be AUDacious

our annual Christmas parade

Don't forget: Capture the Season is now in week 2 over at Simple Scrapper, and I'm sharing one of my very favorite journaling techniques with you today. It's a no-fail solution to writer's block, and I promise it will provide you with a wealth of techniques from even the most basic photos.

Also, my friend Liz is hosting a great giveaway on her blog. In fact, you'll want to make sure you bookmark her and subscribe to her feed or follow her on Twitter, because there's more great stuff to come throughout the month of December.

Speaking of giveaways, my friend Leora is hosting a fantastic month-long series of giveaways at her blog -- a new one every day until Christmas Day! How amazingly kind and generous is that? I also wanted to share a couple of new layouts that I created using a couple of Christmas kits that Leora has available in her shop at Little Dreamer Designs. 

 

This weekend was our big Christmas parade here in Murray. It's become one of regular holiday traditions, and this year it was made even more special because this was Cassidy's first time marching with the middle school band. We do have to laugh each year, because the parade is kicked off by every single emergency vehicle in the county, all with sirens blaring -- ambulances, fire trucks, rescue squad trucks, police cars, and more. And things didn't stop there... actually, let me just share the photos so you can see for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

recent releases at Two Peas

It's been really fun working with the digital kits at Two Peas, especially since that was where my adventures in scrapbooking really started. Each week, I get to play with some of the new releases; here's what I had fun with this week.

 

Betsy's new kit, So Flakey, has so many great textures and subtle patterns, so it was really simple to put a number of different papers together on my layout without having any certain one dominate the page. That was really important, because of the photo I was using. It's a snapshot taken while we were traveling during the massive ice storm we had last year. The sun was sparkling off the ice-coated trees, and the sky was a perfect match for these papers. I didn't want to overpower the photo, and the little bit of white space in the photo was a great spot for the sparkly word art. I also added a frame from Kate Teague's "Birds of a Feather" kit to define my photo a bit.

Chelsea Parson's Beautifully Grungy Garden papers are so beautifully textured and distressed. I don't normally use papers like this; my "normal" style is much cleaner and a bit more graphic, yet I found that I was able to combine a couple of papers using blend modes and then add some "color" by including some brush images in colors pulled from my main photos. I think what I like best about these papers is that, despite the difference in styles, I was able to pull together a layout super-quick and still remain true to the basics of my own style -- letting my photos and story take center-stage.

 

I love a good digital challenge, and Kate's challenge to use the lasso tool this week was just what I was looking for. After extracting the main subject of my photo, I took a soft-edged brush, adjusted the opacity and brushed along the edges to really soften them and help them blend into my background. I used Jen Martakis's new kit, Simply Beautiful (papers and elements). I tucked the word art and my journaling behind my extraction and added a few extra touches from the element pack as well. I love how the grays and whites of this paper pack feature a nice, subtle texture and how they pick up the retro tones from my post-processing on my photo.

sweater weather

I'm watching the weather and wishing that big snowstorm that's moving through the South would somehow move further north and come through western Kentucky. When it gets cold outside, I start wishing for snow. I've always been that way, and I know that it causes all kinds of problems, but I still love it.

Speaking of winter, Liz has a great new winter kit out today at The Lilypad , where she's a guest designer for the month of December.

 

 

I love Liz's take on this kit; the patterns and colors in the paper are one of my favorite combos from her ever. I put together a quick layout using a modified version of one of her Pressplates.

Capture the Season Week 1

Week 1 of Capture the Season has come to a close, and we've shared so many great tips with you already. If you are just finding out about this project, there's still plenty of time to join in; just stop by Jennifer's blog, Simple Scrapper, each day for tips about productivity, photography, journaling, scrapbooking products, and simplifying your memory-keeping process during this hectic holiday season.

I wanted to share my week 1 assignment with you and let you see my thought process as I pulled all of these items together. I have not scrapped my layout yet; things are pretty busy right now, so I've gathered the things I need or made notes about them instead. Then, when the holidays are finished, I'll take a few hours of "me time" and get my layouts completed.

