texture tuesday~ three (3) trois

after the rocket's red glare there is...texture tuesday! our challenge from kim klassen this week was to incorporate the number three into our image in some way. and she gifted us with two new beautiful canvas-y textures to work with as well...she is such a generous soul, such a gifted artist. visit her inspiring blog...you'll see what i mean.

what a great challenge! so many ideas came to mind, but one couldn't be ignored. i see it every time i pass through our front door:

here's the skinny: i set the background image at multiply blend on 49% opacity. adjusted levels & contrast. added a layer of kim's canvasback texture at multiply on 100%, a layer of luminous at vividlight blend on 25%, and a final layer of paperstained light on multiply at 100%.

here is the before:

mine are the clean ones in the middle. which isn't to say i don't work as hard in mine as my husband & son. i just hose my down before i come into the entryway. like they are supposed to.

xtratuf's are the epitome of haute couture in the vast kodiak fashion world. i prefer insulated, as my feet tend to get cold, (and i like the little bit of height boost from the extra padding...) but you see both types walking the streets. some fellows like to cut the tops off and treat them like sneakers.

how many types of footwear can cross the wide gap of gender and age the way a pair of xtratuf's can? you can find feet in xtratuf's pacing in the local hospital's maternity ward...sitting quietly in church pews...pondering produce in the grocery store, picking berries, on the monkey bars at recess, on the feet of lawyers running late, driving school buses, flagging traffic, waiting in line for a latte, riding horses, hiking, riding bikes and delivering papers.

i have a tiny pair of size one xtratuf's that my daughter wore as soon as she learned to walk. then both my sons wore them. now they guard our front steps. i'm a little sad looking at this photo, as just a few years ago there used to be five pairs crammed on our blue bench...and in a couple more years there will only be two pair...(i think.)

folks use their worn out xtratuf's to plant herbs in and hold doors open. they are part of our island heritage. we will probably never see a pair of xtratuf's walking the red carpet at any grande celebrity function, they may never walk on a distant planet, but they do bring our dinner home every night!