Best Shot Monday: Meet Missy

Missy_A0990390

Being home for the holidays means I get to go in and volunteer at my "home" shelter, Jacksonville's Animal Care and Protective Services. This is where I first fell in love with photographing shelter dogs about five years ago.  Since then, I've photographed more than 1,500 animals, and I still love it every single visit.

Missy is one of our long-timers, having been at the shelter since early May. We were so hopeful her people would find her before Christmas, but she's still waiting. We're hoping for a New Year New Forever Home now! She's a very sweet, very smart girl. She's just an older gal who needs to be your one and only four-legged pal. Say a prayer she's home sweet home on a nice soft bed by New Year's Day!

Merry Christmas to You!

christmas 2016

Merry Christmas from our little family to you! I hope that however you celebrate the holiday season that you are having a joyous, restful, peaceful, happy, festive time with family and friends. With two kids in the house, of course we were up before the sun, and after opening gifts, we got dressed and headed to our annual Christmas morning tradition of taking our dogs to the Blackrock Trail and Boneyard Beach on Big Talbot Island for their Christmas run on the trail and beach. We took this selfie on the trail. Blessings to you and yours!

Cheery Red Daisies

red daisies

We are home in Jacksonville for the Christmas break, and after a morning spent at the dentist for our six month checkup, we are having a dreary, lazy day afternoon. These little beauties caught my eye when I went outside with Molly and Isabelle in the misty rain. We have two pots of daisies on our back deck, and they seem to thrive on neglect! I do nothing more than pull the weeds out of the pots every now and then. Other than that, they are fully tended by Mother Nature! Happy cheery Christmas red daisies to you!

Best Shot Monday: Little Treasure

Livvie nest

While we were home in Jacksonville for the Thanksgiving holiday, we did some yard work. This beautiful little treasure had fallen out of the ligustrum tree in the front of the yard and thankfully landed in the Japanese hawthorn shrubs below.  I was so impressed by all the intricate work and detail this little bird mama put into this nest.  The pieces of rope woven into it just amazed me.

After taking some pictures of it, Livvie and I placed it snugly back in the ligustrum tree in the event the mama wanted to come back and use it again. I was thinking about it last night and hoping that the recent windy storms we had didn't blow it back out of the tree where we can't find it.  We're heading back home to Jacksonville this Friday for the Christmas break, so I will be searching for it. If I find it again, I think that'll be my sign that it needs to live on my bookshelf!  

So how about our other nest?  I guess we've settled into having two. December marks two years since I started my new role in Tallahassee, and in many ways the two years have gone by quickly. We definitely had a challenging year over this past year with my husband's heart attack and his recovery, but we are coming through it okay. He's actually been working at home in Jacksonville since June, so we've all been doing a lot of traveling back and forth, but again, it's been working out okay.

Livvie nest tree

I think back over these two years and all the times I've wondered if this would ever feel like home. The girls are thriving in the school here, which is the main reason I agreed to take on the new role. Though they both still miss "home" as much as I do, we've all tried to feather our nest here a bit more. We finally have pictures up on all the walls, Sarah has rearranged her room at least a dozen times, and we did quite a bit of Christmas decorating this year.  My sweet bonus daughter Courtney visited us here in Tallahassee just before Thanksgiving, and one of the first things she said was that the outside of the house was very pretty but it sure didn't look like us! Tallahassee's a pretty traditional town, and our neighborhood is very traditional brick.  We did paint the front door a bright red, and in a jolt of rebellion and a little reminder of our forever home, we put two bright turquoise chairs on the front porch. They are the only shot of bright color in the whole neighborhood, but the HOA president hasn't come after us yet.  :-)

We've been working on immersing ourselves here outside the house as well. The girls played city rec league volleyball all Fall and absolutely loved it.  We lucked into an incredibly patient and encouraging coach who started them off just right, so they are raring to go next year with the same coach.  I've become a regular volunteer at the shelter here, and that's helped me find some firmer ground.  And also I've taken on a little bigger advisory board role with our new executive board for my college sorority, Chi Omega, giving me the opportunity to mentor a few students weekly. I've really missed regular student contact in this new job. Benny's still figuring out what he's going to do for work when he comes back over here with us after the Christmas break (he most definitely was NOT ready to retire...), so we'll see where that takes him.

