bubblegum life

Bubblegum Life over at Blume and Grow

2011-11-04T23:50:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to share that starting today, you'll find I've moved Bubblegum Life over to my Blume and Grow blog for now! To see this week's photo prompt go HERE. Have a lovely weekend!!!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-10-28T00:28:00.000-07:00

Happy almost Halloween to you! For this week's photo prompt I decided that it was finally time for.....

It's Tradition

Gloria and I enjoyed this photo prompt around the same time last year, and I thought it would be nice excuse to share another Fall tradition this October too! In general I am not a traditional kind of girl, but there's something about Autumn that draws me towards loving some of the same activities. Last year I shared my chrysanthemum planting tradition. This year I am sharing the annual *Ponyo with pumpkins photo*!!! You can see last year's photo HERE (and little Ponyo was only 13 weeks in that pic.....so sweet!). Do you have any traditions during the Fall?

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-10-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! This weeks photo prompt is to.....

Take a photo with a pumpkin

For this prompt you can use your tripod, have someone else take the photo, or whatever else you think sounds nice.....like the photo I took of Ryan and my feet with our pumpkin choices in between : )

Ryan was sweet enough to happily take these photos of me while we were at the pumpkin patch by our house a couple evenings ago. And he even let me take a couple pics of him with the green pumpkin (which I'll share on my Blume and Grow blog in a few days). The ambiance was pretty cool since it was starting to get dark in this place filled with all these bright orange pumpkins, hanging lights, and the typical kiddie rides.

Enjoy your pumpkin time this week!

Love, Carrie

Quail Gardens Mini

2011-10-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

As a little treat to ourselves, Nely and I each created minibooks using our Quail Botanical Gardens / *Explore Nature* photos! You can click on the collage that shows each of my minibook pages to see them larger in Flickr. The design was pretty much the same for each section. The first photo has paint splatter, and Thickers/alpha sticker text for a title. Then there is a piece of Hambly with two 4x6 pages back to back, with the next page decorated with sewn paper strips and an embellishment. There also is an occasional 5x7 photo page with back to back photos thrown in. The last page is an envelope filled with a few extra 4x6 photos, and an instax. Fitting so many photos into this album was a little tricky, but the whole process was really fun!!!

I'll be back on Friday with a new photo prompt for the weekend.....until then, I hope you enjoy these lovely Fall days!

Love, Carrie

Birthday Photoshoot

2011-10-10T01:31:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are more of the photos from my birthday photoshoot with Nely.....

(These photos of me were taken by Nely, all other taken by moi. All photoshop actions by me.)

Stay tuned for my Project Monday using almost all of the photos from this shoot! Have a wonderful week.....

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-10-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

This week's photo prompt was super fun to shoot and perfect lighting from the cool overcast day.....just like I imagine a tropical Fall would feel! The prompt is to:

Explore Nature

(Photos of me taken by Nely)

For this prompt, sweet Nely and I visited the Quail Botanical Gardens! It is walking distance from my house, and a lovey place for exploring and snapping photos. My favorite sections were the tropical rainforest's and a whole field filled with all different types of bamboo forests. So beautiful!!! I have a few more photos to share AND a giant minibook for my Project Monday, so make sure to check back for more fun.

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-09-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

Happy last day of September! This week's photo prompt feels a bit darker and a little vintage.....perfect for the season changing into Fall. The prompt is:

Black & White

I took these photos at the Del Mar Racetrack. Ryan, a friend, and I spent the early evening (a few weeks ago) soaking up the glow of the setting sun while placing crazy fun bets, cheering on our horses, enjoying a beer and popcorn snack (no beer for me of course), and walking from our seats to the paddock to look at all these lovely beauties in between races.....

It was exciting and fun, made even more enjoyable by our surroundings.....the beautiful racetrack grounds. And I am so in love with color that I had to slip in a few color photos! However I originally was inspired to take black and white photos here by all the beautiful vintage B&W prints that decorates the walls of this building.....

And to top it all off, Devo played after the races (no photos of them, sorry)! Ryan and I enjoyed their show so much he bought their newest album, witch I absolutely LOVE!!!

Enjoy your black & white photo taking this week! I hope you find it as inspiring as I did : )

Love, Carrie

An Autumn Gift For You | New Desktop Wallpaper

2011-09-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

After taking this photo over the weekend, I ended up making it into my desktop wallpaper and thought it would be nice to share as a freebie for you to enjoy too. xoxo

Download Options:

The First Day of Fall

2011-09-28T01:41:00.000-07:00

The first day of Fall ended up being a lovely day, filled with fun, excitement, creativity, lots of color, good food and drink.....I could go on and on. Nely and I spent most of the daylight hours scrapbooking (working on a minibook that I will share here soon ; ), under a big blue sky filled with puffy white clouds. At one point, even though the clouds looked the way they do in my photo above, HUGE raindrops fell onto our scrapbook supplies adding a bit of extra character to our projects! It was really fun!!! We stamped, and cut, and sewed, and glued, and painted, and typed our little hearts out! Happy Fall everyone!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-09-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

So this week's photo prompt is up a couple days early because I am planning on taking my photo on the.....

First Day of Fall 2011

I just loved documenting the first day of summer so much so that I thought it would be fun to do it for fall too! So the prompt is to take photos of your day on Friday, September 23rd. You can take as many or as few photos as you like of course, but make sure to have fun!!!

The photo collage above is from fall of last year.....I had taken a walk on the first day of fall and ended up taking photos of what I saw. Things that reminded me of this wonderful season : )

Are you getting excited?!? I am!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-09-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely people and happy Friday to you! This week's photo prompt is to.....

Go to a coffee shop(and take photos of what you see).

Hmmmm.....I think I will always love amaretto cappuccinos! They are the BEST during cool weather!!!

The Pannikin is one of our favorite outdoor coffee shops. The atmosphere is light and happy. The building looks like a two story beach house washed with light yellow paint. The second story balcony (where we usually sit) get a wonderful breeze and feels very open. Honestly, I don't make time to go to coffee shops like I use to, but when I do it is a real treat.....and today was no exception. Ryan and I had a wonderful time.

I know I'm a bit behind on my Project Monday's but hope to get caught up some time next week. This month has been busy and LOTS of fun so far! Have the best day today!!!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Saturday

2011-09-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

For this week's photo prompt I wanted to focus on summer as it begins to come to a close. The prompt is to capture something that has become.....

A New Summer Tradition

(These photos also happen to be my day 10 *something I made* photos for the 30 day photo challenge I'm doing this month over on my personal blog, Blume & Grow. Fun!)

I have never really been a big ice tea fan, but this summer I started mixing homemade ice tea with different things like lemonade or flavored sparkling water.....and it's stuck. I love it!!! I've tried quite a few different mixtures and here are some of my favorites:

Tazo Rest (rose petals, valerian root and citrusy herbs) mixed with Simply Limeade (pictured above). This one tastes like you're drinking a flower.....it's floral and refreshing.

Tazo Refresh (mint with a pinch of tarragon) mixed with Simply Raspberry Lemonade. Mint and raspberry's are so great together, and this is no exception!

Celestial Seasonings Black Cherry Berry mixed with Simply Raspberry Lemonade. This ice tea is sweet and tart.....and so delicious.

If you're interested in the actual recipe I use, you can find it HERE on a guest post for My Creative Brightside. I use the same steps and ratios for each one, so all you have to do is replace the corresponding ingredients with ones of your choice. It's really easy, and a real treat to have at home or to throw into a travel mug for the road.

What's a new tradition that you've started this summer?

Have a wonderful day!

Love, Carrie

Project Friday

2011-09-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had these photos taken and ready to go, but we lost power till early this morning, and haven't been able to post them until this afternoon. So now I am happy to finally get to share with you my project from last week's photo prompt. A new 8 1/2x11 layout.....

The Hambly transparency, fabric, and baker's twine are all from Color Me Miki : )

I did a little layering and sewing, and was excited for a chance to use these leaf pins.....

This shade of mint green is a favorite right now, and I even pulled out my typewriter to write little notes on the tags.....

I hope to be back tonight with a new photo prompt, but may not make it happen till tomorrow (I try not to stress about stuff anymore). Hooray for the weekend!

Love, Carrie

Nely's Sweet Escape

2011-09-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to share these today : ) Here are more of the photos from the shoot I did for Nely's new blog design. She wanted them to be bright and colorful.....

Nely is super easy to photography, and I just love the way she did her hair and makeup for this shoot. We had so much fun!

Tonight I am working away so I can mostly finish up next my layout using some of these pics. I hope to photograph and share it tomorrow.....so stay tuned.

Have the best day!!!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-09-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

I may have chose this week's photo prompt because I'm feeling sentimental and have awesome plans with this girl on my birthday, but whatever the reason I think it helps you feel thankful. The photo prompt is to.....

Take a photo of a friend.

This pretty girl had asked me to do a new blog design for her recently and for the graphics we decided to do an urban themed photoshoot. I love how it all turned out (her blog is done but private right now) and can't wait to share!!! We had the best day traveling all over San Diego to get a variety of shots, but I think the two photos above are at my favorite locations. And now I'm excited to do a layout of her which I'll share on Monday, and then the rest of the pics from this shoot on Wednesday!

Enjoy your holiday weekend!!!

Love, Carrie

Project Monday

2011-08-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the crickets : ) I was having technical diffuculties....otherwise known as issues with my laptop. But we are fixed now that I have a new Pumpkin. Yay! And so now I am finally able to share with you my layout using the last photo prompt.....

And here are some of the details.....

To create my layout I used prompts from Kara's This & That class, which I am still loving! I cut out a large gold frame from an Anthro catalogue, and layered a piece of pink vellum over the top, sewed it together, and then layered my photo, more paper, the embellishments and added my title with more layered paper. Fun.

Have a great week!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Monday

2011-08-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday Bubblegum Life friends! I am a little behind schedule sharing my Friday photo prompt today, but I wanted my photo to be just right so it took a little extra work this week. This photo prompt can be as interactive or simple as you'd like it to be.....the prompt is to:

Tell a story with something handmade.

My photo tells a tale of a sweet little dinosaur named Stella that goes out on an adventure following a yellow brick road.

It all started with me wanting to spray paint my dinosaur pink. Then I decided that she needed a little embellishment, so I added some floral rub-ons. Just this simple process took a bit of a learning curve for me to figure out how to come as close as I could to the way I had pictured her in my head. And note to self: remember to spray sealer over the spray paint before using the rub-ons....otherwise you rub off the paint! Once I had her finished I knew that she would be the perfect handmade subject for my photo, and now she is hanging out on my craft table ready for more fun : )

When you go to take your photo, you can use any handmade item as your subject.....maybe it's a scrapbook you created for your daughter and you shoot a pic of her looking through it.....you can really do anything you want, but I think when you are done you will have a wonderful memory to do with as you please.

Have the best week!!!

Love, Carrie

Giveaway Winner!!!

2011-08-13T23:50:00.000-07:00

And the winner is.....

Congratulations Sweet Escape! You are the lucky winner!!! Please email me at carrieelias(at)yahoo(dot)com to claim your prize : )

Love, Carrie

Project Monday & A Giveaway!

2011-08-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

Today I am excited to share with you both my project and Kara's *This and That* class giveaway!!! First off, here is my layout using last Friday's photo prompt, and two prompts from Kara's upcoming class.....

The stamped background is one of Kara's fun technique prompts using an acrylic Prima stamp, and my title an easy journaling prompt using different colored thickers.....

And then all I did was add some sewing, paint splatter, a rub-on, mount my photo on chipboard, and round the corners. I am really loving how fun and easy Kara's prompts have made my last two layouts......so, now for the good stuff. Kara's *This and That* class giveaway!

This & That is a three week online class jam-packed with challenges, journaling prompts, and techniques designed to get you scrapbooking again. Mix and match and use this and that to create thirty plus pages! Choose one journaling prompt and one technique idea from the pool and combining ideas to get excited about creating again.

The class runs from August 15th-September 2nd, where you will receive access to a private blog, 30 journaling prompts, 30 technique prompts and ideas, a tutorial for creating vintage handkerchief albums, a printable embellishment sheet, 2 instructor videos, email access to Kara, Giveaways, and a PDF of the entirety of the class.

How to enter for a chance to win: Link the *This and That* class info using this link on your twitter, facebook, blog, etc. Then leave me a comment below with your name and the link to where you shared it!

For additional entries: Play along with any Bubblegum Life photo prompt!!! Then leave me a comment with your name and a link to your photo.....and don't forget to add your photo to our Bubblegum Life Flickr Group (if you have a Flickr account) so everyone else can see it too!

This giveaway is open through Friday, August 12th. A winner will be selected at random and announced over the weekend. Good luck!!!

Have the best week!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-08-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday to you! This week's photo prompt is sure to brighten your day, it is to make time to.....

Paint your nails a favorite color combo.

One of my favorite color combo's right now is red, pink and yellow....I think they are soooo pretty together! I set up my tripod, grabbed a bunch of yarn and squeezed them with love for my photos. Of course at first, I wasn't quite sure how to photograph my freshly painted nails, but all it took was a little imagination and now I have a couple crafty photos in addition to pretty colors at the end of my fingers.

