pamgarrison

december daily, days 2 & 3

Before I get to days 2 and 3, I wanted to show some additions to what I've previously shown. I did end up going back and making another "hello december" arrow, this one is more legible in person, although, not super clear here.

I couldn't resist gluing this scrap of magazine paper from a Hallmark ad down on my inside cover.

I also added a clear overlay to day 1 spread and this little ribbon with the date stamped on it:

The ribbon is actually in between plastic, kept in place by a little gold brad on the outside, since it was moving around. Before I had put the ribbon there, you could see through to the next spread where I had stamped Dec 02 2012 and it was annoying me, :).

Day 2 spread- my favorite parts of these pages are the arrows that were scavenged from packaging, the red arrows in a row, from a new faucet we installed, and the brown one above the shell was one of those "pull to open here" arrows on shipping boxes.

Because the day was full of things I wanted us to remember, I used 2 spreads. Here's the second:

The left side is a full size pocket protector- I wanted to do one where the photos were cut up, but figuring out how to do that since the back would be affected by the same perameters was getting me confused and getting in the way of me actually documenting it, so I let that go.

The right side page is one of the pieces that came with this. Love that it had the 2 cut out and I attached some paper security tape behind it.

I sewed on a photo I took of my lap when driving home- and added a playing card from an old game of Rook (I think it was Rook).

And day 3 spread:

A full page photo sewn in a page protector with a Martha Stewart label sticker on top, stamped with an old set of stamps I have:

I don't know if the company is still selling them, but here's their info on the box:

On the right side of the page, I used one of the same pages from the same as the 2 above, and it had a 3 cut out already:

I didn't back it with anything, because I liked the page 4 stuff that was showing through.

The only thing besides pen and washi tape on this page are the button from here, a gold doily from here.

Onto days 4,5,6 and soon 7, time is flying, at least I'll remember how we spent it now ;).

love!

Meet my Dad (Duke, right), and his pal Wayne (left). They've been friends forever and have worked together over the years making various products, both having had business with machine shops etc. Anyway, not too long ago, I sent my Dad a photo of an arrow light that I saw at the flea market that was $500.00 (!!!) and asked if he could make one for me. And look what they came up with! Love, love, love the arrow lights they've made out of beautiful metal. They also made a star and some alphabet letters for me. How awesome are they?!?! So awesome!




For the moment, one of the prototypes is living on my kitchen counter. It was a huge hit at Thanksgiving with all that came through the house. I was so happy for my Dad that everyone showed such honest enthusiasm at the sight of them. 

Look at the little star:

They're making 2 larger sized stars, as well as some arrows that are slightly larger and with a different shape. A couple other shapes in the work right now too. They've got a bigger project in the way right now, but as soon as that's out of the way, they'll be on these full time. They may even open up a little etsy shop! Of course, I"ll let you know. But, in the meantime, they're manufacturing a few for me to bring to the Handmade Holiday Boutique to sell!!! Can't wait to see them all together, the lights are so pretty against the metal, and can't wait to see who they go home with! 

december daily, and so it begins

I'm having fun with December Daily, but wishing I had a little more time to play and experiment. I am feeling behind already. We went on a little overnight trip on the 1st, so I didn't get to begin the storytelling/documenting/ until returning home on the 2nd, and really, because of a busy day yesterday, last night (the 3rd). So here it is the 4th and I'm just now posting day 1. I'm trying to figure out how I want to approach this as I go along. I know so many that participate in December Daily also do Project Life, so they don't document all that happens, just capture moments of the season daily. I'm not sure what approach I'm going to take yet, it's an experiment for me for sure, having never "scrapbooked" (for lack of a better term), before.

Last night I lined the inside of my book with washi tape. So fun to do and I love the result. Need to take a little sandpaper to the edges, but other than that, it's good to go.

I also worked on a working title page of sorts. I'll probably add another page on top of this eventually, but for now, I've got something in there to get me started. I just used one of Ali Edward's stamps with hot pink zing powder onto a handmade paper. It didn't work out that well, I think because of the porous, uneven paper,  but no big deal.

I practiced writing a sort of title, using ink (I do love that vert olive color!) and a dip pen, before writing directly on the page...

