How Did I End Up Here?

Photo a day

For April. Still going!

Happy Tuesday!

It's been a while . . .

but now that Spring Break is here, and I have a few days home, I'm going to try to get caught up. Wish me luck.

Finished photo a day for March! It was a little tougher this month to remember. It was survival mode getting to this week, and I know that had a lot to do with it.

Without further ado, I present MARCH.

That's three months in a row without missing a day! I'm oddly proud. And if you want ideas for daily photos, you can play along with this list.

Enjoy your Monday! I'm off to print photos for last week's PL.

Another one bites the dust!

February, that is. HELLO MARCH!!!

I did manage to make it though a photo a day, and here is my month in review.

I followed this list for February,

and here is March if anyone is interested. Follow the link for directions.

I'm not sure I'm going to follow it quite as closely as I did last month. You see, I have a new challenge for myself. I purchased this little gem last night after having one of my photography club kids shoot at the dance and upload directly to his IPad. I wanted in on that.

I love that I can take photos whenever I want with my phone. LOVE IT. And that I can edit and upload them to ShutterCal whenever the mood strikes. Cool stuff. But the quality is wearing on me a bit. I want better pictures. Enter the transfer from camera to IPad. More to learn, for sure. But I'm up for it!

Enjoy your Thursday!

I did it.

I did a photo a day in January. I was inspired by a class from Studio Calico, and I did it. I'm oddly proud that I made it through my first month.

My goal this month  was to use my phone and my Hipstamatic App. I bought it over Christmas and I wanted to see what it would do. Hence the greenish tint on all of my photos. I also added textures using the MagicHour App. I also tried to focus on photos of THINGS, not people. OK, maybe 16 may be a person, but the jury is out. 

What was so awesome was I TOOK the picture on my phone, I EDITED the picture on my phone (or IPad), then I UPLOADED the picture from said phone or IPad to ShutterCal. How simple is that? Do I love every one of these pictures? Nope. But what you see above is 31 pictures I would not otherwise have taken. Mission accomplished. 

This month my focus is on COLOR. I'm a hater of February, and maybe some color will make it somewhat less heinous. I'm also going to move away from Hipstamatic. 

I am taking so many more pictures due to Project Life, so it's become a habit at this point. If I'm not shooting with my IPhone, I'm using my SLR, and last month I kept my 50mm lens on all month. I'm continuing that into February as well. One lens. Focus on creativity, NOT equipment. The lens I bought over 5 years ago for $50, and I am LOVING my pics. Go figure.

 I'm even getting used to the funny looks I get from people when I take pictures of things like and EXIT sign. You should have heard the horror in a coworker's voice as we were walking out of school yesterday and I was taking a picture of the exit sign. I couldn't explain PAD, let alone the symbolism of the EXIT of January. She's just gonna have to think I'm a weirdo. I'm good with that.

Happy February 1. ;)

 

The trifecta of photo love.

It's been a great break, and too much time has been spent playing with technology. I already knew I needed a 12-step program for my IPhone, and my IMac is a beast for editing photos. But add an IPad to the mix and I'm in HEAVEN.

I don't like just "having" the stuff though, I want to know what it does. It's funny how when I speak to the younger generations about the capability of the new technology, they just look at me with that "I've been gaming too long to find this interesting at all" glazed look, while I'm positively GIDDY with the magic of what my phone and Ipad will do. Now admittedly the appeal of Angry Birds is lost on me. But what I can do with pictures? MAGIC.

So here are some of my MUST HAVES for my IPhone and IPad for pictures.  I was inspired by this find on Pinterest and by this article.

• Instagram is my #1 choice. It's free, and the BEST thing about this app, which I learned over break, is that you can take ANY photo and edit it in Instagram later. Which brings me to
• Hipstamatic. Do not get me wrong, this is ONE COOL APP. But what I don't like is that you need to shoot your pics within the app itself, so there is never an "untouched" version on your phone.
• ScratchCam FX is also one I am in love with. You can add texture to your photos. Shut the front door, that is COOL.
• Camera+ is a must-have. You can crop, edit, adjust white balance, add effects, add frames, all within in one program.
• Diptic is what I used on the photo above to seamlessly put your photos into a group. Magic.
• Camera Bag is another fun app that lets you add effects after the fact like Instagram. I love that.
• Snapseed. Well, this is PURE HEAVEN.  Any app you but for the phone goes to the IPad (if available), and I love to edit on my IPad using Snapseed. LOVE. Worth every penny. It's on both devices.
• PS Express is the IPhone version of PS, and it's free! Love that!
• PostalPix allows you to order your photos from your phone. Um, yeah. While I'm a print-at-home type of person, I can see myself using this in a pinch.
• Photogene is the closest to editing in Lightroom/PS, and that makes me insanely happy.

The cool thing about all of these apps is the ability to send your edited photos to your FB, your Flickr account, email, etc. And because I am ALL Mac, all the saved photos are automatically visable on all or my devices, without uploading a thing. Do you hear angels? I do.

