Pixels N' Paper

Tuesday Trigger - Poppin' Off The Page

2010-07-09T02:52:00.005Z

I'm dusting off my creative blog and trying to get my mojo going again! Starting off with the Tuesday Trigger from Moxie Fab World.

Here is the trigger image:

and my interpretation of it:

I knew I had this black and white paper from Love, Elsie and the fine lined florals reminded me of Friends 'til the end from Papertrey Ink. After I had it all together, it felt like it was missing something.... BLING of course! I used coordinating stickles to add some shimmer to my flowers and sentiment.

I still feel like it needs some ribbon, but since I had already sewn my background paper onto the card, and I couldn't find another place that satisfied me, I left it off.

Thanks for the inspiration MFW!

Hmm... now to redesign this blog that has been collecting dust for almost a year!

August Cards

2009-08-21T18:30:00.003Z

Lots of baby boys due soon, so I thought I'd make Welcome, Baby and Thank You cards. I made 6 so far, but I do need to do a few pink ones as well, but I have a few weeks before I need those! :)

July Cards for Challenge

2009-07-29T01:12:00.001Z

Two scrap pages

2009-07-08T03:07:00.005Z

Actually scrapped two days in a row. Just CASEs from the most recent Creating Keepsakes Mag, but at least I got something done!! Hoping to get at least one more done tonight!

From Taylor's 1st Birthday.

Around in the yard.

Cards for Monthly Card Challenge

2009-07-04T20:34:00.004Z

These are actually for June, a little late, but the ladies in the group so kindly granted me an extension through the weekend due to being out of state and doing a room swap with all of my craft stuff!!

Stamps: Essence of Love, Michaels $1 stamp
Ink: Night of Navy, Regal Rose
CS: Night of Navy, Ivory
PP: Basic Grey
Accessories: Flower, Ribbon, Sponging, Sakura Stardust, Pearl Stickers
Stamps: SU Always , Papertrey Heartfelt Basics
Ink: Certainly CElery, Bashful Blue, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: SU Whisper White , Bashful Blue , Certainly Celery , Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Iridescent Ice EP, Rhinestone stickers

Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs Sundae , SU So Very, Papertrey Mixed Messages
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Real Red, Green Galore, Pretty in Pink
PP: Basic Grey
Accessories: SU Ribbon, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug , Copics

Also a pic of my new craft room (Taylor's old room). It's not complete yet, but it's getting there. Just need to organize the drawers and the closet! Oh, and get some pictures/shelves up on the wall!

All for now!

January 5 - Birthday Cake Portrait

2009-01-06T04:48:00.003Z

Another steal from the baby blog... expect more tomorrow!

January 4 - It's My Birthday!

2009-01-05T05:46:00.002Z

Today was my daughter's 1st Birthday, so there were TONS of pics taken today. This was one of my favorites for those sparkly blues of hers. So I snagged it from my baby blog to share for today.

January 3 - Eww Spider!

2009-01-04T04:31:00.004Z

And this was the SMALL guy I saw hanging out in our door jam.

January 2 - Ooh, Water!

2009-01-03T02:42:00.002Z

Taylor loves water, Dada was rinsing her off at the end of a bath and he let her play in the running faucet for a few minutes so I came in to snap a shot. Of course she made her typical "ooooh" sound and face. Always amazed she is!

January 1 - Water Drops

2009-01-02T02:19:00.003Z

Trying this again... I need to try it from an angle more level with the water to catch it a little bit better, but this works for now!

Project 365

2009-01-01T17:53:00.002Z

I'm wiping the dust off this blog and getting started on one of my New Years Resolutions.... MORE photos!!!

The goal is to take a photo every day of the year. At first I considered doing photos of myself to document how I change over the course of a year, but then I decided that taking a photo of anything will document my life equally as well and help me gain experience in a variety of ways. So here it starts! I may not get an opportunity to upload every single day, but I will try my best to do it as often as possible, and label each day as I take it.

So follow me on this challenge, you know I always love your input!

-Jen

Been a while

2008-02-26T10:19:00.002Z

So we've moved from the UK to the US, bought a house, and had a baby all since my last post! My stamp stuff finally made it to our new home, I placed my first order in months, and I actually made a card the other day! So here I am sharing! I've been blogging regularly at my baby blog (http://jensbabyblog.blogspot.com) and posting baby pictures there!

My favorite Digi LO yet!

2007-10-21T20:39:00.000Z

I found a freebie kit called Autumn Leaves.. you can download it here if you are interested! So I started a LO, then had to find a picture to go with the colors. I went through some of our photos from Scotland that I haven't scrapped yet and found one with similar colors. I really like the way this turned out and the kit is too cute!

Digi Scrapping While I Wait

2007-10-17T14:55:00.000Z

Still waiting ever so impatiently for orders so I've been practicing my Digi Layouts. They aren't great and I don't find them quite as fun as paper SBing, but I'm enjoying trying anyway! These are the three I've done in the past couple of weeks. It's one way to use some of the pictures I have hanging around, and best of all.. it doesn't cost anything!

Lots O' Cards..and a cat.

2007-09-30T19:42:00.001Z

Ok, I didn't take photos of EVERY card that I made, I made a lot of duplicates, so I grouped some together. I did succeed in using ALL of last years Holiday Designer Series Paper (Holiday Thyme). I told myself I would not buy anymore until I used up what I had, and I did it! Of course now my Christmas cards are done so I wont need any until next year! We'll see what cool stuff they come out with then!

This first card is going to be our We've moved card! Once we have a new address, I'll mail them out to our family so they can know where we're at!

Stamps: Boatloads of Love, Loads of Love Accessories, Flannel Plaid BG
Paper: Bayou Blue, Soft Sky, Sage Shadow, Whisper White
Ink: Same, plus Ruby Red, River Rock, Really Rust and Creamy Caramel, Black Stazon
Accessories: Brads, Eyelets, Soft Sky Double Stitched Ribbon, Oval Punch, Designer Tag Punch, Eyelets

A lot of babies being born in my pregnancy group this month! This is one of the congrats on the baby girl cards I made! For the mane of the giraffe I cut the edge off one side of pink grosgrain ribbon and frayed it, then adhered it to the card.

