One Day More

I know much of the world is counting down to celebrating Christmas. I think it's pretty clear from other posts on this blog, that I celebrate a different winter holiday. So I am breathlessly waiting to see Les Miserables. I apologize in advance to all those in the theater with me, for I can't promise that I won't sing along with the whole score. I plan to go early in the morning, so that should cut down on the number of people's movie experience that I ruin.

In a total non related matter, I have thought more about what year long projects to take on for 2012. I don't have an exact plan, but the beginnings of one. I definitely want to continue to take 12 pictures on the 12th of each month. I will continue to use Ella's Guided Inspiration Kit for...well...inspiration. I do know, that doing this on my own, I wold probably fall off the layout wagon. But, I can print pictures, and stories. I have some 4x6 templates saved and ready to go, to get it all done as efficiently as possible.

I was also wondering how to take part in Project Life without failing miserably at keeping up. And though the saying usually goes, "think big," I decided to think small. I made this little album (completely inspired by some December Dailies out there):

It's Studio Calico's lovely 6x8 album, with divided page protectors. I just love the look and feel and size of it. I still doubt I will be able to keep up with 52 weeks of Project Life, but I can definitely fill it with little photos and stories that might not otherwise make it onto a full layout. And, I can put my Take 12 in 2013 photos in there as well. So worst case scenario, I will have 144 pictures in it at the end of the year. Not too shabby.

Whatever you are waiting for, may your tomorrow be merry and bright.

Write.Click.Scrapbook January Sneak

I definitely had fun with this one. I can't wait to share the rest with you. But until the new year you will have to make do with just this:

Head over to the WCS Facebook page for more sneaks throughout the day!

Take Twelve December Layout

And here she is. The last Take Twelve layout of the year.

This layout nearly did me in. To make life easier I printed 11 of the photos as a photo collage. They are actually two 3.5x5 inch collages, and  then one photo in the 3.5x5. Then, I lay the three photos out on my paper, and thought it looked horrible. But I played and I played, and I worked and I worked, and my eyes are killing me from moving around so many tiny Lily Bee letter stickers. (But, oh, I love them so. They make it worth losing my 20/20 vision.) It all came together when I added those three tab stickers from Basic Grey. The addition of the red and orange to the color scheme, just made the rest fall into place.

So now Take Twelve 2012 is complete. I have loved this project, I love my album, and I love looking back at all the photos from this year. So totally worth it.

You can upload your layout here until midnight, EST, on Tuesday for a chance to win  a lovely prize from Compendium, purveyor of inspiring words, books, journals and more.

Hmm, I am considering photo projects for next year. I had a crazy idea to give Project Life a go. I was thinking maybe a mini version, because I know a big 12x12 weekly album will likely end in failure for me. But I've been eyeing some 6x8 albums with divided page protectors. What are your project plans for 2013?

12.12.12; The Final Take 12 Photos

This one was intimidating; It's Chanukah; the last Take 12 of the year; And the famous 12/12/12. It just felt like these photos had to really count. At some points during the day, it didn't feel like anything that spectacular was happening, though. So I just did what I always do-I took lots of pictures, some planned, but mostly not, and I hope that a story or pattern would emerge.

There were the usual everyday photos and stories.

Like Sam in his waking up stage. His clothes are on top of him, a sensory cue from his dear mother, to let him know it was really time to start getting dressed.

Like the calendar hanging on our refrigerator filled with illustrations, silly comments, and a countdown to Chanukah. The 27th is my birthday, so Max drew a little picture of me, with the description, "this is how you usually look." He's joking! Of course, he's joking!

Like my funny, little (5'10") jokester and his new best friend.

Max also provided me with this screenshot to properly commemorate all the 12's of the day. His 12:12 screen shot came out way better than mine, due the uber coolness of his home screen photo (that was taken this summer  while walking on the Williamsburg bridge.) I also like this photo in this particular collection, since the rest of the photos will be Jewlicious, what with it being Chanukah, and all.

See? Candle lighting:

Jelly doughnut eating:

 And multiple viewing of Adam Sandler singing the Chanukah Song. why two photos of that? Well, first we watched this version of a concert where the entire audience sang along to all the words. Then we watched this version when it was just another SNL bit. ( I am really not sure if this is the original airing.) I love that a guy made up a funny song that had the power to become part of a shared American Jewish experience. It's moving and meaningful to pass on traditions that go back a millennium or two, but it feels equally significant that the traditions continue to thrive, to weave themselves into a larger culture, and to pick up some new flavors on their journey through the generations.

