a challenge and TRUST

getting back into the groove of things....slowly.
i did get my challenge done X's 3!!!!

good times in 2010

Life is good!

*TRUST*

{the beginning of my One Little Word journey}

Happy New Year everyone!!!

May your 2011 be bright, blessed and full of adventure!

XOXO

waiting for *normal*

ha! is there ever really a normal?!
thinking that you just learn to adapt to the flow or non-flow of life.
the holidays proved to be busier than i ever anticipated!
i am completely out of sync with any type of schedule whatsoever.
we've had some pretty sad stuff to deal with...
family in and visiting...
dog illness...
tooth extractions...
regular daily holiday stuff...
needless to say, my brain is in desperate NEED of regularity right now.

i have missed not getting to read some of my fav blogs, scrap and take pics like i had
wanted. BUT the family time has been absolutely PRICELESS!!!
i have cherished my girls being home from school! :) the hubby and i have even stolen some
down time. i like to get to see his face every now and then! ;)

i did end up getting a few cards out, but i decided i would share them right here and wish
everyone a splendid remainder to the 2010 year because *YIKES* 2011 is right around the corner...

front

 

back

love to you all!!
i really want to do this challenge and share my take with you before the end of 2010!

OH! almost forgot...i signed up for the One Little Word class for 2011!!
My word is TRUST. excited about this adventure as well! :)

*fun* wish list | SC style

i was so far out of the scrapbooking loop that i really didn't know where to start...supply-wise.
so, i recently started up my membership to Studio Calico again.

their kits are so fun, i knew that would be a great place to start!

just found out they asked for a SC "wishlist" from loyal supporters/followers!
go see for yourself!!
here are just a few things i would put on my list:

ultimate gel white pen

my pen from 2 years ago....totally dried out.

Documentary F/Stop paper {since i love all things camera related}

and last but not least months of the year rubber stamps

i have the day of the week stamps ,

but if anyone out there in elf land could score the MONTH STAMPS

just like these.....  :D !!!!!!!!!

 

have a very Merry Christmas all!!!! :D

how far i've come...

*accepting imperfection and being happy with the process*
i look @ my Dec Daily album and think..."Wow! Only 8 days!!!" i could really fill this sucker up!

i have done all of the days so far! yay! which brings me to the point that i probably won't share everyday.
time reasons. personal reasons. lazy reasons.
december is by far the busiest month of the year for us and i just can't keep on top of everything!
so the fact that i am getting these pages done makes me sing for JOY!
the fact that i won't be sharing them all just saves my sanity! :)

and here is a little snowman love to get you through! :)

Holiday Bokeh Shapes!

 *links have been provided for all of the information*
**i am only sharing my experience**
***if you have better tips PLEASE share***


There have been a couple of tutorials that I have come across in the past

2 weeks talking about getting good holiday bokeh- the rendition of out-of-focus points of light. 

i know that bokeh is dependent on a few things:

1) a wide aperture lens f/1.4 or f/1.8 anything higher--no bueno.

anything lower--no bueno (keep reading....)

2) this wide aperture creates a shallow depth of field, therefore you must have a focal point in your foreground to produce the bokeh in your background.

However, the tutorials that caught my eye were ones where you create shaped bokeh, like hearts, snowflakes, stars, anything you can punch or cut out.

the first one i came across was @ MCP actions. 

To produce an image similar to this:

 

Pretty cool...no doubt!!

i was on it!!! right away fashioning my DIY lens hood to create shaped bokeh.
one problem...i could NOT get it to work! drove me crazy!!!
so i moved on until i saw yet another post. 
grrr...i'm gonna nail it this time. this post comes from 
kevin & amanda.

 image taken from kevin & amanda's blog

a new blog i have discovered in the world of photography.
that was it!!! after seeing this post it was ON!
i was doing this!

got all of my supplies out...again. 
cut my shape out...again.
did everything right (or so i thought)...again.
utter failure...AGAIN!!!

ok, so the cogs in my wee brain were turning. what was up???
a couple of things:
1)my focal point was too close to the lighting. you need a good 3-5 feet, in my experience, to produce the shape.(i would show you a failure/success example, but i deleted them!!! hee!)
2) you need a wider aperture lens, but NOT TOO WIDE!!! i was shooting with my 5omm f/1.2--not good. causes things to whack out wayyy bad.
vignetting, lack of focus and didn't produce the shape. the opening was just too wide.


so...after creating some distance AND putting my 50mm f/1.4 on my camera, i got EXACTLY what I was hoping for!!!! :D


this is a lesson in:
a)perseverance
b)problem solving
c)scrapbooking & photography go hand-in-hand!!!


and like Paul Harvey used to say, "And now you know...the rest of the story."


