Picture of the Day themes

I've been reading Becky Higgins tweets about Picture of the Day ideas (posted as {POTD Idea} if you want to search for it). I love that she is sharing ideas of her own and from other people. I have been frequenting in the hospital lately and have noticed there are an incredible amount of signs around everywhere. I thought that signs would make a great theme as part of a POTD idea. Here are a few signs for your enjoyment (they are not all from the hospital).

A time to reflect, as one year ends and another begins
I've been spending some of my holiday season scrapbooking and it's been so good to get back into the creative mode. The fun thing I tried out recently was listening to podcasts from paperclipping.com, specifically one with Stacy Julian and Becky Higgins (http://www.paperclipping.com/2010/12/15/prt049-all-twelve-months/). It was really inspirational and kept me motivated as I worked.

Along with listening to the podcast, I have been thinking about my processes with scrapbooking. I'm not sure my "system" (if I could call it that) is working for me so I'm taking this time to re-evaluate to make sure I'm doing something that works for me.

I revisited the book "The Big Picture" by Stacy Julian. I came across a picture of her "highlights" page that she puts in her Christmas Exchange album (pg 12). It looks like a two page layout of 12" by 12" pages with a variety of pictures and small tags titling each picture as a summary of the year. I wondered if I could do that too.

What would I choose to highlight for 2010?

I looked back through my 2010 photos and started writing some notes of the major things that happened for me this year. I realized that since I started Project 365, I have photos to go along with those events I would want to document for this year. There are things like WeightWatchers training, brunches with my girlfriend, Sunday dinners with my family, my first year as a Board Member of a group in Vancouver. Each of these events are times when I would not normally take pictures but because of my picture of the day project, I pushed myself to take a picture. When I look back to the time before I started Project 365 it seems so much is missing. I am so thankful for doing Project 365. At least I know this part of my "system" is working for me.

Expect the unexpected, how Project 365 became Project 352
I've been very unlucky with technology lately. First my iPhone died then my computer crashed and I lost all data on my hard drive. Gone! Vamoosh! Just like that. So, I'm sure you can see where this is heading... I lost photos from my Project 365. I'm so disappointed but I also know it could have been so much worse. I only lost about two weeks of photos. Not bad at all, right?

I guess that I can't really complete Project 365 in 365 days so maybe my project will now be named Project 352 since I lost 12 days.

It's interesting how lost I feel without those 12 days of photos. It was only two weeks but I have recognized and realized that everyday there is something worth capturing with my camera. Now that I've lost those two weeks I feel I'm missing some important stuff. But, of course this is all with a fresh mind and I'm sure in a few years from now it won't matter as much...I hope.

Moral of the story? Do you know what your back-up plan is? What are the things that are most important to you? What are you doing to protect them? At the moment I store my photos on an external hard drive and on two separate DVDs and on snapfish.com. That may seem like a bit much to some people but it's because of this system that I didn't lose more than two weeks. However, currently I'm re-assessing my frequency of back up and I'm thinking that each time I download my photos to my computer from my camera, I should have a copy in at least one of my back up locations.

Oh technology gods, I've meant you no harm but if there's something I've done to upset you, please let me know.

My latest creation - less paper and more light

So I'm stretching the term "creations" out of the "Caroline's Creations" title of this blog. This weekend I created something that I've been dying to do for ages, maybe at least a year! I finally got around to making my own light box. What? A light box? Yes. It's the most awesome, inexpensive toy...okay, well maybe not for everyone, but it's awesome for me and you! (How do you fit in? Keep reading!)

I have been wanting a light box for ages so I could take better pictures of the cards I create so I can have a better sample to show you on this blog. See...that's where you fit in! So this weekend I did some reading online and found a great website that described how to make a cheap light box. The price was right so I was ready to give it a try! I got a box I had around the house (well, okay, I had to reorganize another section of my closet but I got the box out of it!), some tissue wrapping paper, masking tape, white poster board and an exacto knife. Ta da! That's all I needed.

Here is the before and after shot of my light box.

BEFORE

(Yes, shameless advertising for Close To My Heart scrapbooking supplies)

AFTER

A special thank you to Stobist website for the instructions! http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

Oh and P.S. This is also my Picture of the Day for my Project 365 post. Another two-for-one.

Flare your peacock colours!

Peacocks are trendy right now so I decided it would be a perfect theme for our Crafty Club this month. Together we made a multi-coloured peacock tail. It was easy-peasy and everyone was really happy with how it turned out. It's such a simple and impressive technique! Plus, this post is a two-for-one, it's my post on this month's Crafty Club and my picture of the day!

The supplies to make this card are:

Magnifique paper pack - level 2 (X7127B)

My Acrylix Circle of Love stamp set (D1438)

My Acrylix Say it in style stamp set (D1283)

Garden Green stamp pad (Z2120)

Juniper stamp pad (Z2165)

Moonstruck stamp pad (Z2134)

Sponge Daubers (Z726)

and don't forget the bling! Sparkles blue and green (Z1327)

Hey Sis! This one's for you.

It's still strange for me to get used to the idea that I have a sister (in-law), but I do and I'm grateful for that. She emailed me today and said that she loves this idea of the Project 365 but feels that her life is pretty routine so there isn't much that's new in her life to take photos of every day.

Say whaaaat?

Yeah, that was my reaction too! I would be willing to bet dollars to donuts that there is something different about each day, even those days of routine, that is worth taking a picture of.

Here are a few ideas to think about:

• What you ate for dinner
• Filling up for gas (don't you think a picture of the price of gas would be fun to see in 5, 10, 20 years?)
• The shoes you wore
• The bottle of shampoo (toothpaste, deodorant) you used
• The sunset
• The phone/computer you used
• The coffee cup you use every morning
• Who you ate with at lunch/dinner
• Your debit card/credit card

Going to the bank and withdrawing money, brushing your teeth, filling up the car with gas may all seem to be "routine" but don't you think they tell the story of you? In a few months, years, decades, they will have changed and while they may seem routine now, you might get a kick out of seeing them at a later time.

I challenge you (yes, you Sis, and all my other readers) to think outside the box if you're taking on Project 365. If you feel life is routine, use that to your advantage to take photos of the every day objects you use and let that tell the story of you.

Project 365, and counting...

Dear readers, I've missed you! I know I've been away for a while but I'm back and I can't wait to share lots of exciting projects and ideas that I've been doing lately!

What I want to tell you about today is Project 365. Have you heard about it? The concept is simple, you take one photo every day for a year. I've realized as a scrapbooker that I often record/document the milestone events. I'm glad I have a way of looking back through my albums and remembering those special times, but I realized that there are things that happen every day that I am missing in those albums. And yet, I believe our memory is filled with those little moments.

When Taylor McKnight started taking a photo a day on January 1st, 2004, he never imagined the project would not only serve as a way to remember a year, but also help him understand what was important to him in his life. Whether it was his relationships, his career, or his fashion sense, recording a photo a day for a whole year left him with a rich visual history of his life.

From http://content.photojojo.com/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/

I figured a good time to start was when I got married, which was this past July so I've started the project. I don't plan to post every photo on this blog but I will keep you up to date on my journey through this project. If you want to join me in doing Project 365, I'd love to hear from you!