| archives • main |
| archives • main |
|
WEEKLY DIGITAL DOWNLOADS - CIRCLE ACCENTS This week's download is a set of circle accents. Here is some of what's in there:  You can download it here: vertical outline overlay set download. You are welcome to play with these as much as you want and use them anywhere you'd like. You are NOT allowed to sell them ever. You don't have to but I'd appreciate a link back if you do use them. This is part of a weekly digital download series. They are posted every Wednesday. You can find all of the ones that were posted here.  DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 30 2009  This is what he did the very next second.  NAthaniel's been grabbing at and playing with everything and anything. I don't think he's going to be anything like David. He will shove everything into his mouth.  But I love him anyway!  I can't believe September is over already. I am not ready for October yet. WEEKLY LAYOUT - 35  on his 35th birthday daddy wanted to eat somewhere fancy while we couldn't go somewhere too fancy because we didn't want to leave you two we did find this nice restaurant in redwood city we weren't sure if it would be ok but as it turned out it was absolutely delicious and we got to have lunch all of us a perfect celebration here are some more details:    Weekly Layouts is a weekly series where I post layouts that mostly focus on journaling and photos. A new one is posted every Tuesday. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 29 2009  I wanted to play with it a bit and have fun.  And those beautiful, yummy feet.  Back to get some work done. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 28 2009  And here's today's Nathaniel shot.  A quiet, uneventful day today with not much accomplished. But I did make a new tag (coming Thursday) and did a lot of work. I just wish I could focus better... PHOTOSHOP VIDEOS - 3 WAYS TO RESIZE A PHOTO Today's video is on how to resize a photo. It shows several ways and talks a little bit about resolution. Hope you like it. Photoshop videos are weekly videos that show you how to create digital elements and photography tips on Photoshop. They are posted every Monday. Click here for all of the archives. If you have questions/feedback click on the "share" link on the bottom right of this post. Thanks! CATALYST 81 - HE IS THE ONE  Here are my words: i thought about this one for a long time. i wanted to make it about someone different. I’d already made so many of these about him. it was getting rather ridiculous but anyone else would just be lie compared to him. he’s the one who’s with me night and day. crazy and sane. success and failure. the wonderfully amazing thing is, i managed to find someone who understands what i do and can support me intellectually. can push me. but also he gets me. he’s there for me when i go dark and become the worst part of me. he’s there when i win and i want to celebrate. he’s not jealous, he’s not scared, he’s not angry. he’s always there. with those arms that wrap around me and envelop me tightly make me feel secure and loved. so loved. how can i choose someone else when he’s the one? there’s no going around the truth. he’s the one. btw, I got this wonderful idea of scattering the sequins from the amazing Gigi Kennedy. I just love its whimsicalness. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 27 2009  I had been waiting for today for weeks. For the last two months, I hated my hair. I hated touching it. Looking at it. I just hated everything about it. I hadn't been able to dye it cause of the pregnancy and nursing but the doctor finally gave me the go-ahead and I needed this cut so badly. So today I finally went to the hair dresser and it was worth every single penny. So please indulge me as I share a few photos of me and Nathaniel.  This one was homework for the great Mondo Beyondo class I just finished. It's important for me to remember this. I am not alone.  Don't we both look so happy?  On Friday, I made this long, scary list of todo items for the weekend. I was so stressed just looking at it. And you know what? I did every single one of the items on my list!! Wee!!! DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 26 2009  He's really enjoying the exersaucer. I love watching him discover and rediscover the toys.  And in case you think I forgot, here's the other little boy in our lives. I love him madly.  And in case you wonder why I don't have more photos of Nathaniel smiling, it's not cause he doesn't smile often. It's cause when he smiles, he smiles so big and with so much of his body that all the photos come out blurry.  I spent almost all of today reading a book. Can't think of a better way to spend the day. WEEKLY BOOKS - LOVE WALKED IN Quite a few months ago, I read the sequel to this book without realizing it was a sequel. I didn't dislike the book but I also didn't think it was anything special. At least that's how I remember feeling when I read Belong To Me. Had I known this book was the prequel, I might have never read Love Walked In. 
