Mallowmars ♥ Sweet Vanilla Blueberry Scones ♥

♥ GF Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie ♥ GF Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies ♥ GF Burger Buns ♥ GF Ceasar Salad with Parmesan Chicken "Croutons" ♥ Red Currant Almond Tartlets ♥ GF Braided Challah ♥ GF Chicken Pot Pie ♥ GF Blueberry Cake with Blueberries and Creme Fraiche ♥ GF Mixed Berry and Cream Cheese Coffee Cake ♥ Sticky Wings ♥ GF Brioche ♥ GF Fried Calamari ♥ GF Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes ♥ Peanut Chicken ♥ Izze's Sparkling Juice ♥ GF Peanut Butter Blondies ♥ Soft and Chewy GF Sugar Cookies ♥ Savory GF Clover Rolls ♥ GF Ceasar Salad Dressing ♥ GF French Almond Macaroons ♥

♥ Cranberry Harvest ♥ Pomegranate Pulled Chicken ♥ GF Apple Crumble ♥ GF Vegan Cornbread ♥ Homemade Baby Food ♥ GF English Muffins ♥ GF Maple Pumpkin Coconut Custard ♥ GF Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole ♥ Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Bundt Cakes ♥ Super Soft GF Sugar Cookies - like the kind you used to be able to get in the store. ♥ Italian Sodas ♥ GF Crescent/Cinnamon Rolls ♥

Special: Halloween/Harry Potter
♥ Swish and Flick: Pretzel/Caramel/Chocolate Wands ♥ Lemon Drops ♥ Broomstick Picks ♥ Butterbeer ♥ Cockroach Clusters ♥ Slow Cooker Witches Brew ♥ Crochet Your Halloween ♥ Roasted Pumpkin Seeds ♥ Ladybug Pumpkin ♥

Crafts:
♥ Really cute penguin cake ♥ Flower Hair Clips ♥ Beautiful Tiara-esque Headband ♥ Photo Lanterns ♥ Hedgehog Pom Pom - CUTE! ♥ Paper Cones ♥ Teacup Card ♥ Paper (Doily) Lanterns ♥ Wine Cork Magnets ♥ Newspaper Yo-Yo card &hearts:Cheap Wall Art ♥ Tiny Delicate Tissue Flowers and what to do with them ♥ Tea Light Lanterns ♥ How to make a Lightsaber ♥ Beautiful Granny Squares ♥ Diaper Gift Bag ♥ Cupcake Pedestal ♥ Crochet Adorned ♥ Itty Bitty Tini Mini Books ♥ Fruit Roll Up Roses ♥

♥ Antique Autumn Rose Necklace ♥ Resin Necklace How-to ♥ Make a Fairy Wand ♥ Knitted Wrist Warmers ♥ Stripy Crocheted Wrist Warmers ♥

Pretty & Inspirational: (Next time I'll split Pretty/Inspirational and Decorating)
♥ The Magic Moment ♥ Spring Time Tea Parties ♥ Tea and Lilacs ♥ Daffodil Drama ♥ Owl Bead ♥ Wooden Chest filled with Pretty things ♥ Sweet & Pretty Blouse ♥ Two Rings ♥ The Outdoor Room ♥ I hear you ♥ Interior Windows Brighten a room ♥ Life is a great big canvas ♥ One of my favorite quotes ♥ ♥ Dare to Be ♥ Dreaming ♥ Switching Focus: Alleviate Stress ♥ Daring to Rediscover What You Love ♥ Bamm Bamm Bamm ♥ Beautiful Home Offices: Workspaces for Every Corner ♥

