according.to.kim

Picture series scrapbook layouts

I really enjoyed making these layouts on the weekend! I started this series in May 2010 when I created my Picture Spring layout. At that time, I knew I would be taking more seasonal Picture classes from Tracey Clark at Big Picture Classes and that I would make more layouts with the same design, so I set aside the set of paper that the green paper had come from. And then I didn't manage to make any more of these pages over the past year! I didn't plan to do them all this weekend, but once I got rolling, I decided to complete the series and check this item off my scrapbooking to-do list.

P.S. I created a template for my photo collages and you're welcome to download it here:

Download Picture-collage-template.psd (1324.4K)

I had them printed on 8x10s and then trimmed the prints. There are 15 photo layers on the template, but I only used 12 photos per page which allowed me to be a little more selective about the photos I included (and left some room on the LOs).

Piecing it all together

Backyard rainbow. :) All shot and pieced together before work this morning (my only chance to do this today). It was like a race; no time for second guessing! I could have tried to select pictures from the computer or made a collage from my Picture Color photos, but both would have taken longer than shooting new ones. I really enjoyed Picture Color and I think this is a suitable ending to this project! (Also, many thanks to OFF Skintastic; I couldn't have done it without you!)

School's out for summer! The girls' last day was yesterday. Both Sophia and Madeline brought home spectacular report cards (all 4s, Es, and Ms -- these are good; trust me!) They're great students and I'm super proud of them! The girls have had a lot of fun with year-end activities this week: bowling, spray pad, swimming, and a movie for Madeline; and bowling, swimming, and a movie for Sophia. Sophia was a little miffed that Grade 4 is too old to go to the spray pad, but I'm sure she'll have several opportunities this summer.

Also, Neil's Grandma Louise fell and cracked her hip yesterday. She's just three weeks from turning 96, so this is very worrisome, of course. I think she's awaiting surgery but I don't know her status right now.

Sunrise sunset

A prairie sunset as thunderstorms brewed just south of here. I had to drive out of the city and wait awhile, but this colour was worth it! Taken this evening at 9:28 pm. I decided to post the following picture, too, just because I like how it turned out. Taken just six minutes before my other shot. I wonder if this photo would be better without the airplane, though.

The colour of happy

I love rainbow colours, and Sophia was over the moon when I brought this swimming suit home for her yesterday (crazy good deal at The Children's Place). Plus, she's reading Harry Potter outside on a beautiful sunny day. What could be better? Yes, these are definitely happy colours! Also, thanks to this class and prompt, I have a picture of Sophia that I absolutely LOVE. This is just a fraction of the whole photo.

This evening, we all went out to get gifts for the girls' teachers. Yup, tomorrow is the last day of school and we're just doing this now. For some reason, this task seems to sneak up on me every year. Oh well, it's getting done! We got each of them a nice little notebook and a couple pencils made from recycled newspapers (they're cool!). Also, the girls are going to make bookmarks for their teachers before school tomorrow. Now I need to go and prepare the stuff for them to do that. Remind me to do this earlier next year!

P.S. Madeline lost a tooth today. That's 2 tooth fairy visits in one week! And we have new neighbours, two doors down, with a six-year old girl (and a boy who is 12). Our girls are already determined to spend as much time with her as possible.

Going back in time

I walked around my block this evening looking for a suitable subject. I thought this fence and peonies could be from any decade, and I added the Pioneer Woman Sunshine action to give it the look of some older film photos. For this prompt, I couldn't resist adding a second photo pulled from my archives (as many of my classmates have done). I took the following picture last September, and today, added the Pioneer Woman Seventies action and Edge Burn at 80%.

Watching for whimsy

We took Sophia and Madeline to the Camp Monahan open house this afternoon and spotted this pink grain-elevator-shaped birdhouse on the way there. I thought it was pretty whimsical -- especially the colour.

