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Monthly Archives: April 2012

4/16/2012

Digital Project Life : Week Fifteen

Week Fifteen. Wow. I can’t believe that the year is going by so fast, and I can’t believe I am still sticking with this project! Now that it isn’t new anymore…well that’s when I start to lose a bit of steam with just about anything. So glad to see that’s not happening with Project Life!

This past week included Easter, which I referenced a bit in my layouts, but haven’t done a formal insert for. Hopefully I will get that completed this week. The baby actually slept until 445am this morning without waking up at night–if that keeps up I just might start really getting something accomplished!

Left Side:

This past week we had Holly’s spring conference where we picked up the stick drawing you see on the bottom left. For some reason I am the person with no body–just legs. (Considering I am only 5’0″ tall with a 28 inch inseam this is quite amusing.)

We had lots of ordinary moments like time at the breakfast table talking about what we learned at school, and lot of playdates outside in the warm weather. Marie’s big news this week?  She is SO CLOSE to rolling over! Can’t you tell by looking at her picture–she was rocking back and forth as I took it, I thought for sure I was going to have it all on film…but she couldn’t get quite enough momentum.

Right Side:

Still loving the week in review card. Here is the journaling on that card for this week:

Sunday was all about Easter! Holly had baskets to find in the house, followed by our annual Easter Egg hunt outside. After morning festivities we headed on over to Aunt Kathy’s for some four-wheelin’ fun! – Monday was back to school day for Holly and Mom breathed a sigh of relief! – Tuesday we brought Marie to the doctor’s office to have her ears checked, followed by a nice lunch at Panera. Thankfully the baby is healthy! – Wednesday was Holly’s spring conference. So proud of our girl! Her antics and personality crack us all up. – Thursday was a day of spontaneous playdates. First with Ezra, then with Flannery and Henry. I don’t know who was more tired by the end of the day, Holly or Mom! – Friday Mom did basket after basket after basket of laundry, followed by cooking a week’s worth of breakfasts and a weekend’s worth of dinners/lunches. – Saturday Mom needed a two-hour nap! Daddy took the baby for a walk, and Holly played princess outside with Flannery. The week wrapped up with our first visit to Lynden’s Soda Fountain. This neighborhood rocks!!!!!!!!!!!

I am linking up at The Mom Creative and One Happy Mama again. Hope to see you there!

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Project Life is a product and a system created by Becky Higgins. It can be anything you want it to be. To learn more about Project Life check out Becky’s Website. The pieces used in my album are available through Jessica Sprague here. If you live outside the US check Becky’s site for more information on sources. View all my posts about Project Life here.

 

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sharon71 - Your layout looks fantastic Heather. Love the photo of your husband holding Marie on his shoulders… so sweet.

I am getting closer to going back and putting my 2009 & 2010 into a digital PL – your posts are a great source of inspiration.

Thanks for sharing.

Sarah - Love this week’s layout Heather – the photo of Marie on the first page is just gorgeous!

Conni - the picture with the 2 adorable babies staring at each other is priceless, so cute!! Love you layout, and digital overlays!! Thanks for sharing your week!

April - that photo of your little one trying to roll over is amazing…the colors are great, and so is she of course :)

All the digital embellishments are great…does it take a lot of time to do that?

http://aprilbest1981.blogspot.com/2012/04/project-life-week-15.html

Heather Johnson - April–it take NO TIME at all, seriously. Once you load brushes into photoshop (or elements I suppose) it’s really just the click of a button. The text under the brush is just a text box. I LOVE doing that to my pictures! Maybe I will do a video on how to do it soon….

Katie - Gorgeous pages, I always love coming to see your beautiful photography each week!

Heather Johnson - Thanks Katie!

Sara - Heather! Your photos are gorgeous! That top photo of your sweet little peanut is so precious! I love finding digital scrappers for inspiration! I love, love, love the traditional kit I have, but I have been incorporating more and more digital in my album this year. Actually this week I went all digital. So many fun elements to add! I will totally be back for more inspiration!

kate Adderley - Hi Heather, another beautiful week of photos, love all the overlays

Fiona - Hi Heather, I found your blog through the link up, and it’s so great to see some digital inspiration! Your pages are fantastic, and I just love the photo of your baby right at the top. Gorgeous! I love how you’ve put this week together. Thanks for sharing!

