I Am Scrapbooking Again!

OSN: 2600m (1200m warm-up & 4 rounds of 8 minutes of 50s)

What Have I Done Lately?

To satisfy my curiosity?

I have been reading a lot lately. So many different avenues... Most recently I have finished Stubborn Twig - which has led to an interest in learning more about WWII and Asian Culture (predominately Chinese in an effort to cultivate my daughter's passion). I am currently reading Animal Vegetable Miracle - and though I am only about 2/3 complete, I am already questioning my own food choices. We will definitely be making some changes and eating more locally. I'll be posting more on this soon.

I have also recently come across a great website that enables readers to document the bunny trails or as they call them, Reading Trails, that we tend to follow as one book leads us to another and so on. I have started 2 such trails and look forward to adding to them as I proceed in my self-education. I encourage you to check it out. Here are the links to mine: Asian Culture & Immigration and Mindful Healthy Eating.

To feed my passions?

I have many passions. They ebb and flow. I teach. I read. I run. I swim. I write. I blog. I scrapbook. I learn. I grow.

To express my creativity?

I continue to express myself creatively by scrapbooking. However, I haven't done much scrapbooking lately - I am very behind. My girlfriend and I are embarking on another challenge - whom ever scrapbooks the least pages buys the other lunch! We start on the 10th - I'm looking forward to the challenge as it always motivates me.

The kiddos and I do a lot of art projects, however. We recently explored a new medium - polymer clay. It is time consuming but very fun. I look forward to doing more.

Additionally, I hope to express myself more in the kitchen - inspired by Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle. I would like give cheese making a try - as well as increase my forte with canning my own fruits and vegetables. My mother did a lot of canning when I was little. I have a pressure canner - I just need to jump in. :)

To put my skills to the test?

On Saturday, I participated in the 1-Hour Postal Swim Challenge. How far can you swim in 1 hour? A few months ago, I did a similar challenge (3000 Postal - Check!) and I completed it in just under an hour. Therefore, my goal for the 1-Hour was to hit at least 3200 yards. As we were out of town this past weekend, I wasn't able to swim in my regular pool... with my friends and teammates. Rather, I swam at a different pool - outdoors no less - with another team.
DH came along to time me and record my splits. It was great to have him along - an opportunity to see me swim competitively (with myself, anyway), to swim for health and fitness rather than for recreation at the lake or beach.

Unlike my home pool, I was able to see the clock each time I took a breath on the south side. This was certainly helpful in some respects... at the 30 min mark I asked, "What's my distance?" He replied, "1600." I then knew that if I maintained pace, I would hit my mark. The last minute or so, I gave it my all - really pushing to finish the last 50+... I touched the wall and stopped. Everyone yelled, "You got 5 seconds! Keep going!" I was out of steam. I thereby backstroked/breaststroked until I heard the cowbells ring.

