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Pass the Book

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It’s been very busy here, and I have lots to share, but first I want to send on the next installment of Pass the Book. Melissa sent it on to me last month, and it’s definitely time to send it on its way. You can read more about the Pass the Book project here.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Sharing Your Story: Recording Life’s Details with Mini Books by Ali Edwards, and it has provided me with some amazing inspiration though not for mini books. As soon as I saw the front cover, I had an idea for a card. It didn’t take long to create, and I was quite happy with. That prompted me to go through the book looking at design ideas for cards. I ended up with quite a few new cards, and over the next few days I’ll be sharing them with you. I remember Mel did something similar with one of her Pass the Book reads.

Here’s the cover and the card it inspired:

Cover

WishYou

On page 9, I found this:

P9

Which inspired an anniversary card for dear friends:

Happy

I liked the word overlayed on the text paper and repeated the polka-dot pattern as well. Here's the inside:

InsideHappy

And one more for today. On p. 14 I found this:

P14

And created this:

6Squares

I'm quite sure this is a design I'll use again and again when I need a quick card. Typically I list all my supplies, but both my kids are here this week so I'm going to cut this short. I do have a list of the supplies, so let me know if you're curious about anything I used.

I'll have more to share, but I’m ready to pass the book along. If you’re a fan of mini books, I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy the book. (I have jotted down ideas for several mini books as well.) And even if you’re not, you may find inspiration for layouts or other creative endeavors from the designs you’ll find here. If you’d like a chance to peruse the book, leave a comment here, and I’ll do a random pick on Monday, October 24th, and send it on its way.

Project 64: Brick Red

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Project64

I love nearly every shade of red, so I'm always happy to see another red crayon emerge from the box over at Project 64! Because we're in the midst of trying to get ready for a big weekend here, I didn't have as much time to hunt as usual. The first two images were taken on the Cornell campus last Saturday. The ivy is turning red on the School of Industrial and Labor Realtions School.

RedIvyw

RedIvy2w

And finally, the top to my new (big splurge) teapot for the new kitchen—a black and white checked teapot with a red top. Our new kitchen boasts white cupboards, black counters, and red is the accent (red kitchen chairs, a red message board, etc.) I couldn't resist the teapot, and we hated our old one.

Teapotw

LSNED 2011: The Macro Project

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I've finally pulled together all of my shots for the LSNED Macro Photography project. In truthfulness, I had to take a few more photos this month to fill in for the days I missed. But I am happy with the format I devised for this project. Here's a look at the mini-book that resulted.

BookCover

I'm not going to post every page, because you'd be shortly be bored, but I will share some of my favorite photos, and the things I learned. You can see all the photos (but one, which got lost in iPhoto somewhere) here on my Flickr account. I took photos with all three of my cameras:  my Rebel, my Canon S95, and my iPhone.

BookInside

The first thing I learned is the difference between close-up photography and macro photography. Macro assumes a 1:1 ratio between the image and the object (or greater). I like both, but I'm sure I'll do more close-up photography than actual macro. My first image was definitely macro, and in reality wasat least twice as  large as the real flower.

HangingPlantw

Rebel with 60mm macro lens on tripod on my patio

Here, then are the things I recorded in my book, in the order I wrote them, interspersed with some of my favorite shots.

  • Macro photography requires time and patience.
  • Close-up photography is much more challenging “in the field.”
  • A point and shoot will get you a decent close-up.
  • Keep spare batteries for the remote cable release on hand.
  • Check to be sure the light source is evenly distributed across the subject.
  • Even at f/22 my focus is not tack sharp across the image. Light?
  • Composing a macro shot is time-consuming.

Photo below taken with my S95 at Val Kill–Eleanor Roosevelt's retreat in Hyde Park (for some reason TypePad won't let me type a caption under this photo!)

    Webw
  • A side benefit to this project is learning to use my tripod more efficiently.
  • The macro lens is great for card detail close-ups.
  • Even the iPhone takes a good close-up.
  • Close-up and macro photography causes you to see things differently.
  • A tripod would really help “in the field.” I hate carrying one!
  • Today I read about extension tubes. They’re not very expensive—good idea for my Christmas list.
  • This shot was handheld, but the focus and sharpness is good across the image.

Coleus2w

Taken with the S95 at the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park; handheld

  • The S95 can focus within about ½ in. of the subject.
  • I’ve finally mastered all the knobs and arms on my tripod.
  • It appears (but I need to test this out further) that 4 ½ in. is about as close as I can get to a subject with my Rebel (60mm macro lens) and still have good focus.
  • Bryan Peterson recommends the Canon 500D close-up lens, but I can’t find one that will fit my Tamron macro lens.
  • While reading my manual, I came upon the “Live View” option which is recommended for macro. So much more to learn how to do!
  • Optical rule: The closer you focus on a subject, the larger the subject and the shallower the DOF.

