Day 5 | The Traveling Hoots

First off, Raymond would like to state that he named this post. He's such a hoot! :3

I spent most of yesterday packing and using this absolutely ADORABLE packing list made by Hello Cuteness. Just looking at it made me so happy!

Then I was thinking... I should make one of my own! I've been dying to work with inDesign a little more. Here was my chance! Of course, i'm already packed... but this was my creation for the day. I will DEFINITELY be using this to prepare for my next trip!

I'll be heading to Orlando tomorrow for FNGLA: The Landscape Show. So I will be missing Raymond and my home, but Saturday, I shall return :3 Ray tried to sneak the hoots into my suitcase... they just looked so sad!!!

By the way! Raymond's sister, Lauren, has created an AWESOME Project 365 blog. You should definitely check it out here. She inspires me to actually bring life to the pins on my pinterest. Hehe!

Credit: Suitcase & Bird Image

Day 4 | The Anchor

Now this was a bigger undertaking than I thought. You will find that I started this on Day 2 along with finishing the heart yarn art for my sister...

"Ohhh!! Let's do an anchor" she says. "It'll be easy!" She says...
But, don't get me wrong... it looks AWESOME in our apartment!

First off, it took me forever to come up with a design I liked that would be some-what easy for the unexperienced crafter over here.

Primer went on first, then my sketch. This had to have taken me the longest! Keep in mind I have NO IDEA what I am doing and am not working off of any type of tutorial or stencil. So I ended up drawing out the whole thing, going with the half I liked better and placing my points where I wanted nails. To make it symmetric, I had to measure out where each of the nails would go on the second half. Wooooo! I know how to REALLY read a ruler now... hah!

Raymond helped with the nails :) He loves when I put stuff on his honey do list! <3

Time to paint! We went with a metallic silver color since the metallic gold of my sister's turned out so great. I'm thinking a flat, light grey would have been better for this application... but it still looks fab! :)

Sorry I don't have any pictures... but, after a few (probably not so even) layers, it was ready to dry and get yarned up! This had to be the most fun part. And Ray even took part in it :)

La-de-da... time passes... and it's done! Although it took a ridiculous amount of time to do, it looks so wonderful in our nautical home and it was totally worth it!

Day 3 | Creating Order

Raymond and I spend the day rearrange our home. Dishes were done, floors were swept and mopped, and we finally got around to putting in that shelf above our washer and dryer. It's so nice to be able to hang clothes to dry on a sturdy dowel. :)

Day 2 | Project 365

Off to a good start! My boyfriend, Ray, and I took on many projects today. :)

1. Anchor Wall Art - The most time consuming item of my day... but, I can't WAIT to finish it tomorrow! :) Inspiration came from #2.
2. Heart Wall Art - Started this about a week or so ago and finally got around to finishing it today! The inspiration of this piece was from my friend, Jen, who made one for her wedding. I now have one made for my sister's wedding in December! Woo!
3. Raymond arranged these plants outside of our sliding glass door. More plants to take care of :3
4. Raymond also made dinner for us tonight ^___^ He got inspired to try something new... so we had teriyaki burgers with provolone cheese and some mac & cheese on the side. Yum!

Project 365 | Create

It's time to stop sulking and DO something already. I need to clear my head, make some changes, and start feeling like myself again. Wish me luck on my take on Project 365. Here's to the beginning of a collection of creations.

Credits: Triangles

Picnik is Closing!!

The ever-awesome Picnik is closing down to allow it's services to be taken over by Google! So, until it's official closing on April 19, 2012, it's offering all of their premium effects for images for FREE! Get it while you can! Who knows what Google will do to it!

I did Chelsea's senior pictures last Friday. And, out of boredom, I decided to make her a Facebook cover picture if she chooses to use it :) Then, I got a little crazy with Picnik, hehe. So now, she has lots to choose from! And you can see a couple of the cool things that Picnik will let you do :D

Original

Cross Process

Fancy Blur

Focused Blur

Panography

Facebook Covers available for download here just please make sure you post that you used them ^_^

Fun with Photoshop!

I've been having a little fun with photoshop tonight! : )

I haven't touched my pen tablet in ages! I forgot how much I loved it <3. So, I drew up The Skill Collector's mascot to the left: Oliver the Octopus ^______^ Isn't he too cute?!

The image on the right is me trying to step out and start to get the word out there... I'm debating whether or not to start The Skill Collector's own fan page on facebook rather than going under my main Felicia Mariah Fan Page... also thinking I might delete Felicia Mariah all together and get Felicia Mariah Photography instead. I'll figure it out one of these days... But I do believe i've decided to stick with "never stop exploring" for my slogan for The Skill Collector. I dislike that word... Slogan.

