the good witch

Just got to editing , and yes printing, this year's Halloween photos.
I absolutely LOVE this photo and cant wait to scrapbook it with the
some of the Basic Grey Erie line.

return of the mojo...

My photography muse has been filling in while my scrapbooking mojo has been on an extended leave of absense. My muse is apparently on vacation at the moment but mojo finally returned to work.

Did this page above last night after teaching a Basic's class. Love Sassafrass Lass!

Started the button tree last night. And came back this morning to finish it off. So inspired by gorgeous new shots of Kaylin.

Love this page, though it's really out of my norm. I'm not convinced I'm done with this one though. And none of these have any journaling yet.

This one I threw together using scraps left over from my october card class. I just need to figure out which photos I might use, then I can finish it.

what's up?

Going to Camera Club tonight... so much focus on photography in my life right now and I'm having so much fun with it.

A little bit of scrapbooking but nothing worth posting, the creative pool is shallow. I think all my creative energy is directed at photography at the moment. I'm working on it though.

Kaylin has started kindergarten, how cool is that.

Project 365 -2009

My friend Dave was telling me how he wants do to this 365 photography project. Where you take and post one photo you've shot each day of the year, in an effort to improve your skills and creative eye. He's attempted it before, but it's hard to stick with this kind of project. He was thinking about starting it again in January, but I figure there's no better time than today to start. This way we can be in a routine by the time January comes around and we will have no problem, and no pressure maintaining the project. Hopefully we will challenge each other to stay on top of it. Ha! we'll see. But today it begins...today is day 246 of 2009, so I'm going to deliver 119 daily photos...right here. Dave's photos can be seen here

check out these other 365 projects... here or here or here or here

I'll post later tonight, once I've had a chance to shoot...something...off to look at the world with new eyes...

all future project 365 posts will be made on it's own blog

re-do

Tyler from Tantrix Body Art re-covered my old tattoo with this awesome new one. A few more pages to do on this one as I have photos all the way throughout the process.

did this one a few weeks ago, pretty simple.

Bents, SK

Deb and I drove to Bents, SK an abandoned ghost town, for a photo field trip. We haven't done this together in a while. It was fun and it felt great to get out and play with my favorite toy. These are some of the shots I took.

my photos

fire in the sky


glad to bee busy


web slinger



kickin' it old school





right on the button





shooting star

boy card

a new dream based on an old love...

I'm most looking forward to the Renaissance Faire collection from Graphic 45 so I can work on the art journal I started a while back and I'm definetly going to be doing some lovely home decor items with the line...

It's kind of silly but my love and appreciation for Italian Renaissance art was inspired by a line from a movie I saw in grade 9 called The Pick Up Artist (1987) with Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey Jr. I'm sure I saw it with my best friend Colleen.

Jack (RDJ) says to Randy (MW): Did anyone ever tell you that you have the face of a Botticelli and the body of a Degas?

Actually he says this several times to several girls in this movie. So if you read my blog you already know I totally had this Molly Ringwald thing going on back in those days. Anyway, I just had to find out what a Botticelli and a Degas were. I knew they were artists, but at 14 I didn't know very much about art (now I always rock the catagory on jeopardy). The very next day, on my way home from school, I headed downtown to the main branch of public library in Edmonton for some art history research (no google back in them days). I immediately fell in love with the work of Botticelli, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Raphael. I was in that library for hours, then days, pouring over art books (so very unusual for me, although it's posible I even skipped classes for this). I suppose that it makes sense since it compliments my love of ancient Greek and Roman history and culture. I have my Grade 6 teacher Mr. Wyman to thank for that.

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Two of my favorite Botticelli paintings:

The Birth of Venus

Primavera

Degas, I was not impressed by (lol). But then the French Impressionists just aren't my style.

Incidentally one of my favorite classes from university was Greek Classics. My prof. from that class owns a great little Microbrewery, called Paddock Wood, located right behind my store. Their Black Cat Beer is excellent and I believe they have a Mayan Chocolate beer too.

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So now that I've been thinking about it I've come to the realization that I must make it my goal travel to Italy, Greece and France before I turn 45... theme of the journal perhaps... i think so!

I'm gonna catch up eventually... really

a few more pages that I started months ago and then put away not unfinished...well now they're done!

life is so confusing, just when you think you have it all figured out and think your traveling down the right road you wind up detoured in the middle of no where with a flat tire.