So there you have it.  We're still trying to fully catch our bearings in the wind, but our wings are working and our nest is starting to feel pretty strong. While I don't think it will ever fully feel like Home with a capital H, it's working out just fine as "home for now."  What's happening in your little nest?    

Holiday Clearance Sale!

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Hello there! I can't believe it's been more than a month since I've stopped in here! Things have been on overwhelm lately, and that's contributed to my lack of presence here. I will be making some changes in the new year to be more present! For now, I'm having a Holiday Clearance Sale in both of my Etsy shops! Yep, a clearance sale BEFORE the holidays so you can take advantage of it for your holiday shopping instead of after the holidays! All items in both my Etsy shops (jewelry and photography) are marked down 40%, no coupon needed. I hope you'll take the opportunity to hop over there and take advantage of some great sales for gifts or a little something for yourself. And if you're looking for a gift for those hard-to-shop-for men in your life, I have two large series of vintage and antique cars and trucks in my photography shop!  Have a wonderful holiday season!

Barnsley Daisy

Best Shot Monday: Kyle and Violet

Kyle

Meet the amazing Kyle, above! There were no dogs that needed photos on Friday, so I tackled the cats again. Boy, if I didn't already have two cats at home, Kyle would have come home with me Friday afternoon. He was such a dream! So sweet and affectionate, and so adorable! After I took his photo, he started reaching for my shoulder, so I bent down a bit and let him crawl aboard.  My Pete is a shoulder cat.  Kyle would have been happy for me to just stay that way for a while so he could just sit on my shoulders and let the other volunteers admire him. I knew he'd be adopted quickly, and sure enough, he was adopted this weekend.

Violet

Sweet little Violet, above, was in the cat kennel next to Kyle. She's also very affectionate and a little more rambunctious than the laid-back Kyle. And she's still available for adoption at the City of Tallahassee Animal Service Center!

October Free Bling Friday!

October Free Bling Friday-2

Welcome to my October Free Bling Friday giveaway! Congratulations to Kathy from Tallahassee for being the lucky winner of September's Free Bling!  How about some good fall color for October?  I created these with Czech crystals and beautiful carnelian briolettes, all wrapped up with sparkly sterling silver.  These hang about 1 3/4" from the top of the ear wire. 

October Free Bling Friday-1

To get your name in the hat, leave me your first name, city and state, and a way to contact you in the comments below no later than midnight ET Friday, October 28. Share this post on Facebook or Twitter and post a separate comment with the link to the share for two entries! New to commenting on Blogger? At the very bottom of this post, under the "You Might Also Like" section, you'll see a post date (10/7/2016) and "comments" in hot pink. Click on the "comments" and a comment box will open. Open to U.S residents only.  Please help me spread the word and share this post! Want a reminder of Free Bling Friday each month? Sign up for my monthly newsletter over there in the right column! Thanks for stopping in!

Best Shot Monday: Meet Charlie!

Charlie

Charlie came by for his glamour shot on the day he was to get adopted!  Charlie lived on the streets for more than two years from the first time he was spotted until he was rescued by Tallahassee Big Dog Rescue.  Once TBDR took him in for foster, he quickly settled into his foster home and demonstrated that he was once a loved family pet. Now, he's a loved family pet again, with a Golden Retriever sister!  Happy tails, Charlie!

Moving Into Fall

Ocean

The calendar tells us that Fall is officially here, but you sure can't tell by Florida weather!  We still have highs in the mid to upper 90's, lows in the mid 70's here.  I'm not much of a winter girl, so I'm not complaining, but it would be nice to have a little Fall air come our way.  We're about six weeks into the school year here and getting into our fall groove.  My girls are playing city rec league volleyball for the first time this year, and, thankfully, they are loving it!  Our days are very full with volleyball two nights a week!

