January 2014 | New Beginnings

Hello 2014!

As a new year begins, I've got to get really choose-y about new photo projects to work on through the year. My main photo project this year is to continue Project Life and continue the daily picture-of-the-day practice of collecting photos and stories for my album(s).

But first, a little back-story.

I began Project Life in 2008 when it was Project 365.  I breezed through that year easily, and each of the subsequent years got tougher. Here I am six years later. My 2013 book was current until June.  Then all hell broke loose.  I became a Grandma!  So, naturally I took on the big project of his baby book. Wouldn't it be great to document the first-year-of-his-life?  Oh Grandma, what a great idea! 

ACH!! I'M BEHIND!  I've spent the last few days of 2013, desperately trying to catch up.  I've got lots of notes and a calendar, so everything is preserved, it's just a matter of getting it in the book.

Additionally, I've already purchased my 2014 album and I got the midnight kit as a Christmas gift.  They sit waiting.  Staring at me.  Beckoning.

I will be looking for a better way to keep up with Project Life in 2014.  I may go solely with iPhone photos.  An iPhone and two cameras is just too much.

I'm also researching apps.  I wish I were in the app business.  I'd be rich.

I did see this one recently. It's called Flipagram and it's FREE! It collects photos from your phone, your Facebook feed, and your Instagram feed.  Puts it all nicely into a short, sweet video. You can also put your own music to it.

My first try is a look back @ 2013.

Swoon.

My year in pictures. Makes me cry. I am blessed.

Oh, am I gonna use this for 2014...

For now...I'm back to printing pictures. 

Project Life - Weeks 10 & 11

I am publicly giving up the notion that I can ever be caught up.  Just isn't gonna happen.  I am freeing myself from the pressure of deadlines.  Oh, I feel better already! 

Here's Week 10:

...and Week 11:

Nothing special to note..however I am still adding several design cuts made with my Silhouette machine.  The heart paw print is hand cut from printed scrapbook paper.   I have decided to mount some of my embellishments on the outside of the page protector instead of on the photo (never know what may/not happen to the photos in the future, but I want to preserve their integrity).

I'm beginning to see a couple of trends:

1. Lots of Gracie pics.  She's such a willing subject.
2. I do like to color coordinate!

I think that wherever we are in the PL journey, is the right place to be.  In case you're wondering, this is where I'm at:

Completed & Shared: Weeks 1-11
Completed & Not Shared:
Journaling: through Week 11
To Fill: Weeks 12,& 13
Pictures to Print: Weeks 12 &13
I'm Busy Living Week:  14

Done & documented!  Moving on...

Project Life - Weeks 7 & 8

Okay, so I am still a little behind.  I had planned to get this posted and caught up, but with the end of the blog hop, it has just taken me a while to get it posted.

Week seven was Valentine's week...so lots of redness.

Bill and I still exchange Valentine's.  I love that about us.  And, since I received my order of plastics on the 23rd (I had been waiting ever so patiently), I thought it would be great to keep the cards love notes that we exchanged and used one of the new 6" x 12" page protectors (I call them half-ers).

The Notes and the heart/love you (a freebie here) were cut from my Silhouette.  I like the look of the half-er from the front, but not quite sure about how it looks when you turn the page.  I'm leaving it alone for the time being, but I may come back and add something to the top.

Week 8...pretty plain jane.

However, I did cut a 4" x 6" photo down and mounted it on one of the title cards along with some cute Mardi Gras Jolee's embellishments.

{Observations} is also a Silhouette cut from a travel kit (get it here).  Other than that, pretty darn simple.  Love that about Project Life.

Project Life Weeks 4, 5 & 6

I'm almost there!  I've been working feverishly to get caught up.  Just 10 days left and I'll be current.  Whoop.  Whoop.

Week 4:

The cute "a day in the life" die cut is a free download from scrapbook royalty Ali Edwards.

Week 5:

Stickers & embellishments:
THIS & THAT  by Lori Whitlock

I do want to share with you an idea to get more photos on your layout.  See that picture of Gracie playing in the snow (third from the left, bottom row)?  That is really 5 pictures grouped as one 4" x 6" image using Photoshop Elements (PSE) and a storyboard designed by the wildly talented Kerri Bradford.  Masking & clipping techniques are a bit tricky to learn and use (at least they were for me), but once you get the hang of it, you'll be tickled to be able to add so many more pictures of a single event (lord knows...I sure get tickled with it!).

