Redoing Project Life

Redoing Project Life

That's my plan for 2012. I've been away for too long. Memories have been created but not recorded.

I am planning on doing Project Life again this year. I did it in 2010 and it was a worthwhile project. The kids still enjoy looking at the album. I knew that I would be too preoccupied and busy this year to commit to it. I was hoping to do it once in a while. But you know how it goes if you're not fully committed. Nothing gets done. So this year, I am committing myself to doing it.

I hope to enlist the help of the rest of the family more this time. I want this to be their project too. I may be the main person taking pictures and recording but I'd like their input too. I've been reading on how other people are doing it and I am so inspired. I'm planning to do Project 365 again but not all those photos will make it to my album. I want to include more ephemera this time, not just pictures and words.

I got the Amber edition - album and core kit. I definitely think that this 3-ring binder with steel rings is of a much better quality than the one we used in 2010. It looks sturdier. One problem with our 2010 binder is that the pages keep slipping out of the rings for some reason. It drives me crazy! I am hoping that I won't have that problem with this new album.

I'm also hoping to get back into digital scrapbooking this year but I will reserve that for another post. :)

The Silver Lining

The Silver Lining

One of the benefits of being forcibly confined to my bed is that I've been able to scrap. I used to do this more often but slowed down considerably last year. Burnout? Maybe. I just was not feeling it. Uninspired. Blah. Too busy.
At the start of the year, as part of my Project Life, I wanted to scrap my weekends too. I am taking on a more liberal approach with my Project Life. I know that I will not be able to take 1 picture a day everyday for 365 days. There were days last year that I just took a pic just for the sake of taking a pic. There seemed a disconnect. So, this year, I am giving myself more leeway. Some days I may take more than 1 photo. Some days I may take none. On the weekends, I'd like to take at least 1 or 2 and then scrap what we did during the weekend and include that in our Project Life album. In this way, I've taken the ease of documenting our lives with Project Life and paired it with my desire to be more creative.
I've scrapped the first 2 weekends of January. I'm working on the 3rd weekend right now. Along the way, I was inspired to scrap a page just because I liked a series of photos I took. It felt so good to scrap again. The satisfaction of churning out something beautiful and being creative gives me the warm fuzzies. Love it!
I am not happy with my Rose Parade page but I've decided that I'm done with it. It documents the experience and I'm moving on. After getting over that hump, things were moving smoothly once again.
I haven't bought any new kits/supplies. As long as I'm still able to use my stash, I'll keep to supplies I already have. Unless I am really wowed by a kit I see and have a specific page in mind where I can use it, I think I won't be digishopping any time soon.

Project 365 Hiccup

Project 365 Hiccup

I've been remiss in posting my project 365. I will be honest and say that I've missed a lot of days. I'm still continuing on with my Project Life though. What I'm doing is not necessarily doing a picture a day but more like at least 7 pictures a week.

There are days when 1 photo a day is not enough. And there are days when there just isn't any story to tell that day. My DSLR is also a huge thing to lug around our everyday activities so I've asked DH if he could buy me a point and shoot. I asked him earlier this year and never really got an answer. Well, guess what he got me for my birthday? Yup! I'm thrilled not so much because I got a new camera but because he listened and remembered. It feels good to know that he pays attention even when sometimes I feel like he does not.

So, anyway, with my new handy camera, I hope that my Project 365 slideshow on my sidebar will have all-new photos soon. Be on the lookout for it. :)

Project 365: April

Project 365: April

April started off with a beautiful spring vacation at Oceanside with my aunt and uncle from Milwaukee. Then we celebrated DD1's birthday, then my dad's birthday. Those were pretty much the highlights of the past month. I was so hardpressed to find stuff to photograph the rest of the month. I was registered for the daily prompts of Picture Spring over at BPS. I loved the prompts but I was just not that committed to doing them daily. The drudgery of daily life took precedence over my creative output. I wish I had put more effort in finding the beauty in everyday. That's what I'm trying to do this month. I have not been feeling very creative lately so I think pushing myself to DO something creative will help me gain grounds on my lost creativity. A good friend had given birth to her first child last month and I wanted to make her birth announcements. I was not able to do it so I will volunteer to help her with the baptismal invitations instead. I felt really good being able to help her during the first couple of weeks of motherhood. She is almost like a younger sister to me so I do feel a kinship to her.
Anyway, that was our month. How was yours?