We had quite a big day with three things on the calendar: an open house at Camp Monahan (because Sophia and Madeline are going to mini camp this summer), a birthday party for Georgia to attend, and a family potluck dinner in Avonlea. Since the first two conflicted and Georgia really wanted to go to the birthday party (a bowling party for a friend from preschool), I arranged for her to go to a friend's house (the boy for whom Neil provides childcare) who was also invited to the birthday party. They picked her up at 10 a.m.

A little later, the rest of us (minus Dash) drove out to Camp Monahan at Katepwa Lake, arriving at 12:30 pm. It was a lovely day for the drive out there and for the open house: sunny and warm (but not hot), and breezy enough to keep the mosquitoes away. We immediately ate lunch (hotdogs, donuts, and iced tea were provided) as we were all very hungry. We sat at a picnic table near the shore and the girls ate quickly as they were focused on exploring the lake. They were so excited about the possibility of going in a canoe, they wouldn't look at anything else, so I asked a camp staff member about it and she immediately offered to take the girls out on the lake. Sophia and Madeline had never been in a canoe before and they were totally delighted!

Not long after they returned from canoeing, we all put on life jackets and boarded one of the two motorized boats they had running from the pier. We all enjoyed the ride along the shoreline which lasted about 10 or 15 minutes. We don't have many opportunities for boat rides and don't feel the need to do this often, but the occasional boat ride is very fun -- especially in beautiful weather!

Soon after that, it was time for everyone to gather for a tour of the camp. Sophia and Madeline were always at the front of the group, close to the camp staff who were giving the tour. It was great to see where the girls will sleep and where the different activities take place, and hear from several of the staff and counsellors. They had camp trivia questions along the way and Sophia and Madeline each won a camp song book. (It was really perfect to get two of these books! The girls sang a bunch of songs in the van later in the day.)

After the tour, everyone sat around the campfire seating area where the camp staff entertained us with several songs and actions. They were very enthusiastic and animated, and I was impressed with how completely comfortable they appeared as they performed. The girls really enjoyed the tour and the songs, and they're very excited to go to camp in a few weeks. They learned that they'll get to swim for two hours a day (in the pool), go canoeing for an hour a day (if they want), make cool crafts, play games, and eat five times a day (three meals and two snacks). On the way home, Sophia said she wants to live there--but she would prefer to eat 6 times a day. :)

Back in Regina, we stopped briefly at Candy Cane park because it's the first thing I thought of for today's Picture Color prompt, but then I found the striped sculptures to be a bit less whimsical (and much less photogenic) in their new locations (outside the play area and separated). Good thing we had stopped for a picture of the pink birdhouse earlier! (It was close to Camp Monahan, and I was lucky to get some blue sky in the shot as dark clouds were rolling in.) We picked up Georgia from Henry's house, then Dash from our house, and headed out to Avonlea for supper. Neil's mom had planned the potluck because Aunt Dorothy and Debbie were visiting from Calgary and it was the only opportunity for many of us to see them. We had a delicious meal and enjoyed the visit with everyone. Shortly before going home, the girls had a great time using their makeup kits (which live at Grandma's house exclusively) to become zombies (Madeline and Georgia) and an alien (Sophia). They were so funny! We didn't leave Avonlea until after 9:00 pm, so it was a late night for the girls (they don't sleep in the van any more) and a long day for all.

Heavy metal

It's finally corn-on-the-cob season (for tasty imported cobs, that is), and these are our cob holders. They're not heavy, of course, but I thought they had a cool design. I like how this photo turned out. :) I decided to take another picture today to capture an item that Neil and I bought when traveling years ago. We can't remember exactly where we bought it, but I'm pretty sure it was Spain (11 years ago). It hangs above our kitchen sink and is used mostly for tea accessories and a cloth for drying fruits and vegetables. I love the rich browns in it.

Today, I've been busy cleaning the kitchen and sorting through the children's clothes that need to leave our house (the bags have been piled in the middle of Georgia's room for long enough). I am now sorting them three ways: Texas, Regina family (known to my sister-in-law), and Bailey (my cousin's daughter). There's more than enough to go around. Also, Neil has been busy cleaning the laundry room. It's so good to make progress on these things! Okay, back to work now.