I haven't had much time to do any arts festivals since I started in my new job, so I'm trying to get back in the swing of getting things uploaded to my website and Etsy shops.  I'm a compulsive "maker" so even though I don't have any shows scheduled, I'm still creating!  My time in my studio, whether it be creating jewelry, working in my art journal, or whipping up some handmade books, is my stress reliever.  Hoping to find some time this weekend to photograph new work.  The one above is available in both my Etsy shop and on my website.

I hope you are getting into Fall in your neck of the woods.  Happily, it's time for pumpkin spice donuts!  

Best Shot Monday: Meet Crockett and Belen!

Crockett

Meet Crockett (above) and Belen! Crockett is with Tallahassee Big Dog Rescue, and we believe he is a wire-hired dachshund mix. Whatever he is, he loved posing for his glamour shot! He was rescued from the Bainbridge, Georgia, Humane Society and is currently being fostered by Lorraine. She shares that he has a mellow disposition, comes when called, easily uses doggie doors, takes treats gently and walks well on his leash. He likes playing with other dogs his size or smaller but seems a tad too interested in cats. Visit TBDR here and click on medium dogs to learn more about him.

Belen, below, is at the City of Tallahassee Animal Service Center. She's a Catahound Leopard Hound mix, approximately three years old. She's very playful and loves to fetch and return. My photo assistant Sarah and I enjoyed playing with her Friday afternoon! Visit Tallahassee ASC here or at 1125 Easterwood Drive in Tallahassee to adopt her!

Belen_A165358

2016 Documented Life Project: April

April-1

Welcome to April for the Documented Life Project: the unPlanner! (I'll catch up eventually!) This left side actually shows the last challenge in March, which was to leave white space, not something I'm very good at! And in the spirit of using up what's around me, this photo of mine has been sitting on my bench for months. In they go.  It's called "Family Reunion" and is available in my Etsy shop here.

April-2

April-3

Since I've been doing the challenges on the backs of the calendar pages, I'm left with a random back that comes after the divider for the month, on the left here. I used inks, stencils, and flowers cut out of an old calendar here, along with some fun paper doilies. I included the church bulletin for the week as well. That week ended with our state tennis tournament, at which I played the role of photographer. It kept me busy and I really enjoyed it! I've never photographed a tennis tournament before! You can see our photos from the tournament here!

April-4

April-5

The next two challenges were use "black and white" and "draw/paint a face." I had fun with the black and white page, starting with a piece of black and white scrapbook paper, adding white doodles to it, and then collaging the black and white fish. The pink behind them helped them pop out. For the "draw/paint a face" challenge, I took the liberty of me NOT drawing or painting a face but rather sharing some faces Olivia painted when she was five years old. These two have been sitting amongst my stash for a while just waiting for the right opportunity to shine! The first is her painting of Savannah and then her painting of Tink.

April-8

If I remember correctly, this next challenge was "share a moment." This is a copy of one of my favorite photos that I used in a collage I made in Melody Ross's class at Serendipity. I knew I'd find a place for those little pages eventually! I've spread them throughout this project. You can see the full image and read more about why this moment is so special to me here. This week included our Council for Athletic Affairs e-board meeting in Tampa and a rescheduled surprise birthday party turned Benny's heart attack recovery party!

April-6

This next challenge was "make a pocket." I used some underpapers and random scraps and a pretty butterfly for some contrast. The pocket includes a couple tags I made and an entry from the Index Card a Day Challenge for Tammy at Daisy Yellow. This was the week of our state softball tournament. Three very long days of softball, but, dang those girls are some amazing athletes! The flaps on the right side fold out and include a couple of my favorite photos from the tournament.

