more project life prep

today i searched around some more blogs to get inspiration and ideas for making project life happen in 2013! Cathy Zielske has some great templates to help with cropping and prepping photos to be printed at home. After playing around with the templates and watching her videos i created some template additions of my own!

Cathy has some nice digital projects available (as do many other scrapbookers that I follow) and i loved her idea of using hashtags from twitter to overlay on photos that she uses for project life. I took a few of my current faves and made .png files out of them so that i could easily drop them on top of photos before printing.

here is an example after i dropped the .png file onto the photo, made it white and adjusted the opacity.

 

it is so simple and adds just a bit of fun to the photo :)

here are a few other tips i picked up along the way:

1. have everything easily accessible!
2. choose a day that you are regularly available to sit down and work on the week's layout.
3. organize your photos when you import them into folders by week, quarter and project life (or what ever system makes sense for you)
4. do what works for you, not necessarily what others are doing.
5. precut cards and have them ready to grab and go!
6. enJOY the process (i am REALLY looking forward to this part!)

scripture sunday no. 11

"Keep thinking about the message you first heard, and you will always be one in your ❤ with the Son and with the Father. The Son has promised us eternal life."

1 John 2:24, 25 CEVUK

scripture sunday no. 10

july 3

Open you heart with music

and kindness.

good reminder

“The heart sees better than the eye.” –Jewish Proverb from Margaret Feinberg (@mafeinberg)

Scripture Sunday no. 9

Colossians 3:15 MSG
"Cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way."

Col. 3.15 (The Message)

Scripture Sunday no. 8

a pseudo sister adventure

last weekend was full. like, more than full than i should have allowed it to become and while each event was important to me, one stood out among them all: cheering amy on at her first 5K!


a few years  ago amy started running. for her birthday, taylor and i wanted to support her newest hobby and gave her a nike+ watch to track her runs and document her running journey. i also began running, around the same time and remember viewing amy as my running inspiration. in the last year we've run together a handful of times, one time even meeting up with taylor and her pup, and though each of the three of us has had ups and downs in our individual journeys with running,  i've always admired amy's dedication and intentional effort to choose running. to choose a healthy hobby.

this photo of the three of us, sisters at heart, made me realize how much we inspire each other. my heart was so full on that morning. our lives have been intertwined for fourteen years (more if you count the years before we "officially" met) and through so many facets of life we have supported each other, cheered each other on and inspired one another.

just before the race began, with the sun beaming down and the pre-race energy swirling around us, I requested that Taylor (hold-your-arm-out photographer extraordinaire) snap a shot of us. it took a few tries to get us all looking glam (not to mention in the frame) and now, when i look at this picture, i think of this bond. i see that we are quite different in many ways, yet i know in my heart how well we compliment each other.

thanks ladies for always picking up where we left off, for pushing nudging me and cheering me on, and for letting me in on the fun times! i can not wait for the next adventure! 

Scripture Sunday no. 7

Remember how the Lord your God has led you in the desert for these forty years, taking away your pride and testing you, because he wanted to know what was in your heart. He wanted to know if you would obey his commands. (Deuteronomy 8.2)

national scrapbooking day!

Happy national scrapbooking day!
Inspired by the holiday, a (fairly) free saturday, a new book and a need to get April in the book I am gear up for some editing, storytelling, printing, cutting, pasting & embellishing.

two 4"x6.5" layouts in progress.

Scripture Sunday no. 6

The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their hearts and lives. (2 Peter 3:9 NCV)

Scripture Sunday no. 5

Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your HEARTS and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6, 7 NCV)

Plans

This Lent, I decided to try a devotional. Again. I've tried before but inevitably lost the small paper book, spilled something on it or changed purses without relocating it.

This year I chose a devotion on my phone. The daily readings were manageable (read: not too long and daunting), I could set a daily reminder to buzz and tell me to read, and my phone is always nearby.

The picture below captures three wonderful stories within this experience:

1. My Plan - this title is laughable to me since I've always struggled with the balance between my own plans and Gods Plan. Yet each day as I read, I feel as though I am asking for my plan to BE God's Plan. Progress!

2. 92% - I am not behind! Only one or two days did I forget, but I knew it and I missed the restful few minutes of sitting and reading Jesus' story. So I caught up and with only 3 days left, there is a strong chance I will make it through this goal (on time)!