Helen - lovely, as always, every time i see your spreads, it makes me want to run and add text to photos……thanks so much for sharing

Catherine at Design Editor - Love seeing a digital version like this. That chick background paper is so cute!

Heather Johnson - Thanks Catherine. I was just over at your blog and was swooning as usual at your beautiful style. (And was so, so very jealous of your mommy-cation!)

4/12/2012

The "I am…." statements challenge

Today as I was nursing the baby and browsing blogs (these are the two things I do most in the day) I stumbled upon Becky’s blog. Really enjoyed reading her “I am…” statements and decided that Holly and I would do some of our own for this coming week’s Project Life layout.

I tried to stay completely out of Holly’s decision making on what to say (I really wanted it to be authentic to her right now) so some of it is silly–I have no idea who the “froggy friend” is–but there are also some really sweet sentiments in here as well. Here is her list:

I was playing outside.
I am a people.
I think about princesses.
I wonder what should I do.
I wish to go to the store and play with my soccer ball.
I save my froggy friend.
I always love to pick flowers with my froggy friend.
I can’t imagine what flower I picked.
I believe froggy’s gone.
I promise I would do nothing in my kitchen because the baby is sleeping.
I love everybody in the whole world.
-Holly, age 4 1/2

I tried not to over think this, and just write. It took me about two minutes. Here are my “I am” statements:

I was just enjoying my go-to snack, pretzels and laughing cow cheese.
I am the happiest I have been in years.
I think there is nothing better than having two little girls.
I wonder if my body will be able to keep up with all of the ideas I have for the summer.
I wish my brother wasn’t so far away.
I save not nearly the amount of money I should.
I always kiss my girls goodnight.
I can’t imagine life without my family.
I believe in dreams.
I promise that this time I won’t give up.
I love my daughters and husband more than words can say.
-Heather, age 38

Hope you all are having a great week. I can’t believe tomorrow is already Friday!

 

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Gina - I also read Becky’s blog first thing this morning and intend to complete it. Thanks for the reminder!

4/10/2012

Digital Project Life : Week Fourteen

This post will probably be short on words, as I am heading out to the doctor’s office with the baby in a few moments. We have what appears to be our very first ear infection. Joy.

This week’s project life layout was a bit challenging for me. Turns out I really am all about color, and while it was fun to step outside of my comfort zone with something different–I can’t wait to jump back into something bright! (And easier. Next week just might be two design A templates with filler cards–I am exhausted!!!)

Left Side:

This week I began using Cathy Zielske’s Week in Review card; I think this will be a staple from now on. It was nice to have a dedicated space to wrap up the week. The journaling reads:

“Sunday Mom had Spring Mini Sessions at the park where she realized two important things; one she has really been missing photography, and two, her mind and body are clearly not the same age. — Monday saw mom limping around a lot (see epiphany above) and Holly off to French Camp. — Tuesday Holly officially said good-bye to the bottle at night. This hasn’t been going well. — Wednesday Holly attended her last day of French camp. She claims to have had a good time and even told me “merci” when I handed her a kleenex. — Thursday was a long day. Neither girl napped and mom was exhausted. — Friday we spent part of the morning at Mattocks Park and in the afternoon we headed off to the farm for Easter weekend. — Saturday was full of family and Easter fun. We decorated eggs, ate turkey and pie, played pegs and aces, and chilled out. It was fantastic and relaxing end to a long and busy week!  Holly can’t wait for the Easter bunny to arrive!

My weeks run Sunday-Saturday, so Easter will be included in next week’s layout. (And I might do an insert/Shutterfly page since I have so many pictures.)

Right Side:

This page is full of some ideas inspired by others. I loved seeing Ali Edwards packing pictures on her Week Twelve layout, so I took some of my own. (These would have been much better in color, but I still think you get the idea. I wanted to remember, years from now, those cute little socks of Marie’s and Holly’s days of the week undies. She loves those darn things!) Ali also had a full length photo a few weeks back that prompted me to take one of Holly. I love how there are no heads in the photos, you see so much about the person without seeing their faces. Know what I mean?!

