weekend inspiration

I was creatively fed over the weekend.



(Seriously, how amazing is this door? This color?)

Thanks to a super supportive hubby, I was able to spend the entire Saturday with some girlfriends as we enjoyed GIRLS DAY OUT. I am immensely blessed to be surrounded by amazing women in my life - near and far. Obviously we were looking forward to spending time with each other ... shopping, eating, gabbing about life and just enjoying a break from kiddos and housework and jobs. Such a healthy thing to prioritize once in a while. I recommend it.

But I was also looking forward to being inspired. I was planning to be inspired. I felt it coming. You see, I am perfectly content in my little bubble of local retail. Besides, all I really need is Target and Costco, right? But on Saturday, I was so looking forward to bursting my bubble and heading to places I haven't been before, seeing things I hadn't seen before.

We started with the always-creative experience of digging, digging, digging that is called Last Chance (1919 E Camelback Rd, Ste 1 in Phoenix, AZ; (602) 248-2843). You'd think we were outside the Apple store on the day the iPad becomes available. Not quite that exciting. Just bargain clothes shopping. We walked in those doors at 10:00 on the dot. Right when they opened.



I am grateful my friend Karolyn forces me to go to Last Chance once in a while. Because I am usually not in the digging mood. But I geared up for that on Saturday and totally scored the best deals. My favorite find? Yummy. I feel like I'm walking on sunshine in these shoes (and they were $19 - yay!).



I promise I won't go over the play-by-play of our day, but I have to tell you that it was so fun running into Allison Tyler Jones at her photography studio! Totally random, actually. We were next door at Domestic Bliss in downtown Mesa and Allison happened to be next door and happened to be wrapping up a photo shoot. You do know who she is, right?



First of all, how fun to see Allison! I first met her years ago (it must've been about 1998-ish?) when I walked into Memory Lane, her scrapbook store. I was overwhelmed with her store's coolness and she was just genuinely kind and I felt support from her as I shared thoughts on wanting to publish a book about creative lettering (which did happen and it was my very first book). Allison was one of the early "scrapbooking pioneers" for sure.

Anyway. Super to see Allison and even more super to see her in this environment of where she evolved to be. Her style and vision and talent, combined with her sister's interior design expertise makes for an amazing studio space. All of it. The studio. The offices. Even the bathroom. Amazing.

This is just outside her studio:


This is inside her studio:


No space was left un-touched. Check out this wall in the bathroom:


Amazing, amazing, ah-may-ZING. Thanks for the impromptu tour, Allison! Such a treat. You can see Allison's photography here.

Moving on. More boutiques and home decor stores and fun, fun eye candy.



And let's be honest. Some things just couldn't remain as eye candy. Some things had a little voice that said, Becky, I am yours. Take me home. And so I did. Oh man, does this piece EVER have potential! I can't wait to play.



Found that piece at The Crowded House in Mesa, by the way. I don't think they have a website, but their address is 1927 N Gilbert Rd Ste 1, Mesa, AZ. Tel: 480-834-3002.

Speaking of playing ... and last but not least ... I can't wait to get to work on this collection of happy colors!



The vision is there. It's been in my mind for months and it's just taken this long to make time for it. And thanks to Designer Blvd., my friends and I pulled together a mad collection of yumminess. It's been probably 10 years since I last put together a real floral arrangement. Watch out. I am so ready.

challenge follow-up & a new recipe

Yesterday I asked a question to those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter. It was a follow-up to yesterday's blog post: What would be your one word that describes how you feel today?

And hundreds of replies later ... you told me. You told me how you felt. A one-word answer to sum up how you were feeling yesterday. By the way, so many of you said tired! Sounds like we may need a little pep talk on prioritizing a good night's sleep tonight, people. Some of the others that really stood out to me for one reason or another were:

Canadian | favored | defeated | futility | longing | pink | fragile | fanciful | moody | melancholy | cluttered | de-cluttered | hurting | tested | renewed | healing

So I'll remind you of the challenge: Take a picture that might express that feeling you have in any given day. Didn't have to be yesterday. Doesn't have to be today. Just sometime when you're ready to do a little creative exercise. Many of you have already taken the challenge and photographed the feeling. Awesome. You will soon have a place to share those pictures with others who share your interest of capturing life, one picture at a time.

