random reflections

A Second Party Layout

This challenge was to use two 4x6 photos in the layout. Sarah, Matt, & Tracy had a great time at California Adventure Land. Most of the rides weren't for me as I'm terribly afraid of heights. But I enjoyed sitting in the sun and taking photos of them having a great time on the rides.

Photographing a 12x12 layout is one of the most challenging tasks. No way can I get them perfectly straight. The journaling reads: "There’s no way anyone could get me on a ferris wheel of any kind, let alone one where the cars swing back and forth as it goes around. I’m way too afraid of heights, but it doesn’t seem to be a trait either Matt or Sarah inherited. They had a great time, and I did enjoy watching them!"

Yellow cardstock from stash; red cardstock: BoBunny; Star accents from a Queen & Co. patterned paper; glitter alpha: Colorbok (and they were a real pain to use!)

Shimelle's Party

I missed most of Shimelle's party, but finally had time tonight to get one layout done. If I'm lucky I'll get another one done before it gets too late. As soon as I saw this sketch I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Finding all the right papers took a little longer than I expected. This is my favorite family photo from our trip to California last month.

 

Cardstock:  American Craft & Jeni Bowlin Core'dinations; patterned paper: Scenic Route; American Craft alpha stickers; "family:" Making Memories Slice Words & Expressions cartridge; word sticker from stash.

Compose A Card

Becky Oehlers has been posting some great card recipes on her blog for quite some time. I've downloaded all her pdf.s, but this is the first time I've played along. Here's the recipe:

 

And here's my take on it. I love these new October Afternoon papers from their new line "Thrift Shop."

Cardstock:  Colormates; patterned Paper:  October Afternoon; flower: unknown scraps; sentiment: Stampendous; brad: Sassafrass Lass; ribbon from stash

A friend and I are off to Buffalo to a class at Buffalo Stamps & Stuff on using Copic markers with Prisma colored pencils. It should be lots of fun.

I've Been Tagged

I've been tagged by Mindy, one of the Design Team members at Scrap-Mart. She likens these tagging adventures to the chain letters of the past. I much prefer blogging.

Ten Things That Make Me Happy

1. Family Time. There's not much that means more to me than spending time with my husband and kids. I never get enough of it. Even though Tracy and I are both retired, we're really busy with our own projects and need to make time for ourselves. When everyone's together, it's the best! 
   
2. A Good Book. I love to read and a book that grabs my attention and makes me think is one of the great pleasures in life.
3. Travel. Although I hate to fly, I love to travel. I never get tired of seeing new places. We were on the road for 29 days last summer, and I loved every minute of it. I love the anticipation of trips almost as much as the trip itself. We're tentatively planning a cruise to Alaska in 2011 with very good friends and I'm already excited.
   
4. Good Friends. I am truly blessed with good friends, and enjoy all the time I get to spend with them.
5. Learning New Things. I think this is one reason why I loved teaching. I was always learning something new. Now it's my hobbies that keep me on my toes!
6. Creating. I never had an opportunity as a child to take an art lesson. We didn't even have art classes in my school, so I never considered myself the least bit creative until I started sewing as a teenager (for 4-H) and stamping as an adult. If I could go back and choose my career again, I think I'd choose graphic arts, even though I loved my teaching job.
7. Photography. Of all my hobbies, photography has done more to change how I see the world than anything else. I'm so much more observant, and examining the great photographs on sites like Pioneer Woman help me develop a more critical eye. It's another career I'd love to have had.
8. Sunshine. We don't always get a lot of it here in the northeast so I am really appreciative of it when it's here. I love my house, but it's surrounded by trees, and has old windows. If we ever downsize, big windows and a sunny location will be #1 on my list.
9. Flowers. I love them inside and out, from the grocery store or the florist. I'd have them on my table every day if I could afford it.
10. Good Food and Cooking. I love to eat out, and I love to cook. I'm always collecting new recipes, and I read cookbooks like a novels.

Five Random Facts

1. I was a clumsy child, and very unathletic. Nonetheless, I played on the varsity field hockey team my junior year in high school. Even more amazing, I actually got playing time. (But I definitely did not love it.)
2. I was painfully shy as a child. Friends who have only known me since college find it hard to believe, but I was so shy I hid under tables to avoid meeting new people who came to our house to visit.
3. My freshman RA was sure I'd be the one kid on the floor who wouldn't make it. She never told me at the time, of course, but many years later she was asked to witness our wills in our lawyer's office. We hadn't seen each other in years, and she told me then. I not only lasted, I flourished!
4. I love to organize. The first time I was in The Container Store, I thought I'd "died and gone to heaven!" It's a good thing there isn't one around here. I'd be broke.
5. I'm terribly afraid of heights. I have a hard time on a step-ladder, and hate most amusement park rides. 

So the deal is to tag five others. All of these women I've met through blogging and the internet. I've loved getting to know them through their art and their blogs. I hope they'll play along.

1. Joni
2. Rhona
3. Amy
4. Rinda
5. Mel

Magnolias

It was another beautiful day here, but the forecast is quite dreary so I decided I'd better get to Highland Park to see the magnolias. I was also looking for some shots to meet the prompts for Picture Spring. We live just a block from Highland Park which was designed by the famous Fredrick Law Olmstead. It is always beautiful, but never more beautiful than in the spring time.

