Photo Travels

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-29T07:42:00.002-05:00

Because Warren and I have done so much traveling to Maine and back over the past two months, we decided to do a quiet Thanksgiving just the two of us. It was actually REALLY nice; very relaxing and low key. This was the first time I'd EVER cooked a turkey, so I was a bit nervous, but I went with it anyway. Our menu is below.

10 Pound Turkey (breasts only) from Brother's Butcher. Brined the night before and then rubbed and roasted.

Since it's all about the side dishes, we had the following:

Stuffing (purchased from Brother's Butcher
Frosted Cauliflower (a WW recipe from my mom, a Thanksgiving special in my family. Contains cauliflower, italian dressing, cheddar cheese, mustard, and mayo).
Rolls - Originally frozen, then baked
Creamy Mashed Taters
Cranberry Dressing (from a can)

Desserts

Pecan Pie; I used the perfect pie crust recipe mentioned in the linked recipe
Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake - Our crust did get a little hard when I added the caramel to it, so be sure to use the brand mentioned in the recipe or leave it out as the note describes.

Halloween!

2010-10-01T07:12:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, my boss asked me to create her three different Halloween cards that she can give her girlfriends. I was packing up items for the Stamped Designs Yard Sale...and realized that the only Halloween set that I had, I wanted to sell! Doesn't it always work that way?

Anyway, I used "Pumpkin Patch" on all three cards. Which one is your favorite?

Valerie's SU! Workshop - Christmas Cards

2010-09-16T17:42:00.004-05:00

At much request (Hi, Gail!) I am finally posting the cards from the Sept 11 workshop that Valerie hosted here at my new place in Nashua. It was the first time I've had the girls over to stamp at the new place (and on the new table!) and it was very productive. Hopefully everyone enjoyed what we did!

We started with the most difficult card, first. This card incorporated the new Candy Cane DSP (Holiday Mini), the stamp set "A Cute Christmas", the new glitter brads (which I'm in LOVE with...must remember to buy more before the mini is done!) and the Northern Frost decorative strip. Some paper piecing and coloring in this card, but it wasn't too bad...just lots of pieces!

We did a pretty easy card, next. Using the new Sizzix Embossing Folder in the Holiday Mini, Cherry Cobbler seam binding and my new favorite self-adhesive pearls!

(image coming when there's daylight!)

Finally, we did a new technique called "Magic Snowflake". We took a square of glossy white cardstock and stamped a snowflake in Craft White. We then poured White Embossing Powder on top of that and set it with a heat gun. Taking 71% isopropyl alcohol (yes, it matters!), we did two tips of the bottle onto a cotton ball. We then used two different colored Classic colored reinkers and dabbed two dots of each color onto the cotton ball. We covered the entire piece of glossy cardstock...ran to the heat gun, and like "magic" the snowflake re-appeared out of the ink!

Holly's Workshop

2010-07-28T16:13:00.004-05:00

I had a workshop at Holly's this weekend...she had only one request! She wanted to learn how to use the BigShot! I guess I did a good job, because at the end of the workshop...she really wanted one! Hopefully she buys one for herself or someone that likes her a lot gets her one for Christmas. :)

Anyway, we did the more intense card first. We used the Vintage Embossing Folder, the Square Lattice folder, and the Scalloped Rectangle clearlit with the bigshot. We also used the Level 1 Hostess set, called Because I Care. The technique that we used on this card was a Watercolor technique, done by mooshing (technical terms here, only) an ink pad, and then using an aqua painter to pick up the ink on the lid of the pad. Repeat with 3+ colors, and you get a fast color that looks MARVELOUS!

Secondly, we used the BigShot just to do an easy card with a pop of texture (embossing folder again) through the bigshot. We used the new Friends Never Fade set for this one. A little bit of Dazzling Diamonds for Pop...and voila!

Quilted Lattice Card

2010-07-12T10:04:00.002-05:00

I saw an idea online of one of the Stampin' Up Only (SUO) blogs that I frequent that was centered around making a Quilted card with both the SU! Scallop Square die and the Lattice Bigz die...and decided to try it out for myself.

Suzanne's Mom (Gail) really liked the Quilted Top Note card that I made a few posts back, so I wanted to do something similar to see if she liked this one as well.

I only had Greenhouse Gala DSP on hand, so I plan on using another set of DSP when my order comes in. It's pretty easy to make, though, one run through of the Scallop Square, and then three run throughs of the Lattice (I did one run through of chocolate chip cardstock and then two run throughs of DSP). I used the pieces of the two DSP run through's to piece into the Cardstock lattice...and voila!

More colors to come!

Father's Day

2010-06-13T18:07:00.003-05:00

I saw a card on Splitcoast that I knew I wanted to CASE for my Father's Day card this year. I used the "King of the Grill" acrylic set by Stampin Up for my images. I colored the large image with Pastels and blender pens, and then also used the new 2 3/8" scallop punch for the base of my sentiment.

What I like about this card is the homemade background that looks like a picnic table cloth! Clever, right?

Finally Got Some Motivation!

2010-06-13T10:58:00.004-05:00

So Julie and I co-hosted a retirement party with a mix of my customers and her customers yesterday. We each did a make and take with the group yesterday and below are the two cards that we did.

I did the card with Sweet Scoops and the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. I focued on the Subtles color palette. Some of the ladies even took my design a step further and made Mini Chocolate Chip Ice cream...either by using the Sprinkles stamp in this set or a chocolate chip marker. INGENIOUS!

Julie used the Greenhouse Gala DSP (Summer Mini) and the Friends Never Fade stamp set which is NEW and coming to the July 1 Stampin' Up catalog. She also used the new Daffodil Delight ribbon (new color!). Isn't it great being a demonstrator and getting the option to get that product before everyone else? ;-)

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-10T17:03:00.002-05:00

So I made my Mom a Mother's Day card...I gave her a gift certificate to her favorite quilt shop this weekend, but the card is going to be late. It's the thought that counts, right?

I CASE'd this card from here because I loved the stamp set and the colors. I borrowed Greenhouse Garden from Suzanne (she bought it on sale...I should've done that!) and used some of the paper from the Sweet Pea Paper pack from the Occasions Mini.

I LOVE the look of two-step stamping. It's just got that extra something!

Graduation Card

2010-05-05T06:18:00.003-05:00

So...my dad is FINALLY getting his Master's degree. He's had the classwork done since I was a teenager, had the research completely finished but just never wrote his thesis. He finally applied to UMaine for one last semester so that he could finish his thesis and earn his Master's in Forestry.

I'm REALLY proud of him, as this is a huge accomplishment for anyone, especially when you're doing all that work AND having a full time job!

I made him a card, poking a little fun at him for "finally" finishing his degree. I put white cardstock inside so I could easily write on the inside of the card and stamped two images from the "Go, Graduate" set that I used.

What do you think?

Happy Birthday, Human

2010-04-28T08:08:00.002-05:00

Jenni Jenni had her birthday in the middle of April and I wanted to make her a card. I was SO excited about this Lots of Bots set when I saw it in the catalog, but I hadn't even inked it yet! This was a great reason to actually use it.

I used Sending Love Specialty DSP, colored the robot with SU! markers, and then put a little bit of Crystal Effects on the balloon and the robots eyes for a pop (you can't see this very well in the photo, but it's there, trust me).

Pretty easy card to make, but I know Jenni got a chuckle out of it just like I did!

Reinker Float Technique

2010-04-22T12:09:00.003-05:00

When I went to the Stampin' Up! Regionals in Portland this year, I met a great lady that was sitting at the table next to ours, that actually ended up being a presenter. Selene shared with me her personal information and I've been blog stalking her since then.

The other day, in going through past entries on Selene's blog (I was bored, what can I say), I saw a FABULOUS technique that I knew I wanted to try. I knew I'd need reinkers, so Julie saved me in that aspect and I went to work.

I actually tried this technique on both Shimmer White cardstock and Glossy Cardstock. The technique works just as well on both types, but I prefer the way that the Glossy Cardstock looks when complete. It holds the "glossiness."

A few notes:
1. Versamark and emboss your cardstock. As selene recommends, line art stamps work best so you have a good area to color.
2. Flip the cardstock over and spray the back. Get it nice and wet.
3. Flip the cardstock back over so the embossing is face up and liberally spray the cardstock. Doing both the back and the front stops your cardstock from warping.

You want a lot of water so that the ink travels across the pools; I think that this is the main reason that my first attempt did not come out very well. I sprayed it a lot, but sprayed really closely so I didn't get many pools, just an overall covering on the cardstock.

Titus at Daycare

2010-04-01T12:57:00.002-05:00

So we've been pummelled by rain lately. I think we had two huge flood-conditions in March alone.

Anyway, because of the rain; it's been very muddy. TODAY, the sun is out! Titus is at daycare, as usual, and I went in to check out the photos from today's morning play time.

Umm...gross. Plus, why is he looking at the camera person like he's completely innocent?

"Quilted" Card

2010-03-08T19:16:00.002-05:00

So if you're a faithful reader, you know by now that my Mom is a hardcore quilter.

I saw this tutorial online and knew that she'd love it.

I started with a small rectangular piece of cardstock for my base. I took my 1 1/4" square punch and cut out squares of Sweet Pea DSP from the Paper Pack in the Occasions Mini. I then adhered them to my rectangular base, making sure that the "blocks" lined up very close to one another and were even.

I ran that now 2 layered piece through the Big Shot with the Top Note die. Next, I ran it through the big shot with a Sizzix embossing plate. I used a chocolate chip marker to "stitch" all of the seams and used chocolate chip Classic Ink to sponge the edges.

Finally, I used the tag punch and an acrylic stamp to finish it off.

I hope my Mom likes it! She should receive it in the mail on Wednesday or Thursday this week!

Things Are Looking Up!

2010-02-17T11:13:00.002-05:00

I've received some absolutely beautiful cards in the mail lately, both for Valentine's Day and Get Well. Natalie sent me an AWESOMEly beautiful card embossed with a die (that I HAVE to have!) and some gorgeous orange ribbon. Debbie sent me a card that was to die for as well, with some beautifully layered flowers.