♥ An Element of Surprise ♥ Vintage Bathroom Touches ♥ Creative is More Than Being an Artist ♥ Here Comes the Rain Again ♥ I Want So Much ♥ I Want to Fly Free ♥ Always Remember ♥ In the Good Old Summertime ♥ A Crafty Business ♥ Flowerchild - Reminds me of summer afternoons at my aunt's house ♥ Family Crest Necklace ♥ Rick Rack ♥ Daffodils, Naturally ♥ There and Back Again ♥ Comfort ♥ Things of Happiness: Second Breakfast ♥ Today I Am Seeing Blue ♥ A Housewarming ♥ B&B style in your bedroom ♥ Magical: Fairy Lights and Tulle Bed Canopies ♥

♥ Glittered Pumpkins ♥

Fashion:
♥ How to do a Classic Pageboy Hairstyle ♥ 6 ways to accessorize with Ribbon ♥ Miss Bumble Bee ♥ 1950's style on a budget ♥ A guide to pant lengths ♥ When to Invest ♥ what do you want to look like? ♥ 1970's style on a budget ♥ Using Nature as Style Inspiration ♥ Stylish Interview Garb ♥ Toughen Up ♥ 14 Ideas ♥ 1920's Chemise Inspired Top Tutorial ♥ Etsy Spotlight on OdalisPetitMenagerie ♥ Friendship Necklace ♥ Romantic Summer Hair ♥ Create and Maintain a Personal Uniform ♥ 10 Fashion Tips That Will Never Go Out Of Style ♥ ♥ Colors and Mood ♥

♥ How to Walk in High Heels ♥ Closet Makovers Series: Edgy ♥ Talonia - I purchased one, and I love it! ♥

Writing:
♥ Writing and Publishing: Behind the Scenes, Part 1 ♥ Drafting: behind the Scenes, Part 2 ♥ Cures for Writers Block ♥ Tips for Aspiring Authors ♥ Writing Advice ♥ Hard Work for Authors ♥

Misc:
♥ Earth Friendly Household Cleaners ♥ Origins: Mostly GF cosmetics ♥ 5 ways to a healthier (gluten free) life ♥ Clothing Care Tips ♥ 10 easy ways to improve your health ♥ Diary of a Wheat Free student* ♥ Research on the Increasing Prevalence of Celiac Disease ♥ Signs and Symptoms of Celiac Disease ♥ Ecco Bella Natural, Organic, GF Cosmetics ♥ Be a GF Mommy ♥ Free GF e-course - I signed up for it and it was really helpful. ♥ Are you Tired of Feeling Tired ♥ Regis Pure Results GF Shampoo and Conditioner - I use it, and my hair looks so much healthier now. ♥
* Keep in mind that this is wheat free, not gluten free, and it's a great article for introducing you to this kind of life, but the part at the end about only avoiding wheat part of the time is not applicable if you are a Celiac. Also, The difference between being wheat intolerant and gluten intolerant is that a person who is intolerant to gluten also has to avoid rye, barley, and oat (by means of cross-contamination) in addition to wheat.

P.S. Happy Halloween everyone! :)

A question.

chiffonwings — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:11:15 GMT

I have a question for all you graphics people out there. Are there any good graphics programs out there for under $100 US dollars? I have a friend who is wanting to get into icon making and is wondering what program to use and I really don't know what to tell her. I use PaintShopPro9, and I've had it for 4-5(?) years so I don't know what the current (affordable) standard is in icon world.

Also do you know anything about Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo x2 Ultimate? She found it on Amazon.com for $44.99 but I know nothing about it, and don't know if it would be what she is looking for or not.

Thank you! :)

New Layout, and stuff.

chiffonwings — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:56:29 GMT

Just a quick note that I put up a new layout. Twilight related this time. Pretty happy with the way it came out. :)

On a Twilight note - lims_twilight is open for sign-ups for their next round. I won't be participating this round - having a hard enough time remembering to make my icons for austen_lims but maybe next time. :) Still, thought I'd mention it if anyone wanted to participate. :D

And, just yesterday, my friend tinuviel428 created a new icon journal to house her icons. Check them out at different_sky - her work is fantastic! I've always thought so. :)

Austen Lims

chiffonwings — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:15:58 GMT

austen_lims

I'm planning on participating in my first LIMS (Last Icon Maker Standing) and I'm a bit nervous about it - I'm always afraid that I'll forget to get them in on time and stuff like that, but at the same time I'm kind of excited about it! Anyway, thought I'd promote it.