This week, if you find yourself asking, "What is something fun I can do for myself today?", I would recommend this. Paint your nails a favorite color combo and then take a photo of them. It feels great : )

Have a lovely weekend!

Love, Carrie

Project Monday & This and That

2011-08-02T02:51:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely people! This week's project is extra special. I am excited to say it is brought to you courtesy of Kara Haupt's new online class called "This and That". And so before I share my layout, here's a little about this fun upcoming class.....

Haven’t scrapbooked in awhile? Feeling uninspired with your current supplies and same old photos? Want to try scrap booking or art journaling but don’t where to start?

This & That is a three week online class jam-packed with challenges, journaling prompts, and techniques designed to get you scrapbooking again. Mix and match and use this and that to create thirty plus pages! Choose one journaling prompt and one technique idea from the pool and combining ideas to get excited about creating again.

Price: $35 USD
Dates: August 15th-September 2nd

Included:

Access to private blog
30 journaling prompts
30 technique prompts and ideas
Tutorial for creating vintage handkerchief albums
Printable embellishment sheet
2 instructor videos
Email access to Kara
Giveaways!
PDF of the entirety of the class

Doesn't it look like so much fun?!? This lovely class goes on sale August 5th, and here will be the link to purchase:

http://www.classesbykara.com/thisandthat_/

And now for my project using two of the awesome prompts from this class.....

The paper in the background are the written photoshop actions I used for editing my photo prompt photos, and all the pretty kites and colorful rick rack are Martha Stewart.....I love my title which was a journaling prompt.....And I am thrilled with how easily this layout came together! Piece of cake!!! Now I can't wait for more : )

Have the best week <3

Love, Carrie

P.S. I will be sharing one more layout from Kara's class as well as a giveaway, so stay tuned for more!

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-07-29T02:23:00.000-07:00

This week's photo prompt brought with it a super fun photoshoot for me and my friend Stephanie (love that). The photo prompt is to.....

Take a photo with a friend

We had an awesome afternoon at the La Jolla shores.....taking photos.....

The weather was just right, so we crafted on a giant quilt under a huge tree on the soft grass next to the ocean, took a stroll on the boardwalk, soaked up art at the Mangelson Gallery, and ate yummy gilato. It was the perfect treat after my productive work week!

We specifically took instant camera themed photos since we both have a love for photography in common, and on Tuesday when I share my Project Monday you'll see why.....it's a really cool surprise!!!

I hope your weekend is full of creativity and happy times.

Love, Carrie

Project Monday

2011-07-27T01:52:00.000-07:00

Hello, lovely people : ) Today I finally made time to snap a couple photos of my 2011 album so you could take a peek.....

As you can see I really like using the different size page protectors to share my projects as well as any additional photos from that day.....

Originally I was also going to add in some of the text from my blog posts that coordinates with the photos, but I started at the beginning of the year without keeping it up. And I am totally OK with that. The main thing is that I personally have found this specific project probably the most rewarding project I do for myself. There is something about having photos from my posts over at Blume & Grow, along with my Bubblegum Life photo prompts and projects all printed up and seeing them together that really feels great! I can honestly say that it has made a major difference in the enjoyment of my photo, project and blog activity.....I love that I have this fun to look forward to every week <3

Love, Carrie

P.S. This Friday and coming Tuesday I have an extra special photo prompt and Project Monday to share so stay tuned.....

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-07-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! This week's photo prompt is to.....

Go on a picnic.

Ryan and I spent a wonderful afternoon relaxing on our soft quilt (handmade by his Grandma) last Sunday. These photos are of what I saw from the quilt.....the palm tree view above us (witch also provided our shade), the ocean view at our feet, our yummy lunch, and little goofing off.....

I actually have a whole sequence of us making silly faces that I still need to edit. The photo above is one of the only shots I got of us just being happy : )

Your assignment this week is to go on a picnic and take as many or as few photos as you like of what you see while you're there. And honestly it doesn't have to be a big ordeal.....for our picnic I just grabbed a couple dishes from the cupboard, some travel mugs, napkins, silverware and food, and it was perfect!

Enjoy your weekend!

Love, Carrie

P.S. I am planning on sharing a peek into my 2011 Album for my Project Monday.....it will probably be up sometime later in the day on Monday <3

Summer Muse

2011-07-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a little bouquet.....I hope it adds some cheer to your day.....
Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-07-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

Since summertime means warm weather, fans, AC, cold drinks, smoothies, swimming, evening dinners outside and all the other things we do help us enjoy the warmer temperatures.......this week's photo prompt is:

Keep it Cool

I asked Ryan to take this photo of me with my iced Starbucks, a special treat that has been helping me say cool during the heat wave we've been having here in San Diego. Raspberries are my favorite fruit this summer, so lately I have been enjoying my iced raspberry vanilla latte (with a little cream)! Hmmmmm....soooo good!!! Oh, and right now I also really love my trusty Starbucks mug.....it often holds yummy lattes (pictured above), ice water, ice tea, or cherry coke zero with a little cinnamon. It's kinda like icing on the cake for me <3

What have you been doing to keep cool?

Love, Carrie

P.S. I've decided to skip most of my Project Monday's for the month of July to give myself a short break. However, I do plan on sharing a little peek into my 2011 album in it's place either this Monday or next. xoxo

Summer Muse

2011-07-13T23:52:00.000-07:00

I think a lot of us are ready to feel like this right now : )

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-07-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

This week I thought it would be fun to go out and take a photo during your favorite summer time of day.....

Your Magic Hour

My favorite time is just before sunset, so these photos were taken between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. I love the way the sun makes everything light up.....

Plus, this summer has been pretty warm the past week, so evening hours have been heavenly. What's your favorite summer time of day?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, Carrie

Summer Muse

2011-07-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

I hope you are having a wonderful summertime!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-07-01T02:11:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July weekend to you! For this week's photo prompt I though it would be festive to try a little experiment with.....

Light bokeh shapes.

Bokeh is the pretty light that is out of focus in the background of your photo. You can make this light turn into a shape by creating your own lens hood. Cool, huh?!? This is my first try, so my shapes aren't perfect.....but it shure was fun taking my pictures. They are from the fair. There were so many pretty lights on all the rides : )

Also, I have to say that I first learned about bokeh photos last summer while taking Kara Haupt's awesome "Summer of Love" class (if you haven't bought the class pdf yet, you should).....ever since then I'm always amazed with how much beauty they add to a photo!!! Thank you Kara for introducing me to this lovely effect! I learned a lot from your class while having a blast <3

And now back to our photo prompt. For my bokeh heart shape I used this tutorial to make my lens hood. I hadn't figured out the exact ratio of the size that my shape should be before taking these photos, so I improvised. However, later I did find these instructions so when I try again it will be easier to be more accurate. One thing I would like to mention though, is that I found it is really important to keep your aperture as low as it will go, and then looking at your light meter to just under expose a little. It will help keep your shape crisp. And just as a reminder, don't forget to turn your lens to manual focus so you can blur your background.

If you have an extra 5 minutes to make your own lens hood, you won't regret it.....it will make your holiday photos extra special. Have a fantastic holiday weekend!!!

Love, Carrie

Summer Muse

2011-06-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Here's to new discoveries!
Love, Carrie

Project Monday

2011-06-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Happy Tuesday to you!!! For this week's project I'm sharing a layout I finally got around to creating using my colorful fair photos (from week before last).....

This layout ended up being very simple, but I think fun to look at.....just how I feel about that day : ) I really wanted the photos to stand out, and since there were so many, each one is layered with a raffle ticket to give it a little bit of uniformity and add some quirky character.....

The raffle tickets and glittered thickers are from the lovely Color Me Miki shop, and I think are perfect for summer scrapbooking!

As far as last week's photos, I have decided to print up the collage I made to add to my 2011 album, so that's why there's no project with them today <3

I hope you're having a great summer.....see ya tomorrow!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-06-24T02:37:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely blog readers! Happy Friday to you!!! As promised, here are my summer solstice photos, along with a new spin on last week's prompt.....

On a Tuesday

My first day of summer was great. I did the following.....

Had my first product photoshoot....yay!!!
Ate the best Philly cheesesteak covered fries EVER for lunch (was a dork and didn't get a photo)
Picked up photos from Costco for scrapbooking and hanging around my living room
Took both Gatsby and Ponyo on a long walk
Wore my summer shoes
Got lots of photos of different wildflowers
Turned on the fan (cuz it was hot) and inspired by all the pretty flowers decided to watch Marie Antoinette
Enjoyed a couple pieces of my favorite chocolates for a late afternoon snack
Spent the rest of my day playing on Pumpkin, editing photos, soaking up inspiration from some of my favorite blogs, and created a few blog posts on both my blogs

And here is a pic of my little boy playing in the flowers.....

I just love all the layers in this photo.....I think I might blow it up to hang on my inspiration wire.....

Well, I hope you enjoyed a little peek into my day : ) For this week's photo prompt the challenge is to pick a day of the week and document it as much (or as little) as you would like in photos. It's pretty much the same as last week, except instead of documenting the first day of summer, you document a Tuesday, or Wednesday or Saturday, etc. For me, honestly, the day started out with me not really feeling the whole taking photos all day thing, but once I was warmed up, I really enjoyed it a lot.....and I think you will too. I hope you get a chance to play along!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Love, Carrie

My Muse { Layout }

2011-06-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here is my final layout for the Pink Ninjas for the lovely month of June. I ended up using the photo from yesterday's summer muse post, so I thought it would be fun to share here today (just like last week : ).....

I layered six different patterned papers, and to help give uniformity used my sewing machine to sew almost all the pieces together with yellow thread. There is also a bit of white paint splatter and Mister Huey's color mist in Bonny Blue.....

I have been wanting to add the title of my layout directly onto a photo for a while now, so it was really fun to finally be able to do it with this project. And that's pretty much it. Fairly simple, but still fun! See you tomorrow with my summer solstice pics!!!

Love, Carrie

Summer Muse

2011-06-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Who wants to wake up to the sun kissing their face this summer?!? Happy day two of summertime!.....See you tomorrow with a new layout : )

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-06-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

OK. So this week's photo prompt is a little different than my regularly scheduled routine. Since tomorrow is the first day of summer as well as the summer solstice I thought it would be fun to see.....

How much can you fit into the longest day of the year?

And so for my example photos, I thought it would be fun to share pics from when I went to the fair with Steph last week.....

Once through the entrance lined with license plates and into onto the fairgrounds the first thing we did was take pictures in a photobooth (which I hadn't done in like 15 years)! It was the perfect way to start out our day!!! After that, we shared an caramel apple cup....hmmmm soooo goood!

Next, we walked through the gems and woodworking (which I didn't get any good photos of), and then strolled through all colorful rides and fun looking games.....

I ended up going on this ride, which is now my favorite (that's me in the pink top and gray jeans).....

There was even a sign out in front of the ride saying that it is from Neverland Ranch (which I think is really cool : )

Then we walked through and looked at most of the animals.....the cows, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks.....and I thought these curly haired goats were so cute.....

By then we had decided it was time for more fair food, so we shared these delicious fresh potato chips with melted cheese.....

And something sweet was in order after all that salt, so I got a cool and refreshing iced lemonade and Steph drank a mocha freeze while we enjoyed looking at all the pretty flowers and plants.

One of the photos below is a chair with a cushion made entirely of succulents. Beautiful.....

And that's pretty much it for my day. I didn't do much after returning home.....it was a fun filled full day, that's for sure : )

So, I'm going to try and create a project with one or all of these photos to share here tomorrow, but for sure I'll have an inspirational post for Wednesday, as well as another layout on Thursday. Then, on Friday I'll share my summer solstice pics.

Of course, this prompt does not have to be completed tomorrow, if it works out best you can document any full day of your week. And if you do, don't forget to share on our Flickr group because we all love to see your inspiration!

A big thanks to Steph for going to the fair with me, and for taking the pics with me in them!

Have a great week everyone!!!
Love, Carrie

Little Sis { Layout }

2011-06-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is another layout I created for the Pink Ninjas, using their awesome *isn't she lovely~oner upper* kit. And since I ended up adding some of the photos from yesterday's summer muse post, I thought it would be fitting to share it with you here today.....

I used yellow glimmer mist on the orange strip of paper, and layered three different papers around the border of the layout.....

I also added yellow glimmer mist to most of the chipboard pieces. It was weird for me to not use any paint splatter or sewing on this project, but now that it's all put together I really like how clean the lines look, so I guess it all worked out OK. In the future, I doubt I'll end up having time to make layouts using all my summer muse photos, but I will try and sneak one in here and there just for fun : )

See you tomorrow for a new photo prompt!

Love, Carrie

Summer Muse

2011-06-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

What is growing in your garden today?

Love, Carrie

P.S. See you tomorrow for a layout I created using these photos : )

Project Monday

2011-06-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I finished the layout with my peony photos, and now it is cheerfully hanging in my living room.....you ready to be overwhelmed with pink and yellow?!?

I was lucky enough this month to have the Pink Ninjas ask me to design for them again this month, so I used their *isn't she lovely ~ oner upper* kit to create my layout. And I just havvveeee to say (cuz I don't know if I've ever mentioned it before ; ), that their kits are the BEST to create with! The best variety of fun goodies!!!