But as you can see, I had trouble with the paper (too porous) and didn't really get such a lovely result. This is a good example of how each stage of my creating informs the next, because I then went searching for something to obscure the writing, deciding on a velum paper included in Kelly Purkey's kit, and taped it on.

I like the result of it. Although, looking at this photo, I really think I am going to re do that "hello december" arrow so that it's easier to read. :)

Onto December 1...

December 1st happens to be my daughter's birthday, so my husband, son and I headed up to love on her. It's a long, mostly beautiful drive, and I took lots of photos along the way, as well as once we got to her, her room mates, with us, etc. but in the end, the iphone photo I took of her making a wish on her birthday gelato summed up the day the best I felt. I added the Bokeh hearts using the Picfx app.

Next I did a rough cut and paste of some of the hearts in PhotoShop to obscure the people in the background and printed it to fit in a full sized pocket protector that came with my book.  I put some glitter alphabet stickers on top of the pocket protector vs. on top of the photo. I went back and forth on whether to print the photo on card stock and not use a page protector at all...may still change my mind on that. Here's the spread of December 1, the notes written about the day done on the backside of the title page. There is more "flair" than I would typically want to use, but I made a writing mistake that was too distracting, so added a second, and then for balance added the third at the bottom.

And there you have my day one of December Daily! Like I said, I'm figuring this out as I go along, but the point is it's fun, and the most important part is that for once, I will have created something for my family that tells the story of our family at this moment in time. I've been good at making treasures for them throughout the years, such as quilts or stockings etc. etc. but NOT good at pictures and words, and it's something that I do feel a lot of guilt, (or regret) about, so it feels good to be doing something now.

You can see Ali's page one here and links to a whole bunch more on the bottom of her post.

 

thanksgiving recap

Hope those of you that live in the States had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend! We had a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday. Here are some of the few photos I captured (thank goodness for my phone, I swear, I hardly pick up my big camera anymore).

The best part of Thanksgiving every year is having our family in town and a house full of guests. There's nothing like cousin time on special holidays! 

My daughter was totally into cooking this year, even more than last, and she basically took over all the planning and head chef duties. The day before, she corralled the kids and made those cute acorns you see all over pinterest:

I can't tell you how pleased I am that she is finally uses pinterest. After all my attempts at explaining why she would like it fell on deaf ears, her college dorm mates convinced her. (Of course, right?) She also pre-scooped the ice cream for the pie thanks to pinterest. :

She didn't seem to mind bossing me around too much:

And truthfully, I didn't mind it either, I love making pies (we made one pumpkin and 2 apple), and frankly, she did such an awesome job it was easy to give up control! 

My neices went through an entire pad of art paper, making various signs and things like leaves and acorns to decorate the house (like in the first photo- you can see they loved my paper crimper too). 

I can't tell you how much I love art made by kids! Love it! And look at those cute arrows, makes an arrow obsessed Aunt proud. Look at the faces and directional arms...and that squirrel! 

As I mentioned when I posted this on my instagram, they were clearly fixated on the "asind seeting" ...{their mom explained to me that although they are twins, they are in separate classrooms and one has a teacher that is very focused on spelling correctly, the other does not, so one asks her mom for correct spelling...of course, I find the incorrect spelling so charming.}

Not too long before serving dinner, I popped in the dining room to do something and saw one of my nieces, ready and waiting at her place. How cute is that?!?

I was so glad she let me take her photo, and it didn't take long for her sister to find her:

It does make me sad that my brothers live in Nor Cal and my family and my Dad live in So Cal. When I look at these pictures, I miss being able to participate in each others' lives on a regular basis. I'd love to babysit (which would most likely mean them chasing my son around the house for much of the time, just like cousins do!)

Thanks to my daughter, we enjoyed a lovely feast, and our friend Gillian, who is English, informed us that the correct way to open party crackers is with the help of a friend, not all by yourself, like we'd been doing. In case you are the type to have holiday party crackers, now you know the proper English way too.  

I'm happy to report that thanks to the signage, everyone was able to not only find their way to the dining room, but also to their correct seating! There were a couple very pleased 7 year olds. I will save my "Ant Pam" placecard forever. 

After dinner there was the general lolling about, dish washing, pie baking, and apparently some ipad-ing too.

