enJOY it

#eliselovesmornings / january.

January 29, 2014

So far, I have taken a photo each morning of 2014 and shared on Instagram. This project was not something I thought about much in advance but it's become a simple habit that brings me joy.

Mornings are my favorite time of day. (I have blogged about this before.) I am having fun with this because I love mornings. I've had a few comments along the "I wish I loved mornings" variety and my response to that is "Why?" If you don't love mornings that's no big deal. Don't waste time wishing you love anything and instead think about something you already love and celebrate that. Personally, I would fail miserably at a photo project featuring daily outfits, my hair, lunch, winter or evenings. (Though I totally enjoy following along with anyone who is passionate about and shares those things.)

My daily routine is much different now with the baby. That is for sure. But I wake up to an alarm at 6:15 in order to have some alone time with my coffee and my thoughts (and my iPad) each morning. We are very lucky that currently Ellerie is such an excellent sleeper and right now I am able to get those 45 minutes to an hour.

The interesting part about this project is that my mornings (with one exception this past month) all look the exact same. I get up. I pump (not pictured on Instagram for many, many reasons). I eat breakfast. I read blogs on my iPad. I do not check my email. I pour and reheat my coffee (Paul makes it before he leaves for work). The baby wakes up. I change her. I feed her. We go outside and see what's new in the backyard. We play on the floor of her room while I finish my coffee. Somewhere between 6:15 and 8:00 I snap a photo.

It's the same thing. Every single morning. But the photos are all a little different because finding interesting ways to capture my routine is part of what makes this inpspiring to me. I am so loving this simple creative outlet.
project life 2014 : january.

January 28, 2014

As mentioned at the end of 2013, I am no longer completing my Project Life album on a weekly basis. I did that for two years. I enjoyed the process and I love my albums. This year I am taking a much more relaxed approach and playing more with this project. I don't have much of a plan other than to complete at least one (and sometimes many more) spread a month.

The big win is that I can never be "behind" on this album. I also like that I don't have to worry about having seven horizontal 4×6 photos each week and can group photos by subject instead of date. I love that I will be under no "weekly deadlines" and will be blogging just once a month about my album.

I feel like this has been said a million times before, but there is no right or wrong way to approach documenting your life. Don't worry about what anyone else is doing…just find a route that works for you then adjust, adjust, adjust until you love it. (And when you stop loving it, quit.)

I've had fun with my spreads this month and I looking forward to continuing this project. Here's what January looks like…

My title page took up a front and a back side this year and so I needed just a one page layout for the right side.

I decided to take a bunch of photos of the three of us separately and wound up with some gems.

I used the Afterlight app to convert them to black and white and tucked them into pockets with a hello card and a floral pattern from the Sunshine Core kit.

click to enlarge.

Then I did a checkerboard spread of 3×4 cards and photos, alternating white and black cards with photos from the first week of January.

All of these photos (and every photo in my album so far) were taken with my iPhone.

The vertical iPhone photos are just perfect for this sort of layout.

click to enlarge.

I loved the look of the checkerboard layout and so I continued it through to the next spread.

This is my Studio Calico Creative Team spread for the month and everything here is from the Sugar Rush Project Life kit. I picked 12 photos from January that represented the "TOP 12."

These are random little things (like Ellerie's first card from her penpal and how I started eating quiona for breakfast) + a few big things (like how Ellerie cut her first tooth and can now sit up).

I love this approach to "a month in review." I know I will not do this every month but it totally could be used that way.

What I really like about the checkerboard format is there is TONS of space for journaling. I wrote all over my 3×4 cards (my hand actually hurt when I was done) and got a bunch of little stories down.

click to enlarge.

One of my goals this year is to get a photo of the three of us every single month. I am going to include them in my Project Life ablum as a full 12×12 photo.

I had this one (taken with TimerCam and edited with Afterlight) printed by Persnickity Prints.

I added some simple journaling about what was going on when we took the photo to some journaling spots and layered them right on the photo.

I decided to fill the opposite page with black, white and gray 3×4 cards. Mostly because if I don't start using more 3×4 cards I will likely drown in a sea of them.

click to enlarge.

I didn't have another 12×12 photo for the backside so I just stuck a piece of patterned paper in there with a quote from a past SC kit.

Perfect quote for this album.

For the next page, I used a Design B pocket page and tucked 6 3×4 horizontal photos of Ellerie and I from the past few weeks. (Some are even from December, but who's counting?).

