Out Sick

I'm still here, I've just been busy with the holidays. I had a migraine last week and plenty of after shock head aches. Made it through my Black & White photo final and now I've got a sore throat, chills, and a fever. This isn't looking good. I'll be back when I'm feeling better, with plenty of photos and updates. Only 5 days until Christmas!

December Everything Scrapp'n Blog Hop! December Daily: Days Six & Seven

Thanks for playing along in the Everything Scrapp'n December blog hop! This time around, Heather is generously offering up a gift certificate to the ES store. Please start at the store's Blog and leave a comment on each of the blogs. The winner will be picked randomly from one of them.

Here's the line up:
ES Store
Michelle (Me)
Suz
Teresa
Jana

In keeping with working on my December Daily, I worked more with Pink Paislee's Mistletoe line. I just love the vintage vibe and whimsical trees. December 6th I opened the office to find a newly flocked live tree. I was so excited to be greeted by such a wonderful smell.Supplies: Kraft cardstock, Pink Paislee Mistletoe & Co. Naughty or Nice pp, Joyeux Noel pp, borderline stickers, press ons, Hambly Stitches rub ons-off white, American Crafts Thickers Lullaby-white, Studio G "Be Merry Be Bright" clear stamp, Scenic Route Days of the Week clear stamp, Making Memories Metallic colored staples, Staz On Ink-jet black.

The Naughty or Nice paper can be found in the store, in the Mistletoe & Co section. I love that the papers are double sided and I found myself using two sheets of each paper for that reason. Its a great value! Monday night my father brought home our Christmas tree. I did take a photo but decided that it would be fun to mix up the book a bit by subbing it for this beautiful patch. I saw Ali use it for Day 11 of her own album and love the texture. I collect patches everywhere I travel so it seems fitting to include a patch this year.Supplies: Pink Paislee Mistletoe & Co. Naughty or Nice pp, Joyeux Noel pp, Postcards pp, Impressions stamps, patches, American Crafts Foil Thickers-silver, & EK Success Postage punch.

Three designs comes in the pack and they have a somewhat sticky back. I did add a little adhesive anyway. I really like that they include some french too. :D Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to stop by Suz's blog next. I'll have Days 4 & 5 posted up on Tuesday. 10 more days of shopping!

12/12/09 Help Portrait

I found out about the Help Portrait concept through David Hobby's Strobist blog. I think the concept is really cool and I hope to organize something local in my hometown next year. I encourage any photographers that have Saturday off to check out your local forum and see how you can assist.

I am trying my best to help out in San Francisco on Saturday but I'm still looking for a fellow photographer to join me because of the safety of the location. Hope you can join in next year if not this year and Happy Thursday!

Italia 2010 Calendar & Contest

I designed a 2010 calendar of Italy and they are finally here. I've listed it in my etsy store so be sure to get your order in before December 15th for a guaranteed delivery in time for Christmas. These limited editions are not going to last. Check it out at my etsy store.Here is a look at each photo found inside the calendar:

I took the photos are while traveling through Venice (Venezia), Rome (Roma), & Padua (Padova). Locations are listed beneath each photo in Italian. Here are a few examples of the inside of the calendar:

I really enjoy making theses calendars and hope that I can continue. Please let your friends know about my calendars through your twitter, facebook, blogs, and e-mail. Leave a comment here and letting me know that you have with a link and you will be entered in a contest to win a calendar yourself. Comments will close on December 20th at midnight PST.

November Daily: Week 5 + December Daily: Days Two & Three

I have two photos from the last week of November to share tonight.

Sunday, November 29, 2009:
Had a normal day at work followed by a fun evening shopping at Target & Christmas shopping at Best Buy with Dan. I picked up lots of Special K with berries (my favorite cereal) and then we had pizza at home with the family.
Monday, November 30, 2009:
I spent the last day of November getting my December Daily together. I decided not to put any numbers on it before hand because I ended up moving them a lot last season.
And now that I have completed sharing photos from my entire month of November, I have two more pages to share from my December Daily album.

I spent the evening of December 2nd printing in the darkroom at Skyline college. I had so much fun chatting with my classmates and professor. I ran out of paper at one point and borrowed some from Sandy. She gave me a sheet she had already exposed (by mistake) and I exposed my image onto it. It came out really dark and messed up but gave us both a good laugh. I also enjoyed documenting the darkroom and the new campus.