Stamps: Bundle of Joy, Hugs and Wishes,
Paper: Basic Grey PP, Barely Banana, Pretty In Pink, Watercolor Paper, Very Vanilla
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, Black Stazon, Versamark
Accessories: Pink Gingham, MM Brads, Signo White Gel Pen

The following 4 photos are of Christmas cards, many of the ideas or layouts were cased or inspired from SCS. I made a lot of duplicates, and a few more that I didn't photograph but ended up with almost 50 Christmas Cards just in the last week! I'll send them with our express shipment so we'll have them in time to send for Christmas (I hope!)
These are made from recycled tags that were on Christmas Gifts last year. They were too cute to throw away so I knew I had to reuse them!
And something funny (obviously before I packed up my stamp room). I noticed the cat hadn't been running around like usual and wasn't crying for her breakfast one morning and thought I better go check on her. Since she shares my stamp room as her place where the dog isn't allowed, I do worry that she might get in trouble since she's known for eating plastic, ribbon and anything else that isn't tied down.

So I popped upstairs, and open the door to find this:

Now, I've always known to cut your plastic soda can rings before throwing them away because you never know what animal might get stuck in it, but it never occurred to me to make sure I didn't leave any complete circles cut in paper lying around! I'm not exactly sure HOW she managed this, but she did, and luckily I was able to get it off without any issues (though she's now on a strict diet!) So be warned!! Leave no whole holes lying around your house, your pet might get trapped!

Also, for those of you who have never had the opportunity to meet Eibach (the cat), and are wondering about her strange appearance (aside from the piece of paper around her middle). That is indeed the full length of her legs. She's a breed called a Munchkin. They carry a gene similar to that of a dachshund, only in cats, so her body is standard size, but her legs are extremely short. That's as tall as she gets!

That's my update for now! It will be a while before I post more cards as my stamp room is just about fully packed. All the essentials are in boxes ready for shipment. I maybe working on more digital layouts in the meantime though, so keep an eye out for those!

Quick update..

2007-09-29T22:25:00.000Z

Just wanted to pop in and post a quick update since I haven't posted much lately! We're preparing to move back to the US sometime this month so it's been busy around here! Since my stamp stuff will take 2-3 months to arrive at our next base I've been trying to make the next 3 months worth of Birthday, Christmas and We've moved cards! I've successfully made them, but BOY was that a lot of stamping!

After that I started packing my stamp room and it's almost complete. I've never realized exactly how much stuff I have! I have inventoried each box to put in an excel document, printed one out to tape on the outside of the box, and photographed EVERYTHING going into each box just to make sure it all makes it to the other side of the pond. So once I finish, I'll unload the photos off my camera and post the ones of my cards I have made!

It already seems kind of boring around our house since most of my stamp room is packed, when evening comes my normal routine of listening to music or an audio book while I stamp has been disrupted. Hopefully we will see orders this week so we can get things moving quickly and get back home.. once the ball starts rolling, it will roll fast and I can't wait! In the meantime... back to organizing and cleaning!

I'll post more later!

P.S. In case some of you that regularly follow my blog are unaware, I am 26 weeks pregnant with a baby girl! I do have a second blog following my pregnancy that I try and update at least once a week, it can be found here! If it gets really quiet on this one, you can always pop in and see if there's something going on on that side. :)

First Digital Scrapbook Page!

2007-09-24T20:10:00.000Z

I attempted my first Digital SB page today, I wont even tell you how long it took. I used BG "paper" from a free digikit called Phat Splat, and elements from another kit called Twinkle Toes along with some Photoshop brushes and fonts. I had a lot of fun, but I sure hope it gets quicker to do these! I might try and do more and more of them and see about making a whole 8.5 x 11 album to print up (someday). So here's my first go at it!

Paparazzi Day 2

2007-08-29T20:20:00.000Z

Well, today was less than exciting. I didn't get any faces today either! I did catch a glimpse of Scarlett Johansson, and Natalie Portman again, but even the extras only came out twice! It was still fun, and I got another lesson from Jason the photographer about what metering mode to use for this kind of stuff, and a bit of a fill flash lesson (not for this stuff). Too cool!

Here's Natalie Portman, out of costume and headed back to her trailer.

Scarlett Johansson. She passed by one more time while I was there, but she was too quick and I missed it, doh!!
Here's some extras, but I liked the photo anyway... The dress is beautiful, and check out the guys shoes!!

I took some more, I'll post them when I get around to processing them.

Jen Goes Paparazzi!

2007-08-28T19:20:00.000Z

So they are filming at Ely Cathedral for a movie called The Other Boleyn Girl. It stars Eric Bana, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, and Kristen Scott Thomas. They are here for 3 days doing some last minute scenes for the film, so after work Jennifer (my neighbor) and I went over to the Cathedral to see if we could catch a glimpse of some stars!

While I was there, there was a couple of freelance photographers (read: paparazzi) that were hanging out trying to do the same. I was admiring their camera equipment and started chatting with them. One of them was very nice and even gave me a bit of a lesson in this kind of photography! We also were chatting with security who told us tomorrow will be the best day to be there, yeah! I plan on going back at least tomorrow to check it out and see if I can't get some good shots. Scarlett Johansson wasn't actually there today, but I hear she will be tomorrow!

So, I here's some of the shots I DID get. I took about 50, but most of them were of extras and nothing very exciting.

Natalie Portman hiding behind an umbrella (or brolly as they are called here).

Kristen Scott Thomas leaving the area.

I call these the 3 amigos, wrong country, wrong era, I know. But they looked cool in costume anyway.
More extras.
The Scene from where I was standing.
This is Jason, the photographer that was giving me some pointers. Look at that lens!! : )

Upcoming Workshop

2007-08-24T21:31:00.000Z

Well, I have one last workshop scheduled for the rest of my time in the UK (1 month? 2?) It's a 3 project workshop and I'm doing a Halloween Treat Box, a Christmas/Winter card, and a 6x6 SB page!

Here's the page and the supplies. The Vanilla square is where the photo will go.

Stamps: Bronc Buster, Define Your Life
Paper: Sage Shadow, Really Rust, Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla, Outlaw DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, Sponges

This card was inspired by the wrapping paper in the Holiday Mini, as a well as a card found on JanTink's Blog.

Stamps: The Snowflake Spot
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip, Versamark
Accessories: Satin Ribbon, Versamark, Iridescent Ice EP, Ticket Corner Punch

Here's the Halloween Fry Box. It's got a cello bag filled with Reese's Pieces, my favorite Halloween colored candy! I also used some basic black scraps and cut them to 1/4" strips, and ran them through my crimper to make box stuffing!

Stamps: Autumn Apparaitions
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Garden Green, Black Stazon
Accessories: Crimper, Cello Bag

I've been busy!

2007-08-20T16:23:00.001Z

Between cleaning out closets and sorting through stuff getting ready for our move back to the states, I've been crafting like crazy. All of a sudden I decided to finish my projects I had lying
around, and the pictures I meant to scrap ages ago. So, here's what I've been up to!