Close up.

Week 6:

It is my vow to stay current!

Project Life

Confession:  I am a POTD addict.

POTD?  Picture of the Day.

Every
single
day

I became addicted in 2009 when it was called Project 365.  It's now called Project Life (PL).  Even though it's my little addiction, I love the idea, the process, and the end result.  Sitting on my shelf are three complete year-in-the-life-of-Judy-Rakes memoirs.  Photographed & documented.   At first, I was skeptical that I could really take a picture every day.  Those around me thought I was nuts (some still do).  It did not take long to realize that I enjoy it.  I call it my "photographic journal."  One picture and a short note - every day. I love creating them. I love looking back through them. I have learned to see the beauty of each new day and that there is a lot in my life that can be documented (even the mundane, silly routines).  I have learned that I live a pretty charmed life. 

I have always been in love with the notion of keeping a journal/diary.  I've started and stopped many times in my life time.  I kept a "locked" diary between my mattresses when I was a tween (the very same "locked" diary that my brother took to school to share with all the boys).  I started another journal when I was going through a divorce 22 years ago, as someone said it would be therapeutic.  Huh?  I just could never really get into it.  

I am exactly the person for whom this kit was designed:  a photo, a journal card, a date stamp, and day-of-the-week stickers.  Rarely, do I add more fluff to the already very cute design (using the Turquoise edition). 

For me, it certainly does not replace the glamour of traditional scrapbooking.  I still really enjoy that process as well.  This is different.  No creative road blocks. Just photos and (short) stories (oh, and some ephemera like receipts and ticket stubs, etc.).   These books are all me.  Personally. 

Since I am still madly and passionately in love with "regular" scrapbooking, I don't feel obligated to make PL my be-all-end-all scrapbook. Instead, it's my goal to catch all those little bits and pieces of our every day lives. If anything, it's helped me decide which photos really need a two-page layout and which just slip into PL.

Here is the new title page for 2012. 

And here are weeks 1-3:

This year, I am adding simple Silhouette diecuts from the wildly talented Kerri Bradford.

If you’re at all interested in the process, check out the mastermind behind the products here (look for the Project Life button on the sidebar, as well.)

If you’re ready to get started, you can get products from amazon.com.   I’d love to have you join me.  We can support each other.  I am definitely a POTD addict; and hopefully, you will find lots of ideas here on the blog to get yourself in the pictures.  Additionally, I suggest you really learn the self-timer feature on your camera!

If you're already in the 12-step program, drop me a note as well.

February Photo Prompts

This month, I want to be prompt with the prompts!  Not even a few days late!  If you are a Project Lifer, this list is waaayyy more than necessary, but hoping you may find a good idea or two for your book.

So, what are you planning to capture this month?  Here are my ideas:

• February 1-14, I plan to search for and take a photo of a heart(shape) every day...for 14 days
• National Wear Red Day on the 3rd
• World Cancer Day on the 4th (near & dear)
• Superbowl on the 5th
• Red!
• Pink!
• Chocolate
• Candy
• heart-shaped
• conversation hearts
• Sending/receiving Valentines
• Shopping for a card?
• I love the Hallmark store for this shot
• The card aisle in your supermarket is good too!
• Your valentine
• got a hot date?
• dinner out or dinner in
• gift exchange?
• Snow or ice in your neck of the woods?
• Winter sports/activities
• skiing
• ice skating
• snowball fight
• snowmen
• shoveling snow
• scraping cars
• Love gestures:  kissing, holding hands, hugging
• President's Day (long 3-day weekend for some...going anywhere?)
• Ash Wednesday on the 22nd
• Flag Day on the 24th
• This year is leap year, make sure to get a shot on February 29
• Something with the date on it:  receipt, tickets
• Calendar shot
• Computer screen capture
• iphone capture

My number one photo idea for the month:

"Heart-hands"
You know all the youngsters are doing it these days.
Why not "heart-hand" what you love most?
Forever memorialized.

January Photo Prompts

So...it's only January 10.  Not too late for my monthly photo prompts checklist.  Is it?