I saw the surgeon yesterday and things are progressing well. He's really happy with my progress, which is always good to hear. Next Tuesday is plan is to unwire me (thank god) and just give me some swing. It doesn't sound like much...but trust me, it is. I'll be upgraded to a diet of soft foods (soft foods, people!) like eggs and pancakes. That'll last for four weeks...and then I should be "back to normal".

I hope to craft this week. Anyone have any requests? :)

Lately...(in list form)

2010-02-11T07:56:00.003-05:00

What have I been up to lately? Good question.

I've been diligently working on redesigning the Scrappin' Coast 2 Coast site. Was going well, hit a speed bump, got busy prepping for my surgery....*sigh* Hoping to get back into that in the next few days. Kristi has brought me on as a Design Team member and I am SO honored! It will be nice to craft for me and not just for workshops!
On February 9th, I bit the bullet and finally had my surgery. They added 7mm of bone to my upper jaw and I'll be completely wired shut for about two weeks. It's not that bad...I'm getting through it (I say that now, of course...today is only day two). My face is pretty chipmunky, but it's not getting worse, so I take that as a blessing. Warren has been AWESOME and getting me whatever I need...living on the couch pretty much!

I got a BEAUTIFUL flower arrangement from one of the Project Managers at work that I've been on a project with. It arrived yesterday and it TOTALLY brightened up my day! Amy was so sweet to think of me...isn't it the best when you receive something totally out of the blue?

Well, I hope to be back soon to post something that is more fun...maybe in a few days I'll be able to craft!

Visit to Poland!

2010-01-26T08:58:00.003-05:00

This past weekend, Titus and I packed up, and headed to Poland...Maine, that is!

We were both very excited on seeing the Richards' new house and I know that Titus was especially looking forward to spending some play time with Lexie.

We arrived around 7pm on Friday to find that dinner was ready and waiting for us. What a welcome! We got a tour of the house, cuddled with the dogs for a bit, and Suzanne and I hunkered down on the chez and watched half of Julie and Julia.

Saturday was the big day! I got to try out the FABULOUS master bath waterfall shower. I SOOO want one in my house someday! Suzanne and I attacked her craft room with a vengeance and also installed a Decor Elements to her spare bathroom. We were both so surprised at how easy it was to install...and SUPER excited by the outcome! It looks fabulous!

The dogs decided that they wanted to help us clean up the craft room, so Suzanne got a few shots of them together. Aren't they adorable? They really do love each other!

Just Call Me the New Julia Child...

2010-01-10T20:24:00.002-05:00

So...the weekend before Christmas, I watched Julie & Julia while Warren was still sleeping one morning. Super good movie, by the way, if you haven't seen it. He got up when it was about halfway through, and we watched the end of it together. It got us talking about our lack in cookbooks, and I decided to order the pair of the books that the movie is based on from Amazon. The books were delivered while we were away over the holidays, so I had an extra gift waiting for me when we got home. :)

Fast forward to today. One of the recipes that we planned for the last time that we went shopping was Beouf Bourguigon. It's taken almost all afternoon (and into the evening) for this meal to prep and cook. Not ONLY did it take that recipe, but there are also two others that I had to follow, for the sauteed onions and sauteed mushrooms that go with the Beouf.

Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes, and though there was an awful lot of effort to go into this meal, I think it may have just been worth it. When I poked the beauf about ten minutes ago it was SUPER tender.

...more to come on Julia Child later!

Welcome 2010!

2010-01-01T19:38:00.003-05:00

I went to bed pretty early last night, so Warren and I didn't officially ring in the New Year; however, he was up anyway watching Public Enemies with Johnny Depp.

After waking and eating breakfast this morning, we set out to do a bunch of clean-up. We've lived here in Newmarket for almost a year and a half and we've been meaning to clean out our storage area in the basement (throwing away a lot of items we don't need or will never use) and moving some other things that were in our apartment down to the storage area. It feels good to start off the New Year in this way! We're going to head to the Unfurnished furniture store tomorrow to buy a Hope Chest (and finish it in the basement) and also rearrange our spare bedroom for our guests (anyone want to come visit?).

I don't typically make huge resolutions for the New Year, but this year I'm going to focus on a word...wellness. I'm planning on having my oral surgery (hopefully in the month of January) and this is just going to kick off everything else down the line for the rest of the year.

I hope everyone has kicked their new year off to a fantastic start!

Movies

2009-12-20T11:43:00.002-05:00

So, we've gotten into this habit lately of pre-ordering movies. It's a lot cheaper than going into Best Buy on the day that it comes out AND we're getting BluRay movies for the price (or less) than the regular DVD sells for in stores. Score!

Yesterday, we watched "The Hangover". A friend from work told me (repeatedly) when it came out in theaters that I had to go see it, but I never did. All I have to say is...HILARIOUS. Definitely one I'll be willing to watch again...and again.

This morning, while Warren and Titus were still in bed, I watched "Julie & Julia." A wonderful movie. Meryl Streep is a FANTASTIC Julia Child. I was encouraged (by Warren) to order Julia's cookbook, so I ordered the boxed set on Amazon this morning. I guess we'll call it a Christmas present to myself?

Anyway. :) Yesterday, we ran a bunch of errands in Portsmouth. The cupcake shop (Old Stove Bake Shoppe), Portsmouth Brewery, Flatbread (for a late lunch), and River Run Bookstore. We tried Barnes and Noble for this book Warren wants Dad to read, but they were out of stock. River Run will have it in stock on Tuesday for me, so we'll pick that up when we run our leftover errands on Christmas Eve before heading to Maine.

I have a few more Christmas gifts to wrap today, and Warren is planning on making Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Mascarpone Cheese frosting. Adrienne made them at Thanksgiving and they.are.marvelous. I'll try to get some food photos.

It's snowing...off to watch Titus bury his nose in the freshly fallen snow!

Thanksgiving...and lately

2009-12-01T06:29:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving this year was a blast. This was the first time ever I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my family, and I'd definitely do it again. Warren and I left for NY Monday morning and came back on Saturday. Adrienne cooked a wonderful turkey dinner including turkey, roasted veggies, mashed taters, squash soup, cranberry sauce, and a marvelous stuffing. Desserts were the hit this meal, with a square pumpkin pie, apple citrus pie, red velvet whoopie pies, and Mimi's fudgecrackers.

Titus had a marvelous time while we were there as well. He and Luna ran themselves ragged. Three days in they were so exhausted that mentally, they wanted to play, but they didn't have the energy to do so. They definitely kept each other (and us) on our toes.

We came home on Saturday and hit a bit of traffic in Mass. That gave us Sunday to wind down, do some errands (including grocery shopping) and prep for going back to work. It was SO nice to have a week's vacation...I could get used to that!

Marker Club - November

2009-11-20T05:56:00.004-05:00

This month, Holly is the hostess of Marker Club. She rounded up a group of ELEVEN people for tonight's workshop! WHEW! Go Holly! So hopefully it's successful and everyone likes the two projects.

The suggestion from my group of four core girls was that they wanted to use GLITTER this month. So, after searching around (and wanting to focus on Christmas), I CASE'd a card that I found on SplitcoastStampers, using the Dasher stamp. I love this stamp (it's super versatile). We used iridescent ice embossing powder all over on top of the stamped dasher image AND on top of the snowflakes. WHEW! That's a lot of bling!

Secondly, we used Delightful Decorations to make a simple card. Sentiment comes from the hostess stamp set, Christmas Punch. There are lots of way to "hang" the ornaments, but instead of choosing ribbon or glitter on sticky strip, I decided to use the bow from Berry Christmas. This is by far the easier card of the two, but it will be a good balance with 8 people; don't you think?

Next month, I think we'll focus on a 3-D project. Suzanne is the hostess, so it will be a fun time doing this whole thing in Gorham...most likely the last time that I'll visit that house (they put in an offer on a new house)! Scary!

Holidays in Hand - Day 1

2009-11-16T19:11:00.003-05:00

Our goal for Holidays in Hand today is to focus on what we want to get out of the class as a final project. Jessica suggests documenting our Values and Goals. She's challenging us to write/craft/document 20 minutes/day EVERY day in December so everything can come together once the holidays are over. WHEW!

My goals for documenting Christmas:
1. Show family traditions

Stockings
Dad Being "Santa" on Christmas Day
Christmas Breakfast
Segee/Laustsen Christmas

2. Document past traditions

Caverly Holiday Party (Morgan Lane)
Stockings for the dogs
Hiding presents in the Christmas Tree

Discuss future traditions. My favorite parts about the holidays. Segee/Laustsen Christmas dinner and what there HAS to be on the table. Mimi's fudgecrackers. Family photos.

I think that's it for now!

The Yellow Dog's Barn

2009-11-16T14:23:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, after my Stamp a Stack at Julie's (photos to come later), Warren and I traveled to Barrington, to check out a new doggie daycare. The place is called The Yellow Dog's Barn, and the people there were super nice. They were offering "family" photos with Santa, so there were a good amount of dogs and people in and out throughout our visit. We got a tour of the facility, an idea of what the dog schedule is like, and their outlook on the business. Warren and I were both impressed, so we scheduled a "trial" day for Titus. The trial day is both for us and the daycare; we get to make sure that it works for Titus and they get to make sure that Titus is right for their business.

So, I drove to Barrington this morning and dropped Titus off. Joann (one of the co-owners) encouraged me to call around 1030a this morning to see how he was doing (that's right at nap time), and to see if they suggested that I pick him up at lunch time (often times, dogs get stressed out in a new place on the first day) or if I could leave him there for the day.

I called at 1030a this morning, and they had great things to say about Titus. He was a little shy at the dog by dog introductions this morning, but once let loose in the pens to play, he played HARD. Joann said that not only did he play hard, but that she really enjoyed his "time-outs" every now and again where he'd trot over to her for some love. Definitely sounds like our man! We were interested to hear how nap time was going to go, as they have many crates set up for the dogs, and Titus has been in a crate in over six months. She said he trotted right into the one they'd set up for him and went to sleep. Where did this well behaved dog come from? :)

The Yellow Dog's Barn is more than happy to continue to have Titus as a client of theirs, so he'll attend TR during the weeks to wear himself out. So happy!