I embellished the top 4×6 pockets with 4×6 cards cut diagonally and sewed them into place. I love the mix of paper patterns and am so happy to have these photos all together.

And that's January! Thank you so much for following along. See my title page for this album here and 2013 album progress here.

product sources: Studio Calico Sugar Rush PL kit, Seafoam core kit, Midnight core kit, Sunshine Core kit, Studio Calico past project life kit pieces, We R Memory keepers 12×12 pocket page, Design F pocket page, Design B pocket page, Meredith Carty (3×4 card), Elise JOY photo calendar, Scrapbook and More flair badge & 14 tag, Two Peas hello card, staz-on ink, Pigma Micro 01 pen.

Except for that 12×12, all photos were printed at home on my Epson PictureMate Show.
jade plant ampersand.

January 27, 2014

So the good news is, the jade wreath is still doing great on my front door. We're about eight weeks in and it looks the same.

The great news is the jade plants in my backyard are still triving. Above and below you can see photo of the new growth that's popping up in the places where I snipped pieces off.

Every snipped end has two new pieces growing out of it. This is what I hoped would happen, but it's nice to see it in action.

And the best news is that ampersand that Target has had for awhile finally went on clearance. I have passed by this guy at least 45 times in the past few months. But finally, once I saw it was marked down, something clicked and I decided to turn it into a succulent planter.

I mixed up some cactus dirt and sphagnum moss (the same stuff my wreath was made out of) and packed it into place. Then I soaked the whole thing with water.

And started planting my jade clippings (I use a knitting needle to poke holes in the dirt).

It took a lot of jade to fill it in but it was totally easy – much easier than making the wreath.

It's hanging in the backyard on the fence. So, far, four days in, it's still alive and kicking. This is a total experiment; I have no idea how long it will last or how it will do. It's making me smile when I look outside though, that is for sure.

Can't wait to finish up our patio space – we're getting there.
weekend links / 03.

January 25, 2014

As part of my word WHOLE this year, I want celebrate the work of others by sharing links to my friends, possible friends and complete strangers who are doing great things on the Internet. This is some of the rad stuff I recently saw online…

I am enjoying following along as Emily Henderson styles her new home.

the best use of colored masking tape I've seen yet.

this print is so great, I had to order it immediately and I rarely do that.

excited that the ace hotel is open in Los Angeles.

what a fun way to display a rock collection.

pretty sure I'm going to need to take this eCourse from my friend (and mama-to-be!) Ann-Marie.

I love everything about this craft photo.

the recent newsletter from Yes and Yes was a good one.

due to a few cancellations, there are still a few spots left in the Your Story Retreat. Come chat, craft, share your story and be inspired on the Oregon Coast in March.

free US shipping and reduced international shipping on calendars.
around here (dresser edition).

January 24, 2014

The biggest news around here is that I have totally and completely caught the thrifting bug. There is a used bookstore not too far from our house that Ellerie and I walk to a few times a week. They sell odds and ends (like vases, toys, bowls, etc.) and I love to browse and see what's new.

At Play! last week, I talked to my friend Katie about her thrifting adventures. Inspired by our conversations, I decided to drop by a few of the local thrift shops this past weekend while Paul watched Ellerie. I figured if parking was decent and the selection was at least interesting, these could be fun field trips for us once a week.

I walked into our local Salvation Army on Sunday afternoon and it was packed. People were swarming and hardly anything was left on the shelves. I somehow squeezed my way to the back where the furniture was stored and saw amidst a bunch of stuff, a gorgeous wood dresser standing on it's side. I nearly fell over. The color. The drawers. The LEGS. Totally obsessed. I texted Paul a photo, and gave it about two seconds to land before calling him frantically.

The dresser was marked $300 but it was half-off day so I was able to get it for $150 (and no sales tax!) which to me felt like a great deal (though I know there are plenty thrifting experts out there who find amazing stuff for like a buck fifty). The condition is not flawless, but it's in great shape overall.

It's in the entryway now and it's working there, but I can see us transferring it to the bedroom eventually. (I've got a long way to go before I get the bedroom figured out.) I know we'll make use of the drawers in the entry but this (obviously) would be ideal for clothes storage.

