Creative Boot Camp Follow-Up

So during our little "vacation" last week I had a chance to finish up my CBC assignments...  I am still learning about how to work with different lighting and settings on my camera, and it is a lot of fun!  Since starting this project at the beginning of June I haven't used the automatic settings at all, yay!  I hope I can keep learning more and more as time goes on.  Here are the assignments and photos!

Ornament: something that lends grace or beauty

from our front yard, our "fireworks" flowers

I thought the hat fit into the "ornament" category, lending a little grace to my wild boy.

  

Fly

Ryan captured this shot, so I can't take full credit.  I just set up the camera for him... and did the editing. :)

Hush

I knew I needed a "Nukie" shot for this assignment.  Captured this one with Hipstamatic on my iphone.

Drizzle

It was a drizzly and dark afternoon, and it took me MANY tries to get the settings right for this one.

Full Bodied

This one just explains itself, doesn't it!?

The round baby belly is mostly gone, but he is still a cute full bodied little boy!

La La Land, La La Land!

When I was a kid, I called Disneyland "La La Land".  Not sure why, I think it was just fun to say.  I have vivid memories of my brother and I cheering "La La Land!" over and over and over and we jumped on my parents bed at 5am, ready to hop in the VW van and make our way to the happiest place on earth.  Now, I have some great new memories to add to the photo books.  I took a ton of pictures, but here are just a few little moments... after all, I am supposed to be on "vacation" this week! 

 How cute are these?!?

Nathan's view for most of the day, when he wasn't in the Ergo...

Lights, lights, and more lights!

Fireworks!

Sitting in Mickey's chair

Perfect spot for Lucas, the biggest hose on earth!

Lucas wouldn't stop kissing and hugging Mickey

Nathan, chillin' in the hotel

ABC's to Mudslides, and Everything in Between...

I wish I could open this post with something that would snatch your attention and draw you in, giving you no choice but to hang on to every descriptive word I type, reading line after line after line, unable to stop.  I wish I had something so profound to tell you, that you would be forced to stop and think, laugh, smile, or cry.  I wish I had something to say that would stay with you all day and into the night, invading your dreams and the quietness of the night.  I wish I knew what to write, at this very moment, but I do not.  

I could write about summer, today being the first day of the season.  Our plans for swimming and barbecues, mini-vacations and daily adventures.  

I could write about the boys.... how Lucas can sing his ABC's from start to finish or how Nathan can feed himself an entire meal now.  How I no longer have to puree an array of vegetable, fruit, and soup concoctions and freeze them into little cubes. 

I could write about weaning, about how hard it is emotionally to let go of that connection with my son.  A little thought in the back of my mind that says "maybe he's my last baby" and I'm not ready for him to grow up yet.  Back to nursing in the middle of the night, and sleeping less, simply because that is our quiet time, and is the only time he will accept me over a bottle. 

or maybe this...

Standing in the checkout line of CVS yesterday, I looked at the conveyor belt.  

In front of me a young girl, I'm guessing seventeen, has a basket of cover girl makeup, sour patch kids, and spicy cheetos.  She looks young, shy, and naive.  A beautiful young woman dreaming of her future, or maybe just a summer of fun, a new boyfriend, or an escape to college in the fall.  

I find myself envying her innocence and freedom, remembering my own inner turmoil at such a young age.  

I glance behind me and glimpse another basket, and a whole other spectrum of the universe.  

An older man, guessing middle sixties, with a bottle of mudslide mix, some beef jerky, and a jar of peanuts.  

The innocence is gone.  The freedom is there but it is clouded over by alcohol, bills, and a large dose of reality.  Is he wondering what happened to his youth?  

I looked in my own basket.  Baby Q-tips.  Calamine lotion.  Red Bulls for Ryan.  A squirt gun and Diego gloves for Lucas.  Not bad, I thought, I may have lost my innocence, but I've grown into a wife, mother, and bill paying homeowner.  When I need innocence, I can look at the faces of the two most precious boys in the world.  When I need freedom, I can come to my computer and write, write, write.  And I can enjoy every second of my life, with or without the beef jerky and mudslides. 

The Backpack!

Here it is!  My never worn, too small dress - reincarnated into an awesome little boys backpack.

I used an old receiving blanket as the inner liner rather than interfacing, and stitched the whole thing with bright orange thread for some added color.  The pocket on the back was one of the lower dress pockets.  The straps were made from the belt.  I cut the side piece from the dress waistband so there are little loops all the way around the backpack.  I'm thinking we can add some hooks and clips and other fun boy toys to customize even more. 

Friends, this was SO easy!!  I did the whole thing in just a couple hours.   I used this pattern, but tweaked it a lot for my own liking. 

The only thing I still want to add is a little Velcro closure.  The backpack hangs open when weighed down by lots of little treasures. 

And we did find lots of treasures to fill it up.

Wordless Wednesday: Easter, Our Way

90 Minute Shirt

Here is my first version of the 90 Minute Shirt.  I was inspired by this shirt back in February when one of my favorite blogs, MADE, co-hosted a month long series called Celebrate the Boy.  It was a month of boy crafts, tutorials, and projects to drool over.  When I saw how easy this shirt was to make, I knew I had to try it.  Hop on over to Dana's site and check out the tutorial for yourself.  She gives instructions of making your own pattern, and creating this shirt.  I'll be making a few more soon, I need to work out some issues in my pattern and perfect the sleeves... 

Aren't they SO super cute?!  Next up are a couple striped ones made from thrifted shirts!

This is Why I Love My Life