Here are some of the details of my layout.....

I used yellow and peach glimmer mist on the vintage flowers, as well as on some of the strips of paper.

Used lots of paper layering and sewing.....

And layered and layered some more : )

I Hope you have a lovely week! See you on Wednesday for an inspirational photo post!!!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-06-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

Since this is the last Friday before Summer officially begins, I thought it would be nice for us to look around and find something that is.....

Uniquely Spring

This is my first bouquet of peonies, and boy am I hooked. I think they are just so beautiful. Ryan brought them home for me last week, and now the last of the giant blooms are finally starting to fade.....

Honestly, I am a little sad that I probably won't be able to buy more since peonies season is pretty much over.....but now I have these pretty pictures to remember them by. I think for my project with these pics, I'm going to create a layout so I can display it in my living room just for fun : )

When you look around is there anything that stands out as uniquely Spring to you? Or maybe you have a Spring tradition, like Spring cleaning???

Enjoy your weekend!

Love, Carrie

Hello June

2011-06-09T19:06:00.000-07:00

(photo by My Sweetie)

Well, I don't know about you, but to me if feels like it's almost summertime.....and as you can see I missed last week's posts because I was busy enjoying the creation of my new Bubblegum Life summer blog design. My sweet baby sister, Blondie, is my adorable muse for this season, and each Wednesday for the next month or so I'll be sharing a photo from our magical photoshoot together. Today however, I want to tell you lovely readers and fellow artists how much I appreciate and love you. Thank you for making beautiful things. I hope that Bubblegum Life helps you find a little inspiration.....inspiration from other artists, and also from inside you. Sweet dreams <3 Carrie

Project Monday

2011-05-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday and happy Memorial Day to you Americans!!! For my project this week I made a minibook using the Pink Ninjas May Kit, *Scarlet Begonias*.....which I personally think has a very Anthro feel.....SO fun! There are quite a few photos in this post, so sit back, relax, and hopefully you'll enjoy a little inspiration from me to you : )

Have a wonderful week!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-05-27T23:41:00.000-07:00

Out for a walk.

I actually try and do this for each season.....go out for a walk and just take pictures of what I see. I find that it helps me think a little more creatively while looking through the camera lens because I really have to hunt for the things that I think are pretty to photograph. Sometimes it's a wide scale of whatever setting I'm in, but most of the time it's the little details that bring a smile to my face : )

The photos above are from last week up at Snowbird. Amber and I went on a guided nature walk down in the canyon. I knew I wanted to take pictures of what I saw but honestly during this time of year to me everything looks the same up there. Rocky brown dirt and trees with little bits of green starting to peek through here and there. So, as you can imagine, at first I was at a loss of what I should photograph.....that is until I came across the only patch of flowers I saw during our entire walk. All I needed was that little bit of color to spark my curiosity and let my imagination go. After that I saw things a little differently. Instead of just seeing a rocky path surrounded by trees, I saw a lovely canopy of trees that arched over our walkway kind of like it was framing where we should go. I saw how tiny we were compared to this large canyon, and noticed the contrast of the detail in the tree branches to the snowy capped mountains in their background. I noticed my sister enjoying the view of the old silver mine ruins as she shivered from the crisp morning air.

This week I hope you get a chance to go out for a little walk with your camera and see if it sparks your creativity.

Enjoy your holiday weekend lovely people!
Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-05-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another lovely Friday, and the beginning of a new weekend! This week's photo prompt is.....

Vanishing Points

I really like this photo prompt because it's all about perspective. I took these photos of the hallway on our third floor up at Snowbird at night, to remember the scale, textures, lighting, and all the colors of the exotic Persian rugs that lined it's walls. My nephew also helped fill this happy space. We would walk along these halls multiple times a day to go in the outdoor hot tub so we could soak in the excitement while it was snowing outside.....to get to our cars so we could drive down into the city to go to the zoo.....to go play in the arcade.....and lots more! We had a blast!!!

When you go to take your photo, think about the space your in and if there are layers where the perspective would benefit from using vanishing points.....and then just try it if you think so. In general I find it difficult to be happy with my photos that are not lit with natural light, but I decided to try it anyways with these, and I think I'm happy with the end result. The point is to just go for it and try different things. Have fun with it.....and enjoy the process : ) I hope your weekend is excellent! See ya Monday....

Love, Carrie

Project Monday

2011-05-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hey friends : ) I knew right away i wanted to do a Chinese inspired page with cute little flags for this pic. I had a Chinese inspired 12x12 album that i store all the pages that match that theme that i never use so i drew from there. I wanted the recipe to look like a scroll pinned up on the wall so i used gold wired thred-like ribbon and some eyelets. I distressed the edges of everything to give it a little old world feel. I found the warm colors to be quite and comforting yet represent the picture. Hope you enjoy lovies!!

Love, Stephanie

Your Appointment with Friday

2011-05-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hi lovely people and happy Friday night! Well, right now I am sitting on my bed snuggled up with Pumpkin at a Lodge in Snowbird.....and there is snow everywhere! It's beautiful!!! I decided that since I'm on vacation to take a week off from Bubblegum Life, and so you lucky people get to be inspired by the sweet and talented Stephanie Kelley from My Creative Brightside : ) And she has chosen the perfect photo prompt! So without further ado, her is her inspiration.....

Comfort Foods

RECIPE FOR EGG DROP SOUP

serves 4

4 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoon dark soy sauce

2 large egg

4 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions for garnish

Steps

- Beat eggs in small bowl - set aside

- Heat the broth in a small pot and bring to a boil

- Stir in soy sauce

- Return to a boil then turn off the heat

- While stirring soup in a fast circular fashion with a fork,
slowly pour in beaten egg

- Continue stirring until egg gets all cool and kinda stringy &
that's it

- Serve in a bowl with the green on top or panko crumbs which is
what i did in the picture

The things we find comforting are in such a wide range from chocolate covered cherries to deep fired pickles :) I know it is a rather strange dish to call my comfort food but egg drop soup and i go way back. I have always had a fascination with ethnic foods and strange cuisine. My father used to feed me fresh octopus and frog legs when we would vacation in Mexico. So that being said its only natural that i would end up taking comfort in the gooiness of this tasty soup. I would sometimes go to China Wokery when i had a bad day and either sit alone and enjoy this, if my pride let me, or get a huge take out carton to enjoy in the comfort of my own home. Now, i have finally gotten up the courage to make my own and i must say it was quite comforting!! Lets see what your comfort foods look like!!

Lovingly,

Stephanie Kelley ( & Carrie )

Project Monday

2011-05-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday to you : ) Today I get to share with you the finished project using my pop-art photo.....

These are invitations made for a friend. Her little girl is having a birthday party next month that is artist themed. At the party they will be painting and doing crafts, so they wanted a similar theme for the invitations. I used a paintbrush and some ribbon for the binding, attaching two pieces of paper together to make the base of the card. To decorate the front and back, the little girl and I had a fun afternoon splattering paint in lots of fun colors. I even used a photo I took of the birthday girl for the pop-art on the front.....I hope they like them (I am dropping them off today).

Have fun creating, and I hope your week is excellent!

Love, Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-05-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

OK. So I know it's not Friday.....things got a little crazy this week....but here I am finally, with a new photo / photoshop prompt.....

Photo Into Pop-Art

Above is the finished pop-art, and below is my original photo of a sweet little girl I know.....

I wanted to use this mini photoshop project as the prompt for today so I could document my process (for future use) and also share it with you too : )

This idea all started with a friend asking me to design a project for her, and me deciding to try the whole pop-art thing for it. And the first thing I want to mention is that my process with photos/photography and photoshop is just my personal way of doing things and options on what's easiest for me......I am sure that there are lots of other opinions and ways that are different and work great.

That being said, when I opened up the original photo (above), the first thing I did was to remove the background and create a separate layer for it, so the background and the girls face (the main image) each had a separate layer.
Next, I had to touch up her face quite a bit as far as adjusting the brightness and contrast, shadows, etc....and found that it would have been easier to make this photo into the desired pop-art if I had taken the photo with either little to no shadows on her skin. So that is what I would do differently if I had to do it over again. To get the finished product I ended up removing all the shadows from the left side of her skin and leaving only minimal on the right side, while at the same time leaving as many shadows as possible in her hair. It was definitely a learning process.
Once I had the original photo prepped, I desaturated the main image layer (her face)
Then on that same main image layer, I used the "cutout" (Filter, Artistic, Cutout) filter to create 4 layers of gray. So when the cutout filter tool pop up, you want to choose 4 for the No. of Levels, 2 for the Edge Simplicity, and 2 for the Edge Fidelity.
From here I was pretty happy with mine, but you may want to play with the levels and or edge simplicity a little more.
Next, to add the colors I just used the paint bucket tool (because I wasn't sure how I wanted the colors on her face to look), but if you want each shade of gray to to be the same color, it is probably faster to just use "Select, Color Range".
Last fill in your background layer with whatever color you choose with the paint bucket tool. I kept my background the same color as the lightest shade of her skin so that her neck and shoulders would blend nicely with little effort on my part.

And that's it! It's actually pretty easy and fun!!! If you end up trying it, I would love for you to link me up and/or add it to the Bubblegum Life Flickr group : )

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's!!! And I hope you all have a lovely day! I'll be back tomorrow with my finished project.....

Love, Carrie

Project Monday

2011-05-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! This week my project is brought to you courtesy of the Pink Ninja Addicts : ) I used their May kit *Scarlet Begonias Oner-Upper* to create the layout for my photo in a daydream.....

I decided to layer some fringe since it kind of reminded me of grass, plus I think it's really fun.....

And the *Scarlet Begonias* kit comes with these awesome frame overlays.....LOVE.....

Yellow is one of my favorite colors. It's so cheerful and happy. Just how I felt laying out on my Mom's soft pastel quilt, relaxing on the bluff. Originally when I started to create this layout I was going to have it be very monotone, but alas, my creative juices led me in another direction (which it usually does) and I kept adding more and more colors.....the last being pink which I feel really pulls it all together.

I hope you are inspired to work on some fun crafts today! Enjoy the rest of your day!!!

Love, Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-04-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Weekend everyone!!! Since Springtime can be light and airy with kind of a dreamy feel, I thought that this would be fun for our next photo prompt:

Photo in a Daydream

This photo was taken on a lovely afternoon in March on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I blogged about it on my personal blog (Blume & Grow) while I was in Washington, and have been daydreaming about that afternoon ever since. To me this photo has the feel of a daydream.....the subject is out of focus, and the depth of field is very limited, leaving the photo to capture a memory that is light and happy and soft with a bit of movement.....almost like the subjects are going to come to life at any moment because they are in a haze and you want to see what they do next.

When you go to take your photo try to get the subject slightly out of focus in it's surroundings to create a sort of dreamy effect. I think it will be fun to try. Getting the grass in focus for my photo helps you feel how soft and colorful it was to to laying there. Take what you do get in focus into consideration. For example, if it's someone standing in a doorway, maybe get behind them in focus so you can imagine where they are coming from and where they might go. I think it's a different and interesting way to tell a story, and I hope you get a chance to try it out : )

Have fun this weekend!
Love, Carrie

Project Monday

2011-04-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday to you : ) First to share her project today is our lovely, talented, beautiful guest, Ally*Cakes.....

when i went to create this layout, i was so inspired by a conversation that nely and i had a day or so earlier,,, we both have this crazy {ahem} obsession with these adorable charms and embellishments,, she had said what a great idea to create a layout with only these precious treasures that we hoard,,, so i thought this prompt would be so fun to create a layout with just those,,, not to mention, carrie did ask me if i were to create a layout in only one color, which color would that be,,, i just had to prove i really, really meant it!!!

thanks again carrie!!!

{xoxo} ally*cakes

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Isn't she just adorable!?! Ally's scrapbooking is always so fun and inspirational! Thanks so much Ally for sharing a super fun photo prompt and your awesome layout!!!

For my project this week here is my finished Spring 2011 album using instax photos.....there is one page/photo for each day I was in Washington.....and here is an idea of what it looks like (there would be like 30 photos if I shared every page).....I hope you like : )

I used the clips below to attach movie stubs, business cards, etc.....

Each day is a page with a photo and journaling that summarizes my day. I had to keep things simple since this project was created and completed while I was traveling.....

The instax photos are attached to each page with the decorative tapes from Color Me Miki......

And the page below is a list of my LOVES for Spring this year (you can also see the green envelope popping out from behind a couple layers in the photo below.....it holds extra instax photos from my trip).....

I had to keep the pages as thin as possible so everything would fit, so there is mostly just photos, and journaling with some layered paper/sticker borders.....And the page below is very special since I spent most of that day with my Grandpa. He told Amber and I stories about his life and we looked at all his old black and white photos. The instax below is of his graduation photo and on the opposite page are some notes I jotted down.....things he told me about his life that I wanted to remember.....