April-7

The last challenge of the month was to "fill your page with numbers." Given the fact that I tend to hoard number and letter stickers, I had quite the stash to complete this challenge. I started with some random collage bits and pulled out my number stickers. Fun way to wrap up the month, and to wrap up this volume of the project since my first binder could only hold the first four months of the year! Now that we are officially into September, I'm actually on to binder number three! Be sure to check out this project and all the other great projects the Art to the 5th gals offer on their blog here. See all my 2016 Documented Life Project posts here.

Best Shot Monday: Mason

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This boy! Meet Mason! I've started shooting for the City of Tallahassee Animal Service Center here in Tallahassee. It's really good to be back in a shelter environment. I love shooting for Tallahassee Big Dog Rescue as well, and love that they pull dogs from the Tallahassee city shelter occasionally, but there's just something about the municipal shelter environment and mission that really tugs at my heart. These are the animals that need me the most, and Tallahassee seems to be doing a great job. The staff there is wonderful, and their volunteer coordinator, Grayson, is super helpful and friendly and really works to ensure her volunteers are successful and doing the type of work they love to do. Shout out to Grayson!

I met Mason on Friday afternoon. He's a big tank and a true "hunka' hunka' burnin' love." He needs some work on his leash manners, but it was clear from the get go that he loves, loves, loves his human friends. He just couldn't get close enough to me, as you can see from this picture. While some photographers would have edited out their foot in this shot, I chose not to. I think having my foot in there really tells part of Mason's story. It's like he's saying, "I loooovvvvveeeee you, human!! Can I get closer to you?!?!" (not to mention I can show you my favorite super cute plaid sneaks that go in and out of the wash in a breeze...)  It was right after this shot that Mason let out a giant sneeze on my camera lens, which took about 15 minutes to clean, but hey! We got a super smiley shot!  You can adopt Mason at the City of Tallahassee Animal Service Center at 1125 Easterwood Drive, right next to Tom Brown Park, in Tallahassee.

I hope those of you that were in Hurricane Hermine's path weathered the storm safely!  Much of Tallahassee was without power for several days (some neighborhoods over a week), but we are all back in business here after schools and colleges were close for three days in addition to the holiday weekend.  Made for an extra long Labor Day weekend! Thankfully, we were able to go home to Jacksonville where we had power! 

September Free Bling Friday

Sept Free Bling

Welcome to September Free Bling Friday giveaway! Congratulations to Whitney from Jacksonville for being the lucky winner of August's Free Bling! This month I'm sending these little pale turquoise beauties out into the world.  This is a simple, elegant pair that can dress up or down.  The beads are 8mm. 

To get your name in the hat, leave me your first name, city and state, and a way to contact you in the comments below no later than midnight ET Friday, September 30. Share this post on Facebook or Twitter and post a separate comment with the link to the share for two entries! New to commenting on Blogger? At the very bottom of this post, under the "You Might Also Like" section, you'll see a post date (9/2/2016) and "comments" in hot pink. Click on the "comments" and a comment box will open. Open to U.S residents only. Please help me spread the word and share this post! Want a reminder of Free Bling Friday each month? Sign up for my monthly newsletter over there in the right column! Thanks for stopping in!

2016 Documented Life Project: March

March 1

Still catching up on posting my spreads from the 2016 Documented Life Project: The unPlanner! I'm actually keeping up in real life, so it's fun to look back at previous months to see what I've done. Above is the first spread for March. That smaller green page was a piece cut folder in half to be two sided.  I created it at Albie Smith's workshop at An Artful Journey a few years backs. Still using up what I have in my studio!

March 2

I attached these little bird tags made from my postage stamp stash to the green page using eyelets. (I love using eyelets ... I should use them more...) This week was the week of our state basketball tournaments, so I was down in Ocala for much of the week and managed to get away one night to have dinner with my dear sweet friend Vanessa, who went to Boca Grande with us this summer!

March 3

If I remember correctly, the prompt for the page on the left was "doodle flowers." As I've mentioned before, I'm not exactly following the rules for this project (do I ever?). The prompts are for the "pocket art cards" which are described to be 3" x 4". I decided to carry out the prompts on the backs of my calendar pages instead. My Dare2Be for the month was "Noticer." Being a photographer long before any other types of art, I tend to be a "noticer" by nature, noticing little things here and there others overlook. My goal for this Dare2Be was to start doing more street photography, looking for faces. Still working on that!

