cousins.

Tyler's funny to watch around his cousins. He's interested but still not too sure about all these mini persons wanting to love on him.  Makes my heart swell.xot.

currents

Listening: The Faint Eating: chewing a piece of Shawn White Stride gum. Minty. Drinking: h2o Feeling: tired. Blaming the gloomy weather & teething baby. Wondering: if I've been complaining too much. Thinking: I need to get over it and move forward. Loving: my sunny yellow Be Optimistic postcard from Jed. Needing: a haircut. Thinking of something drastic.

Also on my mind: this post. I pretty much cried into my salad this afternoon when I read this. Incredibly heartbreaking. I had to donate. It was small but I hope that it'll help them out. I will b keeping them in my prayers. It's such a great loss of joy and love to a mother. I hope they find peace soon.

XOT

8

He's a total ham. He knows exactly when I'm photographing him either with my Canon or my Iphone.He's got 4 teeth. The top ones are throwing him for a loop. He lives to play. He loves his toys. He cannot sit still for a moment and is always on the go. He always seems to have some kind of scratch or nick on his face. He's crawling. He loves to stand. He's really long and lean and solid. His favorite food is all food. Still prefers to be in the buff. He loves to dance. Not a fan of being confined to the bouncy or the playpen. Loves the grocery store and grabs at everything. Still have not turned him into a lover of Target. ( I think this is because their shopping carts are as comfy) Currently being quite clingy towards me. Mimicks me clicking my tongue. Is learning to wake hello. Instantly rolls over when the diaper comes off. Makes changing a lot harder these days.

XOT.

**digital elements by Paislee Press, Montage.

Currents: I am. I want. I'm not.

I'm not a hipster. I can't pull off vintage. I'm not always crafting cool stuff. I'm not a stay at home mom. I misspell words. I judge a book by it's cover. I don't always speak up. I often want what I can't have. I dream more than take action. I hate talking on the phone. I don't blog everyday. I'm not an artist. I dislike Facebook. I don't feel cool enough to Tweet. I pop my gum. I'm a smartass.

************************************************ I love more than I ever have. I appreciate the smallest gestures. I am passionate about photography. I'm a camera geek. I'm awkward. I own a fake Gucci bag. I want to be an entrepenuer. I want to be a stay at home mom. I know when to pick my battles. I shop the clearance rack. I scrapbook for myself. I'm a night owl. I'm honest with myself and with others. I want to be the best Tina I can be.

"If you're your authentic self, you have no competition. Focus on your strengths"

Scott Statten

Just sayin. XOT.

a note about the photo. i picked up this lomo 35mm film @ urban outfitters while in seattle. i've been wanting to put my pentax honeywell film camera into use since i purchased it several years ago from a gentlemen's garage sale. he said he use to be a photographer back in the day. well, i don't really think he "use to be". once you're a photographer, you're always a photographer. he also kept his equiptment prestine which you don't always see at garage sales. that's how i know he still had an appreciation for photography. i told him the camera would be appreciated and put into good use which in turn gave me a good price. i'm holding my end of the bargain. an old camera in such good condition should not be a decorative item on a shelf.  anyhow, i'm anxious to finish off the roll i quickly loaded once i returned home. hope to share those soon and give my reviews on the film.-tina

Dare gone digital.

Jessica Sprague knows how to teach a class.She hosted our Dare this week and I now feel better acquainted with digital scrapbooking. I opted to take the more advanced class, Digi in Deeper. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Learned some cool new tricks and I'm only in the first 2 lessons. There's 12 in all. If you ever wanted to learn, I would highly recommend starting here. This is coming from some one who doesn't normally lean towards classes. I'm more of a learn on my own by way of googling, how to books and good ol' trial & error. Here's the layout I created inspired by the first lesson using digital brushes.

Items used: Spendid Fiins Evidence Paislee Press Montage & Hello, Love

I would highly recommend playing along this week for your chance to win an online class with Jessica. Winner will be chosen August 10th. XOT.

blog blitz

 

(the book above will be a feature on the Studio Calico blog soon!)

The team is sharing their creations using the new Studio Calico lines over the next few days. AND each are hosting their own giveaway of their favorite item. Trying to choose one item as an absolute fave is like favoring one of your children more than the other. The standout line for me personally is Autumn Press. The standout item? Wood.Grain.Asterisks. The asterisk for me is like the ampersand for some. I use it a lot in my layouts. Most of my alphabets are missing the asterisk. This is the item I would like to giveaway. I'm also going to make this super easy for you as well. I want you to leave a comment here using just one word. JUST ONE. Something that pertains to you as of this very moment. I'll choose a winner at random winner and announce here on Wednesday. Good Luck! XOT

girl needed a break.