A side note: when I was teaching, I found that thinking out loud, in front of my students, as I wrote or analyzed a piece of writing was one of the MOST effective tools I had. Not only did it make the process more transparent for my students, but it also brought me to a higher level of understanding and reflection about my own thinking and reasons for making the choices I made. So this post is just as much for my own benefit as it is for yours.

Journaling:
The first thing I did was check out the prompt and jot down a few notes. The prompt says, "The cornucopia is an ancient symbol of abundance and is a common image around the time of Thanksgiving. Share what is in your personal cornucopia basket this year with at least 4 photos of what is important in your life. Use a list format to detail all the goodness that fills your life with joy and love."

Based on my entry about journaling in lists, I knew I had a couple of options for creating my list: I could focus on activities (verbs) or people, places, and things (nouns). Still, those two categories were awfully broad, so I decided to try and find a more specific focus for my list. Yes, I wanted these to be things I am grateful for, but I wanted to go beyond that general idea too. So I went back to the prompt again. I kept coming back to that cornucopia symbol -- my list didn't have to just be things I was thankful for. It could be things that are abundant in my life. It's a "horn of plenty," after all, so what is plentiful in my life? Digging into the topic a little bit further really gave me a focus to my journaling.

I decided to do a list based on people, places, and things that are abundant in my life, which meant a simple list of these objects. However, I wanted my journaling to be a little more in depth, so I opted to choose an abstract noun and then define it with specific phrases. For example, item #1 is laughter. If you were to ask me what laughter looks like in my house, most often it is the goofy faces of my husband and my two girls. So that becomes the defining phrase that helps to illustrate the abstract concept of laughter.

The other items on my list include:
support -- a husband who encourages me to do the things I love
knowledge -- bookshelves that are full of new (to-me, that is) books
comfort -- a house full of worn but loved items that all have personal meaning to us
inspiration -- a camera that truly gives me a different perspective on the world
faith -- having trust that our needs are being taken care of
health -- a process of learning to make good decisions about what we eat and what we do
opportunity -- a positive outlook that has provided us with the chances for some amazing things
growth -- setbacks and failures that help me to see how I can change and do things differently
love -- unconditional acceptance for who I am, which makes me want to be a better person, always

Photos:
I knew that it would work best for me to do my journaling first; that would give me a few different topics to make sure I included in my photos. I planned on taking photos at the different family celebrations we had coming up for Thanksgiving, but I doubted that those photos would capture the same things I put in my list. Since I had already developed my journaling, I decided that I would find photos of people, places, and things that symbolized the abstract nouns I named in my list.

These photos will include a shot of the girls and Chris acting silly, one of my favorite photographs from either Muir Woods or Stinson Beach, a photo of a stack of books by my bed, a photo of my camera collection, and a self-portrait of myself (taken after my new haircut a few months ago).

Design:
My next step was to check out the free template (download it here). There's space to list 10 items, and there are 12 stacked blocks down the side. I knew I wouldn't find 12 photos to use, and using only 10 photos (to match up with the 10 journaling items) would leave 2 blocks to be filled with patterned paper -- that just didn't seem balanced to me. So I opted to use 4-5 photos (that I already have) and fill the rest of the blocks with patterned papers.

For my patterned papers and elements, I wanted to choose something fairly modern and graphic so that my photos and journaling would be the primary focus. This layout felt more like a Thanksgiving layout than a Christmas layout to me, so I felt it was important to choose a kit that could work for either type of layout. Luckily, my friend Liz will be releasing a great paper pack and element set (check back here on Friday for a look at it) that will work beautifully. I'm also planning on using her Presslines No. 17 Thankful For:

 

When it comes time to put everything together, I can refer back to this blog post and have everything I need. I also have it written down in my notebook that I keep next to my laptop -- it contains a running list of layouts I want to scrap, along with journaling notes, design notes, and more. It's probably my best scrapbooking tool, to be honest.

merry + modern

Make sure to keep your eyes open for a new post going up at Simple Scrapper today; it's part of the Capture the Season workbook that Jenn has put together, and it might be my favorite part of the whole process. Each week, there will be a different "mood board" that will feature a number of items that will help you achieve a particular style for your holiday scrapbooking project.

