Project 52- Week 3

This is my week 3 photo. Sophia pouting. Happens quite a bit. :)

Project 52- Week 2

My laptop got a virus so I'm a little behind on my posts. Just now trying to catch up.

Here's Week 2 for my 52 photos in 52 weeks project.

One Little Word- Prompt 1

Prompt 1

Take a current photo of yourself. You can do it yourself or have someone else do it for you.

 I thought it was appropriate for me to include my camera in the photo because it's such a huge part of who I am. I also think it sometimes prevents me from being "present" because instead of living and enjoying the moment and the people around me, I'm more focused on capturing the moment with my camera. In fact, I remember one time when I forgot my camera at a play date. It was so freeing to not worry about capturing the moment on film. I really got to live the moment. So I'd like to create more of a balance between the two. The scrapbooker/artist in me needs to capture some moments, I don't have to capture every moment.

Let the journey begin!

True Confessions

True Confessions time. I am super on the creativity/design part of projects but have trouble following through. 

Case in point, the Chores Chart I made for Sophia. As soon as November hit and we got busier, it fell by the waste side. Every once in a while Sophia reminds me about our chart (especially when she was campaigning for a new animal. I told her she had to show us she was responsible and would help with the care of an animal and she pointed out that we didn't do the Chore Chart any more...future lawyer???). 

Then there was the Advent Calendar with activities to do each day. I really think this was not meant for a working outside the home mom. I mean really?? I see her an hour in the morning and then about 4 hours in the afternoon/evening if I'm lucky. Where is there time to squeeze in an activity?? Dinner, bath, working out, night time routine....I'd be better off with a chocolate countdown like we did for Halloween. And Sophia would like that better anyways. Anyone need an Advent Calendar? Activities included??? It's free!

And then there's my gratitude book, which should be important, but I keep forgetting to actually write it down. I have it in my head and write it down the next day or the next day. Sigh....And yes Crafty Girls from Craft Night, you did make the book! I did remember to write it down! I am doing better though.

Which brings me to my final confession. I made this frame with leaves to write down things we were thankful for as a family, each day. I really want Sophia to learn early on to be grateful for what she has. As an only child, I worry about her just expecting things. 

We got through about 2 leaves (days) and then we slacked.

So after  much thought, in order to not waste the leaves, and considering the fact that the frame was on the mantel which makes it harder to get to, I thought I'd make a simple 30 Days of Thanks book where we can keep it handy and write down things we are thankful for, as a family. Don't know if this will help me follow through......?????

I just glued the leaves I'd previously made to the 6 x 6 pages I made. 

I just tried to keep it simple. I remembered to ink the words before I glued them down. No ribbons to hide the rings, they are black after all. 

So now it's ready for next year.....

But then again, that involves following through. 

Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me? I just can't seem to keep up the effort. 

Christmas Cards 2011

So after seeing those Christmas Card books all over Pinterest, of course I had to make one of my own. I cut about a 10 x 8 piece of chipboard and covered it with the green patterned paper. Then I used my Elegant Edges cartridge for my Cricut to cut the red and white paper (which by the way, I just love!!!). I added some ribbon and letters cut with  my Cricut. Yes, I should have made them more bold. But I just didn't want to cover up that red and white paper. :)

I made sure to add our own Christmas card.

And the one Sophia made for us at school.

I just love this paper that I got from The Little Blue House (I think it's by Crate Paper but I could be wrong).

I added some ribbon on the rings to add texture and to kind of hide the rings (they don't really look that perdy).

P.S. I made a template our of posterboard that was 8 x 10. I measured to the middle of the posterboard and in 1/2 an inch and made a mark. Then I measure down 2 inches and up 2 inches from that (because some cards are small and I wanted to make sure they would be held by at least 1 ring). Then I used a hole punch to punch a hole in my marks. Then I layed the template over each card and tried to line it up so the holes were even. Then I punched holes in my cards. Super easy and quick! 

Next year, I'll make our book ahead of time so that I don't have to "hurry" to make one.

Project 52 Book

I started my Project 52 book at a craft night last Saturday  night over at Dina's house from There's No Place Like Home. When I left her house, I'd only gotten to number 13. And it's taken me an entire week to finish it. I guess I'm a slow worker. But anyways, it's finally finished. In case you're wondering what Project 52 is, see this link Project 52. 

I used some paper given to me from Kristy over at Next to Heaven and some that I bought on sale at The Little Blue House.

I glued down the letters before I inked them. Dang! So I ended up using a brown Sharpie to outline them.

I used my big Cricut to cut out the pages using my Elegant Edges cartridge to make each page slightly different.