And in case you didn't already know, I created this handbound journal that holds it all during a lovely afternoon of crafting with my baby brother and sister <3

Have a great week everyone!
Love, Carrie and Ally

Your appointment with Friday

2011-04-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day, Good Friday, Easter weekend, or whatever your preference may be!  I have a feeling that today's photo prompt will inspire you to be adventurous!!!  And so here it is, along with Ally's super fun take: 

Other Cameras Need Love Too

i love the idea of  switching up your camera.  often, we tend to stick to what works best,  or what we are most familiar with.  case in point, how often do you see photo booths??   until recently, i totally forgot all about them, or, dismissed them,  rather, when passing them up.  a few months ago my kids and i were at  sea world, which we often do and my little girl said *mama, lets go in  there*,, i stopped, and was like, dang, what a great idea.  and of  course a wave of regret ran through me because i just realized i had  missed so many years of photo booth opportunities.  such a bummer.  now,  i make it a point, every single time i see a photo booth, wether im in a  rush or not,, stop and take pictures,, maybe even do a few different  photo shoots.  its so much fun,, im loving it!!!

thanks for having me carrie, and allowing me to share my story!!

{xoxo} ally

**********************************************************

Aren't Ally's photo booth pictures so stinkin' cute!?!  I just love it!!!.....and I totally feel inspired to go have some taken myself, you? 

For my photos I am sharing some instax that I took the last few days I was in Washington.....

The timing of Ally's photo prompt couldn't be more perfect for me.  Since getting my DSLR last summer, I rarely use other cameras, however, while I was in Washington and snapping away with Clem (my Canon Rebel), I also was taking on an average 2 or so Instax photos a day.  And boy was it a big hit!  Every time I took it out of my purse to take a pic whoever was around got just as excited as me to see how they were going to turn out.....super fun!!!  There is something about being in a place taking a photo and watching the image of what you just took appear before your eyes to cement a wonderful memory in your mind.  The photo upper left is of my baby sister with her puppy.....they are so cute together.....like two peas in a pod!  Upper middle is our visit to Port Townsend.....it was pouring down rain and we all had a blast!!!  Upper right and lower left is Freshwater Bay.....another fun afternoon with my Dad.....we had a yummy picnic lunch together and that was our view.....lovely!  Lower middle is me holding one of my sister's baby duckies.....that was a sweet morning for sure.....little duckies are so soft and make the cutest little noises : )  And last but not least lower right is my last day in Sequim before leaving.....a walk back from The Spit, my Mother looks so tiny compared to all the big beautiful trees <3

What other types of cameras do you sometimes use to take photos?  Your phone?  Or a pin hole camera maybe?  Share your ideas with us (and photos if you have them).....I don't know about you, but I often get excited when trying new things, especially when it comes to photography.

Have a lovely weekend,

Love, Carrie and Ally

Playdate with Ally Serrato

2011-04-20T00:46:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to have Ally as my special guest for April! Many of you know her from the Pink Ninja Addicts and their awesome kits (which I personally LOVE). To me, she is a dear friend : ) Here are a few things about her you might not know.....

what artsy plans do you have for the year?? as any lover of all things crafty, i alway plan on expanding my style and working on my creations and projects more & more. creating is so much fun and oh so therapeutic to me. i adore it. but mostly, im really looking forward to the pink ninja crops that my bestie and i will be hosting!!! the first one is coming up quick, april 30th, {still spots left if youre in the area and interested},, and another june 4th. cant wait to see how theses pan out and to plan more for the future.

if your hair could be any color of the rainbow, what color would it be? so easy. pink. fuchsia actually, and yes, it is in the rainbow. my rainbow at least. :-)

what cameras do you own and use other than your DSLR? i have a fisheye, never used. it was sorta a silly impulse purchase. i have several point and shoot pocket cameras. ive always got one on me, but as of late, my favorite camera is my good ol iphone. i swear, is there anything that phone cant do?? i love it so much, especially instagram.

whats your favorite Easter candy? cadbury eggs and reeses peanut butter eggs. of course, calories dont count, right?? i sure wish i had a body that i could eat whatever i wanted,, sadly, i usually stay away from easter candy. {sad face}

what music do you like to listen to while scrapbooking these days? i love all the top 40 on satellite for scrapbooking, but my all time favorite music is reggae. i love it a lot, a lot.

See you Friday for her super cool photo prompt!
Love, Carrie and Ally

Project Monday

2011-04-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

This week I decided to make some Easter and Springtime cards for my project.....

Some of the cards are for family and others are for friends and clients. Below are the other four designs.....

Originally I had thought that a layout would be super fun with one of these photos. However, once I saw them enlarged on my laptop screen it occurred to me that they might make cute cards. And I was finally able to finish them all today (I had problems with work timing/Ryan being home yesterday).....and I couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out (the photos don't do them justice : ) Now, I am looking forward to filling them all out and sending some snail mail love <3

See you tomorrow with a fun Q&A from our special guest!

Love, Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-04-16T01:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you had a good week : ) For the photo prompt today I thought it would be nice to get creative in a little different way. And I think we will all really have fun seeing what everyone comes up with.....the prompt is:

Playing with toys

For my photos I decided to take pictures of my small tin bunnies in different locations, where I wouldn't normally have them out to enjoy. It was a fun little experiment and mini adventure....trodding around to find three very different backgrounds. And I honestly now can't decide which is my favorite.....

At first when I took the photo of the bunnies in the grass it bothered me that the grass was so yellow, especially coming from the Pacific Northwest where the ground is so green and lush right now.....but once I saw the photo on Pumpkin I though it was a very fresh looking color for Spring, so now I love it! The brick photo is cute, kinda like they are crossing a pathway and have to hurry along before someone comes. And the beach photos were really fun to shoot! Boy, did my jeans get all sandy and wet from laying down to get them.....LOL!!! I can just imagine these three little bunnies hopping along down the beach with people stopping to look at how out of place they are and they just keep going on their merry way. I have special plans for my project with these photos, and I hope it all works out <3

See ya soon! Have a lovely weekend!!!

Love, Carrie

Project Monday

2011-04-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone : ) I am now home and slowly getting back into the swing on things here in San Diego. The visit to see my family in Washington was so wonderful, and for my project this week here is a digital layout with some of my last photos with them.....

List of supplies:

Ali Edwards - For The Love Of Chevron No. 1 Paper Pack
Font - Efon
Font - Courier
Font - Goodbye Crewel World

And I think my two favorite things about this layout (other than the photos of course : ), is the lovely textured chevron paper and the cute cut out looking clouds. It's a strange combination of elements, I know, but somehow I think it works <3

See ya tomorrow for a new photo prompt!

Love, Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-04-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

O.K. So, I know that my prompt this weekend is a day late. Sorry about that. Right now I am sitting at the airport waiting for my flight back to San Diego, and honestly yesterday I just got so caught up in being with my family I totally forgot about it. Yes, I am a major dork from time to time : ) Anyways, the prompt for this week is fun photo technique I have been wanting to try and thought it would be perfect for Spring:

Spring Reflections

The idea behind this photo prompt is to capture the reflection of an image on something else. You can capture a reflection in water, glass, whatever works for you.

The photo above is from a walk at the Railroad Park Bridge in Sequim. There are these large pools of water from a very calm stream that flows into the Dungeness River and when i saw the image of these tall bare tree branches in the water I thought it would be a lovely way to capture how fresh and beautiful Spring can be. Below are two more photos also from my walk (with my baby brother and sister).....

As you can see the water is not as calm in these photos since we decided to venture off along a stream that was quickly moving towards the river. And getting these photos was quite an adventure since the sun was casting my brother and sister's shadow behind them and the stream was in front of us. In order for the kids to get onto the other side of the stream, they had to scoot across a fallen log since the walking path was flooded. And boy did they love that! I snapped the photo just above and then quickly scooted across too. It was nerve racking. Not because I was afraid of falling into stream, but I didn't want Clem to get wet ; ) Once across I took the other photo of the kids and my baby brother's refection in a small pool of water. If you look closely you an see that there are streams on either side of us. It was so beautiful and peaceful there. The bare trees arched and met at their tips creating a giant canopy, and the rushing water was loud but calming. Eventually we scooted back over the fallen log and went on with our day, but these images and how wonderful it felt to be there is still fresh in my mind. What reflections of Spring do you see?

Have the best weekend!

Love, Carrie

P.S. Our special guest for this month is rescheduled to the week of the 22nd <3

Project Monday

2011-04-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely people! I hope you all had a good weekend : ) Mine was filled with three memorable days of spending time with my family and especially this little fella.....

He really is as sweet as he looks in this photo <3 And as you can see, for my project this week I decided to do another digital layout. Partially because I love printing them out (which I will do once I return to San Diego), but also because I didn't make time to have any photos printed at the Costco down the street so I could add it to my Spring art journal. Silly me : ) Anyways, most of the background in this layout is my photo, but for the rest I used another texture off my Crumble, Crackle, Burn CD.....which is layered over a solid yellow. For the journaling I used three different fonts, and to add a bit more depth created two other layers in different colors at only partial opacity. I've used this style of digital layout once before HERE, and I think I really like it for this project too. And now I have my photo with some journaling love and a reminder of wonderful memories from this past weekend. Perfect.

Make sure to stop by Wednesday and say hi to our special guest for April.....many of us know and love her! And as for today I hope your week is grand!!!

Love, Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-04-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Happy first day of April to you! Today it is just little old me sharing my photo for today's photo prompt.....but it is a photo is that very special to me and also somewhat of a gift to you too : ) Today's photo prompt is:

Sharing Happy Thoughts

You are beautiful. And yes, I am talking to you. I wrote this sweet little note, so you could see it and believe it <3

The idea for this prompt is so write a sweet note onto a piece of paper, photograph it, and share your happy thoughts with others.

Yesterday, my brother, his girlfriend, and my nephew surprised us with an impromptu visit.....driving all the way from Salt Lake City up to us in the Pacific Northwest! So, I thought to myself that my nephew would be the perfect helper with today's prompt. I quickly grabbed him from away from playing with my baby brother and sister and asked if you wanted to help me with a photo. Of course he said yes with a big smile. And so that is him pictured above, holding our happy thoughts. Perfect.

After I took this photo I thought of all sorts of ways this prompt could be more interactive. Like I may have each of the kids write their happy though onto a piece of paper and then photograph what they want to share. I hope you find this prompt as sweet and good for the soul as I do. And as always if you decide to play along please share your photos with us by adding a link with a comment or adding to our Flickr Group.

Have a wonderful, beautiful weekend!

Love, Carrie

Project Monday

2011-03-28T01:18:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe March is almost over. I am still loving time with my family in Washington, and hope that this month has been good to you too : )

For my project this week, I though it would be nice to share a page in my Spring travel art journal.....

You may have seen THIS post on my personal blog, where I shared a day of art journal making with my little brother and sister.....

And so, I figured it would be perfect to add my photo from our last photo prompt to my little 4x7.5 inch journal. I ended up not adding the photo in order, but instead, choosing some pages that I though it look best with. And the flower photo is actually a full page, where I'll add something fun to the back side eventually. The journaling is taken from my post, and I doodled around it with a dark purple marker. The purple frame that is on the photo itself is a Hambly sticker, and the alphas are from the Color Me Miki shop. I really did enjoy this small project and am happy with how colorful and happy it turned out.....which is perfect because I was so excited for the pretty pretty raindrops that day <3

I plan to share more of the pages I've completed in my journal on my personal blog sometime this week. It's simple, but I think the fact that I am actually adding a photo with journaling everyday has to count for something : )

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And now here is Blondie's sweet project.....

...Using her art journal that she created and handbound herself!!!

And here are her thoughts on the process:

I used this wonderful colored paper for these photos because I thought it was just perfect for enhancing nature photos! The birds and butterflies flying around! They make me feel happy and joyful :) Although, Gnome world is especially my favorite! The way the grass is so green and the plants are so purple its so fairytale like. And the Pink flower looks like it's so sad that it has not been bought yet! The Feild of white is like a soft pillow of flowers, and the photo of the catkins from an alder tree reminds me of catapiller in chrysalis. This whole experience has just been so fun!!!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Have a great week!!!

Love, Carrie and Blondie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-03-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hello! And welcome to another lovely Friday!!! For this week's photo prompt I decided to take advantage of Springtime officially being here......SO this weeks prompt is:

Flowers In Bloom

My Mom has these lovely bulbs growing in her front yard. One afternoon, I was sitting at her dining room table playing with Pumpkin, and it started to rain! My eyes got big and happy.....Eeek.....My first rainy day in Sequim!!! I quickly grabbed my camera and dashed outside to get a photo of the lovely raindrops daintily perched atop these bright bulbs. The photo just above reminds me a little of the original animation of Alice In Wonderland. It kinda feels like that one flower wants to talk to us, like her mouth is just starting to open and say something sweet.....what do you think?!?

Well, actually I also think that today is super special because my other little sister (we'll call her Blondie) is joining us! Just wait till you see her photos.....they are absolutely beautiful!!!

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Take a look for yourself.....

To me the photo above is like a window to Springtime! And the pic below reminds me of a miniature forest in gnome world.....

This week has given me many great days of looking forward to taking my flower photos, and taking time to enjoy nature as the season changes from Winter to Spring. I also am having the most wonderful time with Carrie.....these specific photos were taken in three different locations. The Flower and Garden show here in Sequim, my front yard, and down the street from my house while on a lovely stroll with my big sista! This week while you're out and about you might want to take the time to look at what little signs of Spring are in your life : )

Thanks for stopping by today!