And just like every year, some dear friends stop by and we do even more lolling about, eating, visiting and always big group game playing. We seriously need Catch Phrase to come out with a new edition of replacement discs, we've been through the same words year after year. Luckily, we adults are forgetful, and the kids grow so much from year to year that they relate to the words differently each time, so, so far, so good. 

The firepit is a favorite place to gather and hang out. I've still got to get the rocks to cover the ring (we all can't agree- some what glass marbles, some want sand and natural stone, I'll let you guess who wants what). But finished or not, everyone loves the fire pit- it's mesmerizing, and comfy, and perfect for s'more making and general stretching out the evening and the fun times. The new furniture around it and my sparkly shoes from TJMaxx were both big hits as well. Although, in all honesty, even though the shoes were flat, they did hurt my feet by the end of the night...a case of you get what you pay for maybe? 

 

And then it was time to love on Papa and say goodnight. 

The next day was more of the same, sans the big meal, without all the guests. More relaxing, more games, more eating and drinking, visiting and dishes, and walks to the park to play basketball and run (especially after cousins).  No shopping, no working, no homework: a true "stay-cation" as they say, and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. 

Nov 12, 2012- Happy Veteran's Day

Thank you to all those that serve or have served our country, and the loved ones of those in our military for their sacrifices as well, especially the spouses and children. I thought I'd share a photo of my brother, CAPT C.R. Dugan, call sign Max (remember that movie? 'Max Dugan Returns' ? That's where the name came from I hear), a Navy fighter pilot. He was in the military long before he had his girls, my nieces Molly and Caitlin, but serving must have become more meaningful for him as a father, especially when seeing them celebrate our country. They are so cute, aren't they? May they always have the freedoms and rights that those that this day honors serve/served to provide. Something else to be thankfull for in November.

happy mother's day!

 

I hope you are having a lovely weekend! Mine started out great with a surprise visit from college daughter. She had told me she wouldn't be coming home this weekend, as she had surprised her brother with a visit last weekend for his birthday. Made sense to me. I had just been sort of complaining about it to a friend last Thursday night, and not 2 hours later she walked in the door. She really did surprise me, which is not easy to do, moms are always the ones that know everything that's going on! I literally teared up as I went out with her to thank her friend that had given her a ride home. Such a great gift.

On Saturday we were trying to put her hair in one of those sock roll buns (it eventually worked quite nicely- youtube it if interested) and I was taken by how cute her nail color was so made her let me take a photo:

It's so fun to have her sweet, feminine energy around the house. Sadly, she had to head back mid morning today, but it was worth it. She and her brother made the card on one of my journal pages this morning (top photo of post). And I found this "card" from my son, who was a little bit cranky about going to be last night:

And as my instagram this morning stated, my daughter's boyfriend often brings her flowers when she is home, but today, he brought some to me. Smart boy ;)

Enjoy what remains of the weekend! See you here this week. xo

scenes from saturday

chore-ing

noticing

exercising (and feeling the pain)

indulging

challenging

returning

enjoying

viewing

being

reading

working

thank you-ing

reflecting

cleaning

playing

It was a lovely Saturday, for those of us that live at home, and away at college. I'm glad to have stopped to notice thanks to Ali's  Week In The Life. Hope yours was lovely too!

 

 

 

 

 

where i've been lately part 2

Last post I was prepping for teaching at French General, which included a trip to Joann's for some supplies. I couldn't resist all the goodies above, including the pincushion, even though none of it was needed for class.

It's an illness, this intense love of fabric and all sorts of craft supplies. I just see so many things that I want to create with when I look at them.

Here I am in the middle of two of my favoite girls, Charlotte and Kaari before the whirlwind began. French General is truly an amazing environment to be in, if you haven't gone for a shopping trip or class, I highly recommend it, it never disappoints.

And here I am with friends Judi and Gina. Judi treated Gina to class for her birthday, how sweet is that? Gina posted some of her super cute hearts from class on her blog too. Go see!
And after this picture, I was swooped up in the class fun and as usual, completely forgot to take another photo. If anyone in class has any online to share, post a link in the comments so we can see it through your eyes. The students were sweet and kind and fun and I always appreciate spending time with others that love to make, so thanks for coming out to play!