I'm pleased to tell you that we are really, really close to launching the Gallery on beckyhiggins.com. The Gallery will be a place for you to share your photography, as well as your full Project Life layouts, if you want. It will be a place for you to share with others, and a place for all of us to learn from each other and gain inspiration on the kinds of pictures that we take ... whether for Project Life or just because.

One of my recent POTDs was this.



It wasn't "what we did" that day or "today's highlight" or even "how I felt". It's the little stuff. It was a day that I washed out all my makeup brushes. That's it. A routine thing. Nothing special. It's just something that I do, and therefore ... it's part of life.

Hey, by the way -- I have finally, FINALLY posted a new recipe. I know. It's a big day here on beckyhiggins.com. It's only been since ... oh, Thanksgiving (!) that I posted a recipe, for pete's sake. Kinda got busy there for a while, sorry. Anyway, it's a salad and it's super duper de-LISH. As in, way yummy. Check it out here.

how do you feel?

If you could pick one word that describes how you feel today, what would it be?

domestic | productive | regretful | frazzled | distracted | tired | peaceful | content | swamped | confused | insecure | entrepreneurial | surprised | nervous | focused | seeking | betrayed | sorry | heartbroken | enlightened | frustrated | faithful | giddy | motivated | unmotivated

Do one of these words seem to nail it for you? Okay, come up with your one word for just today. Here's a little creative exercise for you. A challenge, if you will.

Take that word and then somehow, make that into a photograph. For those of you doing the POTD version of Project Life, this could certainly be your POTD (picture-of-the-day).

So how do you do it? How do you turn an emotion into a picture? I'll give you a couple examples.

One of my little struggles in life right now is figuring out how to fit exercise into my routine. Sure, I'm busy. But the bigger obstacle is my sweet babe who is almost 18-months-old and doesn't like the idea of me getting anything done or doing anything that doesn't involve holding him, feeding him, or otherwise giving him my full attention. So exercise is a challenge for me. And I've become a little frustrated. And then one day last week, I feel incredibly motivated and therefore ... determined.

I jumped on my bike, strapped my two littlest ones safely in the little bike trailer, and I went biking. Crew cried half the time and just seem disgruntled for no good reason. I was determined to stay with it. Keep going. Don't stop. Reach my goal of getting this workout in my day. I even trained Claire to chant, "Go, Mommy, Go!" as I pushed our way up a big, long hill. She's a great cheerleader.

So this could have been my POTD. It shows the bike. Shows what I did so I could write my little caption about how we went on a bike ride.



But I wasn't merely talking about a bike ride. I was talking about my determination and how that resulted in a successful workout for that day. So I took a different picture, which seems to tell more of a story of "how I felt" that day instead of "what we did".



Maybe today you're feeling nervous or anxious about something that's coming up and you find yourself constantly checking the clock. Well then, how about a picture that demonstrates those feelings a little bit.



Perhaps today you're feeling healthy. You're making a conscience effort to have a more balanced diet and you're making more healthy food. Instead of a picture of say, the scale or a cookbook, how about a closer look at your real-life application of goals you're setting.



(By the way, these fresh vegetables are all ingredients that go into one of our favorite soups. Recipe found here.)

Alright. So this is my challenge to you: Go about your day. Do your thing. And pay attention to how you feel. Obviously you will have more than just one feeling today. You should. You're human. If there seems to be one overriding feeling, create a photograph that will help you tell that story of today.

photography inspiration

So excited. Today I picked up our cd of family pictures from Kara Layne. How lovely is this presentation?



She did a marvelous job snapping some shots of our little family and I'm so grateful for this gift of photographs, especially since I spend my fair share of time behind the lens. Kara Layne is a fantastic photographer and if you're in the mood for some eye candy (don't you love looking at photographers' websites and blogs?), check out her blog.