Titus and Doggie Daycare

2009-11-13T13:34:00.002-05:00

As many of you may know, that shortly after we got Titus, we decided that putting him in doggie daycare 2x/week was the best option, both for him, and us. Originally, he was attending a place that was on the campus of our Veterinarian, Great Bay Kennel. They were really great with the dogs, Titus liked it there ok, but it was realy dirty inside (so Titus came home very dirty), and when he was six months old, they refused to continue to take him until he was neutered. Due to the fact that we didn't want to fix him until he was a minimum of 9 months old, we started to look for a new daycare.

I stumbled upon K9Kaos just by doing an internet search. When I called them, I was excited to learn that one of the employees had a great dane that was only 6 weeks older than Titus (Fifi). They were more than willing to accept him without being neutered and had many "plus-es" to offer over Great Bay, including the fact that the had more play area, were cleaner, and broke the dogs into groups by age and play style. Recently, though, Titus has been coming home with a good amount of battle scars (last week they don't know how he got hurt, but he had a dime sized boo-boo near the top of his left front leg). So...because he can't tell me what's really going on at K9Kaos, we are, in fact, looking for a new daycare.

Fifi's mom has graciously provided a suggestion that we're going to check out tomorrow, called The Yellow Dog's Barn. I called today to see if we could swing by tomorrow, and the co-owner that I spoke with on the phone was extremely knowledgable and friendly. Hopefully we like what we see! It'll be a little more out of my way in the morning, but only about 5 minutes extra each way, so it's worth it! I'll let you know how it goes!

October Marker Club

2009-10-23T05:21:00.004-05:00

So, tonight was our second of four marker clubs. Valerie was the host tonight and before the girls left last month, we talked about any special requests that they had for holidays/cards/techniques for the following meetings. It was an overwhelming response to do Halloween tonight, so we did!

The first card is created with Pumpkin Patch as the stamp set, Pumpkin Pie cardstock base, Old Olive, the pumpkins are "markered" onto Whisper White Cardstock, and the grass is made with Versamark. My favorite part? The Pumpkin Pie ribbon. This ribbon is the softest ribbon I've ever felt. I love it!

The second card is created with the Twick or Tweet stamp set. All "ink" that you see on this card is made from Stampin' Up Shimmer Paint. Night and Day DSP covers the Basic Black cardstock base, and I cut out the scallop square using a die. With just a hint of ribbon, I think it really brings this card together.

What do you think? Are YOU dressing up for Halloween? Do you get trick or treaters? We don't...but oh well!

Stampin' Up Regional - Portland

2009-10-23T05:16:00.003-05:00

So last Saturday, (October 17), Julie and I made the trek to Portland, Maine, to attend the afternoon session of the Stampin' Up! Regional. I think that this may be the first? time that they've come north this far, and Julie and I had a great time. We didn't do swaps (well, I brought digital cards with me, but no one was interested....MDS anyone? BOO!), but we met a lot of great ladies, heard some excellent demonstrations, and had a wonderful time scouting out the idea boards that they had set up at the back.

They did a bunch of giveaways, but neither of us won anything. Oh well! The three projects that we did revolved around the Berry Christmas set that is in the Holiday Mini. I wasn't so crazy about this set pre-Regional, but now I like the way that they combined colors and the stamps for Christmas.

I would definitely go back again, I wish that they would come to this neck of the woods more often!

The photo that you see here isn't one of our projects, but is instead one of the cards that they had displayed on the idea board. Image is copyright Stampin' Up!.

Richards' Wedding - Oct 10

2009-10-11T17:31:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I had the joy of witnessing the marriage of Suzanne and Chris! The ceremony was in a beautiful church in Loudon, NH and I do believe that Suzanne found a GEM of a reception place in Chichester. No detail was overlooked; Suzanne did a lot of crafty work to decorate the reception area, including making drink tickets, name tags, table cards, a welcoming framed sheet from the Richards'....it was just amazing. The centerpieces were PERFECT, ranges of low to high berries, wispies that you would see in a field, etc, all placed in Bell Jars. Just absolutely astounding and fitting in with the whole country feel extremely well.

The reception was great, the food was fantastic, and catching up with everyone from UMaine was AWESOME!

Reed Island Bridge - Camp, Week 1

2009-09-27T16:18:00.002-05:00

So Warren and I headed up to the middle of nowhere Friday morning (aka Millinocket, 4.5 hours North of us in NH) so that he could help my dad and the other TL Camp Owners Association volunteers with the rebuild of the footbridge that goes out to the island that my family's camp is on.

Half of the day yesterday (Saturday) was spent carrying all of the supplies from the parking lot where the lumber truck dropped them off down to the waterside, a hike of about 1/4 mile. There were about 90 2x12x24 feet long pieces, over 600 2x4's. This doesn't include all of the other building supplies. Once the pieces were lake-side, the men carried over to the island what they'd need that day to do two spans worth. They tore down the two spans and started to reconstruct. When we left this morning (at 7am), it looked fantastic!

Construction will continue through today and hopefully be finished when they pick it back up next weekend. We didn't stay today, as it was get off the island before deconstruction started at 7am, or not be able to get off the island until about 7pm. We chose the morning departure!

Welcome to the Digital World!

2009-09-16T18:38:00.002-05:00

So, recently, Stampin' Up! released their new digital product, called My Digital Studio. This will be available to customers on October 1. The plus, is that for those of us that already have an image manipulation program (such as Photoshop), we can buy the digital elements that are made for MDS. I had my first opportunity to play with some of those elements last night. Not only did I have a FANTASTIC time creating these items (and putting my newly learned PS skills to the test), but I'm also LOVING how I can change the size of SU! stamps (such as Upsy Daisy used here), because the Brushes that I purchased (as stamp sets) range in size from 1 px to 2000+ pixels. What options!

Let's see...I started with Tempting Turquoise as a base, added WW ribbon (with bow, two seperate digital elements), used a scalloped oval punch, connected a distressed piece of night of navy with the punch shape, added the "Thank You...For Your Friendship" stamp from Upsy Daisy (and erasered out the ...For Your Friendship), and used two colors and two sizes of the flowers from Upsy Daisy. Finally, I added brads to the ribbon. I used shadowing in Photoshop to add a little dimenson (to make it a little less flat). LOVING these digital SU! products!

Jack and Jill - Suzanne and Chris

2009-09-13T18:09:00.005-05:00

I drove up to Farmington yesterday afternoon for Suzanne and Chris' Jack and Jill party, planned and hosted by VALERIE!

The party was great; Valerie had purchased these coasters that had random questions on them (on one side) and on the other, we got to try to answer the questions. Tracy and I had a great time being funny and reading other people's responses. Of course, family and friends from both families were there and we were all pulled together by Beer Pong, Foosball, Poker (which happened after I left), AND Fireworks that Chris and Mark just HAD to light off!

The food was fantastic and it was great to see people from Suzanne's family that I haven't seen in quite a while. Of course, Miss Lexie was there licking all of the crumbs dropped off the floor, cleaning out people's beer bottles, and even sneaking food from tables!

Suzanne and Chris focused on asking for money/gift cards, but a few people brought gifts, so they opened the few that were there. Someone had made them a shadow box with their Save the Date, Invitation, and a bunch of flowers that was fantastic and Tiffany bought Suzanne a sewing machine! (So exciting...now Suzanne and I can learn together?)

It was a great time and I can't wait for the Bachelorette Party in Portsmouth in October!

Marker Club - Sept 11

2009-09-13T18:00:00.004-05:00

We had our first Marker Club meeting on Friday, September 11. Suzanne, Holly, Valerie (and Brian!) all came to my apartment in New Hampshire. Brian entertained Titus while us ladies crafted.

We did two projects. The first, more complicated, used the Branch Out set, and focused on the Watercolor Wonder Crayons and using a large eyelet as a "tire swing". I think the girls really liked the crayons, which is good, because I do too!

The second project used Happy Blessings. We embossed a pumpkin with white embossing powder, used two coordinating pieces of DSP, and then colored in the scarecrow with the SU! chalks and blender pens.

We had a lot of fun and I can't wait until next month! We're going to make Halloween cards!

Don't forget about your challenges, girls, to win a set of the In Color Markers!

Dogs on the Run

2009-09-03T06:03:00.005-05:00

I got the great pleasure of meeting Miss Lexie yesterday. Suzanne drove down from Maine, with the intention of introducing Titus and Lexie and then us hauling them off to the dog park on Peirce Island in Portsmouth.

The dogs got along amazingly well here at my apartment. Titus was extremely gentle with Lexie and she just chased after him in a super cute way. I didn't take any pictures of their meeting here, but I think Suzanne did.

Anyway, we loaded them up in my car, Titus in the back and Lexie in the front (we tried them both in the back, but I think Lexie wanted to be with us) and headed off to Portsmouth.

When we arrived at the dog park, Suzanne was pleasantly surprised that it was a HUGE off leash area, with no fence! That's what happens when you're on an island! Anyway, we let the dogs out, and they ran around together for a bit; then they socialized with a few other dogs there, including a 2 year old male boxer (fawn) that was pretty cute. Lexie did an awesome job, and she even put her paws in the water...no interest in swimming though, just like Titus!

Jandreau Wedding

2009-08-24T16:49:00.004-05:00

Warren and I headed back up to Northern Maine this weekend for Kenny's wedding. Warren and I switched off on taking photos, as of right now, we only have one SLR body. I took this picture and (hate to be biased) it's one of my favorites out of the bunch. This ceremony was the first catholic ceremony I've ever attended and boy was it long! You could tell when Kenny watched Kristen walk down the aisle in her absolutely gorgeous dress the love that he has for her. Warren and I were also lucky enough to be able to stop up to their new house in Holden before the wedding. Kenny gave us the personal tour AND I got to meet Maycie! Such an adorable dog!

