feeling green & domestic.

Top of the mornin' to ya!

Ah, forget it. I can't fake an Irish accent to save my life. But Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone. A special little shout-out the few of you that actually live in Ireland and read my blog. Hello there. In honor of the green holiday, my blog is mighty GREEN today. Oh, and are you feeling LUCKY? Someone sure is. I'm announcing a winner of that awesome JoTote giveaway. No. Actually ... Let's make that TWO lucky winners!

So I found a cute little number at Last Chance recently (it's the type of bargain shopping where you truly do have to dig). Got it for $5.97. Sweet.



The catch? No buttons. No worries. I'll just get to choose my own then. Picked these up at JoAnn last week.



Grabbed the only shade of green thread I had handy. It'll work just fine.



Done.



There is something magical about needle + thread for me. It's a connection that I feel to my mom and her mom and her mom. I come from a long line of handiwork. And so even something as simple as putting a button onto a jacket, for me, is symbolic of generations of women that I love and admire.

-------

Who gets the JoTote - who? who-who-who? (Hear the tune of Who Let the Dogs Out? Get it? No? Didn't hear my Irish accent at the beginning either? Oh, never mind.)

CONGRATULATIONS TO ...

1. Renee S. in Prattville, Alabama

2. Dawn in Rosemount, Minnesota

Ladies, after you finish your happy dance, send a little happy email to jototes@gmail.com and they'll send you a bag of your color choice. Yippee for you!

your thoughts on a school kit?

If you have kids in school, how do you feel about all the STUFF that comes home with them? What are you doing with their school pictures, their field trip mementos, their art, their papers, report cards, tests and notes from the teacher?

Did your heart rate just go up? Do you feel a bit overwhelmed just thinking about the task?

As many of you know, I am working on bringing you a school kit. A dang awesome school kit. A kit that will make your life a little easier. A kit that will help you organize all the stuff that comes home from school with your kids. A kit that allows you to easily create a scrapbook for you kids without the overwhelming task of having to figure out how to organize the stuff and how to position photos and elements on layouts.

You know. A kit kind of like Project Life.

The reason for this post is to ask you a question (since I let you ask me questions all the time - ha!). As I'm in the development stages of this new kit, I want to hear from you. I want you to tell me your wish list for this kit. What do you value? What do you want? What works for you? What would help bring your heart rate back down and give you peace of mind?

You'll notice I've closed the comments for this blog post. If you have feedback, please email me directly at school@beckyhiggins.com. Be sure you only use this email address for feedback on the school kit. If you have a question about Project Life, that email address is customerservice@beckyhiggins.com.

If you're wondering about the availability of Project Life ... we are reprinting more now and are hoping to have those at Amazon again in May.

give-away monday

So delighted to start off the week with an awesome give-away. Check this out.





It's a camera bag/purse hybrid for ladies who would like to carry their dSLRs with them on a day-to-day basis, or keep their camera discreet while traveling. Um, hello. Sign me up. I've been using mine for about a week and it's so perfect for my everyday on-the-go needs. I love that I can adjust the compartments (I'm such a compartmentalizer) to work for all my stuff.



Click here for the Jo Totes website.

So ... you want one, don't you? Most of you know the drill for entering yourself in a random drawing on my blog. Leave your first name, city, and state in the Comments. We will choose someone at random. The winner will get a bag of her color choice.

And here is something that everyone can get for free today:



Simply click on the gray "free CK Becky font" button on the right side of this blog. Or just CLICK HERE. You'll see my two fonts and a couple other fun ones too. Just click on the font and it will automatically download on your computer. Simple.

May your Monday be a terrific day. I will be posting every day this week, so see you again soon.

RAK & give-away winners

We all know what that stands for. Random Act of Kindness.

I am sharing this experience with you because there is a lesson in here for everyone.

I was at WalMart with the kiddos the other day. As you see in yesterday's post, I was in the market for cheap-slip-on-Crock-like shoes for Claire. Something that I don't mind if she destroys. Out of the blue Porter says, "Mom, let's get these for Little Abbie!" We call her "Little Abbie", by the way, because we also adore another Abbie friend who is 19. The age results in the "Big Abbie" nickname. Funny thing is that Big Abbie is totally petite.

Back to the shoe isle. In response to Porter I'm pretty sure the word "random" came out of my mouth. Because it was. Porter spotted some fun, pink shoes and randomly thought of our 10-year-old friend Abbie.



Random? For sure. Thoughtful? Absolutely.

"You know what, Porter? That's super nice and a super great idea. Let's do it."

The shoes were on clearance for $3, so I knew that even if Abbie didn't like them, it was not a big deal. I texted her mom to get her shoe size and the kids and I talked about how fun it will be to surprise for her. We gathered up a few treats at the store and then picked up a picture at home that Claire drew for Abbie earlier in the week. I guess she was on Claire's mind, too.

By the way, I have no idea why Abbie was on my kids' minds, but it didn't matter. I was totally game for playing along.