Ok, that's it for now. I have pictures to take.

Eleven favorites from 2011

I thought I would share my creative top 11 for '11. I've never done this before but have seen it on several blogs recently. I'm going to veer a bit from simply 11 layouts. Let's see if I can do it.

1. Pinterest. From recipes to home decor to photography ideas there is no shortage of inspiration here. Wonder how I ever existed without it!

2. Mixed Media. I am forever grateful for the genius of Christy Tomlinson and her mixed media tutorials. They are easy to follow, and I've learned a ton! I've made a few projects and have had some picked up for publication! Here are some canvases I made for Lily Bee. It's a perfect diversion when my scrapbooking mojo is no-go. It happens.

3. Project Life. I love it. More than I ever thought possible. I love documenting the every day events in our lives and this gives me a place to put the photos I deem "unscrappable." That's a word, right? It takes me about an hour to document a whole week. LOVE that.

4. Digital scrapbooking. I am loving digital much more than I ever imagined. I have been prepping for my class (which for local peeps I think is going to be January 7 or 14) and I am hooked. It will never replace my paper crafting habit, but I am much more free and messy when doing digi. I used the Epic kit from OScraps for this layout, which I swear I could use every time.

5. Instagram. How do I love this app on my IPhone. Not only does it help me with Project Life, but it also satisfies my need to edit photos. And the beauty of it is I can edit pictures while waiting in the car to pick up Jenna after school. Talk about multitasking! LOL! The fact that my photos are automatically downloaded to my computer and accessible through IPhoto, sync to my IPad, and are available to view through sites like Extragram . . . GENIUS.

6. Sewing. I know, I got it in just under the wire, but I've been pinning fabric ideas for so long, and I finally did it. I made this bag which I had pinned on Pinterest with my sister this week. She was so patient, giving me all the tips and tricks as she is a GENIUS with her sewing. Here is the finished bag. I think I'll add a flower to the front . . . everything is better with a flower, right?

7. Studio Calico. This is one of my daily sites to visit. The designers here are genius, and I love the kits. I've been scrapbooking for the last 8 years, and I was getting stale. The designers and kits pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I have loved what I have created so far. I think my layouts are still "me," but use products that I would not normally use. Like Washi tape . . . see it in the corners? Never used it before, but totally hooked now.

8. My new IPhone, IPad, and IMac. Can I just say I'm in love!!! I got my IPhone last spring, and swear I need a 12-step program. I love it more than I can say. Then I saved enough money from teaching photoshop Elements to buy the IMac early fall. My old IMac was a dog when running PS5 and Lightroom at the same time. Now I can run them side by side in the SAME WINDOW.  I know, right?!? And when Bill got me an IPad for my birthday/Christmas? Well SHUT THE DOOR, I could not be happier. Best gift EVER, especially since it was completely unexpected. I am an original Mac Addict, never owning another brand name of computer. In my world, it matters. Do I need to get out more? Absolutely. ;)

9. A few publications and new scrapbooking opportunities. I have not had a lot of time to submit projects to magazines this year. But this fall I made a more concerted effort to submit, and got 4 projects picked up by Scrapbook Trends (including a mixed media canvas), and another set of canvases picked up by BHG Scrapbooks, Etc. It's been a while, and I'm really excited! Now I need to carve out more time to submit. I also helped one of my favorite people start up a new kit club. C'est Magnifique is a great club offering papers from other countries you can't find here in the US. Now that Leslie is up and running with her amazing team, I am stepping down. Loved my time with the club though! And recently I was offered a guest spot for Little Yellow Bicycle. Can't wait to play! Here is a layout from the latest C'est Magnifique kit.

10. A favorite layout. Wow, how do I choose just one? I guess I'll go with one of my latest. I tend to like what I've recently created. Then a few weeks later I hate it. It's the way it works, my creative process, if you will. It's like scrapping attention deficit disorder. I can't focus long enough to commit to my pages. I made this one today using a kit from Studio Calico.

11. A favorite photo. Again, almost impossible to choose. But I'll go with this one. Probably because it was such a beautiful moment in our family. The making of a family, my nephew's wedding.

Here's wishing you and yours a very happy 2012!!!

 

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday - Glorious Fall

Things I've Been Pinning

Hi, my name is Kay, and I'm addicted to Pinterest. This week I was inspired by this challenge. I'm working in it, but no promises. Anyone else?

 

The Beauty of Fall

 

1. Untitled, 2. Your Hand in Mine, 3. golden, 4. Birch, 5. happy... um... november!, 6. autumn, again, 7. **GLOWING**, 8. Autumn Today . . ., 9. Sea of Pumpkins

Some Flowers to Share

So I've been editing some photos that I took earlier in the summer, and realized I erased all of my balloon pictures. Can you spell bummed?

Instead I'll share some pics from a day at the Gardens. My goal was to take flower pics that weren't so obvious. It's all I've got for now. ;)