 

These trees are pretty, but the real prize today were the magnolias. As a group they aren't particularly lovely as some are already past their prime and some have yet to bloom. Our strange weather pattern this year must account for some of that. I took my Tamron 28-300mm lens with me today. Of the three lens I own, it works the best for macro shots. Some day I would love to have a good dedicated macro lens. But I was pretty pleased with the shots I got today, and had some more fun with the new Pioneer Woman actions.

 

Nothing done here but a little sharpening.

 

On this shot I used the Colorize action and reduced to opacity to about 50%.

 

 I ran the Fresh Color action on this one.

This is the Seventies action. It's really been a lot of fun playing around with these.

The Sunshine action.

Vintage.

 

Fresh Color.

This is for Picture Spring, the Awakening prompt for April 12. I ran the Colorize action again on this one.

And for today's prompt:  a soft focus. Sadly, my favorite shots don't match a prompt.

Sorry to overdose you on magnolias, but they are short-lived!

Adam is Thirty!

Today is Adam's 30th birthday. Have a fabulous day!

 

Here's the birthday card I sent him. It's a close copy of one I made for Matt's graduation last year and a lift from one I think I saw on Heather Nichol's blog.

All the materials are from Papertrey Ink except the buttons which came from my stash.

Birthday Road Trip

Two of my friends and I have birthdays within six weeks of one another. We decided to celebrate by taking a road trip on Saturday. We drove down the west side of Cayuga Lake, stopped at the Ithaca Farmer's Market (no great photos), and went on to Aurora. We had lunch at Pumpkin Hill and then visited the shop, grounds, and home at MacKenzie Childs.

Pumpkin Hill is a delightful restaurant.

The inside.

The food is wonderful, and there are so many special touches. Here are the menus.

 

Karen's salad came in a colander.

 

The dessert menu comes on an old rolling pin.

 

Another group of women were hosting a surprise birthday party. The table and the favors were really lovely.

 

 

I'd never been to the MacKenzie Childs Estate. Everything about it is beautiful. I love their products, although they are a bit expensive for my budget.

 

The shop.

 

And some photos of the beautiful setting for this place.

 

 

 

 

And one of the beautiful flowering trees. As you can see, it was a picture-perfect day!

 

Weekly Gratitude

 

Books

I love to read, but often don't give myself as much time as I need to keep up with the many books that are on my list, shelf, and on our book group agenda. Vacations always seem to be a great time for reading, and our trip to California was no exception. Two cross-country flights provide extended reading opportunities to say nothing of the layovers on the way. I've finished six books in the last several weeks, and enjoyed most of them.

My favorite was Little Bee. Sarah had a library copy on her table that she had not yet started, but after reading the back of the book I was intrigued. It is beautifully written and thought-provoking. I can't wait for Sarah and some of my friends to read it so we can talk about it.

The Help was also a compelling and interesting read. It was one of the fastest reads I've done in quite some time. I heard a very interesting discussion of this book on the Diane Rehm show a couple of weeks ago. I would characterize Love and Other Impossible Pursuits as a better than average "beach book." The story was not one that will stay with me, nor do I think it would be fodder for a good discussion, but it was an enjoyable vacation read.

The Middle Place has been on my shelf for over a year. Kelly Corrigan's You Tube video was sent to me by several friends, and I had seen a Border's interview with her as well. It's a memoir, one of my favorite genres, and well-written. I gave a lot of thought to father-daughter relationships as I read this book. My relationship with my father was certainly very different than Corrigan's, and I wondered how Sarah would describe her relationship with her dad which I see as much more like Corrigan's than mine.

The last two books are both books for our couples book group. Replay is a sci-fi, time travel book (definitely NOT my genre). I found it easy to get into, but mid-way found the plot a bit tedious. Tracy (who had already listened to it) encouraged me to keep going, and it did improve. Nonetheless, it's not a favorite, and I wouldn't recommend to anyone unless they enjoyed that kind of book. (I did like The Time Traveler's Wife, however.) The Saint on Death Row is another thought-provoking book. This was definitely worth reading, though I didn't find it as moving as Picking Cotton or True Notebooks (one of my all-time memorable books), two other prison stories that have stuck with me over time. It's a remarkable story of resilience and courage in the face of American injustice. A fair trial is something we think we all have a right to; this story proves otherwise. In a courtroom, money and power are far more important factors than your rights as an American. Sad story.

If any of these are familiar to you, I'd love to hear your thoughts about them.

Happy Mail and a Card

The big brown truck pulled up in front of our house this afternoon and left two copies of the new Papercraft magazine (May/June). Inside is my first published card. Interestingly, I did not submit it. It was one of three cards I created for a Moxie Fab challenge. Several months afterwards, I received an email from Cath Edvalson asking if I still had the card. Fortunately, I did, and here it is published. Quite exciting, actually, even though being published wasn't one of the things on my "To Do" list.

 

And here is a card for a challenge on Kim Kesti's blog, another sketch from the Go To Sketch magazine. This was a really quick card, but I like it a lot.

 

Cardstock: red and black from scrap file, PTI Kraft; patterned paper: Pink Paislee Bayberry Cottage 6X6 pad; sentiment:  Savvy stamps; flowers from stash; brad: Making Memories; Cuttlebug embossing folder; I drew the lines on the sentiment strip with the new "no bleed" Sharpie marker.