my first attempt

at a stop motion.  the lovely rhirhi is the queen of these amazing works of art and she gave me some tips to try.  this is my very first one.  i just used some left-over, unedited pictures from one of my week shoots.  and i even added music. 

i can't wait to do more of these.  i am inspired and eager to create!!
please let me know what you think!!

quote of the day

"Three of the most powerful words in the English language are "I am responsible."  Its tough to do, but when the day comes that you can say those words, believe them, and mean them, it will be one of the most liberating moments of your life.  Taking responsibility for all your results, for better or for worse, is taking back your power to create results in your life."  -Tom Venuto

this is the place i am trying to get to.  i know in my head that this is true... i know in my heart that getting to this point will mean big things for me... i just can't quite say these word, believe them and mean them yet.  but i have accomplished step one:  understanding the problem.  now on to step two:  think very hard! 

im thinking.  thinking very, very hard. 

my last and favorite

today is the day i share my last and favorite page from the Scrapbooking from the Inside Out COURAGE kit.  this quote spoke to me as soon as i saw it and i knew i wanted it to be the focus of my page. 

my journaling reads:  "courage doesn't always roar.  sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'i will try again tomorrow'" - mary anne radmacher.  it is my goal to remember that there is always brightness in tomorrow. 

this has been a month full of delving deeper in to what courage means to me and its been a pleasure sharing it with my readers.  i hope i've motivated you to at least take a peek over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out or think about scrapbooking in a different way. 

august is just gonna get better!!!  :)

quote of the day

"you will accomplish more later if you take some time for yourself now." -fortune cookie

i guess that's what im doing this week... i had a couple blog posts in the works; they're still saved as "drafts" and maybe i'll post them later.  but i think right now what i need is some quiet time to marinate in all thats going on right now.  there are some very good things, some hard things, some real things and some exciting things.  but im hesitant to share and have decided that its not necessarily a bad thing.  im taking some time for myself. 
be back soon. 

more to share

i have finished editing kaleb and nani's pictures and just wanted to share a few more with you.  i have had a lot of fun editing these.  enjoy!

more courageous pages

today i have another COURAGE page to share with you... this one is all about what the word courage means and how i view it in relation to my life.  i used the frame from one of the die-cuts that come with the kit to show how you can use all parts of this amazing kit from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out. 

the journaling says:  courage...sometimes this word feels so far beyond my reach.  to be courageous in life means to live with bravery and to be bold and gutsy and daring.  i used to be like that.  but now i stay closed up, protected, and cower in my little world.  that feels weak to me.  maybe though, it is truly courageous to acknowledge that this little world of mine is exactly where i want to be.

come visit the gallery over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out for even more inspiration. and don't forget about our courageous challenges we've got!

a weekend away...

this weekend chris and i are headed to whidbey island...  his cousin is getting married, and we could use the weekend away.  here's to roadtrips, beautiful summer days, photo ops and true love. 
its gonna be a good one...i have a feeling!!

*pictures from our last visit spring of 09

love in pictures

yesterday evening i had the privileged of shooting my friends kaleb and nani.  no special reason...they just wanted some cute pictures of them together.  and i think i got some really great ones!  i've just started editing and wading through all the images, but im sooo excited and happy with them that i wanted to share some.

thanks for bringing the hottness!!  it was a pleasure to shoot you both and i hope you love the pictures as much as i do.  enjoy your sneak peek!! 

monday reveal

its monday again... which means i get to share another one of my COURAGE layouts with you.  this one is based on the premise that whatever you choose for your life might not always be popular with everyone around you, but living the life you choose anyway is brave and courageous.

my page is called:  Creative Life.

my journaling says:  this is the life i have chosen for myself...one lived through the viewfinder and on the scrapbook page.  there are many who question this creative life; who see no logic in such a choice.  but i courageously dive deeper in...living this creative life...loving this creative life of mine.

please come join us over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out.  we've got 2 of our COURAGE challenges up already.  they are so inspiring.  :) 

quote of the day

"The opposite of loneliness, it's not togetherness... it is intimacy." -Richard Bach

currently

listening: to KT Tunstall's new song
eating: chocolate cupcakes without frosting
drinking: water in my cool starbucks cup
wearing: my fire opal necklace from my mother-in-law
feeling: weary after a long week
weather: too hot to even imagine
wanting: to make my photoshop work again... im just new to uploading actions and i apparently crashed photoshop.
needing: something to cheer me up
thinking: about the scrapbook pages i have planned in my head
enjoying: some down time at work and looking forward to swimming tonight
wondering: if some things i have in the works will come to fruition...

