The Pocket Source Blog Hop

Welcome to The Pocket Source Blog Hop. You should have arrived from Cathy’s blog and I’m so glad you’re here! Your next stop on the hop is Melissa. I’m Shaina and I’ve been scrapbooking since my youth. My first job in high school was at a scrapbook store, and between that and my mom’s memory books, it just stuck. I discovered pocket scrapbooking a couple years ago and just dove in head first. I love how versatile this makes memory keeping, and its been amazing to see how fast its grown.

And that’s where The Pocket Source comes in! I really don’t know how I discovered The Pocket Source…but once I was there I was hooked. Its definitely my kind of online community. I love the forums and all the conversations happening, the gallery full of inspiration already, and Leslie, the creator of the site, she is one smart cookie! I think its brilliant to have a pocket scrapbooking specific site where we are all on the same (pocket filled) page.

I shared last week the beginnings of my 2014 Project Life scrapbook, and today I have Week 2 to share with you.

I have been really striving to use up my stash of products before I go spending more money, so lots of these embellishments are years old. My favorite old standby: the manila tag. I also included a couple sticks from the Chalk Studio line by My Minds Eye. Chalk is one of my favorite trends right now.

Left side:

I am a big fan of using my handwriting on my pocket pages. I can fit a ton of journaling on those little cards and I try to utilize all the space I have. This page also has some stamping. The stamps are little dollar ones from Target ages ago. Still work; still love them! And I love seeing my ideas come together for my weekly cards. My brush scripted week intro looks so cool in the pocket. Glad I followed through with that idea!

Right side:

I loved the list journaling card from the Sunshine Edition Project Life kit. It was the perfect way to get lots of details about our weekend in one card. I’ve also been making sure to take pictures of all the posters of all the movies we go see to make sure they get in my album too. Little details that will be fun reminders in years to come looking back.

Curious about pocket scrapbooking and what The Pocket Source is all about? Make sure to follow on to the next blog in this hop to see Melissa’s style, how she approaches her pockets and what she loves about The Pocket Source.

For extra inspiration make sure to follow The Pocket Source on Facebook, and Pinterest. If you love memory keeping you’re going to love being a part of this community. I’m glad I found it, and hope to see you there!

Are you a pocket scrapbooker/Project Lifer?
What is your favorite journaling technique?
Please share in the comments below and be sure to check out The Pocket Source!

High school art days

I have been doing some shifting within my creative space/studio/office lately and its been quite a journey. Finding lots of old treasures and papers and things. Like boxes full of letters from pen pals I had growing up.

And my artwork from high school. I still just love these so much. I’m glad I’m a memory keeper (read: hoarder) and can go back through things like this.

The mountain on the left is an oil painting. Oils were always my favorite medium. I think that has a lot to do with my grandmother and my mom’s paintings. The iris on the right is done in watercolor. There was a hill by my high school that would just be covered in these flowers. I love them. And this isn’t the worst watercolor I’ve ever done...I wish I could have really learned how to use watercolors well. Maybe its something I’ll put on my to-do list for a future time.

Left side is a dahlia painted in acrylics. We had our classroom full of these flowers during this lesson. I have very fond memories of my art teacher, Mr. Brown and our classroom. So many fond memories and unique projects. Like my self-portrait clay statue with moose antlers. Ha! On the right is a self-portrait done in pastels. I love how the face turned out, but I must have really exaggerated my scoliosis. Look at that shoulder! haha!

Its been fun going through all my memory boxes and and collections. I’ve really come to realize that celebrating the everyday is something I’ve always been drawn to, and saving things lets me relive those amazing moments.

So enjoy some high school art of mine…and I’ll be over here enjoying my desk by the window now. The light makes all the difference.

What was your favorite thing about high school?
Are you a saver or do you throw everything away?
Please share in the comments below.

Rejoice!

I was helped recently to look at a scripture in a different light. It really touched my heart, and I was moved to share. The scripture is in Philippians 4:4,5 and many times we just read one or the other of these verses, but when reading them together you can really see and make the connection.

There is a direct connection between our rejoicing and our being reasonable. That has to do with our expectation a lot of times…what we expect from ourselves and others. Circumstances change and they effect what we are able to do, but by showing reasonableness and humility we can be gracious with ourselves and still maintain our joy in service. And we can’t expect more than that from others either… our spouse, our family members, those in our congregation, our friends. By being kind, reasonable and forgiving we can help them to find true joy also.

