according.to.kim

Picture the Holidays II (31+)

Gather your thoughts: On December 31, I was working on this -- my inspiration file for the BPC class, Twelve, with Stacy Julian. I thought it fitting for the final prompt because this is where I will gather photos and thoughts over the next twelve months (and beyond, perhaps). The jars are for 12 shades of embellishments, which I gathered this weekend. This was challenging! I don't have a huge selection of embellishments. I've also started drafting my topic lists. This class is keeping me quite busy these days, but I do believe the initial set up and planning will be very worthwhile in the long run.

Shaping up: (alternate) I wasn't excited about putting the tomato-as-ornament picture in my printed Picture the Holidays book from Paper Coterie (free for those who had registered for PTH at BPC in 2010), so I took another shot for this prompt. I don't know how we came to have this lovely pine cone, but I was happy to see it sitting on the kitchen counter one day.

And with that, I've completed Picture the Holidays. Hooray! This project was such a struggle for me after December 12th when I was ill and then overwhelmed with the demands of Christmas. Lesson learned. For me, December is not a good month for keeping up with specific daily prompts. I'm glad I finished, though. Now I can order my book from Paper Coterie!

If you're interested and you haven't checked back to my earlier Picture the Holidays posts, I've filled in all the gaps over the past couple of weeks.

Picture the Holidays II (28-30)

Through the looking glass: I remembered a fellow participant's image of an image in a camera lens on the second day of Picture the Holidays. Thought I'd give it a try. Challenging but fun!

A toast! To productivity! And, to my newly-organized scrapping space. I spent almost all day rearranging and cleaning my scrap area in the basement. It was a big mess, and quite unusable as it was. We set up two new shelving units from Lowe's (the one in this photo holds all of my scrapbooks, photo albums, and memorabilia binders which were in a few different places previously) and a standing-height table I purchased at Liquidation World a couple months ago. I'm thrilled with the results! It's a huge improvement organizationally (much better access to things I use more frequently), and I'm going to love standing instead of sitting while crafting. I had wanted to make this change for a long time. About the drink: Neil made a chocolate-raspberry martini for me to enjoy while I continued cleaning and organizing late into the night on Thursday. :)

Now, there's no looking back! I don't know if this "works" for the prompt, but it's a picture I took in December and I like it, despite its imperfections. I suppose I could say it represents me looking forward (not looking back)... but it's simply a shot I took on impulse. Because I really like taking pictures.

Picture the Holidays II (25-27)

This magic moment: I didn't take this picture for the prompt, and it certainly isn't "off the beaten path" (it's just the first photo I snapped Christmas morning, and the colour was terrible, hence the B&W), so I debated whether to use it or not. But, this moment -- opening their gifts from Santa -- is still full of magic for my children, so it fits perfectly.

The day after: Our stockings and some gift-wrapping items we'll use again. I enjoy putting away the remnants of Christmas. Our tree is still up, but I'll have it down before January 1! I won't start a new year with this task unfinished.

A breath of fresh air: When I noticed the sun came out this afternoon, I immediately ran out to the park to take some pictures. I was quite surprised to see it today as the sky was completely overcast this morning. It seems like we haven't seen the sun very much this month.

Picture the Holidays II (22-24)

You are getting sleepy: Dash is just over two years old and very active. I love it when he's sleepy! (and quiet!)

Life is sweet: My Aunt Bev made these cookies and gave them to us on the 23rd -- a sweet coincidence with this prompt! I took a bunch of pictures before my 5-year old decided she couldn't wait any longer (for her 2nd one). It turned out to be my favourite shot!

Enchantment: The girls and I were enchanted by these heart-warming books this month: 7 Sleeps until Christmas by Stuart Adams, Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O'Connor, and The House of Wooden Santas by Kevin Major. We read The House of Wooden Santas almost every day from December 1-24 (we had to double up a few times), and 7 Sleeps until Christmas from December 18-25. They were a great addition to our Christmas season, and I'm sure we'll read them for years to come.