No matter where we put it though – this may just be my best thrift find ever. Thank goodness she fit in the car.

ps. the rug in the entryway is this one from amazon. The other stuff in these photos are some of my random finds from these past few weeks. Clearly I'm having a romantic relationship with anything wood, ceramic or brass. Also, fifty cent mugs are going to bankrupt me.
let’s talk TimerCam.

January 22, 2014

I get a lot of questions about the TimerCam app on Instagram and so I thought it was about time I wrote a post about how I use it and my "tips." This app is hands down my favorite photo app and it gets used almost everyday. I love that it's free and doesn't come with 100 bells, whistles and filters. It just takes the photo on a timed delay.

The app looks like your normal phone camera but you can set it to take the photo 5, 10, 15 or 30 seconds after you hit the camera button. Just like on the normal phone camera, you can tap the screen to select the different area that you want to focus on. It counts down (with a number countdown and a beeping sound, unless you turn it on silent) and then snaps the photo. You then have the option to "Save" the image to your camera roll or "Cancel" and try again.

I balance my phone on it's side for every single TimerCamphoto. I've never used a tripod and personally will not because I don't want to deal with extra stuff. I have a case from Society6.com and the side is level and perfect for balancing. (ps. I took the above photo with the timer on my big camera while using TimerCam. I think there is some sort of Olympic medal offered for this sort of thing.)

About 50% of the time, I rest my camera on the ground and the other half I am resting it on my workspace, a table, a bookshelf, a chair, a pile of books… anything that is directly across from what I am trying to capture.

I select a reasonable amount of time to get from point A) behind the camera to point B) in front of the camera. Then I balance it on it's side, give it a second to focus and I gently hit the button and move into place. (For the shot above, the phone was balanced on a small table on top of our outdoor couch – total hassle, but it's one of my favorites.)

One thing that I like about placing the phone on the ground or table is that you usually get a pretty level "horizon" in the shot. In the foreground, there is a lot of the surface before you see the subject. This is totally just a personal preference, but I think it's a fun look.

Using the timer tends to give me a pretty wide shot which means a lot of the background gets in the image. It's rarely (ever?!) flawless, but it's part of the story too.

I also love how sometimes details get cut. (This happens all the time when I put the phone on the table and shoot).

People often ask how my "tries" it takes to get the shot. The average is two. Sometimes I am thrilled with the first photo and we move on with our lives. Other times, I learn from the first photo what has to happen (the pillow was blocking the baby, my feet look weird, etc). Still other times, I get the shot set up and then something goes wrong (someone blinks, the wind comes, etc) and we end up taking three. Like everything else, though… practice makes better.

Obviously, in order to actually get these shots I have to break from what we're doing and set up the camera then run into place. Because of this, I have tried to make the process as simple as possible (another reason why I am thrilled my phone balances without props). I like to think that the reward of having these memories saved with photographs is worth the quick disruption on occasion.

Overall, I try to trust the camera. Using the self timer provides images and perspective that I never see, making some of these photos my most treasured.

Hope that helps! Any further questions? I'll follow up in the comments.
january : currently.

January 21, 2014

planning for our backyard veggie garden.

going all out this year with big planter boxes.

becoming addicted to second-hand shopping.

watching old episodes of Parks & Rec.

reading Her Fearful Symmetry.

celebrating that Ellerie is seven months old already.

loving our Ergo carrier for easy transport.

eating a ton of crockpot meals from this cookbook.

enjoying our insanely nice weather.

wearing baseball caps and maxi skirts all day everyday.

collecting rugs for The Great Bedroom Floor Cover-up.

working on a website update.

walking much more often than running.

trying to figure out how we're going to watch the Olympics this year.

feeling moderately on top of my to-do list.

wishing my sister-in-law, Kristen, a happy birthday today!
getting out of snapshot mode.

January 20, 2014

Last week at Play! in Anaheim, I had the pleasure of listening to Tracey Clark talk about fun photography. She said a lot of good things, but the one thing that really stuck with me was her encouragement to get out of "snapshot mode."

"Snapshot mode," according to Tracey, is standing up straight, facing your subject and pulling your camera up in front of your face to take a picture. The result is an image of course, but not necessarily the "best" one possible and for sure not the most interesting. I had never heard such a catchy phrase for it, I know this in theory. When I am taking photos at my house I'm constantly getting out of snapshot mode. I'm standing on table or a chair. I'm laying on the floor looking up. I'm crouching to get on Ellerie's level. I'm holding my camera over my head or balancing it on a table. Or balancing it on the ground.