I cut a 3 x 3 white square and then used my scalloped edge cutter to cut along both sides. Then I glued it down to a 3 x 3 patterned paper piece. All of the numbers I cut using my Cricut.

For the back cover, I glued coordinating ribbon down to the polka dotted piece of paper and added a key that says memory.

I also used some leftover letters I had to spell out home, but I didn't have an m so I just used a heart instead.

Now each month, I'll print out my weekly pictures and add them to the book. I made the pages 11 x 11 and on most of the pages it won't matter if the picture is vertical or horizontal.

Present

So my word is present, as in being present, in the moment. Here are some definitions I found for the word.

1. (adj.) present
being, existing, or occurring at this time or now; current:

2.  present
at this time; at hand; immediate

3.  present
being here:
4.  present
being actually here or under consideration.5.  present
Obs. aware.6. (verb) present
being or existing in a specified place

7. (adj) present
being at hand, within reach or call, within certain contemplated limits; -- opposed to absent8. (adj) present
now existing, or in process; begun but not ended; now in view, or under consideration; being at this time; not past or future;

9. (adj) present

favorably attentive; propitious 

Being present is something that I've been focusing on for the past few months. It is what caused me to abandon my happiness project. After reading 2 books by Eckhardt Tolle (as recommended by my BFF Oprah), I realized that was the root cause to many of my problems/issues. 

After I found the definitions that I liked, I started looking for inspirational quotes.

One of the things I tend to do is worry about the future or focus on it so much that I lose sight of what is right in front of me. I also tend to over analyze and dwell on the past. I go over past scenarios in my head, over and over, trying to think of what I should have said or done. Learning to let things go is hard for me, but necessary if I'm going to live in the present. 

I'm also a multi-tasker with a capital M. So I get really frustrated when people interrupt me while I'm multitasking. In fact, in my head, I'm always focused on what I NEED to do instead of what I'm doing. 

I also have to remember that.....

I need to learn to not freak out when bad things happen. Bad things are going to happen and I'm going to survive. Instead of worrying about what might happen....enjoy the PRESENT.

And when I start to get bogged down in my worrying and not enjoying the present I will remember.....

Matthew 6:25-34

New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 

So for now, I'm working on ways to be present in my everyday life, to focus on what's important and to let the insignificant stuff go.

In order to help me stick to this word, I also signed up for The One Little Word Class at The Big Picture Classes.

I even ordered a bracelet off of Etsy that says Be Present that I can wear to remind me to BE PRESENT.

One Little Word

After seeing my friend's recent post on One Little Word, I was intrigued. So I started searching. Here's what I found. 

CHOOSING YOUR WORD

"Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2012? It can be something tangible or intangible. It could be a thought, or a feeling, or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother's word or your spouse's word or your child's word - this is YOUR word.

One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities. And here's one thing that is totally interesting: sometimes a word will pop into your brain and it will not make any sense to you right now. Give it some time. Let it percolate a bit. I have often found that our hearts speak to us in very unique ways. Maybe this is a word you need to hear but just aren't ready for it yet.

Again, be open to the possibilities."

THE PROJE

weekly challenge

"This week your challenge is to create something, anything, that celebrates your chosen word for 2012. Maybe a layout. Maybe a blog posting or a journal entry or a simple post-it note that you put somewhere you can see it each day. Make sure to journal about why you chose your word and what it 

means for you – the more you let yourself explore the more benefit you will receive in the end."


So after much thought my word is PRESENT. Not like a gift you get. But being PRESENT. 


More on that later......


So what's your word????

Project 52- Week 1

So here's my photo for week 1 of Project 52 (52 photos in 52 weeks, a pic a week). 

We started off our New Year with a much needed playdate at the park. I love this photo because of those 2 kiddos. They are so funny. Who wants to wear a dress and tights to a park playdate??? Oh, that would be my daughter.

A New Year...A New Look to the Blog

I went ahead and purchased the blog set that matches my Etsy shop set, so that when I eventually get it up and running, they will match. So I finally uploaded all of that this morning. 

Looking forward to the new year. I'll be documenting my year in 2 ways. I'm starting my 365 Days of Gratitude Journal where I log something everyday that I'm thankful for. And I'll also be launching my Project 52. It's based on the same concept of Project 365, except instead of a new photo each day, it's one photo a week. I'm going to get cracking on making a mini-book for that (as soon as I finish the book that I'm currently working on), so that I'll have a 52 photos that give a glimpse of our year. There are many blogs out there devoted to this topic and they give prompts to help inspire you with your photography. You can post your photos on their galleries. But for me, I want it to be more personal and not driven by a certain topic. But I'll be posting my photos on here to share. If you'd like to join the group I've created on Flickr,  Kaminski's Creations.

Happy New Year!