friday randomness...

randomness #1 (or, the piece that inspired a random post)

wow.

apparently, there is a new movement (no pun intended) of a style of photography called "kinetic photography"... and no, i don't mean doing leg lifts while taking photos. casually, they call it "camera tossing" and while the resulting images are very interesting... i just can't imagine "tossing" my camera anywhere... let alone just to get a picture.

so i'm totally digging the satugo (See. Aim. Throw. captUre & Go.) - a relatively inexpensive alternative to throwing my dRebel across the room in the name of creative photography... amazing, huh?

randomness #2

it's friday. i can't stop yawning. mostly in anticipation of having to get up in the middle of the night tonight for my shift of our 24 event at church.

randomness #3

have you ever played Bunco before? we're going to a young married event at church tonight to play Bunco. i only know that there are dice involved...

randomness #4

we *really* need to work on the yard this weekend... mowing. weeding. general clean-up. it's kinda embarrassing.

randomness #5

i'm amazed at how many scrapbookers know how long it takes them to make a layout. i've been scrapbooking compulsively for 3 years now, and i've never really stopped to keep track of it. last night, i did a layout, start to finish - from gathering photo, supplies and idea - in about an hour. but i used a basic sketch idea i'd had a couple of weeks ago, and already used on a layout (which i didn't even realize until i was half-way through the 2nd and noticed that i was headed in the same direction) - so does that really count as only an hour?

randomness #6

i just finished the bookwork for my Apologetics class... now i have to write a mean paper and get through the exam. love this program, but it's gotten much harder over the last two years. excited by the prospect of finishing the whole thing. (still several months away, i'm afraid.)

randomness #7

i need some spring/summer clothes and penney's is having a killer sale today. i'm thinking a peasant skirt (feeling girly) and a few lightweight tops. yummy.

ok, that's it. sorry i'm not very interesting today. maybe i'll feel more interesting later. ;)

wednesday ramblings...

whatever marketing fool thought up the catch phrase "ya gotta love these guys" clearly never sat through 7 innings of sheer agony, ending in a 13-3 loss in the 9th, due entirely to terrible pitching on behalf of our starting, mid-game and closing pitchers. i've never seen such terrible pitch counts... a decent pitcher throws about twice as many strikes as he does balls, and our pitching staff was throwing about 1:1 last night. painful. i feel for them though: i want them to have a fabulous season. we don't have to win the world series, but geez - a little morale boost would be good. i do love them. really, i do. but come ON. i don't feel as though i "gotta".

but it was still fun, and i enjoyed a little quality time with my grandfather, a life-long baseball fan.

warning, warning, stream of consciousness...

it's probably the artist in me, but i am a sucker for pretty packaging. i love all of the fun labels and different packaging methods used, and i get excited when something clever catches my eye from the shelves. and this isn't limited to scrapbooking products, mind you... here are a few things that have caught my eye lately:

• method home products - my obsession began with their lavender all-purpose cleaner, and their funky-shaped dish-soap that dispenses from the bottom, with a squeeze (no cap required).
  
• then there was target's choxie. nothing special about the chocolate - i'd rather have a snickers bar - oye, that packaging gets me!
  
• and if you've been in a starbucks lately, you've probably noticed all of the amazing new packaging on their beans/grounds. their website doesn't really do it justice... if you love packaging too, go check out their stuff. i have to restrain myself from just asking for some of the bags every time i go in there. (what would i do with them??)

"packaging" can also carry through to a website... for instance - just the way Martha displays flowers on her website makes me want to buy them. in the same way that the subliminal message of a thin woman drinking a SlimFast shake is that it will make you thin, i guess the subliminal message here is that if i buy flowers from Martha, my home will look as pretty as the settings in her pictures.

so why is this on my mind today? because i'm considering packaging methods for photo orders for my (future) clients. i want something unique but classy, memorable but elegant, and most of all: yummy. my biggest concern is that i'm all about consistency: packaging should match marketing (because really - it's all about marketing, isn't it?) and if that's the route i choose, i either have to design everything around my website or i need to redesign my website to work with the packaging i'm considering. i love my current site, but it would make for expensive packaging.

so, yeah - that's what's on my mind today. :)

it's disgusting.

i woke up this morning feeling refreshed and ready to go - for the first time in several months. what is it? i don't know. the weather maybe. beautiful, not-too-hot, clear, sunshiney days. i love it. i even wore a tank top yesterday. yes, outside of the house.

my weekend felt productive. got to scrapbook, do some organization in my studio, run some errands. good cookin', even some cleanin'. heard a fabulous message from a guest speaker, Dr. Jim Heugel of Northwest University, at church. really intelligent, and very funny. knows his stuff.

so today, i'm in a fabulous mood. don't really know why. don't really care. just happy to be happy. so happy it's disgusting. lots of stuff i want to do at home tonight. looking forward to a mariner's game with my grandfather tomorrow night. and i've decided to grow my herb garden out of a strawberry pot. pretty, huh?

i'm thinking about mother's day today, and about some good gift ideas... which reminds me - i've got to come up with a wedding gift idea too... losing time on that one. (anybody have any great ideas?

happy monday!