Actually, I'm going to give you an assignment. Yep, that's right. This is an official assignment.

Go to karalayneblog.com and look at her Nov. 20th entry titled "Happiness Is". You will find a half a dozen photographs that epitomize what I have in mind for people who are participating in this picture-a-day concept. If you find yourself wondering, "What do I have to take a picture of today? Today is just like yesterday." ... Stop that train of thought.

Pick up your camera and look at the ordinary and extraordinary sights right in the comfort of your own home.

Then snap a picture.

baby announcement & more Q&A

Hi there.

We've been burning lots of midnight oil getting ready for this week's launch of PROJECT LIFE. In the meantime, a quick bit of reading material for your day. First, a simple baby announcement idea and then a little more Q&A.

This is sweet Cameron.


I love the non-traditional shot of Cameron in my friend Kari's arms. This emulates how loved this sweet babe is. Adding text in Photoshop took me all of about 5 minutes or so and the baby announcement was ready to print.

Added note: The 2 fonts (and likely the 2 most commonly used fonts on my computer) are Rockwell ("cameron thayne") and Gill Sans Light (everything else).

--

For those just joining the party, I invite my blog readers to ask questions from time to time ... and I answer a handful at a time. Here is the next batch.

Q: Everyone wants to know about the necklaces for their daughters...I want one for me. :)

A: They're the cutest, huh? And it can be such a fun addiction to sit and bead and bead and bead. So relaxing. Anyway, I believe my friends got a lot of beads at usbeadery.com and craft stores (Michael's, JoAnn) and who knows what other random places. There really are a ton of online resources for all kinds of beads.

--

Q: I was just wondering if you could PLEASE re post the meal planner PDF?

A: You bet. Here is the Word doc (in case you want to edit for yourself) and the PDF.

ShoppingList.doc

ShoppingList.pdf

--

Q: What's your favorite adhesive?

A: For all-purpose paper-based stuff (like scrapbooking, card-making, etc.), I like the Duck brand Permanent Easy-Stick adgesive rollers.



--

Q: Did you take a photography class to learn to take such great photos?

A: Yep, a couple years in Photography in High School. And I got a D one semester. True story. The only D I ever got in school.

--

Q: Cookies are always on my mind...do you have an all time favorite recipe?

A: So hard to choose THE favorite, but I'm going to have to say Andes Mint cookies. I posted that recipe here.

--

Q: Do you let the kids watch DVD's in the car?

A: Only if the drive is "longer". Not around the neighborhood or running quick errands. I like talking to my kids. I also appreciate "quiet time" to think or make a phone call. So yes, the DVD player totally comes in handy for entertainment. Let's be real.

--

Q: What is the first scrapbook project you would recommend for someone who has never scrapped before?

A: I seriously love that someone has asked this question because I seriously feel so strongly that PROJECT LIFE is the perfect first-attempt-at-scrapbooking type of project. You don't have to "scrapbook" (cutting & pasting & figuring out what goes where). You don't have to spend time choosing papers and embellishments. And yet you get the most awesome end result. And album with a far more complete & interesting look at your life than what most of us get with the traditional layouts we've been doing.

I'm a believer.

recent photo shoot

Sharing a few favorites from my most recent baby photo shoot. Say hello to Baby Sawyer, who arrived 8 weeks early and is thriving and doing beautifully now.











That first background is sooo fun, huh? It was one of his little blankets that I had mama hold up a couple feet behind Sawyer. All of the backgrounds you see here are either blankets or a solid sheet.

Q&A: Tuesday

It's been fun to see what's on your mind. I'll take a handful of your questions at a time and try to answer some all week long. Here we go!


Q: Do you have any suggestions for people who don't get their photo taken because they are always taking the photos. I have tried getting my husband to take some but he doesn't get those in the moment shots (which I love more).

