Think Tank Tuesday

Something new I'm starting! Every other Tuesday will be reserved for my Think Tank Tuesday posts. I may post other projects as well, but I will focus on Think Tank Tuesday for the mort part.

What is Think Tank Tuesday? It's all about paper crafting tips! Now that doesn't mean it will actually involve paper. Have something you're interested in? Message me! And I'll be sure to cover that topic.

This week's Think Tank Tuesday is all about photography. Photos truly are the backbone of scrapbooking. Where would we be without our photos? With the digital age, we have hundreds if not thousands of images at our disposal.

What about photography? Take a photography class! There's so much more to photography than point and shoot. You can take your very own photos that look like a pro took them!

I recently took a photography class from Sarah Kristiansen the owner of Sweet Jane Photography who is based out of Providence, Rhode Island. Confession time! I know Sarah from Crop on the Cape. I met her last year while taking one of her classes at the Crop. I was soooo impressed that I started following her business on Facebook and was overjoyed to see her offer workshops.

Shhh. This is Sarah looking glowy as  I
like to say. We were learning about
back lighting and being glowy.

She's actually working on more workshops! I'm so excited about this. I learned so much in just one day. I can't wait to see what else she can teach me and I can learn.

I finally understand aperture! I have taken classes before, but never quite got a full grasp on it. Now, I feel like I get it. I also understand shutterspeed and ISO. Granted, much of this has to do with DSLR cameras, but so many people have them now and don't know how use them to the best of their ability. Sarah really is all about getting you off of the auto built-in functions and into controlling your camera. You're the boss applesauce!

I shied away from having multiple lens once I got my Canon T3I, but after Sarah's class I see what one can do with a different lens. For example, I only have a zoom lens which is great for the landscapes I frequently shoot in my travels. However, it doesn't work well in low lighting unless on a tripod and I can leave the shutter open for days or what feels like days. My photos were all blurry and now I know why and most importantly, I understand why they are blurry! So lens shopping here I come! I also need to get a flash and yes, my camera came with a built-in flash, but it's pretty useless for a lot of shots. I learned a bit about using flash in my class as well.

Ribbons blowing in the wind. Notice
the fan looks like it's barely moving?

So while I may have driven over six - yes, really - hours to take Sarah's workshop, it was so worth it! If you are in the New England area or are looking for a fantastic photography class, I highly recommend Sarah's workshops. She is also teaching a couple of short classes at Crop on the Cape and you can now sign up for the classes without attending the Crop.

It's really amazing what you can shoot once you have the knowledge. Photography isn't all about the equipment. You need to be armed with knowledge as well.

One great place to check for photo checklists and ideas for photos is Pinterest. Yes, Pinterest. I find many monthly photo checklists and challenges. Arm yourself with your camera and get out there!

Until next time *

A photo a day will keep the doctor away....okay maybe not, but you'll get to see the world around you!

Road Trip Saga

welcome packet to crop on the cape 2012

Ever plan a road trip? A serious road trip? One over a thousand miles away from home that last for 13 days and you were attending to weekend crops? Crops that lasted seven days? Yeah, that was me last month. It was wicked awesome! Totally exhausting, but so worth it! I got to see friends and family I haven't seen in over a year and a half. Some friends I wasn't sure I'd ever see again since {Colorful Creations} closed, but all of the ladies came to Crop on the Cape.

the home of crop on the cape

Here's the kicker, after Crop on the Cape I was driving to North Carolina. I went to Scrapbook Traditions for a three day weekend crop. Talk about driving! I was really sick of driving by the time I got to Winston-Salem and I still had a four hour drive home, but I had a few days to prep myself for that one. Good thing because I sure needed it.

a view of the croppers

With so many cropping days and not returning home between crops, I worked on a major plan for my crop packing. I brought much more than I usually would even dream. I had two rolling totes with me which is huge since I bring my small one to weekend crops.


My plan was to finally finish my birthday trip to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. That trip happened back in 2011. Nothing like being speedy and up to date with my layouts. :D The other pile of photos was to finish scrapbooking my friend's son's birthday party from last fall. I had started his birthday, but barely put a dent in the pile. Interesting mix of paper I tell you!

