Skip to content

Develop on Fridays: 75 Shots

  • by

The first Develop on Fridays assignment was to take 75 shots of the same thing. Choosing a subject was easy since I was given a beautiful bouquet of flowers that very night, and had just purchased a new pitcher from Antropologie. I took well over 75 shots, deleted many of them right out of the camera, and then chose 13 to process. I narrowed them down to eight, and Matt helped me choose the top five. Here they are in the order I like them best. I’d love to have your opinion, too.

FlowersLightw 

Berriesw

Budw

Bouquet2w

 Bouquet1w

 

Tips for Reading More

  • by

Booksw

Gretchen Rubin posted Twelve Tips for Reading More on her Happiness Project Blog. Interestingly, I have already adopted nearly all her tips. Since reading more is one of my Intentions this year, I was happy to see that I am already doing some things that will help me read more. Another tip I’ve learned as well, is to set aside some time during the day or early evening to read, especially if I am reading nonfiction and want to remember what I’m reading. If I wait until bedtime, it’s too late for that kind of concentration.

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop & Start to Finish

  • by

Bloghoplogo

It’s Papertrey Ink Blog Hop night. Here’s the challenge:

1.10BlogHopChallenge 

And as it happens, this card fits the Moxie Fab Challenge that’s due tonight as well!

Here’s the front of my card:

SendingYou
I decided to use the message as the inspiration for the inside of the card. As soon as I saw “with a fold in the middle,” I knew I wanted an origami heart for the inside.

SendingYouinside 

Cardstock (Pure Poppy & Select White), patterned paper (Simple Valentine), stamps (Big & Bold Wishes), ribbon (Pure Poppy), ink (Pure Poppy) All Papertrey Ink; chipboard heart from stash, Marvy Uchida punches, Spellbinders Label 8 Nestabilities, chalk ink (Rouge by Color Box)

Project 365

  • by

Here are my three favorite shots from this week. The last one I took yesterday. It was one of over 75 shots of the same object. The paislee press blog is sponsoring a “Develop on Friday” series of posts. The first one was on developing your voice as a photographer. I’ve pulled 12 of the shots into a folder in iPhoto and I don’t know yet if this shot will end up being my overall favorite, but it’s my favorite of the whole bouquet which my friend brought me yesterday. I’m really interested in this series, and haven’t given a lot of thought to my voice as a photographer. I’m not sure I have one yet!

1.17GlassesBokehframew
I bought six of these glasses at the new Anthropologie store that just opened here. I really like the bokeh through my kitchen curtain. The curtains are red plaid, but you don’t see any color, just the weave.

1.21MorningSkyFramew
Another shot out our bedroom window first thing in the morning.

1.23BouquetFramew
My pretty flowers. I decided yesterday the living room needed a “new” look. I bought some primroses for the coffee table, and took down the evergreen wreath and the evergreens on the mantle. I rehung our quilt, added some candles, and a vase, and it just seemed too bare. This pitcher of flowers was the answer! I’m much happier now. (In this shot the pitcher is on the dining room floor to catch the sunlight coming in the patio door.)

The Happiness Project & Weekly Gratitude

  • by

HappinessProjectw

I loved this book. I’ve been following Gretchen’s blog of the same name for over a year. I thought, perhaps, the book would be a repeat of what I’ve been reading over the year, but after reading an online review of the book, I decided to check it out. I’m so glad I did.

Gretchen decided to spend one year studying happiness and trying to apply what she learned to her own life. Her reading covered genres from children’s literature to philosophy to biography to research studies in positive psychology. I saw myself  (sometimes to my chagrin) so often as I was reading. I laughed; I put lots of post-it tabs on pages, I typed up notes. I loved her voice, her self-deprecating humor, and her unfailing honesty. So many of her resolutions, goals, and ideas resonated with me. It was a great read and very thought-pr0voking. In the few days since I finished the book, her ideas have come back to me time and again as I listen to conversations, read, and go about my everyday life.

This week for my Weekly Gratitude page, I used one of the pages from the original journal.