ok, i don't *mean* to neglect my blog, really... i just haven't had much to say this week.

work has been busy. changes, big changes. some good, some not good. but we'll survive.

i'm really glad it's friday. i have nothing scheduled this weekend, except to teach kids' church on sunday. i'm so looking forward to some downtime.

matt and i are talking more about launching my photography business... i'm getting more confident in my skill as i'm getting much more practice. i'm still several weeks out yet, i'm sure... i want to do more portfolio building first. and of course, there's some computer upgrades and such that i need...

we're also still very focused on our finances. we want to start praying over our bills - like physically, over them. not that God would make them miraculously paid, but that He would guide us to make wise choices, and that our dollar might stretch a little further as we serve Him. money is the easiest area for people to be selfish in. i feel the selfishness too. i don't always want to give to Him - sometimes i have a super bad attitude about it. and i have to remind myself why we do... because He gave it to us first. giving Him a tenth is really the least we can do.

we're doing something next week at church that i'm super excited about. recently, we purchased a new church campus, and it's currently undergoing some major remodel work. though we were really well-prepared going in, we're still encountering some unexpected expenses, and many delays. so, next friday/saturday, our new campus members of our church will be reading in every room of the building for 24 hours straight. during this time, we'll take one-hour shifts, and read and pray in groups of 3 or 4, one group in each room. the goal is that in that 24 hours, the entire Bible will be read in that church. amazing, huh? i really believe that when two people come together in spirit, Jesus is with us. imagine what He'll do with this. can't wait to see what comes of it.

i'm hoping to do some scrapbooking this weekend, and to finish up some school work. hopefully i'll be really productive. i love productive weekends.

i guess that's all i have to say today... more than i thought. happy friday.

saying goodbye...

i just said goodbye to a very dear friend... we've worked together for almost three years, i think, and i'll miss her greatly. my co-consipirator, my fellow artisan and crafty hobbiest, my buddy. i miss her already.

a thought and a few new layouts...

i've been studying the book of 2 Timothy (chosen mostly because it's short and in the method of study i'm using, i have to read through the material several times before delving into anything interesting).

anyway, in my studying, i've read the book probably 8 times through already. and just last night, as i've been praying about my attitude towards my job, and thinking about my influence in my social circles, i read these words as if for the first time, as if they had just magically appeared...

"Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this." - 2 Timothy 2:3-7

now, don't get me wrong - i'm not comparing my job to the suffering of the Apostle Paul. i just simply felt impressed upon my heart that if i want to get anywhere in the future, i have to work hard at what i'm given now. and i thought i'd share.

and i wanted to share a few layouts too... these are nothing terribly exciting, just some recent stuff:

{ok, not technically new. this was a part of my HOF entry - the 10 photo assignment, but i've had huge difficulties scanning it due to the brads. finally gave up and took a photo. patterns are Fontwerks.}


{from earlier this month, as a part of Robyn's Product Challenges... i'm so behind in those challenges that i don't even remember which assignment this was. i think it was #4 - and i cheated w/ the "writing on a photo" part... used the label instead. patterns are Fontwerks. note use of decorative blade on photo mat. i'm so addicted to this all over again, and happy that it's back in style, and that for the first time in like 3 years, i'm "with it". flower petals and stem are ric-rac/ribbon.}


{confession: photo is from LAST easter. i mulled this idea around in my head for several days after getting the idea to do an egg-shaped photo. didn't want to wait for this year's easter photos to come back, so i broke out last year's. love the way this turned out... "ribbon" strips are all paper, even ric-rac.}


{this was a miscellaneous fun one, trying to get some older photos out of my pile, and use up some fun christmas paper too. i'm ambivalent about how this turned out.)

happy tuesday!

not much to say today, except that i'm back to work. looking forward to accomplishing some good stuff today.

a few pictures, as promised:

{made these for brunch on sunday. who can resist a cute little cupcake with chocolate easter eggs nestled in green coconut grass?}


{a gal at church sent me home with one of the potted Easter Lilies that we had on the stage for the service. couldn't help but get my backdrop out and take a few pictures. this is one of my favorites - you can see more in my photo gallery.}

added some new cute-kid and cute-dog pictures to my gallery, too. have a peek.

kate's day off.

there's something wonderfully soothing about sitting back on a sunday evening and not thinking "where did my weekend go?" but instead knowing that i have one day left... i love that feeling. wish i could do this every week.

today, i'm taking advantage of the free time with no one making demands of me. puttering around my craft room, tidying here, organizing there, scrapping over there. i've framed a few photos, uploaded some recent pictures for printing, scrapbooked a few layouts (which i'm not all that thrilled with, incidentally...) and had a cup of coffee and a little breakfast.

i've had this rubbermaid box for about a year now that has essentially been the place where the forever-unfinished projects go to die, as well as my holding place for random miscellanea. yesterday, i cleaned it out and tossed the crap i knew i'd never use, need or finish. today, i'm organizing. found inspiration for a few more layouts, a few photos i wanted to hang on my wall, and a great idea for a fun project.

i'll share some photos of my Easter tomorrow. happy monday, all!

glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns.

just thought i'd pop in to say happy Easter. :)