I am so glad I had no idea.
This is, by far, one of the most touching and wonderful books I've read. The characters are interesting and well-developed. But that's not why. The story is touching and beautiful. But that's not why either. The reason this book spoke to me so much, so deeply is because of all the emotion in it and how well it's expressed. All the attention the two main characters pay to life, to their emotions and to the others. The way it's expressed so carefully, so eloquently, and so well. Here's a small example: What she came to what that even if someone wasn't perfect or even especially good, you couldn't dismiss the love they felt. Love was always love, it has a rightness all its own, even if the person feeling the love was full of wrongness. So simply stated yet such a strong sentiment and so eloquently put. I felt so much love, so many emotions at the surface of this book that I adored every single minute of it. I almost want to go back and reread Belong To Me now that I know these characters. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS - MORE ON SHUTTER SPEED Following up on two weeks ago's video, this week I talk more about shutter speed. Feel free to let me know if anything is unclear or if you have questions. Next week is shutter speed. I am still planning on writing these up, please bear with me if you can't watch YouTube videos. Photography Tips is a weekly feature and is posted every Friday. You can find all of them here. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 25 2009  David is the kindest big brother. He plays with Nathaniel so much and is so kind to him. Kisses and hugs him all the time.  And Nathaniel does the same. In his own way.  And the thumb is still in the mouth.  A productive day today. Working hard to go through my to-do list. This is looking like it will be a stressful weekend but I am hoping a productive one. 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 38  This week's tag was interesting. I originally did it a completely different way but I wasn't happy with the results so I redid it last night. I will show you both versions just so you can see the stark difference. I love this one much more but the other one had me trying techniques too so I wanted to keep it here to remember. As soon as I saw this topic, I knew I would make it about my morning coffee and my favorite lunch which is a poppy bagel toasted really dark with cream cheese and tomatoes. I cut out the definition of each from the dictionary and just did my art around them making sure they are highlighted.  One more detail.  The original idea I had was to create a cup and a bagel and use flocking with glossy accents to create the poppy seeds on the bagel and some inking and glossy accents to create the glass with coffee. Here's how it looked:  I just didn't like the way it turned out. I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 24 2009  Nathaniel's recently started to make use of his legs/feet as well as his hands and I am always amused to see how much more he can do when he's using all four (arms and legs). Quite fun to watch how flexible he is.  He also turns five months today. Happy five months my boy. You're growing up so quickly and I am so glad not to have to miss a moment of it. Long and sort of a frustrating day today. Nathaniel didn't want to nap again. At all! Yet he was whiny the WHOLE time. But I did get some quality work done so I spose that should make me feel better. Happy Thursday! WEEKLY DIGITAL DOWNLOADS - JOURNALING SPOTS This week's download is a set of journaling spots. Here is some of what's in there:  You can download it here: journaling spot set download. You are welcome to play with these as much as you want and use them anywhere you'd like. You are NOT allowed to sell them ever. You don't have to but I'd appreciate a link back if you do use them. This is part of a weekly digital download series. They are posted every Wednesday. You can find all of the ones that were posted here. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 23 2009  I caught Nathaniel digging through my bag today. Naughty naughty.  Today was one of those days where I feel so very thankful for my life. I am so thankful for how supportive everyone at work has been with my wish to work from home. How incredibly kind and generous they are to me. I know that sometimes I get burned out or forget how amazing my life is so it's best to write it down here so that I can come back and read. I am so so thankful. I also want to thank my sister for her incredible support. My sister is far away but she is one of the most supportive people in my life. She goes out of her way to find ways to support me and she is so kind, so generous, and so wonderful to me. I know these are words we use often and they have almost worn out their value but I mean them with the depth they actually have and I mean them purely. Sometimes I forget how I am blessed to be among such amazing, genuine people who are there for me. It's such a treasure to have that. So today I am taking a moment to give thanks. I need to do this more often. Thank you, Yona, I love you so so much. