..:: number four ::..

Hello Friends! I am up on the Paper Issues Blog today with a layout I made for the Piece of Cake Challenge over in the Paper Issues {Friends & Fans} facebook group! For this layout I chose to use Amy Tangerine's Picnic in the  Park collection and some photos of my daughter's birthday cake from 2013!  Here is a look at my project:

B. said she wanted a Batman Rainbow cake. So she got it. I cannot believe I haven't ever scrapped these photos. She was very into making silly faces at the time.  Here are a few close ups:

 I love working with a basic grid design! I used lots of papers to layer behind my photos -- I was going for ALL THE COLOR!  Rainbows everywhere!

I made a video of my process, if that's something that suits your fancy!

You can find this and all of our current challenges in the May Challenges album in our Facebook Group. You have plenty of time to participate. Play along until May 31, for a chance to win a gift card to the Paper Issues Store. Shop the store using the code OrangeGearle for 20% off your purchase.

Thank you so much for stopping by and I will see you again soon! XO o.g.

~ b's new boots ~

B's new boots (full name is blurred)

This one came together so quickly (and I never get to say that)!  As soon as I saw these photos that my One True Love took with his phone on B's birthday, I knew they would make it to a page!  I didn't want it to be about the birthday -- this is all about the boots (but I did stick a '"no. 3" in there, all sneaky-like -- I also hid the journaling in the striped bag behind the photo)!

Last year my daughter went to a daycare that is really close to our house.  This year she goes to a daycare that is really close to work.  On Fridays at work we can leave about an hour earlier than the rest of the week, which is AWESOME!  Last year I used to come home and work on processing photos or scrapbooking for an hour or so, and then go pick up B.  This, because of the daycare change, that's really not realistic.  Soooo....a work friend and I decided that we would take advantage of our Fridays and bring some things to work and have our own little mini-crop!  This past Friday was the first of these days and that is why I got this one done so quickly.

A while back I started a notebook to help me with the memory keeping process. The whole idea of it was to write down the stories that I wanted to tell.  Often times I put the date of the photos, a description and then the text that I think I will use.  It's evolved into a place to practice a technique (here I was practicing doodling), get a sketch idea down (I ended up using this one, but flipped it because my arrow stamp went the other way), practice my journaling, and I also document all the supplies that I use so it's easier to blog.  

Even though it came together much more quickly than usual, it was not without it's problems/mistakes.  When I used the mask a second time, I was left with a giant blob of mist at the top (hate that) and I felt like you could really see the line where I extended the masking.  But I went with it (after I pouted a bit).  This is a good thing for me.  It think that sharing my disappointment on instagram helped!  In the end, I added a bit more to the giant blob and just decided to roll with it.

One of my favorite parts of this layout is the flower on the journal spot above.  I used an exactoknife and cut the bottom part so that I could put the flower over the photo.  Love that!

I added a few items, but most of the supplies came from the August Scrapbook Circle Kit :: True Stories. Among the added items is this lovely flair button from aflairforbuttons. All items are linked below.

I searched high and low for some alphas, including JoAnns, Michaels, and our LSS.  Boo!  I couldn't find a thing I liked (however Michael's was having a 50% off sale that was a surprise to me; a lovely, lovely surprise.  There were purchases, just not alphas for this.).  So, I actually used my cricut (I've been so addicted to thickers that I haven't used it in a while), cut out the letters, added a bit of 3D tape and called 'er done!  The letters standing out like this...well, it just makes me happy (I also did the same with the arrow)!

This is one of those layouts that I love -- it was fast, the ideas came to me easily, not too many mess ups that I couldn't live with, and I like the final product.  My Soul Mate saw it as I finished and he also gave his nod of approval.  Bonus!

~ she's three ~

We had a rock and roll birthday party yesterday.  Today she is officially three.

Yep, that's a real guitar (and yep, I said three, not thirteen)

B's amp on the left, daddy's on the right

I made a cake to match

A good day was had by all.