March 4

Back side of my Dare2Be card here. Love this quote by e.e. cummings: "It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are."

March 5

The prompt for the page on the left was "underpapers." I love using my underpapers, so this one was a cinch for me. I added the bloom outlines with a stencil and some white paint.

March 6

This week was our Spring Break! I spent a day at our Jacksonville shelter photographing the pups, we went to the 100 acre wood and the zoo and the beach and just generally chilled out. Great to be home for a week!

March 7

I can't remember what this prompt was ... I very likely didn't follow it. I've had this piece of scrap laying around for a while waiting to use it. Yes, I said scrap. This was a lucky plop. This is the negative of one of my favorite star stencils. I had used the stencil with some spray inks and then flipped it over onto a scrap of white paper to dry up the inks. When I pulled it away, this was what I was left with! This week was back in Tallahassee, wrapping up with Easter Sunday. Normally, we would have been at the lake in Keystone with Benny's family for Easter Sunday, but since we had just been home the week prior for Spring Break, we decided to stay in Tallahassee. We went to a lovely little church down the street from us that had the most amazing choir. What a treat that was that added to a beautiful service. Glad we stayed to experience that. I included the church bulletin as a reminder.

March 8

The page on the left resulted from the layering of stencils, then adding more color with gelatos followed by some pen and ink work. The background green was another page of stencil clean up like the previous star page. Love those happy accidents. The List Ten for this month was Dream Destinations. Mine included Paris, Ireland, Gaint Sequoias, Greece, Australia, Scottish Isles, Hawaii, Bali, and most importantly HOME. Deep down, I am a home body. Just love being home. That's Sarah peeking out from behind the card. Below you see the full picture of her with Livvie and their friend Alexa. They went to see their friend Jill perform in the school play production on Cinderella. Jill was Cinderella herself! This week also included Springtime Tallahassee and a weekend visit from my dad. 

March 9

And that wraps up March! Click here to see more of my 2016 Documented Life Project and click here to learn more about the project itself. Click here for my 2015 Documented Life Project posts and here for 2014. Each year is very different! Thanks for stopping in!

Best Shot Monday: Siana and Louie

Siana

Meet Siana (above) and Louie (below with Sarah)! Siana and Louie are two of the Tallahassee Big Dog Rescue flood dogs that came to Tallahassee from Louisiana on August 20th after a 24-hour road trip. They were found stranded on a porch of a vacant and flooded home. When they were rescued, the porch was about to be underwater as well. Despite posted notices and return trips to the home, no owner could be found, so they became part of the refugee/rescue dogs that came to Tallahassee where foster homes awaited them.  Siana is a female terrier mix, about one year old and 15 pounds; Louie is a male dachshund mix, about 18 months old and 12 pounds.

In the picture above, it's like Siana is saying, "I just washed my hair, and I can't do a thing with it!" Both Siana and Louie have settled down nicely and act as if they were once beloved pets with loving owners. They both have pretty good house manners and are trying hard to learn even more. They have learned their new names, how to sit for treats, which they both take very gently, and come when called; we think they are smart little cookies!  They both play well with other dogs, are fine with cats and like to cuddle. They walk well on a leash and don’t mind being in a crate for short periods of time. Still, we want them to have a fenced yard of their own. Having a doggy playmate would be great, too (maybe even adopted as a pair!). Siana's wirey coat is the low-maintenance, non-shedding type that makes her easy to bathe and brush; Louie is a snap to bathe, and his short reddish/gold coat just gleams!