A library of colour

I've been wanting to do this, and now seemed like the perfect time! (Neil helped and it only took a few minutes.) Inspired by Meg Duerksen and my rainbow board on Pinterest (@kkbyrns).* It's amazing how much neater this looks than random or other placement. These shelves are in Georgia's room and she's delighted with the new arrangement. She asked excitedly, "Can we keep it this way?!" Why, of course! Although I suspect it won't stay this way for long. Also, we need to go through these books and give some away. There are more books below these shelves, and many more in Sophia and Madeline's room. And we *have* given away quite a few children's books in the past. They seem to multiply at our house!

Georgia attended her very last day of preschool today. Originally, they were going to go to the spray pad, but thanks to today's forecast for rain (which didn't materialize, thank goodness), they went on Wednesday instead. Today, they made dirt cups (chocolate pudding, cookie crumbs, and gummy worms) to celebrate the end of the school year.

After Georgia was home from school, she wanted me to pull her tooth which was quite loose (this is her second; she lost the first one in early December 2010). I think this is the first time I've actually pulled a child's tooth out; they've all come out on their own -- but she insisted I do it. And then it bled quite a bit! Oh well. She's over it and is very excited about the tooth fairy coming tonight (fingers crossed!).

The girls' school was supposed to do their annual Walk Around Wascana today but it didn't happen as planned, either. Madeline's class (and a few others) walked to Wascana Centre yesterday. They played in the park for awhile before walking back, but didn't walk around the lake. Sophia's class (and a couple others, including Bronwyn's) walked to the park and back this morning. They didn't spend any time there and were back by the end of first recess. Normally, they spend the whole day on this activity. It turned out to be a very nice day today, so it's too bad everything didn't go ahead as usual. And now, just three days of school remain for the older girls. This month has flown by! I look forward to updating the calendar less frequently over the next two months. :)

*I miss Pinterest! I haven't been there for weeks. Too busy with Picture Color and blogging this month, but I'll be back.

The meaning of colour

Caught red-handed! Actually, he was framed -- this time. Dash is constantly taking toys and shoes and chewing on them. (Much to my chagrin.) How lucky to have this noise maker handy for the set up! We had fun with this. Neil chased him around while I took pictures. He must be so confused!

Ah, Thursday evening. It's my favourite time of the week -- especially in the summer when I have every Friday off (thanks to EDOs and vacation days). :) Even better when it's warm and sunny like this evening. We've waited a long time for this!

Inspired by colour

Inspired by Holly {Soupatraveler}, one of my classmates in the Picture series at BPC, and all of her lovely garden images. Plus, I love tomato plants and I frequently go out to check on our garden, so it seems a fitting subject for me. I just wish I had had a little more time to spend on my photo today. After work, Neil and the girls picked me up and we went to Costco. Laurel had told me they had indoor/outdoor bean bag chairs (from outbagg.com). We bought three (and may get a 4th). They're huge and comfy and fit my criteria perfectly! (i.e., unbreakable, dog hair won't stick to them, won't stain or soak up spills, and no crevices where stuff can get trapped.)

Ambient yellow

This was a tough one. I'm not sure these cookbooks were the best subject for the prompt as they don't show off the ambient light very well, but I ran out of time and couldn't think of anything better. At least I've captured a little slice of life at our house (which I'm tempted to reshoot in better light!).

Corrugated colour

I couldn't decided between the garden hose and rhubarb today. At first glance, it seemed like there was nothing corrugated (and colourful) around here, but when I took some time to look around the yard, I was able to find things that would work. It was nice to have a little free time this evening.

The colour of calm

It's tough to find any calm in my house these days, but when I was home alone for about 90 minutes yesterday (while Neil and the kids took Dash for exercise at Chloe's house), I captured some calm blue, green, purple -- and me. This image isn't exactly what I was going for, but it was the most interesting among a bunch of dull photos and I didn't have time to keep looking. My reflection appears in the window of the china cabinet and in a dark blue teapot inside the cabinet.

