July 8, 2013 Week two was tough to get up

This week was hard. It was the week of July 4th and that is always a brutal week at work. My shift (3-11) is usually the worst as well. First shift gets some traffic stuff, but by 3pm the people who are going to drink and cause trouble have started and by the middle of the shift we have family feuds, the mental health issues have had a day of pressure and they explode, and there are always the drunks who decide they had better get home. So by the time I got home each night last week, I was fried. So here is the single post for last week! This week may not be a lot better as I have the weekend off but am going to get my new puppy so simply won’t be home.

Any way, here is the work sheet photo. I added the graph to the pdf file (in PS) because I hand wrote the sheets this time and needed the lines. I typed up the sheets here and would have taken a photo, but the batteries were dead in the flash and I could not find the charger.

Prompt 1 (Crafting Based)
Create a project that tells a story. Incorporate who you are into that of the story, try to add more than just who/what/where/when. Refer back to the worksheet questions if you’re stuck for where to start.

For this one I used got out the Cameo, and cut out Fancy Lopin Sheik at the top of a 3×4 card, then typed up a description using Clipper Script font. I added a yellow piece of cardstock on the back to accent the cut out portion. I can’t duplicate it in photoshop so when I find the charger, I’ll take a photo and put it up. It is pretty.

Prompt 2 (Writing Based)
Write a recent story. It doesn’t have to be long (1-2 paragraphs). Incorporate who you are into that of the story, try to add more than just who/what/where/when. Refer back to the worksheet questions if you’re stuck for where to start.

For this one, I used a commercial card with The Story at the bottom and wrote this on the card

Prompt 3 (Picture Based)
Take a series of photos that tells a story. Incorporate who you are into that of the story, try to add more than just who/what/where/when. Refer back to the worksheet questions if you’re stuck for where to start.

the photo ties all of the writing together and gives the reader a tangible way of seeing what I was trying to describe.

The way the sleeve is set up, the crafting prompt is at the top left, then the writing prompt is next to it and the 4×6 photo is below that.

Week 1, Post 3

In the overview section of our Lesson One, Kristin says: This workshop is meant to be difficult. Push yourself to do the best that you can, but don’t get discouraged if you’re having a hard time.

Getting these photos was the easy part, but how to present them and be creative was the difficult part. I pushed myself to learn a new way to use Photoshop, to create the stamp and then use it.

Kristin also asked: Which storytellers do you admire? How can you pull from their style to enhance your own. I got the original idea from Janet White, of Field Journaling.

Click the link to see her rendition and where I got my inspiration.

In Janet’s post, her style is a bit different, more complex, but I will use that as a goal to strive for. Just learning how to make a digital stamp, then learning how to cut the circle out and then divide the photo so it still looked like it belonged together was enough for tonight.

I am proud of myself, I did what I set out to do and it wasn’t easy….

and here is another thing I am proud of, the good boy that brought me the mini blind slat.

Week 1, Post 2

So one of the Creative Prompts from our week 1 homework was titled, Promp 1(Crafting Based).

I thought about this the last few days and decided I wanted to do each prompt. Writing is not only words, but it is also a process that for many involves other tools as well. Camera(s), pens, paper, and for me, making up posts that have photos and text. I struggled with this earlier today (or really yesterday at this point) because I thought what I wanted to do was to create one page of photos with a facing page of text, but it didn’t really flow well (and remember that is one of my goals), so I had to change what to do. I often don’t have a Plan B, and it’s a struggle for me to switch gears so this made me finally save this post as a draft and go do something that was less stressful for me. That put me past midnight for posting. Of course it did.

So here is the first photo. Once again, click on the photo to enlarge it.

it shows my work table and a few of the tools, my binder, the Xyron and the Cameo. Then I show a printed word, cut it out with the Cameo and add an acrylic dot to the top for some dimension. This is the first page of the binder.

Then I added another small embellishment for some contrasting color. Because I want this project to be about the journaling more than the embellishments, I’m going to think carefully about what to use, and use them sparingly. Texture is important, but too much distracts from telling the story.

This is the finished first page. And once again, click to enlarge.

Tomorrow (if I can squeeze it in) I plan on doing the second Creative Prompt, which is writing based.

 

First Post of the class

I am so looking forward to this class. I write frequently and I take a lot of photos, but I want better flow to my thoughts (and thus my writing) and I want new, fresh ideas on what to write. Though this blog has a limited life span (length of the class), I hope those who visit here enjoy their stay.

So here is the first part of the prompts for this week.Click on the photo below to big-ify it.

with Live Writer (from Microsoft) you can insert photos, so I opened the template in PS, typed in the answers and then saved it as a jpeg. Hope the size is big enough to read, sizes are deceptive to me on my computer screen.

One of the stories I hope to tell is the story of my dogs and what they mean to me. I train people to train their dogs as a side business and therefore my dogs must also be trained. The dogs are and have been an essential part of my life for near onto 15 years now. They have brought in much needed income, made long term friendships and have introduced me to new ideas and methodologies.

this is Conner, Wychwoods Irresistible. I bred and raised his mama, and loved so many things about her that I bred her once also. I believe my breeding days are over now, but you never know. He is a gorgeous dog in mind and body, free moving, smart and tremendously attached to his people. The photo is of him yesterday, after his bath.

this is Meg, she’s my Australian Cattle Dog. She’s a whole lotta dog in a medium package and like Conner, she is very attached to her people. Meg is my most reliable demo dog, and often goes to class with me. She also had a bath yesterday.

More to come and welcome to my blog!

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