Love, Carrie and Blondie

Project Monday

2011-03-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

First to share her project today, is our super cool guest, Kelly Purkey! Just look at the gorgeous layout she made using her photo from our last photo prompt.....

I knew that I wanted to use the photo as a bigger enlargement on the page to really let it be the showcase of the layout. That left me just a little bit of room to add in some supplies, so I took advantage of the space and added in some pops of color with Studio Calico Mister Huey's Color Mists. I punched a few butterflies and used them as masks for my misting. I created the little title block down at the bottom of the layout to add in some more fun elements like label stickers and buttons. Everything used to create this layout came from my Studio Calico March kits.

And here's my layout.....

So, since I'm currently visiting with family in Washington, I decided to make it easy on myself and create a digital layout for my project today. I have really been enjoying printing out my digital layouts this year and adding them to my 2011 album, and now I can't wait to do the same for this one!

When I set out to create this layout, i knew I wanted it to be soft and kinda sweet looking, so when I found this shade of pink to use for the background I was stoked. I layered it with a woodgrain texture that Ryan had bought for me years ago, and then created different size scallops with the text "c". Last I added my text/writing.....and that's pretty much it. Easy peasy : )

Enjoy your week!

Love, Kelly and Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-03-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Friday! Thanks for stopping by today : ) Our special guest, Kelly Purkey is sharing a cool new photo prompt, that will really get you thinking! Here it is, along with her spectacular photo.....

Looking Up

When my friend came to visit, she requested a trip to a museum so I immediately thought of the Guggenheim because I'd never been inside. I love art museums and admiring the paintings, sculptures, photographs... but I have to say the most incredible sight in the museum is the view looking up. The sun shines through the window and the circular architecture is just so cool. I always spend so much time just looking around and it was a perfect reminder to look up. Sometimes the view is spectacular!

And here is my photo.....

Ever since Kelly chose the prompt Looking Up I have been looking up right and left, and just not seeing anything that I really wanted to remember.....until yesterday, when I was jaunting around Seattle with my sister Amber, and saw this beautiful totem! Perfect!!! I snapped my photo with a big smile : ) I think they are so cool. I wonder what story this one tells? All that lovely weather worn wood, the pale colors and detail in the carvings.....so much character. When you look up, what do you see or want to remember?

Love, Kelly and Carrie

Playdate with Kelly Purkey

2011-03-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!! This month we are lucky enough to have the sweet Kelly Purkey as our special guest. To find out more about her (like to see her brand new Sketchbook 3 Class) you can visit her blog, but to start off here is a fun Q&A:

Where are some of your favorite places to photograph from your travels? It may sound boring, but I love taking photos on the beach. The blue water with the blue skies just makes me happy. Looking back at those photos always makes me smile and remember how peaceful and perfect those trips were.

What random stuff is inspiring you this Spring? This Spring I've really been inspired by new fabric! I recently made a trip to Purl in Soho and picked up some beautiful new Liberty of London fabric that's begging to be used.

What would your dream meal be on a lovely afternoon this Spring? Eating in the park is one of my favorite things to do when it starts to warm up. My dream meal would be tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches from 'Wtichcraft in Bryant Park. Eaten with my friends Jennifer McGuire and Nichol Magouirk, of course.

What is one of your favorite scrapbook products right now? My favorite product right now is my White Mister Huey's Color Mist from Studio Calico. It is the only opaque white mist out there and so fun to use on every project.

Do you have a favorite snack/drink combo for while you're scrapbooking? I am constantly snacking when I scrap... I love candy (and it keeps me on a sugar high for those late nights) and right now I've got Starburst jelly beans.

See ya tomorrow to share her fun new photo prompt : )
Love, Carrie and Kelly

Your appointment with Friday

2011-03-12T03:01:00.000-08:00

Wow! Did this week fly by fast or what?!? I have happily been busy preparing for my visit to Washington next week, where I get to spend a whole three weeks with my family : ) And guess what? Today I am super excited because my sister Amber is joining us for this weeks photo prompt!!! Here it is along with her adorable photos all the way from the Evergreen State.....

4 Days In a Row

picture one is monday-beginning of the week which means i wanna be wearing comfy shoes. vans are tuesday when i went to volunteer at the library. wednesday are my earth brand shoes which i got at goodwill for 7 bucks and they're 150 dolla shoes! yeah! wore em to the bakery. the bogs are thursdays shoes for cleaning ponds to keep my feet nice and dry!

What a cute little peek into her world, huh?!? Here are my photos from earlier this week.....

I couldn't decide on just one thing to photograph for 4 days in a row, so I ended up doing a self portrait, taking a pic of what was covering my legs, and photographing the same patch of flowers.

Day 1 it was cloudy, cool and overcast. I wore my warm beannie and tights with a dress. (A little known fact about me is that when it rains here in San Diego you will almost always find me in a dress. Just for fun.) And you can see that some of the flowers were either partially or mostly closed.

Day 2 was warm, so I sported one of my favorite tee shirts and some comfy jeans. The flowers were all open soaking up the sun.

Day 3 another typical sunny day, and I decided to wear a bow in my hair. As you can see I have my same boots on.....they're new and so I've been trying to find cute outfits to wear with them. The moss below my feet got a little thicker, and some of the flowers started to loose their petals along with new ones that began to blossom.

Day 4 was hot, so I took shelter in the shade of a tree for my self portrait. I wore a lacy dress and some textured tights. The moss was thicker and more yellow, and the flowers looked pretty much the same to me as the day before, so I kinda shot through them so I could get a better feel of all the layers.

Remembering my 4 days like this is really special. It's different than chronicling your days. It's seeing how one thing changes over time or from day to day. What adds variety to your days?

Love, Carrie and Amber

Project Monday

2011-03-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend, and if you decided to play with your camera, enjoyed our last prompt : )

For my project this week, I created a 6x12 layout.....

The paper details I cut out are from an old stash of some of my favorite papers, and the background paper is newer Sassafras Lass.....I just love their Paper Crush line! I layered a piece of 35 mm film and some trim behind the photo, added brown paint splatter, some journaling with my typewriter, sewing with hot pink thread, a small white doily, Prima flowers.....And to tie it all together, the purple and white baker's twine is from the lovely Color Me Miki's shop.

I knew I wanted my layout to be colorful and bring out all the different hues in my photo. And that's how I remember that moment being.....when I took Nely's photo.....filled with lots of happy color! Maybe it's one of the reason's scrapbooking is so therapeutic to me. You can take a cold winter evening, add scrapbook product to a photo, and presto! A colorful, happy memory!!!

If you have the winter blues, try creating something colorful today.....I bet it will help : )

And here's Nely's artsy layout (using the Pink Ninja Addicts March Kit).....

For this layout I wanted something fun to capture the "jump", I started with a basic square layout and just added the butterflies to give the feel of motion. Makes me happy!! Have a happy Monday!!"

Love, Carrie & Nely

Your appointment with Friday

2011-03-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hello lovely photographer's! Nely was sweet enough to join us for another photo prompt this week, and boy do we have a intriguing one for you today!!! They are all over the scrapbook world right now, and I'm sure an inspiration for a lot of us all the way back to their vintage roots.....the prompt for today is:

Silhouette

O.K. So, I know I kinda cheated because only parts of Nely's pretty profile is in silhouette. But honestly out of all the photos I took for this photo prompt, this one made me genuinely smile! I love how the focus of the lens makes it feel......like where she was at that exact moment was truly beautiful. At least that's what I see.....the wind in her hair, the sunset in her face, that sparkle in her eye : ) And now I have all these ideas in my head of different ways I want to take some full silhouette photos! Who knows, I might even get to take some of them this weekend......and if I do I'll add them to our Flickr group for you to see of course <3

And can you even believe how awesome Nely's photo is!!!.....

This past Sunday I had a super fun photo shoot with miss Carrie!! She took photos of me all day! As the sun was coming down we decided to capture our silhouette pictures. I love that I was able to capture this picture of Carrie in movement! The sun was was setting and the lighting was just perfect!! I will definitely be taking more of these!!

Love, Carrie and Nely

Project Monday

2011-03-03T22:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks for stopping by to see our projects today! I loved the photos from our last photo prompt so much, that I decided to use some of my favorite scrapbooks papers to create a 12x12 layout.....

When I went to make my layout, I really liked how clean the lines looked before I adhered everything together so this ended up being the first layout I've done without sewing in I don't know how long : ) To take advantage of this I mounted my photo onto chipboard so they would have a little bit of lift. And to add even more depth, there are pop-up foamies under the heart border on the right and also the square love journaler.....

.....So pretty much this layout is most of the items below all layered together in the center of my paper. And here are all the individual pieces I used (the Hambly Overlay and Prima Pearls are from the lovely Color Me Miki shop).....

This layout ended up being so special to me, that it is now displayed in my living room safely encased (and protected from the doggies) in a black 12x12 photo box : )

I hope you get a chance to make something you love sometime soon <3

And here's Nely's project using the current Pink Ninja Addicts monthly kit named Redemption Song.....

happy project monday!!, when making a layout for this picture, I knew I wanted neutral colors with a pop of color! All the perfect papers and trims were in the march kit *redemption song* from Pink Ninja Addicts! I love how the turquoise paper "pops" in the background, and it has a hint a brown to blend in with the background. It came out simple, but perfect for me!! hope you have a happy creative day!!

See you tomorrow for a fun new photo prompt!

Love, Carrie and Nely

Your appointment with Friday

2011-02-25T10:01:00.000-08:00

Hello Friday! With you we welcome another fun photo prompt!!! Gloria is taking a couple weeks off, but before her break she helped me come up with this cool prompt.....

Natural Framing

My understanding of natural framing in a photo is when the subject of your picture is framed by other elements in your photograph. Like a photo of a person framed from sitting at a windowsill, or something at the end of a tunnel. The idea is to give your photo depth, draw your attention to that subject, and give your subject's surroundings context. Here is what I came up with.....

Ever since I took these photos, I have been daydreaming about all the fun shots I could do.....and looking for them everywhere I go. For me this photo prompt was very addictive and fun!!! And I absolutely LOVE the first photo of my sweet boys together! They look like they are in a really peaceful place.....standing at the exit to outside. What adventure is out there waiting for them? It's been a while since I took any photos of Ponyo and he has grown soooo much. The three of us had a lovely stroll that afternoon looking for places to take our photos. It was a good day : )

And we are lucky enough to have Nely from the Pink Ninja Addicts and her personal blog Sweet Escape, play along with us this week (I love that she used the instagram app on her phone for this photo).....

I've been looking for the perfect opportunity to take a photograph like this!! When I think of natural framing, a million ideas run through my brain!! I loved the idea of placing a heart in front of something you love. That guy you see behind the heart is my husband. He owns a pretty big chunk of my heart!! He was perfect for this shot!!!,,,

We hope you decide to play along this week.....this prompt really helps you see photography in a different way. Have the best weekend!

Love, Carrie & Nely

Sunlit Winter Office Photos

2011-02-23T10:01:00.000-08:00

Project Monday

2011-02-21T10:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday to you! I know some of you have today off as a holiday :) OK. So, if you're looking for a fun project to do, Gloria and I decided to write love letters to that special *someone we love* from our last photo prompt. Go HERE to see our last photo prompt and start your happy creative process. And if you already have your photo taken, here is my love letter to Ryan.....I hope you find it inspiring.....

When I first started out thinking about writing a love letter and making it into a project, I thought of a couple different ways I could incorporate it into a layout, but ended up really liking the idea that a love letter to my sweetie was tucked away inside a decorated pouch (you can see the letter sticking out of the top in the photo above). The letter is folded into a smallish square and wrapped in yellow and white baker's twine. It fits nicely inside the 6x6 pocket.....And there was even room for Ryan's Valentine card too!

Of course, if you want to play along you don't have to make your love letter into a project. It just so happens that I wanted my photo of Ryan connected to it in that way.....If that makes sense!?!?

And I used more yummy product from the Color Me Miki Shop in my project this week. The yellow and white baker's twine, the Hambly overlay, and the Pink Paislee green artisan tape were the perfect additions! I was also really excited to use these cool stickers of the hand-drawn looking animals. They are from a little shop I came across in Port Townsend, WA and I have been dying to use them in a project!!! I think they're pretty special pieces of art.

Have a lovely day. And if you decide to play along, I know you will enjoy the whole process and create something heartfelt and rewarding <3

Love, Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-02-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

Hello lovely blog readers! Gloria and I came up with a brand new photo prompt for you today. In honor of hearts and love and little cupids and all things cute and fun for February, this week take a photo of.....

Someone you love.

Ryan is my love. Of course there are lots of other people I love too, but I rarely get a chance to take photos of him in-particular (usually he's not too fond of it), so I thought this was the perfect opportunity. And we just made it work. Instax mini. Check. Sunset. Check. Green grass covered park. Check. And we had such a great time with this mini photoshoot. Ryan kept making funny faces, and I was just snapping away, so I have some of the silliest photos of him ever. I remember holding one in particular, waiting for the film to develop, and feeling that twinkle in my eye as I start to smile and see his cross eyed face appear. I couldn't help it and giggled out loud. He immediately smiled and looked over my shoulder. His voice chuckled and cracked as he spoke and then we bantered back and forth in between laughing and taking more silly photos. Eventually we got these two pictured above that he considered suitable for sharing. Of course, if it were up to me, I'd share the silliest ones ; ) What a fun evening. Something simple. A special memory. Perfect.

