I took this photo in David’s classroom. I like how it looks like the lion’s looking at me.
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!
The amazing Stacy Julian sent me these beautiful flowers last week. Orange, of course. And so stunning. It was such a treat finding them on my doorstep.
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.
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!
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.
This is a shot I had leftover from Cayucos. Right now, Jake’s on a plane back here. I miss him. And I LOVE internet on the plane, yey!!
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.
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.
Today’s my birthday. 35. Jake had to leave town to visit a friend in New York so it was just me and the boys. We had a wonderful and relaxing day together. In the afternoon, we walked over to the local grocery store and bought a cake for David and me. I lit a little candle, made a wish, David sang me happy birthday, I blew my candle, and we both enjoyed a little piece of cake.
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!
Today was a fantastic day! Absolutely awesome! Nathaniel’s naps all lined up and he slept for a long time while I filmed movies for here and I even did a layout and an upcoming catalyst tonight. I just felt like it all just synced. Ah. Thankful for days like this.
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.
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.
This week’s question is: “What do you never want to forget?”
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.
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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.
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.