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 22 2009  So Nathaniel must have slept all his sleep yesterday cause today he wouldn't sleep!! Argh. I work upstairs in my bedroom for now so I've moved this little chair next to me so Nathaniel can entertain himself while I work and he's been playing until he gets annoyed.  Feeling a little out of it today. Here's to a more productive tomorrow. WEEKLY LAYOUT - PLAYING DRESSUP  Journaling Reads: david, for the longest time you weren't into dress-up at all you never did it at school never asked for it at home i figured you were just one of those kids who didn't care for it i was wrong yona sent two costumes for you the last time amore was here buzz lightyear and the hulk now you wear them at least twice a week so i guess it wasn't that you weren't into it it was just that we didn't have the right costumes thanks so much auntie Yona.  Weekly layout is a series that focuses on simple layouts that highlight words and photos. It's posted every Tuesday. PHOTOSHOP VIDEOS - CREATING OVERLAYS Today's video shows how to create the ovelays I create for the digital downloads. It also shows how to change the color and how to use them. Photoshop videos are weekly videos that show you how to create digital elements and photography tips on Photoshop. They are posted every Monday. Click here for all of the archives. If you have questions/feedback click on the "share" link on the bottom right of this post. Thanks! DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 21 2009  Today's Nathaniel is just a snapshot I took in a hurry. Today was one of those magical days when Nathaniel didn't wake up until 8:15 in the morning (even then he didn't wake up, I had to wake him up so I'd have time to nurse him before we had to go drop David off at his school.) and then he came back home and took another long nap and then we picked up David and Nathaniel took another super-long nap when we came home. As if all that wasn't enough, he took another nap at 4pm (brief one cause I didn't want it to mess up bedtime. Holy cow! If only I knew today was going to go this way, I would have planned it so much better!!  This weekend I did some digging in the garage and opened up a few of the leftover boxes. One of them had David's bike and batman computer in it. Today, he decided he wanted to play with them simultaneously.  We also got a headboard today. Our first one ever. I love it already. How I want to get a bedskirt but we don't have a frame so it's really hard to find short bedskirts that are just for the box. I've just started my book of the week which is "Love Walked In" and I am loving it so far. CATALYST 80 - COMMODORE 64  Journaling Reads: i remember asking my parents for this computer for my tenth birthday. “you just want to play games,” they said. “no” i insisted, “i will learn how to program, I will use it all the time, I swear.” they were reluctant, I could tell. everyone else just used theirs as a fancy toy but i wanted one. I knew I wasn’t going to use mine as a toy, mine was a keeper. I don’t know what finally convinced them but I still remember the day my commodore 64 arrived. i fulfilled my promises, I took lessons, I worked, I played, I tinkered with that thing all the time. As it turned out, that was the beginning of a lifelong love of computers a career in programming and the internet. now i help build browsers. and it all started with one little machine. a present that changed my whole life. Karen Says: The Commodore 64 my parents bought me when I was a little girl was the very first computer I ever loved. Today, I have eight computers and I love them all. I made a career out of working with computers. I cannot thank them enough for believing in me, supporting me, and of course giving me my first computer. Why is this in a binder? DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 20 2009  And Nathaniel's been sitting it up more and more. (Lest you worry, Jake was right next to him, just in case he tipped over.)  A quiet and wonderful Sunday here. I spent most of my day reading. I remembered that everything aside, my first is and always will be reading. To more days like this. WEEKLY BOOKS - THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO I have mixed feelings about this book. Maybe cause it came with so much hype. 
The first chapter was absolutely impossible to read. I tried three times before I could get myself to finish it. The story for the first half of the book was interesting but not amazing. I liked the characters but there were so many of them that I kept losing track and wondered how important it was going to be to remember them all.
