Redecorating

In December I painted my apartment. A lot. It was exhausting. But, I love the new color. 

And since December, I've been pondering, thinking, making, and collecting things to put on my new, neutral colored walls. Part of my motivation to paint was that I wanted to change the artwork on the walls. I was drawn to colorful items like this:

And wonderful, eclectic arrangements like this:

Inspired by those, I made these:

And hung it all up to look like this:

And this:

Some fun facts:

-I have had those bird and the giraffe prints for 2 years, but never bought frames for them, or knew where to hang them- till now. I bought them from an amazing artist, Kristiana Parn, while vending at a craft fair. I adore them.

-The wire shelf is a drawer organizer, I think, that I found in Marshall's. 

-Those houses are fom Crate and Barrel, and are sold as Christmas stocking hooks. I found them so beautiful, I asked Dave to get them for me for my birthday. He actually got me something else in the end, but  I loved them so much that I asked him to get them for me anyway. It was helpful that my birthday is December 27th, and thus, these were heavily discounted.

-I bought that ring of keys in Israel. I had admired them in a little shop all summer long, and decided before returning home that I was going to splurge on them whatever they cost. If I was still thinking about them after 7 weeks, I must really love them, and it would be worth it. So I reasoned to myself. When I asked the shopkeeper how much they were, he said, "30 shekels." That, my friends, comes to about $8.00. I asked again, sure that I had misunderstood his Hebrew. Then I asked, "Yes but what's the price for the whole set of keys?" Again, he answered, "30 Shekels." It took a few more minutes till I finally believed him, and then I happily handed over my money.

-I spent hours measuring, and re-measuring, and marking and drilling, and hanging and checking that all was level. By the time I got to the pink frame with butterflies, I did not care that it is totally crooked. Still don't.

Break the Silence

I've been in a blogging rut (a "blut," if you will), probably because I've been in a bit of a scrapbooking rut (or, a "scrut.") And, just like when I need to get my scrappy juices (scruices?) going, I just have to sit down and make something, I am just going to sit and write.

I do have one layout to share. After much scrapping about Max, I wanted to focus on Sam. Easy, peasy, I thought. He's always doing cute and funny stuff, and he loves posing for pictures. Except suddenly I couldn't think of any stories I wanted to tell about him. I know I should just be able to make pages that just say things like, "so cute."  But, right now my scrapping has really focused on stories, and that's what I was missing. But, how could this be when there are so many things I just love about Sam? And so many pictures that I just love?
So, instead of a story, I just focused on the feeling, and scrapped about that. As it says the page, "No fancy story or title, I Just Love You."

And then I just wrote a stream of conscience, things I love about Sam like the way he chooses his clothes, how he plays, or how he insisted we buy no kill mouse traps for some uninvited guests who have come to live with us. And how could you not love a guy, who at any given moment could come into the kitchen looking like this:

In the half hour since I took the above picture, he has changed into a Joker costume, and has duct taped a bunch of rulers together to make a machine gun. 

And what about that giant contraption he is standing next to? That's our new popcorn maker that Max won this weekend. It's monstrously large, it makes me a little crazy, and I need to find a place to put it soon. However, there is something strangely nice about having a cabinet of popcorn on your counter:

Another Max Layout

So, I really, really was inspired by Amy Sorenson's series on scrapbooking your teen, because here is another one. Sam has started to notice that Max has been the subject of the latest layouts, so I'll have to catch up on some Sam layouts soon. Luckily, he doesn't mind having his picture taken.

I really like this one. It is not something I would normally think to scrapbook, but inspired by the above mentioned series, I was really searching for something that would tell a little about where Max is right now. What are some things that he is into? The answer, South Park. But, I also like a little story to go with my layout, so I decided to journal about the decision to allow Max to watch South Park. Which basically boils down to this: He's a good kid and a smart kid, and as long as he can tell which behaviors and language are funny on TV, but not in real life, I'm good. And from what I've seen so far,  I trust him in this regard.

A Note about These Two

On Thursday night, I was working hard February Take Twelve layout, but it just wasn't coming together. It was getting late, I was tired, fighting a cold, and a migraine, and my apartment was messy. But mostly, I was annoyed at my layout. That does not happen often. If a project doesn't come together quickly, I let it rest for a bit, walk away, try something new, and eventually I know something will click. Even when there's a deadline. Nothing was clicking. And, nothing was clicking. I eventually devolved into anger and frustration, and general poutiness.