Our Sunday was mostly filled with sorting toys to keep, give away, and throw away -- as well as sorting toys into their sets and types. Although we got rid of loads of toys last summer, we still have so many! It's way too much. I was very pleased with the girls' willingness to let go of a bunch of things in this round: all Barbie, Dora, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, and Polly Pockets are going, plus some miscellaneous things. (Sadly, several Barbies and Strawberry Shortcake dolls had to be thrown out due to missing feet and hands; chewed off by Dash. The survivors are better off leaving our house!) While you'd think Georgia would still want to play with these items, she was very willing to part with them, and the other two don't care about them any more. Sophia was just slightly concerned about My Little Pony, but preferred to keep Littlest Pet Shop when given a choice. (I left one pony in the bathtub.)

The girls still have PLENTY of toys. Lots of Littlest Pet Shop, Zhu Zhu Pets, play food and dishes, shopping toys (they would NOT part with the shopping cart Sophia received as a toddler), games, dress up clothes, baby dolls and accessories, stuffed animals (far too many stuffed animals), Tinkertoys, K'nex, puzzles, quite a collection of Fisher-Price Little People... We'll have to do another toy decluttering session this summer. We really don't have room for all of this stuff and I know there's much remaining that they don't use, but we ran out of time and energy for this task. I'm very happy with what we accomplished in this session, though. We weighed the outgoing (including the garbaged toys) and it was 31 pounds! I had offered the girls $2.50 worth of dinner (for the whole family) at a restaurant for every pound of toys they parted with, so we went out for dinner with $77.50 to spend.

We attempted to go to Montana's, the girls' first choice, but were told the wait would be an hour. At 6:00 pm on Father's Day, we weren't surprised. Ribs were desired, so we went to Smokin' Oakies on the East side. It was good (although they were out of a couple of things we wanted to order), and I liked their new bright dining room. Great to eat local (non-chain), too. From there, we went to the Coldstone Creamery as we hadn't been there yet (in Regina). The line up was long and it is rather pricey, I must say, but we all enjoyed our treats. My "Raspberry Soiree" (raspberry ice cream with raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries mixed in) was yummy! Neil enjoyed his raspberry ice cream with chocolate shavings. I think raspberry is then next kind of ice cream we'll have to make at home. And the girls all selected cotton candy ice cream with gummy bears and marshmallows mixed in.

We usually only eat out once a month, so this was a very big extra treat. In addition to the kids' toy-reduction incentive, I also thought it would be nice for Neil not to have to make supper on Father's Day. Could I have made supper instead? Sure, I'm capable, but I'm not in that zone at all these days. It didn't even occur to me until now!

P.S. Madeline did sleep all night, getting up just before 7:00 am. I asked her what it felt like to get 14 hours of sleep, and she replied, "I feel tired."

What's your shade

My lip colour is Blushed Mauve. It's the only shade I use, and I rarely leave the house without it. I really like this all-day stuff (CG Outlast). I don't use any eye makeup because it irritates my eyes immediately (plus, it's too much work for me!).

Today was somewhat better than yesterday. I accomplished a few things, but never shook the feeling of being behind on everything. I cleared the paper collection basket and worked on photos from May. Both took longer than I had hoped. Meanwhile, Neil pumped out the yard (after fixing the pump) and kept working on water control as we had a couple more downpours today. Laurel treated Sophia and Georgia to lunch and then took them out to Avonlea for a few hours this afternoon. She brought all of the girls back to Regina before dinner. All three fell asleep on the way back to the city, and Madeline was so tired, she went straight to her bed at 5:00 pm and slept all evening. I hope she doesn't get up too early!

The colour of light

I really didn't think the sun was going to come out yesterday. The rain started Thursday evening and continued for most of Friday, but strong winds sent the rain clouds away, so I was able to catch some flare late in the afternoon (5:45 pm).

