according.to.kim

Picture series scrapbook layouts

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

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

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

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

Picture the seasons

Just thought it would be fun to see all of the photos together that I took during four of Tracey Clark's Picture classes at BPC. These are simply screenshots of the photos inside iPhoto, with text added in PSE.

Picture Summer: The verticals

These are some of my favourite vertical shots taken during Picture Summer (other than those featuring my girls' faces). Light plays quite a role in all of them. I'm astounded by the sun flare in the middle one!

I didn't post these earlier because they're vertical. I know that sounds kind of silly, but during a series of posts like those from Picture Summer, I am much too particular to mix vertical and horizontal photos in one post -- especially since I know I'll be uploading everything to Blurb for printing in book form, and the page layouts I use don't accommodate both orientations. A vertical photo would really mess things up for me!

P.S. Here's another one from July. :)

July 31: Five more (the end)

While Neil went to the Rider game today, the girls and I took Dash to Yellow Grass to stay with my parents for a couple days. Before supper, we went out to the farm so the girls could see the kittens, and I snapped these photos while we were there. There were thunderstorm cells all around and we're lucky we didn't get caught in a downpour. I'm delighted to have a rainbow at the end of this month of photos!

July 30: Endless summer

(1) Today's sunset. The older girls and I drove out of the city to get this shot, and we almost missed it. It took a little longer than I expected to find an unobstructed view.

(2) Fun with shadows. And this was after Sophia had 2-3 inches of hair cut off today. (I took Sophia and Madeline to the Marvel Beauty School for haircuts. Good price!)

(3) Experimenting with shutter speed (1/30).

(4) It was a nice hot day. Perfect for some sprinkler play.

(5) Found these lovelies (chamomile, I think) at the spot where I stopped to take the sunset photo (at the far west end of 13th Avenue, along a fence belonging to Brandt).

Well, that concludes the daily prompts from Picture Summer! Thank you to everyone who commented on my summer photos either here on the blog or in person. Each and every comment made my day! I totally enjoyed this project -- even as I kicked myself a couple times for deciding to post five photos a day! Actually, it wasn't too difficult for me to do that. Summer just begs to be photographed, don't you think?! :)

I do think I'll try to post some photos tomorrow, too, but I'll be quite busy, so we'll see.

July 29: Barefootin'

(1-5) The girls' game/temporary art form, Giraffakiki. In the first photo, Madeline's feet (ready to go), then Georgia's (loading up the wet chalk which has been applied to a patio block), and then Sophia's (in the air). Fourth, the art itself, and lastly, some residual art. That's how it works. :)

I'm now on summer vacation until August 10! Hooray!

July 28: A spin on summer

(1-5) This technique is much easier than it looks! I used a shutter speed of 1/30 for all of these shots and just gave the camera a quick twist to the right or left as I pressed the shutter button. It was fun to experiment!

July 27: Getting the giggles

(1) Monkey bar giggles.

(2) Dahlias are the best annuals in our garden right now.

(3) Little Blue peppers. I wonder what they'll taste like.

(4-5) Yum!

My throat still hurts when the ibuprofen wears off, and I'm still coughing a bit, but I am feeling quite a bit better now. I have some energy back. I stayed home today, but will definitely be going to work tomorrow. Lots of meetings. Must get to bed!

July 26: Silhouettes of summer

(1) The girls watching a river otter at the Calgary Zoo, taken on Saturday the 24th. I tried but was unable to get a good silhouette photo today (see 4-5), so I was very lucky to have this recent photo on hand.

(2) Neil didn't know I was taking his picture through Georgia's window. I really like this "everyday" shot of him. (I was home from work today due to my sore throat illness.)

(3) Dash. (As if you didn't know.)