For me, the book started getting good halfway through. Once the case started unlocking a bit. But then it got really scary and creepy and I am not such a fan of that. I didn't see it coming at all. I did read the last 500 pages in one sitting and I loved most of the characters. All in all, I think it was a good book. I'm going to have to sit with it for a week or two to decide what I think. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 19 2009  And Nathaniel was snuggled into his Daddy the whole time.  David made a face about half the time but I did manage to get him to giggle a few times.  And here's the handsome man. Love him.  The book post is hopefully coming tomorrow. Still reading the book. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS - MORE ON APERTURE Following up on last week's video, this week I talk more about aperture. Feel free to let me know if anything is unclear or if you have questions. Next week is shutter speed. I am still planning on writing these up, please bear with me if you can't watch YouTube videos. Photography Tips is a weekly feature and is posted every Friday. You can find all of them here. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 18 2009  I snapped a shot of Nathaniel on the way back home, in the parking lot. He was really tired and fell asleep in the car on the way home.  I am suffering from a terrible bout of allergies suddenly and it's making me really congested and drowsy. I hate it. I think it's our new sheets so I am washing them and hoping that will do the trick. Yuck. Today's photography video is coming soon, YouTube is still processing it. 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 37  Lately, I've been looking at a lot of other artists amazing work. That sparks my creativity more than anything else. The other thing that sparks it is limitation. These tags and their small size have made my creativity explode. I love doing them more than just about any other piece of art. This tag is mostly fiber with some metal embellishments. Some hand stitching and some machine stitching. Some recent events inspired me to open an etsy store to sell some of my tags. Just for fun.  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 17 2009  Here's the Nathaniel shot for today. Love this boy. I know I say it a lot but I cannot say it enough. I can't stop kissing him either.  Another good day so far. I woke up incredibly exhausted. Beyond words. But I recovered throughout the day and I did get quite a bit done so I am feeling good. And I got some amazing news at work so that helped, too. WEEKLY DIGITAL DOWNLOADS - VERTICAL OUTLINE OVERLAYS This week's download is a set of overlays designed for 4x6 portrait shots. All of the text is outlined. Here is some of what's in there:  You can download it here: vertical outline overlay set download. You are welcome to play with these as much as you want and use them anywhere you'd like. You are NOT allowed to sell them ever. You don't have to but I'd appreciate a link back if you do use them. This is part of a weekly digital download series. They are posted every Wednesday. You can find all of the ones that were posted here. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 16 2009  So today I started working again after 5.5 months of maternity. This date was plaguing me for several reasons and I was really anxious about it. The amazing thing is, when the morning finally arrived, I felt at peace. Most of the anxiety is gone and I am feeling much more peaceful than I have in weeks. I still have a lot to learn (moving into a new position) and I am nervous about some of it but I have faith that, in time, I will pick it up and it will be ok. And if it's not... well, I am not worrying about that just yet. The greatest thing is, I get to work from home. This is the original reason I chose to work with computers over twenty years ago. I knew I wanted to be home to see my kids grow up and I am blessed to get to do that. Blessed beyond belief. Because I'm still trying to get Nathaniel's naps organized, I work upstairs in the bedroom for now so I can watch him on the video monitor. Here's a shot of what things look like in my room during the day.  And just in case you think Nathaniel's not enjoying it, I assure you, he is.  It's challenging to work from home, on many levels. And when I did it before it wasn't for a company like Google and I only had one kid, so I expect this to be even more challenging but I am up for it. I am excited about it. This is going to work! WEEKLY LAYOUT - ADVENTURES IN COOKING  Journaling reads: I can't cook. No I mean I really can't cook. I haven't cooked a single dish in fifteen years. But, now that we have this amazing kitchen. These beautiful, growing kids. I think it's time to learn. So now we have weekly family dinners. One recipe at a time, we're all learning to be adventurous. To trust Mom. And, guess what? As it turns out, I can cook. Just fine. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 15 2009  I talk about David's eyes a lot. And they are magnificent. Amazing. I was really curious if Nathaniel's eyes would be that way too. I figured not but just hoped so. As it turns out they are amazing too, but in a totally different way. It's harder to capture it on film. Here's an attempt but it doesn't really do them justice.  Trying to have a relaxing, happy day today. Looking forward to seeing some good friends tonight. And tomorrow: work! DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 14 2009  Today's Nathaniel.  And one that shows my flexible boy. Look at that!  And finally David let me take a shot. Isn't he stunning?  Blech day today. I didn't get as much as I'd like done. And I didn't even get to read my book. I feel like I am crazy ADD right now. Not sure what I want to do first so I end up doing nothing productive or fun. Oh well. It will subside. One more day and then I go back to work. It's been almost 5.5 months. It's going to be so odd. And good. PHOTOSHOP VIDEOS - COLORING OVERLAYS Today's video shows how to change the color of the overlays I give away here. Mine are always black but if you wanted to change it to white, red, or any other color, this video will show you how. If you have questions/feedback click on the "share" link on the bottom right of this post. Thanks! CATALYST 79 - DECEMBER DAILY  Journaling Reads: december is my favorite time of year. it’s when we get to buy a beautiful tree that gives off the most amazing scent in our house for a whole month. the tree that’s lit up. the tree that brings me joy every single day. it’s also when i get almost two weeks off work to enjoy my time with my family so we can curl up in front of the tv or the fire or our tree and enjoy each other’s company. december is when all the houses in our neighborhood light up and spread the joy. but the best part of december, for me, is the little book i get to create every single day. full of our memories, our daily moments. i love putting the pages together before the month starts and sitting to alter each page every day. just a little bit of art and a little bit of memory-keeping that allows me to re-live my day and smile. my december daily album is something i cherish deeply and a tradition that is here to stay. Karen Says: Two years ago, thanks to Shimelle, I started a december album. Last year, thanks to Ali, I did a more personalized december daily album and I fell in love with it so much that it’s, by far, one of my most cherished albums. You can see the pages in my albums here: 2007 and 2008. I highly recommend making one of these. Technique Highlight: It seems I go through phases when I create my catalysts. Sometimes they’re artsy, sometimes plain, sometimes with no journaling and sometimes with a lot. Ordinarily, I am someone who likes to journal a lot and I like to create journaling strips because they allow me to create a design with the words if I so choose. So in the next few weeks you’ll see that my pages will all have a lot of journaling and I will create the art/design around the journaling. Sometimes it’s all about the words. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 13 2009  This turned out to be a very productive weekend I did six layouts, 2 creative therapy catalysts, 6 videos, and another 6 photoshop videos, and read a lot of my book. All in all, very productive. I got two sweet ones of Nathaniel.   And David wouldn't let me take any. I love my kids so much and just feeling so thankful and happy for them and Jake today. Here's to a productive and happy week. WEEKLY BOOKS - TWENTIES GIRL I'm not usually a book snob. I will read anything and everything (except fantasy and horror) but, for some reason, I was snobby about Sophie Kinsella. I am not really a chick lit kinda gal. I hated Bridget Jones' Diary. I am not into shopping, drinking, dancing, and I've been with the same guy for 15 years so I always thought those books just don't speak to me.  But when I was pregnant, I had absolutely no attention span and I really wanted to read. So I grabbed a few of her books and realized that I really liked her style. Her quirky characters who always got into messes that were a size or two too big for them but managed to get out of them eventually.
