random reflections

Project 64: Guest Blogger

 

I'm so honored to be a Guest Blogger at Project 64 today. You can find my captures for Olive Green here.

 

In Appreciation

It's that time of year here to express appreciation for all the work people do throughout the school year. Although I no longer have kids in school, I'm still involved with the Youth Ministry program at our church and have become the designated creator of gift card holders. The first batch I made with the new Papertrey Ink die "Seed Packet" after I saw these darling ones at Lime Doodle. The papers are all from MME's Lime Twist "Fly a Kite" paper pad. Bright and cheerful, and good for both men and women. I cut the Fillable Frames #11 die and then stamped it with the coordinating frame. The sentiment came from Autumn Abundance, all Papertrey Ink products.

Then I made another set which I posted on the Scrap-Mart blog. These were cut on my Silhouette which makes short work of  projects like this. You can cut two at once from an 8.5X11 piece of cardstock. I used papers from October Afternoon's Campfire papers, labels from the same line, and stamped them with a sentiment from Heartfelt Creations. On these I added a bit of ribbon.

Both sets are cut from two-sided papers so the inside is pretty cute, too.

Thanks!

I have two thank you cards to share tonight. The first one is for two challenges, first a "fruity" challenge at the Simon Says Challenge blog and also for this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink. It's been a few weeks since I've been able to play along there, and I've missed it. The technique this week is rock 'n roll stamping. You can check out the video here.

I stamped the bunch of grapes (Fruit Fusion: Grapes--Papertrey Ink) first with Lavender Moon ink and then "rolled" it in Memento Grape Jelly ink. (How appropriate is that?) I painted on some Glossy Accents to give the grapes dimension and finished it off with the sentiment from the same set. The cute paper is from the MME's Lime Twist "Happy Go Lucky" paper pad and the ribbon is from my stash. The premade card is from Memory Box. I love these cards because they have a white inside which makes it easy to write your note.

The next card isn't for any challenge. I had some scraps laying around on my desk a week or so ago, and decided to put them to good use. It's always good to have thank you notes in your stash.

 

Cardstock: Pure Poppy (PTI); Patterned paper: Circa 1936 (Cosmo Cricket), journaling card (Jeni Bowlin); flower (Prima), sprayed with Mr. Huey mist (Studio Calico); star pins (Maya Road), one colored with Copic R29; die: small scallop (PTI); rick rack from stash.

One Layer Framed

I needed a thank you note, so I thought I'd join in at Less is More with this week's challenge for a one layer card with a framed image. The Friendship Jar series at Papertrey Ink has several wonderful flower images that are easy to adapt to a frame. The last time I used this technique I used the tulips, this time I picked the daisies. Mine in our garden are budded, but not quite in bloom yet. They're one of my favorities because they bloom for a long time, and last a long time in a vase.

This is my second post today. You can find my shots for Project 64 here.

Cardstock: X-Press It Blending (Copic)
Stamps: Friendship Jar Additions, Framed, Take Three: Summer (Papertrey Ink)
Copics: Y15, Y17, YG 93, YG 95, YR 24, E 09
Ink: Memento, Chamomil Tea Dye (Papertrey Ink)

 

Project 64: Timberwolf

This has been an interesting color. My husband and I have been walking every morning in Highland Park and a couple of mornings I've taken my camera and colored card with me on our walks. When I threw the card on this bench, it was a near perfect match.

And it's not a bad match with Brooke's sample, though it tends to be a bit more brown. And that's how several of the photos looked when they went up on the computer.

These, however, are a perfect match with my colored card, but seem a bit gray with the swatch above. It's a puzzle.

A light pole. I'd never give this a second glance on an ordinary day, but the texture is quite interesting.

The squirrel's fur around his neck is a good match and so is the bench behind him.

A rock wall along someone's garden.

And the rocks and the flowers, my favorite.

DYI Smashbook

I said I wouldn't (twice, even), but I broke down and made a Smashbook, and I'm already glad I did. I first saw this on Rinda's blog and then on Mel's. Both times, I said, "not me." But after watching some of the videos linked on Rinda's blog and the Counterfeit Kit site, I had an idea for a somewhat different version to meet my somewhat different needs. So here it is. I decided I wanted a three-ring version so I could add, subtract, and move my pages around. I started with a lovely binder that I bought nearly five years ago, and never found a good use for. I kept the cover simple, add some American Craft Thickers and stickers from my stash. (In the spirit of the Counterfeit Kit Challenge, all the supplies were from my stash.)

