Printers and {Project Real Life}

I've been keeping up with Project Real Life and needed this class to "follow along" to get me back in gear with photo taking, but more importantly documenting. It really is so incredibly simple.

Here are pictures of my first two weeks of Project Real Life:

I've been using journaling cards that I've had from previous Project Life kits that I had leftover.
I've also been using this corner chomper by WeRMemoryKeepers. I use the 3/8th inch side which cuts the same rounded corners as Becky's pre-rounded journaling cards. This way my corners all match and that makes me happy in a silly little way. Then I sometimes use a date stamp and ink to date the journaling cards. I also had some arrow stickers from a previous Becky Higgins Project Life Kit to point to the photos I was journaling about.

I have multiple types of printers for printing out my photos. I've been in search of what would make it easier for me to print photos for project life... and I've realized... for me, hooking up my camera at the end of the week or each day and printing directly from my camera is the easiest and more assured way that I will print my photos out for that week. Now, I'm not always thrilled with the coloring, brightness, etc of the photos that I take... but I feel like at least I have decent photos that are making it into an album and that I am documenting the little stories.

Here is a list of the different printers I have:

Epson R2400: I love this one for any and all printing. I usually print 4x6, 8.5x11, 12x12, and even 13x19 prints.  This produces amazing black and white photos. The only thing I don't like about it is the need to change out matte vs glossy black ink. 

Canon Selphy CP780: Great for when I want to hook up my camera and print directly. It prints 4x6 or 2x3 credit card size photos. I'm not as happy with the quality of the print as with the Epson... but it's handy and quick.

Instax, by Fuji: This is handy and convenient as well. You take a photo with the camera itself and print it out instantly. It's like a polaroid camera from the "old days". It's great if you're say traveling and want to take photos and document along the way.

I also have the Fuji Pivi MP-300 Instant Print Camera. I do love this one for the same reason as the Instax. Only with this one I can hook up my digital camera to it and print from the photos off of my camera. I love this one even more. I can travel and print with it very easily. It prints similar sized photos as above. Here is a link to Amy Tangerine where she gave a good review of it.

I'd say I use my Epson and Fuji Pivi printers the most out of the above... but I still love them all.

FIRST SNOW FALL

I saw our forecast yesterday and knew that it was suppose to start getting cold... and snowy.

 Yesterday, not only did it get cold, it certainly got rainy and hail-y. Typical northern Maine weather.  It did snow last night and we woke up to just a dusting of snow. I really can't complain because we did have an unusually amazing summer and Fall this year. I suppose it is time to pay for all of that nice weather with a cold, snowy winter. I saw this off and on this morning. Yes, it was snowing! Brrrrr.

As I sit in my cold room, because the heat in the house has not quite caught up to warming the air, I wonder why I am living in a cold climate. I guess there is a sacrifice to be paid for enjoying four seasons. 

My agenda for today: 

With Thanksgiving on the horizon, I pulled out a journal I made earlier in the year. I was going to try to write in it at least once a month of things I am grateful for. Well, I made it through two months and then life got in the way. So, today, I plan to journal in my Gratitude Journal (made with a kit I bought off MyCraftChannel.com). It came with chipboard covers and paper from the Jenni Bowlin line. It originally came with three rings but I used my zutter binder instead to bind it all. I love the way it came out. Super cute.

What are you grateful for and do you keep a gratitude journal?

Going Paperless

So, I've finally slowly starting going paperless and joining the "going green revolution". What has been my stopping me from going full-on with the whole paperless thing is how I am to keep everything organized and not to forget to pay a bill.

I've been keeping files, within files... but every month there is always a bill that slips through my hot little hands. I get emails on my iphone telling me a bill is due, but if I'm not at my computer it often gets overlooked. 

I'm hoping some of you tech, green-friendly peeps out there can give me some handy suggestions as to how you keep it all organized - the paperless way! Here's to going green!

Hello, Tuesday

After two weeks off of school for Potato Harvest my boys were not ready to go back to school. In fact, my youngest started last night with his moping and telling me he doesn't like school... that he doesn't want to go to school. He woke up way-early this morning (can you say 2:50am?) at my bedside with his lovey, which he affectionately calls 'Baby'. I let him climb into bed with us and after awhile he wants to go back to his bed, with me staying, of course. After a little while he tells me I can go back to my own bed if I want to. This morning he didn't even come down stairs and claimed he had a bellyache. So, it is just Benjamin and me today. We had a leisurely breakfast together, he watched some tv, googled Batman trailers on my computer while I got some work done, had lunch, and played cards. It made me realize just how little he really is and that one day home from school is not the end of the world. I will certainly remember our time together more than I will remember what I would have done had he gone to school. Moments with our little ones are precious and fleeting moments in time. Our little ones are just ours for such a short period of time... why not enjoy them and let them be little, and mopey, and let them stay home from school once in awhile... even if they're not really sick. ;)

On another note... I was so excited to find my testimonial on Becky Higgins' blog last week! How exciting is that? Even my kids know that is exciting! Becky Higgins is a household name now and my kids are learning about photography, documenting memories and stories too. Even though they are boys I am hoping to pass along that gift to them. That they too will continue with story/memory keeping throughout their adult lives as well... and they can see how easy it is!

Here is my creative space as we speak as I try to get some creative stuff done with all of my products from Scrapfest last month. :)  Speaking of which, if you took Maggie Holmes' class at Scrapfest, she has a link on her blog along the sidebar with all of the products she used to make a memory-type book. You can see that here.

Project Real Life

Project Real Life started yesterday over at Big Picture Classes. I've been following Becky Higgins for years now for inspiration with regards to home making/keeping, scrapbooking, organizing, and her Project Life. I started out with her very first Project Life Kit, now named the Cherry Edition. I absolutely loved the idea of just slipping photos in and journaling and being done with it. I still love the idea. I also made digital Project Life books through ziblio.com when that was still offered.

I made 4 copies of the same book. One for my husband and I and one for each of our boys. I love them because they are not super-duper thick and don't take up much shelf space. A bonus when our shelves are already packed to the brim and I don't have an inch of space left to put in my narrow creative space. ;)

As a registered Project Real Lifer we all got some HAPPY mail! Love them! We will be using these cards with our Project Life throughout this class for the next 12 weeks. Persnickity Prints does such an amazing job with their prints.

I'm so stinking excited to see what Becky has in store for us! I have a very busy last quarter with all the classes I've signed up for. Here's hoping to finishing them all!

Jessica Sprague's Invitations and Announcements class also started this week! If you've never checked her site out... it's a MUST. Whether you or a seasoned digital scrapper or just dipping your toes into digital... THAT is the place you must start. Her classes and videos are so easy to follow and digest. That is where I got  my start with digital scrapbooking, photography learning, photoshopping, videography, organizing, you name it. It's all there. Becky Higgins' digital project life is offered at this site too!!! It's a win-win! Get over there!

Hello, October!

I love Fall. What is it about the change of seasons? The smell in the air? The crisp coolness.  I also love Spring. I realized that it is the change that I love, I crave, I need. I often start rearranging furniture or organizing when I need to see change around me.

My goals for October:

1. Learn how to take my camera off of auto mode via Maggie Holmes' Photography 101 class that begun this week. ;)
2. Declutter Organize my office.
3. Declutter Organize the entry closet to my home.

I'll leave you with these beautiful photos of Fall in northern Maine. Have a wonderful Wednesday!