This wall hanging is made out of chipboard coasters covered with Basic Grey PP, and SU Pretty in Pink matted behind it, cut with scalloped scissors. I adhered ribbon down the back to hold it all together leaving a loop at the top to put a ring trhough so I could hang it on the wall.

These photos are of the roses we had in our front garden just after it rained. I started with white bazzill CS, and used Basic Grey Gypsy pp on top of it. You can't tell, but there is crystal effects on the water droplets to make them have a raised appearance. The butterflies were made with a Heidi Swapp mask, and I painted with pearlescent MM paint. The letters are painted chipboard as well.

I can't get enough of Bronc Buster!! It's large and hard to work with, but I love everything that is made with it! The first card was for a Splitcoast Color Challenge using Bayou Blue, Chocolate Chip and Sahara Sand CS. I stamped the images in Chocolate Chip ink, and sponged around the edges. Weathered BG was used on the Bayou Blue pieces and I attached Sahara Sand eyelets with a crop o dile.

Again, using the Bronc Buster set, and the Thank U sentiment from True Friend out of the Holiday Mini. I layered Outlaw PP on Chocolate Chip CS and again used Chocolate chip Ink on Very Vanilla CS for the main image. I also double stamped Linen over the main image. I distressed and sponged the edges and wrapped linen thread under the main image.

It's that time again!

2007-08-10T19:35:00.000Z

I'm having a Pampered Chef catalog/online party. I just couldn't resist the discount on forged cutlery this month!! So if any of you readers are interested in some new good stuff, just follow this link to the Pampered Chef Online Catalog, featuring me as the hostess! Orders can be shipped directly to your door. I'm aiming to reach a $300 party this time around , so outside orders are much appreciated!

Happy cooking!!

Help Deciding!

2007-08-02T18:54:00.000Z

Alright, I did that mini-photo shoot at work today for the man that wanted pictures of his cat for his family. I was a bit limited for back drops, so I just used our vet beds that we put in the kennels for the animals. Anyway, I narrowed it down to these 3, but I can't decide which one to use!
He wants them printed out for him when he gets back from vacation so I can't ask him which one he likes best! What do you think??

Another negative space post

2007-08-01T19:39:00.000Z

Was going through some photos and came across this one. Thought it fit the challenge so I'm sharing it!

Negative Space

2007-07-29T20:53:00.001Z

I'm going through a bunch of older photos that I hadn't processed yet to look for some negative space examples. I was surprised to come across quite a few!

This photo of the duck was taken at about 3pm, it was daylight, but for some reason the water came out really dark, so I processed it for the water to be completely blacked out, it looks to me like the duck is staring off into the unknown. EXIF: 126mm, 1/320 @ f/4, ISO 200, no flash.
Seagull in flight, taken in the south of England last summer. This photo was actually extremely underexposed. I managed to save it for the most part, thank goodness for RAW! I wont share the EXIF since it wasn't correct for conditions.
Seagull in the sand, same beach. 113mm, 1/500 @ f/8.0 ISO 200, no flash.
This is my brother Shawn at Corfe Castle in England. There was a steep grassy hill with ledges that the kids were jumping and rolling down. Shawn took his turn jumping and it looks like he's about 40 feet in the air as he jumped off each ledge particularly with the first one because you can't really see his shadow. These were a lot of fun. He made it down safely. EXIF for both photos: 78mm, 1/250 @ f/8. ISO 100, No Flash.
Coming in for the landing.

Frame in Frame

2007-07-29T20:27:00.000Z

I'm a little late for this photo challenge, but thought I would upload it anyway. It's a shot from when we went to Scotland. A canons eye view!
17mm, 1/320 @ f/10, ISO 200, No Flash

More cards today.

2007-07-19T22:25:00.000Z

I'm still sick today, but I managed to drag myself off the couch long enough to make a few cards. Drew and I celebrate our 3rd Anniversary on Monday, so I made this card for him. I hope it's not too girly looking! I used Doodle That, and the sentiment is from the new Hugs and Wishes set.
I have a ton of scraps lying around so I tried to use some of them in cards. I could probably make 100 cards using patterned paper and STILL have scraps left! It's a never ending pile! The first is using the new In Color: Sky Blue, and Double Line Doodles!

The following was for SCS challenges SC133 and CC122. I loved these colors together and the sketch was lots of fun! Again I used a Hugs and Wishes sentiment along with Love It behind the sentiment. This is some of the new chipboard as well!

Fill The Frame

2007-07-18T07:12:00.001Z

I looked through my photos and picked some older ones for the Fill the Frame challenge. The first is my DH in Cambridge last summer. I love his smile!

This is my friends daughter. She has the biggest dimples I've ever seen on a kid when she has her full smile on. This pic has a few hot spots as it was a bright sunny day last summer. I was across the street shooting with my 70-200 f/4L.
This is my bass guitar, I was experimenting with shallow DOF after I got my 50mm f/1.8 lens last year.
Ahh, baby Dominik! This is the same kid that's in the BDU cap for the childhood challenge! He was 2 months old in this photo.

Riley is Dominik's big brother. His head is being held at a funny angle here, but his big eyes captivate me, making it one of my favorite photos of him. I can't wait until my munchkin' is born so I have a "model" to take lots of pics of! :)

I was Blog Tagged!

2007-07-17T15:35:00.000Z

Kristy at The Stamp Garage tagged me, I feel so special! Thanks for thinking of me to tag! The rules say I have to share 7 things about myself and tag 7 other bloggers. So here goes:

1. I'm a California native, currently stationed in England with my hubby Drew, for the USAF.
2. I'm 15 weeks pregnant with our first child, due Jan 7th, 2008!
3. I have a spoiled rotten Great Dane named Cosworth, and a Munchkin Cat named Eibach.
4. I love to modify and work on cars.
5. I can play flute, piano, oboe, bass guitar, and mallets (xylophone, marimba, etc.).
6. I want to be a Veterinarian when I grow up.
7. I'm 83lbs lighter than I was 2 years ago, 61lbs lighter than last September.

Alright, that was fun!! Now if I can only find another 7 people that haven't been tagged yet. Sorry if you have been already!

Cherie @ Capture The Memory
Lynn @ Lynn's Random Ramblings
Heather @ Heather Taylor Photography
Michelle @ Just A Thought
Jamie @ Photos By DJ
Monica @ Evan's Daily Journal
Michelle @ Confessions of a Scrapoholic

I made stuff!

2007-07-16T15:10:00.001Z

I've been slacking in the craft department lately.. so I finally sat down with some of my new stuff and made some things! I just LOVE the Baroque Motifs set and matching paper . It's gorgeous!
So bummed they got rid of the organdy ribbon, but that's okay. I still have a lot left to use, for my own pleasure of course!
I made this clipboard to keep tabs of consumables I need to order. I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten to order Barely Banana cardstock!