So about a week ago...

chiffonwings — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:11:10 GMT

I put up a new layout that I made.... I think it's a bit overwhelmingly yellow, and perhaps a bit too faded, but there is still something I really like about it, despite that.... and I don't really feel like fussing with it anymore. ;) The little text is paraphrased from the Switchfoot song "This Is Home" from the Prince Caspian soundtrack. I was listening to it a lot when I was working on the header and it just seemed to fit the feeling of it, so I used it.

Sorry all I ever do is post about layout changes on here. I have plans to work on some icons that I can post at windsong_icons sometime in the near-ish future, and I'm also hoping to rework my paid account layout tutorial, with detailed picture instructions. It may take me a while to do it, but I'll get to both, eventually.

Happy Christmas to you!

chiffonwings — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:34:16 GMT

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Matching Icons Here!

Randomness

chiffonwings — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:00:09 GMT

It always throws me for a loop when I see an icon I like and then realize "Oh! It's mine!" :D

New Layout

chiffonwings — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:59:14 GMT

This gorgeous layout was made for me by the beautiful and talented padabee! Isn't it lovely?

(I've been meaning to put it up for about a month now, but I've been rather busy.)

New Layout

chiffonwings — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:16:59 GMT

This beautiful layout was made for me by the lovely pale_ink at fairytalemoment. It uses my favorite screencap of Arwen, and I love how she made it in black and white. Gorgeous!

New Layout

chiffonwings — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:56:17 GMT

I put up a new layout last night. It features my latest obsession... Twilight. I'm still undecided whether I prefer the header in B&W or color, so I may or may not be switching it back and forth over the next few days. Also, I'm hoping to edit my user info page soon. It badly needs to be updated.

Icon Tutorial #9

chiffonwings — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:13:20 GMT

Wow. I haven't written a tutorial since the summer of 2006! Yikes! This tutorial is based off of this set of icons and was requested by elerrina_amanya. Part 1 explains the steps I take on almost every icon I've created for at least the past year, if not longer. I thought it deserved to be seperated from the rest of the tutorial.

Image program: Made in PSP9 (Probably would work on lower versions.) Probably is translateable to PS.
Level: moderate beginner to intermediate (Because of the adjustment layers.)
Additional Tools: These textures from graphic_sl - Circle Texture, Curved Texture
Notes: Please do not duplicate my icons, or the icons in this tutorial. See tutorial for additional notes.

Part 1:

1.) Resize, sharpen, and crop your image. Duplicate your image layer twice. Set the middle layer to screen and the top layer to soft light. (I like to use the Layer Link Toggle buttons at the right of my layers pallete to link these three layers together to make it easier to change the cropping later if I decide it would look better a different way.)

2.) Go to Layers>New Adjustment Layer>Curves and click once on the dotted diagonal line. Set the Channel to RGB. Set the Input to 89 and the Output to 117. This lightens the image without fading it.

3.) Adjust the opacity of the screen and/or soft light layer as needed, depending on if you want the icon to be lighter or darker.

Notes: A.) Sometimes the icon may look better with the soft light layer set to overlay or hard light.
B.) Sometimes I will set the soft light layer to a lower opacity and use either Adjust>Blur>Gaussian Blur with the Radius set to 8.00 (usually, sometimes I'll set it to 2.00 or 4.00 if 8.00 seems to be too much.) or Adjust>Blur>Motion Blur with the Angle set to 315.00 and Strength set to 100%. Whichever effect looks better. This will give the icon a soft glow. It seems to work best with the soft light layer, and occasionally the screen layer, but never both at the same time, and it doesn't work so well when the soft light layer is set to hard light or overlay.
C.) Sometimes I find that I need a duplicate of the screen layer to brighten a really dark icon. The opacity usually has to be reduced to around 35-50%. Other times I may duplicate the soft light layer if I have a really light icon. Again, the opacity probably will need to be reduced - usually from somewhere between 12-28%.
D.) Usually I'll play around with additional Curves, and/or Color Balance Layers, and textures.