*list format borrowed from the lovely tina.  :) 
*flower from my back yard.  these are my favorite flowers.  

design team honors

it is my pleasure to share with you that Scrapbooking from the Inside Out's design team, including ME, are being  featured over at the Lily Bee blog today.  and guess what else?!  we're also giving away a COURAGE kit!!  this kit has many of the Lily Bee papers in it from the Hello Sunshine collection, and you can't go wrong with all those colors!

swing by the Lily Bee blog for your chance to win one of the kits and have the opportunity to scrap deep with all of us over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out. 

i am so honored to be a part of this team and be counted among such a talented group of scrapbookers. 

things i love thursday

july 8th edition

today is about photography inspiration.  it is something that i desperately crave, especially now smack dab in the middle of my 52weeks project.  in truth, there are very few original ideas out there.  because that is the beauty of creativity... we are inspired by each other as artists.  so here is my flickr collage for this week.  i made it based on the concept of shooting a portrait without a face.  a basic idea, but oh so many unique takes...

1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. Leap, 4. It's all a blur..., 5. 115/365 You're free, 6. yellow mood.

so perhaps you'll see my own interpretation of "portraits without faces" coming soon to my 52weeks.  i think it adds interest and a hint of mystery... and every woman can always use a bit of mystery.  ;)

we're at it again!!

that's right everyone!! another chance to win one of the colorful and fabulous COURAGE kits from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out.  hop on over to Glitz Design Blog and enter for your chance to win.  and come back and let me know if you do!!  how cool would that be??  :)
HAPPY SCRAPPING!!

win a kit

one of my favorite papers from the COURAGE kit from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out was this glorious soft yellow one.  i used it on the last page that i shared HERE.  the company that makes this paper is called GCD Studios and all their lines are pretty, soft and usable.  but the best part about them you can't see... you have to feel.  the texture of their paper is unique and i just want to touch it and use it all the time.  :)

and today i have good news for you!  GCD Studios is doing a giveaway on their blog of one of these fabulous COURAGE kits so you can get your hands on this paper!  hop on over to their blog to read all about it!  :D 

the two of us

we talk.  good talk.  that's my favorite part of driving places with my boy.  oh yea, we do the usual things people do while on long trips like read and listen to music... but my favorite thing is talking.  we got to do that yesterday.  we drove to tri-cities for sunday of the convention and drove back afterwards.  that is almost 4 hours in the car.  and we mostly talked.

i shared with him the thoughts of my heart and how intensely personal the convention has been for me this year.  we talked about our spiritual goals, individually and as a couple.  he told me he is thankful im his wife. 

talking.  its a beautiful thing.... 

courage

the fun part of creating 5 layouts for my design team is that i can share them with you throughout the month.  so my plan is to make monday's my Scrapbooking from the Inside Out layout reveal day!! 

here is the next page i have based on the theme:  COURAGE

i started this page with the quote found on the bottom.  it was just so perfect and inspired me immediately.  it says:  "being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." -Lao Tzu.  loving chris has definitely given me courage... and that's a bonus i never knew that came with true love.

my journaling says:  loving you gave me the courage to move to spokane and follow my dreams of ASL, to pursue my creative aspirations, to stand on my own two feet, to distance myself from harmful people, and to love you back, completely. 

included in the kit is this really neat embossed cardstock with the stars on it.  but the brown color wasn't quite soft enough for the feel i was going with on the layout.  so i just flipped it over and added the blue jewels!  i also used my corner rounder on 3 sides of the yellow patterned paper to further soften it.  this is one of my favorites that i created using this kit. 