I hope you get a chance to take a photo of someone you love this week. I bet it will end up being more fun than you realize <3

And here's Gloria's photos.....

When we talked about love letters, two people came to mind.....Isabella because she is having her first surgery Wed. and that has lead me to many thoughts that are scary, I hope everything goes OK. I hope she does not experience any pain. I thought about how much completion she has brought into my life and how much I love her.....And then I thought about my best friend Carrie. Do I have to choose? Nope. I am doing two love letters to two people adore, who are patient with me and whom I have a lot to say too. Do you have a lot to say to someone.....

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Sunlit Winter Office Photos

2011-02-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

Project Monday

2011-02-14T21:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day beautiful! Here are some hearts for you today.....

For my Project Monday today I used more product from the fun Color Me Miki shop.....the black and white houndstooth tape, and the purple and white bakers twine. And honestly, all the product I used today I just love! I have really been trying to do this more.....only use my favorite product in my projects. I think it makes them feel more special : )

And I really enjoyed stitching the embroidery with the baker's twine! Not to mention all the hearts!!! I am a year round heart kinda girl, so since it's Valentine's I went all out and used lots!

I hope you had the best day <3

Love, Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-02-11T15:50:00.000-08:00

Happy weekend before Valentine's Day! The prompt for this week is to find something in the shape of a heart to photograph : )

I (Carrie) was outside taking a walk when the shadow of some pretty ivy caught my eye (pictured above). There it was, the shape of a heart. How cool.....I love how the texture of the wall beneath the shadow shows through. Can you see it? I snapped my photo with a smile. For some reason taking photographs of shadows feels special to me. Well, anyways, I continued to walk along the tall wall of green until I saw this.....

A lovely bright greenish yellow leaf. The sun was shining so bright it gave the heart a bit of a glow. I love how I can just take a walk by my house and find little things like a heart shaped leaf, and feel like it's just for me because right now only I can see it.....a heart aglow. I get to capture the moment with a photograph, and then later use it to make something artistic to symbolize it's beauty. Another reason I love the idea of capturing this year with photos, ticket stubs, notes, letters, cards and finding how it all fits together inside a scrapbook album. I love art <3

Have fun this weekend, and keep a look out for your heart.....sometimes you find them in the oddest of places ; )

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And here's Gloria's photo.....

This week Carrie and I chose a heart picture because its Valentines Day on Monday.....Yeah the month of love. So on that note I can honestly tell you I have been on the look out for hearts. Last week I posted a heart on my blog that I saw while running. It is a treetrunk that was cut in half and is now often used as a sitting place by surfers. I loved the whole idea of what it stood for to me and what it represented. That's how I chose this picture. What it means me to. This is a broken heart that has mended itself. It represents stenth and tenacity. I look at this tree trunk and see hope. It's beautiful to me. Its never going to die because it these strong roots and they hold it in place. A perfect broken but stronger than ever heart.....That's what I see. I hope you have fun dong this prompt as there should be many many hearts roaming around you this month. Happy heart hunting.....

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Sunlit Winter Office Photos

2011-02-09T11:56:00.000-08:00

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Project Monday

2011-02-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

Hi beauties, and welcome to another Project Monday!!! Today we're going to start off with our lovely February guest, Kristine. Here is her awesome project and some sweet thoughts.....

Hello there Bubblegum Life readers and happy Monday! I am so excited to see everyone's projects. For my "Time to Love Yourself" project I created a scrapbook layout. I love scrapbooking, I think it is a wonderfully personal way to preserve cherished memories. I'm a big fan of scrapping the little things too. The things you won't typically remember about yourself and your loved ones in five years when your crack open the photo album.....

I decided I wanted my layout to have an instructional approach. So I created numbered steps to go along with each of my photos. I printed my photos really tiny so I could fit them all on the page with out being too cluttered. I am a mis-matched eclectic kind of girl, and I think my pages reflect that. Can't wait to see your projects!

-XO. K.

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And here's Gloria's project.....

This layout ended up feeling a little bit like a love letter.....I know there is not a lot of words but if you ever felt completely passionate about something, and if you felt your love for it in your inner being and then it turned out to be good for you too.....that's what my loving myself passion ended up being. My way of loving myself has to do with my love for running. You don't need much, just a pair of tennis shoes and socks and go.

I did a Valentine to running layout. A picture of a heart drawn in the sand and my running shoes next to it. Then I added clouds because I can honestly say my head is in the clouds when I run. Polka-dot ribbon because its happy, and then glimmer mist because it has sparkles. Sounds perfect. Do you have something you tried this week to love and honor yourself? Please share....and if you didn't, try a quick walk or run. I am telling you its a mood lifter.....

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And here's what I ended up making for my project.....

This week I printed out my photos, sat back and thought about what scrapbook products I love right now. Here is what I came up with.....

I knew I wanted to use an ATC page protector as the basis for my project. I think it's because right now I like the idea of having an entire album from 2011 that documents my year. With layouts, ATCs, movie tickets, plane tickets, etc.....I ended up leaving the last row empty and either plan on cutting it off or adding my actual plane ticket or whatever from my flight. Next, I looked trough my stash of Color Me Miki product and picked out the green and white bakers twine, this super cute fabric, the Hambly white graph overlay and bright red alphas. Last I just picked out more papers to layer, and then used my favorite butterflies and hearts to make my "Time to Love Yourself" project one that I currently adore : )

Love, Kristine, Gloria and Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-02-04T17:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining us this lovely first weekend of February! Today we have a fun new photo prompt courtesy of our sweet guest, Kristine.....

Time to Love Yourself.

Hello Bubblegum Life readers, my name is Kristine Toward and I am the author of my personal blog called Mooninmygarden well as my Etsy shop of the same name. I absolutely love Carrie and Gloria's Project Monday so I am especially thrilled to be here today as a guest blogger. I love blogging, I think it is fantastic for the creative soul.

The prompt I chose this week is "Time to Love Yourself". Stepping out of the holiday season straight into New Year's goals often leaves us lacking a little pamper time for ourselves. I know I spent most of the holiday season planning, making things, and shopping for my loved ones, but spent little time on myself. And my New Year's goals are barely getting off the ground, yet I find myself about to head into another holiday for loved ones.

I don't know about you, but it makes me feel like taking a little break for me. So this weeks prompt brings our focus to ourselves. What do you do to make yourself feel good? What are the little things that help relax your body and mind? Do you treat yourself to a little shopping trip? Or perhaps enjoy a nice glass of wine? Maybe just curling up with a good book for a bit…

For me, it was a much needed pedicure. I am running around on my feet most of the day, so nothing shows myself a little love like pampering my own feet. Even though its winter and my toes are all covered up, It still makes me feel pretty to have them polished. Here is a step by step to an easy at home pedicure:

1. Gather supplies. Polish, Polish Remover, Pumice Stone, Foot Scrub, Moisturizer, File, Sea Salt, Essential Oil, Milk, Hot Water, Bowl.

2. Fill bowl with hot water. Add a couple drops of essential oil. Add sea salt and a bit of milk (to help loosen dead skin cells) soak for 10-20 minutes and your feet will come out so soft.

3. Scrub with foot scrub, use pumice stone on any particularly rough spots. Rinse.

4. Buff, trim, file. Moisturize.

5. Polish.

6. Show them off!

So take a little time for yourself this weekend, you deserve it. Then come back on Monday and share your project with us on Flickr. I look forward to everyone's amazing ideas, I'm sure we will all discover new ways to pamper ourselves. -XO K.

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And here's Gloria's take.....

Ever since I decided (16 years ago) to have children, making time for myself is a gift I take. I really liked this prompt because it reminds me of how important it is for me to take time to love myself. Every girl I think, has her little pampering tradition. I have a couple but the one that i would not trade for anything in the world is running. I have to a make time for this because I can't do it at home. I need to vacate the premises to run. It has become the way I love myself. I dont do it to lose weight, I dont do it to be the best or the fastest. I do it simply because It makes me feel so good to run. That time that I spend running is only mine. It's time feeling the cold air, singing my favorite song, dancing and feeling free. It's how I love myself. I make time to do something I know is good for my body and in return it makes me happy happy!

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And my photos.....

I love this photo prompt because it really got me thinking. There are little things I do for myself everyday. Like start off my morning with a yummy cup of tea, or occasionally take time to create a piece of art just for me......but what is that something special? That something special that I have done just because I wanted to be good to myself? Well, I bought a plane ticket to visit Sequim in the springtime, and I am ecstatic! Three whole weeks of family, fun, rain, cool weather, and nature!!! And I am counting the days! I've already planned a Seattle day trip with my Mom, and some fun dates with my Dad. I wish Ryan could go too, but he was insistent on me taking this time because he believes I need it just as much as I do. I love him so much for that. So the photos above are me being happy, taking time to love myself. Time for me to be with my family that loves me so much, and time to be a part of a small town with the biggest charm : )

Love, Kristine, Gloria and Carrie

Playdate with Kristine Toward

2011-02-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

Today Gloria and I are excited to introduce you to our February guest!

Kristine Toward of Moon In My Garden caught my eye the minute I visited her blog for the first time. Her sweet blog is full of wonderful stories, fun fashion, yummy cooking and recipes, beautiful photography, lovely scrapbooking, and some amazing original designs. Just about everything you need to make a blog super fun to read! She has also been faithfully following along with our photo prompts ever since this little blog started last November : ) And you can check our her blog and/or our Flickr Group every week to see her contribution. This week, Kristine will be sharing a perfect for February photo prompt with us Friday (Feb. 4th), and an inspiring project on Monday (Feb. 7th). In the meantime here are a few things about her just for fun:

What would your dream art studio look like?

Ooh this one's fun. One of my favorite things to do is decorate my home. About the only thing holding me back from amazing transformations are a serious lack of funds! But if I could design a dream studio, it would be one large open space, like a loft apartment in the city. There would be a space to relax, with a cozy couch, a book shelf with some amazing art books for inspiration and a fluffy white sheep skin rug to curl my toes into. One wall would be brick or stone and would make a fabulous back drop for photo shoots, another wall would just be windows with amazing light and an amazing view. I would have more than one easel so I wasn't constantly juggling around paintings or drawings. I would like a large industrial drafting table to be able to spread my work out on, and a light table for easy transfer of art. I would have shelves where all my supplies would be color coded and stored readily available. There would be a beautiful collection of photography and paintings from other artists. And of course a very pretty sparkling chandelier.

Outside of your home, where do you like to visit to be inspired?

This is a bit broad, but everywhere. New experiences breathe life into the creative soul, and for me there is beauty in almost everything. The haphazard placement of old, worn books on a thrift store shelf. The cracked and peeling walls inside the homes of a ghost town. The vast still waters of a hidden mountain lake you've hiked to. The way the mannequins are dressed in store windows. The carved moulding in an early 1900's home. A walk in the park. People watching from the terrace of a coffee shop downtown. There is literally inspiration all around me, so I love to just get out and see everything.

What is the next artistic step for Kristine?

I am currently pursuing a degree in graphic design. I love learning, especially when it concerns art and design. I am really interested in the aspects involved in print media, I love to pick apart designs everywhere I go, analyzing there make up, thinking about what I could have done to make that design my own. I really just love to be inspired and learn from that inspiration everyday. I have also recently started an Etsy shop, called Mooninmygarden just like my blog! It has always been a dream of mine to be able to share my art with the world, and now I am working towards those goals. It is a slow process, especially since I am a mom, and I work and go to school. But every chance I get I am trying to get new artwork up in my shop. I also really adore scrapbooking and photography and am constantly developing my skills. I hope to be on a design team someday.

What is your favorite thing to do with photos?

Scrapbook them of course! There is a bit more to it, I like to play with various editing programs and sometimes give my photos vintage looks, or add pretty overlays. But mostly I just cherish them in my scrapbook or around my home. I have a bad habit of printing photos before I have frames, so I have a lot of un-hung pictures waiting for me. But I just can't stop! I also love to share my photos on my blog and Flickr. Flickr is fabulous, I love the feedback and I love seeing what direction other people are taking their photography in.

What is a recipe you have been dreaming about cooking up in the kitchen lately?

I have a great love of baking. My grandma worked at a bakery when I was a little girl, and I think that is where my fascination of pretty food began. I love making sweet treats, but I also really love taking pictures of them! I could totally see myself a food photographer, I enjoy it that much. I dream of making a strawberry rhubarb pie. I had one once, in a little cafe in Montana when I was young, and I swear it was the best pie I'd ever tasted. I really want to recreate that blissful taste experience when rhubarb comes back into season, I believe it is only available in spring or summer. My belly rumbles now, with images of a warm sweet pie, sugar dusted crust and melting homemade vanilla ice-cream on top.

Well, now I'm hungry.....how about you?!? LOL!!! For more fun with Kristine visit us again on Friday.....and see ya tomorrow for some new inspirational photos!