(4-5) A couple very quick trips to the park just for me to attempt silhouettes (at 6:00 and 7:30 p.m.). The girls did not object when I asked them to help me out today. ;) I should have played with different settings on my camera, but I guess I wasn't in that frame of mind. I didn't think it would be so difficult! The spray pad ones looked right on my little camera screen, but not on the computer. Oh well; I got some great pictures anyway.

July 25: The magic number

(1) A triptych of Saskatchewan skies (between Moose Jaw and Regina). I took all three of these photos within 30 minutes (8:37 to 9:03 pm) as we drove down the highway toward home. It was a full moon and this was a lucky shot (the other ten were terrible!). It's hard to get a decent photo of the moon without a tripod, let alone from a moving vehicle.

(2-5) Before heading home, we went to the groom's parents' lovely acreage just outside of Calgary for a couple hours. They had invited everyone out there for lunch. There's a creek running at the back of the property and there was a bunch of fragrant clover and alfalfa growing near the creek. The girls had lots more fun with their second cousins. I'm glad we had another chance to visit with relatives.

The drive home was pretty good, too, although I was not feeling very well and I took three naps (or tried to nap, anyway). Our longest stop was for supper at A&W in Swift Current. We got home just after 9:00 p.m. After unloading our things from Lou's car, Neil and the girls went to get Dash.

July 24: Larger than life

(1) Family portrait at a truck stop near Moose Jaw, taken on Sunday the 25th, on our way home from Calgary.

(2) Another pretty pond at the Calgary Zoo. I took far more photos of water than of animals on this zoo trip!

(3) There's something about giraffes. I always take photos of them. They have a nice indoor-outdoor enclosure at this zoo.

(4) Our table at the wedding of Collin (Neil's cousin) and Bridget. We were seated with Neil's cousin, Kathy, her husband, Art, and their three young daughters. The girls really hit it off and had so much fun together (especially the younger five). It was a great seating arrangement! :)

(5) The view from outside the hall where the wedding reception was held. The Rocky Mountains are on the horizon.

ETA:

I woke up with a very sore throat and could hardly force myself out of bed. (Not a surprise since I could feel something coming on the day before.) I couldn't really get moving until the Advil Cold & Sinus kicked in, so we were off to a later start than we had hoped. (And then I was on continuous ibuprofen and/or acetaminophen all weekend to manage the pain of my sore throat. Some cold meds also helped me stay awake.)

We went to the hotel's excellent breakfast buffet with Lou, then the five of us headed to the zoo (Lou stayed at the hotel to visit with his siblings). We arrived at the zoo at 10:30 a.m. and left shortly after 2:00 p.m. It was a hot and sunny Saturday and the zoo was jammed with people. We are used to visiting zoos during the off season or on cloudy, drizzly days, so we weren't accustomed to such crowds! Not ideal for seeing animals. Oh well; it was our only opportunity. Our kids had never been to this zoo before, and it is a great zoo. (We got a terrific price for zoo tickets by buying a family fun pack through the hotel at which we were staying, Executive Royal Inn North Calgary: one night accommodation, zoo tickets for five, and breakfast buffet for five for $159 -- about $100 off the full price of those things.)

The wedding was at 4:00 p.m. at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, a very traditional parish -- the likes of which we had never seen before. All the ladies and little girls of the parish wore lacy scarves on their heads, there was no music during the hour+ long ceremony/mass, and the priest spoke a lot of Latin. It was really something to see.

The reception was at 5:30 p.m. at the Austrian Cultural Centre, a great venue for a wedding dinner and dance. We all had a wonderful time at this wedding, and it was so nice to see many relatives on Neil's dad's side that we had not seen for several years. I'm very glad we decided to go. My only regret is that we didn't get a picture of all five of us together at the wedding when we were all dressed up and looking quite nice. (Well, I also wish I had been feeling better!)

July 23: Life is but a dream

(1) One of many ponds at the Calgary Zoo, taken on Saturday the 24th. I was struck by the beautiful reflection in this one. (For this weekend, I have moved photos around to match the prompts since I didn't always have an opportunity for the prompt on the day it came out.)