Plant2Minnsw

Taken with my Rebel and 28-300mm lens in the Minns Garden on the Cornell campus; handheld

  • Today I learned about mirror lock-up. Recommended to use with any shutter speed below 1/15. Always use cable release as well. Another button to learn!
  • Once again, I wished for my tripod. Setting up a shot and getting sharp focus takes much longer when you’re hand-holding..
  • Close-up photography is great with newborns.
  • Manual focusing is becoming second nature when I’m using the macro lens. I never put it on AF any more.

Threadw

Taken with the Rebel, 60mm macro lens on a tripod

  • Needed my desk lamp as well as the window light for this shot. Just learned about a ring flash. Wonder if that’s what I need.
  • Today I learned about the Olloclip—a macro, wide-angle, and fisheye lens for the iPhone. Right to the top of my Christmas list.
  • So true:  “macro . . . requires patience, stillness, focus, and breath control.” A very different state of mind than my usual! Quote from a Mortal Muses post.

WhiteMumw

Taken with the Rebel; 60mm macro lens on the tripod

And the summary I typed up for the end of the mini-book.

Key Learnings:

  • Projects requiring daily obligations are not for me. I ended up taking 30 photos, but several were taken on the same day, and a few after the end of the month.
  • I understand the difference between close-up and macro. I like both!
  • The tripod DOES give you the sharpest shots, but I don’t often take a tripod into the field. It’s permanently set up in my studio now, so I reach for it almost every time I take a photo here. Nonetheless, some of my favorite shots for this project were handheld.
  • I learned a small aperture is critical for sharpness across a macro shot, and a tripod is essential for those shots.
  • Lighting is an issue for me indoors, and I’ve ordered a ringflash to see if that will solve some of the problems.
  • All my cameras—the Rebel, the Canon S95, and the iPhone—take good close-up photos.
  • There’s  a lot more to learn, and regular practice does pay off.

Butterflyw

Taken at the Wild Center at Tupper Lake with the Rebel; 28-300mm lens; handheld

I probably won't do LSNED again, but I think picking a subject, a theme, or a technique to focus on for awhile is a good way to improve your photography.

Hands, and Contented Baby!

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Ihf_logo

I've got some more beautiful photos of Sylar Rose to share as well as a photo of her tiny fingers wrapped around Tracy's hand. I'm posting it at the I Heart Faces blog for their Hands challenge.

Grandpa'sHandsw

Skylar is one of the most contented babies I've ever known. I've only seen her eyes once in the times I've visited her; she's a great sleeper and is giving Betsy four-five hours of sleep at night. Tomorrow she'll just be three weeks old!

Peacefulw

ReadyToGo2w

Off to the pediatrician's

Sleeping2w

We think she's just the sweetest baby ever! I can't wait for Matt to get here this weekend to meet her.

 

Project 64: Periwinkle

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Week 39 periwinkle


Last week's color at Project 64 was Periwinkle. I thought there was an unusual amount of variation in the photos posted during the week, and my first two photos were based on some blog posts rather than the crayon I had on hand or the photo above. They're not far off, but I'm not sure they're quite "on" either.

Doorw

This one is a bit bright, but it's definitely in the right family.

SchoolBusFlagw

This one is closer.

But this is the one I'm linking at Project 64. It's a flower along a walk at the Wild Center near Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks. We spent last weekend in Lake Placid and stopped here on our way. The weekend was quite an adventure, but that's a story for another day.

Flowerw

The adventure started last weekend, but the craziness has persisted all week long and has kept me from the computer most of the week. I hope to get to a recap of all that's going on sometime this weekend. I've not had time to post nor to visit many blogs, but I will catch up soon, I hope. Have a good weekend! It's supposed to be absolutely lovely here—warm and sunny! We're hoping to find some time to be outside and enjoy it.

Project 64: Bittersweet

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Project64

The weeks are flying by, and I feel lucky to be keeping up with Project 64, even if it seems a bit harried at time.

Week-38_Bittersweet

I found some beautiful leaves this week on our walk that are a great match, and I think our homemade salsa is as well.

Bittersweet3w

BittersweetSinglew

Salsaw
 

 

 

Fall Birthday Cards

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We have lots of friends and family with fall birthdays. Here are two cards ready to go. The first one is for two challenges. The CR84FN color challenge and the CPS Sketch Challenge. Here's the lovely fall color combination at CR84Fn:

CR84FN39+Graphic

And the sketch at CPS:

Here's what I came up with:

SMLeavesCard

I made two of the following card, both for men with fall birthdays. I absolutely love this tree die by Memory Box. I hope you can see in the close-up the beautiful shimmer of the brown and gold cardstock.

