Belated Kudos!

I logged into my gallery at The Lilypad today for the first time since October, apparently, and had a message that one of my layouts had been featured on the weekly Story Board at Log Your Memory...like, two months ago!  What an awesome surprise!

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All a Blur

SO.  It's been another month since I've posted last.  Bad, bad blogger.  But this week's Digi Dares was the kick in the pants I needed to create something that I could actually put up here.  I *have* been working, you see, it's just that it's all been for future releases, and I can't post yet!

But the idea of journaling my thoughts about the week of Christmas was an intriguing one.  I can't say I went the deep and philosophical route...but it's honest, at least.  And helps explain why it's been so dang long since I've shown my virtual face around here!  Click to enlarge...

All a Blur digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Kit: Kitschy Christmas by Jen Barrette and Sahlin Studio; Template: June 2011 Freebie by Sahlin Studio; Fonts: Century Gothic, You Are Loved

Speaking of showing my face...if you look closely, you'll actually see a picture of *me* on this layout!  Bet I could count on one hand the number of times that has happened!


UPDATED 1.6.2012: Turns out I won! How cool is that?  Thanks, DigiDares!

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I Heart Faces: Autumn Splendor

I love it when I Heart Faces announces a photo challenge and I know immediately which picture I want to submit!  For "Autumn Splendor" this week, this shot was my clear choice.

Our old house was built in a subdivision that used to be someone's corn field...flat with no mature trees.  So naturally, the kids wanted the new house to have woods (or at least a tree they could climb).  They've waited since the move in August for the leaves to start falling...they wanted to rake...they wanted to jump in the piles!  And they finally got their wish!

I love this photo because it's pure spontaneity.  I suppose it could have been a posed thing, but it wasn't.  They literally landed in the leaves that way, all laughing, all (uncharacteristically) managing to look in my direction at the same time!  Splendid.

Leaves

Thanks for looking!  Don't forget to check out the other gorgeous entries at I Heart Faces!

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I Heart Faces: Fix It Friday

So, I've never participated in an I Heart Faces Fix It Friday before!  But, I've been playing more and more with photo editing, and this pictures was just too cute to pass up!  And since I'm determined to drink the entire pot from my new coffeemaker this morning, I decided to give it a whirl!

Here's the original shot, courtesy of photographer Adrienne Zwart...

And here's what I did, working in my trusty ol' Photoshop Elements 7...

1. Lighten Shadows (25%)

2. Pioneer Woman Fresh Color (no Hue/Saturation adjustment, Soft Light 30%)

3. PW Bring Out the Eyes (70%)

4. PW Sunshine (10%)

5. Flatten

6. Duplicate layer, Screen (25%)

7. PW Edge Burn (25%)

8. Flatten and crop to recompose

My final product...

  

Thanks for stopping by!

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I Heart Faces: Let Them Be Little

Four-year-old bliss.

In the Surf 

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Inspiration Overload

I've been running on inspiration overload this week.  Maybe it's that I'm procrastinating doing all the things around the house that are more important... Maybe it's that I caught up on downloading Becky Fleck's PageMaps that I had missed over the last few months.

Either way, I've been a scrappin' fool lately!  It feels really great, because I haven't had a jag like this in a long, long time... Believe it or not, these are just the pages I've done for fun; there are several more that I can't show you yet because they have to wait for the sketches to be released!  Sigh.  I'm loving this.

Enjoy!

 Spaghetti Face digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Kit: One Love Collab by Scrap Orchard; Lined Paper: Line it Up by Amy Martin; Border: Doodle Borders by Sahlin Studion; Sketch: PageMaps by Becky Fleck; Font: Underwood Champion

  Apple Orchard digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Kit: Apple Orchard by Sahlin Studio; Paper Fold: Gunhild Storeide; Sketch: PageMaps by Becky Fleck; Fonts: Mailart Rubberstamp, Gill Sans MT Condensed

   What is Fall? digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Kit: So Grateful by Sugarplum Paperie and Sahlin Studio; Overlay: Fall Overlay by Anna Aspnes; Font: Underwood Champion