Supplies: Hambly 3/4' Graph overlay- white, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses Evergreen pp, Hambly On Edge Border Christmas stickers, Hambly Elegant label rub ons-white, Elle's Studio Snowflake circle embellishment, Studio G winter clear stamp, Making Memories magnetic date stamp, and Staz On Ink-jet black.

I added the journaling text and number two in photoshop and then printed my photos black & white in Lightroom's print program.

I was completely surprised to walk in the kitchen and see endless glass in Christmas colors all over the back window sill and counter. My mom is working on a project and she's very excited about it. It made me so excited for her. And it has changed drastically since I took this photo. I might have to capture it when its closer to completion. I used a typewriter to journal and I just realized this page is missing the #3!Supplies: Making Memories Mistletoe Snowflake pp, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses Evergreen pp, Hambly Doilies rub ons-red (mine are limited edition transparencies), TwoGirlzStuff Candy apple long scallop sticker, Maya Road December calendar sheer, Catslife Press merry stamp, Scenic Route Days of the Week clear stamp, Studio G Holiday words clear stamp, Martha Stewart Border punch-scallop dot, Tattered Angels Glimmer mist-marshmallow, & Staz on Ink-jet black & timber brown.

And here is a snapshot of my latest page in my December album:

Tomorrow I'll be posting something that arrived on Saturday that I am very excited to announce.

December Daily: Day One

I had so much fun making a December Daily album last year that it is a new tradition that I plan to continue. I'm working with an American Crafts red cloth 8x8 album this year. You can see Ali's flickr group here.Supplies: Hambly 3/4' Graph overlay- white, Hambly On Edge Border Christmas stickers on, Hambly Elegant label rub ons-white, American Crafts Mini marks Frost phrases rub ons, American Crafts Thickers Vinyl Vera-white, Scenic Route Days of the week clear stamp, and Staz On Ink-jet black.

Yesterday afternoon Lisa grabbed a bunch of lens boxes and constructed a Christmas tree. I lit it with some funky bright lights (photo taken with a Nikon D300s & Nikon 60mm macro lens) and then printed with my Epson 1800 on matte photo paper. Here its is in the album:


I've decided that in order to keep up with this album (unlike I did last year), I must keep things simple. I'll be sharing each page as I complete it. Thanks for stopping by!

November Daily Photos Week 4

The last week of November went by the quickest. Here is a quick review of last week in photos:

Sunday, November 22, 2009:
I took the day off for BorrowLenses anniversary celebration. We took a 2 hour horn blower cruise in the San Francisco Bay. We had brunch and got to take lots of pictures while going under the Golden Gate Bridge and going around Alcatraz (closest I have ever been). Photo by Eva:
Monday, November 23, 2009:
After work I met up with Kristi, Jarid, Jason, Crystal, and Dan for dinner at BJ's brewery. First photo is by Dan.Tuesday, November 24, 2009:
I made a birthday card for my boss Max during my lunch break. I love getting crafty at work. I get to create and it relieves stress. A big plus: I talked with Allison Kreft Abad (of Hambly) on the phone too.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009:
I settled in for some more paper crafting when I got home on Wednesday. I started working on gift card holders and catching up on Vampire Diaries.
Thursday, November 26, 2009:
I slept in! I had a chance to begin the third book in the Vampire Diaries series and spend time with Jenna. Then I drove down the coast with my parents to Princeton where Mavericks Surf contest takes place. We scoured the waves for sea glass. I found beautiful shells but not much glass. It was a windy and beautiful day. We went to my Aunt's house for Thanksgiving dinner.Friday, November 27, 2009:
I spent most of the day scrapping and blogging. I did take a break in the evening to meet up with Dan's friends that were visiting from southern California. It was my first time to meet Mary & Mike even though they are both from Pacifica. We ate at the Olive garden and then played a very long but fun round of Apples to Apples.
Saturday, November 28, 2009:
It felt like a very weird Sunday. I worked most of the day at the Christmas store. Then I edited photos for a couple of hours. Drove in a car full of family to my Aunt & Uncle's to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. I was really happy to see the other side of my family and it felt like Thanksgiving Part II.
I can't believe its December 1st on Tuesday. I'm trying to finish up my December Daily foundation along with several other holiday projects. Hope you have a great beginning to December!