52 Questions and Techniques – Tag 40



This week’s question is: “What am I taking for granted?”



The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this was time. Time is passing so quickly lately. And sometimes I find myself wishing for it to go faster (so Aurelia can sleep through the night, so the weekend can come, so Christmas can come, etc. etc.) but I really need to appreciate the value of time so much more. Time with my loved ones. Time to practice my art. Time to read. Even time to do my work. I don’t want to take a moment of my life for granted.



I was originally going to make another fabric piece for this week and started to but after a failed attempt, I decided to use the Maya Road clock. I inked my background and put the clock on it. I added a few buttons, some words, a little fabric with stitching, some bling and some small alphabets and that’s it.



I now sell some of these tags in my etsy store. If there’s a tag you like and are interested in, email me or leave a comment and I’ll be happy to add it.



I am combining Emily Falconbridge’s art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here.



Weekly tags are posted every Thursday, you can see all of them by clicking here.

Daily Photos – October 8 2009



This photo is technically poor but I still love it. Lest you think Aurelia lives in the exersaucer, it’s just an easy place for me to put him while I have both hands free to shoot photos.



I am feeling a bit frustrated lately. Not because my todo list is too full (which it is) but because I actually want to do all the items on my list but cannot find the time to do them. Several times a day, I find myself itching to do one of the items and then immediately itching to do another one at the same time and then I get none of them done and I feel mostly frustrated.



Oh well. Life.

Daily Photos – October 7 2009



There are no words for how much Rebecca Sower inspires me. Really no words. I want to be her when I grow up. I made a long wish list trying to be like her and here are some of the goodies my mother in law was generous enough to buy me for my birthday. If only they came with her talent…



A lot of photos today. One of those days where I couldn’t decide which one to post. So you get them all. Sorry.



Here’s how much he is interested in his big brother.







Two just for me.











Here he is laughing. Laughing.







And here’s what he’s laughing at:







And my sweet sweet boy.







Good day. My husband did something amazing for me today. Thank you, Jake.

Weekly Digital Downloads – Dates Set

This week’s download is a set of date stamps. Here is an example of what’s in there:





You can download it here: dates 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.

Weekly Layouts – My Boys



Here’s the journaling:


if someone had told me

years ago

that i would end up with

two boys

i don’t know what i would

have said to them

would i have been happy?

did i want boys?

or did i want girls?

as it turns out

having boys was

the best thing i could wish for

my boys are kind

sweet

loving

generous

and they hug

with all their heart

just like their daddy

i am so thankful
/c
for my boys.







Weekly layouts is a weekly feature focusing on simple layouts with photos and journaling. It’s posted on Tuesdays.

Daily Photos – October 6 2009



You can’t see this very clearly but I love watching them play together and it’s one of the things I am most looking forward to as they grow up (not the bickering though).



Today is one of those days where I have a million things swimming in my head, where I want to do so many things and feel equally inspired to do all of them at the same time and having that create the paralysis and inability to actually do any one thing. ugh.

Photoshop Videos – Converting to Black and White

Today’s video is about one way to convert a color photo to black and white.







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 – October 5 2009



I wanted you to see what often takes place behind the scenes when I am taking these photos.







See the little boy going crazy there just to get the baby to look at the camera long enough? Oh the things we do to capture a good shot?

Catalyst 82 – Unconditional Love



Catalyst eighty-two is: What’s your superpower?



my journaling:

i’m not sure if it’s a superpower if it’s also something that ends up hurting me the most. can it be both? it must be. because my ability to love wholly, fully, with all my self and all my heart is my super power. the one thing that makes me, me. and it’s my magic, my genuine-ness, my ability to give you all i have and ask for nothing in return because once i love you, once i trust you, i am here for you, forever, all of me. forever.

Daily Photos – October 4 2009



Look at this child. He’s so incredibly cute. I know you might be sick of seeing photos of my kids. I totally understand. But I will never be sick of it. These photos make my soul happy.



And here’s another one of Aurelia practicing sitting.







All in all, a good weekend. Got a lot done. A lot more to do of course. Looking forward to the week. Yes, I am surprised too.

Weekly Books – The Book Thief

Sometimes a book keeps showing up everywhere I turn. The Book Thief was one of those books. I saw it in several blogs I read and week after week, it just kept showing up. So I decided it was time to read it. Had I known what it was about, I wouldn’t have even added it to my list.




I don’t read books that take place during the second world war. Ever. The only exceptions to this were “The Reader” which I did love and a book I read in Turkish a while ago written by a survivor. I have watched Schindler’s List and Life is Beautiful. In the case of the latter, after the movie ended, I wept in the theater for almost an hour. This topic gets under my skin. I am not ordinarily very religious but I cannot stand reading about the second world war. So I err on the side of not even picking such books up.



But I had picked this one up and when I found out what it was about (my sister told me) I decided to put it right back down. But my sister insisted. It’s really amazing she said. My friend literally couldn’t put it down. She read the whole thing in one day. So I read on.



It was terrible. Not the book, mind you. The book is odd but well-written and the story is touching and personal and so human. That’s what makes it that much worse. Because, of course, the story is terribly sad. So many horrible things happen. So many people die. And there’s so much destruction.



I just don’t have the stomach for this much sorrow. To see how incredibly cruel humans can be. Life is hard enough as it is, I don’t need my books to be this sad. I really don’t.



Well, one more book finished. My pick for next week is an author I adore and I hope it’s a happy story.

Daily Photos – October 3 2009



I am still reading this week’s book so I will make this short. I love photographing Jake with the kids and I adore these shots.















I finished my AMM kit today and I’ve been reading intermittently. All in all not the best day but that’s ok.