I need to work on this a lot. Many times I expect perfection from myself, and get so down on myself when I don’t meet that impossible standard. So instead I should look at what I can do, what I have accomplished and let that fill me with joy. I should be reasonable, and then be able to fully rejoice! And joy lets us really celebrate the everyday, and then every day lets us celebrate joy.

How would you interpret this scripture?
Do you find you need to be more reasonable with your expectations too?
What are some ways that you can rejoice?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Project Life 2014

Yay! I am so excited to share the beginnings of my Project Life album for 2014. I was waiting on my Life|Scripted class for my title and weekly cards and now that its arrived (and I’m addicted) I could finalize my cover and begin my weekly spreads.

I am such a huge fan of this project and type of memory keeping. I love printing pictures, telling stories, using up my scrap supplies, and trying new techniques. I think it matches my life manifesto: “celebrating the everyday” so well. Project Life makes memory keeping easy, and I just can’t get enough.

Here is my cover page for 2014:

I practices writing 2014 with a brush so many times knowing this was my plan. I didn’t originally think to write out twenty-fourteen till I was in the moment, but I love how it turned out. A little handwriting, a couple Thickers and some journaling cards later and I was done. I love the little pops of yellow. I’ve been so drawn to that color lately.

And now on to Week One.

I’m not quite sure how I’m going to add the dates yet on my weekly cards (perhaps with a label-maker or a stamp) but once I decide I’ll go back and add to this.

For the first layout I wanted to share my reasons for picking Thrive as my OneLittleWord for 2014. I followed the prompts from Ali Edward’s first class and used those as the basis for my journaling cards. I also added that first picture from Pinterest that jumped out at me a few months ago that drew me to the word.

On my second page I tried to keep it simple, but used some new wood veneers that I got recently. This week included our first date night of 2014 and a road trip for me to Canada with my parents. 

Yay for good beginnings!

Transformation Tuesday

It is a very powerful thing to have pictures like these…at times when its been a few days since the number on the scale has changed and I’m feeling stagnant, I need reminders like this. And these reminders turn into motivation to keep going! Before and after (or during, as the case may be) pictures are my jam! I have been pouring over them on Instagram and meeting new people on similar journeys or those who have almost reached their goal weight and who are keeping it off and living a healthy and thriving lifestyle. They inspire me. #transformationtuesday has been one of my favorite hashtags on Instagram lately, so I thought I’d share a couple transformation images of my own to chronicle the journey and show my progress.

The picture on the right is from October 2012. I just just started working at Horizon Credit Union. The picture on the left is from a couple weeks ago. I see the changes in strange places like my nose; my bra fits so different, and I’ve lost at least a half size in my feet. That jacket on the left picture…I can wrap it around my front now. I feel like my eyes sparkle more now.

Picture on the right is from May 2013, just before we made the change and the one on the left is from last week. I have a much more pronounced chin, and I can almost see my collarbone! Yay! This encourages me to keep on going, and maybe it can encourage others too. Set your mind to something, do the work and you’ll see and feel the results. And take pictures!! I think its so important to have these to look back on and compare. I’m sure grateful for them.

Something I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on in regards to my health is the reason that I put on the weight in the first place. I want to break this physical cycle, so I need to understand the mental one too. We live in such a food-centric culture, where everything revolves around food and meals. We celebrate with food, we comfort with food, we eat when we’re bored, we eat when we’re sad, we eat to gratify our emotions….we rarely eat because we’re hungry. It is so common to never experience that true need for food because we never stop eating. But in these last few months I have come to really understand that food is a fuel, and I need it to thrive and be healthy and active, but I need another outlet for my emotions.

“I must learn how to eat to live, not live to eat.” –Tweet this!

I have been doing some reading on the topic and there were a few questions in a book that really hit home for me: Can you find a different hobby when you’re bored, instead of eating? Can you deal with stress without using food as a pacifier or distraction? Can you create happiness without having to eat?

There have been so many times that I use my “celebrating the everyday” motto as an excuse to eat and justify bad food choices. I need to break this cycle!

What it comes down to for me, and I think for everyone, is to understand hunger and need and how food fuels the body. So I am working on developing a genuine desire to eat less. This is where HCG protocol comes in so handy. Because of the effect the HCG has on you, you can eat significantly less food than you ever have before and really test your body. It has given me a chance to retrain my mind so I think in terms of physical need instead of cultural norm. Just because its “lunch time” doesn’t mean I have to eat if I’m not hungry. This break in eating has given me a chance to rethink the role that eating (the act itself) has in my life, and to develop different coping mechanisms and build emotional strength.

This is huge to me.