And, with that, I sadly bid adieu to you, Take 12, 2012.
Actually, I still have a layout to make. And you can still link your photos here for a chance to win a prize from Compendium,purveyor of inspiring words, books, journals and more.

WCS December Gallery

It's finally here--the December gallery at WCS! This month we all scrapped our favorite photos. To be honest, my "favorite photo" is always being replaced by a new favorite photo. But these ones here, I think I'll love for a good long while.

These photos are from the day after hurricane Sandy hit. You can probably guess why they are faves; 2 kids who are actually expressing affection for each other. And, since it was right after the storm, I was also feeling love for the newly battered New York City, and I love the glimpses of her in the background.

Happy December everyone!

Sketchabilities

Now folks, it is time for my final sketch as part of the Sketchabilities design team. Would it be wrong to say, this sketch might be my favorite? Of course, they are all great, but I really like the way this one turned out.

And here's my take:

The journaling says: I ever so gently suggested to Max that he’s been spending too much time on electronics, to the exclusion of all other hobbies. He agreed (yay!), and went to the library for some books. As he sat down to read The Hobbit, he said, "Where's the button to turn this thing on?" 

Which reminded me of this book:

Which is basically about this:

And while I am sharing a layout about Max reading, I can also share this one about Sam. I also framed his reading picture with the same adorable Polaroid frame (Which is available for FREE from Persnickety Prints.)

I know kids and their reading habits is a common layout topic. I've seem lots of them. The funny thing is, this one about Sam was going to be about why it was okay that Sam was not that fond of reading. And then he started to read more often. Which I was glad about, but really forced me to rethink all of my journaling. 

Have you ever made a page about a child discovering the joys of reading?

Write.Click.Scrapbook. Sneak

It's time for the gallery sneak peaks over at Write.Click.Scrapbook.  Can you guess this month's theme? If you need more clues, keep checking WCS and Facebook for more sneaks!

Here's mine:

The full reveal will be on December 1st. Can you stand it?

November Take 12 Layout

I wrote in more detail about the photos here. I have noticed with this project that I tend to write more about my Take 12 photos on this blog than I do on the actual page. I think I am fine with that, though I suppose only time will really tell. Will the story still feel complete in a year or two when I look back at these pages? I'll let you  know. I  think, perhaps, I will print out what I have written here, and keep that in the page protector behind each layout. No one can tell me I can't, right?

You still have time to link your photos at the Ella Publishing Blog, for a chance to win a hand-made camera strap from Bluebird Chic.

Don't forget to check out the creations from the rest of the Take 12 Team!

Elizabeth Dillow

Van Nguyen

Margie Scarpignato

Janette Kincaid

Monica Bradford

Jennie McGarvey

Lisa Day

Valerie Bishop

Amy Prior

Stephanie Medley-Rath

Angela Gutshall

Lisa Ottoson

Sketchabilities Sketch!

What's this? Another hurricane inspired layout? Why yes, it is.

Here's the delightful sketch from Sketchabilites.

And here is my take on the sketch:

Time moved a little more slowly with only a little light, and no TV to keep the evenings moving. But we did get some reading done. And it was kind of cozy. At first. Dave noticed that I stopped taking cute candlelight pictures after a few days. The candles sure were pretty, though. I sure am  glad that we light Shabbat candles every Friday night, and therefore we had a box of 200 tea lights. ( Dave actually  managed to get those the day after the storm from the local Kosher store.)

Link up your sketch over at Sketchabilities for a chance to win a prize from this month's sponsor:

Good Luck!

Take Twelve November. What November?! Yes. November.

Except for the last two photos, which are pictures of Max and Sam,  just 'cause I like 'em, the rest of this month's Take Twelve photos are in response to Hurricane Sandy. When we went for 4 days without power, and New York City was a little broken, it struck me, and lots of others like me, how good we have it. And even when we didn't have it all, we still could trust that we would have it all back pretty soon. (Of course, some people are still without homes, power, water, and food.) 

So, here we go:

1. Our cell phones, and the ability to charge them as we desire. They are good for keeping us entertained, but also connected. Service was spotty for a few days, and communication with the rest of the world was difficult.

2. Computer, like cell phones, keep us working, entertained, and connected.

3. TV. No news was tricky, but man, did we miss our TV, just because it's fun.

4. Light. There's a reason it's the first to be created in the Bible. It is good.

5. This fridge kept our food cold much longer than we expected. Being able to eat fresh food after several days was good for our soul. It's old, and the shelves are falling apart, but she is good at keeping cold air in.