Both Siana and Louie are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, micro-chipped, heart worm negative, and waiting for their new forever homes. Might it be yours? Visit Tallahassee Big Dog Rescue here for more information on adoption. Both Siana and Louie are listed under "small dogs." In all, TBDR rescued 18 dogs and six cats from the Louisiana flooding.  *Note .... my daughter Sarah is not available for adoption, no matter how adorable she and Louie look together! :-)

Sarah and Louie

Best Shot Monday: Mia and Miracle

Mia-1w

First up this week, meet Mia! Mia is currently being fostered by Tallahassee Big Dog Rescue. She is a U.T.O.P.I.A. (“Undergone Training and Obedience in Prison to Increase Adoptability”) graduate! She completed this 8-week program during her stay at the Tallahassee/Leon County Animal Services Center (TLCASC) before she came to TBDR, so she is more than ready for her new beginning! Mia has a great personality and craves love and attention. She is housebroken and crate-trained. She loves to play--tennis balls and squeaky toys are her favorite--but is content being a couch potato, too. She walks fairly well on a harness-style leash. An active household with a large high fenced yard would be perfect for her. She gets along with other dogs her size but needs a home without cats or small dogs.

Miracle-1w

Next up is Miracle. This little sweetie got adopted shortly after I took her photo on Saturday, but I couldn't resist sharing her sweet face. Best news is that she was adopted by a family that lives two doors down from us so we can visit her! See all the dogs available for adoption at Tallahassee's Big Dog Rescue on their website here.

Coptic Stitch Books

purple and green books-2

I finished a couple more coptic stitch books. These are a bit larger than my little tea book! The covers are made from 6 x 9" sheets of water color paper folded in half for a finished book size of 4 1/2" x 6".

purple and green books-4

I started with the 6 x 9 paper flat and wet it with a very wet brush. Then I sprayed a couple different colors of inks and picked up the paper to move the inks around. Lastly I sprinkled some salt on them while they were still wet.

purple and green books-3

Once they were completely dry, I brushed the salt off and that leaves you with the cool mottled effect. If I remember correctly, I learned that little trick from Wyanne Thompson when she was still living just up the road from me in Amelia!

purple and green books-5

I sewed in six signatures of four folios each giving the books 48 front and back pages of mixed media paper, perfect for wet or dry media painting, sketching or journaling. I have two more ready to sew in different colors. I'll start listing these in my Etsy store and on my website soon ... once I decide I can part with them. That's been the challenge with my bookmaking projects. I never want to let them go!

Best Shot Monday: Proof

Proof

Proof.  That's what Livvie said this is.  Proof that she "flew and caught" at camp. Last week my girls participated in Florida State University's Flying High Circus Camp. FSU's Flying High Circus has been in existence since 1947 and was first started by Jack Haskin as an activity in which both young men and young women could participate together.  1947 was the year FSU switched from the Florida State College for Women to the co-ed Florida State University you know today.  And they do circus camp!  You can read more about FSU's Flying High Circus here.

I knew this camp would push my girls, and that's why I enrolled them. I feel like it's my job as Mama to give them opportunities to push themselves out of their comfort zones, and this camp certainly did it.  Olivia is typically far less cautious than Sarah, so she was all about the high flying trapeze and the cloud swing. Sarah preferred the challenges that were a little more grounded .... and that's fine. That's what both Sarah and I had to learn. Of course, as Mama, I really wanted to see her up on that flying trapeze, and while she did try it a couple times, she felt far more comfortable a tad closer to the ground.  I think we learned a lot from each other this week, Sarah and me.  She learned that she really is stronger and braver than she thought she was; she did get up there on that flying trapeze three times after all.  Even if all she felt comfortable doing was swinging from her knees, SHE DID IT.  SHE GOT UP THERE!!! 

The last day of camp, they did a showcase where parents could come see the different performing events their children wanted to show them. Olivia, of course, wanted to show me the flying trapeze, as did most of the kids there, so while she was waiting in line for her turn, Sarah walked me around and showed me her moves on the trampolines, the tight wire, the juggling ring, and the static trapeze.  She's a very graceful girl and she was able to demonstrate that grace with these initiatives. Click here to see a quick video of her on the static trapeze. It was very clear to me that she was very proud of what she'd accomplished in one short week. And that was awesome to see.  After Sarah and I walked around a bit, Livvie finally was able to make her way up the line and to the top station of the flying trapeze ... where she flew and caught.  Click here to see it.  Her excitement was akin to the first time she rode a real, adult-sized roller coaster and came off jumping up and down screaming, "That was AWESOME!!"  That's my daredevil. 

