catching up with your questions

Hello, my fine friends! Addressing more of your recent questions today.

But first - a totally random picture that I love. Porter was 2 years old (he's just about 5 now) and this particular winter brought over 100" of snow to Cleveland, where we lived at the time.



Now onto your questions & comments.

[ SURPRISED?? ] Okay, let's just get this out there first. WHY is everyone so surprised that the picture in the post below IS really me!? : ) No, I was never a cheerleader. Gymnastics was my first sport as a youngin' and then basketball & tennis became "my" sports as a teenager. I love being active, but for sure am slacking in this department lately. : (

[ ALBUMS ] Some of you who are new here missed my post about the albums I use. See my Oct. 30 post for more information. They are GORGEOUS and wonderful and classic and yes ... my family albums are REAL RED, which replaced my black ones (that went to a few friends). Yes, I prefer 3-ring. Gives me the flexibility I need for keeping my pages organized, especially since many of them are used for publication.

[ ENVELOPES ] The tall & skinny Christmas card I did last year (you can see it here) went in a standard No. 10 envelope (4 1/8" x 9 1/2"). Not nearly as fun as the envelopes that go with my Christmas card kit! : )

[ KIDS ART ] After I scan my kids' art (see Nov. 14 post), I DO throw most of it out ... after it's been displayed for a while, of course. There are a few things I hang on to, but having it scanned is the best. We use the Epson Perfection 4490. I would LOVE a 12"x 12" scanner. Some day.

[ SKETCHES ] My new Sketches book includes sketches up to June 2006. My sketches published in CK since that time are not included in my new book. PS - This is on sale right now here.

[ PHOTO SHOOTS ] No, I don't do photo shoots for hire. I am NOT professional. It's just something I enjoy doing and it's something I love to share with loved ones. This is a particularly busy picture-taking time since the holidays are here and everyone's working on Christmas cards. I shoot with a Canon 10D.

[ YOUTH TIME CAPSULE ] Here are the pdf files for those of you who wanted to just print what I already designed for this project. I made these for our youth group. See my July 16 post for a reminder of how I put the super simple booklets together. Obviously you need to do all necessary trimming after you print these pages.

/time%20capsule%201-2.pdf

/time%20capsule%203-4.pdf

/time%20capsule%205-6.pdf

[ 3" x 5" PICTURES ] In my video clip post on Nov. 13 I mentioned that a 3" x 5" picture is a great size to put in your cards, for those of you who are using my card kits (which, by the way, DID sell out ... thank you!). Most photo development labs will have a standard 3 1/2" x 5" print and then you would just trim off the extra half-inch. If any of you have rave reviews about a certain online photo printing service that you use, by all means, post a link in the comments. We'd all love to know!

[ CLOTHES & JEWELRY ] You guys crack me up. I can't believe all the questions about what I'm wearing! I'm just like you, getting my stuff from random places. Seriously. I'm all over the place with where I shop (and PS - I am NOT a big shopper! I've been in our local mall, which is a great mall, TWO times in the past year). I like some things at Pac Sun, Aeropostale, Charlotte Russe, H&M ... they keep me young. But then I also have great finds from Target, thrift stores (Last Chance is here in the Phoenix area and is like Nordstrom Rack), and even some international shopping. Some of my most favorite jewelry is from South Africa. Got some great pieces on this trip (September 2006). Wish I brought more cash that day to get more.



Later. : )