I made this for a color challenge on SCS, and I can't for the life of me find which number it was now. I also cant believe Roses in Winter is gone, it's one of my favorite sets ever. I don't think you can make a bad card with it!
I saw the idea of using the flower punches to create faux primas on SCS. I have a friend/customer who buys a lot from me, so I try and give her little gifts of appreciation with each order. This jar came from Ikea and I filled it with flowers punched with the threes for you punch, daisy punch, and spring flower bouquet punch out of my rich regals scraps. Good way to thin out the scrap pile!

Edinburgh, Scotland

2007-07-15T09:16:00.001Z

Last weekend we took our trip to Edinburgh, Scotland! I got around to processing some of the photos last night so here they are! I'll try to explain a little bit about each of them as I go. The above photo was taken at the England/Scotland border. We were there at the same time as another American family, so we traded taking photos for eachother.I loved this picture of DH above, except that he wasn't smiling! We had stopped at a pub called The Filling Station for some drinks. He had an ice cold Guinness (below) and I splurged on a cherry coke! Both of these photos were taken with the natural light from the window. The pub was really dark, but there might have been a little bit of light fall off from the adjoining room, so I can't say for certain it's COMPLETELY natural light, but mostly.
After we checked into our hotel, and then went off to explore. As we turned the corner, we came face to face with this monument, called the Scott Monument, after Sir Walter Scott. You could climb to the top, but by the time we actually decided to do it (and it wasn't raining), we were both exhausted and our legs hurt from all the hill walking and changed our minds.

We also came across several statues and artworks in random places. We saw this huge foot, and were joking about how we didn't see Nessie, but we saw Big Foot! (Har Har Har). Here's me posing with said foot.

We found our way to a place called Camera Obscura, sounds like just the place for me!! It was full of visual effects, lighting tricks and all sorts of cool stuff! It was really dark in most places, so only a few photos came out (these are all handheld with no flash). This first photo was actually a ghosting effect. Drew and I were sitting on opposite sides of a plexiglass type screen, and the lights were raised and dimmed to the desired effect, so while it looks like we're sitting next to each other, he was facing me, and I was facing him taking the photo. Cool huh!
We've all seen these things I think! This one was really huge! I tried to get a photo of Drew with his hands on it, but it was too dark to see him, so I took a separate one with just the ball.
I thought this one came out cool too! It was like an inverted ball with lighting that you stuck your hand (or face, etc.) into and it beamed the reflection on the opposite side. This isn't a photoshop trick, the photo is straight out of the camera, just edited to bring out the details a little bit!This is a star room, with the stars changing color. It was mirrored all around creating the look of never ending stars.
I just thought this photo was cool, but it really just changed from color to color , red being the most bold of them.
At the top of Camera Obscura you had just about a 360 view of the city. They were setting up for the Edinburgh Tattoo in August, so the stadium was blocking the view of the castle, so we took photos from the other directions. Here's the view of the Royal Mile from the top of Camera Obscura.

We also got a nice view of the National Monument (a partial replica of the Acropolis in Greece). We tried to find it later, but somehow managed to walk completely around this huge hill, missing it entirely! Our map wasn't very clear.
Speaking of the Royal Mile, it runs from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood House. I'll cover those a bit more later. The following photos are just shots from the Royal Mile.

St. Giles Cathedral was on the Royal Mile as well. We went in it on Saturday afternoon to check it out. It was really dark inside, so we didn't get a lot of photos, but I did get this gorgeous photo of the cathedral tall Organ (taken with natural light from the stained glass windows).

We finally made it up to Edinburgh Castle, which was really cool! You can read all about it here.

We took a guided tour through the castle and learned all about the different sections and the history. We climbed the winding trail all the way to the top where we stopped to take some photos. Here's one from the top. You can see just below people are starting to gather for the One O'clock Gun.
Speaking of the One O'Clock Gun, our tour guide was telling us how it used to be the 12 O'clock Gun, but since the "Scottish are so thrifty" that they changed it to the One O'clock gun so they could save 11 bullets per day! They shoot the gun every day at One, except on Sundays, and we were lucky enough to catch it in action! Here's the photo in the seconds leading up to the shot. The gunner has a small watch in that he held up to wait for it to be exactly One.

I had the better spot with only a few people in front of me, but unfortunately when the gun went off, I jumped so bad that the picture turned in to a blurry crooked mass! Luckily Drew got the shot of the gun going off with the P&S, but had a ton of people in front of him. I was still glad that we got it, so here it is!
Down below the castle (I mean WAY below) there was a beautiful garden where Drew and I went to relax on our last evening in Scotland. We took a few photos of the sides of the hill in which we had to climb up to get to the Royal Mile. First, we have the Bank of Scotland which is now a museum, then Edinburgh Castle. The last two was of some buildings on the side of the hill that I thought were neat (you can see the top of Camera Obscura on the left behind the white building), and Drew snapped a shot of me taking my photo. There were a lot more photos, but for the sake of time and space, I whittled it down to these to post. Thanks for looking!

Happy 4th of July!

2007-07-04T22:43:00.000Z

We went to RAF Feltwell to watch the fireworks tonight. Unfortunately it was still fairly light out, they were REALLY low in the sky, and right behind the fair they had set up, so it wasn't the ideal spot for picture taking! I had to crop out a lot, and mess with them in photoshop to make them stand out. Better luck next year! Happy 4th everybody!

Patriotic Theme

2007-07-02T18:59:00.001Z

I went to the American Military Cemetery in Cambridge today. I had never been there and I thought it might be a great place to get some patriotic photos. I had so many that I liked, I thought I'd compile them into one board. The statement in the middle is what is written along the top of the wall that is inscribed with 5,126 names of the soldiers of World War II, who were either Missing in Action, lost or buried at sea, or "unknowns" who could not be identified prior to their burials. The full pdf file about the cemetery can be found here.

Click on the photo to view larger.

"Model" Photography

2007-07-01T00:21:00.000Z

I read about this fantastic tutorial on how to make faux model photos and had to give it a try! Here's a link to the tutorial if anybody is interested: Fake Model Photography . The only problem I found with it was that I needed to keep the foreground black, and the background white. These were a lot of fun! Click on the photo for full effect!

"Little" Big Ben - LondonBarcelona, Spain

Florence, Italy

Roman Forum - Rome, Italy
St. Peters Piazza - Rome, Italy

Childhood

2007-06-25T17:50:00.001Z

Well, this is at least one shot for the childhood challenge. This is little Dominik, he is our friends youngest son. Dom was born last May (2006) and I came *this* close to having to deliver him in the car, but that's another story! So now, here he is, dressed in Dad's BDU cap.