Project 365: March 2010

Project 365: March 2010

I've survived another month of taking daily photos. I must admit that there are days when I have absolutely no idea what pics to take. And there are days when my pics are so uninspired because I'm taking the pics just for the sake of not missing a day. I expected those days to come. And the important thing is to trudge along until I get over that hump.
For the month of April, I am actually enrolled in the Picture Spring class at Big Picture Scrapbooking where Tracey Clark gives us a daily prompt to spark our creative minds. I have not done all the prompts because we were away last week for spring break. My aunt and uncle were here from Milwaukee. It's become their annual visit. I suppose they enjoy having the kids around. My kids can be quite adorable for the most part. LOL! They were never able to have kids so I think they long for the hugs and kisses kids give unconditionally. My aunt is now retired. My uncle still dabbles with selling term life insurance online and offline. For the most part though, they travel together around the US.
In our homeschool, we are on our fourth quarter already! Almost done! We've survived our first year. And I think we're doing quite well. I am so proud of the progress my girls have shown. I am quite proud of myself too! Thank you God for your grace and guidance. Here's to more years of homeschooling.

Project 365: January & February

Project 365: January & February

The project is still going strong! There have been days when I almost failed to take a pic but somehow I managed to eke out a photo. I've been slacking in the scrapping department big time so the plan to do weekly reviews have been thrown out the window. I've made this mosaic instead using the mosaic maker at bighugelabs.com from my flickr photos. It's really more to share here on the blog. I don't think its resolution is good enough for printing. I'm doing something else with the pictures I'm taking each day but I'll blog about it another time when I've got pictures to accompany the post. If you've been following my Project 365 blog or Flickr photostream, you'll most probably know what I've been doing with the pictures.

Anyway, just wanted to show you my January 2010 in pictures:And here is my February 2010 life in pictures:
I just think it is so visually appealing to see my pictures side by side this way. I feel that these are visual representations of my life for the first 2 months of the year.

There were days in February that I was not feeling as inspired as I was in January. I felt like I was running out of ideas and things/people to photograph. I'm afraid that this could start to drag and feel like a chore but I'll keep plugging along. The "aha" moments and feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction after seeing an idea come to life in a picture more than makes up for those times of creative dearth.

Project 365 weeks 1 - 3

Project 365 weeks 1 - 3

I've been committed to taking my daily pics and posting them on my project 365 blog. And I'm really enjoying it! Last year, even at the start, I felt burdened by the project. It felt like something I had to do. This year, I am the opposite end of the spectrum. I cannot wait to look for my shot. Or sometimes, at the end of the day, I have ideas in my head on what I want to shoot for the next day's pic.
And the workflow of taking the pic, some post-processing then posting on the blog and sharing on FB works for me. It is so easy. Then I found this blog2print service where they can print out your blog into a book. Perfect!! I don't even need to make monthly layouts anymore to make a family yearbook. The family yearbook is something I've been wanting to do for years now but never get to finish all 12 monthly reviews. This blog2print service will solve that for me! Woohoo!!
I'm hoping that I don't run out of steam for the project. I actually have a short list of ideas for days when I feel like there is nothing interesting to photograph coz I've had those days before. Days that are so blah and boring that cold sores (caused by the herpes simplex virus) start to look interesting. Eew...I know! But those days come. And on those days, creative thinking is at an all-time low. And for such days are these lists.

