Isn't that a cute bathroom up there? I got the photo off the Thibaut website.
I have fallen in love with one of their wallpapers. Deeply in love.
It's called Happy Frogs and is part of their Sweet Life collection. I like it in the light blue colorway, as it's shown here.
It has FROGS on it. Little happy frogs.
I've never actually fallen in love with wallpaper before. I mean, nothing serious, like this.
How long will it take for me to get over it?
Ribbit.
Today I’m chatting with Elizabeth Dillow, who has recently collaborated with Angie Lucas at Ella Publishing Co. to create the 2012 Take Twelve Project. It’s a challenge to take 12 photos on the 12th of the month for the next 12 months. A guided inspiration kit is available for downloading to help motivate and inspire participants as they go.
Suzanne: Before I ask you specifically about the 2012 Take Twelve Project, Elizabeth, can you give us a little history of your own involvement with scrapbooking?
Elizabeth: I started pasting birthday invitations and post cards into a very acidic brown album when I was about four years old; this led to an era of sticker albums in which I carefully collected and traded all varieties of stickers with friends. I jumped into the world of modern scrapbooking in 2002 after two years of lurking around Two Peas in a Bucket, absorbing as much as I could.
Suzanne: What has your professional involvement in scrapbooking and other memory-keeping been to this point, and what are you currently working on?
Elizabeth: I began contributing to Simple Scrapbooks magazine in 2005, and later went on to become a contributing editor for the magazine until it sadly ceased publication in 2009. I won a spot in the Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame in 2006, and had the amazing opportunity to write a book for the publishing house of both magazines in 2007 (The Scrapbooker’s Almanac). I’ve also worked as an instructor for Big Picture Classes since 2006, co-founded Write.Click.Scrapbook. in 2009, and continue to work for my old editor at Simple (Angie Lucas) at her new company, Ella Publishing Co. My current projects include a second run of my Design Challenges class at Big Picture (registration is open, class begins April 25), and I am a contributor to a really cool upcoming eBook at Ella called Books and Crafts. It will appeal to you : )
Suzanne: Do you have a personal “philosophy” of scrapbooking?
Elizabeth: Yes, definitely: scrapbooking should be guilt-free—meaning, you should never worry about getting “caught up.” Just tell stories as they speak to you. I also believe that it’s important to cultivate the process of scrapbooking by challenging yourself creatively and seeking inspiration regularly. It’s impossible to sustain a hobby if you get bored with it.
Suzanne: And what has your own involvement been with photo challenges? How has it affected how you approach memory-keeping and photography?
Elizabeth: I love photo challenges! I first participated in one at Two Peas run by Marci Lambert in November 2005; the challenge was to take one photo each day for a month. I was immediately hooked, and have completed a whole bunch of month-long projects and two year-long photo-a-day projects since. One photo can’t possibly capture the entire story of a day, but it certainly captures at least one story—those collections of stories are among the most dear to me.
Suzanne: So tell us the basic premise of the 2012 Take Twelve Project.
Elizabeth: The Take Twelve Project is based on a simple concept: on the 12th of the month, take twelve photos (or more, and narrow it down to twelve) to tell the story of that particular day. It’s a great snapshot of your life!
Suzanne: I am wanting to participate in this, but I am already (obviously) running two months late on this project, and that is pretty much the story of my life. Ha. Can you tell me the advantages to committing to the parameters of a photo project, even if I’m running behind?
Elizabeth: How about a kind of unrelated story to illustrate why it’s worth it? I started keeping a book diary in 1998. I had a little bit of a bad attitude about it when I started because I was so mad at myself for not having started, say, when I began reading in elementary school. Think of all those books I missed documenting! But I did it anyway, and I’ve continued to do it without fail since 1998 (though I did transition to Goodreads for my record keeping in 2008). If I’d never started because it was so “late,” I would have missed out on fourteen years of book-keeping. It’s kind of the same with photo projects and scrapbooking; you’ll be so glad you did it in hindsight that it won’t matter that you didn’t start when you think you should have started.
