Camping: Part 1

Pink Lips and Blue Eyes

 
We just got back yesterday from a few days camping.  It was great, and I took lots of pictures.  This one is of my niece Elayna, taken at our campsite.  We had a patch of bright light up above the campsite, surrounded by trees.  So when she turned her eyes up towards the light, they just lit up.  And her lips turn pink when she's tired.  I only did my basic editing for this one, I'll share some more just as soon as i get organized.  I have a bit of a busy couple days ahead of me.  This afternoon I'm shooting a graduation and tomorrow I'm catering an Anniversary for 140 people.  (Yikes!  Just a wee bit nervous)  On top of it all, it's Nathan's 1st Birthday today!  I'll post again when things settle down a bit. :)

Beautiful Family

Last week Saturday, I had the pleasure of doing my very first "official" photo shoot with this beautiful family.  As I'm still in the process of learning, this was of course charity work. ;-) Krista is due in a couple weeks with #3, and has the most perfect little round belly!  Their two little boys sure kept me running!  It was a great experience and a lot of fun.  Here are a few of my favorites.  

Welcome Card

 Well, I finally had time to scrapbook last night.  After Lucas went to bed at 7pm, I had some time to sit down and work on a card I had been dreaming about.  I challenged myself to use all scraps.  I thought it would be nice to make a "Welcome" card for a change.  Suitable for a new family who just recently joined our church congregation.  The red patterned paper is from Scenic Route, and the blue and yellow cardstock were just some bits I had in my scraps so I'm not sure what company they are from.  I used both the "So Many Sayings" and "In the Spotlight" sets from Stampin Up!  I embossed the 5-Petal flower from "In the Spotlight" and then punched it out with my 5-Petal flower punch.  I also used my Boho Blossoms punch from SU! to create the small flower.  I used my Fiskars Threading Water punch for the scallop edge, and the circle background is from PaperTrey Ink's "Faux Ribbon' stamp set.  Hopefully this will be what I needed to jump start me into another scrappin'/card-making groove and I'll have more to show you soon!

I know.... I owe you!

Poor excuse I know, but I've been really busy - honest!! In between the photography class I'm in (that occupies me more than one would think).  I mean, I'm constantly thinking about everything I'm learning, trying to apply it, trying to understand it.  On top of it I've offered to take photos for some friends recently so I'm processing, spending every minute I can cropping, sharpening, organizing.  I haven't had time to scrapbook lately, but I hope to get to some soon!  I have some ideas floating through my head that I need to put together.  So, hopefully I have something to show soon.  Oh yea, and the mini book from my trip to Vancouver - it's done, I just have to take pictures and put them on here.  Seriously, there is not enough time in a day sometimes to accomplish all the things I would like to get done.  Today, I had a major epiphany when it comes to depth of field and light.  So, this photo is the result of a little experiment to prove what I learned.  Hope you like it!  And I'll be back soon. ;-)

Nick and Angeline

Sunday I had the privilege to take some photos of these two willing subjects. :)  Thanks so much Nick & Ang, I love how these turned out.  I don't know if I'll go professional one day, for now I'm having tons of fun practicing on anyone who will let me take photos of them!  And I thought it would be fun to come up with a "logo" anyways.  The sun was just beginning to set when we took these, I love the warm glow.
  

Lucas and some more scrapbooking

Here's one of Lucas from yesterday, a closeup of those unbelievable blues and long eyelashes.  He's feeling way better today, playing hard like usual.  

 
And a page I scrapbooked last night of Lucas from exactly one year ago.  

The journalling reads, it's a four step process:  1) Haul out Dad's gym bag 2) Stuff it full of balls, hockey sticks and other sports related items 3) Figure out a way to carry the bag. 4) Let Mom know where I'm going... "Mommy, I going to hockey practice now!"  

Had fun with my new Threading water punch, and some old Scenic Route and Scrapworks patterned paper scraps I had laying around.  The tag is Tim Holtz' grungeboard, and I also used my scallop and star punches from Stampin Up!  I did the journalling on my computer, and the sticker "It's a guy thing" is from BoBunny.  Well, I'm off to empty the dishwasher and do some cleaning up around this place.  I'm hoping to go for a walk with the boys and get some fresh air today.  Looks like the sun might even come out. :)
 

Tonsillitis

is the culprit.  Lucas's fever continues to go up and down, and we are just thankful it's nothing more serious.  Yesterday turned into a fiasco, we waited almost 2 hours at the doctor, then we had to wait 1 hour at the Medical lab just to drop off the swab from his throat.  I was pretty tired by the end of it all, but was thankful the boys were such troopers.

On a scrapbook related note, my Fiskars "Threading Water" punch arrived today!  I just love getting new goodies to play with!  I've tried it out a couple times already but I'm looking forward to making good use of it on a project of some sort.  It's a pretty slick little tool that I'm sure I will get plenty of use out of.

This morning I was fooling around with the boys and shot some pictures, trying out different settings on my camera and practicing what I've been learning in Karen's class.  I am hoping the sun will come back soon so we can go play outside again!  Here's one of Nathan from this morning that I just love.

Wednesday

We had plans to check out the big half price sale at our local BFM today, but Lucas woke up feeling out of sorts.  When I took his temperature at 11:30 this morning it was 103 degrees.  So, we'll be heading to the doctor this afternoon.  I'm a little worried about him, he's passed out on the couch for the last half hour and his breathing sounds a bit laboured.  I'll let you know how everything goes at the doctor. 

The settings from yesterday's photo of Nathan are f 2.0, ISO 1600, and SS was 1/250.  The ISO is way higher than I would've liked, but the lighting in this room was wonky, my settings were all over the place.  Plus, I'm learning.  Not a pro by any means.  Still, I think it's cute, having a photo of him chewing on a hammer.  The photography class I'm taking from Karen Russell is amazing.  I really love it so far, and I'm meeting some very cool gals too. :)  I know I'm going to improve as a photographer from this course, Karen explains everything so well.

Last night we had our weekly scrap and craft session at my friend Laura's, but this time it was a Stampin Up! party.  It was a lot of fun.  We made a very cute card designed by the demonstrator, Jacqui Hoogstra.  I can't wait to get my new papers so I can play!  I'll leave you with a photo of the thankyou's I made for the wonderful gals who took care of my babies while we were away in Vancouver last week.
Have a great day! 

The Buzz

We had a wonderful visit to Vancouver last week.  We had great weather, and I got to explore parts of Vancouver that I haven't in the past.  Highlights of the trip included spending the day with my fabulous cousin Adryon, shopping Commerical Drive, Havanas for lunch, H&M (best store ever!), taking the seabus over to North Vancouver, enjoying all the sights, sounds, tastes, smells.  There is so much to see, and experience.  It was a real treat.  I'm looking forward to going back again.  I did put together the mini book I was talking about in the previous post, however our photo printer needs ink and I have to add the photos to it before I show it here on my blog.  I like how it turned out.  It was a challenge, there's no doubt.  It's pretty cool to see what you can come up with when you have very limited supplies.  Coming back home is always nice too.  Seeing the boys again after a few days away makes me appreciate being their mom all the more.  When I came back I noticed Nathan's hair was really getting out of control, so I gave him a trim.  Love how I can see more of his cute face now.  It suits him well, I think.