I bought balloons for the kids to take home at the end of the party.  The purple one, for Mikaela is still in our house.  She was missed.  When we only needed three chairs at the kid table, she was missed.  We miss her so.

~ quick update ~

Just a quick post to show that I am still around!

Last year I tried my first 365 project over on flickr.  If you aren't sure what that is, it is exactly what it sounds like -- 365 days of photos.  One year taking at least a photo a day and posting it to flickr for the group and anyone else to see.  It was right about this time of year last year that I FAILED.    But it wasn't a total fail.  I didn't finish the 365, so in that sense, I failed.  However, I grew as a photographer (eww, I hesitate to call myself a "photographer", it sounds so accomplished or something.  Mostly, I'm a mom who takes photographs). My goals for the 365 was to get better at taking photos (check), take more and better photos to scrapbook (check) and document our lives (check), so in that sense, I didn't fail.

I started another 365 this year, with some of the same lovely virtual friends that I met during my last attempt, and I even added a few more friends along the way.  I started the year off strong, but I haven't been doing so well lately! I'm still going.  I even made it through Mikaela's accident without missing a day.  My photos aren't always so great, and almost always playing catch up with posting them, but I'm still going.  I really want to do this - I want to finish something!

School has started, which means I'm back to work full time, for real, no exceptions, no flexibility, and lots to do. I'm glad for the structure of the day, it helps my mental state.  This is such a busy time!  B (who's 'getting bigger') will turn three on Monday!  I hope to talk about that more in my next post -- but the birthday party, at our house, is this weekend!  Exciting, and busy!

Here are a few photos that have made it into my 365 collection over the last few weeks:

~ summer ~

~ into the sun ~

~ it's a double ~

~ orchid buds ~

~ fun at the fair ~

~ five things ~

1.  I wrote on my first photo.  Ali Edwards and Elise Blaha Cripe do it all the time, so I tried it.  It worked.  Here's a sneak peak:

2.  I am participating in a One Little Word Blog Hop on March 1st.  Please stop back to see where my word has taken me this month!

3.  I've been loving instagram lately!!

4.  I bought a new printer so that I can print photos in the sizes that I want (even those instagrams and hipstamatics from the iPhone).  I will still get most of my photos at Walgreens or Snapfish, but this will be nice when I need something a little different than a 4x6, 5x7 or 8x10 -- and I don't want to take the time to make it work in photoshop!

5.  I have a knack for not finishing things.  Part of the problem is that I see the world through orange colored glasses, which is sometimes a bit too optimistic.  ;-) I frequently bite off more than I can chew!  On flickr alone I've failed a 365, two color groups and, most recently, a December in Photos group!!  But I have officially completed something!  Good or bad, it's done!  I present to you, February's Alphabet Fun 2012:

Click on a title if you like to see a photo bigger.  :-) 1. ~ a is for apples ~, 2. ~ b is for breakfast ~, 3. ~ c is for contagious ~, 4. ~ d is for drinks ~, 5. ~ e is for enjoying the iPad with elmo ~, 6. ~ f is for fork ~, 7. ~ lime light ~, 8. ~ h is for hearts ~, 9. ~ i is for instrument ~, 10. ~ j is for jazz ~, 11. ~ k is for king of hearts ~, 12. ~ l is for living ~, 13. ~ b. my baby ~, 14. n is for no valentine, 15. ~ o is for operation ~, 16. ~ p is for pre-performance shot ~, 17. ~ quaternary quarters ~, 18. ~ red rose ~, 19. ~ sneakers ~, 20. ~ textual textures ~, 21. ~ unfinished ~, 22. ~ volume at eleven ~, 23. ~ white winter (with a little red) ~, 24. x is for x-treme biking, 25. ~ y is for yawn ~, 26. ~ zero ground clearance ~ #thehereios

~ mostly photos ~

Just a quick post to share some photos that I like from  the last week and a half or so.  The first comes from Christmas Eve at my folks.  This is my mother, B., and my granddaughter, M., waving out the door as SANTA left!  Yes, my mother arranged for Santa to visit the girls on Christmas Eve!!!  She's amazing!  Shortly after this photo was taken, Bea yelled, "Bye Santa....hey...yook at the yights!"  She really wanted Santa to see Grandma's outdoor Christmas lights!