I was delighted when DH told me I had just made it! Phew!

~~~

We ask this of our children, but what about ourselves?

Are we living the lifestyles we want for our children?

And if not, then what are we telling them with our example?

Your thoughts?

Godt nytt år!

Writer's Block...

Stacy isn't the only one suffering from writer's block... thus, I will post a scrapbook page I created long ago. I am really behind in my albums so I'm hoping this will help get my creative juices flowing. :DI hope everyone had a great weekend!

Why I Run

This layout isn't quite finished, but I'm excited to share it. To finish it, I want to put ink/paint on my shoe and stamp an image of the tread onto paper. I'll then scan that, extract the tread marks and insert the image diagonally across the page, beneath the previous layers. Some of the tread image will thereby be hidden but the toe mark will be beneath the title and the heal area will be below the journaling block. If that makes any sense at all...

I would love the opportunity to create a page or an album for you! I've created a few albums and pages for friends and family and could provide references. Please let me know if you are interested.

To Dos for Summer ~ Thursday Thirteen #21

1. Stay focused on training plan for the Portland Marathon (run 4x, swim 2x, cross-fit 4x)
2. Get caught up on my scrapbooks
3. Purge unused, unwanted stuff from attic, kids' rooms, my closet, etc.
4. Make minor repairs / improvements throughout the house
5. Camping - at least 3 times
6. Read, read, read (According to lists for Well-Educated Mind and Blogland Book Club)
7. Update personal journal
8. Publish blogs w/ Blurb --> Printed book
9. Finish all the sewing projects (hemming, alterations, etc.) that have piled up
10. Create hand-made gifts for Christmas (glass etching and penguins)
11. Pine-needle baskets for Etsy
12. Finish landscape improvements in the yard
13. Have fun!
    

A Berry Special Birthday

The daughter of a friend was approaching her 4th birthday when we celebrated Buddy's birthday with a dragon party. She told me she was planning on a Strawberry Shortcake party and I inquired if she would like me to make her a special cake. I showed her one in the Wilton magazine and she immediately took me up on the offer. What 4 year old wouldn't, right?
I didn't have all the required colors for tinting the frosting... so I improvised. I originally planned on mixing a little green and orange in an effort to get flesh tone but when Buddy came up to me as I was working to request a sippy cup of chocolate milk, I had a light-bulb moment. The frosting recipe called for milk... using chocolate milk to alter the color was brillant (at least in my mind)! I am certainly becoming more comfortable with my cake decorating skills to try something like that. ;DThe little princess was delighted and as her mom prepared the candles she said to me, "I just love my Strawberry Shortcake cake. Thank you." Her soft voice in appreciation made all the time that went into the cake worthwhile. "You are welcome, Sweetheart."

You Teach Me

Yet unfinished... but I wanted to show a little of what I did today... seeing as though it is snowing. I've figured out that this dismal weather is in part what is depressing me! I am SO ready for summer!

For Akshaye

I'm back! DH bought me the new Photoshop Elements 6.0 for Mac... the scrapbooking bug has returned. Here is the first layout I created with the new software:
Now that I am scrapbooking again... I have another distraction that may interfere with my training plan. I best be careful. :D

Itching to Scrapbook

I have been so eager to scrapbook but haven't been able since we got the Mac. I was running PS Elements 4.0 in Windows (we have Fusion on the Mac that allows us that capability) but shortly after we got it, there was a problem of some sort and the Windows programs had to be reinstalled. I told DH not to bother with Elements - it was slow in Windows anyway - and PS Elements 6.0 is set to be released later this month and so I'm holding out for the upgrade.

Helping to prepare dinner

My Little Mer-folk

Meanwhile, I have been collecting great photographs of my 2 favorite subjects and thinking of clever titles and page layouts. Come April, you can be sure to see many pages shared here.

Not Training but Staying Busy

I have thereby put my extra time to good use - I have started a new scrapbook project inspired by Ali Edwards. It is called Everyday Life and is super easy. She did all the work - I just upload my own photos. I can't wait to see the finished product!

Photoshop Elements 6.0 for Mac will be released in March. I'm anxious to get it and start scrapbooking again. I could use my laptop - but the screen is too small (I know - I'm spoiled now). I have so many layout floating around in my head.

I have started sewing again. I made several baby pouches for carrying little ones (the photo shows the one we used with our babies), a dress for Sweetie and I've repaired numerous pants and shirts. It has been a lot of fun. I miss this outlet. I am looking forward to doing more and most certainly entering some of my handcrafts into the county fair once again. Sweetie wants to learn as well. I love homeschooling!

I've also planned our next thematic unit for our homeschool - The Iditarod / Alaska. We are so excited about it because a local musher will be competing for her 3rd consecutive year! We hope to meet her someday. Perhaps the most exciting part is that on March 1st, we are going on a dog sled tour ourselves! I'll be certain to take photos and post them for you all. :)

I need to work on a few more time consuming projects - most importantly, renewing my teaching license (I need 12 college credits). I am hoping that I can get independent study history credit for our work as living history interpretors. I just need to write out a narrative to explain what we do, what we've learned, etc. It's busy work. Not a fun creative outlet so I keep putting it off.

My Scrapbook Albums ~ Thursday Thirteen