Charlotte came to stay with me afterwards, as she was also in town for CHA, where her new fabric line for Blend Fabrics was on display. Look at the lovely hostess gift she left for me. LOVE it! I have my very own stash of her fabric. Can't wait to dig in and create with it!

Want to see some close ups?

I thought so...

Each time I think I've decided on a favorite, then I see another. Too many to play favorites! If you want some too, I think you'll have to ask your local fabric store at this point. I'm sure someone online will eventually have them too. When you see a fabric line when it is first out, it's hard to be patient and wait until the orders are all filled! But these teasers should let you know what to be on the lookout for.

{Ed: you can go here to find out where to buy}

And lately, while all the other prep has been going on, I've been helping my Dad get ready to move again. This time for a long time I hope, in a really nice over 55 community. Moving is exhausing, at every age! Knowing we had the move around the corner, I was out looking for a few things he needs and headed to HomeGoods for a look see. I found two cute lamps for him:

And while I was checking out, look what else I saw:

It's right up front in the area where you check out. So if any of you are looking for the giftwrap I did with Paypaya Art, check your local HomeGoods or TJMax!

Ok, back to the moving for me!

caught a glimpse of Christmas

           

Just a glimpse, as it flew by as fast as it came. Full of guests and sweets treats, gifts and good times. It has been a good year, and we're enjoying every last day of it. Until the New Year...

in the works

              
Thanks so much for all the love, support and understanding. I savor each and every comment, and gain perspective from them too. I thought it only fair to show you some happy photos of the transition as well as the painful ones from the last post. Above, we were just heading out from home. I said it was the "Prius as clown car" moving method. They look happy here, but started complaining a bit a few hours in of leg cramps haha.

Here is a happy shot of my babies (no matter how old they get, I can call them that, no?)  in her dorm room, pre lunch and ensuing departure.          (She bought her bedding online from Target )

Here I am with my girl as well. Just wanted to show you that the day wasn't all heartache and tears. We are very excited for her, and she is so happy. She worked very hard her whole life to get this opportunity, and we couldn't be more proud and excited (and a wee bit jealous, truth be told) for her and her college experience. {See the poster in the top left corner? It's the one I was working on here. - more on that in a minute} All reports from college are happy happy. She even sent me a first day of school photo as this was the first time in her life I wasn't there to document the moment. (sniffle) We are all adjusting to the change around here. So lucky to live in this age of technology, Skyping makes it easier.

Before she left, I made a plan to recommit to my art making, and to making a business of it, and to getting organized as a focus and direction to grow in when we got home from the move. I had to postpone the immediate jump into it because a couple more pressing extended family issues came up that took all my attention, but now that those have settled, I am excited to really focus on some dreams I've had for years. And the first one came as a result of requests. That's where the snippet of the poster in the above shot comes in. I made the poster and someone pinned it, and from the blog and pinterest, I've gotten so many requests for prints. I am grateful for the interest, and am diligently working on making that happen. I am super excited about it, and have so much enthusiasm that ideas keep popping into my head for many different designs. I have been spending many hours lost in the creating. Want some peeks?

This one makes me think of Kelly Rae and her sweet baby True. {Love that name, love the word, love the meaning.} I've had tons of learning to do in this making prints out of these. Tons. Still learning, still researching. Still trying to find the best, smartest way to end up with the highest quality product. My friend Tammy has been quite generous with her knowledge, this forum on etsy, and I also have found Kelly Rae's info in this particular book very helpful. This post of Kelly Rae's is how I feel right now. Over the years I've learned lots of things, one of which is how much I do not know :). At times I am overwhlemed and find it daunting, but I have promised myself that now is the time to tend to those needs. For me. And hopefully for you, so that finally, I'll have something to offer for those that are interested. Everyone else figures it out and gets it done, there is no reason I can't too, I tell myself. During a phone conversation about art/business with Jenny this week, she said she was recently told by her accountant when she asked if she was the worst client as far as cluelessness, "oh no! there are way worse out there than you" hahahahahha. That cracked me up! That's a new motto for me; when feeling like I know nothing with a capital N, I will remember that I am never as bad as the worst! I'm still laughing at that concept of cheerleading even as I type it! I may suck, but someone sucks worse than me, hahahahhahahaha. Not exactly what I'm going for!