I had a long layover in Seattle on my way back home from Vegas. I was pretty much running on fumes being that I only slept all of 2 hours in the last day. Yes, 2 whole hours. That's just what you do when you have a few days to travel and, well...it's Vegas, the city that never sleeps. Walking around the city perked me right up though. That and finding Anthropologie. Truly love at first site. I had never stepped foot or purchased anything from this store before this day. I think I looked and touched everything they had in that building. Man, is it beautifully decorated. I picked up a few pretties for my kitchen. They were gracious enough, granted I paid shipping, to package it up and mail it home to Anchorage. Was not about to chance it by taking it on the plane. Directly next door was Urban Outfitters. Falling more into my retail coma. Found lots of cool things there as well...all of which are in route as we speak. I was good though. I only used the cash I had on hand which was not blown in Vegas. Had a few more hours to spend in the city so I did the tourist thing and headed down to Pike's Place. I don't think I've been here during peak tourist season and now I know why. I walked through quickly, hoping to find something for my nephew with no luck. Really, I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible because 1. I was starving. STARVING. 2. having little sleep and empty tummy makes one very irritable when dodging and weaving through the masses of wide eyed, camera wielding tourists. Finding a spot to sit, eat and people watch was not easy in that area. I walked in and out of a few places, finally finding some random half empty bagel shop to sit and relax. It was quite nice. It gave me time to reflect on my trip to Vegas to see my grandmother. That's really a whole other post which I plan on writing this week. Without going into too much detail out of respect for my family, all I will say is that I left there with a whole new perspective on life and just how short it is. I've never been more motivated into changing my own life and business goals. "if you don't like it, change it" It's so very simple and it's right there in front of me for the taking. It's not grasping the concept I find hard, it's the staying motivated that's the hurdle. And I'm not just speaking about my journey through the photography business. There are several other ventures I've had sketched out in my planner for quite some time now. Ones that I know are golden ideas. Ideas that are now being set into motion because of my new found appreciation for life. Those of you who have your own small businesses...how do you stay on track? What keeps you motivated? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

XOT.

(digital elements: Paislee Press Montage)

Home.

I'm back from a the quickest week of travel ever.Lot's of photos to share and thoughts to express. Will be back tomorrow. Must. Get. Some. Rest. xot.

Life right now.

In the process of switching my work space with Tyler's nursery. His current room is bigger and contains more space than he needs. I was inspired by the show Love It Or List It. We really can't move now or even next year but we do plan on selling this house in 2013. It's part of my 5 year plan which I came up with 2 years ago. So, for now I plan on loving this place as much as possible. To do that, I'm going to create a family room/work space in the larger bedroom (Tyler's old nursery). Our living room downstairs is some what cramped and wonky and gets really cold in the winter. The huge jagged slate fire place is not safe for Tyler. Doesn't help that he's wildly attracted to it either. Overall, not a suitable play area for the little man. If this room comes together as planned, it'll be a perfect play area for him and for me to chill/create/work. Will it be a Deco8 worthy space? Probably not but I promise myself that I will actually decorate when the move is complete. Tyler desperately needs some visual stimulation on his walls. Right now, it's complete chaos. I have found more stuff for next months garage sale. Yes, we're having another one. Whatever doesn't sell is being donated. IT WILL NOT COME BACK INTO THIS HOUSE. This is our 4th of July weekend so far. Love all this free time. And when I say "free time", I mean time away from the office. Today: finish the transition. bbq. light a few sparklers. chill. enjoy.

Happy 4th everyone. Be safe! xot.

Studio Calico *july*

 

Good times this month. July was amazing to work with. The stamps. The exclusive paper. All so good. Here are the items I worked with this month that are now available in the shop.

Scissors. (these are really the best out there) Zing in Leaf & Black. Versamark. Heat Gun. Tape Runner. Staz On. Mister Huey in Lemonade.

Also working with the new digital kit from Paislee Press. Liz always amazes me with her digital goods. This one is no exception. Now that I'm working with a spanking new laptop, I'm going to have to dive more into this kit over the weekend.

xot.

Dare 179

this week's dare is simple. take a photo(s) of what you love right now.because i'm in the process of switching over to a new system, i didn't have access to my nicer photos. loving the Instagram app though. current loves? my boy and man and furboy. jeff handing down his beloved basketball to ty. flipflops. pavement. oatmeal. aviators. chill time.

also loving my new toy/workhorse/bestie/lifesaver.

xot.

currents.

I started currents last year as a way to get myself to blog more and I'm glad to see others using it as a prompt as well. But in true Tina fashion, as soon as something becomes popular and seen everywhere, I let it go. I sort of miss it though so I'll just revamp it in a way that's suitable for me now.

Seeking: more energy Needing: less naps Thinking: of new ideas Listening: to my husband and dog snore Watching: nothing Doing: editing photos, making notes Anticipating: our neighborhood garage sale this weekend, getting rid of 10 years worth of junk & scrap supplies Loving: convos with Tyler. Photos above are of him talking. I truly believe he is trying to tell me something of importance, maybe how his day went with his Grandma or that he can't wait for daddy to come home from work or that he's proud of himself for getting across my scraproom to an area I told him not to go to. Whatever it is, I listen whole-heartedly.

xot.

(polaroid frames via Pugly Pixel)

JULY SC PREVIEW.

Yes, the Zing bandwagon. I fought it for awhile. It reminded too much of my "emboss everything" days as a rubberstamper. I have inhaled a fair amount of fumes that come off the powder after heating it with a gun. I love watching that moment where the tiny particulars all melt together to form one big blob of embossed goodness. I'm finding it cool again. xot.

Versamark Zap Zing: Black Opaque Zing: Leaf

life right now.

(yet another typo. i do these things so quickly at night during quiet time before i hit the pillow. i will blame it on exhaustion. :) )

This is actually from a couple weekends ago but not much has changed with the exception of groceries are now put away and dishes are done. Laundry....well that's an entirely different story. Currently, the boy and I are sick with a nasty cough. He has it way worse than I do. Of course he's still smiling through it. That's the kind of kid he is. xot.

girl loves friday.

The boy and I drove out to the Valley last week to visit with my grandfather who flew up from Vegas. It was so great for Tyler to meet his great grandpa. We stopped at a few spots along the way to take a few photos and notes on locations for some upcoming photo sessions. My little helper. :) Even though his eyes are closed, I still love the photo. He looks just like me in an older baby photo of myself.

Here are a few photos from my visit with Papa and the fam.

 Tyler spitting up on his uncle. Pretty hilarious.

Happy Friday! xot.