Picture the Holidays II (19-21)

Make a list (check it twice): I actually made this list (things to do on my holidays after Christmas) on my computer on December 19, but didn't manage to photograph it until now (January 8). I decided to write it out in my Smash Journal for posterity and visual interest.

Wrapped with love: I was home from work a bit early on December 21 and managed to take this picture 9 minutes before sunset (4:57 pm). The orange background was an unexpected surprise! (We have no orange walls; it's a warm glow from lights in the house.)

Attitude adjustment: This picture of my oldest reminds me that she is able to shift her attitude in the right direction. When we were shopping with her Urban Planet gift card (from us), she had picked out a hoodie that I wouldn't let her buy (it was red with "cute but evil" on the front and devil's horns on the hood). She was very mad at me, but then asked me to help her find something else she would like. We found this "oh hi!" hoodie and she absolutely loves it. She's worn it for nearly a week straight (recorded Jan 2).

Picture the Holidays II (16-18)

The season of lights: This outdoor Christmas tree is a few blocks from our house. I love the variety of colours in it! The markings you may see in the lights are from frost on the car window. I couldn't get the window to go down (frozen shut), so I had to shoot through the glass. The girls enjoyed driving around with me, looking at Christmas lights. :)

Warm glow: I had some fun experimenting with a candle inside a very tall vase placed in our fresh-fallen snow.

Recharge: I enjoy a cold beer at the end of a hectic day, even in the winter. I don't usually pour it into a nice glass, though. I dressed this one up for the holidays.

Picture the Holidays II (13-15)

Simply divine: Madeline made this nativity scene in a shoe box at school last year. It's one of my favourite decorations, so I wanted to capture it for posterity.

Sincerly yours: I love receiving cards, letters, and photos from friends and family! I used to send some, too, but have let it go. I really appreciate the effort it takes. Many thanks to all who send us greetings in any form!

Got gifts? No, but I now have some nice tags for Christmas 2012! Jan 8, 2012: I made these tags specifically to complete this photo prompt, and it was fun! I punched the small tags from photos I took in Dec 2007 (3 per 4x6) and glued a piece of white cardstock on the back of each (punched with the same tag punch). I took the top left photo in 2011 and top right photo in 2007. I cut the prints down to 3x5" and glued them to textured cardstock.

Picture the Holidays II (10-12)

Twinkle twinkle: I had a tough time with this prompt. I tried many things and finally accepted this one -- our tree and its reflection in a window. I was trying to get a starburst effect, but didn't get anything I really liked, so I went back to bokeh which is much easier to achieve (great tutorial for bokeh).

Shaping up: Challenging prompt! I couldn't think of (or see) anything. Full credit goes to Neil for suggesting this. I took this photo and then peeked at the gallery, where another person's embellished picture gave me an idea for improving mine. I think the snowflake (One Little Bird Star on Top digital kit) helps the tomato look a bit more ornamental.

A whole lot of happy: This ornament from 1984 always brings a smile to my face. I'm glad it has survived all these years. This year, I learned it's one of Sophia's favourites, too.

Picture the Holidays II (7-9)

Express yourself: A little reminder for myself. Inspired by Ali Edwards (this post). After I wrote the message, I held the camera in position with my left hand (and the marker in my right hand) while Neil pressed the shutter button. I couldn't have done this without a helper!

Reflecting on the season: This is the season when I see the sun setting on my way home from work (sunset was 4:55 pm on this day). I pulled over to take this shot. And I just happened to catch a small plane in my photo. :)

It's a sign: You can't deny the wisdom on a lululemon bag, can you? (I did a bit of sharpening and added a little edge burn (PW actions) to draw more attention to the main message.) Speaking of breathing, I think I'm feeling slightly better today; I'm hopeful that my second cold is on its way out.

Picture the Holidays II (4-6)

Six days in, I'm feeling committed to Picture the Holidays. I've made it this far; just 25 more days to go! One of the best things about a project like this (I'm sure I've mentioned it before) is that I end up with pictures I love that I wouldn't have taken otherwise. Perfect example right here.