Yep. I'm super comfortable shooting my stuff and my people in my space. I know where the light is best and the ideal rooms for morning shots, afternoon shots and evening shots. I know which backgrounds are clean and what angles to work around. It's become second nature and I love the moments and memories that I capture in my space.

But outside the house, I need a lot of practice. I'm not nearly as comfortable as I would like to be getting my camera out and getting myself into different positions to take more interesting photos. Because I know the images I "want" aren't going to happen because it's awkward and feels like a hassle, I tend to keep my camera (even my iPhone!) stored when we're out and about.

Since January 20th feels like as good a day as any to set a resolution so I'm committing to less snapshot mode in the great outdoors starting now.

Thanks Tracey, for the motivation.

p.s. the photo at the top of this post was taken with the timercam app on my iPhone. My sweet subject, per usual, was more interested in the ticking countdown coming from the phone than her mama.
weekend links / 02.

January 18, 2014

As part of my word WHOLE this year, I want celebrate the work of others by sharing links to my friends, possible friends and complete strangers who are doing great things on the Internet. This is some of the rad stuff I recently saw online…

this parenting (and life!) advice is brilliant.

a spectacular compilation of photos.

fellow online shop owners, this price for shipping labels is insanely good.

my friend Michelle recently moved to Bahrain and I am loving her daily observations.

so much woven wall-hanging inspiration.

sometimes I see branding executed so amazingly that I feel like I should stand up at my computer and applaud.

"Everyone, if they're consistent, will eventually achieve something massive." I love this goal-setting advice.

Kal Barteski is bringing her script art to the Studio Calico classroom.

a final reminder that the stamp shop is closing for good tomorrow at noon PST.

and I have to include…my daughter, the conversational wizard.
backyard progress.

January 17, 2014
I am so excited to share some progress on the backyard jungle. We've had a plan for awhile now, but while my parents were in town the past few days we were finally able to make some progress.

And what satisfying progress it was.

My dad spent Tuesday and Wednesday turning up and leveling the dirt (it was as hard as cement but not level at all).

Thursday morning, we removed the leftover rocks, sticks and roots by hand. Then we rented a small push steamroller (think of a push mower with a big drum roll on it) to really compact the dirt and get the surface as smooth and even as possible.

And then we got to do the fun part.

I have been obsessed with the Ikea PLATTA deck system since last spring and really wanted to bring it into the space. The pieces are real wood and lock together from below (with a plastic locking mechanism). They hold together really well – on a super level surface. Snapping them into place was the very easy part (getting the ground prepped for them took 2.5 days).

The wood pieces are 1×1 foot square (each contains four "panels" – click here to see the acutal product) and can be cut down to size to fill the space you need. We had to cut down a few pieces (and will still have to a lot) but since it's a huge hassle, we decided to square off the plants that were already in the area and add extra white rock.

I am thrilled with this decision. The white and wood looks awesome together and the white rock is much less expensive per square foot.

Ikea ran out of decking so this project is temporally on hold until they get in a new shipment. Laying the final portion will be tricky as we'll have to work around that curved brick edge. But I can see it now. I can visualize this as a space we'll want to use and a space that won't need to be watered (great news in California these days).

Of course, whenever you have wood outdoors it's going to weather and change color (fade to gray) so how to protect it and slow that from happening is on our list to figure out (has anyone had good luck with Linseed Oil?). I can't speak for how well this system will hold up, but I can say it's just gorgeous in real life and other than needing a level base could not be easier to put together. (If you're curious, when not placed on a level surface, the whole thing cracks and wiggles a bit under your feet as you walk.)

So hooray for progress, and this is what our to-do list, first shared in October now looks like :
- remove dead grass
- cap sprinkler heads
- dig up weeds
- remove random tree << NOT SURE ABOUT THIS ONE
- power-wash cement and brick << HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND
- level decking area
- lay deck << SO CLOSE
- add more white rocks to fill out plant areas << ALSO SO CLOSE
- plant more succulent ground-cover << HOPEFULLY HAPPENING THS WEEKEND
- remove dead plants behind chainlink fence
- add wood panels to chainlink << DECIDED TO HOLD OFF ON THIS
- build firepit
- obtain more seating
- string strands of globe lights from house to fence a la this.
I will be sure to share an update or 12 as we continue forward.

Huge thank you, Dadio, for all your help.