I know that my desires to eat in the past have had nothing to do with hunger. I am so susceptible to commercials, advertising, seeing others eating, thinking that you have to get popcorn at the theater…I have to retrain my brain to recognize true physical hunger to control these desires, which I know will ultimately result in me reaching my goal: thriving in health.

I’m working on this…letting my emotional wounds heal, breaking the cycle of overeating to compensate for those wounds, and eating less because I want to, not just because it will result in weight-loss.

Glad for these lessons and the results. Thanks for letting me share.

Is this something you struggle with too?
What things have helped you better understand your hunger and motivation to eat?

Recent Design: PS Rowland

A couple of months ago I got a message on Facebook from my friend Pam who revealed to me that she was getting her book of poetry published! I was super excited for her, and that excitement grew when she asked me a bit about my design services and my perspective on author’s websites. We talked a lot about it and in the end, she hired me to design her brand new website to be released with her book. I was honored.

It has been such a great project and, as with every one I undertake, a learning process. Pam knew the feel she wanted for her site and we nailed down the colors based on the sweet sunflower picture we used for the background. We focused a lot on navigation and ease of use for her readers and I think we accomplished that. I love the final product and how well it matches Pam’s personality and her poetry.

Here is the final product. Click through to view it live at psrowland.com!

Here’s what Pam had to say about the process:

"As a new author I was in need of a professional working website. I did a market search, and consulted with many web designers. It was a mind boggling daunting process. I then remembered my friend Shaina was in the biz. So I contacted her, and wanted to jump for joy for how easy she made it for me. Her upbeat, "can do" attitude was refreshing. Her calmness when I was frantic was very soothing. Her artistic qualities, and thought process made it a breeze. I love the soft romantic feel she gave to it, which is perfect for the poetry I write. The ease of use for readers is the best. I've already received SO many compliments. I chose the PERFECT person for the job, and would HIGHLY recommend her for anyones needs. Thanks Shaina!"

Thanks so much Pam for trusting me with this project and working with me to make something beautiful. I hope that it continues to fit your needs as your readership expands with the publishing of your book. Congratulations and thanks for sharing this part of your journey with me!

Want to learn more about Pam? Follow her on FB and see her brand new book of poetry available for purchase here.

Now & Then

I recently fell down the rabbit hole online (through Pinterest, of course!) and came across this really great meme called Now & Then. Some of the ones I saw were srslyliz, bedsidesign, and fernaly. I thought I was a super cute way to look back and see how some things change and some things stay the same… and might give you a little bit of insight into my personality.

Here is my take on Now & Then. I thought back about 10-12 years ago when I was 16/17.

Some of the things that stayed the same…obviously my attraction to Christian Bale (from Little Women to Batman!), trying different things with my hair, my love of music and watching shows about families, music and spies.

Things that are different…the way I approach each day has changed, and I also don’t have time to read my Nancy Drew books much anymore. My perspectives and priorities have matured a bit I think. But that comes with getting older.

Such a fun way to look back, right?!

Did you learn something you didn’t know about me?
Try this post idea yourself and share your link in the comments. I’d love to see your Now & Then too!

Shaina learns Brush Script

I have been completely smitten with Kal Barteski’s script art for a long time…she turns simple words into magic with her brush. And so I was so excited when Studio Calico made the announcement that Kal was teaching a class for them called Life : Scripted. I was not missing this opportunity!

And let me tell you, I have not been let down. Kal’s love for this art and the supplies she uses to create it just ooze out of her. And she is a great teacher. I watched her do it and felt like I could do it too. So I got my supplies out and ready and for the first time dipped my special bamboo brush into gouache and then touched it to paper.

Too much water…making the paint was too lean. So I loaded up again and got so excited when the color looked just like I wanted. Attempt number two:

And then once I got the feel for water to paint ratio figured out for my brush I just kept drawing lines…line after line after line. Big fat lines, skinny little lines, some really dark, some lighter…all fun! I just felt my smile getting bigger and bigger on my face.

Then I tried diagonal lines and swirly lines and shapes. I was getting the feel for my brush and loving it!

And then it was time to move on to letters. I was trying to connect them, not connect them, use thin and thick lines, focus on the shapes and just get a good handle on how the brush works on actual shapes. I did lowercase and uppercase and this is my absolute favorite page of uppercases. I added a heart at the end cuz it made me so happy.

After pages and pages of letters and lines I wanted to try my hand at my One Little Word for the year: THRIVE. I wrote it a bunch, using different types of letters and combinations. My first page of “thrive” was my favorite in the end.