So we go by Abbie's house. Luckily she was home. With a twinkle in her eye, she seemed genuinely delighted to see my kids. They handed her a few goodies and with a big hug, we told her it was "Random-We-Love-Abbie-Day" and that was it.

The kids and I were on a high. What a fun experience! The shoes were pretty random but the lesson is this: My kids had an instinct. A specific friend was on their mind and they thought of something specific to do for her. Out of the blue. How many of us get an instinct like this? A feeling. A prompting. A fleeting thought. Call it what you want. But it happens to all of us. We get this idea to do something for someone, even if it's totally RANDOM. But how often do we ACT on that prompting with KINDNESS?

As we head into the weekend, I urge you to pay attention to the next little feeling you get that you should do something for someone. Whether you know them or not.

And then ... do it.

By the way, the whole pay-it-forward concept is in full force. Abbie's mom told me later that Abbie had been in a pouty mood. This little surprise turned things around. She was practically bouncing up & down, grinning ear to ear, immediately hung up the picture and wore the shoes.

The best part? She told her mom, "I want to celebrate random someone day." She is currently planning to surprise another kid. Someone whose name she doesn't even know.

As the old saying goes ... that's what it's all about.



---------------

Speaking of random ... a warm congratulations to our 2 randomly chosen winners from this week's give-away!

Renee in Williamsburg, Virginia won a copy of Pascale Wowak's photography book. Renee, email Pascale to claim your prize. [ pascale.w@sbcglobal.net ]

Kirsten in Columbus, Ohio won the [Shey B] camera strap slipcover. Kirsten, email [ customerservice@beckyhiggins.com ] and we'll send that to you.

Oh my. Just wait until you see next week's give-away. This was just getting you warmed up.

all good things must come to an end.

Sorry, Claire. It's time to bid farewell to your favorites.

What do you have in your home that probably needs to retire? Clear something away today. Get rid of unnecessary clutter. If it's sentimental, take a picture. Again, the beautiful thing about photography. So go on. Do it. Even just one thing. And then leave a comment and tell us what it was that you threw away, recycled, or donated.

Besides, it will make a great POTD for those of you taking daily pictures. Write a note about the sentimental value of the item(s).

ode to photography

Photo of me by Kevin Allgaier.
Digital frame found here.

Photography. The art of capturing a moment that results in an image. Our way of trying to visually freeze bits of time. I think most of us can say that we deem photography as a blessing. I know I do.

You don't have to be a well-trained professional to take a decent picture. I learned this a long time ago. I have had a few hits among many misses. I still flop in the technical department. But I truly love the act of taking a picture. I genuinely enjoy doing things with pictures (like framing them, scrapbooking them, and doing Project Life). And I think I'd be utterly lost if I didn't have a camera to aid in my quest to tell my family's story.

I know many of you feel the same way.

So today, I just want to express how grateful I am for this art form. I am grateful for the technology of digital photography. For the ability to turn an average shot into a magnificent image in a matter of seconds with digital editing. For iPhoto, which is where I organize all our photos (and it has great editing as well). I am grateful for amazing photographers who actually are professional and know what they're doing. I get so inspired by seeing others' work. Too many artists to get specific. I am grateful for Costco, which is where I print all of our pictures at a way affordable price.

I'm even grateful for Mrs. Blickenstaff ... wherever she is. She was my high school photography teacher. She gave me a D one semester. The only D that ever showed up on my report card and I still don't know why. But whatever. It was in high school that I started developing a little skill in the hobby.



I am grateful for my dad who instilled in me a love for taking pictures. He had a manual SLR for as long as I can remember. He turned our downstairs bathroom into a dark room from time to time and I still remember the smell of those developing chemicals, the negatives, the boxes of photo paper, and that vintage photo enlarger. My dad truly was my first photography teacher. He took awesome pictures of our family.



I am grateful for my parents, who gave me my first camera just in time for camp in 6th grade. A bubble-gum pink LeClick. I don't remember many other gifts that made me feel more elated than that 35mm point & shoot camera. And thank you to David (hubby) and Kevin (my brother) who were the ones to twist my arm in 2002. That was when we got our first dSLR. I was hesitant. I usually am with new technology.

Okay. I could go on. You get the picture (no pun intended), but I'll stop here. In celebration of photography ... I have a couple fun things to give away.

1. "The Valentine" camera strap cover by Shey [B]. I just got this for my camera and another one to give away.



2. This new book by Pascale Wowak. It's called Getting Started in the Photography Business - From Head to Toe and you can go here to check it out. The book offers insight for those interested in taking their hobby to the next level. Plus, dozens of gorgeous photographs.



If you want to save a little on a camera strap cover, go here and enter BECKYHIGGINS at checkout to receive 10% off your total purchase. This is good through March 19th.

If you want to get free shipping on Pascale's book, go here and enter the code WESHIP at checkout. This is good through March 22nd.

Leave a comment with your first name, city, and state. Tell me if you'd like the strap cover or the book. If you want, include your #1 favorite tip that has helped you to take better pictures. I'll randomly choose a couple winners this week.