For any new readers...I do not have little children at home.  No grandchildren either.  Just me, my man, and my dog.  Our kids are grown.  We are empty nesters.  So, my photo list comes from my little piece of the universe (sans kid-related activities).  Here goes:

• what goes up/must come down (if yours are still up, get a shot of those beautiful, treasured Christmas decorations going back to their storage areas) (got any lazy neighbors with theirs still up?  We do!)
• clean & organized (doesn't the house always feel new & fresh in January?)
• New Years Resolutions
• exercise anyone?
• how 'bout a diet or just eating well/better
• If you're embarking on a weight loss journey, make sure to get a shot of you now (the "before" shot)
• "January" aka Winter Wonderland
• new snow
• beautiful winter sunsets
• shoveling snow
• scraping frosty car windows
• frozen lakes
• neighborhood snowmen
• ice is great to shoot (use your macro setting)
• geese (why are they still here?)
• your backyard
• winter golfers (this past week, they were wearing shorts!)
• New look, new hair? (Bill has a new "do" and so does Gracie!)
• Winter wear
• new boots?
• gloves & hats
• Cooking & Recipes
• soup, Soup, SOUP
• crock pot meals
• squash
• Sports (it's Tebow Time here in Denver) (this past Sunday's game was my POTD) Exciting! And, I'm sure we'll be watching next Saturday night!
• Holiday weekend - for a lucky few, a three-day weekend is upon us...going anywhere fun?  warm?
• Are you a movie afficionado?  We are!

Don't forget to hand your camera to someone else.  Get yourself in the picture!

"Must-Have" Holiday Photos!

I had planned to post this early after Thanksgiving, so we could all get those December photos and not have to be wishing we had taken a picture of this or that come January when we sit down to scrapbook them or put them in our Project Life books.

So, better late than never right?

Since we're down to almost "the day" and besides the routine normal holiday photos, here are my ideas for some new, "must-have" Christmas photos (and in no particular order):

• Relatives (either coming or going) (bearing gifts would be nice!)
• Setting the table (remember this photo before you all sit down) (don't forget to light the candles)
• Baking and/or candy making (either the process or the beautiful trays of goodies)
• Wrapping presents (set your photo on the table and use your self-timer for a great perspective of your hands in action!)
• Last minute shopping? (parking lots, lines, cash register, receipts, etc.) (I also love retail signs on doors stating holiday shopping hours)
• Group family shots (those are a tradition at our house, using a tripod and the timer)
• Stockings ready for Santa (love the shot of them stuffed to the brim on Christmas morning)
• Leaving cookies out for Santa (don't forget the milk)
• Holiday cocktails (peppermint martinis anyone? so festive with a candy cane garnish) (I also love eggnog with nutmeg sprinkled on top with a shot of most any kind of liqueur)
• Family traditions (what is that your family does without fail?)
• Christmas PJ's (either opening them or wearing them on Christmas morn)
• Christmas love/joy (kisses, hugs, mistletoe)
• If you don't already have a gazillion shots of your tree, remember to photograph it in low light on Christmas Eve
• The "aftermath" (the mess/chaos of gift opening)
• Pick a shiny ornament from your tree and see if you can photograph the reflections (the dog, the family, gifts, lights, etc.) (use your macro setting)
• Don't forget your pet (see if you can get yours to sit or lay under the tree) (mine won't)

Camera settings/hints/know-how/practice reminders:

• Turn off your flash
• Use your tripod in low light situations
• Use the self-timer
• Remember to "get in the photo"
• Charge your batteries!
• Look for candid shots (not posed)
• Look for people interacting with each other
• Take loads of pictures/edit & delete later
• Hand your camera to someone else 

Enjoy your holiday!

Summer Photo Prompts

Geez, I can't believe how fast time goes.  Seems like summer will never get here and then when it does...it flies by!  It's half over!

I'm creating this list for myself, but am sharing it here in this forum.  Maybe if I put it out there in the universe, I will truly get to do some fun summer activities and get some great photos all in one fell swoop.  When fall approaches, I hope to have at least half two-thirds of this list crossed off and will share the photos.  Should make for some interesting and fun summer memories.