Titus and the GTO

2009-08-24T07:30:00.002-05:00

Warren went out yesterday to take some photos of the GTO, as a potential buyer is flying in from PA to come and look/buy it today. He showed them to me last night, and I thought it might be fun to use the selective color technique I learned in Jessica's first class to color in the car and leave the rest of the photo black and white (which obviously puts focus on the car). Didn't take me too long this morning to make this idea come to fruition, as the color detail in the car isn't too intricate.

On a side note; isn't Titus handsome? He loves to sit pretty.

Brushabilities - Lesson 10

2009-08-12T16:40:00.002-05:00

Today we learned how to make our own brush from an image. Jessica provided a leaf image that we first desaturated, and then changed the black level fro 0 to 115. We selected the leaf with the rectangular marquee tool, then edit -> define brush preset, and named our brush. It was that easy! The photo here has the original image on the left (taken by Jessica Sprague) and the brush that I created from that image, stamped in a greenish color. Cool, huh? Jessica also showed us how to manage our brushes loaded in Photoshop and how to export a brush that we've created as an .abr file by going to edit -> Preset manager.

Brushabilities - Lesson 9

2009-08-11T05:56:00.003-05:00

Today's class was to start off where yesterday's ended. We started with the tag, and then downloaded a stitching brush, provided to us in the class materials. We loaded the brush, and then set the spacing of the brush to around 300. doing the top and the bottom of the tag first, we clicked once (and held), held the shift key and then dragged where we wanted to go. This was repeated for each side of the tag by changing the angle of the brush. A slight 2px drop shadow was added to this layer to give it some dimension. Then, Jessica showed us how, by using the Angle Jitter-Direction type, that you can draw flourishes and hand drawn items with any brush; the brush rotates for you as you draw. Pretty sweet!

Brushabilities - Lesson 7

2009-08-10T16:49:00.002-05:00

Lesson 7 was not guided, but instead a challenge from Jessica to take some of the techniques that we've learned thus far and see what we could do. I started with a canvas the size of an A2 card front. I first added a piece of patterened paper to the base. Then, I used a brush to ink the edges all the way around the card, from a color that I sampled from the patterned paper. Next, I added two flourishes (same brush) to give the card a little pizazz. I clipped these three layers together on top of the patterned paper to give some dimension. Finally, I added a quote a clipped a gradient layer to the quote to give the font some texture (color change). Pretty simple, but I like it!

Brushabilities - Lesson 8

2009-08-10T16:22:00.002-05:00

Today's lesson focused on making a tag. We used the custom shape tool to create a yield sign, and then used the rectangle marquee tool and put a rectangle at the bottom of that to add to the actual tag. Merging the layers down, the base was complete. We used the elliptical tool (under rectangular marquee) to create the ring hole at the top. Hitting the delete key removed the color. Next, we used a piece of blue digital paper, provided to us in the class. We clipped this down to the tag (Alt+Click). Next, we used two different distressed brushes on the edges of the tag to make the tag look inked on all sides. Finally, we added a flourish to the tag (soft light mode) to add a little pizazz. All of these layers were clipped down onto the tag to layer appropriately (with the flourish going under the inked edges).

Brushabilities - Lesson 5

2009-08-10T05:51:00.003-05:00

Day 5 focused on brushes as clipping masks. I used a grungy edged brush for the borders and also used a quote brush that Jessica created for us, for the bottom. I added a little bit of a gradient to the quote to give it that extra zing. I'm not sure what I think about it; I don't think it's very readable in the full size version; so many it just adds more grunge? Just so everyone knows, Day 6 is based on Organization and Day 7 is a self-check, so I may make a project putting a bunch of these techniques together; we'll see!

Brushabilities - Lesson 4

2009-08-06T05:59:00.003-05:00

Today was a very reusable lesson for me. We started with a canvas of a photo size that we had in mind, I started with 5x7. Creating a new layer, we painted it black. Using the rectangle marquee tool, we selected the majority of the canvas, leaving a frame around the outside. Then, we clicked the delete key to remove the inside. Deselecting the selection (control+d), we then used a bunch of brushes to add to the frame: A grungy distressed edge, which we stamped four times (one for each side, using the rotator of the brush tool to make it rotate) and a flourish to add an extra touch). We merged all the layers together, then used the sanding brush to make it all look like it fit together. Finally, I plopped in a picture of Lexie, Suzanne and Chris' new puppy. (She makes the whole project super cute, doesn't she?)

Brushabilities - Lesson 3

2009-08-05T16:25:00.002-05:00

Today we learned a few interesting things. Did you know that you can use all of your brushes in the erase tool to erase that shape? Pretty interesting when you think about removing/adding color in layers. Today we drew a circle (holding shift to make a perfect circle, not an ellipse), removed the middle portion of the circle (control click on layer, then Select -> Modify, Contract...hit delete key to remove inner section). Then, we used a preloaded shape in Photoshop, a star, and sized it out to fix inside the circle. We added the text in a "You are Loved" font, and finally, used the eraser tool (just like a brush) to scuff up the image (to have the bg color show through). COOL, huh?

Brushabilities - Lesson 2

2009-08-04T15:51:00.003-05:00

So today focused on using a Kraft "cardstock", a journaling brush, a quote, and then using another brush to make a "chalk-like" focal point behind the journaling to draw the eye in. I wanted to use a quote that depicted "Happiness" as it really shows where I am right now in my life...I love my job, my friends, the puppy, and am just overall content with all of the goings-on. :) Enjoy!

Brushabilities - Lesson 1

2009-08-03T18:58:00.002-05:00

So...I had so much fun in my first class at Jessica Sprague, that I decided to take another! This one focuses solely on brushes and Jessica has given us a huge toolkit, with lots of freebies that exist out on the web. This class focused on creating a 6" square card, using one brush (butterfly) and a clipping mask with newspaper. Not only did I learn how to outline a brush (using Edit-> Stroke), but I also learned how to randomly stamp a brush in a range of sizes (background on the paper here. Great techniques!

SU! Retired Stamp Sets/Paper Packs for Sale!

2009-07-24T07:56:00.001-05:00

Not sure if you all know or not, but Stampin' Up! is releasing their new catalog in July...that leaves just two more weeks until all the new goodness can be purchased!

SU! has gone back to the one catalog a year; I like that idea, it gives me more time to absorb all of the greatness in the catalog before it retires and goes away!

Because of the up and coming new catalog, I have a lot of retired stamp sets in my stash that I would love to sell...to make room for the new! All sets below are $6 (+shipping), if you want more than one, I'll give them to you for less than $6/each! Also, I have a bunch of unopened packs of soon to be retired Designer Series Paper that is up for grabs as well. I will sell that for $5/pack (+shipping).

PLEASE contact me if you see anything that you may like and think that the price is too high; hagglers are welcome! Paypal payment is preferred, but if you do not have Paypal, we can work something else out. I look forward to hearing from you!

A Tree for All Seasons

Be Happy

Delight in Life

Kanji

Lexicon of Love

Reason to Smile

Some Like it Hot

Winged Things
Snow Jumbo Wheel
All About Christmas Jumbo Wheel
Hollyhock Jumbo Wheel
Birthday Jumbo wheel
Farmyard Jumbo Wheel
Snowflake Standard Wheel
Paw Tracks Standard Wheel
Daisy Field Standard Wheel

Paper (all unopened packs)

Holiday Treasures

Taste of Textiles

Classic Ink Pads

Riding Hood Red

Lesson 13 - Photo Grid

2009-07-18T09:29:00.002-05:00

Today's class revolved around creating a photo grid. Did you know that if you have the move tool selected around a layer and you Alt+Click, that it automatically duplicates that layer for you? SWEET! You can also have multiple layers selected and it will copy them all. Makes it pretty easy for creating a grid. Other than that, today's class was focused around clipping masks and using a piece of a brush to add just a little zing to a photo.

Lesson 12 - Storyboard

2009-07-17T07:07:00.002-05:00

So...today's class focus was a storyboard. I'm sure some (if not all) of my reader's know that Titus has a "girlfriend" at doggie daycare, K9Kaos. Her name is Fifi, she's exactly a month older than he is, and she's a harlequin great dane. I personally don't have any photos of her, so I stole some from the daycare site (they take photos daily of the dogs and post them online for the owners).

What we did was create a blank canvas of 7x14 inches. We started by using the Rectangle Tool, making sure that our foreground color was something other than white (white on white...not so easy to find). We filled it with our color, by using the paint bucket tool, and then duplicated that layer two times to have the three panes of the storyboard. We moved the two new boxes to approximately where they should lay on the canvas (eyeballing the placement). Then, we selected those three layers, and aligned them by their top edges and distributing them by their horizontal centers. We also moved the boxes more towards the top, to leave room for the font in the bottom right. After setting the stage, we selected the layer for our left most box, then moved in our first photo. We clipped those two layers together (holding alt key and clicking between the layers) and then resized the photo to fit the "box" by dragging the corners. Rinse, repeat for the following two boxes. Finally, create a new layer for the text, select a color, and type. The text used on this photo is called Renaissance.

Do you think it's too cheesy?

Lesson 11 - Selective Coloring

2009-07-16T16:07:00.002-05:00

I've always wanted to know how to selectively color a photo and Jessica made it so simple to learn how today! We added a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer on top of our photo, turning it into BW/Sepia and then made sure our color palette was black in the foreground, and using a brush, colored "over" the parts of the photo where we wanted the color to come back in. Easy as pie! I didn't have the best photo to do this with today, but it at least gives an idea of the technique.

Lesson 10 - Project (Bringing it Together)

2009-07-15T16:00:00.002-05:00

So nothing new learned today; just a way to bring together multiple techniques that we've learned in the class thus far. Today we focused on Adjustment Layers, Clipping Mask, Textures, and adding of a font using the font tool. I also added a slight burned edge to this photo, but reduced the opacity of the layer so it didn't make the photo too dark. LOVING this class!