Then taking a selection of bright, cheerful Papertrey Ink papers, I created dividers and tabs. The tab punch I had was way too big, so I die cut six tabs from a Nestability Labels Eleven die, and adhered them to the back of the dividers. Most of the divider headings came from one of the Smashbook videos.

Next I raided my stamps for images that seemed to fit the divider topics. Inspired (Stampers Anonymous; Labels--Jeni Bowlin):

Jotted (Take Note-Papertrey Ink; Alice in Rubberland; Stampa Rosa):

Saved (Odds & Ends--Tim Holtz; Daily Junque--Pink Paislee);

Photo Tips with an Ansel Adams quote (A Girl & Her Camera--Unity):

 

Quoted (Labels--Jeni Bowlin; Daily Junque--Pink Paislee; Take Note--Papertrey Ink):

And Random (Freestyle--Teresa Collins; Postage--Papertrey Ink):

The notebook came with lined paper, but my favorite paper is graph paper so I cut and punched a lot of graph paper to use as well. I stampd a few pages and added some quotes to get started. (Stamps: Insightful Meadows & Authentic Man; Kit of the Month--Unity)

And then look what showed up in this month's Studio Calico kit. I'm sure I'll be able to incorporate some of this into the notebook as well.

One of my reasons for creating the notebook this way was to have a place to record information I don't want to forget. I always carry a tiny Moleskin notebook in my purse and keep one by my computer. I have two filled notebooks and need to go through them to see what I need to hold onto. I'll just add the information in the correct section. Today when I started going through the beautiful cards on the Papertrey June Release blogs, I started a page in the Inspiration section with ideas for little details to include on cards. Here's a look at one of them.

So thanks, Mel and Rinda, for giving me the inspiration to get organized.

Kent Weakley Course Review

My resolve about not taking more classes vanished in an instant when I saw that Kent Weakley was offering his night photography class this month. I’ve wanted to take this class since I first read about it last November. I think I can count on one hand the night shots I’ve taken that worked out well. But as much as I wanted to take the class then, I knew I was unlikely to venture out in the cold at night. Now the weather is perfect for night photography and Kent’s class begins tomorrow. Earlier this spring I took Kent’s e-class on composition, so now I am even more excited about this new class.

Kent’s classes work a bit differently than other online photography classes I’ve taken. Rather than getting a new lesson once or twice a week, you get access to all the lessons and galleries when the class begins. For the night photography class, there are 15 lessons and student galleries in the course, and you have 60 days to go over the material, get your shots, and post in the galleries for comments. The course material is presented so you can copy and paste the lessons into a document and refer back to it, even after the class is completed. I read and reread the lessons in the composition class, looked at the photos in the student gallery and learned even more by reading Kent’s comments about the student photos. There’s a good video and description of the Night Photography class here.

I’ve done a lot of reading about composition so there wasn’t a lot of brand new material in Kent’s composition class, but it was presented in a way that helped me internalize the principles of composition. I got lots of time to practice on our recent road trip. Despite the fact that I wasn’t feeling all that great, every time I picked up the camera I automatically started thinking about composition. There are a lot more photos from this trip that need no cropping, and to my mind, are well-composed. Kent repeatedly reminded us that we are responsible for everything in the photo! If you see something you don’t like, don’t just take the shot and hope to photoshop it later, do something about it in the field. I found that almost every time, I could improve the composition before I took the photo. The other noticeable improvement I’ve seen is in the responses I get from the photo critique I attend once a month at a local photography gallery. I’m also better able to look at others’ photos and see the compositional elements that make a photo great. Kent’s blog is a gold mind, too, if you’re looking for great advice on a wide variety of photographic topics. His short, concise videos are winners!

A couple of my favorite photos from the trip were posted here, but I’ll leave you with a couple others I like as well.

The Pacific Coast

Denver Botanic Gardens

The Pacific from the Hearst Castle

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger

I just loved this Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab this week. I think I'm too late to post it over there, but by the time I realized I'd missed the deadline, I was well into making this card. (Edited to add: It seems I wasn't too late, the linky was still active, and I've already had a comment!)

The blue is a bit different but as close as I could get with the inks I have, but I think this Hero Arts background stamp mimics the beautiful floral design in this bedroom.