3.6:34am - The reminder on my phone is an added bonus, for sure. From the beginning I hoped to get to the point where the alarm was unnecessary. Ling term, I want to be motivated and aware of making this a daily decision. Currently my alarm is set to remind me at 6:45am, so here is proof that I am tapping into this motivation.

I have been listening to my HEART this season, striving to be intentional and to dive into Lent and now I am planning the next step, post Easter. How will I continue forward with this habit? How will I make it a priority and maintain the internal, heart centered motivation I am feeling today?

** the app I use is YouVersion for iPhone and I have been reading the 40 Days of Lent devotion.

Scripture Sunday no. 3

Slice of Life 2012 - 25

You know how they say, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?" I'm changing it to:

When life doubles the shortening, double the entire cookie recipe.

That's what happened yesterday and while this means that I'll be eating too many cookies for twice as long as usual, it is also inspiring me to stay positive. My slices have been sad and frustrated yesterday so today, I am claiming the last week of March and making it mine! And with each accident and unhappy surprise that comes my way, I will do my best to see it as an opportunity to spin things for the better.

I know this is the right thing to do and I know that my heart needs to make this choice. So I'll have a cup of lemonade with my extra batch of cookies and celebrate the finals days of March.

Slice of Life 2012 - 14

All week long I made preparations for this night. I arrived early to set up, to make sure everything was in order, made extra copies in case more showed up. As she bounced down the hall I thought briefly, "What if she's the only one? How will I adapt, how can I adjust to make the lesson fit her..."

In the end, she was the only one. We sang & danced, cut & pasted, prayed and checked off each of the items in my lesson plan. We could've just played instead, but we did the lesson because she is just as important as a room full of students. She showed up, which is sometimes the hardest part.

Tonight she got to ask questions and make decisions; she didn't have to wait for the littler ones to follow directions or help them clean up their mess; she got to be the only one. But then I realized that she wasn't the only one. I showed up, too. So we danced the hour away, with a cartwheel or two, and sang with all our hearts:

Forever God is faithful, forever God is strong, forever God is with us, forever.

Slice of Life 2012 - 10

Saturday are for...
catching my breath.
using that breath to run far and fast.
soaking in the suds of all things domestic.
prepping for  ignoring the week ahead.
melting into a book, a movie, or an afternoon nap.
listening to my heart.

Thanks, Saturday!

Slice of Life 2012 - 6

I had to speak up for myself today, make sure that I shared what I need. How is someone to know my needs if I don't speak up? Yet so often I shy away from doing so. But today I chose to listen to my heart. I prayed for the right words, for the clarity of mind, for the strength (not to cry!) and that kindness and grace would infuse  our conversation. They did. It was good to stand up, to be heard and to know that whatever happens next, I am on a path that is written on my heart.


I am sad to think that compassion, kindness and grace are not as abundant in our lives as they ought to be. So now I pray that I can continue forward with the message from my tea bag and
delight the world with compassion, kindness and grace.

Scripture Sunday no. 2

A bit belated, but here is my scripture for this week. Share a link to yours, below.

2012 challenge - running

snowy, icy roads ahead!

I haven't made too many running goals. i was afraid it would jinx me and lead me astray. Sure, I did my fair share of 50 miles in a month challenges, but by the time I signed up for the challenges, I'd already accomplished the goal, so it was more about maintenance than achieving.

Yesterday was my first chance to run after a week of wild winter weather. I still can't figure out how I mustered up the motivation to put on my running gear and head out, but it likely had to do with the clear blue sky and sun streaming through the windows. As I stepped into the sun, I decided to aim high, figuring that once I got started, I wouldn't want to stop. I was right. I ran 6 miles.

We ofter run about 5 miles, but to me that extra mile feels like so much more. Only one other time have I run 6 miles and that was last Summer. I was really excited to see that despite a week off of running and necessary stops to trudge through a shaded snowy patch of trail, I was only 14 seconds slower than last summer.

That inspired me to set a goal: by the end of 2012, I want to run 6 miles in under an hour. I'm already close, my PR is 1:03.04, but 4 minutes is a lot to shave off; almost a minute a mile. Maybe I'll achieve my goal next week, maybe next month or perhaps a few months down the road. Regardless, I hope this goal will help me make an effort to attempt longer distances and to become more confident in my ability.

Plus, it's emotionally, physically and spiritually good for the heart :)