Lesson 9 - Burned Edges

2009-07-14T05:56:00.003-05:00

So any darkroom developer can burn the edges of a photo ever so subtley so that the focus is brought on the subject of the photo, right? Well today, we learned how to do that in PhotoShop. First, we added an Adjustment Layer of "Layers". Then, selecting our Gradient Tool, setting it on Radial-> Multiply and hitting D, then X on the keyboard (D sets us to white/black, X sets us to black/white), we drew a gradient from the center out. Finally, using the brush tool in a large size, we drew on that adjustment layer to bring out any focal points that we wanted to remove that gradient from (faces are a great example). Voila!

Not so sure what I think about the technique; I realize the reason for doing it, but I didn't really like the way it came out on my photo. I guess I'll have to try it again!

Day 8 - Adding Type

2009-07-13T04:43:00.003-05:00

Today's class focused on adding type to a project. Jessica had us download a free font, called Karabine, to use on a photo that had some wideopen space (and it also works best when the subject is off center). I chose, as you can see, a photo of Elizabeth and Joyce that I took of them on Pelican Beach in Belize. I love this photo...it's not posed and it's the love between mother and daughter.

Aside from the type, I also added a folded paper like texture to the photo. I really like how it warmed the photo up!

Project 6 - TTV Images

2009-07-12T16:15:00.003-05:00

I put a TTV layer on top of my original color photo that I took of the T in Boston a few years ago. Set the Blending Mode to multiply after I'd set the Sepia (Lesson 3) tones to the photo and voila! I like how I resized the image to a square beforehand. Apparently TTV is like the old school type of image and it does look old school...kind of like a polaroid!

Project 5: Textures

2009-07-12T15:37:00.002-05:00

In this class, we used three different layers of textures to create an "aged" type of look to a photo. Jessica's word to the wise was that textures can be used everywhere, but when you're using it on a portrait of a person's face, it gets a little dicey.

Anyway, I chose a shot of an aerial of Warren's family farm. Warren's had this photo FOREVER and I had it high-res digitized for him last year. I added a brown paper bag texture, a grunge texture, and a film texture. I like how, just like Project 4, it gets an aged/crinkled type look (but in a different way, of course).

Project 4 - Clipping Masks

2009-07-12T11:50:00.002-05:00

Ever seen a photo with a really cool edge around it and wonder how it was done? The answer: Clipping masks. Apparently, if you find a mask (edge) that you like, put the photo layer on top of the mask layer, hold down Alt and you mouse-hover over the line between those two layers and click, the photo takes on the edge of the mask.

SO COOL! It's like magic!

Project 3 - Vintage, Hand Tinted Look

2009-07-12T11:09:00.003-05:00

In the third class, Jessica focused on using two Hue/Saturation layers on top of the photo. First, doing a layer with a 50-60 Saturation and then doing another Hue/Saturation Layer on top of that with a Hue of 35 and a Saturation of 25. Doing this "recipe" as she refers to it, on this layer, adds a Quick Sepia tone to any photo, and I like it!

You may notice this photo, as the original was taken a few summers ago when I visited Jenni in Virginia. Basically what I've done to the photo is tone down the color (a lot) so it looks older and more vintagey.

What do you think?

Project 2 - Photoshop Brushes

2009-07-12T10:52:00.003-05:00

On to Project 2 (Day 2) of my class at Jessica Sprague! I find that her videos are amazingly easy to follow and they are only about 7-8 minutes long, which means that I can follow through on one class without devoting a ton of time to it! Also, she's given us enough free goodies that we can play around with items outside of the one example that she builds in the video. I like that!

I thought that an image of Jenni and Jason with two different brushes (Frame/Celebrate) would be appropriate since they just got married! They're currently in the Mediterranean doing a cruise for their honeymoon; how jealous am I?

Project 1: Frame-Up and Word-i-fy

2009-07-12T10:30:00.003-05:00

So Jessica Sprague was offering a free Photoshop class called Photo Editing: Frame Ups & Special Effects that I signed up for. It's in celebration of her being in business for a while, and I thought I'd try to catch up this week (I'm a week behind since it started on Monday).

The project for this class was to use any of the Frames and Word Art provided to beautify a photo. I first cropped my photo down to a 5x7 (so I could send it directly to a printer) and then did two more steps; one for the PNG Frame and the other for the word art. Easy as pie!

Isn't he a cutie?!?

CKC 2009 - 2 Other Classes

2009-05-18T17:08:00.002-05:00

So I did two other things at CKC 2009 this year. My last class of the event was 1 Stamp, 10 Techniques, sponsored by Creating Keepsakes. Definitely not my favorite class. It could have easily been two hours long; I didn't come out of the class with ANYTHING finished, we spent the whole class stamping out the images we'd need at home!

The other event I went to at CKC this year was the Fun-Filled Friday Night crop. DEFINITELY not as good as it was last year! SO MUCH TALKING! Very annoying. People were jabbering on at the microphone about nothing of importance...and they even had a Skinny Cow mooing contest and a Rock Song singing contest (Julie and I didn't stay for that one).

I didn't get much done at the crop; my mojo was pretty much gone 2 hours in with all of the talking. I did get to see everyone that I met last year, though...Patrice, Tonya, Tricia...it was great to see them!

The vendor fair...great as always. I finally bit the bullet and bought a Spellbinders Wizard Die Cutting System. SUPER good price! To supplement that, I bought a labels die set and a set of four dies. I had also hoped to buy a Scor-Pal Deluxe package, but no one was selling them! (the horror). I bought another set of 12 Copics this year, as well...the prices at CKC beat stores in person and on the internet; it's great!

We left the hotel and made ONE more stop before coming home. I really wanted Suzanne to see The Paper Tree in Manchester, so we stopped by there and checked out what Michelle had available. She'd rearranged things since Julie and I were there last. I bought two sheets of patterned paper, a cupcake stamp, and Liquid Applique to try out. I'm excited to frost a cupcake!

All in all, CKC 2009 was a HUGE success. Absolutely fantastic to share my hobby with a bunch of other fantastic women. Staying at the Radisson ABSOLUTELY MADE the experience and we will be continuing on with that tradition for many years to come!

CKC 2009 - 5 Step Cards

2009-05-18T17:04:00.006-05:00

This was another Paper Crafts class. This class focused on cards that you can make in five steps. What I really liked about the class was that we got to learn a lot of fun new card folds that I'd never done before! The "Celebrate" card is definitely my least favorite, it makes my eyes cross!

CKC 2009 - Joy of Card Making

2009-05-18T16:58:00.007-05:00

This was my first class of CKC 2009 and I was lucky enough to take it with Suzanne! It was sponsored by Paper Crafts and the teacher was one of the editors of Paper Crafts, Susan Opel. My favorite part of this class was using the pom-pom ribbon on the Thank You card. I love it!

CKC 2009 - A Greeting For Every Reason

2009-05-18T16:51:00.007-05:00

This class was my second class of this year's CKC and was sponsored by Technique Tuesday. We used ONE stamp set, they provided an acrylic block, a green stamp spot of ink, all the pre-cut cardstock, technique tiles (including two extras for our personal use), and the embellishments. BY FAR my favorite class of this year. The teacher was enthusiastic and it was just overall fantastic.

Update Time

2009-04-30T14:26:00.003-05:00

Woah...I've been neglectful of my blog.

Let's see...Warren was gone for most of April, traveling all over the US. Titus and I did well on our own; he had a Staph infection on half of his stomach about a week after Warren left, but that was quickly cleared up with some antibiotics and steroids. While Warren was gone, I spent two seperate weekends in Southern Maine. The first weekend I went up for an Easter celebration at my Aunt's house. She taught me how to make her famous apple pie (it's her Mom's recipe); though I did not get it written down, but that's on my list of things to do. The second weekend, I went up to celebrate Bubba's 88th birthday and to go to the Saco River Grand Hall to see a play called 'Leading Ladies.' It was ok, but definitely performed for the older crowd, of which, I am not. :)

I'm hoping that Warren's able to get the GTO out of storage this weekend. That means that summer is almost here! He'll be gone for a good portion of May, so I'll be definitely taking advantage of driving that on days I don't need to take Titus to doggie daycare. A bunch of other errands to run this weekend, too, including picking up some new dog food for Titus; he's definitely sick of the Eagle Pack that we've been feeding him, so we've been trying out three different high end brands for breakfast this week.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I'll be 27...OLD! I'm headed out to Madeline's Daughter (bridal shop) tomorrow night to get my Maid of Honor dress fitted for Jenni's wedding. Definitely looking forward to getting that crossed off of my to-do list!

SU! Promotion - Free Paper!

2009-04-30T14:24:00.005-05:00

Want some Designer Series Paper (DSP) or Textured Cardstock at a reduced price? Want to earn some free Stampin' Up! paper?

There are two ways for you to do that from May 1 - May 25!

1. Place an order through me for any DSP or Textured Cardstock and get 25% off these items!

-OR-

2. For every full three priced packages of DSP or Textured Cardstock you buy, get one 12x12 package of DSP or Textured Cardstock for free!
**Taste of Textiles, Item #113991 is NOT included in the above two promotions To place an order, please contact me instead of going through my website so I can be sure that you get your discount. I look forward to hearing from you!

Titus Update

2009-03-12T05:57:00.003-05:00

A Titus update for all of you Titus followers out there!

As of Thursday, March 5, Titus weighed in at 108 pounds. At that time, he was 34 weeks old (so about 8.5 months old). In comparison to Luna, he's definitely a lot heavier but his body type is also a lot stockier and blockier. It's funny to see that the white spot on his nose hasn't disappeared (when he was a puppy, it was quite large on the front of his nose), it's just grown into the inside of his nostril! HA!

This picture is of Titus in his new coat. In February, I had to buy him a new coat for our NH weather because the coat that we originally bought him was WAY too small! All of the ladies at daycare were referring to it as his "halter top" and that's just not right!

Connect to Me!