So far, I've taken a few things to a printers to see what the result woud be, both look and cost, and am still waiting on that. But all the research I've done and all the sellers on etsy alone seem to indicate that buying a printer like this one here, is the way to go. Which then means figuring out the scanning; have profesionally done at a printer? photograph? buy a large scanner (super super expensive)?, photoshop? etc. And then there's the buying of all the different papers to see which I like best. They do sell sample packs, but I wish there were somewhere I could go, in person, to feel and see the papers. I hate spending money on researching, seems wasteful.

Next up, how to package. To mat, or no mat, protective bags, mailing tubes or envelopes, sizes to offer, etc. etc. And all my heart yearns to do is go draw and color, so I sneak that in here and there. My reward for sticking to the work.
            

So that's where I've been, and where I'm going right now. Thanks for checking in. xo

we found sea shells

We found seashells on the South Carolina sea shore. Here's what we found right on the beach where we were staying. Fun, because it's pretty rare that we find shells on our Southern California beaches. It's also usually illegal to collect them on the beaches that do have them here (like all the beaches in Laguna). We didn't have many chances to go looking, and we didn't find many whole shells, but that didn't stop us. My favorites are the plaid pieces outside the jar, they are so smooth and silky feeling, and the plaid is so pretty. We didn't find any shark's teeth, and seeing a fellow searcher's three she found that morning explained why; they were minuscule.

My friend Sally and I did make it to Fox & Hound and B&B Antiques, (thank you Paulette for the research and comment), and I came home with this tiny mum tin for my air sickness patches, and a cute hanky to add to some embroidery samplers. And this funky little handmade piggy bank box shown below.

And my favorite finds were these art books.  At $2.00 a piece they will be fantastic journal collage fodder.

And that was it, all for under $20.00. I'm home, they are unpacked, and I'm digging to cut into the art books, but laundry first, creating later.

As always, I'm happy to be home, and it looks like we brought some of the weather with us; we woke up to rain today!

greetings from the road

I got caught out in the rain yesterday and loved every minute of it. We're on the other side of the country and for us Californians, thunder and lightning and giant rainstorms that arise out of the blue are just plain fun. Of course, you know, the storm lost a little bit of it's luster when certain scheduled events were cancelled, but only a little bit. I started the morning searching for shark's teeth on the beach (no luck, ...yet) and finished it watching our gang of boys play baseball. A very different, yet surprisingly fun, vacation for us all.

So, anyone know any places we should be sure to shell hunt, sea glass/pottery chard hunt, junk shop, antique, eat, etc. in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina? Just in case any games get rained out due to unexpected lightning storms? ( That is when I'm not trying to catch the storm on video for pet/house sitter that hasn't seen lightning in years- I'm finding it really hard to capture the excitement of the storms. I won't even bore you with the video here. I guess there's no substitute for experiencing things for yourself, no matter how good technology gets; and there's something very comforting about that!)

helllloooo!

Please pardon my long absence! We've been very busy around here with all the events before during and after the celebration of our graduate! What a fun whirlwind it has been.

Turning the tassles....and then...tossing the caps into the air  Some of my shots aren't in focus, I was far, far away in the stands, but I love this shot just the same. Can you see my girl? She has a light blue sash on. The shot of her tossing her cap reminds of the Mary Tyler Moore show opening. I know, many of you never saw that show, it was before your time. Don't remind me of my age, having a daughter graduate high school is reminder enough ;).

 
She is posing for someone else's parents, I'm still too far away.

Yay! Captured her excitement pretty well as we found her right after.

Finding Daddy as she came off the field.

 

Aunt and cousin come from afar to celebrate.

Even Mom and brother feel like celebrating. Graduating felt like a family accomplishment. All for one and one for all, right?

Finding her friends. "We did it!"

   

More friends came to show their support (having already graduated last year).

Honorary Aunt and Uncle make the trek too.

I am so proud of our girl, she is such an amazing person.

We arrived home to dear friends bringing a feast for all. How kind is that?!? I must remember to do that for friends whose kids graduate! Seriously thoughtful. We were all starving too, and there was no time for dinner out before she had to rush out for grad night.

Another honorary Aunt shares the love.

Proud Papa.

A great time was had by all celebrating our girl. She is so lucky to have so much love in her life!