This first week will be focusing on a modern, minimalist style, which I find myself drawn to more and more these days. I think it's because I love how these clean graphic designs really help me put my photos and stories front and center on each of my layouts.

This kit, by TaylorMade Designs and Ashalee Wall at Oscraps, is another great example. I've had this kit on my hard drive for a little over a week now, and I'm just now getting to scrap some pages with it. I'm such a slacker! LOL But check out how fun and punchy these colors and elements are....aren't they great?

 

Here are a couple of pages that I put together using this kit.

 

Songbird Avenue: (Re)Collection

Liz of Paislee Press Designs is the guest designer at Songbird Avenue for December. She and the SA girls have teamed up to create this gorgeous kit:

 

Proceeds from the sales of this kit will be donated to the Alzheimer's Association. Here are a couple of layouts I made using the kit; to see more, visit Liz's blog or the Songbird Avenue inspiration gallery.

 

Monday mish-mash

Oh, it's one of those Mondays where I'm not ready to head back to work because the number of things on my to-do list just seems overwhelming and I'm functioning on too little sleep. Why is it that I never get all the things I plan to accomplish completed over breaks like the 5-day weekend I just had? (I know why -- I'm not nearly as productive as I'd like to think I am, and I always overschedule -- LOL!) Anyway, in light of the hectic day ahead of me, here's a quick bulleted list from me in lieu of a "real" post today...

• My lovely friend Liz is guest blogging over at Ella Publishing today. The post isn't up yet, but make sure you stop in and check it out before the day is done -- she's got a beautiful project available that you won't want to miss! She also has a great giveaway going on over at her own blog, too!
  
• "Capture the Season" is off to a great start. Jenn's post yesterday is full of some great links that you won't want to miss! Coming up today is a post on photography, and tomorrow's post is about list-making and journaling.
  
• Speaking of list-making and journaling, I'm toying with the idea of offering some journaling classes here on the blog. Would you be interested? If so, what topics would you like to see most?

• Cass will be marching in the Christmas parade on Saturday, while Cami will be riding the Girl Scouts float. They are both really excited to be participating, and when they are finished, we are heading to Nashville to see the lights at the Opryland Hotel.

• I'm really excited about this news -- I've known Leora for several years now, and I was thrilled to be included in this group.
  
• We're supposed to get snow tomorrow. Of course, I'll be on my way back from a 2-day staff meeting in Louisville (of course) so I'm a bit nervous about the drive now. We'll just see what happens.
  
• Today is the last day to pick up the November kit from Songbird Avenue -- and just wait until you see what's in store for December. It's gorgeous, truly.
  
• One of my favorite authors has a new short story collection coming out, and I'm so excited about it. The first books of his that I ever read were some of his Newford stories, so it feels like a homecoming of sorts. It's definitely another thing to add to my Christmas/birthday wish list.

my birthday / Christmas wish list

I'm one of those lucky (???) people whose birthday falls very close to Christmas; so is my husband. Mine is the 23rd, and his is the 26th. For years, we've dealt with the "combined present" syndrome; luckily, though, we never do that to each other, since we've put up with it individually for so many years.