Heavy rainfall caused more flooding in our yard than we've ever seen and our basement to leak in several places. For the most part, our day revolved around those things. It was not a fun day. (And I had other plans, of course!) I was off work (vacation day) and the kids had no school, so we were home all day -- which is certainly a good thing when dealing with basement flooding. It's also a good thing we have a large Shop Vac to use in the basement and a pony pump for water in the yard. Unfortunately, the pump stopped working when it was too late to get parts. Neil is getting parts this morning so we can continue pumping out the yard.

This is the street in front of our house before Neil unblocked the drain on the other side of the street. The next two views are the problem areas in our yard. The last photo shows a spot where we've never had water collect like this before. And that window well (next to the green bucket) is where the biggest leak in our basement is occurring. Fixing this won't be easy.

Thankfully, it stopped raining in the late afternoon. After she finished work, Laurel took Bronwyn and Madeline to Avonlea (met Lou at Corinne) to stay overnight with their grand-parents. Neil took Sophia to Meghan's birthday party at 5:30 pm. Georgia and I took Neil to the Rider preseason game at 6:00 pm. Before going home, she and I attempted to get treats at DQ only to discover my wallet wasn't in my purse. Grrr. (It was at home beside the computer.) We went home for awhile, then back to DQ (the new one in Harbour Landing). I enjoyed spending some one-on-one time with Georgia. She cracks me up! That was definitely the best part of the day. We were home again for about an hour before going to pick up Sophia at the Lawson swimming pool at 9:00 pm. And there went my evening. Too tired by that time to do anything else.

Nothing but blue skies

I took this picture as soon as I received the prompt this morning as I knew I wouldn't have time to get creative today (the prompt was for any blue, not necessarily the sky) and it looked like clouds were moving in. Sure enough, it was completely overcast by 7:15 am. Of the pictures I took, I selected this one for the transition from white to blue.

I'm so tired right now! I had a very full day at work today and then we attended the year-end carnival at the girls' school. I was the cashier for pizza during the first half of the two-hour event, and then when the carnival was over, Neil was on clean-up duty so we were there for another hour. We might have walked home instead of waiting, but it was raining. Of course. (Madeline went home with L&B for a sleepover as the girls don't have school tomorrow.)

Our basement is already soggy and we're expecting another 2-3 inches of rain this weekend. We've been getting water in the toy/clothing storage room all spring, and it's getting worse with each rain. The carpet is soaked about 8 feet in from the leak, so Neil hauled most of the toys upstairs yesterday (the rest are on metal shelves and all of the clothes are in plastic bins). We're going to have to clear the room completely this weekend and probably remove all of the carpet underlay (which won't be reusable). Ugggh. "Nothing but blue skies" is what we really need right now.

Playful pause

This happy little finger puppet from a preschool music lesson (Georgia's MYC class in fall 2009) normally sits on a shelf above my computer. I decided to take him outside to play today -- a "playful pause" to mark the halfway point of Picture Color. Also shown is one of our new perennials, the Russian Stonecrop (Sedum). Love, love, love my perennials!

P.S. This evening, I made a double batch of Banana Oatmeal Muffins (from Company's Coming, with chocolate chips added and 50% whole wheat flour) for my Cookie Club the next day (and for us). They turned out very well!

Making a statement

I wear red and silver daily, in some form or another. This ring and my red purse are constant companions. And I see that my ring is reflecting the red top I'm wearing.

We had some unexpected excitement today... My cousin and his wife gave birth to a baby boy this morning while their daughter stayed at our house!

As soon as I arrived at work, I had a message from Neil that Richy and Melinda were on their way to Regina (from Weyburn) and would be bringing Bailey (26 months old) over to our place for the day since her Grandma wasn't home yet (her flight arrived at 5:15 pm). I rushed home knowing that Neil would have to take the girls to school and I wanted to be there when Bailey arrived. Shortly after 9 am, we got a call from Richy saying they were at the hospital, Melinda was fully dilated, and he was bringing Bailey over. Well, we didn't want him to miss anything or Melinda to be alone, so we went to pick up Bailey. Her baby brother was born an hour later!

