Dawn in Mist #13

Sunrise in the country is sure to bring peace to the soul.

Challenge #74 - Window

Credits:  Holliewood Studios

Magic - #62

Credits:  Background by Finecrafted Designs, other elements googled.

Exotic - #64

Credits: 
Corners: Lorie Davidson, Scrapbook Graphics
Background: Finecrafted Designs
Bird - Elizabeth Golden
Girl: Public Domain

Gateway - #79

Background, woman and elements from Finecrafted Designs.  Photoshop tweaking.

Secrets - #100

Who knows what secrets these two share?   This is for the 100 challenges "Secrets" challenge.
Credits:  Finecrafted Designs (background), Peter Paul Rubens (portrait), all else net-surfed.

Windmills - #68

TILTING AT WINDMILLS ....
"The Quixotes of this age fight with the windmills of their own heads."  ~  John Cleveland
Credits:  Finecrafted Designs for background.  Many Google images blended and grunge crackle overlay applied.

Stars - #34

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves..."  ~Anonymous quote.
Credits:  Background mine with overlays from Creates Wings Designs and Jofia Devoe.  Googled image of Liza.

Two Roads - #44

Of course "Two Roads" brings to mind the Robert Frost poem with its famous lines ..."I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference".    My two roads are a blend of images gleaned from internet surfing. 

Universe - #56

Credits:   Finecrafted Designs

               Jofia Devoe

Male - #46

There are those who don't see beyond the boundaries of themselves,  who spend their lives looking for elusive happiness, never knowing if they turned their sight outward and gave of themselves they might find fulfillment.
"An empty man, filled only with himself".    ~ Edward Abbey

Smile - #14

After two very somber entries, I decided it was time to lighten up with #12 - Smile.   The most wonderful smiles are those of babies, with their eyes full of innocence and trust. 
"A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on."   ~ Carl Sandburg

Desolate - #92

The desolation of an empty abundance......the search for meaning.
Credits:  Finecrafted Designs

Broken - #52

 Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers - stern and wild ones - and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss. ...       ~The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

Cave - #21

This is a blending of a number of images of caves and cavemen and cave painting.  I used some filters to try to achieve a sense of depth.   Thanks for looking!

Half - #20

It was not mentioned in polite family circles, but Aunt Eloise was ambivalent about her sexuality ......

Eloise's feminine side is from a Land of Nod freebie, and her masculine side is from Flickr Free to Use images.

Puzzle - #98

Does juxtaposition
Come to fruition
Or circle in square
Belong just there
Would it all be a tangle
Without a rectangle
Maybe an oval would do
Ahhh, 'tis a puzzle, 'tis true.

Upside Down - #17

Credits to Fidlette and Flickr Collage Images for this one.  

Abandoned - #38

When I saw  this desolate and abandoned bus, I knew there had to be ghostly figures boarding it on their journey to the end of the line.      

Ancient - #9

This challenge led me to Egypt, the land of pharoahs and pyramids, the beautiful Nefertiti, and the ancient secrets of the River Nile.   The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the seven wonders of the world.   Until the advent of modern skyscrapers, it was the tallest structure in the world.   To date, its many passages have yielded no mummies or treasure, and the passages led to empty chambers.  It is believed that either ancient tomb raiders have plundered all the treasure, or that the mummy of the Pharoah Khufu is still cleverly hidden within or beneath the Great Pyramid. 

White - #36

This was an interesting challenge.   The image is from the NYPL (1880's) slightly altered, and elements are from Catherine Designs.   Thanks for looking!

No Way Out - #59

Before I retired, I had a high-pressure sort of job, and I sometimes felt as if there was no way out.   I used to say I needed a private Primal Scream Room.   This is my interpretation of it.   Ah, glorious retirement!  No more need for the Primal Scream Room!

In the Storm - #96

I am a child of the prairie.  I love nothing better than watching a storm build in the distance,  the clouds roiling and blustering their way closer until I can hear the distant patter of rain on the corn fields, building to a crescendo as the first fat drops splat into the dust of the barnyard, thunder booming and lightning streaking across the prairie sky.   There is a fragrance to summer rainstorms on the prairie I long to sense once more.   Rain in the city is an entirely different experience, special in its own way, but a prairie rainstorm is unsurpassed. 

Sorrow - #28

This cemetery statue is the epitome of abject sorrow to me.   I've subjected it to several filters and tints.   I am sorry I no longer have the origin of the border.  

Dark - #4

The sights and sounds of the city at night are many and varied.  Neon signs, twinkling lights, people at windows,  the sounds of music echoing from the pubs,  all accompanied by the spirits of the past.    All images from net surfing. 

Umbrella - #30

The umbrella girl image is from E-vint, and the background is by Pepeetje.   Emboss filter was used.

Innocence - #8

There's nothing like the innocence of a child.  If only we all could hold on to a bit of that wonder.   This little guy is an E-vint image, colorized and filtered.   The William Blake quote seemed to fit.

Tower - #54

Image from old magazine cover.  The rest googled.

Journey - #35

Face from a magazine, the rest googled.

Waiting -#55

Credits:  Elements from D.Franz, J Bolton, L Davison of Scrapbook Graphics.  Image an E-vint freebie.