 Fresh Air digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Paper: Kate Teague; Stitched Border, Jeweled Button: Karen Funk; Ribbons, Flowers, Buttons: Audrey Neal; Tag: Robyn Meierotto; Word Art: Sara Schmutz; Fonts: JP Sponge Job, I Love Derwin

 Playful digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Kit: Art and Soul by Sahlin Studio; Word Art: Playful by Sahlin Studio; Sketch: PageMaps by Becky Fleck; Font: Traveling Typewriter

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I Heart Faces: Tickled Pink

It's Monday, which means photo challenge day at I Heart Faces!  Their theme this week is "Tickled Pink," in honor of breast cancer awareness.  I really struggled with whether to post something of my wonderful mother-in-law, whom we lost to cancer 19 months ago.  I looked at a hundred pictures of her and decided to keep them to myself for today :).  I think they're better suited to my own memories than today's competition...

So, here's a much lighter-hearted take on the color! Little daughter, perpetually dressed in pink, gettin' some love from Puppy.  Click to see larger and clearer, and as always, thanks for looking!

Kisses

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I Heart Faces: Raise Your Hands!

This week's challenge at I Heart Faces is a little different...they're featuring hands, and there doesn't actually have to be a face in the picture!

This spring picture of baby #4 came immediately to mind. The boy is obsessed with rocks (what preschool boy isn't, honestly?).  He's always "collecting" them, piling them, sorting them.  This photo is such a perfect little time capsule of who he is right now...those sweet toddler fingers, filled with the inexplicable treasures of boyhood...that pink smirk, so pleased with his find.

Treasures

As always, you can click the picture to see it larger, and don't forget to peek at the other gorgeous entries at I Heart Faces!  Thanks for stopping by!

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Sketches Rock!

With everything that's been going on in life, my creative mojo has been, well, running on empty.  I'm so fortunate to be a team member at Scrapbook Challenges, because it forces me to sit down and design...whether I'm feeling it or not.  Even more fortunately, the sketches that the staff there dream up are awesome, and sometimes I'm genuinely surprised at what I'm able to do with their inspiration!  So, I thought I'd post a few of the recent sketch layouts I've designed for them...

 Sizzling Summer of Sketches SS06 by Natalie Macdonald for Scrapbook Challenges

  Major Tude digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Kit: Art and Soul by Holly Designs and Sahlin Studio; Flair: Plaiditude Add-On by BZB Designs; Sketch: SS06 by Natalie Madonald for Scrapbook Challenges; Font: Carbon Type

Sizzling Summer of Sketches SS10 by Jowilna Nolte for Scrapbook Challenges 

The Orange Party digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Paper: Maybe by Deena Rutter; Paper Tear: Gunhild Storeide; Stitch: Stitch It Up 4 by Crisdam Designs; Alpha: Holly Jolly by Robyn Meierotto; Sketch: SS10 by Jowilna Nolte for Scrapbook Challenges; Font: I Love Derwin

 Sketch 267 by Jowilna Nolte for Scrapbook Challenges 

Listen to Your Heart digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Paper: Persimmon by Jen Allyson; Tag: Tag You're It by Robyn Meierotto; String, Scallop: Organic Elements by Audrey Neal; Word Art: Art and Soul by Sahlin Studio; Sketch: 267 by Jowilna Nolte for Scrapbook Challenges; Font: Carbon Type

 Sketch 268 by Anna White-Sharman for Scrapbook Challenges

His Window digital scrapbooking layout by Chanell Rigterink Credits Digital Kits: Treaured Moments Add-On by Sahlin Studio and Sugarplum Paperie, You and Me CT Appreciation Collab; Frames: Back to Basics Frames by Sara Schmutz; Alpha: Foam Stamp by Sahlin Studio; Sketch: 268 by Anna White-Sharman for Scrapbook Challenges; Font: Grant's Ghosts

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I Heart Faces: People's Choice, Summer 2011

It's People's Choice week at I Heart Faces, and they're choosing the "Best Face Photo of Summer 2011."  My summer was sheer craziness, and honestly, I didn't take many pictures (bad mommy-tog!).

But I managed to find this great shot of E during a festival... He had wanted one of these caramel apples when we were there last year, but a loose tooth prevented him.  As it drew closer this year, he actually pulled another loose one, just to make sure he'd be able to get that apple!  I think you can tell by the photo that he was enjoying it...