I believe that most are aware of my passion for creating scrapbooks. I have been collecting photographs, stories and memorabilia for as long as I can remember. I first discovered 'modern scrapbooking' in the summer of 2000. I wanted to document the years I'd spent as an elementary science specialist - a position I had come to love. I had found my calling - my true self. I wanted to grab onto the memories I had built and hold onto them forever.

I thereby began a quest to share my memories in an organized and yet, aesthetically pleasing way. My MIL had been subscribing to a number of scrapbook magazines and I had always been entranced by the colorful pages and the creative outlet this new hobby provided. I jumped in.

Over the years I have created countless pages. I have destroyed some of the earlier pages in effort to re-do them as my style has evolved. I've since learned NOT to do that... I've learned that even the early pages tell a story of who I am and where I've been. I've attended the Creating Keepsakes convention, taken scrapbook classes (both online and in local scrapbook stores), and even taught classes myself. The industry has grown and evolved over the years and I have grown and evolved right along with it.

I no longer consider myself a scrapbooker, however. Like many who enjoy this craft, the term scrapbooker doesn't completely fit me or what I do. Ali Edwards recently coined the term life artist as one who, most simply, captures life and creates art. When I first heard her use this term I thought to myself, "That's me!" I recently purchased her new book Life Artist and have been devouring every page since it arrived on my doorstep. "Life artists recognize that life consists of both good and bad, that our experiences are a sum of who we really are, that there is beauty in sharing authentic stories, even the so-called imperfect ones."

I have many, many albums. When I first started, I made only 12x12 pages. I love the square format and the incredible amount of space it provides. When the children started to pick up the albums themselves, I realized that the big 12x12 albums were too difficult, too heavy, for them to carry. In 2005, I thereby switched to all 8x8. I am starting to regret that decision. I kinda wish I had stuck with 12x12. The pictures are so much bigger. Bolder. I just keep repeating to myself, "It's okay." "Embrace imperfection." Soon, I will come to believe it (...at least I hope so).

Anyway, I thought I might document the albums/books that I have ... both in progress and completed (basically 13 main albums, hence my participation in T13 - I didn't count all the little 6x6 or accordion style albums). I have so many, I need another book shelf on which to display them!

Family Albums

• The first 3 volumes (1996 - 2004) are 12x12 and feature only DH and I as a couple (as well as extended family and friends) until Sweetie was born in Sept 2002. They are all chronological and include holidays and vacations.
• The fourth volume (2005 - 2007) is 8x8.
• The fifth volume will be 8 1/2 x 11 and will begin in Jan '08. I'm attempting to break out of my square box. :)

All About Me 12x12

Sweetie's Albums

• First Year (Sept '02 - Sept '03 / 12x12)
• Toddler Years vol. 1 (Oct '03 - Dec '05 / 12x12)
• Toddler Years vol. 2 (Jan '05 - Dec '07 / 8x8)
• Grade School Years (Jan '08 - ?? / 8x8)
  

Buddy's Albums

• First Year (Feb '05 - Feb '06 / 12x12)
• Toddler Years vol. 1 (Mar '06 - present / 12x12)

In 2005, I also opted to have separate albums for specific events like our annual camping trip to Indian Mary and other thematic albums. All are 8x8 unless noted otherwise.

• Hawaii
• Disneyland (12x12 because I couldn't find an 8x8 album I liked)
• Indian Mary
• Perspectives
  
• Oregon (unfinished)
• Family Legacy (my family history/genealogy album)
• Our Wedding
• Christmas (Santa - a little peek)
  
• Childhood Memories (Mud Lake - another peek)
  

I also have a few albums in mind that I would like to create sometime soon. I'll Keep Running. All About Him. His Childhood Memories. His Family Legacy. A Week in the Life. December Daily.

Can you tell, I love Ali's work?! I am continually inspired by her and I love her simple, graphic style.

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A Few New Scrapbook Pages

The Kiddos with Lightening & Matter at California Adventure

My brothers and I in 1989 ?

Sweetie's Adorable Toes

Check out the slideshow in the left side column for more! :D

I'm Excited!

I'm excited! I recently entered my post about Sweetie's Magical Fairy Adventure birthday party in a blog writing contest at Crazy Hip Blog Mamas. My entry was selected as the winner! My award? A free projector rental from Projector123.com. They stock projectors that are easy-to-use and arrive with a step-by-step guide to the set-up process. A 24-hour support line provides immediate technical assistance if needed. Fortunately, I need not utilize the prize immediately; I can take time to plan my party the right way. I am hoping to have a outdoor movie celebration in the early summer - perhaps as a part of my birthday in May. :D

To celebrate my win and share my happiness - I am also excited to participate in the Pay It Forward (PIF) exchange! Thank you, RadicalUnschooler, for the great idea! :D

I will send a handmade gift to the first three (3) people who leave a comment on this post requesting to join this PIF exchange.

The only thing you have to do, in return, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I'm sure most of my readers recognize that I am an avid scrapbooker. What you may not know is that I also enjoy making jewelry with beads, baking, etching in stone, creating biological illustrations (colored pencil, stippled ink, etc.), weaving pine needle baskets, and more.

So, if you're interested in receiving something I have handmade, leave me a comment and a similar post on your blog.

Enjoy! :D

Moon ~ Illustration Friday