I added some drips for good measure and they made me extra happy. In the end I’d used tons of gouache and tons of paper. My whole office was covered and it just made my day! My plan is to use my scripting in my Project Life for 2014. Been waiting for this class to share those pages so they would be complete.

I am so glad that Kal and Studio Calico came together to offer this class. I know that this is something I’m going to fall more in love with the more I do it. I can’t wait to practice and practice some more and really learn my brushes and the shapes that I like.

Hoping to share lots more of the process and progress!! Thanks for peeking.

What is a new form of art you want to try?
Have you tried Brush Script before?
Do you love it or hate it?

My Favorite Phase 2 HCG Recipes

Phase 2 of the HCG diet can be really difficult because the food choices are so slim. You can have 100 grams of protein plus one vegetable and a fruit per meal. I usually split up my fruit through the day, unless I want to count my tomato as a fruit and add to it a meal. If you’re creative you can create so many different meals, and there are lots of recipe suggestions to be found, even on Pinterest. Here are a few of my go-to favorites.

This pesto sauce is just amazing, and I can’t wait to add it to lots of different veggies in the future too. I mixed basil, garlic, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, chicken broth and a little bit of stevia in a food processer and added salt and pepper to taste. Then I cooked up the chicken with some onion and once the meat was browned I added the pesto sauce and water to the chicken. Let it simmer a little and then pour all of this over a bed of spinach. So full of flavor!

This one is super easy, and one of the cases where I counted a tomato as my fruit for the meal. It helps to have more than just meat and lettuce on a salad sometimes. This is 100 grams of lean ground beef flavored with Mexican spices. I love to mix up my lettuce a lot and this time I used Iceburg. Its got a lot of crunch and the moisture picks up the flavors in the meat very well. Chris adds hot sauce to his, but I can’t handle that stuff. For me all that its missing is some olives! wink*wink.

This is one of my FAVORITE ways to eat cabbage. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spread some MCT oil over a cookie sheet. Slice a heal of cabbage into 3/4” slices. Lay it out on the sheet and brush on some oil on the tops. Add seasoning (salt, garlic, etc.). Flip and repeat on the second side. Cook for half an hour and then flip the steaks and bake for another half hour. The edges will get dark and crispy. That’s my favorite part because it tastes so sweet. We pair this veggie with lots of different things…steak and grilled chicken breast are my favorite.

I love how easy this one is do at lunch time…quick and easy. I usually buy the tail off, precooked frozen shrimp and so you just need to run water over them and then give them a quick seer. I start my frying pan with the coconut oil and lost of garlic. I add the shrimp and it makes a bit of a sauce with the water from the shrimp. I throw this over a bed of spinach and I’m good to go. Super fast and super delicious.

So I’ve been on Phase 2 for 11 days and I’m down to 192.2 lbs, which is 17.8 lbs lost already! Feeling really good about my progress already. I drink a ton of water a day and triple-shot Americanos with cream are my jam! It feels so good to be the one cooking my food and making menu plans and shopping for real food. Not even 2 weeks in and I feel so much better. My energy is up and I’m sleeping better. I’m excited to keep watching the pounds drop and my smile get bigger.

What are some of your favorite healthy recipes?
I’m making a collection of them for our maintenance phase!

Another edition of the Hair Diaries

It felt like I just got my lavender hair done…but the length of my hair and how faded the color had become was proof that it was time to visit Hannah, my stylist cousin again. And this time I wanted something even more drastic! I wanted platinum and super short!

And we tried…we really tried. The cut is perfection, but after 1 bleach processing, a toner, and another bleach processing it still was quite yellow. I just have super warm undertones in my hair that do not want to let go! I’ve done a couple washes with my toning shampoo since then and it’s a little less yellow, but we’re going to have to keep working with it.

With at least half the hair and a scalp on fire I left my cousin’s house a happy girl. I just love drastic hair changes. I think it’s a integral part of my personality…and fortunately, Chris is always easygoing and lets me try anything.

Here are my before and after shots:

We watched Frozen and played with Harper while we did my hair. We talked about life and everything that’s been going on. Hannah has quit her job at the salon she’s been working for and is going to stay at home with the kids now. So we were talking about business ventures we could possibly pursue together…like hand lettered signs and art. Lots of possibilities in the future. I just love that girl. And little Harper is getting so big! Walking with help and not satisfied to just sit in one place anymore. lol. We had a fun day together.

So there you have it…the newest edition of the Hair Diaries. An (almost) platinum pixie cut. I can’t wait till there is a little bit of grow-out. I really like that look too.

What is your favorite hair style lately?
Are you brave enough to give it a try?
Check out my Beautiful Hair board for inspiration.