I was crawling around on the floor chasing him and his brother trying to take photos of them, but wasn't having much luck. They are quick little guys and they were a bit hyperactive. It's been raining for what seems like forever!

I tried a new way of post-processing... not sure if I like it, but it was fun! This photo reminded me of when I was young, I used to wear my moms shoes around the house, or my dads baseball glove which was half the size of my body. I still have a few pics from today to go through, hopefully I'll find a couple more worth posting! This is it for now though!

More Macros Today!

2007-06-25T15:33:00.001Z

We had a bit of sun so I went out looking for more bugs! I found quite a few, so here's what I've got!
Not sure what this is, some type of leaf hopper I believe:
Fly:

Small Caterpillar:

Hover Fly:
Hover Fly in Flight:

I still need to work on this weeks theme for the SB.com blog challenge: Childhood, that's going to be a tough one for me!

Altered Canvas

2007-06-18T19:37:00.000Z

I made this canvas yesterday, it's my first one! It actually took two tries, the first time I mod podged it and then used the mod podge to past the photos on, and they turned pink!!! Yuck! So I tore them off and then had to print them out almost EXACTLY the same size and try again, without mod podge and try and cover up where I tore it off. Overall, I like the way it came out. The only thing I would change is the rub-on that goes through our foreheads and my chin, I would have just done the Life is good part, not the border, but oh well! It's not that bad unless you are looking for things wrong.

DOF and Bokeh

2007-06-15T21:41:00.001Z

Lots of pics today!

The cool thing about Macro is the very shallow depth of field. All it takes is a slight sway for things to be out of focus. The Macro photos were all taken between about F/9 and F/11. So you can see how small the area is to work with! Also the bokeh on the 100mm macro is nice and creamy (like buttah!)

This red mite spider was teeny tiny!! Probably only a few millimeters at best. You can clearly see the limited DOF here. Here also, I just had this guy in the right spot. If you look past him the brick wall is unrecognizable as brick, and just appears as shades of color.
The area of bokeh is small here, but I cropped it wide so you can still see the out of focus leaf in the background.
This photo, while it looks mainly black, is actually a bunch of leaves from a tree behind this leaf! They were just so far back, most of the light didn't hit them, and they barely showed up as bokeh. You can see a small bit towards the bottom that appears dark green in the shadows.

The following two photos were taken with the 50mm f/1.8. If you look at the highlights in the bokeh, you can see that they have a shape (looks 5 sided). This is from the blades that form the aperture (like Danielle was saying). They don't show up as much when there isn't a lot of contrast in the OOF area, but here it's quite obvious.

Here's another one, in the highlights in the bushes, you can see the shape from the blades.

This isn't a great example of bokeh, but I liked this picture and thought I would share it anyway. Cossie got a new backpack to carry his treats, toys, water and sometimes help me with the fruits and veggies I get at the market when my hands are full. DH and I took him for a walk with it on him today to get him used to it. They were suppose to send me black though and I ended up with green! :) Taken with the 70-200 f/4L

Textures, and some color.

2007-06-11T20:28:00.001Z

Two of these I took today, and the last one I took a few months ago, but thought it fit in well here. The first two were taken with the macro lens again at f/9 with flash. The last one was with flash at f/6.3.

This is a seashell from a little house decoration we have.

This is part of a picture frame that we got in Barcelona Spain. The are really big on mosaics there!
This is a feather from a feather duster :) I tried to clone out most of the dust spots, but you can still see some!

It's HERE!

2007-06-11T15:59:00.000Z

My 30D came in the mail today, and I'm so stoked! I bought it used, though practically new as it had under 1000 shots taken with it and is only 3 months old. Since I already have most of the lenses I want (for now that is) I just bought the camera body, but here is my new love with my 17-40L on it. It's so much BEEFIER than my XT, it's great! I love the huge screen, and the solid feel. So from now on, all my pics will be taken with the 30D as my XT is going to a new home tomorrow!

The Dog

2007-06-10T14:54:00.000Z

I forgot I took this photo yesterday as well of Cosworth (our Great Dane). It reminded me so much of one of those "The Dog" images that I had to share it. Now if only I had a little bit wider of a lens! He wasn't too sure about what to think of this big thing in his face, but he was a good sport.

Insects, Larvae, Arachnids.. and a river!

2007-06-09T17:17:00.000Z

It was a gorgeous day today, we actually had SUN! I even got myself a small tan line going on. So I sat outside much of the day staring into plants looking for bugs. I was quite successful, though some of the pics didn't come out as well as I would have liked. The identifications of these might not be 100% accurate, but should be close. All of these were taken with the Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro, with the exception of the last one, which was taken with the Canon 17-40 f/4L.

Two caterpillars. The one on the right is possibly a Vapourer Moth Larvae.

This little guy is a Wooly Aphid. Can't say I've ever seen one of these before!
Ladybug LarvaeTetragnatha Extansa or Long-Jawed Orb Weaver. I moved a branch and she came running out and scared me, looks like I scared her too! When frightened, they stretch out along branches to disguise themselves.

Perhaps some type of wasp, standing on an aphid! Amazing what you find after you take a photo.
Beetle PartyDuring the summer, all the boats start coming out and cruising down the river that runs through our area. There are some that are stationary (further into town) that you can have dinner on, and some take you on tours. These are just local owners, and a beautiful day!

A rose is a rose...

2007-06-08T12:59:00.000Z

It was raining today, but as I got home, it had all but stopped (temporarily of course). Walking into the house I noticed our roses are blooming in the front garden, so I grabbed my camera to get some photos before it started raining again. I wish I could capture the smell on camera, but it smelled gorgeous as well!

Smoke Art

2007-06-01T22:07:00.000Z

I posted some smoke shots a while back (incense smoke against a black background). I read of a new technique using photoshop. Take the image and duplicate the layer. Flip the layer horizontally and then move it until it makes a shape that you like. Here are some of my attempts at this!

Growing Kitten

2007-05-17T08:02:00.000Z

Remember our kittens at work? They're growing up big!! I took this photo of one of them yesterday. Isn't she just so cute? Her name is Clariss, and she's been adopted to the sweetest family, though she won't go home for another 4 weeks or so. I have more pics, but I haven't processed them yet, so I'll post them later, but I just had to share!

Old Barn

2007-04-29T19:23:00.000Z

Yeah, I know, I don't post in ages, then I do 3 posts in 1 day. Hey! It's been a busy day! I pass by this barn almost every day, and I finally stopped to snap a pic today. I processed it in photoshop, converted to monochrome. I also added some sharpening, and rendered some light in the center fading outwards.