In the spirit of helping out family members who may (or may not) be searching for gift ideas for me, I've created my own wish list; besides, I know you all like to look at pretty things. :)

this book about Louisa May Alcott -- she's become one of my favorite writers to read about

these lovely Lotus stud earrings from Etsy.com

 

the Janice Mixed-Media Tote from Delia*s

this leather cuff from Lisa Leonard Designs, with the phrase "be here now" stamped on it

this sweater from Gap, in exactly this color

the movie soundtrack for Where the Wild Things Are (and I wouldn't mind the book about the making of the movie either)

the Oddfellow's Postcard collection from Inside a Black Apple

book review: Darkwood

taken from Goodreads:

 

"A shining debut novel set in a land of haunting darkness

Darkness falls so quickly in Howland that the people there have no word for evening. One minute the sky is light; the next minute it is black. But darkness comes in other forms, too, and for Annie, the misery she endures in her uncle's household makes the black of night seem almost soothing. When Annie escapes, her route takes her first to a dangerous mine, and later to the king's own halls, where a figure from Annie's past makes a startling appearance. All the while, reported sightings of kinderstalk-mysterious creatures that prowl Howland's dark forests-grow more frequent."

This YA novel held a lot of promise, but I felt the author never really delivered on it. The initial concept was fantastic, if a bit dark and quite depressing. The protagonist, Annie, was really compelling though, and her two cats become secondary characters that perked me right up every time they appeared. At some point, maybe a third to half-way through the novel, the feeling of the whole book seems to change. A number of new plot developments are introduced, and what started off as a quirky dark fantasy seems to become more predictable and less likeable. At this point, the problem becomes one of execution, as Breen seems less capable of adeptly working all of these different elements together into a cohesive whole. This is one YA series where I'm not sure I'll be picking up the sequel, for the simple fact that the story I started reading is not the same story I finished reading.

book review: Acceptance

taken from Goodreads:

 

"A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist spends a year with a legendary high school guidance counselor who gets kids into the right colleges by focusing on self-discovery rather than test scores, grades, and the other traditional tools of the trade

Gwyeth Smith, known as Smitty, has made a national reputation by flouting the conventions of the college application ritual. He often steers kids from the SAT to the ACT, which he considers a more straightforward test that produces higher scores. He urges parents to home in on hidden bargains, scour the country for scholarships, and challenge financial aid offices rather than take out large loans. He will sometimes talk a seeming shoo-in candidate out of setting her sights on the prestigious Ivy League while goading another long-shot student into aiming for that same Ivy League school. His unorthodox approach is grounded on the principle that getting into college shouldn't just be about getting in; it should be a kid's first great moment of self-discovery.

David L. Marcus, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former education writer for U.S. News & World Report, follows Smitty and "his" kids around Oyster Bay High, a diverse public school in Long Island, New York, as he works his unique magic on their applications and their lives. Smitty's kids run the gamut from the sweet but pathologically disorganized boy next door to the valedictorian who applies to twenty-eight schools. As the year unfolds, Smitty deals in his own ingenious way with almost every complication that can bedevil the applications process. What about the kid who doesn't test well? The kid who plunges into depression after being rejected by Columbia? The overachieving Korean American boy worried about reverse discrimination? Smitty has answers for all of them.

While Smitty excels at easing the pressure of the college hunt, his success comes from imposing a different-and deeper-challenge. He makes kids articulate (orally and in writing) their profoundest fears, their drawbacks, their secret hopes. In short, he makes them figure out who they are. Along the way, he uses his savant's knowledge of America's thirty-six hundred colleges and universities to pair each student with the right one. He sidesteps the applications industrial complex, with its slick Web sites, private essay coaches, and obsessive focus on metrics. He brings to the college search counterintuitive insight and even wisdom-attributes that thousands of students and their parents, frustrated with the excesses of the process, will find useful and inspiring."

Much of the work that I do focuses on preparing students for the college admissions process; the difference is that my students are low-income and (often) lower-performing than the students in this book. There's no Ivy League school on the radar for any of my students, so that aspect of this book wasn't my key focus. Still, the author shares a number of practical strategies and advice for the admissions game. Just be prepared for some poor writing and editing in places -- still, the students profiled are engaging and you'll want to keep reading to find out what happens to them.