Her books seem to always have a twist. Not mind-blowing or anything. But interesting and not always fully expected. And Twenties Girl was no exception. It's fun. It's sweet. And a wonderful read. I am fully willing to admit it. I like Sophie Kinsella's books. They're fun. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 12 2009  Here's a shot of Nathaniel as we walked (he's loving his thumb):  And the only shot David let me snap:  I got lots of phone calls from family and friends. Emails. Messages on Facebook and Twitter. I did a few more layouts and bought some goodies. All in all, a wonderful day. I can't wait to see what 35 will bring! DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 11 2009   Not great but still. I wanted to snap one of the two of us so here we are. September 11...and Jake flew to New York from CA today. So many memories. So many terrible ones. I am thankful for being alive today. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS - GETTING THE PERFECT EXPOSURE Today's video talks about the three elements of getting the perfect amount of light so you can create a technically perfect photo. I am still getting used to these so apologies if I mumble a lot, also there's a bit of shake since the laptop was on my lap. I will iron out these details and I will also start writing these up for those of you who cannot watch movies. All of these and more will eventually be a class I am preparing for Big Picture Scrapbooking. This part of the class will be free to everyone so I will make sure there are full written versions, not to worry. All feedback and comments are very welcome. Hope you like it. 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 36  This one was easy. The very first thought that popped into my head was "I am so lucky, I need to remember that more often." I am blessed. Lucky. So lucky. And here's the tag to remember that. Originally I wanted to use a wire this week but the wire I have isn't malleable enough so I decided to punch four hearts and create a clover from that. I then glued sequins on each heart and since the only sequins I had were gold, I used alcohol inks to paint them green. Some fabric for the background, and some letters, some stitching, that's about it for this tag.  The photo doesn't really do justice to how sparkly this tag is and how the angle at which you look at it changes its colors so here's a mini collage that shows it better.  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. ---- DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 10 2009  Here's today's Nathaniel:  Happy Thursday. DIGITAL DOWNLOADS - MONTH OVERLAYS This week's download is a set f overlays with different months. It has every month and then an add-on for 2009 and 2010. Here are a few of them:  You can download it here: month overlays download. You are welcome to play with these as much as you want and use them anywhere you'd like. You are NOT allowed to sell them ever. You don't have to but I'd appreciate a link back if you do use them. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 9 2009   The tears came much later when I went to pick him up and he realized he wasn't having lunch at school anymore. He was angry and crying. I tried to explain to him that he'd be home with me and Nathaniel but he didn't like it one bit.  Nathaniel watched him in awe as he played with all the toys and hugged all of his classmates.  I feel so lucky that he loves school so much. I hope that wherever he ends up going next year for kindergarten, he makes good, solid friends and loves his teachers just as much. Exactly one week from today, I start work. After five and a half months of maternity it will be interesting going back to work. I am anxious yet excited. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 8 2009  And here's today's Nathaniel shot.  A bit too tired to write more tonight. See you tomorrow. WEEKLY LAYOUT - FOUR MONTHS  Journaling Reads: Dear little boy. In three days you will be four months old. The last few months have been wonderful, exhilarating, and tiring. In the last few weeks you’ve been more demanding than usual and you are really unhappy if we’re not holding you all the time. You’ve also gotten used to falling asleep when nursing and refuse to sleep any other way. This has started to take its toll on me and I am feeling more and more worn out. When I found out that I would start working in four weeks, I decided it was time for us to work on our sleep behavior. For the last two days, I’ve been spending every waking moment with you. I’ve been watching the clock and the signs to see when you start fussing so that I can put you down immediately. I have been leaning into the crib to give you kisses, hugs, and love. I have been rocking you. Whispering to you. I have been talking, praying, crying. I love you so much, Nathaniel. I know that you can do this and I know that this is the right next step for both of us. For all of us. David’s been patiently watching both of us as we struggle through this and he’s been playing on his own, being quiet when asked to, and hugging you every moment you’re awake. It’s wonderful to be so loved especially as we strive to find our peace. Even though you’re not alone for a moment, this process is really rough on me. It hurts me physically with my aching back and splitting headaches. It hurts me psychologically to have to separate this bond between us a little bit. And it hurts me emotionally to see you shed even the tiniest of tears. But I know that this is the right next step for us. We both need sleep. When we’re rested, we both feel happier and we can bond much more deeply. I have faith in us, my boy, I know we can do this. I love you with all my heart. - August 2009 PHOTOSHOP VIDEOS - HOW TO USE AND RESIZE OVERLAYS Today's video shows how to use the overlays I give for free. It also shows how to resize them. This is part of a weekly series on Photoshop Tips. Let me know what you'd like to see. Any feedback is also welcome. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 7 2009  I love this boy so much.  Uneventful day here. Everyone was tired and a bit grouchy. Here's to a productive and good week. CATALYST 78 - ANTARCTICA  Here are my words: My first instinct was to do this about my book. I want to write a book. I want to get it published. I’ve had this dream/goal forever. But I’ve done art around this so I decided this time I’d do it about another dream. I want to go to Antarctica. I want to pet a penguin. This is something I really want to do before I die.  To put this together, I cut out a bunch of penguins, painted my paper and added some texture with fabric. I then added some glossy accents and some pearl to make it look like ice/water. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 6 2009   Yes, that's why we tend to try to stick to our schedule as much as possible. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS - HOW TO HOLD YOUR CAMERA Ok, I thought we should start with the very basics. It's important to know how to hold your camera so you can decrease potential camera-shake and get clearer photos. I know I need a lot more practice doing these recordings and remember that English is not my first language so if I sound funny or say funny things that's why. Feel free to leave honest feedback. More tips next week. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 5 2009  Here he is. My beautiful husband.  Nathaniel was mostly well-behaved and did a good job of staying quiet and joyful.  So was David. And he got to eat delicious delicious chocolate ice cream because of it.  That's why I didn't get to write yesterday. It was a full-on family day. Where we laughed and played together. Wonderful time. Happy, happy birthday my love. To many many many more! DEAD POET'S SOCIETY Back when I was filling college applications, a common question I had was, "What's your favorite movie?" Dead Poet's Society. That was, and still is, and likely will forever be my favorite movie. I have seen many other movies that I loved. But none has come near this one. This movie touches my soul and reminds me of so many important things: Make your days count. Your time on this earth is limited. Sooner than you think, it will all be over and you'll be food for worms. How are you going to make your days count? Make your life extraordinary. Change your perspective. Look at things from a different point of view. Things don't look the same everywhere. Don't think about what they are thinking. What are you thinking? Don't let your poems be ordinary. They can be about simple things. Yet they can still be deep. Just don't let them be ordinary. What will your verse be? Find your own way of walking. Don't imitate others. Make up your own way. Find your walk. Learn to think for yourself. And now that I am a mother, I see deep, poignant points for parenthood. Sometimes your kids think everything inside them is worthless and embarrassing. Sometimes it's not just when you're kids. But during those early teenage years, this fear can be paralyzing. It is so strong and it should not be ignored or not taken seriously. It is real. Listen to your kids. Let them show you who they are. Don't chalk it up to passing whim. Look for the passion. Believe it. Let them see your faith in them. They might be young but they are not stupid. They deserve your respect. Your kids are not here to live the life you imagined. Don't put pressure on them. The sacrifices you made were your choices, not theirs. They are here to live their own life. Make their own choices. Walk their own path. Let them. Even better, hold their hand. Support them. I think in so many ways, teenagers are more fragile than babies. And yet we don't remember that. We take care of babies so diligently. But we are often infuriated with our teens. I truly hope that I can remember this when my kids are teenagers. A teacher can make a permanent different in your kid's life. Choose your kid's teachers carefully. And be thankful for the good ones. They are rare. Very rare. All from a two-hour movie. How could it not be my favorite? All I needed to hear was in the first fifteen minutes: seize the day. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 4 2009  And here's Nathaniel. He is sitting up unassisted for longer periods now. Maybe 2-3 minutes.  And those feet. Those wonderful feet.  A relaxing uneventful day here. I don't think I accomplished one thing and I feel ok about it. I'm going back to work soon, gotta enjoy these last few days. Here's to a great weekend. READING MORE IN 2009 I've done the book a week thing before. Twice. And both times I loved it. So I want to do it again. I miss reading. A lot. I am not sure it will work with the baby, David, work, art, and everything else I am trying to do but I'm going to try. So here is my list for the rest of this year. There are more books here than weeks left but I wanted my list a bit bigger in case my mood changes and I want more choices.