A: You could always hand the camera over to your kids. Sure, they won't get the most amazing composition and you are guaranteed to get a handful of blurry shots. But they will love that Mom's letting them use the camera and they will take a LOT of pictures. And you will be in front of the camera for once! Of course you could hire a photographer too. But my favorite idea is to trade real-life photography with a friend. I've actually been thinking about doing this for a long time. You would have a friend come to your house for a couple of hours when there's a lot of activity and she clicks away while you and your family just do what you do. She captures you in the essence of your roles and duties at home. And then of course you would do the same for her. Think of the documentation that results from such an activity.

--

Q: How do you keep track of everything going on in your life? Do you use a big paper calendar? On-line calendar, notepads, etc?

A: We use iCal. It comes on every Mac computer. It has become the key to our scheduling coordination success. Seriously. I love it. And it syncs with our other computers, iPhone, iPod Touch, etc. So I could add something to iCal right now and David would see it on the calendar at work almost immediately. I especially love the color coding for categories. So our family stuff is red, birthdays are blue, church stuff is purple, work stuff is green and so forth. I am experiencing one of the very busiest times of my life and organized calendaring has never been so important. I'd show you a screenshot of our iCal as it looks right now, but that's a bit personal. So here's a screenshot I found online. You can learn more about iCal here.



I also keep a small notebook by my computer and sometimes it even follows me to bed. This is my place for random notes, ideas, sketches, lists, etc. For all areas of my life. I have learned that whenever ideas pop into my head, writing them down is the BEST thing to do with the ideas. What this does is frees my mind for better ability to think creatively because I'm not always trying to remember stuff. If I write it down, I don't have to work hard to remember something. If I have to work hard to remember stuff, I am not able to clearly think about stuff. Get it?

--

Q: I wonder if you've considered, now that you are not affiliated with any company or entity, writing a book on organizing? People read your blog for so many different kinds of ideas, not just scrapbook-related. I'd sure buy a book with chapters on organizing for a party, organizing for crafting, organizing nightly dinners (recipes), organizing your home/chores, etc. I'll bet I'm not the only one who feels this way.

A: You're sweet. I'm not that organized. I have a long way to go before I would feel like I could write a whole book on organizing, although I do love the subject. So I will continue to share my organizational thoughts & ideas here on my blog. Free of charge.

--

Q: I always use your sketch books for my layouts. Your sketches were the only thing that kept me buying Creating Keepsakes mag. Are you going to be doing anymore sketch books ???

A: It makes me happy to hear how my sketches have helped scrapbookers. Thank you for sharing that. I think I have exhausted my mental supply of sketch ideas. But that's not to say that you've seen my very last sketch. Next time I come up with one for a layout I'm working on, I'll be sure to share it with you here.

--

Q: Has cancer affected anyone close to you?

A: My brother, my dad, my grandmother, several extended relatives. Close friends. So, yes. It has.

--

Q: Do you scrapbook everyday? I work full time and have four boys and am really struggling to find time. I've been scheduling scrap nights once a month with friends but I miss my scrap time! How do you do it?

A: Heck no. I'm struggling to find time just like you. In fact, I haven't scrapbooked in months. Months. But I'm itching to do some catching-up in our kids' books and am hoping to do that in the next month or so.

--

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have about 5 or 6 things to check off my to-do list before I do what's next up on iCal. Meeting some girlfriends for a quick lunch. So excited to see a friend I haven't seen in a while. Be back tomorrow.

creative photo idea

This sweet little angel just made my friend Evie a grandma. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a more enamored grandma!



I don't take credit for thinking of this idea but when Evie described a picture she had seen one time, I caught the vision and gave it a whirl during the quick photo shoot at my house. This is the end result:



Could make a fun baby announcement. This is how I set up the shot. First of all, we were near a window. Natural light is a must. Put a blanket over Mom, gave baby Aubrey to Mom, had Grandma hold Aubrey's feet and Dad had the ever-so-important duty of holding the blanket up in the background so that when I looked through my lens I saw nothing but white.



Of course I framed the shot knowing that I'd be incorporating letters on the image, with her little feet creating the "V" in "LOVE". This is the original image.



As we all know, Photoshop is magical. Knowing just a few tricks can completely change a picture. In this case, I simply desaturated (made it black & white) and totally cranked up the exposure, and added a little contrast.