6. Water. Running water. Good for cleaning, showering, and flushing toilets. So glad to have that back.

7-8: Stocked shelves at the supermarket: It was a good week before we could freely shop for things like produce and dairy products. We were never in danger of starving, and other areas of the city did have some deliveries during the week, but it made us realize how dependent we are on a lot of people, places, and things to have access to ginormous amounts of food. Pretty much always.

9. Before the storm, I made some veggie soup. We were able to cook on our gas stove, and that hot soup was comforting on day 2.

10. Subway system. You rock.

11-12. Remember, I just like'em.

Isn't it lucky for me that Take Twelve November happened the week before Thanksgiving? Lucky again!

More Post Hurricane Catch Up

Earlier in the month of October I received an email from Marnie Flores asking me to be part of the Write.Click.Scrapbook team. It still makes me a little breathless to type that. But, yes, it happened. When I first ventured into the online scrapbooking world,  I found Write. Click.Scrapbook, and I thought, "Ooh, how do I get to be there? That would be a dream come true." And, now I am there, so this is a complete and utter thrill for me.

The November gallery is all about "Favorite Colors." Hearing those two words, the first thing that pops into my head is "black." And then, "gray." Really, most of my wardrobe is a variation of those two colors, with an occasional splash of another color. And every day, I have to decide which gray or black clothing to wear:

It's quite a conundrum. What's your favorite color?

Post Hurricane Catch-Up

Well, it's been quite a week since hurricane Sandy came to town. After four days without power, we are still reeling from the experience. And there are people who were hit so much worse, and are still without power or gas, and food is hard to come by or to get to. I was pretty sure, as we stocked up on water and batteries and non-perishables that we were all over-reacting. New York City never gets hit that hard with severe weather. Well, weather, you win this round. But, I am glad that we over-reacted because all those flashlights and candles and bottles of water helped us get through those four days. And really, it was mostly very inconvenient, and nothing more. But still...

But, let's catch up on some scrappy news, shall we. First, during the power outage, The new Sketchabilities sketch was posted:

I think I'll hold my other scrappy news for another day!! It will get it's own post. Stay tuned...

Take Twelve October Layout

What's that? A grid for my Take Twelve photos? Yes. Yes it is. Don't judge me.

Remember when I said, I wanted to win the Take Twelve prize from A Flair for Buttons? There's no need anymore, because I ordered a bunch of things that have already arrived. But you still have a chance to upload your photos here for a chance to win.

You can check out the rest of the Take Twelve Team layouts:

Elizabeth Dillow

Van Nguyen

Margie Scarpignato

Janette Kincaid

Monica Bradford

Jennie McGarvey

Lisa Day

Valerie Bishop

Amy Prior

Stephanie Medley-Rath

Angela Gutshall

Lisa Ottoson

New Sketchabilities Sketch

I completed this layout the night that all the fall, Jewish holidays were over. Working on the layout then felt like a nice way to end this holiday season, and it helped express the joy and exhaustion of lots and lots of celebrating.

Be sure to link up your take on this sketch over at Sketchabilities  for a chance to win. And, then there is the awesomely talented design team, so check out their layouts too.

Take Twelve October

You can still enter my giveaway here.
Wow. I can't believe there are three months left of Take Twelve 2012. But there it is. Time moves on.

Anyway, here are my photos. I had in mind to work with the theme of "change," and while it does not apply to all my photos, I was surprised by how many pictures captured some change or other.

1. First we have a nice little change in our weather. A change I love; crisp, cool, but not too cold, perfect for a sweater, weather.
2. With that weather came  the first leaves changing colors and falling to the ground.
3. The week of the 12th also saw the end of a whole bunch of Jewish holidays, and with the final holiday, we begin the prayer for rain that is  said from fall until Passover, in the spring.
4. Another change that lasts from October until spring-Max is required to wear a tie to school. I find that the most adorable thing ever. I'm sure Max loves when I tell him he's adorable.
5. Boots! I love them almost as much as sweaters. Also significant here: I changed my shoes and my outfit about 3 times before settling on what to wear. The funny thing is, earlier in the week, I had a dream where I cam late to work (like, hours late), because I couldn't figure out what to wear. Luckily only half that dream came true.
6-9: Something that has stayed the same-waiting for the bus in the morning. I was looking back, and realized that I have photos from this routine in 4 other Take Twelve layouts.
10. Little Sam must have tuckered himself out at school, because he fell asleep when he got home.
11. Friday is always filled with preparations for Shabbat. Buffalo wings have become a regular Deutsch family Shabbat dish. And that ginormous bottle of hot sauce makes me laugh. It's kind of absurd.
12. Here's a cool change that I've made. I've been working out, and I love it, love it, love it. And best of all, I can see and feel the changes in my body. Things are a little less creaky, and a little less mushy. I like that.