Bailey was quite happy staying with us and Georgia for over an hour but then decided she wanted to go home. She cried and cried until she fell asleep on the floor at the front door. (Meanwhile, I needed to go back to work, and my mom was here to drop off her dog for the day so she gave me a ride.) Neil put Bailey (still asleep) into our old stroller (which should have been long gone!) and took her and Georgia to school since he had to do lunch supervision. Bailey woke up about 30 minutes later, surrounded by children (our three girls and their friends), and was happy for the rest of the day. The older girls were delighted that she was still at our house after school. They all had been hoping the baby would arrive before my Aunt Bev (Bailey's grandma) was home from her trip so that Bailey would be able to come to our house.

After supper, Mom, Grandma M, Aunt Colleen, and Aunt Bev came over and Bev took Bailey to the hospital to see her parents and baby brother. We're so glad we could help them out today and that all went well with Lexington's arrival into the world. We'll always remember his birthday!

Ordinary colours

I definitely see and appreciate these colours every day.

I think Mondays are most difficult for me when I haven't accomplished very much on the weekend. Today was difficult. But there was a bright spot! I received an award at work based on a coworker's nomination and my manager's approval. That was such a nice surprise, especially after the past couple of weeks which were extra challenging.

Seeing spots

I spotted these adorable children at a church picnic today! :)

What a day! First, we attended an outdoor mass followed by a BBQ/picnic and activities for the kids: dino bouncer, face painting, balloon creations, sack races, three-legged races, watermelon-eating contest (which Sophia entered), along with a band playing and numerous treats being handed out. We were there for four hours (10 am - 2 pm). We had a great time overall, but I must admit to being very frustrated with the face painting and balloon line-ups (I spent well over an hour in lines with Georgia). I think I'll volunteer to direct traffic next time. The kids totally loved this event.

After a short break at home, Neil and the girls took Dash for a playdate with his dogfriend, Chloe (3 pm). Soon after they got home, we went to the Irish Club's Mosaic Wrap-up & Prairie Gael School of Dance Wind-up BBQ/potluck (4:45 pm). We had decided to go for a short visit but not to eat (the girls helped themselves anyway). From there, we went to Neil's aunt and uncle's house for a family BBQ/potluck supper (6 pm). The girls loved playing with their cousins, Bronwyn, Gabe, and Avery. Georgia even had a bath with the two little ones. Also, we took Dash with us to the last two events and he was so amazingly good. He didn't bark at anyone!

June 20, ETA: P.S. I would be remiss not to mention the nasty, stupid fall I took this afternoon. While Neil and the girls were out, I wanted to photograph a couple of scrapbook layouts to post in the BSS gallery. I set everything up as I normally do, with my layout on the little round table by the back door (my light source) and a stool to stand on. I tried to take the photo with the 50mm lens on the camera, but couldn't quite get high enough to get the whole layout in the shot. I looked for the camera bag (with the other lens) briefly, then realized it was still in the van and Neil had taken the van. I was determined to get this done while the light was good, so I got up on the stool again, this time on my tip toes, trying to stretch as high as possible to get the shot... and I fell off the stool. In a split second, I hurt my right leg, arm, and chest, the dishwasher door, camera lens, and the layout. The layout wasn't too bad; I will probably put a sticker or something over the black scuff mark. Much worse, part of my 50mm camera lens was pushed in on an angle, so it can't move to focus. I hope this can be fixed, but I don't expect it. I had owned this lens for less than two weeks! :( Also, I had somehow pushed the dishwasher door down to the floor, so now it won't sit perpendicular to the floor without a stool to support it. And my arm, chest, and leg really ached for the whole week that followed. I guess I should just be thankful I wasn't injured worse.