Supplies:
Stamps: Classic Fabric Design (Hero Arts), Year of Flowers Collection (PTI)
Cardstock:  Neenah Solar White, Blueberry Sky (PTI)
Die:  Labels Four (Spellbinders)
Pearls:  Amuse Creative Candy
Ribbon from stash

 

Project 64: Salmon

 

Like several others who have posted before me, this was one of the hardest week's yet. I didn't seen anything quite this color all week, although now as I type this I think my tee shirt would be a pretty close match. Oh well, I went with two photos from our recent trip, both of which look pretty close when I hold my colored square up to the monitor. They look a bit dull compared to the logo for the week, however. The flowers this hummingbird is after are a good match although the light was a bit bright.

And here are the beautiful colors of the Painted Desert.

I hope next week's color is a bit easier!

Book Reviews

Ever since Rinda published her summer reading list, I've been meaning to do a book review post. Over the last several months, I've read several excellent books and thought I'd share them. I'm not going to write a long summary of each, but I will add the links to the Amazon reviews. If you click on the book it will take you there.

I didn't read this on my Kindle but I posted that image since it was the cover of the one I read from the library. When I was in my 20's and 30's I read most of what Ernest Hemingway wrote. I especially loved A Moveable Feast about his years in Paris. This is a fictionalized account, most of it told in his first wife's voice, of their marriage and the years in Paris. It was a quick and enjoyable read with lots of little details about Paris in the 1920's and the literary greats who lived there.

I did read this on my Kindle, and my requirement for an e-book is that it be compelling and easy to pick up if you don't read it every day. This certainly fit the bill. If you've read The Glass Castle, this book is the same gene, a story of beating the odds when you are born into a truly disfunctional (but nonetheless loving) home. I heard Liz Murray interviewed on PBS and knew right away I wanted to read this book. I wasn't disappointed.

This is our current book group book. We'll be discussing it next week. It'a memoir about a boy who grew up in Malawi. His fascination with physics and the great needs of his village compel him to build a windmill from spare parts he finds over time in a junkyard. But the story is more than that; the description of the famine in Malawi is heartrendering. This is another book about the resilance of the human spirit as well as one of a very inventive mind!

Sarah recommended this series of mysteries to us. I've read just the first in the series. I think Sarah has finished four of them and my husband has finished the first three. Maisie is a dectective in London. The series begins just after the first World War, and much of this book is Maisie's back story that takes place during the first World War. This was a very quick read. I like mysteries, but I especially liked this one because of the historical background and details of the time.

Jennifer Haigh will be one of the speakers at the 2011-2012 Arts and Lectures series here. I needed a book for the Kindle for our flight home last month and this was perfect. I could barely put it down. It's fiction, and the narrator is the sister of a priest in Boston who has been accused of child molesting. It's a riveting story of a blue-collar family from South Boston as well as a look inside the workings of a Catholic church and diocese.

I

I finished this book yesterday afternoon. It was one of the most profoundly moving books I've read in a long time. Little Bee comes to mind as the last book I read that was so moving (although some of my friends did not like that novel at all). Both books had sections that were very disturbing and hard to read. This book has a more hopeful ending, however. This is another author I heard interviewed on PBS, and it's worth listening to if it's on podcast somewhere. The narrator is a five year old boy who has been living since birth with his mother in captivity. The captor is a mean-spritied, evil man who abducted the mother at age 19 and has kept her locked up in a room he built in a shed in his backyard. It's based on a true story (but totally fictionalized) that took place in Ireland, but there are too many stories like this woman's here as well.

So what's on my list for the summer? It's a short list. We'll be away again this summer, and yesterday we signed a contract for a new kitchen. If all goes well with the local planning board, the demolition will start late this summer as well. I started Caleb's Crossing last night. I already know I'll like this book. It's by Geraldine Brooks; her People of the Book is one of my all-time favorite reads. I have Cutting for Stone on my Kindle, and I've read about 150 pages of the 688 pages. My friend, Peter, who we visited in Tucson (a former member of our book group) said it was the best book he'd ever read. It's been on my radar for a long time, but I never put in on my short-list because of its length. I'm glad it's there now; it will take me awhile to finish it, but it's exceptionally well-written and fascinating. Our book for July's book group is Freakonomics, not a book I would choose to read, but that's why I love my book group. I'm guessing that will be it for me this summer, although I do have a cross-country flight again for our summer trip. That's always good for a lot of reading time.