Eight Passions

Holiday card 2012: Showing off the Vizsla

Photo Card

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Digi Dare #281

Well I was very excited to be the random winner for Dare #280, so I was inspired to turn Dare #281 over ASAP.  Here it is:

The dare for this week takes inspiration from the K-Tel Presents... albums.  The dare includes a title with "Greatest Hits", 5 things on the list, 2 alphas or fonts & a blurb that explains the list.  I used elements (record, alpha, & swirl paper) from Paula Kesselring's kit "Speech" and the notecard & striped paper are from One Little Bird's "Narrative" kit.  The CD cover art belongs to my son's band's first EP. 

DigiDare #280

I found the Digi Dares website via The Digi Show.  The Digi Dares has weekly challenges that look very fun. It was just what I needed to get started after being in a bit of a rut.  I look forward to future challenges.

Here is my LO for challenge #280:

It was dedicated to a dad, needed to have one photo, one heart, a letter and a chevron pattern.  All papers and elements come from My Life in Print, an exclusive kit from The Daily Digi.  The font is Tangie Baxter's.

Follow your moonlight

I saw this quote on my Google page yesterday, and I thought of you.  I know how interested you have been in Ginsberg & Co., but it reminded me of how you are  true to your creative self.  I told you earlier in the week that you are my role model for the new year.  I want to spend time this year following my own moonlight.  I'm going with madness=passion. I'm not sure what came before or after this sentence, but that is what it means to me today & what I wish for you.

Keep writing! Keep creating music! Keep making music!

Book highlights in 2011

The Night Circus: a review

The Night Circus is not a traditional narrative. The plot is an excuse for some delightful and dreamy descriptions. Morgenstern plays with time and reality as she moves her characters through a magical duel in a circus.  Although it really is very hard to explain, I loved it. This novel will not be for people who don't appreciate magic-realism. I would love to see it illustrated, although I'm sure I would be disappointed if the images didn't match up with the ones I created in my head. I envision this turn of the century steam-punk circus all in black, white, grey...silk and satin... carmel and fresh grass... no creepy clowns nor elephants...

Instagram app

One Little Bird paper & Cathy Zielske template

On the Great Wall of China

I just got back from a trip of a lifetime to China.  I'm still processing everything I saw & learned. One of the highlights was walking on the Great Wall of China.  I still find it hard to believe I was there. Photos don't do justice to the majesty of the mountain range and architecture of the wall.  I am very fortunate to have had this experience.  I'm looking forward to writing, blogging and scrap booking my experiences. I found a couple of kits on the Digichick Shop from Viva Artistry to use on some of my digital layouts.

 

Working on photography

I have been practice manual mode on my Cannon PowerShot S5 for several months.  It started with Katrina Kennedy's class in March, and I made a point of taking a photo a day for the month of May and June. The daily practice really helps internalize how to use some of the camera settings.  I know how to meter for light.  I understand I can't just default to a high ISO setting, and I believe have learned how to compose a still life shot.  I still have to work with movement and shutter speed, and for the life of me I can't seem to really get the hang of my husband's DSLR.  Most of the time I put it away and grab my Cannon & use it.  I suspect I need to understand the lens I am using. 

Toy Photo Challenge

I am really enjoying CaptureYour365 prompts.  I took a class with Katrina Kennedy in March, and her site is a great way to continue practicing my photography skills.  The site is a great resource for inspiration and information. This week was a particularly fun one with toys being the theme of the week. Dan Phelps from LegoADay blog had some great advice, and as always the gallery had some fun shots based on the daily prompts.  If you are interested in improving your photography, I recommend checking out Katrina's classes & her site.  

I used Debbie Hodge's template from Building Pages and digital papers from Celebrate Kit by Gina Miller Designs available at The Daily Digi in May.