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Project Monday

2011-01-31T21:08:00.000-08:00

Hello there : ) And welcome to another Project Monday!

This week I wanted to make something simple, yet still inspiring for my project.....so I decided to make myself an ATC to hang on my inspiration board.

Now when I look up and see it hanging, it brings a smile to my face. I guess it's a symbol of sorts to help me remember that place and give just the right amount of motivation : )

And I had fun using more product from Color Me Miki for this little project. The background of my ATC is a woodgrain packing tape that I can't wait to use again! There is green and white bakers twine wrapped around it as well, and tied with a bow. I added "2011" to the front with mini green alphas. And in the center of the wheel is a pretty coral button layered with a circle punched out of a Jenni Bowlin ticket. (The yellow ribbon, and paper for the wheel are scraps from my personal stash.)

I see few more little inspiration board projects in my future.....they are too much fun!!!

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(Gloria's project coming soon)

Check back tomorrow to see a fun post with our February guest <3

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-01-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another weekend with your camera : ) This weeks prompt is to take a portrait of yourself somewhere you normally wouldn't be, and then add a caption. It could be a description of what's going on, the emotion your feeling, or whatever. The idea is to get your creativity going.....kinda like jump starting your creative engine. So, if you're feeling the winter blues, or just need some new inspiration please join us on this fun for life photo prompt:

Getting creative.

First off, I have to say that this is a prompt that is growing on me. The more I get involved with the process, the more I am loving it! For starters, once I thought about it, it was easy to decide on where to take my photos.....laying on the soft moss in my backyard that I think is soooo beautiful. I use to lay in the grass all the time when I lived in Washington and never do here in San Diego. It was lovely. Soft. My favorite color. It brought a smile to my face and made my heart feel light as a feather.

When I got back to my computer and looked at the photos, I realized that I had forgot to put any makeup on this morning. This got me thinking about my captions, and just like I had hoped my creative engine took off. I thought about how much I feel at home in that place. Even though there isn't a lot of green where I live, I found some. It reminded me that I am ready to make life happen.....in a natural way.....but still in a way that makes my dreams a reality.

See what I mean about this prompt growing on you?!? Grab your camera and find creativity.....

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And here's Gloria's photo.....

Holy cow I am under the table.

I wanted to be silly and take a picture under a table. It's kinda wacky but it also makes you feel young at heart. Have fun with taking a creative picture.

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Adventuresome & Sweet Photos

2011-01-26T15:52:00.000-08:00

I haven't a clue as to how my story will end. But that's all right. When you set out on a journey and night covers the road, you don't conclude that the road has vanished. And how else could we discover the stars? -Nancy Willard

Recall as often as you wish; A happy memory never wears out. -Libby Fudim

See beauty in the simple things. Then you will always be amazed. -Gloria King

When you're travelling, you are what you are right there and then. People don't have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road. -William Least Heat Moon

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Project Monday

2011-01-24T13:18:00.000-08:00

Hello Monday! Today we get to share our projects with you. The sweet Kara, came up with our last photo prompt, and here is what we made with our photos.....Oh, and thanks for your comments on our last post, it was fun reading some of your rituals!!!

I think it's only fitting to start out with Kara's lovely layout today.....

I was always intimidated with digital scrapbooking until I was on the Kitschy Digitals creative team. I decided to try it one day and I've enjoyed the experience since. It's fun to do when I'm tired of my paper scrapbooking supplies or I don't want to get out of bed. I can scrapbook right from my warm bed! I kept this page simple because I wanted the journaling and photos to do the talking.
Hope you like!

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And here's Gloria's dreamy layout.....

Once I got my picture printed for this layout, I looked at it and realized the memories I hold so close to me of how my ritual came to be. I chose to use dream tickets because It seems like the memories I have attached were like a dream.....Then I surrounded it with a couple of frames that represent time. I look at it and think of my mom. Its strange how certain smells remind us of our grandmother or for me its makeup.....It reminds me of my mom every time : )

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And last yours truly.....

I went a little wild with my project this week....I'm not sure exactly what happened. Maybe it was using such a simple photo?!? Who knows. It was fun putting it together, and I think that's important ; )

Here are some of the details. I used some deep gold thread, popped up some clouds, used lots of white paper and layered......

Most of the products used on my layout are from one of my favorite online shops, Color Me Miki.....(who was kind enough to sponsor my Project Monday this week). You will find the Hambly overlay, heart tags, green floral tape, green button, and blue frame (which I cut out of a pack of journaling cards) in this lovely shop : )

I hope you are inspired to create something beautiful this week.

Love, Gloria, Carrie and Kara

Your appointment with Friday

2011-01-21T12:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome to this weeks photo prompt with special guest Kara Haupt!!! The photo prompt she chose for today is.....

Rituals.

This being my first year of college and the first time being so far away from the home I grew up in, it's been oddly hard to reflect on the last five months. Everything is so fast paced and always so busy that trying to "find my center" has been difficuilt. I wanted to do a prompt that was a little more abstract and the first thing that popped into my head was "ritual". I thought about the little rituals that have become my daily habits since starting school. I began to brew my own coffee every morning and with my morning cup I would check my emails and see what was new on my favorite blogs and on Twitter. I also starting wearing socks to bed because my dorm room is so cold. They're simple things. Nothing really of much note. But, they have become symbolic, calming habits.

The simple act of pouring in the grounds and the mixing in creamer calms me. It's dumb, but it's a little reminder that I'm taking care of myself. I make my own coffee. I get out of bed on my own and I chose to wake up and take care of myself that day. I never used to wear socks to bed, it's an odd habit I picked up since moving. My socks are always mismatched because I'm too lazy to fold them together. I like them that way though. The silliness of them remind me of home. My mom always buys me these dorky seasonal socks and pulling out a clean pair of socks before bed always makes me smile. Reminds me where I come from, who loves me, and that, sometimes, having warm toes at night is all that really matters.

My photos aren't especially artistic. They're simple photos of simple things. Simple things that matter.

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And here's Gloria's take.....

My ritual started when I was about 12. I used to go into my mom's room every morning around 8 a.m. I loved watching her take the curlers out of her hair. Next she would clean her face and apply cream. Then she would look at me and smile as I sat on her counter looking longingly at her. I loved what followed. My mom never went anywhere without her hair done and her makeup. Ok so next comes her eyelashes. Yes, my mom has worn eyelashes for as long as I can remember. They look so cool on her. In about ten minutes she went from normal to glam. An entire makeup ritual one could not wait to recreate. I don't wear lashes but I get up, wash my face and do my makeup in the same order my mom did. I see myself.....12 years old with my mom as often as I do it. I wonder if my daughter will do the same? I am not sure, but I can honestly say that I hope to have my makeup ritual until I am 90.....

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And my ritual.....

I think it is in my nature to be rebellious to the idea of monotony when it comes to the little things. Most of the time it gives me anxiety.....knowing what's coming. However, I am finding that there are things in my life that constantly give me happiness and peace. I have been trying to embrace these ideas as a form of daily comfort, and it's been nice. Something that I have always enjoyed, but only in the last few months has become a "ritual" is waking up in the morning with a big stretch and squeek (yes, I squeek when I stretch), and turning on music. It literally gets me out of bed.....makes me excited for my day.....and helps me start out my day in a very relaxing way. I really love songs that are soothing and inspiring all at the same time for this. And the butterfly CD in my photo is Fantasies by "Metric".

I think the idea of this ritual all started from my childhood. I've always enjoying listening to music with my Dad, and I've always enjoyed listening to music in the morning. My Dad had a sound system with speakers in all the rooms downstairs installed in our house at one point, and would sometimes wake us up over the weekend by blasting fun music. Without even making this connection, it became a ritual that I now look forward to helping me start out my day. Doing this for myself has been a joy!

What ritual(s) brighten your day?

Love, Gloria, Carrie and Kara

Adventuresome & Sweet Photos

2011-01-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

We sometimes get lost in our own forest. We think we are on the right path only to find out we were a little lost. We must remember that each turn teaches us valuable lessons.

She knelt down to see if she could find what she had been looking for, and the beauty of the earth filled her heart with magic. There was light all around her.

Then as soon as she looked up she realized that she was the light, for she was full of endless possibilities. She saw she was the treasure.

We are often too afraid to go in the direction our heart calls us to go.

But if we listen closely to our own whispers and move slowly forward with a grateful heart. You will hear that little bird whispering in your ear.....You are the one you have been looking for.....It's you!!!!

{Inspirational words written by Gloria}

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Playdate with Kara Haupt

2011-01-18T12:01:00.000-08:00

We are thrilled today to introduce you to our guest for January! Kara is an inspiration for many of us with her photography, art journaling, scrapbooking, random fun art and posts on her real life that we can all relate to. She will be sharing an awesome photo prompt with us this Friday (Jan. 21st), and special project on Monday (Jan. 24th).....are you excited yet?!?!.....Well, in the meantime here are a few things about her you might not know:

1. What is your favorite time of day to take photos?

On sunny days, the 'golden hour' before the sun sets is definitely my favorite. Though shade and overcast skies are easy and consistent, I really love the ways I can use sunlight to get an interesting photo. During the summer, I also like to use shaded area in the middle of the day. The sky is so bright and skin glows beautifully in the shade.

1. What is the most foolish thing you are looking forward to doing this year?

Roadtrips and gross motels.

1. What is the next artistic step for Kara?

I'm working on two collaborative business in 2011 that I'm really, really excited for. One is with my close friend, Kip. We're not saying too much about it now, but I can say that it's one of the most exciting and fulfilling things I've done in a long time. Working with Kip is a dream and it's been awesome to see the details of it unfolding, especially in the last week. The other is a fun side project that includes my handwriting. More on all that soon! I'm also working on a mini art journal class for February and ironing down definite goals for my photography business. It's going to be a big year.

1. What is the most beautiful thing to you about New York?

Though New York is so huge and easy to get lost in the mix, I love the amount and diversity of people that live here. I walk or take the subway everywhere I go and really love to experience the different type of people I encounter in just an hour. Cultures and claustrophobia. Sort of what New York is.

1. What is your favorite thing to do with photos?

Hmmm. That's a hard one. Either blog, tape them to my wall, or art journal with. Can't decide.

For more fun with Kara visit us again on Friday.....and see ya tomorrow for some new adventuresome and sweet photos!

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2011-01-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

Well, it is finally the weekend and Gloria and I have a fun new prompt for you lovelies today. The new prompt is.....

In Series

se·ries (sîr'ēz) pronunciation

noun, plural -ries, adjective

A number of objects or events arranged or coming one after the other in succession. [Latin seriēs, from serere, to join] Series is applied to a number of things of the same kind, usually related to each other, arranged or happening in order: a series of baseball games.

I've never intentionally taken a series of photos like this before. And I have to say the most difficult part for me was deciding what I wanted to photograph. Should I make a bunch of crazy faces, or write a sweet sentence on paper one word at a time? I don't know what made me decide to jump.....maybe it's because I was thinking about being outside, or that I love it when my photos have movement?!? But it felt great. I felt free and happy and strong and silly all at the same time. And I've actually never taken a self portrait jumping before, so this ended up being a fun little experiment. (Next I want to try it in a field with tall grass or something crazy like that.) But the cool thing is that now don't just have a moment to remember, but a bunch of moments that tell my little story in a different way. This was a happy day. A great day. A day I did just what I wanted to do....jump. What will your In Series be?

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In Series

A series of pictures to me gives movement to paper. It takes me to that moment because I feel you can see it move. You can see a clip of that person's life. Its almost touchable. I chose movement of my hands because it looks free and pretty to me. I like the freedom of movement....

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Adventuresome & Sweet Photos

2011-01-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

Beauty and folly are old companions. - Ben Franklin

She loved life and it loved her right back. - Kobi Yamada

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale. - Author Unknown

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. - Jawaharlal Nehru

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Project Monday

2011-01-10T17:19:00.000-08:00

Hello Lovelies! Happy first day of your new week!!!

Today Nely and I are super excited to share with you our ideas on how to use your photo(s) from our last photo prompt! So, let's get to it!!!

For my first project, i decided to create some sweet little tags with pockets.....

As you can see in the collage above, I used my photo prompt photos in three different ways. For example one, the image on the left is my mossy background photo used as a background image for the woodgrain text. For example two, I created the woodgrain text using my woodgrain photo. The third example is the photo on the right with my actual tag punched out of (again) my woodgrain image. Apparently I am loveing woodgrain right now! LOL!!!

Above are the six different tag designs I created to make a fun little set. And below you can see the front of the tag with the to and from (again using text I created from my woodgrain image), and the back of the tag with plain scrapbook paper for writing a little note : )

Below are all the pieces I used to put my tags together. Color Me Miki is our Project Monday sponsor for this month, so you can get the colorful bakers twine (in almost every color), Hambly overlays, and pretty tapes from this lovely shop.....

OK. Now for some fun stuff I did in photoshop with my photo prompt photos! I used the same photo of my nephew for all three photos so you can see the difference with each layer. First, my nephew peeking through a thick window with raindrops.....

I love the photo above because to me it looks vintage in a very cool way. To create this effect, I used a photo I took of my nephew at an outdoor mall and then layered my raindrop image over it.....now it looks like he is peeking at you through a window.