This page also includes probably my most favorite picture/journaling to date. I really struggle with writing for some reason, and have noticed that my layouts are frequently more photos than words. I tried to write more this week–in particular on top of the large picture. I LOVE how the image turned out–it really is a true representation of her. The journaling reads:

TODAY I WANT TO REMEMBER how much you love to wear dresses that twirl and twirl and twirl. TODAY I WANT TO REMEMBER the bags you carry around the house as you play. They are filled with toy food, crayons, books, and pearls. I always wonder what you’re thinking of as you pack them. TODAY I WANT TO REMEMBER how much you love your family. Often when we ask you what you want to do today, you simply answer, “Spend time together.” TODAY I WANT TO REMEMBER that you are as much of a nature girl as a girly-girl. The best combo! TODAY I WANT TO REMEMBER you at four and a half. Love you!

And with that–it’s a wrap. I am linking up at The Mom Creative and One Happy Mama today. Hope to see you there!

———————————————————————-

Project Life is a product and a system created by Becky Higgins. It can be anything you want it to be. To learn more about Project Life check out Becky’s Website. The pieces used in my album are available through Jessica Sprague here. If you live outside the US check Becky’s site for more information on sources. View all my posts about Project Life here.

 

 

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Bev W. - Love the black and white of your layout!

EK - Your layout is sooo beautiful! Love the black and white and absolutely adore the large “today I want to remember” picture.

Jules - I love this B&W layout. With the mixture of lines and styles and backgrounds, it’s every bit as visually rich as a colour page. Your journaling is beautiful this week too.

Andrea - Cool! I really like the all black and white pages. They look wonderful. It’s fun to see something different.

Nirupama Kumar - ooh, the black and white turned out really well. I’m sure it will stand out amongst the whole album. That last 6×12 pic + journaling is so great. Makes my heart melt a little ;)

April - beautiful! really love the different sized fonts on the larger picture…looks amazing :)

http://aprilbest1981.blogspot.com/2012/04/project-life-weeks-13-and-14.html?m=

Heather Johnson - Thank you! That was what I was trying for honestly. I am always moved by what I see other people write, so I tried really hard to write something that would evoke the same feelings. I keep thinking I need to take a journaling class of some kind–it took me the whole week to come up with that! I struggle so….

Sarah - Wow, gorgeous pages. The black and white looks amazing and the 6×12 picture is just stunning. Hope your little one is OK and gets better soon.

MichelleB - I love the B&W. I was thinking about doing a B&W picture week just to change things up. Your journaling is amazing! And the pictures – especially of the one of your little girl in that dress! Totally love everything about your pages! Thanks for sharing!

Julie - Love your black & white layouts! Also love how you used the “Today I want to remember” prompt.

Heather - I love your pages! I really like the black and white.

kate Adderley - Hi Heather, this is the most stunning layout, love the black and white look, its all so beautiful

Catherine at Design Editor - I love the b&w too! So different. The image of against the wall with the purse is so, so cute.

Conni - I LOVE the black and white this week!! I also LOVE the “today I want to remember” that is great, might have to steal that idea

Heather - It’s a brush/stamp set by Ali–I just can’t remember which one. I hunted and hunted for it on designerdigitals.com so I could link it up…but couldn’t find it. Her stuff is awesome!

Chelsey - I absolutely love your color scheme! As I see more and more PL digital layouts it kinda makes me want to convert, ha! Your layout is beautiful!

Fiona - Wow, this layout is stunning. I just love the full size photo of your daughter and the journalling. Such an awesome snapshot of her personality right now. Very cool.

4/9/2012

Weekend Recap

What a wonderful and relaxing weekend we had! Here is one of my favorite pictures of our time at the farm:

We spent A LOT of time outdoors. You can’t tell from this picture, but Holly was walking around with binoculars on looking for birds. She is such an avid birdwatcher, it really is quite cool to see her as excited about something that isn’t electronic. (Cause honestly, it’s hard to say if I get excited about much anymore that doesn’t have to do with my computer/digital camera!) I am really trying to feed this interest of hers and am already researching places we can go on nature walks this summer. We live not too far from the Mississippi River, where there are tons of bald eagles, so I am thinking there is bound to be some sort of eagle lookout/walk we can go on. I didn’t have this blog at the time, but last year there was a bald eagle flying down our street about five feet in front of my windshield–I kid you not! It had picked up a rabbit in it’s talons and was flying towards a telephone pole…I actually had my camera with me and got pictures. They really are magnificent looking birds in person–and absolutely HUGE!