And now, link up your photos or layout on the Ella Publishing blog, for chance to win a really cool prize, that I totally want for myself. The winner gets to choose three sets of flairs from the etsy shop, A Flair for Buttons.

Actually, I might end up buying some of those flairs before this day is through.

Honorable Mention and a Giveaway

If you are here from Write. Click. Scrapbook. Welcome!

I was completely and utterly honored and excited to receive an email from Marnie Flores this summer, asking me to do a guest post over at Write.Click.Scrapbook. It's always one of the first crafty places I visit each day. Sometimes, more than once.

And while you're here, I get to relaunch  this giveaway for a spot in Tracy Clark's self paced workshop Picture Color, over at Big Picture Classes. Another of my favorite daily web spots.

Through this 30-day photo-centric celebration, Picture Color will encourage you to turn your lens toward the colors that delight you most. With daily email prompts delivered right to your inbox, you will be greeted and inspired by a myriad of colorful shades to awaken your senses and your inner-artist as your camera clicks color after vibrant color!

To be entered, leave me a comment about what kind of classes you like to take.  And, if you like, you can follow me, and leave me another comment, for another chance to win. (If you already follow me, leave me two comments. Really, go ahead.)

New Sketchabilities Sketch

And here it is!!!

I loved working with this sketch so much. It made this layout come together in no time. I LOVE when  that happens.

It is yet another layout from our road trip. I am still eking out some layouts from that vacation. We did A LOT. Here, we visited the Wild Turkey distillery,which for Dave, was like coming home. Well, not really. But we do love our bourbon. And it is almost never boring to see how things are made. Really, never.

Once again this sketch is sponsored by Flying Unicorn, and this is the prize for the winner of this sketch challenge:

Good luck!

Take Twelve Layout

Here's my layout for this September 12th. I was in a bit of a rush in trying to get this done before Rosh Hashana, so to help with that, I just printed my photo collage in 8x10. I love how fast that made things.
There is a little time left to enter your photos or layout here for a chance to win a seat in Big Picture Boot Camp.

Sketchabilities Sketch

Here it is, folks. My first layout as a design team member for Sketchabilities. 

First, the sketch.

Then, the layout.

Then my rambling about how this layout came to be.

I struggled with this sketch at first, I had a whole different set of pictures, and I was taking the sketch very literally. It just wasn't happening. Then I remembered that a sketch is a jumping off point. I realized I can leave off some layers of paper, and move some elements around. Then I walked away from it, so that when I came back, I could judge it from a fresh perspective. Upon returning, I decided I still liked what I saw, so I tweaked a few things, added my journaling strips, and then, success! Do you ever do this too, or am I the only one?

Then some details.

This month's Sketchabilities sketch challenge is sponsored by Flying Unicorn. Link your take on the layout here, and don't forget to check out the rest of the design team creations!

Oh, and by the way, Friendly's ice cream ROCKS. The rest of their food is utterly un-kosher, so I have no idea whether it's good or bad. Oh, but the ice cream....

Take Twelve Photos

Before we begin, please enter my giveaway here. It's a good one, so chekc it out. I am giving away a spot in Tracey Clark's self-paced workshop, Picture Color, over at Big Picture Classes.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

This September 12th:
-The kids are back at school. We are back to waiting together for the bus. But now that Max is in high school, he leaves earlier than the rest of the us.
-I am back at work, though my students have not started yet. We visit each child at home before school begins (they are very little), and with 3 classes, that mean 33 visits. So I've been walking A LOT around Brooklyn. This year, more than other years, I have been constantly struck by how beautiful it is.
-We wrote up our first lesson plans of the year. There are 2 of my co teachers.
-Art supplies=pretty
-Back at home  lots of folded laundry awaited its return to closets and drawers.
-Homework is here again. Max is especially out of practice, since I don't think he did any in the last half of eighth grade. And Max admitted he needed help to cut down on his screen time. Admitting you have a problem is the first step.

My Favoritest Picture

Remember I said I was taking Elizabeth Dillow's class called "Photo Challenges?" This is my favoritest picture that I took so far:

So, I scrapbooked it tout de suite.

That title is a direct quote from some stranger as Sam walked by. Looking sharp, indeed.

You can still enter my Big Picture Classes giveaway here.