Suzanne: I’m enjoying looking at my Take Twelve Kit, which I ordered and downloaded all online. There are all kinds of goodies in here. I honestly am wanting to hug you for all the ideas, because it is making me feel excited about scrapbooking again, and grabbing some of these memories before they fly out of my old brain. How do you recommend best using the guided photo checklists, for instance?
Elizabeth: The guided checklists are great because you can use them as inspiration only, or you can actually plan to follow them and practice your photojournalist skills by taking the photos listed. Either way, you’ll get behind your camera and think deliberately about capturing the people you love, the activities you value, and the stories you create. You can’t go wrong when you’re doing those things.
Suzanne: What are other elements of the Take Twelve Kit that you enjoyed developing and think we are going to love using?
Elizabeth: I am a huge fan of the List-It! line of journaling cards that Ella Publishing Co. sells—they are a really fun, quick way to jot down information whether you decide to add them to a scrapbook page or just print them out and stick them on a book ring or a bulletin board. I also am a huge advocate of sketches, and the sketches that Donna Jannuzzi created for the kit are wonderful. They can be used for any scrapbooking, too—not just the Take Twelve Project!
Suzanne: And I see in the kit that you advocate documenting even the most boring of days. Say, for instance, that I have a completely ho-hum March 12, involving the school run, housework, a few errands, making dinner, maybe a little television at the end of the day … why should I keep track of this?
Elizabeth: Wouldn’t you just love to know what your great-great grandmother did on her completely ho-hum March 12? Exactly.
Suzanne: At the end of this project, what, ideally, will I have to show for it?
Elizabeth: The first time I played along with this project in 2010 I kept it very, very simple; I turned my twelve photos into a collage at Big Huge Labs and blogged a little about each photo before the next 12th of the month rolled around. At the end of the year I turned all my photo collages and notes into a cute little 4 x 6 album, and it is a treasure to look back and remember all those moments. This year I’m creating a full-size page each month with my photos. It’s really whatever you want it to be! If you only blog about your photos, that’s great. If you decide to turn them into something fancier, well, you’ll be thrilled you did that, too. It’s a win-win situation no matter what!
Suzanne: Thank you so much, Elizabeth. I am excited about participating in this project, and will be posting my Take Twelve photos and layouts here in suziebeezieland. If any of you also feel inspired to do this, please make sure and let me know here in comments so that we can keep track of how it’s going, and enjoy each other’s memory-keeping!
Claire and I were playing with Kinotopic more this morning, because it's fun! I thought it would be fun to mess around with this pretty Puffin cover from The Secret Garden. I think it looks a little smoother on the actual Kinotopic site, because there it's a little movie there rather than just an animated gif.
This is my first cinemagraph. I made it using the Kinotopic app.
I (obviously) need to practice, but it's really fun!
It kind of looks like a tattoo on somebody's arm, but actually I used a Rae Dunn (off-white) vase with a birdy on it, and wiggled it for a little bit for my 3-second video. The app takes you through what to do once you have that little video. It seems to work best if the movement you're using is rhythmic and slight and not too jerky.
Some of the cinemagraphs people have made are so fantastic. I especially like this one with berries, and this one with tea steam, and this one with the plant's reflection in the window, and this one with the construction site. And this one with the skirt. And this one with the smoke. Magical! Click on the "top" link next to "featured" and "latest" to see the best ones.
(Kinotopic is my new favorite app. I'm horribly fickle when it comes to apps, but it seems like each is more glorious than the next with what they can all do.)
Disney has released an It's a Small World book app for iPhone and iPad that is completely enchanting.
Some little kids with really cute voices narrate it, and the interface is fun.
It's all very sweet and simple and I know it is designed for little kids, but I keep playing with it. :)
It costs $3.99 in iTunes.
Our very sweet and always fun Susie S. has encouraged several of us who are "lapsed" scrapbookers to begin scrapping again. I haven't done a layout in a few years. (I scrapped regularly until right after Claire turned four. She is now eight.)