This weekend was also all about Easter. We dyed eggs, hid eggs, ate chocolate, hunted for baskets, etc…The adults were able to get in some card-playing time after the girls went to bed, we really all had such a great time. Our little Marie was THE BEST baby–she took three long naps a day (and as I write this now, she is waking up after only 20 minutes here at home–gggrr….) and slept well at night. Definitely a better traveller than her sister ever was.

Today I am working on finishing up my project life for the week, looking over assignment one in my digital design class, and working on my 40-B4-40 list. I really want to get that finalized this week…time is already slipping by!

For those of you wondering, I did attempt to work on the dresser project late last week.  The winds gusted again, and the glossy paint was drippy causing me to have to sand between coats, which sums it up to being a project I really detest right now. I want nothing more than to have it be done, and there is oh so much more to go. I should have known better and never started the outside of the dresser this early in the year. (Our warm weather that enabled me to paint outside was really a fluke.) My original plan was just to paint the interior of the drawers, but in true Heather fashion I had to do more, more, more!  Will I ever learn?!

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4/4/2012

I really need to get in a rhythm…..

Here is my Holly, hamming it up with her favorite pose of late. Such a cutie….

I am in need of a few days alone to brainstorm and plan, but with a nursing baby girl that’s just not going to happen for awhile. I have so many ideas I want to share, and things I want to implement here on the blog…..I just can’t seem to get “ahead” enough to get it started! I am sure that everyday will be the day I can get it together and then BAM. Baby refuses to nap. Preschooler throws a tantrum. The house is a mess. Need I go on?

We’ve had an interesting week here thus far with each of my girls going through their own struggles. Holly FINALLY gave up the bottle a few nights ago, this was a long time coming and was NOT an easy thing for her to do. We had a few tears and a few fits, but now that we are on night three it seems to be going okay. Marie is still my happy little girl, rarely fussing at all. Somedays we seem to be turning the corner on the whole sleep thing and she naps really well, and then there are days like today when I think she slept an hour total throughout the whole day. These types of days are really hard for me…..I get nothing done, and I get REALLY tired. Man am I getting old!

On the creative front I am excited to be starting Jessica Sprague’s Art of Design class next week. It’s going to be so fun to learn HOW to make digital products–I have so many ideas on what I want to do!

On the home front I have quite a few projects in motion. Check out this list:

  • Two oval frames for the mantle wall were delivered today. (They are going to be perfect for silhouettes!) I also bought a cute piece of subway art at Homegoods last weekend along with a few ceramic pieces at a little shop here in town called Patina. Everything is leaning on the mantle right now as I sit with it all and decide if I like it. So unlike me to do this–I usually dive right in.  (And consequently make mistakes/move to fast and then change it up again a few months later because I don’t like it!) Hopefully by taking my time, the design will stick!
  • The dresser drawer insides are painted a bright berry pink, just waiting for the wind to die down around here before I paint the outside sunny yellow. I have the primer and the paint and I can’t WAIT to get started–it’s going to look so cute yellow. I debated a long time about whether or not to paint the outside of the dresser, it’s not that I didn’t want to…I am just not the best at finishing up painting projects. (My master bedroom dresser has sat half-painted for about three years now.) No more I say. I am determined to get it together at this house once and for all!
  • The puzzles are not hung yet, but everything is now ready for them to be. I was actually waiting until I found the perfect dresser top lamp before we hung them. (I think this is the merchandiser in me…I always get hung up and obsessed about negative space within a vignette.) Target did not disappoint me yesterday! I found one in the exact style, height, and color I wanted so bring on the hammer and nails!
  • I decided on the art/photo for above our end table in the living room. (We have been here since June and nothing is on the walls.) No picture of this to show you yet, I will try and post later this week. It’s an odd space, so finding something to fit there had been a challenge. (Discovering I already owned something that would work was an unanticipated bonus:)
Whew. I am tired just reading all of this. Off to bed I go.  Goodnight friends!

 

 

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