don't forget that you can get your own kit HERE, and join us in the FORUM for lots of 'courage' focused discussion and everyday life talk too. :)  on our website we also have an INSPIRATION PAGE full of songs, quotes and images to get you thinking.  and each month we have challenges that anyone can participate in, kit or not.  please come join us!!

i wish you enough

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

i am grateful...

i am grateful for so many things in my life, but sometimes its important to actually make a list of the things im grateful for.  it helps me keep life in perspective, especially when things get tough and when its hard for me to get out of bed in the mornings.

so here it is... my grateful list.

• fresh cherries bought off a truck on the side of the road

• getting pizza and staying in with my husband on a friday night 
• orange juice to satisfy my craving
• slow days at work 
• online gift certificates 
• affirmation e-mails in my inbox 
• this little puppy face 

• a healthy family 
• that we have two working vehicles 
• the opportunity to go to sunday of the convention again and hear the very last talk again
• knowing people in this world who inspire me and care about me
• having a camera and lens that i can take pictures i love with 

week | twenty-six

• having lots of things to blog about and feeling good about sharing
• new music 
• drinking coffee from my insulated starbucks cup!! 
• editing pictures of dear friends 

• having a space of my own to create that is so full i need to spend the afternoon cleaning and organizing
• being in love 

have a wonderful, happy and grateful weekend.  

king of anything

this video found me today...and i love it.  i love the song and the message behind it so much.  it speaks to me.  especially these lyrics:

all my life i've tried to make everybody happy while i just hurt and hide waiting for someone to tell me its my turn to decide

this is what i have on repeat today. enjoy. :)

courage revealed

today is the first of july which means that the newest kit over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out is revealed.  and our amazing emotion for this month is:  Courage.

"Courage is found in unlikely places" -JRR Tolkien
"The secret to happiness is freedom... and the secret to freedom is courage." -Thucydides
"Courage is grace under pressure." -Ernest Hemmingway
"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties." -Erich Fromm

here are a couple pictures of the amazing kit.  it is full of bright, powerful colors, fun chipboard stars, thickers, rubon letters, flowers, ribbon and papers that will inspire you to create.

how gorgeous is this kit??  i had so much fun playing with it and altering it to fit my style of scrapping.  and the emotion of courage was an interesting one to dig deep into.

this is the part of my blog post where im going to put a little bit of a disclaimer...  my blog is about to get personal.  and i mean really personal.  some of these pages i've created are my heart spilling onto the page.  and i know that the thought of sharing such things with the whole world via a blog is not comfortable for some people.  and that has caused me to change what i blog about in the past.  but Scrapbooking from the Inside Out is a concept that i am passionate about.  there is power in revealing things, no matter who reads it or who you share it with.  so i guess my disclaimer is:  if it makes you uncomfortable, don't read it.  but im going to be sharing.  i am getting personal, and i like how it makes me feel!! 

as part of the design team i am honored to create 5 layouts with this kit and based on this theme:  courage.  i would like to share my first one with you today.  it is called "wait & try"

the journaling says:  WAIT: it takes courage to wait to have babies...especially as a young couple.  everyone seems to think that its the next step.  but waiting has been so good for chris and i.  we have grown so much together these last 3 years, learned even more about ourselves and each other and have done things we couldn't do as parents.  maybe this is the right choice for us...to stand courageously as two and wait for what the future promises...maybe we can have babies then.  TRY: it takes courage to try to have babies...to make the decision to try is huge.  are we ready now?  what if we try and it doesn't happen?  how will our relationship change? will we be good parents?  all these questions come up when you think about trying.  and we have both seen and experienced the hurt that children can bring--but also true joy!  maybe this is the right choice for us...to courageously try to start our own little family...to try to have babies now.

thanks for taking a peek at just one of my layouts i created with this amazing kit.  swing by Scrapbooking from the Inside Out today to order a kit of your own.  and don't forget to join our kind and supportive community while you're there.