When you wish upon a star...

haven't scrapbooked in forever so here's a few Disney pages I did earlier this year

blast from the past

I created this page about 6 years ago with a copy of disintegrating, faded photo of me from '93 (that's 1993 not 1893). It was my first attempt at the vintage distresed look, which was NEW at the time and I'd like to re-do it.

I would love it if the photographer could score me a new 5x7 print (hint hint)

this is the other one I would love a new copy of...

tiny dancer

Never Smile at a Crocodile was their dance number and they were oh so adorable

Take a bow sweetheart you were awesome!

everyday is an adventure

June has been a busy month, but then again aren't they all...

Pre-School Graduation

Dance Recital

(whoops that card hasn't been loaded on my computer yet)

Road trip to Edmonton with Mom

to take a Heidi Swapp class

made a 15 page 8x8 India Travel album for Kaylin's Teacher (which i remembered to snap photos of just before i gave it to her)

Celebrated Just Scrap It's 10th anniversary

a week of make n'takes @ the art bar

moved, ripped out carpet, cleaned, laid a tile floor, cleaned, boxed up junk, arranged and re-arranged furniture, cleaned some more (i don't take pictures of EVERYTHING)

I gotta say a huge thanks to Kate {I LOVE you and I hate you for} for posting this:

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well..
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! (put a plate under the mug)
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT and Enjoy! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).
And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

Seriously this is really good for 5 minutes and in the microwave. I have made this far more times than I should have since I discovered it. My waistline is proof! Blasted chocolate dependency. Of course I felt obliged to pass it on... i dare you

Balance

May:
1 little girl + 2 different preschools + Dance Class= 5 different field trips, 3 mommy helper days, 1 Mother's Day Tea Party, 1 Kindergarten meet n' greet, 1 costumed photo session, 15 pink sponge rollers, 3 dress rehearsals, 1 major dance production and a partridge in a pear tree all going down during "work hours" of course. Thank the stars my work schedule is flexible, sheesh how do other working moms do it?

Not that I'm complaining. I happily do it all for this little girl of mine, and more.

Fun news, right after Kaylin's Dance recital on the 30th Deb and I are off to Edmonton for a retailer's workshop with Heidi Swapp, plus a little shoppping!
I'd say that Balances things nicely.

feels like spring

What a fabulous weekend, ok Sunday was fabulous. Started the day with a trip to Costco all by myself, you know what that means?? I actually got to ummm browse, linger in the book section, actually check out the 80% of the store I skip over when I have the family in tow. Not sure why but Costco with my family always seems especially umm challenging for some odd reason, so we often avoid it. Anyway after Costco we all went for a nice long bike ride and played at the park. When we returned home, I opened up all the windows and doors, no screens {it felt so liberating} and let the breeze blow through the house while I made a batch of Gluten Free chocolate chip cookies. When I just couldn't stand to stay indoors any longer I started cleaning up my flower beds. My tulips and hyacinth bulbs have started popping up already. Spring is here?!?

opinionated

Well it's over, and I'm glad. I finished Eclipse last Thursday night and picked up the fourth and final book in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn on friday after work. I read, and read and read until Sunday night just after supper, I finished it (I took breaks to take care of the basic needs of my family and for sleep). Whew! Kev thought I should read much slower a little each night, savouring each chapter, making it last. I'm just not that kind of reader, I dive in and devour. Now that I'm done the series, at least I'll be able to think about something else (maybe). I loved the series, might have loved it more if it were written for an adult audience, but that didn't detract from the overall story. The story definitely sucked me in and kept me reading, the characters were well developed, sympathetic and love able. After awhile the whole Jacob, Bella, Edward triangle just got to be too much as did the fairytale romance between Ed and Bella ( a few gag me moments). The ending felt a little rushed (despite being 734 pages), the final conflict slightly disappointing, but it finished with a nice little happily ever after. By the time I got thorough the final book, I was ready for it to be over. Not because I wanted it to be over, but because I couldn't stop obsessively thinking about it/them when I wasn't reading.
After I finished the series Kevin and I watched the movie and I gotta say... I didn't love it.





Jennifer, I read the back cover of A Thousand Splendid Suns and thought to myself, ugh do I really want to spend a week in Afghanistan?? even for a good story? I don't think I'm in a good place for "heart wrenching" anyway. Lighthearted and fun is what I'm after for literary diversion these days.