2009-03-12T05:52:00.003-05:00

From April 1 - April 30, Stampin' Up! is having a SWEET promotion! For every $40 that you spend in product from the Occasions Mini, you earn a free $10 or less item from page 208 in the Spring/Summer 2009 catalog!
ALSO...book a workshop with me during that period and have a minimum sale of $150, and you, as the hostess, earn a free item from that "Under $10" page!
Isn't that cool?
So...Get connected! You can order from me here or contact me to schedule a workshop!

Survey From Suzanne's Blog...

2009-03-03T19:23:00.002-05:00

Five names you go by:
1) Kate
2) Katee
3) Kathryn
4) ??
5) ??

Three things you are wearing right now:
1) Ankle Brace
2) T Shirt
3) Glasses

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1) Someone to come and take out my trash...so I don't have to hobble to the dumpster
2) A CRICUT!!

Three People who may fill this out:
1) Julie?
2)
3)

Two things you did last night:
1) Read Cosmo
2) Played with Titus

Two things you ate today:
1) Banana
2) Turkey Sammich

People you last talked to on the phone:
1) Auntie
2) Ma

Two things you are going to do (or already did) today:
1) Worked the morning from home
2) Took a nap in hopes it will help my ankle heal

Two of the longest road trips (both when I was a kid):
1) Maine to Michigan
2) Maine to Oregon

Three of your favorite beverages:
1) Diet Coke
2) Orange-Orange Vitamin Water
3) Sugar Free Red Bull

Ok, so I've slacked...

2009-03-03T19:13:00.002-05:00

So I've been a huge slacker lately. My last post was right before Christmas...BLAH!

What's been going on? Let's see. Titus has been doing well. A month ago when I took him to the vet he weighed in at a whopping 103 pounds. I'll be taking him again this week, and Warren thinks that he's somewhere around 110. He's definitely a growing boy!

On Valentine's Day, Warren and I went up to my parent's house in Waterville (ME) to visit with my Grandma, who was here from South Carolina for the week. A super extra nice surprise was that dad brought in Uncle Bobby from Togus VA hospital (in Augusta) for the afternoon. We all had a nice visit. I took a few photos of the fam and just got the prints of them back in the mail yesterday. Now I need to make a post office run and get a set sent out to Uncle Bobby, Ma and Pa, and Grandma!

Saturday was my FIRST Stampin' Up workshop! I held it at Suzanne's in Gorham. Julie (my upline) went with me for moral support. Even though a few people cancelled at the last minute, four people attended (aside from Suzanne) and it was a hit! We made three cards and it seemed like all the ladies were very happy with their outcomes, so that was good! We practiced the Poppin' Pastels technique, a 2 Step Stampin' Technique (with the Botanical Blooms SAB set), and a simple card made with 2 sized star punches.

On Sunday while running errands (stopping at work, stopping at Julie's and then going to Shaw's), I fell on the newly fallen (and very slippery) snow on the ground in the Shaw's parking lot...yes, I'm a klutz, whatever. Anyway, I badly sprained my ankle. I've been working from home the past two days and am making the trek into work tomorrow, so wish me luck! It's going to be exhausting to get in there, but if I'm positive that I can do it, then it WILL be done!

Hopefully I haven't lost all my readers, I'll try to be more diligent!

Titus - 23 Weeks Old

2008-12-20T21:00:00.003-05:00

Last week, starting on Thursday, 12/11, we had no power or heat until some point on Sunday. Early Saturday morning, when it was hovering around 48 degrees in the apartment (brrr, that's cold!) Warren and I decided to head to my parent's house in Maine to shower, get some hot food, and have some HEAT. On the 10th, I took Titus to the vet to get his Heartworm and Frontline medication. In order to get that, I had to weigh him so they'd know what bracket to put him in. 83 pounds, people! It's so very exciting...he's getting to be VERY big.

ANYWAY. While we were in Waterville, I took some photos of Titus to share. He's a lot easier to photograph now that he can sit still for more than a few moments! I haven't taken photos with my SLR in a very VERY long time and it was great to have that back in my hands. I tried to showcase how long his legs are and how big his feet are, hopefully the photos do the trick.

While we were in Waterville (and having meals cooked for us by my dad, a true treat), Warren and my Dad went out to get us a Kerosene heater so we could have some source of heat when we got back to the apartment. SURPRISE! When we returned, the power was on! We were very lucky. There are still people in NH without power; two of the guys I work with were without it until Wednesday/Thursday (almost a full week, CRAZINEE!). They were able to lean on their friends, though, and borrow generators for heat so their pipes wouldn't freeze. All in all, we were all very lucky!

SU! Holiday Extravaganza Sale!

2008-11-26T06:58:00.002-05:00

Stampin' Up is having a HUGE Sale! Click here to see what's being offered. You can order directly from me, online, over on the right hand side under "Stampin' Up!". Let me know if you have any questions!

Fall is Coming to an End!

2008-11-14T06:38:00.002-05:00

Well...as much as I'd like to ignore it, Fall is coming to an end here in New Hampshire. It's very chilly in the mornings and 3 days this week I've had to defrost my windshield in order to see through it. Crazy, I know!

The local weatherman's prediction as to when we're going to have our first INCH of snow is Nov-22. Umm...hello, people! That's slightly over a week away. *sigh*

Titus was officially 19 weeks old on Sunday. On Friday evening, the UPS man stopped by and had a present for us. Since Titus has been attending Doggie Daycare 2x a week, they've been putting a coat on him that they have there. As much as I appreciate that, he's been coming home smelling like very smelly dog. FINALLY he has his own! Though...it will be interesting to see how long it fits. Hopefully it will last him through the winter. The outside has reflective strips on it and on the inside, it's lined with a soft fleece. Both times that I've picked him up this week, he's been toasty warm, so something is working correctly!

I hope you all are getting ready for the Thanksgiving season; I sure am. A week and a half left of work and then a 4 day vacation! Yay!

Titus @ 15 Weeks

2008-10-21T04:55:00.003-05:00

Titus was officially 15 weeks old on Sunday (October 19th) and we were in Maine all weekend. The exciting part for him (and being in Maine) was that not only did he get to visit with my parents and not be on a leash from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, BUT he got to play with Eric and Adrienne's Great Dane puppy, Luna. She's about 2 months older than Titus is, but we're thinking that he'll pass her in size by Christmas. She can be a poo at times, but by the end of the weekend they were having a great time together.

Anyway, we took Titus to the vet on Friday and he officially weighs 50 pounds. He's gained 20 pounds in a month (which is when we got him). Isn't that INSANE?!?! He's been a very good dog lately. We're still working on fully house training (he has accidents here and there) and we start obedience school in the middle of November.

The New Addition

2008-09-15T11:14:00.004-05:00

It's official...there's a puppy! :) Warren and I have been bouncing around the idea of finding a puppy for a while. It was bursted into action even further when Eric called two weekends ago saying that there were 16 week old Great Dane puppies for sale near their house in NY. We were highly considering heading out there to pick one up, when I found an ad in Uncle Henry's online that was EXACTLY what we were looking for. Great Dane puppies, 9 weeks old, AKC papers in Palmyra, Maine (about a 2.5 hour drive from us here in NH). We talked with the owner a few times and she really seemed to have her stuff together. We headed up there on Saturday, 9/13, met the mother (a black great dane named Kia) and picked up the only male left. There were 9 puppies and our puppy is Mantle, which is black with white markings. He has white boots and white markings on his face and chest. His name is Titus. Feel free to leave a comment and say hi to Titus!

We're working on potty training and kennel training. He's taken to the leash pretty well (he never wore a collar until after we left with him on Saturday). It's a learning process, but he's sleeping in his kennel through the night!

btw...it's VERY hard to take a photo of a puppy who is moving around ALL the time. I'll post better ones as I take them.

Stampin' Up!

2008-09-09T17:44:00.003-05:00

So I finally took the plunge and became a Stampin' Up Demonstrator. I randomly contacted a Demo that I found on the SU! website and she happened to work with me! I got to talking with her and she's convinced me to do it. Stampin' Up is now offering the option to place orders online, so if you want to do that, look over to the left and click on 'Order Online' under Stampin Up!. Or...you can click here. There is a "Shop Now" link at the top of the page.

You have to create a profile (one time) and if you place an order over $150, you'll be prompted to choose your hostess benefits. Please make sure to fill in all of your profile information so I can followup and make sure you are satisfied with your order and I can send you a Thank You card!

Let me know if you have any questions! :)

Southern Maine Weekend

2008-08-11T19:35:00.004-05:00

We had a wedding to go to on 8-8-08, which was at Portland Head Light so I had an opportunity to take some lighthouse photos this past weekend. While we were in the area, we went over to Two Lights and not only took some photos, but also had a wonderful seafood dinner at the Lobster Shack. YUM YUM YUM!

We got to spend some time with Eric and Adrienne who have a 3 month old Great Dane puppy, Luna. She's very laid back, but gets very mouthy when she doesn't get her way. It's amusing at first...but after a while (especially when you're in a vehicle), it gets old. She'll grow out of it, though. She's got HUGE paws, so hopefully she's as big as her mom, who was 150 pounds!

Williamsburg, VA - Fourth of July

2008-08-11T19:30:00.004-05:00

Warren and I went to Virginia over the Fourth of July so he could pick up his new car...I went so we could spend some time with Jenni and Jason over the long weekend. On the fourth (in unbelievably hot weather), we went to Williamsburg. We didn't buy any passes but just walked around until I became excessively grumpy from the heat and we grabbed some dinner. We were going to stick around for the fireworks, but I'm glad we didn't...when we got back to the hotel, there was a HUGE rainshower. Missed that one!

New Lens...means New Photos!

2008-05-12T12:21:00.002-05:00

Warren bought me an absolutely AWESOME lens for my birthday from B&H Photo Video. It's a Canon lens, and WAY more high quality than the kit lens that came with my SLR! It's a 28-105mm lens, which, for those of you who don't speak my "language" means that it has a zoom distance (depth of field) of twice as far as my kit lens. VERY exciting. Now I just need a super zoom lens and my whole kit will be complete!