The photo below is the same thing, but with natural lighting and the raindrop layer is not as opaque.....

And for my final example I layered my nephew over my cloud image. I could have layered him over the clouds completely opaque, but I kinda like that you can see the clouds through him.....

Well, that's it for my ideas on how to use your photos. I had a lot of fun with this one, using your own background images in your projects feels great!!! If you have any specific questions about my projects or photoshop stuff, I am happy to share so just leave a comment, and I'll answer it by adding to this post.

Also, I wanted to mention that if you follow me on Twitter, I tweet every time I publish a post. So, you'll know when a Bubblegum Life post goes up : )

Have fun with your photos this week!!!
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And now for Nely's awesome project.....

Happy Monday! Wanted to share with you the project I created with one of the photos I took for my Appointment with Friday! I decided to use my palm tree background. I printed the image on 81/2 x 11 paper, and then created a layout on top of it. Used some green patterned paper, some fab rips from studio calico and red prima flowers. The little tot is my niece. I took this picture last year during a trip to the local pumpkin patch. I felt this picture went well with the palm tree background. It was pretty fun using a picture as background! Can't wait to see your projects!!

Love, Carrie & Nely

Your appointment with Friday

2011-01-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our first photo prompt of the year! (You can view last years photo prompts by clicking on the "photo prompt" category on our sidebar.) Boy, am I excited for this one.....for a couple reasons. First, Gloria is still on break, so we have the lovely Nely from the Pink Ninja Addicts as our guest for this week!!! And just wait till you see her photos.....soooo inspiring! Second, this photo prompt has so many possibilities, today I will be sharing some of the fun photography techniques I used to take mine, and next week when I share my project, I will have lots of ideas for different ways to use your photos. So, without further ado, the photo prompt for this week is.....

The backdrop of our lives.

I idea for this prompt originally came from thinking about using layers, textures, and background photos in my projects. So, I set out to take photos of my surroundings. As I began this process I realized that taking photos of the moss that only grows during the winter (rainy season) in my backyard, the wood in my living room that I see every day, the shop lights from getting frozen yogurt with my nephew, along with all the other photos I took was documenting the backdrop of my life. All the details that I don't often think about, but are there just the same. Kinda cool, huh?!? Well, from then on this prompt took on a whole new meaning. With each project these photos find a home in, a piece of me that I hadn't used before is now present.

When you go to take your photos, look for the tiniest of detail, and then maybe step back and look at the big picture.....do you see something new? What is present in your everyday life that you don't normally think about being there? What does the fabric on your dress or bed comforter look like today?

Now that you have an idea of some interesting shots, here are a couple techniques I used for my photos. I don't at this point have a macro lens for sweet Clem, so taking close-ups is a little tricky. I found that changing the F-stop to 4.5 or 5.0 and then switching the Manual-focus ON, helped be "zoom" in to a specific focal point with the rest of the photo being blurry. An example of this would be the photo of the raindrops and also the moss. They are totally different styles of photo but I used the same technique on both. Also, something you will find quite common in my photos is when I get down to the subjects level and shoot straight on or even sometimes a little up. An example of this is (again) the moss photo. During the summer I would not even question getting down on my belly to get a cool photo of the grass or moss is this case. However, during the winter when the ground is sopping wet, you can either squat to try and get your shot, or like I did in my photo...hold the camera close to the ground and just shoot. The cool thing about about the latter is that you sometimes get very unique framing.....try it and see if it works for you : )

See ya next week for Project Monday where I'll share ideas of how to use your photos, along with examples from my completed projects. Have fun this weekend!

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The backdrop of our lives.

Hi everyone! Let me first start off by saying that I'm super excited to be participating in this photo prompt! When Carrie asked me to take photos about our backgrounds and textures, I immediately took to our backyard! I started taking tons of photos because I was seeing so many fun textures and backgrounds! I took a picture of the grass, a flower, a palm tree and a leaf! It made me appreciate all the small things I usually take for granted. Plus I got to explore my new backyard. It was pretty fun being able to explore. So I hope you show us your daily backgrounds!!!

Love, Carrie & Nely

Adventuresome & Sweet Photos

2011-01-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Life is uncharted territory. It reveals its story one moment at a time. - Leo F. Buscaglia

It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - in finding themselves. - Andre Gide

If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author and everyday you have the opportunity to write a new page. - Mark Houlahan

She listened to her heart above all other voices. - Kobi Yamada

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Project Monday

2011-01-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

Hello, and welcome to another Project Monday! Finally.....it feels so great to get back into the swing of things after all the holiday fun. I had a really nice break and just played as much as possible. It felt so great to just let go and enjoy myself.....I hope you had fun too : )

For my project this week I decided to do a layout.....since I hadn't done one in like a month. After thinking about my word (for 2011, and photo from our last photo prompt) and where I am right now, here is what I came up with:

The idea behind this layout started with me looking at my photo and thinking about what I really like right now.....design wise. Well, I really love black and white stripes so, I decided that white background paper layered with black paper strips was a great start.....and it just kinda took off from there. I added pink spray paint for an additional feel and texture of stripes. And for some reason I am really digging an orange / golden feel to things right now, so I added the butterflies and then layered everything else with it. To finish it off, I used gold thread to sew it all together.

Here's a closer look.....

And all the pieces I used to put my layout together.....

(Gloria will not be sharing a Project Monday this week. She has extended her holiday break : )

Have fun creating today, and see you tomorrow for some new inspirational photos!!!

Love, Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2010-12-31T12:01:00.000-08:00

Use your *word* in a sentence.

Yes, Its 2011 and that means its that wonderful time of year when we get to pick our word. You know that word we choose to live by. The word we slowly introduce into our way of life that somehow gives us hope and somehow helps us bring a new meaning to our everyday life. I have chosen the word *Brave*. I feel that in this new year I will be brave in my art. I will be brave in love. I will be brave in my friendships. I will be brave in my mothering. I will be brave in my story telling. For me this means doing those things I am scared of doing, and start showing up for myself were I have been afraid too. I know this will take time but I intend to do my best in showing up for myself.....

I always try to take a moment to figure out how am I going to be able to succeed. I do little things to make my goal attainable and for this year I will write the word. I will put it around my house on post it notes. I will do my best to make myself proud of the brave girl inside of me.....

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Hello Lovelies! Welcome to our last photo prompt of the year. With it being just in time for New Years, we thought it would be nice for you to choose a single word that will represent you in 2011.....and so our photo prompt for this week is to.....

Use your *word* in a sentence.

My word for 2011 is *balance*. Recently I have been thinking about wanting to be in that place that makes it easier for me to enjoy life. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy life, it's just that I sometimes find myself having difficulty dealing with things that make life uncomfortable. My goal for 2011 is to strive for finding that place, and with it be able to work towards more balance in my life. Balance with my sweetie, family, friends, work, play, and everything else. I know it will never be perfect, but it feels like I am on the verge of finding something special.....and growing a lot as a person.....I just have to keep moving.

This photo prompt is a small part of making it happen, and also has a wonderful memory attached to it. I took this photo with my nephew in my brother's backyard. That's him with the flashlight. My 8 year old nephew drew that heart. He helped me take this photo. This photo that is a symbol of what I strive for.....balance.

When you go to take your photo, make it simply what you want. Maybe you want to write down your word in a sentence on paper, and photograph it laying on your table next to some flowers or a cup of coffee.....or maybe you want to hold it, or paint it.....the important thing is that this is a step towards making it real.

Have a fantastic New Years, listen to your heart and go for it!!!

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Joyful & Sweet Photos

2010-12-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

You are, at this moment, standing, right in the middle of your own acres of diamonds. -Earl Nightingale

She decided to make today amazing , so she put on her red shoes and just kept walking forward with a smile on her face.

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, joy and maybe a glitter wand.

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Happy Christmas!!!

2010-12-25T15:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas to all.....and here is a Christmas card for you courtesy of our sweet December guest, Nely : )

We will be on holiday break until December 31st.....when we will share a fun new photo prompt just in time for New Years!!! See ya soon and happy holidays!

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Joyful & Sweet Photos

2010-12-23T12:59:00.000-08:00

Nothing ever becomes real until it is experienced.....

Remember life's most precious gifts usually come unannounced.

From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another - the warmth and joy of Christmas brings us closer to each other. - Emily Matthews

May today be especially beautiful for you.....

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Your appointment with Friday

2010-12-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

Gloria and I are thrilled to have sweet Nely as our photo prompt guest for today!!! Take a look at the fun she came up with.....

Deck The Halls

There's something magical about the month of December. (maybe because it's my birthday month...wink) As soon as the first day hits, I can hear the Christmas songs and smell the peppermint candles. This season is the season to “deck the halls”. I absolutely love stringing Christmas lights, hanging stockings and lighting scented candles! I love driving at night and seeing all the homes lit up with Christmas lights! You can photograph your tree, a candle, your favorite ornament, or give us your favorite holiday song! Can't wait to see how you Deck The Halls.

This Christmas, there is but one single red shiny ornament dangling from our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. You see, since we moved this month, we decided not to get a large tree and hang all of our normal decorations. I found an authentic Charlie Brown tree at our local store. It was perfect! It was all we needed to make our new home have a little bit of Christmas cheer! The red shiny glass ornament dangles off of one single branch, and it's the only ornament on the tree. It's so cute! This picture will be a sweet memory of how we kept Christmas cheer amidst all of the packing and unpacking into our new home!

love~nely

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Honestly, when I found out that Nely had chose Deck the Halls as her photo prompt I was thrilled! I had planned to take some photos of my Christmas decorations to document in my December Daily art journal, and having Nely give us this prompt with such a perfect description really put me in the mood to take my photos.....

Having these little bits of Christmas cheer around the house has been a joy this month! I have been adding photos throughout the month to the strand (in the photo above) that is hanging from some baker's twine.....and I think it is one of my favorite decorations in the house. You can see some of my Christmas lights in the background of the Santa photo, but I also have some bright pink ones hanging over my craft table. I love having them on while I'm relaxing with my sweetie while we watch a movie and drink mulled cider....yummy! They give such a great atmosphere indoors!!! And then I have lots of little odds and ends of Christmasy stuff spread in the kitchen and bathroom that I didn't take photos of. These two photos in particular felt like me right now, so when I see them, they make me happy.

What holiday sentiments are making you happy these days?

And just for fun, since Nely mentioned sharing your favorite Christmas song, I thought it would be festive to share the song Ryan wrote last Christmas (that he was kind enough to let me sing). Hope you enjoy!!!

Christmas So Far Away by Christmas So Far Away

More Christmas So Far Away music on iLike

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Thanks Nely for coming up with such a great prompt! Yes, its that time of year when we all come together to celebrate. I like when we can focus on just the fun stuff. So, whats decking my halls? I took a picture of a Christmas decoration at my Mom's house. Its definitely a new decoration because I haven't seen it before. This made me happy to see my mom still buying decorations and not just keeping the ones we used to have. I love going to my mom's Christmas morning with my kids.....between my brothers and sisters, I have 11 nieces and nephews. That's a great big decking of the halls! I love what decorating brings to children this time of year. I love that my mom has new ornaments out. I love this time of year. Thanks Nely, and I cant wait to see what you come up with.....

Love, Gloria, Carrie and Nely

Joyful & Sweet Photos

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Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. - Marcel Proust

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

Life is just a mirror, and what you see out there, you must first see inside of you. - Wally 'Famous' Amos

Symbolizing eternal hope, the wreath goes 'round and 'round, and where it starts or ends cannot be found. Woven of things that grow - for life, and hung for holiday delight the wreath must be left in place from advent through twelfth night. - Anonymous

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Project Monday

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Well, I didn't think I'd do it, but I finally made time to do four more pages of my December Daily Art Journal.  I'm only up through day 9, but it still feels really great to work on this little momentum of my December 2010 : )

Here they are.....

I varied my formula just a little this time in putting these pages together. There is no watercolor (except a little on page 6). And I didn't sew any of the pages together.....instead I just attached them together with glue. For some reason I liked this better today. I did still sew on most of the photos, though. Days 7 & 8 are mounted on an acrylic sheet, and I actually used my Christmas card for this year to write a note to December for day 9. For Day 6 I tucked a Starbucks cozy inside one of the sleeves.....love that saying, and peppermint mochas are a blessing right now.

I plan to have a few more pages put together each week to share here, but assume I won't be caught up till after the holidays.  But I can't complain.  That's one of the reasons I am enjoying this project so much.....because there is so much to look forward to this month :  )  What are you enjoying most this month?

See you tomorrow for a new photo prompt from our sweet December guest, Nely!

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(Gloria's Project Monday coming soon)

Love, Gloria and Carrie

Playdate with Nely

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(photo from HERE)

Happy Wednesday to all of our Bubblegum Life readers! We would like to welcome you to a fun new in chapter in on our sweet blog project. Today we are really excited to introduce our first photo prompt guest!!! This month Carrie and I find ourselves with a big smile on our face, as we introduce a very close friend.....and our first Playdate with Nely : )

Stay tuned as Nely will be here sharing her holiday inspired photo prompt.....coming this Friday.

Love, Gloria and Carrie