cocoa daisy: DITL kit (sold out!)

sorry for the weird glare on my photos.  i have barn swallows nesting on my front porch where i normally take these pics.  i hate to disturb them, but i guess i'll have to as these are just bad.  ooops!  but this month's cocoa daisy day in the life kits are amazing per usual and are already sold out per usual.  ashli did a supercute and informative unboxing video of the kits this month and she talks about the perfection of design and quality of product.  it's really spot on.  if you're into pocket pages at all, these are really worth a sub as they're so fabulous month after month.  they also have a nice variety since cocoa daisy uses a rotation of designers.

even if you don't do project life, this is a great kit to have.  these two pages are actually in my 2012 album before i started doing project life.  i find that pocket pages are just so much easier than layouts for doing multiphoto events.  plus, the cards are great on layouts and cards as well.

i also like that you can customize them and that the free (to subscribers) printable coordinates perfectly with it.  i added yellow and red sharpie to the compass rose, trimmed it from the card and added a piece to both pocket pages here.  and the printables give me just enough extra labels and small pieces to finish off my pages.

i'm ready to get going on more scrapping this weekend.  i'm going to get LOTS more mileage out of this kit.

tomorrowland

 

and just like that, we're free.  aaaaaaaaaaah, summer vacation.  there was a 5th grade end of year party at the community center tonight, but g caught wind that it was a "dance" and completely vetoed the idea.  instead, he chose to celebrate by going to the movies with his mom.  i'm not complaining.  ;)

we saw tomorrowland.  i didn't exactly know what to expect, but it was nothing like what i expected.  i think it had a profound effect on both of us.  i actually had to fight back a few tears toward the end and g kept talking about it all the way home and all evening long.

"it really made you think."

this is what my boy kept saying.  i love that he is still idealistic, and i love that movies like this and being with him remind me of what it was like to be young and idealistic.  the movie ends with the message that the world needs dreamers, and there is still a bit of dreamer in all of us if we open our eyes to what could be.

my 5th grade graduate

my baby "graduated" from 5th grade this week.  i thought i might cry, but i really didn't.  honestly, i was more traumatized when he graduated PK.  i think then i was debating whether to keep him in the school he'd been in since he was 3 months old (teacher's kids go to school with their mommies in my county) or move him to an elementary that was closer to where we lived.  once i decided to keep him in the glade i was so relieved.  now he's been here for 11 years and we're ready to move on.

he had eleven amazing years at this school and so many amazing teachers and staff that i will forever be indebted to.  it was such a relief to know my baby was well taken care of and nurtured while he was away from me each day.

here he is "crossing over" to middle school.  hey!  i know that principal on the other side.  it's really nice to already know a few good peeps at his new middle school.

and he'll be taking his bff of eleven years with him (another teacher's kid).  good friends are also important.

so, yes.  i think we're both ready for this.  honestly, the most traumatic moment for me in this whole affair has been the photos.  i've been growing my hair out all year and have come to realize that the ponytail ages me.  i think there is some irony in that statement.

i came home from work the next day and chopped it off before taking g fishing.  i feel so liberated.

and in a couple more hours i'll be done with this school year.  woot!

and in a couple more months we'll be starting it all over again, one of us in a new school.  i think my little bird is ready to fly a bit farther from the nest.  :)

cocoa daisy june reveal!

the cocoa daisy june reveal just happened, and i have three things to say to you:

1. everything is awesome. (my analysis)
2. can you stand the cute? (rhetorical question)
3. go, now! (action statement and helpful link)

okay, maybe one more thing:

4. the fabulous cut files (hello, crabs, clouds, labels, whales, and so much more) are free to subscribers!

wchs: a few macro lens tips

i visited the ridge at my high school again this week.  it's amazing how the wildflower scene changes from week to week.  there really is always something new to see.  this week i'm having a love affair with queen anne's lace and i'm fairly certain it will last all summer long.

stunning, yes?

on my last macro post, several people mentioned being interested in this lens and/or having trouble using it.  this is only my third time out with it, and i know i have a lot to learn.  i'm happy with the photos i've gotten with it so far though.  it shares many of the quirks of my regular 50mm, so that has helped me quite a bit in figuring it out.  anyhoo, here are some things that have helped me:

macro lens tips from one novice to another:
1. take a lot of photos - this is the cardinal rule of digital photography in general
2. lock your focus - digital cameras are very sensitive and will focus on whatever is closest to the lens.  this is probably not where you want the focus to be.  i keep my focus permanently locked on the center.  i then focus on what i choose to focus on and can move my camera, holding the button down to keep that focus, while recomposing my shot.
3. choose your focal point - you will have a very shallow depth of field.  not everything is going to be in focus  you have to choose the most important feature to be in focus to create a pleasing composition.
4. the closer you are, the shallower your depth of field will be - if you want more things in focus, zoom out a little.  the closer you get to your subject, the less of it will be in focus.  additionally, you can even get so close that nothing will be in focus and your camera will probably refuse to take the shot.
5. movement causes blur more easily with this lens - have a steady hand and wind is not your friend in this instance.  sometimes holding a flower stem steady on a windy day will help.
6. sometimes the camera will not take the picture even when the shot looks like it is perfectly focused- i don't know if this is just a quirk of my camera or why it happen, but it drives me nuts.  i have found a way around it though.  i allow the camera to focus (sorry, i always use autofocus), then flip the switch to manual and look through the lens physical moving it closer to or farther away from my subject till it is perfectly in focus again and then take the picture.  i guess i am overriding my camera's stubbornness this way.  i don't know, really, but it works.

that's all i can think of at the moment.  hope something in there is helpful to you!

anyone else fascinated by the tiny black/maroon flower in the center of queen anne's lace?

so neat to finally see it up close and personal.

i am wondering if the ants have a symbiotic relationship with this flower.

click the "wchs" label below to see more wildflowers photographed at this site this year.

joining with annie and "how does your garden grow?"

youtube suggestions?

do you have a favorite youtube channel?  i know i'm late to the party, but i'm just now getting into it.  i've been trying to find some more specific planner/journal/collage/sketch type channels, but i keep coming up empty.  it's very frustrating.  i keep trying all sorts of combinations of journal, filofax, planner, moleskine, midori, collage, smashbook, documented life, but i just can't find any more.  sigh.  any suggestions?

these are the few that i've found so far:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n8EIR8w98o love her #creativemidorichallenge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HomJMOFkfQs journaling in a Midori (close to what i'm looking for)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yORJBZ9bOw love listening to her; she's like a motivational speaker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiSrf2KHA5Q travel journal in Filofax (norwegion)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaTDtbBfRV4 travel journal in Moleskine(esque)

g's bookshelf: bud, not buddy

g read this novel at school this spring, so i decided to read it as well.  it's historical fiction from the great depression.  it's a sweet story and a quick read.  a good read for upper elementary.

g's thoughts:  i thought it was an adventurous book.  it was a great story.  you kinda built tension; you wanted to know if mr. c was really his father.  you kinda get shocked at the end when you figure out what happens.  i liked how they described the hooverville in flint and the muskrat stew that they ate there.

if you're looking for greatness, check out christopher paul curtis's "the watson's go to birmingham - 1963."  it will make you belly laugh and the sob buckets.  also, if you're a school teacher or a homeschooling mom, you'll definitely want to check it out.  i use it often with my freshman esl class.  it's very well suited for 4th - 8th grade i would say.  it seriously uses every literary device known to the english language.  it's also great for teaching history and compassion.  this one's in my solid top twenty of all time reads.  it's that good.