Anyway...on Saturday, 5/3, Amanda, Chris and I went to Ledgewood Gardens in Orrington. They had some great prices and I bought oregano, sage, lavendar, chocolate mint, and basil for my indoor herb garden.

While we were there, I took some fun photos or the beautiful blooming flowers (with the new lens, of course). Let me know what you think!

SOTW - 5/7

2008-05-09T08:19:00.002-05:00

So I'm late on posting the song of the week because I was in St. Pamphile. But, at least I'm getting it posted! I also hope to post this weekend of some macro shots that I took at the greenhouse last weekend.

My SOTW is Flo Rida - Low. This song makes me want to get up and dance!
Suzanne's SOTW is

SOTW and New Header?

2008-04-30T07:15:00.003-05:00

Has anyone (other than Suzanne) noticed that I built a new blog header this weekend? I'll be changing the photos out periodically due to my mood, so be sure to check by often!

Since it's Wednesday...that means Song of the Week!

Suzanne: Madonna (feat Justin Timberlake and Timbaland) - 4 Minutes

ME: Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love

Song of the Week

2008-04-24T10:44:00.001-05:00

So...Suzanne and I have decided to start posting our favorite songs of the week. I'll embed the video of mine, and if you want to see the video of hers, go on over to her blog...the link is in the bar to the right hand side.

Katee's SOTW: Danity Kane - Damaged

Suzanne: Natasha Bedingfield - Pockeful of Sunshine

Spring is Here!

2008-04-23T08:46:00.002-05:00

Spring has finally sprung here in Maine...and in my opinion, it couldn't have come soon enough! When I got back from running some errands at lunch time yesterday, I noticed that the crocus' had bloomed outside of work. I love the purple and green mix! As I was leaving yesterday, I threw everything in my car, grabbed my little point and shoot (Canon SD 1000) and took some photos of the pretty little flowers.

I pulled out my DSLR this weekend and it felt amazing to have that back in my hands this weekend. I don't think I used it ONCE this winter...and boy did I miss it. I'm thinking of doing a four seasons shot of Portland Head here in Maine, and will have to do the Spring shot soon, before I miss the spring blooms!

A Fun Photo....

2008-03-04T08:36:00.002-05:00

I've been looking for different photo opportunities that would fulfill the idea I had in my head for my second March challenge at Secret Scrapper and KNEW that this was the shot that I wanted to use. I was driving back from the gym a few weeks ago, looked in my sideview mirror, and KNEW that it was the shot I'd been looking for. Since I was following my friend Amanda back to my apartment (in two seperate cars), we went to my place, she jumped in my car and we rushed back to the spot before the sun set. I like this photo so much, that I might frame it!

I'm glad that I purchased my little Canon SD1000, I carry it around with me every day. I would've missed this opportunity! Anyway, come on by Secret Scrapper on March 15th and find out what inspired me to take this photo...hopefully I can inspire you!

GREAT NEWS!

2008-02-02T09:33:00.000-05:00

I have great news! I have been anxiously awaiting the announcement for the Design Team over at Secret Scrapper...and I've been selected!

I'm going to be hosting the Hello Photo! Challenges each month, so come on over and check out the site and take part in some challenges!

Las Vegas, NV (Part 2)

2007-12-28T09:12:00.000-05:00

While we were in LV, I took SO many pictures (big surprise there, huh) that I had to unload about 80% of them onto Warren's computer so that I could have space to take more photos. I didn't get those photos until Christmas Eve...which is why, about a month later, I'm posting more photos of my trip out West!

The highlight of the trip was by far Hoover Dam.....but the Dam photos don't take much technique and aren't all that exciting to look at. *wink*

One of the nights, I set up my Gorillapod (highly recommended if you don't have one, by the way), on one of the posts by the Bellagio and we stayed for two of the Water shows. It was night, so I played around a lot with shutter speed and aperture trying to see what I could come up with. This is one of my favorites. I love the trailing water and the highlight from the lights on the water from below.

My other favorite is an every day shot. I've been trying to think out of my box a little when it comes to angles and perspectives...and tried this shot of the Eiffel tower from the sidewalk level (my camera was on the sidewalk), looking up at the Tower. I think it shows how big it is, and what the perspective is like if you were actually there looking at it (more interesting than a straight on shot, I think). I wish that I had a wider lens to pick up more of the tower and sky and/or that I could've dug myself a hole on the sidewalk to get further away from it!

More to come soon...I hope to get outside and play in the snow and take some cook macros!

Las Vegas

2007-11-29T14:43:00.000-05:00

Right before Thanksgiving, Warren and I each took three days of vacation and headed out to Las Vegas. I don't have all of my photos yet (80% of them are stored on his work laptop), but the one of the Hoover Dam here is one of my favorites so far.

We got to Las Vegas late Sunday afternoon (11/18) and got checked into the MGM Grand. That hotel is great, by the way. We ended up eating dinner at the Rainforest Cafe...I'm such a kid at heart! I love that place!

On Monday, we did a lot of walking around. We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and went into the new Miracle Mile shops offered by Planet Hollywood. That evening we stayed for the water show at the Bellagio twice. I'm hoping for good pictures from that outing.

Tuesday was my favorite day...we went to Hoover Dam! SO HUGE! The tour guide was great, and it simply is a wonder to see....it doesn't compare in size to what you see on TV, seriously. On our way back to our hotel from the Dam, we stopped at Ethel M's, which is a chocolate factory for M&M/Mars. So fun to go through their quick little tour and see people hand making chocolate! That night....Warren surprised me with front row seats to Stomp! Out Loud. If you haven't heard of these guys OR seen them before, definitely check them out. The show was awesome...wonderful in rhythm, humor, and performance. A definitely must see again!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'll post more pictures of Las Vegas once I get them!

Full Moon

2007-11-08T08:18:00.000-05:00

As I was driving home from Ashland last week, the coworker that was riding with me noticed that the moon was hanging beautifully in the sky while the sun was setting. I was able to take two measly shots before my camera battery died.

I LOVE this house in Patten and really like the looks of the house with the moon.....I just wish I could've played more!

New Socks

2007-10-19T07:15:00.000-05:00

Since my mom spent all that time sewing my new quilt for me, I thought that I would do something in return for her. She used to be quite the knitter back in the day, but these days...she prefers to sit in front of her fancy sewing machine. I picked up some very soft yarn in Newport a while back and just finished the second sock. I had intended to have these done way before my quilt was done...but there's something about knitting in the Summer that doesn't appeal to me. :)

These were my third pair of socks...and now I'm working on my first pair just for ME!

My Quilt is Done!

2007-10-09T17:56:00.000-05:00

My quilt is officially finished! This is a picture of it on my bed. The lady that did the long arm quilting, put pictures of palm tree fronds in veregated thread...it looks so great!

It's not very flexible right now, but I'm hoping the more I use it, it will get broken in more.

Like it?

I'm a Slacker

2007-10-03T15:58:00.000-05:00

So I've totally been slacking on updating my blog. I've been taking a few pictures on weekends and been doing a lot of traveling for work, so I've had plenty of opportunities. AND...the Thomas Hill Standpipe is open next Wednesday, so I'm definitely going to take advantage of that...I'm sure that the Fall Photos will be as great as they were last year. Isn't this picture cute? This is a painted rock that is on Route 11 on my drive to Ashland. Steven's driven that route every week (on Friday) for seven years and never seen it. His name is Sharkie!

The foresters at work were saying that because we've had such dry months over the past couple of months...that the leaves are not going to stay on the trees very long. I hope they stick it out as long as possible...I love the colors in the trees.

Through October, November, and December, I'm participating in a Secret Pal swap on Secret Scrapper. My secret pal has given me ideas of what she uses on a daily basis and her taste, so I hope to go to AC Moore on Monday (I'm on holiday, since it's Columbus Day) to find things that she might like. Someone suggested that we send the items out to other members so that we could play with the postmarks, but I'm not sure if I'll have the time to do that. I guess we'll see how I feel when I get to the post office to mail them out. :)

The Common Ground Fair was open a few weekends ago and I went with my parents. It's put on by the Maine Organic Farmers and Grocers Association (MOFGA), and everything at the fair is organic. Very interesting to walk around and see the animals, produce, and natural resources. They generate all of their own electricity at the fair through windmills and all of the food vendors have organic foods....no coffee and no sugar! The food is always fantastic, though. Anyway, while we were there, we checked out the alpacas, and it's where I got the funny shot that is next to this paragraph. I was clicking away and all of a sudden, the guy just looked at me and I had the right timing! Isn't it funny?

Since I've been doing so much driving (I went to Ashland both last week and this week), I've had a few opportunities to catch Mount Katahdin with the foliage. Unfortunately, when I went up this week, the Benedicta overlook was very foggy and someone had "stolen" Mt. Katahdin as I used to say when I was a kid. So, last night, on my way home around 530, I took this shot from Patten...the sun was setting, as you can tell, and the foliage is changing, though there wasn't enough light (and me without my tripod!) to make it really stand out. Maybe in a few weeks I can get a really stellar shot. I know I can definitely pull a good fall shot off of the top of the Standpipe this fall!

Mountain Lake - One Location for Dirty Dancing

2007-08-27T11:10:00.000-05:00

On Saturday (8/25), instead of going tubing on the New River, whose water level was significantly lower than usual, Jenni, Jason, and I went up to Mountain Lake. When we arrived, there was a wedding in progress, but we were able to pay $2 to park and just stay out of their way. The lodge is absolutely beautiful...the outside is done in stone work.

Remember the movie Dirty Dancing and where Baby and her family stay during the movie? Mountain Lake is where that was filmed. The Gazebo that Johnny's old partner gives dance lessons on was actually the altar for the wedding that was in progress.

Water levels at Mountain Lake have been at an all time low since 2006, according to the literature that we were given at the gate. So, when looking at the pictures, be sure to keep that in mind. If you see the dock that stretches out, imaging the water level holding it up. :) In the first photo (at the top of this post), the water actually used to come up to the base of the gazebo...and in the photo, you can't even see the lake!