I have been looking for some inspiration for myself for some new layouts, but then thought that instead of just keeping them to myself, I'd post them for you guys, too, in case you are also wanting to start scrapbooking again (or for the first time, or wanting to continue what you're already doing).
So this picture from promotional materials for "Matilda the Musical" is my first bit of new design and color inspiration. :) Stay tuned for more inspiration in the months ahead. And hopefully some new layouts, too!
ps Claire just finished reading "Matilda" so we're watching the movie again (Claire has seen it once before) even as I type. I love this movie, too! I think this is the sixth time I've seen it.
I stumbled across the graphic above while I was Googling Matilda.
Lookie lookie lookie lookie! Our Becky D. alerted me to the exciting news that our recently discussed Mary Blair is the subject of today's Google Doodle!
Today was her birthday. :)
Over the Labor Day weekend, we had a mini right-before-school-starts vacation to Disneyland, and particularly enjoyed The Art of Mary Blair exhibit at the Disney Gallery, which is immediately to the right when you first enter the Magic Kingdom.
Mary Blair was an artist who helped develop the look of Disneyland's famous It's a Small World attraction. The exhibit is excellent (go if you're local and have an annual pass!) and features concept art for It's a Small World as well as "concept story board art from such classic Disney films as Cinderella, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland and various other installations for projects around the world including tile murals for Tomorrowland, Adventure Through Innerspace, Disney's Contemporary Resort and the never-realized Western River Ride."
Bob and I are both crazy for her artwork, and ended up ordering two prints for home. This one, now over our fireplace, is entitled "Norwegian and Swedish Designs," and will be familiar to Small World enthusiasts from the very first "room" you sail into on the ride. :)
We have another stretched-canvas print hanging in the hallway, and I'll get a shot of that for you later when the light is better there.
I also took several photos of the exhibit itself with my phone (alas, not great quality ... sorry, chickies) to show you. Photography was allowed. :)
Mary also did the artwork for several children's books. You might have some of her artwork around your house somewhere. :) I think it would be a sweet idea to frame artwork from Baby's House or I Can Fly or The Golden Book of Little Verses for a child's nursery.
There are some really cute free printable storage labels over at Better Homes and Gardens.
{all photos in this post are from bhg.com}
Have you ladies checked out the new, improved Better Homes & Gardens website?
I had a subscription to the magazine about sixteen years ago, when we were first married. I loved it. Then, something happened (I think a new editor or something) and I started hating it. Blech. So I dropped my subscription. The whole magazine had become bland and cold, and the DIY projects and decor stuff were awful to me.
But in the past few years, it has gotten cute again. Lots of warmth and color, and fresh style. (I know taste is subjective. It's cute to me.) Lots of cottage-y stuff, but clean (not too froo-froo), and of course the recipes are always good. So I've gotten a subscription for the past few years when Claire's school has its magazine drive. Very fresh, and many ideas I can actually use. Love it.
(I'm not sure why I'm not writing in complete sentences.)
Now they've redone their website, with BIG photos (yay) and I'm so happy about that.
Here are two links I liked today.
14 veggie-rich, kid-friendly recipes
small kitchen remodel for under 800 dollars
ps I love this citron-y backsplash tile, from a different article. :)
{image from bhg.com}
Chop Shop T-shirt available here. :)
(Uliana, I saw this on your Facebook photo and Googled it to find it. So cute. Thank you!)
A few weeks ago I ordered a magazine online called Summer Cottage because it had a cute cover. :) Also, the title contains two of my very favorite words. (If anybody published magazines called "Cheesecake Spring" or "Jane Austen Birdies" or "Spring Green England" or "Mr. Darcy's Diet Coke" or "John Thornton's Patchwork Quilts" I'd be all over those, too.)
(I also ordered Fresh Style and Victoria Classics Gardens of Bliss, and will show you those later.)