Anywho, let me tell you where I got all these awesome graphics to work with!

Oliver:

I did him myself... can't you tell? :P

Banner:

Fonts: Denne Shuffle & Smiley Monster

Images: CryingSkies

Background: Paper Pack 3

If any of the creators read this: Thanks so much for providing your wonderful work for people to use!

Alright! Enough fun for one night! I need to go to bed x_x (BTW... off of Everyman Cycle. Starting again Monday!) Have a LONG day on Saturday! Goodnight!

Attempting: Everyman Sleep Cycle

Good morning to you all joining me at 5:39am.

To shine a light on why I am up at 5:39 in the morning, I am trying one of the 4 alternative sleeping patterns--The Everyman Cycle.

I stumbled upon this article last night while avoiding studying for my Finance class and found the information very interesting. I have always thought that I waste way too much time sleeping and felt that I could be way more productive if I had a better sleeping schedule.

Basically, there are two categories of sleep cycles. The Monophasic Sleep Cycle which houses one type of cycle: Sleep for 6-8 hours, be awake for 14-16 hours. Repeat. This is the cycle I am accustomed to... except I would sleep anywhere from 6 to 12 hours a night and be exhausted all day. The other category of cycles is the Polyphasic Sleep Cycles which houses 4 different types of sleeping patterns (in level of intensity): Biphasic/Siesta Cycle, Everyman Cycle, Uberman Cycle, and Dymaxion Cycle. Believe it or not (seeing as i'm not quite sure if I believe it myself), each cycle is completely healthy and completely sustainable once your body gets used to it. I'll let you know as I continue...

In a quick glance, here are the differences between the 4 Polyphasic Cycles:

To read more about each phase, read this article.

Now that you have a little insight on what i'm doing... let me tell you why.

I already mentioned how I feel like I really don't need as much sleep as I get. I also feel that I could be getting so much more done in the day if I had an actual schedule to live by. This starts with a regular sleeping schedule.

I chose the Everyman Cycle in hopes of easier transition from my terrible schedule to a better one as well as less amount of naps throughout the day. I based the time of my "core" sleeping session around the small sessions throughout the day so I could, hopefully, have times of napping that might be a little easier to follow and not so awkward. This is the schedule I came up with:

Today is Day 1. I woke up this morning at 5am and laid there for about 20 minutes deciding whether I wanted to really start this new schedule. At the time, when I was lying on my sister's way-too-comfy couch, the cons outweighed the pros and I decided I might try another day. But, by the time I came to the decision, I was already awake. So, I got up. And, I'm so glad I did! Look at me! Blogging and everything ;D

Wish me luck on Day 3 - 10. Apparently that's when zombified me will hit. Eek!

Galaxy

I've been on a galaxy kick lately. There are just so many beautiful things out there! And the thought that we are so little in comparison intrigues me...

Black Milk has some REALLY great galaxy dresses that I adore... and want... badly...

Now to decide which one... O:

 

Then we have this beautiful dress which I absolutely LOVE and can't find anywhere D: Help?

And now i'm messing around with some galaxy textures to make some pretty pics :3 Here's one of Michelle's senior portraits.

Thanks for peeking ^_^

Angie and Rick's Wedding!

Weddings are such a fun event to photograph! Finally getting around to editing the pictures from the wedding, and i'm loving how they are coming out <3

I'll post more once I finish them, but just wanted to get this adorable picture up of Angie and her son! :3

"Little Man" Party!

I was so excited when I got a message from Gretchen, the owner of 3 Little Monkeys Studio saying that Amy Atlas featured her boy's "Little Man" party on her blog! Especially since my stamps were used to help in decoration for her party!! :D Take a look at the blog post below! I just simply copied and pasted from Amy's blog, but the link to the original is below as well : )) Eek!! How exciting!!

Original post from Sweet Designs: A blog by Amy Atlas

When this featured submission popped up in our inbox, it put a huge smile on my face. As a mother to two boys, I’m always referring to them as “My Little Men”.  Although I’m not the biggest fan of the “moustache trend” that we saw in 2011, this table by Gretchen from Three Little Monkeys Studio was done just right! Ever since her son was born, Gretchen and her husband have always called their son “our little man.” So it seemed fitting to design a Little Man Bash to celebrate his second birthday. Sweet treats included homemade whoopie pies, brownies, caramel cheesecake shooters {scroll down for the recipe below!}, moustache cookies, those amazing cake pops (half of which were created to look just like Gretchen’s son), doughnuts, cake and cupcakes. Moustache crayon favors and lollipops were given out to the lil guests, while adults took home gourmet chocolate bars covered in wrappers that matched the theme. Moustache stamps designed by The Skill Collector were used to give a personal touch to napkins, favor bags, invitation envelopes and bamboo utensils.  Scroll down below to see the vendor credits and to see Gretchen’s recipe for her Caramel Pretzel Crunch Cheescake Shooters!