Cute Kitten Share!

2007-04-29T15:59:00.000Z

I almost forgot, we have the cutest mama cat at work right now, her owner couldn't keep her while she had kittens and they were weaning, so we are keeping her at work until they are old enough to rehome, and then mama will go back to her family. I took my camera with me to work every day while we were waiting for her to deliver, and the day finally came!

Here is mama, and kittens about an hour and a half after they were born.

This is her kittens, at 4 days old. The one on the end is going to be a wild one! You can't tell me these kittens aren't stinkin' cute!!

Whipper Snapper Stamps Are Here!

2007-04-29T15:25:00.000Z

I received my first ever order of whipper snapper stamps yesterday, and let me just say, I think a fiend has been born! They are a little pricey compared to Stampin' Up! rubber, and I wish I could mount them myself, but they are SO CUTE!!! The stamps are humongous to boot. I made a few cards with them last night just to get a feel for them. I heart them!
I also made this coaster box. Here's the link to the instructions on the splitcoast website: Chipboard Box Tutorial.

I used Basic Grey Blush, along with SU's French Flair BG, Delight in Life, and Marvy Uchidas Giga Scalloped and Mega circle punches.
Thanks for stopping by!

Hello MOJO!

2007-04-22T20:42:00.000Z

Well, I seem to have my mojo back when it comes to making cards and scrapbooking! Yahoo!! I had really just been making a lot of messes lately, and the last couple of days I've been able to make a few creations. This makes me very happy.

Here's what I've been up to:

This card I made and took apart about 5 times, so it's a bit rough, lol. I decided I wanted to try sewing on a card (can you tell I don't sew), so I gave it a shot. I also added lots of bling!
This is a spring inspired card! theres lots of these colors on the trees around where I live, so I thought I'd incorporate that into a card. I was happy with the way this turned out, it makes me smile!

This one was made for a three splitcoast challenges. The color challenge, sketch challenge, and limited supply challenge! You can't really see it, but theres iridescent ice on the Cool Caribbean blooms!

I wasn't entirely thrilled with this Leaning Tower LO. I took this photo when I was in Italy with my sister in law Jane in February. The mix of blacks and browns bothers me a little, but I'm sure I'll get over it. Besides, they can't all be perfect right?? I've been dying to use these huge blooms that I bought, and here was my chance!

The sun was setting just as I was getting off work last week, and I had my camera with me (of course), so I pulled over at the end of our road and took this photo. It was also the first photo I took with my new lens (the 17-40 f/4L), as I had just gotten in the mail that morning. I loved the colors that came of it, it certainly is beautiful!

Fun with Gerbera Daisies

2007-04-01T20:48:00.000Z

I picked up these two Gerbera Daisies at Ikea on Friday and I kept meaning to take photos of them. I started another photo challenge a day for April, so I decided that today would be the day I'd take the pictures! These were taken with my Canon 100 mm f/2.8 Macro, there is black velour behind the daisies, and a flash was used to light these.

Fan-Macro-Tastic!

2007-03-31T22:20:00.000Z

I got out with my flash and my macro lens today and took a few shots in the front garden,which is overrun with aphids (as you can see.. yuck!!) So I hope you enjoy them.. I love the advantage the flash gives in getting a sharp macro, although I prefer natural light, sometimes you need to compromise!

On Board 5x5 Art Journal

2007-03-23T20:33:00.000Z

I was playing with some new SU stuff from the Spring Mini last week. I used the 5x5 art journal to make this Birthday book with the Office Accoutrements set, coordinating paper, and accents & elements kit. The tabs (with the new round tab punch) are labeled with the months. I have some pages left over, and haven't decided what to do with them yet. Either Birthday Gift Ideas, or a Notes tab, or something! We'll see!

I've been busy!

2007-03-10T23:07:00.000Z

I know, I haven't updated my blog in a long time! Immediately after returning from Italy, I had to study for a statistics midterm which HOPEFULLY I passed. I wont know for a few weeks. Work has been busy, and well, life just gets away from me. I haven't had a chance to stamp since my last card I uploaded. So I decided tonight I was going to sit down and get creative.

I made a spring mini sets; Bunny Hugs. I also couple of easter cards with one of the new altered a clock and some canvases out of Basic Grey Blush paper. I saw the canvases in a magazine, I think it might have been Scrapbooks, etc. and thought it was a cute idea. The craft store had these mini canvases, so I bought a few to try it out on. I think it came out really cute and is a great crafty add to decorate my walls with. Plus you can never have too much BG!!

So I'm off for now, I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to post again. I've got to prepare for stamp club next weekend. When I finish getting everything prepared I'll post the projects for this month!

It's an Animal!

2007-03-03T21:57:00.000Z

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated my blog! I've been busy with school, work, and my trip to Italy last weekend. It's put me really far behind! I'll post pics of my Italy trip later, I still have to process them. I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to do that, but I'll get to it, I promise!

I got to pick up my new toy on Friday, a Dyson Animal! Wow does this thing have some suction power! I'm totally pleased with the purchase! I vacuumed the whole house (except the stairs), and when Drew came home, he was just as excited. He wanted to vacuum the stairs, so I let him, and captured a picture while he was at it. He went from the stairs to the whole downstairs (again), I couldn't believe how much stuff came off the floor even though I had just done it yesterday. Yowsa! After he did the floor, he started with the couch, inside and out.. he was on a roll! I decided I had to scrap the event. Since I've had scrappers block for so long I was amazed that I was able to create something in just about half an hour! So here's my layout of my new Dyson, and Drew, giving it a workout on the stairs!

It's RED!

2007-02-16T14:32:00.000Z

Look, it's me!! The woman behind the camera. I've gone and done it this time and had my hair dyed RED! It's a bit bold, kind of "woah", but I like it. I think it suits me. It screams.. I'M HERE to the world, and that's just how I've been feeling lately. Wonderful, full of life, fun, and (positive) attitude. So watch out world!! Here' I come!

Playing with Smoke

2007-02-12T15:19:00.000Z

I had seen some photos done using smoke from either cigarettes, incense, or candles, so I thought I'd give it a try using incense sticks. I set it up by putting a black background up , and then placing my incense stick about 3 or 4 feet in front of the background. I set up my camera (using the 50mm f/1.8) in front with my 580EX flash to the right of my camera aiming directly at my incense. I taped a piece of paper around the flash, so that it wouldn't have much fall off, and light only the incense, and not the background, at least as much as possible. I then shot using a fairly long exposure. I did some editing in photoshop as well.

Here were the results of my efforts:

Do you like Pampered Chef?