(2) The water reservoir on my coffee maker. I think it looks a bit dreamy, don't you? :)

(3) Meet Georgia's Paper Pal, Mini Georgia! The girls had their pals out a few times on our little road trip.

(4) Neil driving his parents' Acadia. We were on our way to Calgary for a wedding. It was unusual, but rather nice, for me to sit in the second row of seats. Lou and Neil were in front and took turns driving. (Donna stayed home as she's recovering from knee surgery.) Georgia sat next to me, while Sophia and Madeline were in the third row. It was very handy for me to be so close to the kids for distribution of food, markers, wipes, etc. (And we sure needed a lot of wipes on this trip!)

(5) We saw many bright canola crops in Alberta.

ETA:

We left Regina at 10:30 a.m. and arrived in Calgary at 6:00 p.m., so we made good time. We didn't have to stop for lunch as Neil had made pizza for all of us the day before. We also had fruit, cheese, and a few other snacks for the kids along. The kids stayed occupied with DVDs, DSis, and doodling.

After checking in at our hotel, we went to White Spot for supper, a nearby family restaurant. The girls were delighted with the bubble gum milkshakes they had with their meal and then bubble gum ice cream for dessert! (eek) What a treat!

Also, thanks to L&B for taking care of Dash this weekend!

July 22: Girl put your records on

(1) "I see skies of blue and clouds of white Bright blessed days, dark sacred nights And I think to myself, what a wonderful world..." I love that my husband and I saw this today on the 15th anniversary of our first date. :)

It was the Israel Kamakawiwo'ole version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World that I heard today -- and that made me think of taking a picture of the sky -- but then I looked up the one recorded by Louis Armstrong and I prefer the original lyrics "bright blessed days, dark sacred nights" so I quoted those words here. (Song lyrics are one of the best things the internet has to offer, heh?!)

(2) "Here comes the rain again Falling on my head like a memory Falling on my head like a new emotion..." (Here Comes the Rain Again by Eurythmics)

(3) Purple coneflower (Echinacea) before blooming. I love this amazing plant.

(4) One of our Elm trees from a different perspective.

(5) I snapped this at the Farmers' Market yesterday. Very quickly. Why is it so difficult to pull out a camera, in public, in one's own community? (I will have to go back next week and get a closer look at these things. Hope she comes back. I bet babies LOVE those ribbon tag blankies.)

Also, 100 years ago today, my great great grandpa Per Erick Flodin was killed by lightning. (Yes, my brain stores stuff like this, just waiting for a chance to bring it out!)

P.S. I may not be able to post anything over the next couple days. We'll see.

July 21: Spacey

(1-4) Spacey (lots of negative space). I really like this prompt!

(5) A bee on oregano -- and some pretty evening sunlight.

July 20: When order is in order

(1-4) Repetition, patterns, lines, repeating shapes or objects. (A foot bridge in Wascana, the new bus depot, a car down- town, and a sidewalk at the U of R.)

(5) It was (Neil's) Grandma Louise's 95th birthday today! To celebrate, we had a family gathering at her residence, The Bentley, this evening. (I did get some good pictures of Louise, but this one was better for posting in this series.) Shauna made the cake and it was delicious!

Unfortunately, Neil wasn't able to attend his grandma's birthday party because he's sick with a fever, headache, and body aches. :( It started last evening. Let's hope it goes away quick, and no one else gets it! We have many plans over the next few weeks!

This morning, I delivered a presentation to the Marketing Forum. (I have not really presented anything for more than a decade!) I managed to keep my nerves under control and I think it went okay. Phew! Later in the day, a person who attended the meeting stopped me in the hallway and told me I did a good job. That was nice to hear! :)

July 19: Jump shot

(1) Dash is a great jumper! I chose this for today's prompt just to be a bit different. I didn't see many pets in the gallery.