Tree

TreeClose

Supplies
Leaves:
Cardstock: Autumn collection (American Craft)
Patterned Paper: "Sunshine" (My Minds Eye)
Dies: Nested Maple Leaves & Nested Eyelet Rectangles (Lifestyle Crafts) & Foliage (Spellbinders)
Distress Inks (Tim Holtz)
Stamps:  Birthday Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Tree:
Cardstock: Fine Linen and Bazzil Shimmer
Patterned Paper:  from the scrap drawer
Twine and Button:  Papertrey In
Die: Memory Box

A Trio of Get Well Wishes

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I've been inspired each time Sian posts her LSNED tags created with her Slice. I like my Slice, but am more apt to use a metal die cut or the Silhouette when I 'm creating. But I decided I needed to get back to the Slice. I needed a few get well cards for friends and family so I chose a 6X6 paper pad, got out my Slice and decided to see what I could create in a hour or so. I have to say I don't have Sian's skill as grouping embellishments to create miniature works of art, but I had a lot of fun, and was reminded of how versatile the Slice can be.

GetWell1

GetWell2

GetWell3

The tags and all the elements were cut with the Vintage Findings Design card (my favorite, although I don't have any of the newer ones.) The patterned papers are all from Six By Six Vanity Fair pad by My Mind's Eye. Their two-sided paper pads are just the best! The stamps are both from Unity ("Stitched Greetings" & the August Kit of the Month), and all the cardstock is Papertrey Ink (Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado, & Ocean Tides.)

Look Who’s Here!!!

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While we were away, Betsy delivered Skylar by C-section. Both mom and baby are doing great. Betsy and Skylar went home on Saturday, and Betsy called us yesterday morning to say she was ready for visitors. To say we're delighted is putting it mildly. Matt had sent us a couple of photos while we were at my brother's so we knew she was a cutie, but we are smitten.

OneDayw

One Day Old

BetsySkylar2w

Mom and Skylar

KBWSkylar2w

 

Sleepingw
  She never woke up the whole time we were there. She slept four hours straight last night. I think she's going to be as good a baby as she is cute!

TOWSkylar1w

Papertrey Ink September Blog Hop

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Bloghoplogo

I've missed the last couple Papertry Blog Hops and I almost didn't get anything made for this month although I've been thinking about it since I saw the inspiration post.

September2011-3-Blog-Hop-Inspiration

I knew right away that I wanted to mimic the strips somehow, but I don't own the right inks. So I took a thin die from the pumpkin die (LifeStyle Crafts) and cut strips of Sweet Blush, Smoky Shadow, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise, and Harvest Gold and created a pattern that runs both vertically and horizontally. Then to mimic what appears to be a rectangular pattern on the right, I stamped my sentiment (Star Prints) and die cut it with Spellbinder's Classic Rectangles. I hand cut the border for the sentiment, popped up the focal image and adhered it to a Hawaiian Shores card.

WishBigPTI

Another birthday card for the stash!

A Birthday Duo

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We'll be driving home today from my brother's. I'll be anxious to see what kind of progress has been made on the kitchen while we've been away. I nearly finished editing photos from our walks here, but Tracy and I decided to get our Alaska photo book finished while we were here and that took care of yesterday. Whew! Those photos are finally edited, and the book is ordered. I think I'm going to like it a lot, and although it took us the better part of a day working together on it, it is considerably faster than scrapping all those photos. I'll still be doing some scrapbook pages, but I'm excited to have something to share much more quickly.

Before we left I needed a couple of birthday cards. The first one is a "lift" of one I saw on the Papercraft site (not the blog). The very day I saw it, my Studio Calico kit arrived with the perfect stamp.

OhSnap

The inside sentiment was generated on the computer and says "I missed your birthday!"

BirthdayTag

This was another super simple card that I made with a tag that was laying on my desk for another project and didn't get used. I changed the ribbon and stamped a sentiment and it was done!

Supplies:
Oh, Snap:
Cardstock:  Select White, True Black, & Hawaiian Shores (PTI)
Stamps:  Studio Calico

Birthday Tag:
Cardstock:  Paper Source card
Patterned Paper:  Six by Six "Vanity Fair" (MME)
Slice: Vintage Findings design card (Making Memories)
Border Punch:  Martha Stewart
Ribbon from stash

Project 64: Sepia

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I feel like I'm constantly behind again. There's so much going on. So here I am, linking up to Project 64 at the end of the week again.