2007-02-04T20:36:00.000Z

I'm hosting an online Pampered Chef party! If you like PC, and want to support my party, follow the link below to check out their online catalog. There is a Guest Special of 20% off stoneware this month! My show runs from February 1st through 16th.

Jen's Pampered Chef Show

Big Blossom Kiss

2007-02-04T11:27:00.000Z

I hadn't had a chance to play with Big Blossom, one of the SAB sets. The popular thing to do is use the kissing technique on it. I stamped Big Blossom in So Saffron, then kissed it with Roses in Winter in Regal Rose, Rose Red, and Bravo Burgandy, I added some leaves with Always Artichoke. I then stamped it on some Whisper White card stock. I cut out the blossom and cut cut a straight edge so it would be flush with the edge of the card.

The card base is made out of So Saffron stamped with Aida Cloth, also in So Saffron. There is then a Rose Red layer underneath Whisper White with French Script stamped again, in So Saffron. The blossom was adhered over all the layers, a piece of Hodgepodge Hardware added in the middle with some grosgrain ribbon tied to the center of it. Thank you from Wonderful Words was stamped in Black Stazon at the bottom of the card. The mat pack was used to pierce the upper right corner of the card.

A Study of Texture

2007-01-23T07:29:00.000Z

I know I haven't been very diligent in posting lately. Life gets so busy so quick! I was sick with the stomach flu for about a week and a half, and really didn't do much of anything. I'm feeling better, but now poor Drew has my sickness! I'm in my last week of my College Algebra class, and I start Statistics next Monday. Work is going good, I'm going to a seminar tonight on management of the diabetic cat! I can't say that it will be the most exciting seminar, but hey, I like to learn about everything. I've also been going to the gym EVERY day, which has been hard, but a positive step for me. My weight loss was slowing down and I needed something to kick it into gear again. As of yesterday, I'm down 37 pounds from October (52 down from 2005), yeah!

Now, on to my photo. This is actually a feather from my feather duster, the fine lines of feathers always intrigued me, so I thought I'd take a photo. Unfortunately I couldn't find a bird to sit still long enough for a close up, so I resorted to using my feather duster as a model. At least it cooperates when you ask it to stay still for a few minutes!

I hope everyone has had a fabulous start to the new year!

-Jen

Mysterious Tulip?

2007-01-07T22:45:00.000Z

I'm not sure if I would call it mysterious, but it's on the dark side.....

Up close and personal

2007-01-05T15:10:00.000Z

To President Jackson on the front of a US $20 bill. I always found the detail in money amazing!

As a side note, I haven't had a chance to stamp or scrap lately. I'm still sick, and I find myself doing small things around the house. I've been feeling the need to organize, so I've started slowly doing so. In the meantime I've been working on the photo a day challenge, and homework, homework, homework! I think I shall be able to stamp some more this weekend.

Refracted Heart

2007-01-03T20:42:00.000Z

This photo was inspired by Athena from the Canon Digi Photo Forums. She does amazing refracted art work, and I wanted to give it a try, and this is the result of my first attempt. I'm not feeling very well, but had some dogs that I'm pet sitting coming over, so I had to stay awake until they got here. I'm now crawling back in bed ot get a full nights rest. Here's the photo for 3 Jan 07:

Photo A Day Challenge

2007-01-02T23:43:00.000Z

Well, I joined a photo a day challenge on scrapbook.com, so I'm going to ATTEMPT to take a photo every day in January and get it uploaded to my SB.com gallery. I figured I might as well upload it to my blog too so my readers (do I have any? lol), can keep track of my progress. Most of the photos will probably be macro photos since that is my favorite area of photography (right now anyway), and my macro setup is almost complete! So here is todays photo, Water Drops on a CD:

Ladybird Macro

2007-01-01T14:30:00.000Z

We had sun today, yay!! Even if it was only for a little while. I took this opportunity to go out with my Macro lens in search of bugs and creepy crawlies. Well, it's far from creepy, but i found a whole pile of ladybirds hanging out on the fence, and this was my favorite shot. It's a bit oversaturated as my calibrate my laptop monitor and I dont' trust the desktop with its harddrive problem to use it for my photos right now. I decided to leave it the way it is because I like the bright and bold colors. They remind me of spring, and that it wont be winter forever.

Fun with Wild Rose

2006-12-31T23:45:00.000Z

I started off with a challenge to myself to use my Ribbon Originals that I hadn't used yet, and this is what I ended up with! I started off with an approximately 80/20 fold of a standard size card cut longwise in Mellow Moss, then I added a layer of Bravo Burgandy. I put on the recollections paper and wrapped it with my ribbon but it seemed plain, so I stamped happy, and birthday from the "happy joyful birthday!" stamp of small sayings and sponged a little creamy caramel over it and put it under some hodgepodge hardware.

When it came to the main image I stamped the rose, but it seemed so lonely and I couldn't figure out how I wanted to fill in the blank part. I remembered using french script on a previous card and I liked the way it looked, so I stamped off french script in bravo burgandy, and then stamped linen on top of the whole thing in creamy caramel, and sponged the edges with creamy caramel.

The card kept popping open, so I thought I would add some photo turns to hold the clasp down, only I mounted them on the wrong side of the card, so my flap wasn't staying shut, but I already had holes so i didn't want to take them out. Instead I exchanged them for the triangle clasps and added another brad on the opposite side to hold it closed, and it worked! It still opens very easy yet stays closed otherwise.

I think this is another into my box of favorites!

New Favorite Card!

2006-12-26T19:41:00.000Z

I created this card from a sketch challange on SCS. I was trying to use only scraps and pieces that I had in my scrap folders, so I used pieces from the hostess Simply Scrappin' Kit Friends and Flowers, and used Bodacious Bouquet for my main images. I also used the words from a Take Three stamp on the flap (you can never have too many thank you cards!). I intend on sending this in for a SU contest, so wish me luck!

Family Photos

2006-12-18T22:12:00.000Z

Today Drew and I took our yearly family photo. It's a little bit late, but it's done!! It was pretty cold out this morning, and I was the photographer as well, so I had to focus, set the self timer and then run back to position before it went off. Cosworth wasn't cooperating, especially with me running back and forth so he looks pretty goofy, but at least he was eyeballing the camera. We of course had to throw in a fun one, just for kicks! I think its actually my favorite though, because it shows just how we usually are. Happy end of 2006 from the White house!!

Altered Frappuccino Bottles

2006-12-16T11:55:00.000Z

As stated in my previous post, I've been working on Christmas gifts this week. I've decided to make altered frappuccino bottles for gifts for my coworkers and I finished one up last night! Here is the finished result:

The box is decorated using Holiday Thyme paper, and the Like it a Latte set. I used hodgepodge Hardware, and stitched grosgrain ribbon to decorate the front.