Tutorial 9:
1.) Follow steps 1-3 above. Since my cropping of this particular screencap is pretty dark I duplicated the screen layer and reduced the opacity to 40%.

2.) Go to Layers>New Adjustment Layers>Color Balance. Under Tone Balance, select Midtones and check the Preserve Luminance box. Leave Shadows and Highlights alone. Under Color Balance set the Color Levels to 70, 0, and -70. Click OK. Set the blend to Lighten and the opacity to 46%.

3.) Create a new layer and flood fill with a Foreground-background gradient made from #F7EFE7 and #E7DBCE. (Mine is set to Linear Style wiith an Angle of 103 and no repeats.) You may save this to copy and paste onto your icon if you can't create the same gradient.) Set the blend mode to Color (Legacy) and reduce the opacity of the layer to 32%. Soft Light or Burn also work well. (In my set, I used Soft Light on most of the Pride and Prejudice icons, Color (Legacy) on the LOTR icons, and Burn on the Twilight icons.)

4.) Copy/Paste this texture as a new layer on to your icon, set the blend mode to Soft Light and reduce the opacity to 34%. Mirror, Flip, and/or Rotate the layer as needed until the icon has darker shadows where you think it looks best. (For this icon, I just mirrored it.) Next, Copy/Paste this texture as a new layer on to your icon, set the blend mode to Soft Light and reduce the opacity to 56%. Mirror, Flip, and/or Rotate the layer as needed until the icon has darker shadows where you think it looks best. (I left it as it is for this icon.) For some icons you may need both, other icons you may need just the circle or just the curved texture. I just hide/unhide the other layer using the Visibility Toggle until I decide what way it looks best. The aim is to add a little depth to the icon, while keeping the opacity reduced enough that you aren't seeing any of the curved lines on the icon subject's face.

5.) Not all icons need this, but to add a little extra depth to this icon, I duplicated the linked soft light layer of my screencap, dragged it to the top and reduced the opacity to 12%.

I realize now this wasn't the best screencap to choose - it doesn't show the step-by-step changes as well as another might have, but oh well. I like the way the finished icon turned out. And now I know why it's been almost two years since I wrote a tutorial... it took me about five hours to write this.

If anything is confusing, don't hesitate to leave a comment. :)

Other icons made the same way:

Help: Clueless about cameras...

chiffonwings — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:44:03 GMT

I look at all the digital cameras out there and I feel completely clueless and overwhelmed with all the choices. For years I've had a Canon PowerShot A60, but it's not working anymore and I really need a new camera by the end of the month. It was an okay camera while it worked, except the pictures tended to be too grainy.

What would you suggest for someone who is looking for a good, but very affordable camera?

(I love the pictures I've seen taken with the Canon Rebel but it is way beyond my price range and that thing is huge and scary! And besides, I'm not a very good photographer and I know that any camera won't help that out much. I'm not even very good at understanding the lingo, like, Macro, SFL-or whatever it's called, etc.)

If you have any suggestions, I'd really appreciate hearing from you. Thank you!

New Icon Journal Home...

chiffonwings — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:42:37 GMT

I will no longer be posting icons at greenwoodicons, instead my close friend autumnjoy kindly gave me a new at windsong_icons. Please join us over there! If you haven't visited before, [autumnjoy] is an amazing, sweet, lovely person and a very talented icon maker!

And... I have icons! Just click the banner below. :)

(P.S. I'm sorry if you're getting spammed with posts from me tonight.)