I desperately desire to participate more regularly in the Illustration Friday challenges.... I can never seem to think 'outside' the box, however. And, even more so, seldom seem to have the time to sit down and actually draw. Illustrating takes so much more time than creating a scrapbook page in Photoshop. I think it's because I'm not very good at it and I'm a perfectionist. I get frustrated when I can't get the image I'm trying to protray to look just right. I spend a lot of time erasing... but more frequently, I don't even get started.

I have several 'nature journals' but few pages are actually done. I love the look of natural journals and suppose I don't work in mine because I fear I'll make mistakes. That it will look sloppy. Urgh. I really need to overcome this.

This week's theme is "Moon" - I first thought about the moon journal I started when I was teaching my 6th graders the moon phases and how the moon and sun's battle with earth causes our tides (it was a big unit that integrated many subject areas and incorporated a field trip). But, my sketches are rather dull. Mostly showing the phase of the moon in black and white. I'd love to create a new one with watercolor... hmmm.

So... I decided to go with Polinices lewisii or Moon Snail. A Gastropod that can be found in the low intertidal-subtidal region in sand/mud substrates along protected bays.

I found this one during my summer at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston, Oregon in 1997. They plough forward with their foot just below the surface of the sand or mud. When extended, their foot is much larger than their shell (up to 4x volume of their shell). Their large, muscular foot serves as a stable platform on shifting substrate, provides a large surface for locomotion and can fold into a grasping organ to hold prey.

They are a keen predator and can locate their prey (primarily clams and other snails) by scent. They hunt in a zigzag pattern and once prey is located, they grasp it with firmly with their foot while drilling a small hole in the shell of their prey.

When a Moon Snail approaches a clam, the clam will attempt to escape by extending its own foot in rapid succession and in effect leap across the substrate in one direction or another as fast as it can. I love demonstrating to classes of children how clams attempt to escape capture by these monstrous snails. I pretend to be a clam and sit hunched up in my shell all peaceful like. I have another student pretend to be the moon snail and approach me rather slowly. When it gets close, I spring into action and leap sideways across the room. The kids always erupt in laughter. I'm sure it sticks with them. :)

[Edited 30th July 2007 - image removed to conserve space]

Magical Fairies

DD loves anything with fairies. She has about a dozen tiny little fairy dolls (she prefers the small ones rather than the larger Barbie size dolls). Whenever we travel, the fairies are the one toy she insists to bring along (as well as colored pencils, a notebook for drawing, her fleece blanket with Princess Genevieve of the 12 Dancing Princesses, and her unicorn huggie).

Of course, she wants to have a fairy themed birthday party. I'm having a great time gathering ideas for her party and planning her costume. She wants to be Sunblossom from the Fairytopia Magic of the Rainbow movie. We've gathered a few things already (magic wand, an orange 2-piece bathing suit)... we just need wings, a tulle skirt, and a tiara.

Here's a rough draft of the invitation:

Could it be that I am having more fun than she?

As Requested

Here are a few of the scrapbook layouts I've done recently. I've been on a roll - partially due to a little challenge I have going with a girlfriend. Who can create the most layouts in one month? She is a traditional scrapbooker and uses paper product - whereas I create my pages digitally. Generally, in this manner, I am much faster so my handicap is 3 basic digi-layouts = 1 traditional paper layout.

If there is one that jumps out at you as particularly interesting or well done, please leave a comment to let me know. I will be selecting one to enter in our county fair next week. :)

The Instigator

I haven't posted any of my scrapbook layouts lately .... and a recent visit to my girlfriend, Lilli's blog inspired me to do so. She posted a fabulous layout she did of her niece. If you like Harry Potter, you'll love her page. Check it out!

My daughter and I each filled out 4 entries for our county fair coming up the first week in August. My entries are for the following:

1. Scrapbook Page
2. Digitally Altered Photograph
3. Pine Needle Basket
4. Photographs - Storytelling Category

I haven't yet settled on which scrapbook page I'll use... but this one is a strong contender. I'll post a few more and ask for your vote. All votes received will be entered into a random drawing. The winner will be awarded a 12x12 scrapbook page. :)

Wanna Cool Tshirt ??

I just created this image for a Tshirt and thought I would share. If you are interested in one of your own (with your own image, of course), let me know.

Camouflage ~ Illustration Friday

Hemigrapsus nudus or "Purple Shore Crab"

These small decapods are found in the middle-high intertidal region along the rocky shores of the Pacific. They prefer small rocks or gravel substrate and wedge themselves between larger boulders for protection when the tide has receded. In addition, they have a distinctively dark purple and reddish carapace that helps them to conceal themselves in the dark shadows, a perfect camouflage against its predators (most frequently seabirds). They make a distinctive clicking noise that is audible as you stroll along the intertidal.


Purple shore crabs and their shore crab cousins (Hemigrapsus oregonensus and Pachygrapsus crassipes) are very common residents of the intertidal and are commonly mistaken for one another as they share the same habitat. As the Hermigrapus nudus grows to around 5 cm, it spends the majority of its time feeding on algae and dead animals. Primarily an herbivore, they feed mainly on diatoms and green algae. However, as any scavenger, these crabs are essential in maintaining a stable habitat, by feeding upon other dead intertidal residents.

To see more participants in today's challenge, visit Illustration Friday.