You hold the key: Perhaps the key to surviving the holiday season (with peace of mind) is to stay well rested. I'm terrible for not giving myself enough sleep, so I'll use this as a reminder to go to bed earlier this month. (It's been easy so far as I've been suffering a cold for more than 2 weeks now.)

The view from here: My only view during daylight hours yesterday -- the view from my office -- very different from the 11th floor downtown where I used to work! We see rabbits in this space every day, but none were out when I had my chance to take a picture. I love being able to see the sky from my desk. The sunrise was gorgeous this morning.

Every little thing: My sister-in-law made this pretty camera strap cover for me. She knows I love red. :) I enjoy seeing it every day. Thanks again, Shauna!

Picture the Holidays II (1-3)

I was registered for Picture the Holidays in 2010 (a class from Tracey Clark at BPC), but I just couldn't get into it for various reasons. Sadly, I only managed to use three of the prompts. I still have the prompts from last year so I could have tried again on my own, but I decided to sign up for free daily email messages through Paper Coterie (a new partnership with Tracey Clark). Knowing what last year was like, I didn't set my mind to taking photos on a daily basis this month, but I've been inspired to give it a shot so far. Here are my first three.

Holding onto gratitude: Not the most interesting or pretty picture, but I only had a moment to spare and it's meaningful to me -- after years of being dissatisfied at work, I finally have a job I truly enjoy. I've been in my new role for three months now and I'm very grateful for this change in my life.

Reframing the season: I have some issues with the busy-ness of the holiday season (I tend to feel more grumpy and stressed than excited), so I was thinking I should try to view Christmas through the eyes of a child. This is my 5-year old in front of our Advent calendar, the only decoration we've put up so far -- about 10 minutes before taking this photo!

All you need is love: Symbolizing my love for photography. I must have looked completely nuts photographing a pretzel for five minutes (because I was trying to get the composition just right) -- the closest thing resembling a heart I could find -- in the rink, surrounded by people, as I waited for my daughter's game to begin. Oh well; who cares what they think? :)

Dec 10: Twinkle twinkle

Christmas lights on our tree, captured with a little shutter drag (I moved the camera while the shutter was open). Shutter 1/10, f/5.6, ISO 800. I have several variations of this, but like this one in particular because the lights look like garlands.

I took this photo on the 10th (the day of the twinkle prompt), but didn't even upload the photos to my computer until now. For one who normally uploads photos on a daily basis, this seems crazy to me -- especially since it was the weekend and I was home for most of it. But, I was very busy with Christmas preparations and working on Bite-sized Scrapbooking,* so photos weren't top of mind.

*Check out the new Bite-sized Scrapbooking Facebook page!

Dec 9: It's a sign

The fact that I have no photo of a sign (or anything else for that matter) to post in this spot, is definitely a sign -- a big fat sign that I'm running at full capacity right now and, sadly, have nothing left for Picture the Holidays. I still hope to capture some of the prompts I've missed, but we'll see. I may not find any free time until I'm off work for a few days around Christmas. Oh, how I'm looking forward to that!

Dec 5: The view from here

Pretty sunset tonight, glowing over the 16" of snow we've already received. That's about double our normal snowfall for this time of year.

Taking pictures fell by the wayside this weekend as I spent a bunch of time backing up my computer and preparing to get the hard drive repaired or replaced on Monday. Blech.

Dec 2: Reframing the season

{there should be a photo in this spot, but...}

I just couldn't do it today. Thursdays are so busy (today was particularly nuts) and I've come down with a nasty cold, so I decided against trying to get a photo tonight. I do have an idea for today's prompt, though, so if I manage to pull it off this weekend, I'll add it to this post.

In other news, Georgia lost her first tooth today! And I did get a few shots of her adorable new smile. There's always time for photos like that.

Dec 1: Holding onto gratitude

Grateful for her, and for *everything* today.

I couldn't resist signing up for Picture the Holidays with Tracey Clark at Big Picture Classes. I really enjoy these photo classes. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up this month, but I'll try!