This second photo is from behind the first, and gives you an idea of where the water level is. Isn't it crazy to think that the water used to come up to the bottom of the gazebo? I like this shot because of the framing along the top of the trees that we were walking under. I also like the wispy clouds. :)

The other cool thing about this place is that they had a life-like sized chess board and checker board (in two seperate locations). I'd never seen one of those before and it was very cool to experience. If only I knew how to play chess!

As always, comments are welcome.

Trip to Virginia - Cascades Waterfall

2007-08-27T10:53:00.000-05:00

I headed out to Virginia to visit my best friend from High School, this week. Jenni's a Grad Student at Virginia Tech and had lots of things planned for us while I was there for the long weekend (Thursday-Sunday). We went on a very HOT four mile hike (two miles up, two miles down) to the Cascade Waterfalls on Friday afternoon. There weren't many people on the hike, which was cool. It was a pretty steep climb, and it was way warmer outside than I'm used to, so we took lots of breaks on our climb up.

Anyway, both of us took our Digital SLR's with us. Jenni has a Canon Rebel and I have a Canon Rebel xTi...can you tell that we're Canon snobs? :) Jenni carried her full sized tripod up to the waterfall and I used my GorillaPod for this shot. I love that little guy, such a good invention.

The technique is called silky water, and it's generated by using Shutter Priority (which is Tv on a Canon)...somewhere around 0'3" (that's three seconds). I could generate the technique on either side of this setting, but the three seconds produced the effect that you see here. It was a little windy (caused by the water), so I won't be able to enlarge the picture very much (leaving the shutter open that long catches the moving of the trees and makes them slightly blurry) but all in all, I'm impressed with the outcome. I'm so glad that I was finally able to figure it out!

I'll write another post soon of another one of my favorite photos from the trip....where part of Dirty Dancing was filmed, so stay tuned!

New Quilt

2007-08-13T08:08:00.000-05:00

So...this post is a little out of the ordinary when it comes to my blog.

My mom has been working on a quilt for me for about 6 weeks, now. It's a Log Cabin that's been repieced to make fading V shapes. I picked out all batik fabric at a fabric store in Newport in April. The front of the quilt (as pictured) is done, she just needs to cut the backing and batting, then send the three pieces to her machine quilter friend, who is also in her quilt group.

Over the years, mom has made me three quilts (not including this new one). I have a full sized trip around the world, a twin sized trip around the world, and a lap sized friendship quilt (in a log cabin pattern) that mom made for Suzanne, Sandi, and I while we were at UMaine.

Any thoughts on the colors chosen for the front?

Thomas Hill Standpipe - Summer

2007-07-27T09:35:00.000-05:00

Grrr...I'm a little concerned about this whole idea of mine. See, the Thomas Standpipe is open each "season". They open it in October (fall), March (winter), May (spring), and July (summer). In my mind, only two of those seasons are matched to our weather here in Maine; Fall and Summer. Because of this oddity presented to me by the Bangor Water District, my Spring Shot and my Summer Shot are VERY alike. Not much difference can be seen, which totally throws off my cut each of those printed to an 8x10 into four strips and piece a strip from each one together, and frame. Good idea...not sure how it's going to look once executed.

Anyway the Standpipe was open this week, on Wed, and here is my classic shot. This time, WABI and ABC were at the top of the standpipe doing live broadcasts. That was the first time Robin and I had seen them up there. I guess -20 degree weather with whipping wind is not their cup of tea in the winter. :)

Comments are always welcome.

I'm in Love

2007-07-23T10:09:00.000-05:00

Went with Warren to his Dad's girlfriends house this weekend and got to play with her two lab puppies. They're brother and sister, the black lab is Max and the yellow lab is Sasha. Sasha was the runt of the litter of nine, but she's a cuddler and a trouble maker. She picks on her brother a lot. Max is already ten pounds heavier than Sasha, so when they're rough housing, he gets very angry when she runs away from him and slides under the couch...where he can't fit. Anyway, after we had been there for a while, the dogs calmed down and I was able to get on the floor with them. Isn't she a charmer?

This is my favorite of Max and his puppy dog eyes. He's so funny, because once he lays down on the floor, you can hear him snore....even from 20 feet away!

Playing with these guys makes me want a lab puppy of my own...I miss when Caleb was that age.

Camping at Lamoine State Park/Visiting Schoodic Point

2007-07-16T16:33:00.000-05:00

My dad's baby brother and his family came up to Maine (from NJ) to spend two weeks camping with my parents. I joined them for a night this past weekend at Lamoine State Park. I haven't tent camped in YEARS, so that was quite an experience to relive. Unfortunately, it was very hazy in Acadia on Sunday, so I didn't get as nice of shots as I would have, had the weather cooperated. I did like this one, though....my dad was being typical and playing with the waves. We were at Schoodic Point, lounging on the rocks, and I took many continuous shots with my camera to catch the waves at the movement of water...they show nice movement. I think I'd like to go back there on a nice day to have the comparison.

Let me know what you think!

Baby Shower

2007-07-12T17:47:00.000-05:00

So...I think it's very embarrassing to admit that I haven't posted in almost a month. There...I said it. It's now out in the open.

Three weeks ago, my cousin, Elizabeth, threw a baby shower for her best friend Patty in Southern Maine. Patty is going to be induced in five weeks, but I know that she's hoping to have little Alyssa by then. While we were at the baby shower, which was a surprise for Patty (her hubby, Adam, and Elizabeth put the whole thing together), I took a bunch of photos.

This one came out and is absolutely my favorite. Mark (Elizabeth's husband) is pushing Patty and Adam's son, Hunter, on the swings. I took a bunch of shots in sequence on my camera and liked this one the best because of Hunter's face...it's full on enjoyment. I'm not sure which he's enjoying more...the push on the swing or that he has Mark all to himself.

Hope you all enjoy!

Golden Road and Mount Katahdin

2007-06-18T08:54:00.000-05:00

This weekend I took one of my previous coworkers (EMHS) to the Millinocket area. We had plans to go to Jean Mclean's gallery, kayak on North Twin, and take some photos. We ended up driving up the Golden Road and stopping whenever the mood struck us. We did end up seeing three moose in one spot, and Robin got some great shots with her 300mm zoom lens. Mine are all from quite a distance, as I only have the kit lens that came with my camera....must change that soon!

Anyway, this is my favorite shot that I took of Mount Katahdin. I ended up framing it quite well with the trees around, and this is actually what we saw when we turned around from where the moose were swimming and nibbling on the water vegetation.

Enjoy!

Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory

2007-06-11T08:12:00.000-05:00

Even though it was supposed to be overcast and rainy here on Saturday, we ended up getting clear skies and a lot of sun. It was a perfect day to make the drive out to Bucksport to see the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge and go up to the top of the 420 foot tower to get a view of the coast and surrounding mountains (we could see Mt. Katahdin even though it was 60 miles away!).

The photo taking was fun, but challenging from the top of the tower. Since it was so sunny, I got a lot of photos with ghosting glass glare, which in many cases is impossible to fix in Photoshop due to where it is on the photos. Oh well. Maybe I'll try to go back on an overcast day.

The bridge is amazing from all angles. At the end of June, they'll start lighting each line on the structure...that actually might turn out to be a nice nighttime shot.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

Thomas Hill Standpipe - Spring

2007-05-24T08:43:00.000-05:00

Robin and I went back to the Standpipe last night, which was open for the Spring. I was able to take the exact same placement as the fall photo that I took there last year, and this is it. I need to retake the Winter one again next year (it doesn't match the other two), and will hopefully take the Summer one in July, when they're open again.

In talking with Robin, I had a great idea for how to compose these shots. Instead of doing a horizontal frame showcasing the four seasons in Maine (all from the same shot), I might blow the four up to an 8x10, cut them into strips, and then piece them together. It's a take on what my Photography teacher suggested and my original idea. His suggestion was to do four shots of the horizon, in a wide angle idea, so that it's a wide shot, spreading out over four seasons. It would be very panoramic with four shots, but I think I like my idea better.

Hopefully it works!

Photo Taken: 5/23/2007
Camera: Canon Digital Rebel xTi

Traveling for Work

2007-05-11T09:27:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, 5/9, I headed up to Ashland for the day to do some work for our office up there. On the drive up, my coworker and I stopped at the lookout off of I95 in Benedicta where I took this shot. It was still pretty early in the morning, which is why the photo is slightly hazy, but it's the best and most recent shot that I've taken of Mount Katahdin. Hopefully in about a month I'll have more, after my galavanting trip with Robin.

Things here have been pretty busy. I started my new job last week, and I'm loving it. Everyone in the office is so relaxed and wicked nice. Next weekend I'm headed to NH with Kristen for a Creating Keepsakes weekend...definitely looking forward to that!

Other than that...just the usual!

Macros

2007-04-13T13:56:00.000-05:00

So, this assignment actually went for two weeks, because our class was cancelled last week due to the enormous snow storm that we received (approx. 18 inches!). I had fun with this assignment, for many reasons. The main reason being that I was home in Waterville, and since my Mom is so crafty, she had a bunch of different things that I could photograph. The Creativity class is now over, and I feel that it was very beneficial. I learned the most about Aperture and Shutter Speed and when to use each of them. The teacher was so great. I'm going to look into taking another class with him, I think it would be very beneficial for me.

The picture with this post was taken with my Canon, from a basket of pinecones that my mom has on the table where our phone sits. I thought it was cool. I like how some of the blue shows through at different points.

As always, comments are welcome!

Assignment: Landscapes

2007-04-03T14:23:00.000-05:00

This weeks assignment, due on 3/29 was landscapes. I didn't take many new photos for this weeks class, only because it's been pretty dreary in Bangor. I took to class a lot of old photos...from Belize, my trip to Virginia last August with Amanda, and other pictures that I've taken around Northern Maine.

For this assignment, we were to focus on not centering the horizon line on the page. With reflections, this is acceptable, but for anything else, the horizon should be above or below half on the image...it makes the person more comfortable with what they're looking at, since when we're looking at a landscape, the horizon is never centered in our vision.

Let me know your thoughts!