The next three are from Christmas Day at the other grandma's house.  The first is B. looking at her new dollhouse!  She loves it!  We are working on finding a way to get it to our house so that she can play with it more often (it's so big, we really don't have the space).  

Did you know that the next Olympic sport is nearly-naked iPadding?  ;-)  This is a sight frequently seen in our home, however this shot was captured on Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Cousins, all on iPads, the younger brother more concerned with what his older brother is doing than with the iPad itself (as is usually the case).

Below you will find days 2 and 3 of my 365 adventure (I shared day one here).  I must admit that I am already just taking random, unplanned shots that may or may not work!  That's not a good start to the year!  Day two was going to be me standing on my piano bench in brightly colored socks and PJ bottoms.  However, B kept climbing onto the bench!  So, for the first Bench Monday of the year (and photo 2/365), I submitted a black & white of B's tiny toes.

2/365

Tuesday was my first day back at work and it was long and busy (and the alarm clock was not welcome)!  The three of us went grocery shopping after work and I snapped this "number" shot for the We're Here! flickr group that I am a member of.  As it was my only shot of the day, it is also my day 3 of 365.  There is something about this iPhone shot that I do like.  It could be better, but the green and numbers make me happy in some way.  :-)

3/365

OLW update.  I decided to use the photo of my necklace as my title page for my One Little Word book.  After going back and forth about using PSE for the word "balance" or printing it without the word and adding some sticker alphas, I (think I) settled on the PSE version.  For some reason when I upload this photo it looks like the necklace is gold, but it is silver.  Not really sure why.  :-(  Anyway, a funny story.  I went to pick up my photos and Walgreens and they questioned if this was a photo that I took or if it was professional.  It even had "pro release" written on the front of the envelope, questioning if I needed a release from the professional that took the photo.  I know that it is just because of the overlay, but I still said, "Thank you" when he said that it looked professional!

In the same vain, a few weeks ago I received a flickr email from Getty Images, asking if I would like to license some of my photos (chosen by them through my flickr photostream) for commercial use.   Getty Images is an "invitation-only service for Flickr members to license their photos for commercial use" (quote from the email).  They found six photos in my my photostream that they thought I should license.  I had to fill out a bunch of forms (W2-type stuff) and I still need to get releases for five of the photos (because they have people in them) before they can be placed on their website for sale.   I didn't do much with it until the last week or so, but one of my photos (that didn't need a photo release because there are no people) is currently "for sale", which just cracks me up. 

4/365

Finally, today is Gwamma's birthday.  Among other things, Gwamma got soft pink jammies for her birthday and I got photo four for my 365 project.

~ happy birthday (a week late) ~

Last Saturday our baby turned two! And boy is she two! It has been so much fun watching her grow and change over the last two years. I can't believe the leaps and bounds in language development over the last few months. The latest funny is that she is adding "honey" to everything. We first noticed it Thursday night when she was telling us she was thirsty, "More milk, Honey."!

Kids started back to school on the 18th, and we also didn't have our regular daycare provider on that day and several days following because she was out of town. We knew in advance, but the lack of a regular routine and schedule does tend to throw everything off. My mom was able to babysit her 3 of the 4 days (thanks Mom!), and Charlie stayed home the first day. Friday, the 19th my mom (thanks, again) took her to the doctor -- pink eye. But she seemed fine on her birthday. Here are a few picks from the day, more on flickr.

The loot:
I made a presonalized Elmo birthday banner with my Cricut!
B.'s first look at the presents!
Shock and awe over the whole thing.
We probably could've just purchased balloons for the kids. We had a hard time getting her to open her presents!

The Elmo cake!


Never leave home without it...

Eating like all princesses, right?
And then she licked rocks for dessert!
Sunday we recovered. Monday night she threw up all night (I'm sure it wasn't related to the rock eating). Then Charlie and I got it. We are still recovering!!