*i don't have any real lights set up yet. Saturday is our big go out and cut the Christmas tree day and decorate the house.
Hoping to snap some lovely shots then! :)

Dec. Daily--day 6

simple day about decor...old and new.
i am thinking that i will hit some after Christmas sales to stock up on
some new stuff for next year! :D
although, i have already been told...stockings must stay the same!

late--Dec 4 & 5 dec daily pages

i was all ready to do the post for days 4 & 5 last night when my youngest said,
"Mom, will you come sit down with me?"
translation...come sit on the couch so i can lay on you and fall asleep!
which meant for me that my energy and mojo would TANK and i would soon end
up in bed myself!!!
does that happen to anyone else? you get into the groove and as long as you keep moving you
are good, but you sit down or lay down with you child in bed and you are a goner???

here we go...

the stitched-looking circles on day 5 are actually digital elements that i purchased from a kit @ 2Peas, i believe. i actually want to make some real stitched circles now or even this that i found on Vee's blog via flickr.
simple and lovely.

back for day 6 later! taking a simple approach to this day!

busy, busy...

ahhh...December through March is pretty much our crazy time here in the Kinkade household.
this past weekend was a whirlwind in an attempt to do an early b-day party for my youngest!
sleepover, ice skating, throw a b-ball game in the mix, and getting ready with 3 extra girls in the house
for church on Sunday! whew! busy, but FUN!

 i call this my *happymerrybirthdayChristmas* picture :D

i am hoping to get up to date on my Dec Daily pages today.

Until then...I wanted to feature the gal that featured me on her blog.
Not sure how she found me, but it was such a cool thing to come across a comment like that! :)

You can see that particular post here.
She does some really cool photography/design, and i just LOVE her business name: [kre a tid]
{i can't really do the fancy way her logo is done for this post, but you get the idea.} :)
jen even has a cute etsy shop: emporiium.

the snow is coming down today with more in the forecast over the next 36hrs!!!

hopefully a second post will be coming later this afternoon!
(i love Mondays!)

Dec. Daily--Day 3

this page is particularly special.
Memaw & my youngest Eden love spending time together, especially in the kitchen :)

the ability to share and celebrate relationships!

Dec. Daily--days 1&2

this is a really quick post today!
dog has to go to the vet and Mom wants to go shopping for the day! :)
here are my days one and two and a little peek @ my set up for getting things done.

 

intro page

 

day one!

 tucked a little note and pic in the envelope, too!

 

 day two!

just wanted to say real quick, quick that i had a commenter give me a random shout out on her blog yesterday!!! just wanted to say thanks :)  from one jen to another! ;)
hopefully i will get to feature that tomorrow or over the weekend!

happy friday!

december daily begins!

yesterday was the PERFECT Dec. 1 day!
it snowed and stuck to the ground. winter doesn't "officially" begin until Dec 21 but let's face it,
once Dec hits and we get the first real snow...it's ON! :)

first, i feel like i need to give a little Dec Daily background...
(in case you haven't heard about this, go to Ali Edward's site and you will get the 411)

i LITERALLY decided on Nov.30 that i was going to DO THIS!
which is crazy for me! i like to plan...i had heard about this for a while...i don't know why i didn't
get moving sooner...but something just *clicked* for me on this day.
as my previous post had eluded, i hadn't scrapped in ages, AGES {~2years :( }!
so , i knew everything that i would have in my stash would be somewhat "out of date" not current, but i SO wanted to do this that i didn't let it deter me from rummaging through my stash, and i felt like a kid on Christmas morning!!!
this was doable for me :)

i spent the evening of Nov. 30 cutting, planning and getting stuff ready. every time i ventured into my basement, it was like i found long, lost friends... aka... scrapbook supplies :)
i don't have all the pages done or ready, but i have plenty ready and cut. i spent all of yesterday working on my cover and refining the ideas for my pages. took a few pics, too!
i have a slew of ideas because with being in a new home this year, everything is brand new and seen from a different perspective.

today i was able to set up a small workspace so i wasn't using my floor as my desk  and breaking my back AND so the dogs weren't eating embellishments.
{psst...i didn't have dogs the last time i was scrapbooking either; they like to eat stuff! :O)}

so, here is just the beginning of a wonderful journey...again! :)

original work area, but LOVING every minute of it!

this is the back cover...going add a clear overlay from Hambly to protect it. 

template from Becky Higgins

 

new door...new wreath for this year!

i plan on capturing lots of little details throughout this journey. sometimes life sits right there in the
tiniest of details.
this will also be a hybrid adventure for me as i have purchased some of the templates from
Ali Edwards @Designer Digitals.

sewing, embellishments, pictures, and paper...OH MY!

Happy December Daily!