Gratitude1.23_1 

Gratitude1.23_2

Two Parties

  • by

I subbed for my friend today in her special needs first grade. I volunteer there every week, so the kids are very comfortable with me. I love the time I spend there. They are the kindest group of children you could ask to have in a classroom, and my friend is a fantastic teacher so they are making such good progress. One reason I don’t miss teaching is that each week I get my “kid fix” and “colleague fix.” And then I get to go home without the paperwork, political hassles, and worries of a full-time job.

Yesterday I spent most of the day working on the computer trying to learn some more features in Photoshop Elements 8. I made some progress, and spent a good amount of time working on a watermark for my photographs. Tracy gave me a set of actions for Christmas that will resize, sharpen, and add a watermark to your photographs before you upload them to the web. I’ve yet to come up with a watermark I really like, so it’s a work in progress.

I do have two layouts to share.The first one is from my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday party in June. As I was going through some papers recently I found a Doodlebug paper with pennants, and it seemed the perfect embellishment for the photograph that had been in the “to scrap” pile for several months.

80YearsYoung 

Basic Grey and Doodlebug papers, tag and ribbon from stash, American Craft “Jewelry Box” chipboard alphas 

The second layout I did for a sketch that will be posted at Scrap-Mart tomorrow morning. It’s another party layout from this summer.

1-22-10

It'sAPartyLO1.22Sketch
Scenic Route, Sassafrass Lass, &  Collage Press papers, title cut from Making Memories Slice “Calendar,” Sassafrass Lass border “Gum Drop Garden,” circle cut from Nestabilities die, Papertrey cardstock, buttons from stash, Jolee’s sticker (I think.)

CPS 150 & Cards Challenge

  • by

My brother-in-law’s upcoming birthday was the motivation for creating a card for both the CPS 150 challenge as well as the Cards Blog challenge. It was also an excuse to get out my new Memory Box “Bare Oak” stamp. The challenge on the Cards Blog was to use a tree in your project. Here’s the sketch for CPS:

CPS150 

Here’s my take on it:

Happyhappy 

And the inside message:

HappyhappyInside
Cardstock (Bazzill & Papertrey Dark Chocolate), patterned paper (Basic Grey “Granola”), stamps (Memory Box, Crate Paper, Papertrey “Blooming Button Bits” & “Father Knows Best”), Amuse Creative Candy, Doodlebug Paper Frills, white embossing powder, Copic marker R29

Project 365 Week 2

  • by

Here are three of my favorite images from this week. (Actually I’m saving my two favorites for a scrapbook page which will show up here eventually.) The first two photos in this triptych are the reason for the third photo. I had finally had it with the cold, gray weather and treated us to some Gerber daisies since we had company both Friday night and again at noon today for lunch. The icicles were hanging from our garage door, and the pretty mittens were my Christmas gift from Sarah. I love them, and especially love that turn into gloves if you flip over the tops of them.

Week2_1.10w

CPS 149

  • by

One of my intentions for this year is to complete two card challenges a week. This week I managed three. I knew as soon as I saw the sketch on CPS that I would want to participate.

Sketch149
It also gave me a chance to play with the Turning a New Leaf patterned papers and Blooming Button Bits from Papertrey Ink. I also used Papertrey’s Bitty Dots Basics and Vintage Lemon Tart buttons. The ribbon is a piece from my stash.

CPS149

Caardvarks Challenge

  • by

I’m squeezing this in just under the wire since the challenge ends tonight.

Caardvarks7x5Nov09 

Here’s my take on it. I used the border of the patterned paper instead of using a border punch this time, and I’m happy with how it came out.

Caardvarks1.15 

Cardstock (American Crafts Earthtones and Speciality Pearl), patterned paper (Sassafrass Lass), ink (Papertrey Dark Chocolate), buttons (Making Memories), Stamps (Around and About Sentitments-Papertrey & Antique Engraving-Hero Arts), ribbon from stash, Copic markers Y35, Y38, and orange glitter.