To see some more party inspiration for your little man, click here and here.

Caramel Pretzel Crunch Cheescake Shooters

Makes 12 shooters.

24 pretzels, roughly broken into small pieces

2-8oz. pkg. of cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Cool Whip, thawed
Jar of caramel sauce

Fill shooter glasses with 1/2″ of pretzel bits. Reserve some pieces for granish.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth, and then fold in 1/2 a container of thawed Cool Whip.

Fill shooter glasses with cream cheese mixture until they are filled halfway. Drizzle caramel sauce over cream cheese mixture, then repeat with another layer of cream cheese mixture. Top with a dollop of Cool Whip, then drizzle more caramel sauce and garnish with a few pretzel bits.

Vendor Credits:

Printables: Three Little Monkeys Studio
Baker’s twine, plates, napkins, milk bottles and paper straws: Shop Sweet Lulu

Cake and cupcakes: Sugar and Spice Bakery

Cookies: Pastry Tart Bakery
Custom stamps: The Skill Collector
Fondant brownie and cake toppers: Edible Details
Mustache crayon favors: Rainbow Star Designs
Cake Pops: Mom’s Killer Cakes
Doughnuts: Dough a Deer
Pomettes: Pom Flair 

iPad 2!

Really looking into getting an iPad 2! But rafflecopter is doing a giveaway for one... so I thought i'd give it a whirl!! Wish me luck! :D

New Lens!! Eep!!

I can not put down my new 10-22mm for my Canon!! It is an absolute beauty and takes outstanding pictures! Definitely worth the money I put down.

I haven't been able to use it in an actual shoot, but I have been playing with it with my family and just a little here and there on my own.

First, it was on people... my sister Jessie on the left...

We were having fun making certain body parts huge :3 As well as making my roommate, Jason (on the right), look even taller than he already is! He's kind of a giant...

Then my sister wanted to give it a whirl... so I did my creeper crawl!

When I took Jessie home, our parents surprised us with a trip to Dairy Queen :3

Om Nom Nom!!!!

Dad's crazy truck!

As you can see, i've been having way too much fun with it ^_^ ! Even the next day at breakfast!!

Jessie and Dad

After work, I got to play around in Downtown Stuart... I'm not really used to shooting buildings and things other than people... but it way fun ^_^

I was seriously like... 15ft. away from this building O:

And then some more from the day...

Just too much fun ^_^

The Foolish Traveler

this is the story of the most foolish traveler in the world.

once upon a time, there was a foolish traveler who had gone on a journey. why was he foolish? well, because he was fooled by everyone he met!

everywhere he went, people made up all kinds of sad stories to tell him, and the traveler fell for every one of them.

please, some money for medicine…?

i have a sick younger sister…

i don’t have money to buy seeds to plant in my fields.

pretty soon, his money, his clothes, even his shoes had been cheated away from him.

however, the foolish traveler was always glad to help. for everyone of them, he’ll smile and say, “i wish you happiness.”

but by this point, the traveler was completely naked, and with nothing left to cover himself, he decided to leave the main road and travel through the dense forest, where no one could see him…

soon, he was discovered by the goblins that lived in the woods. the goblins wanted to eat the traveler’s body, so they begged and pleaded, and used kind words to try and trick him…

of course, the traveler was fooled. first, he let the goblins eat one of his legs. then an arm. then more and more…before it was over, all that the traveler had left was his head. he’d even given his eyes away to the last of the goblins…

and as the last goblin was eating the traveler’s eyes, he turned and said “thank you, traveler. in return, i leave you this present.”

what the goblin left was a slip of paper, with the word “fool” written on it. the traveler couldn’t see it. he didn’t know what it was. even so, tears began to flow down his face. “thank you,” he said. “this is the first present anyone ever gave me. i’m so happy. i’m so happy. thank you.”

even without his eyes, he cried and cried great tears of joy. then, the traveler died, with a smile on his face.

and that’s…the end of the story.

(episode 11, Fruits Basket ~ a rare gem of an anime)