If you have other books to recommend, please tell me. Especially if they are great reads and hard to put down!! DIGITAL DOWNLOADS - NUMBERS This week's download is numbers. From 1 to 31, for each day in a month. You can use them for project 365, december daily, or just for fun. Here's a peek of what some of the numbers look like:  You can download it here: numbers download. You are welcome to play with these as much as you want and use them anywhere you'd like. You are NOT allowed to sell them ever. You don't have to but I'd appreciate a link back if you do use them. GETTING IN THE GROOVE I started this blog on August 2000. Since we just passed the nine year mark, I've decided to try some new things for the blog. Mostly to keep myself regular and posting everyday and also a chance to try out some things I've wanted to for a while. So I made a little schedule for myself and as a reminder to myself I am going to post it here and do my best to keep to it. photos I will still keep posting daily photos. I want to take more "non family" photos so I will attempt to do more of that. I will still have daily Nathaniel since we're still in his first year and I promised I will take photos every day in his first year. I will make sure to have at least one photo of David every week. One photo of myself every week. And monthly (ideally more frequently) photos of me and the kids and Jake and the kids and all four of us. Let's see how this goes. Here's a schedule for non-photo posts I want to make daily: Mondays: I will post a video of something. Either a photoshop/digital tip or a non-digital technique etc. Tuesdays: A new layout/mixed media art, etc. Wednesdays: A digital download package. It will have anywhere from 7 to more digital elements in it. Thursdays: My weekly tag. Fridays: Books. I am starting to read more and will challenge myself to read a book a week (more coming on this) and on Fridays I will write about the book I read that week. Saturdays: A photo tip. This will be a tip on photography. Technicals, how to improve, how to use your camera, etc. Just my compilation of this information. Sundays: A new creative therapy catalyst. My plan is to also post at least 3 longer journaling-type entries a week. When I look back upon my years of posting here, besides the photos, those are my favorite posts. Here's to hoping I can make that happen. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 3 2009  And this one. I love how his wings are folded but out.  The little one and I sat outside in the backyard as David played.  We both watched him and smiled.  And he smiled right back.  The joy of my life. I'm feeling better. Things are starting to fall in sync a little bit and the baby is sleeping a bit better. I see small flickers of light in the distance. Just small ones for now, but light nonetheless... 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 35  Well the first thing that came to my mind, as usual, was someone who loves a lot. But I've done a lot of love themed ones lately so I wanted to do something different. I decided to make this one about nature. Nature is what calms me and makes me peaceful. Nature is what centers me. Nature. I am so thankful for it. This tag was inspired by the amazing Rebecca Sower who awes me each and every single time she makes a piece of art. I pulled out a few nature-colored things I had and just let myself go. I did this really quickly and videotaped myself doing it just as an experiment. It was my first time videotaping so parts of it are off-camera. Apologies. I'll do better next time. The only thing I added after the movie was some stitching. That's it.   The song is "Fell in Love with a Boy" by the amazing Joss Stone. I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. DAILY PHOTOS - SEPTEMBER 2 2009  Nathaniel loves sucking his thumb lately. He's found it and he uses it liberally to calm himself down. I think he looks so cute.  For the first time since I started putting him in his bed, he's been sleeping for over 45 minutes. I know that as soon as I type these words, he will wake up. But, for now, I am just thankful for the magic of it. May it continue. David's teacher visited today. I can't believe he's only got one more year of preschool. He's growing up way way too quickly. Daily Photos - September 1 2009  I love seeing this sign every time I sit at my desk. Thank you Jen Lemen.  David spent the day playing with my punches. He had so much fun.  And so did Nathaniel. When he wasn't taking his super-power-naps that last like 15 minutes. Ugh.  I am reorganizing my blog for the month of September. Stay tuned. Trying to get better and more planned about what I do here. Not sure why. But I guess why not :) Downloads, and more, are coming, I promise. Rabbit rabbit. |
| ©2009 karenika.com |