(2) Willing subjects for the jump shot (Auntie Laurel in the middle). Someday, I'll get all of my girls to jump for me!

(3) Mr. Dash at eight months old.

(4) It was Laurel and Shauna's birthday today and we celebrated with two cakes at L&B's house!

(5) A butterfly on Sophia's hand, taken by Neil this morning.

July 18: Playtime

We had a big day today and I'm beat! Too tired to write. I must get to bed anyway; I have a very busy week ahead -- at work and home. I'll explain these photos tomorrow!

ETA:

(1) Today brought playtime with cousins! Shauna, Wayne, Cole, and Rian are visiting from Edmonton. We spent the day with them, plus Laurel, Bronwyn, Donna, and Lou, at Avonlea (and surrounding area). Georgia and Rian are in the photo.

(2) Avonlea is Riderville! Well, almost. It is one of five finalists in the Where is Riderville contest. Vote for Avonlea between August 13 and 31, 2010 at Riderville.com!

(3) We attended a memorial service at the ranch cemetery for cousin Doug Watson and his sister-in-law who both passed away within the past year. The ranch is located in the hills near Briercrest, SK. After the memorial, we stayed for a potluck picnic lunch which was set up in a little valley on the ranch. This was perfect as it was quite a windy day, but the picnic site was sheltered. We had a very nice time visiting with many relatives. Also, we celebrated Jim's 89.5th birthday (the ranch owner; Doug's father-in-law) and Grandma Louise's 95th (birthday on the 20th) with cake.

(4) A large fresh salmon was cooked on site for the picnic. Mmmm! (My family should have tried it!)

(5) In the late afternoon, Laurel, Shauna, and I took the kids for a swim at Dunnet Park. After that, we stayed for supper at Donna and Lou's. Donna is recovering from knee surgery, so Neil pitched in and did some of the cooking along with his sisters. They are all great cooks!

July 17: Visual interest

(1) Pop! The girls and I had fun blowing bubbles on the front lawn today. This was one of my favourite -- and most unexpected -- photos from our bubble-blowing session.

(2) This is what the bubble looked like right before it popped.

(3) Georgia did this! We have about 20 bubble wands, but this one (same one as above) is the best by far.

(4) It was game day and Georgia was wearing her Rider Pride from head to toe. The girls and I drove Neil to the practice field beside Mosaic stadium to meet up with cousins (Cheryle, Shana, Jami, Steve, and Kea from BC, and Larry from AB) before the game. We dropped Neil off at 1:00 p.m. (game was at 2:00 p.m.) and then decided we'd park and walk over to the practice field to see everyone, too, even though we weren't going to the game. It was a fun gathering. The girls were thrilled that Larry bought them ice cream cones!

(5) Later in the afternoon, the girls and I (and Sophia's friend Cyandra) made these chocolate chip cookies: Easy-Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies (funny name, but good cookies -- especially if you like thin and crispy). The toothpicks and v-shaped marks on these cookies indicate the girls' selections, as they had to wait until after supper to eat them.

Also today, our friends brought their dog, Chloe, over for a puppy play date in the back yard. It was nice to sit on the patio with a coffee and visit this morning. Beautiful day!

July 16: Friday light

(1) I liked how the sun was shining through some trees and landing almost exclusively on this one leaf (which is heart shaped to boot!). Taken at the U of R mid-morning.

(2) Leaving the university after Sophia's last bagpipe lesson. She really enjoyed this experience and wants to take bagpipe lessons from September through June! We're considering it.

(3) More light on leaves. This time, it was late afternoon at the U of R when we went to pick up the girls from Summer Sports School.

(4-5) The sky was interesting this evening.

July 15: Picture postcard

(1) Saskatchewan's legislative building. I tried to make this look like an old postcard. (PSE Action applied: PW Soft and Faded; frame by Jessica Sprague.)

(2-5) Wascana Centre. We have a beautiful park here. :)