I think the front cover is still my favorite image in this magazine, but there were several more that I liked. Here are a few:
"With a cast of characters including the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla, Price Harry, the Archbishop of Canterbury, a variety of wedding guests plus, of course, the happy couple themselves - and even a corgi - this is one wedding souvenir that will be a must-have for any keen crafter."
Thanks, our Michele V., for sending this! :) Look at those corgis ...
Today my sister and a friend and I went to lunch in South Pasadena. We browsed in a store called Zinnia, where I've never been, and they had the neatest painted floor. And a shop cat! Claire and I have both always wanted a shop cat.
That whole area right there around where they have the South Pas Farmer's Market is so cute. Next time I'll bring my camera (I just had my phone today) and show you some of the neat houses. I've been meaning to do that for years. But not when I'm out with friends, because the photo taking gets kind of obnoxious then, I think. And I end up missing what we're doing, and missing out on enjoying each other because I'm too busy taking pictures.
It's weird how anti-social technology can be, or how wonderfully social, depending on how you use it.
Half the people at the grocery store are on the cell phone. I haven't seen anyone's face in a year or so at the grocery store. Just the tops of bent-over heads.
If you come to California, I'll take you to South Pas. :)
Hi ladies! Bob and I are back from a terrific week in London, and I am excited to tell you about some highlights. :)
But I know some of you are probably wanting a break from all-England all-the-time here in suziebeezieland lately, so I thought that I would not mention England in this post, and instead mention these Marimekko Converse that our Danielle brought to my attention. Have you seen them?
These are original Marimekko patterns created by the Finnish textile mill Marimekko's designers, applied to Chucks.
Here is a little film about their collaboration, shot in Helsinki:
I don't see myself wearing these, but I think they are really fun.
I think they need to come out with some Marimekko florals. What do you think? I would be all over those. I would buy Chucks that looked like this:
Crate and Barrel has a Marimekko shop in its SoHo*, New York store. Maybe I could just buy a big ol' shower curtain and wrap it around my feet. :D
*Okay, I know I said I would not mention England, but really, I have to tell you this. You cannot live without this England-related tidbit of information.
SoHo (uppercase "H") in New York is an abbreviation for "South of Houston Street," which describes its location in New York.
But I found out this week on vacation that the name Soho (lowercase "h") in London (a somewhat notorious part of the West End) comes from an old hunting cry: you would yell "Tally-ho!" when you're hunting fox and spot the fox, and "So-ho!" when you're hunting deer and spot the deer. (It dates back to Henry VIII, who hunted in that area.)
Is that not fascinating? :)
I got the new Smith + Noble catalog in the mail today, and was really happy to see that they have a new fabric collection.
We have Smith + Noble roller shades in our house (plain white), and I have been really happy with them. We also have a Smith + Noble curtain in our big bathroom. It's been there for several years.
But I've been wanting to get something different in there because the house next door sold and people have been working on their roof, and the cafe curtain isn't really cutting it. :)
I like the "top down, bottom up" option on the fabric shades because you can lower it from the top and get a bit of light and sky, but leave the bottom down so you have privacy. But I wasn't seeing any fabrics I liked when I looked last year.
What I specifically imagined was something in a juicy green color with leaves and birds.
Look! :)
I'm so excited! They got my mental telepathy! :D
The whole collection is so pretty. Look. (There are also turquoise/aqua, blue, tan, black, and chocolate colorways.)
They also have cushions available.
Yellow and dandelions! Yay!
There are not a ton of designers around who share my affinity for elf culture cheerful, colorful decorating. But Annie Selke (the creator of Pine Cone Hill and the Dash & Albert Rug Company and Potluck Studios and Annie Selke Home) is one of them, so I'm excited about her book coming out in August of this year.
Her stripes and ginghams are what really get me. Here are my favorite cute product photos from her websites to tide you over (or "tidy you over," as Claire says, as in "Can I have a snack to tidy me over until dinner?") until the book comes out.
You get a feeling for how fresh and American her style really is. :)
i love jesus and the good news ... that through his death and resurrection he offers us reconcilation with the loving, sovereign, and holy god of the universe. yay!
Recent Comments