I was home alone with Max and Sam, who quickly stepped up to the plate. Max offered to clean. And I was so grumpy, I didn't even want to accept his help. I just wanted to wallow in being upset. To which he replied, "Let me do it. I'm not completely useless. I just choose to be completely useless most of the time."

As I pouted some more, and tried to put some distance between me and my desk, I stepped outside our apartment and sat in the stairwell to get myself together. Sam came and joined me, and told me all the things I tell him when he is frustrated and overwhelmed. Like,  for example, "Just do the best you can. That's all you need to do." And, "it's okay if sometimes you can;t get your work done." When he was done, he said, "Hey, you know what I did today? I gave my first pep talk!"

It's nice to know that sometimes, I can stop being the grown up, and they'll take care of me in my moment of need. (I should probably rely on that very sparingly.) And I love that they know how to use humor to diffuse the situation, that is their crazy mother.

February Take Twelve Layout

And now without further ado:

I already wrote all about the experience of going on my first photo walk, and realizing how much I make blacks and grey a part of my "color world." So I won't belabor the point here.

 I will just add that a few days before the twelfth, I received Ali Edwards' weekly newsletter, entitled 52 Creative Lifts. In it she wrote about finding one's "photographic voice." It is not a term or idea I had ever thought of, and it helped me feel like a more active participant in my photos. I've been focusing a lot on improving my photography skills, so that I could eventually achieve the goal of using photography as a creative outlet. But her "lift," helped me realize that I do already have a voice and style of photos. It allowed me to be more purposeful in the picturess I took on the twelfth. And for that, I am grateful for this little hobby of mine; the people I learn from, and the projects that I can be involved in.

And now that I've rambled a little, I invite you to check out what the rest of the lovely ladies on the Take Twelve Team did with their photos:

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

And join The Take Twelve Flickr Group to post your project, and see what everyone else is sharing! I can't wait to see what you have all done! 

More Max

I've been scrapping lots of Max lately, completely inspired by a week long series written by Amy Sorenson on Write.Click.Scrapbook about scrapbooking your teen. It is something that I had found difficult to do...every layout seemed to be about how big Max is getting. Which it's true, it still amazes me on an almost daily basis, but even so, how often can one scrap that. Her posts, in addition to making me cry, helped me find the details and stories that can be scrapped, even if Max is no longer a soft-cheeked, adorable, little kid.

One layout I shared already, but I'll do it again for the love of three's.

It's about the fact that Max does not ask for much stuff, so we indulged his request for some pricey headphones for Chanukah.

Next is a little tidbit from Max and my recent trip to Israel. On the day we left, Dave drove us to the airport, and he helped unload the car, and came over to me to give me a kiss goodbye. I said, "but what about my suitcase?" The look on his face told me there was no other suitcase in the car. After some quick calculations, we decided we had enough time for Dave to return home and retrieve the suitcase. Probably. We decided to risk it. Well, I made him risk it. I was more than a little tense as we awaited his return, because you never know how long it will take at check-in and security. I've had it take ten minutes, and I've had it take hours. Max on the other hand, who usually carries the burden of being the family pessimist (because then you won't be disappointed) was not worried at all. He talked me down from a few moments of panic. It was kind of cute the way he took on that role, and on some level, I think he probably stayed calm because he knew that's what was needed at the time. 

And finally, a little layout about the fact that Max and I often read the same books. It started when Max was in 5th grade, and it's kind of become our "thing."

Duct Tape

It's been a while since I blogged or scrapped any of Sam's duct tape creations, (even when he surprised me with a lovely metro card holder for my birthday). It's been a source of inspiration and activity for several years now, like when he made this, and this. But I need to add another to the duct tape hall of fame.

The other day, we had some ceiling fans replaced. Sam's first response was, "What are we doing with the old fans?" Which I know means, "Can I take the old fans apart, and use the pieces for something?" Well, our lovely handyman took one fan, but the other was just sent to the trash. So, Sam took the blades, and made, what have now been dubbed "fan feet."

The finished product has Velcro straps, that can be taken on and off.

Keep your eyes open at Fashion Week. These could be all the rage.