Project 365

Project 365

I've restarted this yearlong project once again. I hope I can finish it this time. The first year, I reached until October before life took over and missed finishing the whole year. Last year, I lasted until May. I'm keeping it simple this year. I will be posting it on my Project 365 blog. That's it. Having to post it at multiple sites bogged me down in the past. Trying to scrap weekly/monthly reviews did too. So, this year, I'm keeping it simple. Take a picture. Process a bit. Blog it. Done. I'm hoping that this simple workflow will get me to stick to the project for the whole year.
I really like how the project pushes me to see my life in closer detail. Last year just felt like a blur with days melting into the next. Having this project helps me to slow down and savor moments.
Savoring moments was something I was "forced" to do last Saturday when our family went on an impromptu trip to Disneyland. We arrived at the park after 2 pm which is very late by our standards. Our usual "schedule" of activities was thrown off. I could have gotten stressed but I just went with the flow. The lines were long. Wait times were the usual 45 min to an hour. Took it all in stride. Even as I stood in line in the cold, waiting for my turn to buy coffee, I was savoring the moment. I think I was too friendly (and perhaps charming) that the old man in front of the line began chatting me up. He was feeling cold too, he said because he's from Hawaii and not used to this type of nighttime chill. He used to work at a dealership and talked about motorhome warranty - he lost me there as he continued to mumble a few more things. He was going to buy me coffee. I smiled and politely refused. I found it amusing because his girlfriend (I think) kept saying, "Oh, we don't know her." It led me to thinking that this was a penpal sort of thing and he was probably visiting her and her family. LOL! The stories that grow in my mind!
Anyway, as I was saying, I've started taking my pics again. I have a little slideshow in my sidebar if you want to see the pictures.
Have a good day!

Photo-A-Day {January}

Photo-A-Day {January}

I'm starting to see that this project of mine is really more than just improving my photography. I am realizing that through the snapshots I take, I am able to record a part of our lives. Looking back at the past month's photos has given me the opportunity to look back at what has happened in January. As a scrapbooker, this is important to me as I believe in preserving our memories. I actually worked on a scrap page reviewing the January our family had. I did not have to consult my datebook at all! I just had to look through my photos. I am so thankful that I started this project. It's given me enough motivation to keep doing it.

I've also decided to really print these photos and make a mini-album of it. I know I've talked about it before but now, I'm determined to get it done. I'm keeping it simple and basically all about the photo and the memory. Here's my cover page for January - a mix of my fave photos and highlights of the month. I'll post pics of the project once I get it done - which I hope is soon!









And before I forget, here are my photos from last week - week 5, I believe?

Thanks for taking a peek! Have a great day!

Photo-A-Day Week 4

Photo-A-Day Week 4

Yup, we're in week 4! January is almost done! So far, so good. I can definitely say that this has been stretching me, as far as my commitment to photography goes. There are good days when I have an idea in my mind of what to shoot. Then there are days when I just take a snapshot for the sake of taking a photo. Yesterday was such a day. Yes, it was our anniversary. I have an idea in my head of a shot I want to do. But I was so busy yesterday that towards the end of dinner, I just whipped out the point and shoot and just took a shot of DH. One shot. And it was not even good! LOL! I just did not want to take pics. I wanted to enjoy our date.
Still, overall, I'm having fun with the project. Hope you're enjoying the pics I've been taking too. I suppose you're able to take a peek into my life through my pictures too!

Photo-A-Day week 3

Photo-A-Day week 3

3 weeks down...49 weeks to go! LOL! I just post my week's summary here on this blog. Most photos on that strip right there, if not all, have had some post-processing. Others are a complex mix of actions/presets and dabbling with curves. Others, just a simple photo pop to make the colors sharper. If you're interested to see the unedited pics, I've got links on my left sidebar to the photoblog where I post my pics as is. I think it's really freeing to just upload the photo and not have to include a 100-word post with it! LOL! Sometimes, I don't even explain what's going on. It kinda challenges me to take pics that are interesting too.