The bottles are decorated with more Stampin' Up! Holiday Thyme paper, non SU vellum quotes, and tags were made using the large and small tag punch. Each tag opens up to reveal a little saying or directions. The bottles have hot cocoa mix, marshmallows, candy canes (stirring sticks), and Mint Chocolate M&Ms. Yum!! I will hopefully finish the rest of them this evening and will get those posted as well.

Wow, what a week!

2006-12-16T11:41:00.000Z

This has definitely been the worst week I've had in a while. It started off working an extra day Monday, where I proceeded to try and set the clinic on fire with a forgotten bag of popcorn in the microwave. I'm sure everyone was wondering why their animals went home smelling like burned popcorn. I'm still trying to get the smell out of my clothes.

Tuesday was rather uneventful with the exception of the huge dog that needed radiographs, and then I had to try and lug him around under anesthesia after he soaked himself in urine from the premedication. I smelled wonderous. At least Cosworth was impressed when I came home!

Wednesday I darn near spontaneously combusted. I forgot to put the recycling out, there were two crazy dogs, one barked all day long, the other paced. While coming out of anesthesia, the pacer did a huge number 2, and paced in it before i could get her out of there. She then proceeded to pace all over my feet, and rub on my legs, leaving me again, smelling wonderous for the day. I was about to cry then. I came home to process some photos that were intended for DVD photo albums for Christmas gifts when I relized I forgot to turn in my STAP form for school which will save us $260 on my class fees. Thats when my gasket blew.

Drew called me in sick on thursday, so to speak. He called and let them know that I really needed a day off to catch up. I'm still behind on Christmas, hadn't even started homework yet, and the house is a disaster. They called me later and gave me the day off. I spent all day doing homework and processing photo and working on Christmas stuff. On a happy note, I lost 3.5 pounds this week.. yahoo!

Friday, concluded the week (I hope) by me waking up with an odd rash on my hands. Fluid filled bumps and alligator like skin. It must have been stress induced, and I wouldn't be surprised. I ran some errands, and processed some more photos. I was doing that when my computer froze up and wouldn't do anything. No Ctrl Alt Del would work, I couldn't unfreeze it, just stuck, so I was forced to reboot by holding the power button. All rebooted fine, started up, opened photoshop, and proceeded to open my pictures folder.... "the disk in drive F: is not formatted". Oh no.

Sure enough, the harddrive crashed and my pictures folder is missing. All 200 some odd photos I processed, gone. All of our Spain Pics, Gone. Thankfully I had backed up a couple of months ago, so about 75% of the pics are saved, but the rest... gone. I'm running a recovery program to hope that I can get the ones that are lost on the Harddrive back.

A few good things happened this week. I got our renters insurance taken care of, and my camera equipment covered. I've got TWO Stampin' Up orders coming, one personal, one for stamp club, and I am almost done with Christmas gifts, except for the Christmas photo ones. Hopefully everything else goes without a hitch!

That is the story of my week. I hope yours was much better! :)

Happy Holidays!

-Jen

As One Ends, Another Begins.

2006-12-01T10:32:00.000Z

Somehow I managed to sign up for two math courses that overlapped each other (Math 012 and Math 107), one being a prerequisite for the other. They only overlap by a month, so while one course is finishing, the other is just beginning.

I'm happy to announce that I will be passing Math 012 with an A. I was quite pleased with the results since it had been so long since I'd taken a math course. Unfortunately that class doesn't count towards anything, but the other one does. We've had one test in Math 107 and I found out today, that I got 100% on it!

Next week brings us to a proctored midterm and I'm very nervous. I hope I'm ready. Now that Math 012 is finished I can concentrate on keeping my postings up and ahead on my homework in 107. While I haven't been behind, but I like being ahead, it makes me feel like I have some room in case i get too busy, or something comes up.

However, so far, my adventures back in to school have left me extremely happy. I only hope it continues on this well. Maybe I will reach my goal of becoming a veterinarian someday. I just have to keep on trucking along, preferably racking up A's as I go.

-Jen

Challenge for today.

2006-11-27T15:29:00.000Z

There was a fun challenge posted on POTN (Photography On the Net) yesterday to post a photo of a screw in one way or another. I was already in bed, so I decided to give it a shot today (no pun intended). These are my takes, though the "hot" one was somewhat inspired by another guys photo. My original intention was to have it red and hot at the top and fade into cold blue at the bottom, but I couldn't get photoshop to cooperate with me so I left it as is. Unfortunately it ended up very similar to the other guys photo. I don't think he was impressed, but I wasn't purposely trying to copy his photo. Well, you can't win them all.

It's always fun to have ideas given to you to take pictures of things you wouldn't ordinarily take pictures of. It helps spark creativity and get you thinking about what else you can photograph. I think I'll be searching through all of my drawers now for odd stuff that looks like it would make an interesting photo.

My first blog

2006-11-26T16:29:00.000Z

Well, I figured it's time to jump on the blog bandwagon. I've seen so many exciting blogs that I thought I would start my own that included my favorite hobbies, Stampin', Scrappin', and Photography.

First a little introduction.

I'm Jen, and I've been scrapbooking since I graduated High School in 1998. My aunt gave me a Creative Memories scrapbook along with some supplies to get started and away I went. I stopped for a while due to finances, and other obligations. Two and a half years ago I got married and I had many reasons to start up again, so off I went full steam ahead.

Since I liked scrapbooking so much, my mom thought I would be interested in Stampin' Up!. She had recently signed up to be a demonstrator and mailed me the information and catalogue for me to peruse through. Boy was that I mistake (or not)! I wanted everything I saw, so I signed up to be a demonstrator in August 2005. I work as a veterinary technician, and I also go to school, so I do Stampin' Up! classes and workshops in between things. Usually not more than one or two per month. I do spend many evenings in my craft room creating away however. Card making and well, everything else that stays still enough for me to stamp it are now passions of mine as well. I spend a lot of time at www.splitcoaststampers.com gaining invaluable stamping knowledge and getting tons of ideas.

In order to scrapbook it is helpful to have photos to scrap. I have always loved taking lots of photos, but in March 2006 my dear hubby let me buy a Canon Digital Rebel XT, and my photography passion has also taken off. I love all aspects of photography, but my favorite is nature and animals, as well as macro photography. This is where most of my concentration is, but I'll take photos of whatever gets in my way.

I'm not sure how I find the time to do all these things, but I manage, and I love it! Hopefully this blog will inspire other people as I have been inspired by them.

-Jen