And shortly after this photo, (it was pitch black, edited so you can see their faces) Mom went to bed, too pooped to pip, but with the alarm set to pick her up from grad night bus at 5:30am...um, why? why can't they return back from their big night of fun at say, 7am? Oh well, one last parental act to conclude those years of education I suppose.

 

happy memorial day

my birthday boy

You've heard me say it 100 times regarding both my babies:

it's gone too fast!!!!

(p.s. photo taken with a Canon Rebel, FILM camera...not only my boy has changed a lot over the years! )

Where is my baby boy? How could he be this big now, officially 12 years old? 

He's a lucky little boy too; at his baseball game last night, he hit his first homerun this year...on his birthday!!!  How fun is that?!? Very, and I have the photos that show it:

 

 

Making the experience even better, his teammates were so excited, and even his friends and parents on the other team were happy for him, knowing it was his birthday. It was very sweet, because we all realize, as far as they are from the baby at the top, they are still just little boys. For a little bit longer...

a weekend up the coast

 

Can't really complain about car rides when this is the view out the window, now can I? Or this one, which I think is equally as beautiful.

With our daughter graduating this year, it was time to tour some of her favorite college campuses again. She's so grown up, yet not, all at the same time.

             
             

          
I had fun playing with my new camera while at a Farmers' Market,

and my son had fun playing with my old one on one campus.

          

I love that one of the students painted their bike, and that he noticed.

capturing daily life

          

          

         

         

          

Inspired by Ali Edwards to capture our daily life and keep record of our story.  She is a master at documenting life, like she does in this post of hers here. Such a great girft for her family and her children. Not just the telling of their story, but the way she's teaching her children to do the same thing. And me too. 

I decided to follow her example and take out my phone and capture one of my favorite moments of every day...especially if he gets off the bus smiling. :)

one last look at valentine's day yesterday

            

Hand stitching on top of felt hearts from Michael's craft store. Below, a super simple little garland made using sticky cut outs found there as well. (Great project to do with little ones)

A journal page showing some Valentine's made this year inspired by Thomas Campbell.

     

  And the finished pillow from yesterday's post.

I love Valentine's Day crafts!

go red titans!

 
                                                               {photograph credit: Michelle Thorpe}

Please permit a non crafting post by a proud mom. I'm so excited for my son and his Pee Wee Pop Warner football team. I'm told that 1,500 teams in their division began the season, and our team is one of the 8 remaining that will play in Florida next week for the National Championships!!! If you have a son that plays Pop Warner, then you probably have heard coaches say for years, as we have, "let's make it to Florida!"...and I'm sure many of you have gone, but this is a first for our family. Our team has worked so very hard all season...and are still at it. Here's hoping they take the title next week!!! Will any of you be there with your sons? Hopefully, our boys are not playing each other!

You may have already seen his team if you watch NFL football. During half-time, Toyota has been doing a Tiny Football League segment and they are one of the teams that were featured. Here are some shots of them filming their commercial this summer.It was a fun day for the boys, and a very special football year for my little guy.

 

And just because I'm his mama, a couple of my baby. If you look closely at the second one, you can see that he still has a little bit remaining of those hand dimples children have. But at age 11, not for long. My kids are getting too old! (What does that say about me? haha- don't answer that!!!)

Well, I won't be there to see it live, too expensive and my daughter has school, so I'll be excited to get the reports and will let you know if they make it to the last playoff game! Here's hoping!!!

                     Go  Red Titans!!!

creative girls come in all ages

 
I went away for one weekend and feel like my daughter took the last leap from childhood while I was gone. So sad for this mama. Here's the proof. Doesn't she look all grown up? (she's in the middle, surrounded by dear friends).While I was gone, she and her friends decided to do a little photo shoot. Her creative friend Cameron took all these photos of the girls. She even brought the balloons. She happens to be "into" photography and I think that she's very talented! She's really bright too, and off to a good college; I hope she brings her camera and doesn't stop capturing moments as she sees them, I like the way she sees things.  I love it when kids do creative things all on their own! Here's to creativity in all ages. 

            

This photo captures this time right now...it's going by in a blur and she's on her way...whahhhhhh....  Like so many others, I'd do anything for a do-over!!!