Week 37 Sepia

Once again the wrapper for the crayon is a different color than the actual crayon. I see shades of sepia here in these artifical flowers I bought to hang on my kitchen door once the kitchen in complete!

FallFlowersw

And in the woodgrain of my desk chair:

Woodgrainw

But my favorite from the week is Rocky, my niece Stephanie's dog. We've been visiting since Tuesday and have had a lovely time. I'll have photos later today or tomorrow of some lovely walks we've taken this week on two historic sites in Hyde Park.

Rockyw

 

Summer Scavenger Hunt 2011

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Rinda threw out a photographic scavenger hunt challenge for the summer, and I've had a lot of fun trying to find all the items on it. I still have a couple of days, but I must admit I don't hold out much hope for seeing a pirate or a unicycle before Friday. Here are the 19/21 I found:

ScavengerHuntFinished

1. A rooster 2. A town meeting  3. A castle 4. My self-portrait  5. A forest  6. My country's flag  7. A painted mailbox  8. A wooden bridge  9. A roadside memorial  10. A campfire  11. Mt. Hope Cemetery (resting place of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas) 12. Rain on the train window in Alaska  13. A tripod of handwritten messages  14. A glass and steel building (Vancouver Airport)  15. A woman sketching  16. A festival (The Clothesline Art Festival)  17. A museum (Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver)  18. A beehive  19. Graffiti art

Thanks, Rinda, it was great fun, and I look forward to another one!

SMASH Update

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Sadly, I've been known to create more than one project that rarely, if ever, got used. I thought I'd share an update on my DIY SMASH notebook, which I use several times a week. It's turned out to be quite a wonderful resource.

InsidePocket

I added a pocket to the inside front cover where I stick clippings and ideas if I don't have time to get them in the right place, or I'm unsure how I want to "file" them.

Page1

As I'm reading blogs, I jot down ideas and sketch out cards or layouts I might want to make. I have a whole page now of color combinations to try, and a list of card sentiments I loved.

Page2

These are cards I liked from a Stampin Up catalog I received at CKC this year. I don't do a lot of clipping any more, but I'm much more likely to see it here than in the notebooks I have created in the past for such things. Most of my inspiration comes from the internet now, and I keep it organized in Evernote or on Vi.Sualize.us. I'm thinking of dismantling my notebooks, but it's a big project which needs to wait until the first of the year. Way too much going on here right now.

PhotoTips

Photo tips from blogs. Often I "save" the whole blog post to an Evernote notebook, but if it's just a short reminder I add it here.

Saved

A book site I want to investigate, and some music I want to check out.

WishList

And a couple of things that were on my Wish List at the time. I can cross one out now as I received something very similar from another company from Scrap-Mart. It's interesting to me that a project I resisited for quite some time has turned out to be one of the most useful of the last several years.

 

 

Christmas Card Class

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Saturday, my friend and I drove to Buffalo to take a Memory Box Christmas card class. The class is taught by the store owner, but the card designs are Dave Brethaeur's, the owner and designer of Memory Box. I always like his stamps and designs, and we usually learn a technique or two while we're there. We completed (for the most part) six cards in about an hour and a half. Dave has created some terrific new dies, and we learned some tricks for cutting a stamped image precisely. That alone was worth the trip, although Dave's dies have some great little additions that you can mark with a pencil and line up for exact placement.

BirdStar

All the coloring on the cards was done with colored pencils. The star is one of the dies, and the background is a Memory Box patterned paper.

BirdCape

Now that I've taken a photo of this, I'm wondering if I assembled it incorrectly. Whatever, I don't like the orientation of the bird, so I'll be taking this one apart and putting it back together.

PolarBear

It's impossible to tell, but the cardstock is a beautiful, shimmery brown. The polar bear was punched from a 12X12 sheet of patterned paper, and distressed around the edges.

SnowflakeBorder

Also hard to tell from the photo is the fact that the ribbon on this card is a thick velvet, and that beautiful border is a die cut.

  Ornament

I liked the addition of the rhinestones to the ornament. Just the right amount of bling.

Reindeer

I love the way this one was created. We die cut the leaves from the stamped and die cut journaling card, and put a green piece of paper behind it. The antlers were die cut from the same shimmery brown paper we used in the earlier card. Then the stamped and die cut reindeer was "popped up" on the card. Here's a close-up:

ReindeerClose

After our class, we met my niece, Grace, at a new restaurant called Mezza for lunch. The food was wonderful, and we had a lovely time. I totally forgot to take photos!!