Till next week!

Photo-A-Day Week 2

Photo-A-Day Week 2

Here's week 2 of my Project 365. I haven't missed a day so far. It's only been 2 weeks but I'm already running out of ideas. What else should I take a pic of? What do you want to see?

If you'll look at the last photo - the photo from yesterday - that's DS with his first missing tooth! Yup, that tooth has been wiggling for a couple of weeks now. We told him to stop moving it so that he won't have a gap during his bday party on Saturday. LOL. Vain parents are we?
Anyway, last night, he comes running to me after he brushed his teeth and tells me that his tooth just fell off. So, I guess, we'll have one "bungi" birthday boy. I suppose that makes for more character and interest in the pictures, huh?

Photo-a-day week 1

Photo-a-day week 1

Here's my recap for my first week of Project 365. I'm really happy with the photos I was able to take. I like that I'm getting practice adjusting shutter speed, aperture and ISO to get the right exposure. I'm trying not to use the flash too and rely on natural lighting.

I know it's just DD3 on there. Gotta be more aware to take photos of the other kids too.

Project 365

Project 365

I mentioned a few posts down that I was doing Project 365. I put up a different photoblog for it where I'm posting my photos. I decided to keep that all about the photos for the project. Hope you can visit me there too. There are several of us ScrapArtist girls who are doing the project. I have a blogroll of them at my sidebar. The list is still manageable that I've been able to visit them regularly. Would be nice if you could join us.
What really had me excited yesterday was seeing this new kit by Two Sisters Designs over at the ScrapArtist Shoppe! I've already been planning to showcase my photos by doing a monthly collage and posting that here. Well, this kit just made it easier for me.



As I unzipped the kit and looked through the different stuff in there, my head started to churn about the possibilities. Something I'd definitely be doing is post my week's worth of photos here using the storyboard frames, not necessarily with the journaling.














A more ambitious project which I may or may not undertake is the photo-a-day thing. My idea is I can print these off and bind them with a loose leaf ring and I'd have like a monthly swatch book.

Photo a Day - January 1

Photo a Day - January 1

My interest in photography grew from my involvement in scrapbooking. Because I was intent on documenting our family's memories, I realized that I needed to take better photos. But I don't think I have a natural talent for it like some of the really talented ones out there. In fact, I don't relish being behind the camera that much. I'd rather be part of the fun! LOL! And so that is the balance I need to find - recording moments and events while still being part of the event, kwim?

I know that one of the keys to learning photography is practice, practice, practice. And that is exactly what I hope to have by attempting Project 365, a photo-a-day challenge. I used to participate in Her Space:My Space blog and I enjoyed the challenge of finding a shot to fit the day's theme. If I had more time in my hands, I would have definitely continued with it. Sadly, I find that I have very limited time so I'm creating this challenge for myself: Take 1 photo a day - no theme, no rules except to take a photo for the next 365...wait, make that 364(I've already taken today's picture) days. I don't know if I'll be posting my photos each and every day on this blog, most probably not but I will post when I am able.

Aside from the actual practice of taking photos, I'd like to get into the habit of writing down the technical stuff and hopefully understand better my camera. Then again, maybe on some days, I won't be using my DSLR. Oh, I don't know...like I said, no rules except take a photo a day.

I'll try not to use any post processing too. I'm open to any constructive criticism. I'm a total newbie to photography so any tips and CC is so welcome! If you're doing the challenge too, pls. let me know so I can visit you.

After that loooooong intro, here's my photo for today.
Here's DD3. She is so big now, isn't she? She's turning 1 in about 2 weeks! Whoa! Where oh where did the year go? It seemed like only yesterday that I was holding her - this tiny baby so sweet and small. She's not as tiny anymore but still as sweet as ever.

BTW, check out these photo related New Year's resolutions. There are certainly some projects there that are worth trying.