Caramel Apple

Thanks for looking, and vote vote vote!  :)

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Puppy Love

Quincy loves him some Auntie H... Seems the feeling is mutual!

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I Heart Faces: A Touch of Sun

For six months, I haven't been able to decide if this is a "good" picture.  Let's be honest: it's totally overexposed and the contrast is entirely too harsh.  One eye is practically lost to the shadows.

But there's still something I find captivating about it... the sparkle and intensity of his gaze; the way the light plays off those long eyelashes; how it highlights that fuzzy perfection of baby skin.  Melt.

So, while I might not consider it a technical success, I couldn't help but enter it in the I Heart Faces challenge this week: Touch of Sun.  Click the photo to see it in better resolution, and thanks for looking!

Captivating

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Back to School, Part Two

Monday I posted one pic of the older three's first day of school for the weekly contest at I Heart Faces.  Actually, it's not my favorite shot of the day, but it best fit their requirements (a face has to be showing in order to qualify).

So, I thought it might be nice to post a few more from that morning, along with a couple more from Pup's first morning of preschool today.  Enjoy!

 

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I Heart Faces: Back to School

So, yeah.  It seems that two whole months have passed since I've blogged last...for good reason, really.  If you only knew everything that's happened!

Here's the Cliff's Notes version: sold the house...bought a house...found out we're expecting baby number five...went on vacation...moved...started football season...started school...unpacked maybe half the house...had a birthday...gratefully outlasted the morning sickness...beginning a major renovation project.

I might actually be developing a little routine now, which seems like a miracle.  I have a nice sunny spot for my office (actually, the sun's totally in my eyes at the moment!), and I've started catching up on my blog reading.

Which is how I realized that this week's challenge at I Heart Faces is Back to School...perfect, because those are some of the FEW pictures I've managed to take over the last several weeks!  And, it's a lovely way to ease myself back into putting my thoughts in complete sentences like a sane person!

So, here's my entry.  We live so close to the kids' new elementary school in this house that they get to walk!  The first day was gorgeous, if a bit chilly, and the walk was lovely. The kids were a mixture of excitement and nervousness (since they didn't know a soul in their classes), and I think you can see both emotions on E's face as he looked back at me.

The New Commute

You can click to enlarge the picture (and view it more clearly).  BTW, they all had a great first day, made some new friends and adore their teachers!  Thanks for stopping by today!

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Independence Day Parade

We're moving in a few weeks, and we've been hearing from everyone how our new town puts on the most amazing Fourth of July parade around.  So, of course, we had to check it out...and we were not disappointed!  This thing was more than an hour long, with hundreds of floats, sirens and more candy than you would ever believe.

The cheer that went up when the color guard passed was amazing.  The crowd was so proud of their veterans, clapping for each VFW float that passed.  A man across the street from us yelled out "Thank you for your service!" to every one of them.

All the trucks, new and old were out and blaring their sirens.  It was really cool!

High school cheerleading squad, followed by the football players.  There's a new varsity head coach, and these kids are super involved in the community now.  And, of course, several of them know Hubs, so we got lots of shout-outs.

The new head coach.  We've known him for years, and the kids adore him.  He came over to us on the side of the road and was high-fiving E.

Red Robin.  Yummmm.

The four-lane road was really more like two, because the crowd was spilling into the street to get closer to the action.  Well, let's be honest.  It was to get a better shot at the candy.

I'd been told that several people walked in Star Wars costumes, and I was not lead awry.  Here's the Storm Trooper to prove it!  There was also a guy that could easily have passed for Liam Neeson as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn...it was kind of spooky!

This looked sweet coming down the street.  The boys informed me that this is actually a bad-guy (I've come to learn it's a member of the Emperor's Royal Guard)...but we decided that it's still cool that he's patriotic.

One of the many dance and gymnastics troupes in the parade.  I bet this girl made it 30 yards in that handstand.

Move over, Halloween.  The kids easily made a candy haul that rivals any trick-or-treating they've done!

Tonight we're going back for food vendors, bounce houses and fireworks.   Makes me so excited to be moving there...very proud to be a new part of that community and my country!

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