So what did I learn?  I learned that my girls have grown up so quickly and are reaching the stage where they are independent in their decision making, and that is something I must respect.  I grew up an athlete, my husband grew up an athlete, so naturally we have the desire to push our kids to try athletic things.  But in pushing, we are also trying to remember our boundaries ... and respect theirs.  And remember that these are two little individuals that, while made up of a combination of our DNA, are still individuals ... with their own boundaries ... and fears ... and expectations. The good news is that both the girls are excited to go back to circus camp next year.  Olivia is already thinking this is something she'd really like to get involved in when she goes to college at FSU.  Sarah?  She says she'd like to do circus camp for a few years, but she really has her sights set on being an FSU Marching Chief. And that's just fine with me. After all, I was a band geek too. :-)  (And I really wish FSU did circus camp for adults...)   

August Free Bling

August Free Bling

Welcome to August Free Bling Friday! Congratulations to Katherine from Jacksonville for being the lucky winner of July's Free Bling! This month I'm sending these little blue beauties out into the world. I created these with pretty little Czech glass briolettes topped with Czech crystals all accented with sterling silver. These are petite, the briolette being smaller than a dime in diameter. They hang approximately 1 1/4" from top of French wire to bottom briolette.

To get your name in the hat, leave me your first name, city and state, and a way to contact you in the comments below no later than midnight ET Friday, August 26. Share this post on Facebook or Twitter and post a separate comment with the link to the share for two entries! New to commenting on Blogger? At the very bottom of this post, under the "You Might Also Like" section, you'll see a post date (8/4/2016) and "comments" in hot pink. Click on the "comments" and a comment box will open. Open to U.S residents only. Please help me spread the word and share this post! Want a reminder of Free Bling Friday each month? Sign up for my monthly newsletter over there in the right column! Thanks for stopping in!

2016 Documented Life Project: February

Feb-1

How about a little cool February journaling on this super hot July day!? Still chugging along with the 2016 Documented Life Project: the unPlanner. Catching up on sharing! Here's February! Continuing to use up scraps around my studio!

Feb-2

The first week's spread includes a pretty card I received from Kelli May Krenz and our List Ten, which was "things I never should have done." I don't really have that many regrets. I feel like everything we do, good or not so good, teaches a lesson and is part of who we become.

Feb-3

Week two was Chi Omega Creole week, my first assignment as a Chi O Chapter Advisor. I was so proud of my Creole chair and her team. They did an awesome job and raised just over $30,000 for Make a Wish! :-) This spread also includes some fun art from Gina Lee Kim. She sent me two of these, so I decided to include one here!

Feb-4

Close up of Gina's sweet little camper painting.

Feb-5

On the back side of Gina's painting, I included her little heart note that came with the package, which was written on some artwork by her son Stephen!

Feb-6

I kept the Valentine's week spread simple with "Be" cards from Brave Girls Club.

Feb-7

On the back of the "Be" cards, I cut up a journal page into pieces to fit the inserts. Again, using up scraps that are laying around my studio!

Feb-8

Week 3 was a tough week for me, so I thought this postcard I included on the left summed up the week. I journaled about my challenges for the week on the back of the postcard.

Feb-9

This sweet inserted little card was for the "think of summer" challenge for that week. That photo is of me and the redheads at St. George Island a few summers back. Love that picture.

Feb-10

And lastly, the last week of February was An Artful Journey, our last Journey, sadly! The collage on the left and below is from papers I gathered while in class. You can see what I created at An Artful Journey this year here.

Feb-11

Thanks for stopping in today! See more of my 2016 Documented Life Project here, see my 2015 DLP here, and 2014 here (my favorite!).