Thursday evening we kick off Crop on the Cape! It was such a wonderful time. I had so much fun seeing friends and visiting. Yes, we chat on Facebook, it's just not the same neither are emails. Face to face conversation and hugs truly are the best!

melissa brought a typewriter...yup she uses
it for all her texting :)

we're such a fun bunch
even kermit joined us

So I am scrapping away and finish my Riverbanks Zoo photos. Ummmm....hello? How did that happen? I had planned on working on them until at least Saturday afternoon! Friday I had two classes. One was a card making class with the amazing Jenn Shurkus and my second class was about photography with the fabulous Sarah Kristiansen. Seriously, the best ever photography class! I learned from her in an hour and a half than I have in the last three years! I really want to go to Rhode Island and do her workshops!

the fun cards we made in jenn shurkus' class

Because of my classes I kind of figured Friday would be a sort of lazy day. I knew I would be leaving the resort to eat lunch and dinner and then we had an ice cream social that evening. I didn't plan on accomplishing much. But I have to tell you I accomplished too much! How can that be? Oh just wait and see. Great, now I sound like Dr. Seuss.

Friday I start going through the birthday photos. I printed 262 and had scrapped maybe 20 or 30 of them.  I started to really look at them and see what I really wanted to remember from the birthday party and weed out the photos that were duplicates or of people not looking so attractive. You know the photos with the mouth full of frosting while biting down on a cupcake and someone snaps your photo. That deer in headlights with the mouth open look. Yeah, we didn't need to scrap those. Pretty sure we all want to forget about those. I also try not to scrapbook people's rear ends. Faces truly are better looking.

more ladies getting their craft on

I must have thrown away over 60 photos. That was a lot! Kind of was beginning to wish I went through the photos before I wasted the time and money printing them. Uploading can be such a nightmare. Then I started cropping the photos and was like hmmmmmm this is what's supposed to last me the rest of this weekend and all next weekend? I don't know about this. Well, get scrapbooking and see.

Saturday afternoon panic sets in. OMG! I finished scrapbooking all of the photos I brought with me! Thankfully, I brought my MacBook and I have like a trillion photos on it that haven't been scrapped. Ok a trillion might be a slight exaggeration. A teeny, tiny one. I decided to see what photos I have that need to get out the computer and onto paper.

Sadly, it dawned on me. I've never scrapbooked my first nephew's first birthday! The little man - I can't even call him a little boy anymore - will be five - YES 5 - years old next week! What a terrible aunt I am!

this is the table where i scrapped
and i've actually been to oak bluffs

I start searching to see where I can get photos printed and picked up in the morning. Remember, I'm on Cape Cod and not in Winston-Salem. Cape Cod is limited on some things. Thankfully, there's no super centers or other scary things like that on the Cape. It would ruin the beauty of the Cape. So I check out the usual places - Wal-Greens, Wal-Mart, Target, nope not nearby. CVS....hey I've never gotten photos printed there, but they are nearby as in less than a half mile away. Ding ding ding ding we have a winner.

Thankfully, the CVS website didn't take days to upload. I didn't have to fight with it and call it names. Yes, I have had to call some photo printing service websites some names when the uploading just isn't working. If you've printed photos ever, you've probably been there. If you haven't, oh one day you will.

Not only did the upload go smoothly, I found a discount code online! I got 25 photos for free and then they were only 10 cents each. Sweeet! So this crisis wasn't so horrible after all.

yes the crop on the cape is practically on the ocean

One of the beauties of Crop on the Cape is that you can scrapbook 24 hours a day. The ballroom is open to us the entire time. Very few crops can say that. Because of this I decided to stay up late and make a bunch of layouts so I would be all ready to stick my freshly printed photos once I picked them up and cropped them. I did say I planned on staying up late which I was thinking would be like 2 am. Oh no 6 am rolls around and I decide I'm finally tired and I probably should get some sleep. I did need to shower, pack, and check out of our room by 11 am on Sunday. Yup, I just made it by like 15 minutes.

who wouldn't want to scrapbook with this
view around the corner?