Here's my to-do list:

1. Go to the drive-in movies (there's still one left!)
2. Eat corn-on-the-cob (roasted on the grill)
3. Go to a Farmers Market
4. Take in an outdoor concert
5. Go to a carnival (Elitches might count)
6. Dine al fresco
7. Read a book!
8. Ride our tandem bike somewhere anywhere
9. Go camping and/or fishing
10. Go shopping at an outdoor mall
11. Go to the zoo
12. Take Gracie swimming (where do you take dogs to swim?)
13. Cook out
14. Eat watermelon and spit the seeds
15. Buy a yummy treat from the ice cream truck
16. Let Gracie hang her head out the car window
17. Lay on the grass and star at the clouds or the stars (counts as two?)
18. Look for a rainbow
19. Make (not buy) banana splits
20. Make potato salad (using my mom's recipe)
21. Bring my golf handicap down!
22. Get a new summer (hair) do
23. Go the pool
24. Eat strawberry short cake
25. Get a new pair of sandals or flip flops
26. Go on a picnic (with my cute picnic basket)
27. Make sun tea
28. Get a sun tan (where you can see the lines)
29. Feed the ducks (loved to do this when I was a kid - my Grandma used to have a drawer just for stale bread for this very purpose)
30. Eat a popsicle (do they still make root beer & banana flavors) (or how 'bout a bomb pop?)
31. Swing on a swingset
32. Wash my car MYSELF (in the driveway!)
33. Eat a root beer float (better yet, make them)
34. Wiggle my toes in a stream or a lake
35. Go on a motorcycle ride
36. Blow bubbles
37. Make a jello salad
38. Cook breakfast in the mountains (I loved this too when I was a kid)
39. Watch the sun set
40. Walk in the rain
41. Go on a hike
42. Watch the fireworks
43. Go to the mountains
44. Go to a Rockies game
45. Make s'mores
46. Go to the flea market
47. Climb a Fourteener (as in mountain)
48. Make home made ice cream
49. Grow (and HARVEST) some vegetables
50. Go 4-wheelin'
51. Make a fruit cobbler

I feel like that's a pretty good start...but I feel the need to make the list much longer.

Poor Bill.  Right?

National Photo Month!

Did'ja know -- May is National Photography Month? Yep, a whole month just for photographers! Woo hoo!  Perfect for me.  Perfect for May.  Yes it's real.  Legit.  Started by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, the American Photography Celebration was only a week long at its inception (May 7-14), but now it is a full month --31 days to promote the joy and benefits of photography.

Most of you know that I'm in my third year of "Project Life" - a photo every day x 365.  Sometimes it can be a challenge to find that special photo to memorialize my day - my ordinary life, but I do it.  It has turned into my journal.  Not a written journal, but rather a pictoral journal.  I challenge you to take photos you might otherwise pass up because you aren't sure they'll work out. Take chances and remember what it is about photography that you love.

Here are a few of my favorite photography tips, as this is the perfect time to practice angles, play with your camera's settings, and try out new ways to shoot interesting objects. However, it's fun to practice your skills on immovable objects as well.  They don't complain!

• Read the manual that came with your camera.  Learn something new!
• Keep a Camera in your purse or in your car.  If you're lucky enough to have a phone that takes fairly decent pictures -- that is good enough.  Otherwise, carry your point-n-shoot.
• Get a tripod.  Nowadays these aren't expensive and are as portable as ever — keeping one in your camera bag can come in handy in lots of different situations.  I especially love my Gorillapod and the mini-gorilla pod.  Although I have been known to set my camera on lots of different objects as well:  tables, chairs, fences, poles, etc. are especially useful.  My knee comes in handy as well.
• Use your flash for outdoor photos.  This prevents unsightly shadows from appearing on your subject's faces by using your camera's fill flash setting when taking pics outdoors.
• Learn and practice the self-timer.  Indispensable.
• Ground the camera.  Set you camera on the ground, on your desk, on the kitchen counter, etc.  A different perspective for sure.  And, if you know how to use your self-timer, you can get in the shot!
• Taking some up-close pics? Don't forget to adjust your camera's settings to macro!
• In terms of composing your shot, learn the Rule of Thirds (both horizontally and vertically).  Pretend that your view finder is composed like a 3-column table.  Most people like to break rules, but this one is mandatory for a photographer and will keep your photos looking their best.  Photos are just more interesting when your subject is not smack dab in the middle of the photo.  Boring!

Celebrate photography with me!