Cheeseburger Pie

  • by

Cheeseburgerpied

One hallmark of a favorite recipe in my kitchen is how messy the page in cookbook has become. It’s a bit better if I remember to use my cookbook holder, but frequently I forget, and in this case, I started making cheeseburger pie long before I had a cookbook holder. There was some interest in the recipe, so here it is. I don’t change anything in it, but I’m sure ground turkey would work just as well as ground beef.

Crust:     1 1/4 c. Perpperidge Farm Stuffing mix (I use their crumbled herb stuffing mix.)

                1/4 c. melted margarine

Mix together and press into a 9″ pie plate.

Filling:   1 lb. ground beef

                1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning or oregano

                1 small onion, chopped

                1/2 c. bread crumbs

                4 oz. tomato sauce (1/2 can)

Brown beef with onion about 5 minutes. Pour off all the fat. Mix the meat and onion with everything else, and spoon into crust.

Topping:   8 oz. grated cheddar cheese (I use part-skim, sharp cheddar.)

                    1 egg

                    1/4 c. milk (I use skim.)

                    1/2 tsp. prepared mustard

                    1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Mix together and spread on top of meat. Bake pie at 425° for 20-30 minutes. (The recipe calls for 30 minutes, but last night mine was done in about 20 minutes.)

Sauce: Mix the other 1/2 can of tomato sauce with chili sauce or ketchup. Bring just to a boil over medium heat. Serve with pie. (I use chili sauce.)

This has been one of Tracy’s favorite meals ever since I made it for the first time in 1973. The left-overs are good too.

   

Right Now

  • by

I just found these sentence starters on Jocelyn's blog and decided it would be fun to finish them myself.

Outside my window . . . gray skies and cold temperatures

I am thinking . . . I am ready for spring three months early

I am thankful for . . . a warm house and a loving family

I am wearing . . . a turtleneck, fleece, and jeans

I am remembering . . . I have to get up early tomorrow

I am going . . . to dinner with a good friend tomorrow

I am currently reading . . . "The Happiness Project"

I am hoping . . . to get going on the layouts for "Yesterday and Today" that I let go in 2009

On my mind . . . getting back to the gym as soon as the physical therapist gives me the OK

Noticing that . . . I am being more productive since I set my intentions for 2010

Pondering these words . . . "enthusiasm is more important to mastery than innate ability" (Gretchen Rubin: "The Happiness Project")

From the kitchen . . . cheeseburger pie (from a cookbook I bought on our honeymoon 36 years ago)

Around our house . . . lots of projects

One of my favorite things . . . snack mix from my mother's recipe (one reason I need to get back to the gym)

From The Simple Woman's Daybook

Embellish with Hearts

  • by

Embellish_heartsCC

The Embellish Color Challenge with Hearts was the perfect opportunity to make a couple of valentines today. Both cards use Papertrey Ink’s Pure Poppy, True Black, and Sweet Blush cardstock.

Embellish1 

A look at the embossing done with the Quickutz embossing folder and the Hearts Nestabilities by Spellbinders.

Embellish1Detail 

Pale pink gems (Michaels0, patterned paper Black and White Basics (Papertrey), Apron Lace border punch (Fiskars), ribbon from my stash.

And my favorite of the two:

Embellish2 

Hearts cut and embossed (Spellbinders Nestabilities), circle punches, Swiss Dots Embossing folder (Cuttlebug), Black and White Basics patterned paper & Pure Poppy twill (Papertrey Ink), metal charm (Making Memories).

Cold Snap

  • by

Although it was a bit warmer today, it’s been cold and snowy ever since Christmas. Last week I went to Highland Park, briefly, to take some photographs, and over the weekend, I walked around the outside of our house for a few more. I thought I’d try putting a few of them in a template I downloaded last spring. Once I finished it, I was inspired to make a layout for the 365 Challenges. This one is for the Clean & White challenge. I didn’t want to ruin the clean look, so I put the journaling on the back of the layout.

ColdsnapLO

Cardstock (Bazzill Swiss Dot), snowflakes (Reminisce), alpha stickers (Scenic Route), and template #64 by Timounette.

Here’s closer look at the snowflakes:

ColdSnapDetail 

And the journaling:

JournalingColdSnap