Then I needed to go to CVS to pick up my prints hot off the presses! The said they would be ready at 11 am. Well, guess what. My photos were printed by 9:38! I wish I had known they were done early. Why? I don't know. I had this crazy idea in my head that I could have gotten them earlier and I could have gotten less sleep as if four hours of sleep really was enough. Oh did I mention that my husband gave me a cold a couple of days before I left South Carolina? A lovely parting gift I tell you!

                 Cold + No Sleep + Crop on the Cape = Holy Cow! Are You Crazy? 

save the date

On Sunday, I cropped a bunch of photos and popped them onto the layouts I made the night before. I made 12 and figured that would get me through the day. I finished them all by 2:30. In about three hours, I cropped and adhered the photos to all 12 pages. YIKES! Good thing Crop on the Cape ends at 3 pm so I had a good excuse to start picking up and packing up and getting those last few photos in! Have to document everything don't you know? And I needed to work on the mad skillz I learned from Sarah.

This was my crazy Crop on the Cape experience. Would I go again? Heck, yeah! I'm already planning on attending Crop on the Cape 2013. It is St. Patrick's Day weekend. If you want to check out a pub for St Paddy's Day, that is an option or if you want to scrapbook with me until 6 am that's available, too!  

the goodies i won!

Oh and I won a door prize! Jayne gave away tons and tons of prizes. I was super excited to win mine. It's mostly Ranger embossing powders and they are ones I don't have. I have a little addiction to Ranger and all things Tim Holtz. The bag also included a Pet Eye Pen from American Crafts, a cute little house mini book, and a few other trinkets I gave to my sister-in-law. Lots of good great things happen at the Cape!

Until next time *

Good times. Good friends. 19 1/2 hours to get there. Priceless!

PS No, I didn't scrap all of the photos I printed at CVS. More to come on that saga soon! Remember, I went to North Carolina the next weekend to scrapbook!

Welcome to the Beginning

THIS is beginning of my blogging journey into a new art form I am expanding into. Don't worry I'm not leaving my paper and stamp collection behind! Can you imagine?

What's new you ask? Plenty!

For starters, I will be going back to school for the umpteenth time. This time I will actually be studying things I LOVE and not things I can deal with. It's time for me to do what I wanted to do in high school but chickened out of. I'm giving myself a second chance and I have been met with criticism along the way. Hey it's my life and I have the right to be happy. Don't like it? Piss off!

So what will I be studying? I'm finally going for my bachelor's degree! My major is Fine Arts Technology. What's that? Fancy words for Media Arts which encompasses graphic design and so much more. I'll also be taking several photography courses to complete my art requirements.

I'm going for two minors. I'm not 100% sure about one of them. One will require me to work my ass off and I am fully prepared for it. The minor I am 100% comfortable with Music. My original plan in life was to go to music school in NYC or LA. Well, I left New York state last year so I'm pretty sure I won't be going to NYC. My decision to FINALLY study music was an easy one. I do have a ton of things to relearn, but I am already preparing myself for this. Piano lessons start soon!

My second minor - the one I'm not 100% sure about - is Creative Writing. It definitely goes along with Media Arts and Music. I'm going to take the first couple of classes and see how things go. If I love it, then I'll be a double minor. If not, oh well. I need the writing for the required writing portfolio anyway. Maybe I'll find the happy inner me once again!

What else is happening....

Well my studio is 99% done! FINALLY! I only moved last April. No more necessary trips to Ikea up in Charlotte. I do need to grab something small from Target tomorrow. If they were open now, I'd go over.  But for some reason, they don't stay open 24 hours like Wal-Mart which kinda stinks for us night owls.

I'm so close to being able to play in my studio that I have gotten myself decorations. Most of them are functional. I took some inspiration from Tim Holtz and a little from Teresa Collins and a tad from my own personal tastes and needs. Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart have lots of great things for this purpose!

Don't worry there will be about a million pics when all is said and done. I'd take some now, but the table is kinda ummm covered and looks like a paper factory exploded. I need to make it all pretty and document it so I have proof that once upon a time you could actually see my art table!

My new art adventure....

Ink. Canvas. Some of my favorite words.

Stay tuned and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Until next time *

This was my Declaration.