january 2014 photo a day

Happy New Year! I've been participating in this daily photo challenge for over a year now and it's become one of my favorite hobbies.  It's a creative outlet that brings me so much joy.  I'm really looking forward to another year of photos.  Maybe you've tried participating in the past and haven't followed through because you felt stumped on a prompt, didn't have a smartphone or "good" camera, couldn't remember what the prompts were, or whatever the reason may be.  I encourage you to give it another go!  Don't beat yourself up if you miss a day or feel like a particular day's photo isn't "creative" enough.  It's a challenge NOT a contest!  Take the opportunity to capture a glimpse of your everyday life.  Nothing is ordinary.  As always, feel free to follow my Instagram feed (@alohaneener) to see my daily photos.  And let me know in the comments if you'll be playing along on Instagram or Facebook.  I'd love to follow you!

december 2013 in review

it's the most wonderful time of the year!

music by Harry Connick Jr.

whoooo's ready for 2014?!

I believe in having lots of calendars.  They're not only useful but can be extremely pleasing to look at as well.  For the past few years, one of my favorite calendars has been the My Owl Barn one that Shivani collaborates with 50 artists on.  And one of the coolest things about it is that she provides it for  FREE!  You can download a pre-made calendar for yourself or have fun picking out individual images for a more personalized calendar here.  These make great year-round gifts too.  Here are a few of my favorites from this upcoming year's calendar...

Ola Liola

Starla Halfmann

Kirby Rosanes



Renee Tremel

november 2013 in review

This month I still made a collage of my daily photos using the Collect app, but I also tried out a new app called Flipagram.  It makes a video compilation of whatever photos you choose to add.  You can adjust the speed that it flips through (to include an automatic timer for Instagram) and you can even add any music you own in your library.

So here is my November Photo a Day Flipagram for your viewing pleasure.  And if you follow flipagram or check out the #flipagram on instagram you'll see some pretty creative people out there!

 

2013 month of thanks

11.1 today I am thankful for the blessing that is a HEALTHY baby!
11.2 today I am thankful for good friends that have my little girl over for a super fun sleepover!
11.3 today I am thankful for the opportunity to wish my husband another happy birthday
11.4 today I'm thankful for my MIL's delicious pumpkin soup
11.5 today I'm thankful for music.

11.6 today I'm thankful for my sweet, imaginative, healthy and helpful daughter. she makes me smile and laugh everyday.

11.7 today I'm thankful for my sweet "little" man and his kissable cheeks!

11.8 today I'm thankful for the restorative power of morning yoga.

11.9 today I'm thankful for a husband who's supportive of my hobbies, who encourages me to take time for myself, who takes the kiddos out and about and who makes us delicious coke floats for dessert - I couldn't ask for a better partner!

11.10 today I'm thankful for family days. even when these little ones get a little hard to handle I remind myself that we are blessed and one day I will miss even the "hardships."

11.11  today I'm thankful for the chance to thank our veterans, particularly the two that were serving when they adopted me. love you mom and dad!

11.12 today I'm thankful for my health. I am physically, mentally and emotionally healthy and am SO grateful for that blessing!11.13 today I'm thankful for a job that lets me telecommute. for those less than restful nights, nothing beats working in your pj's.
11.14 today I'm thankful for not only for clean drinking water but also that my new work building has this cool feature built into the water fountain.

11.15 today I'm thankful for Saraya's generous heart. when I told her we needed to pick some of her toys, books and clothes to give to less fortunate kids, she didn't hesitate and made a decent sized "to go" pile.

11.16 today I'm thankful for whatever just made my baby giggle in his sleep. (now if only he'd sleep through the night...)

11.17 today I'm thankful for our fireplace.

11.18 today I'm thankful for spaghetti pie.

11.19 today I'm thankful for creative outlets.

11.20 today I'm thankful for cozy warm flannel sheets.

11.21 today I'm thankful for crockpots and rainy days.
11.22 today I'm thankful for my electric pump.
11.23 today I'm thankful for being able to talk to my family no matter our distance.
11.24 today I'm thankful for productive drills that don't get cancelled at the last minute.
11.25 today i'm thankful for my homemade eggnog lattes.
11.26 today I'm thankful for the opportunity to play in the kitchen with my little.
11.27 today I'm thankful for this happy reader.
11.28 today I'm thankful for a blessed holiday with great family, friends and food.
11.29 today i'm thankful for leftovers, naps, my DVR, massages, and my neighbors waiting until after Thanksgiving to blast Christmas music in the neighborhood.
11.30 to end the month of thanks, a reminder to myself that gratitude is for every day of our lives (courtesy of Mr. Thoreau)... "I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. My wealth is not possession but enjoyment."

december 2013 photo a day challenge

The last month of 2013 is upon us this weekend.  Can you even believe it?  Was 2013 a great year for you or are you just ready to put it behind you?  I'd have to say that it was pretty fantastic for me.  That's not to say it hasn't been without its difficulties and I am looking forward to what 2014 has in store but overall, I can't complain!

One of the great things for me has been a year of awesome daily photos.  I really love the way these prompts have challenged my creative muscles and helped me capture some truly memorable parts of my life as well.

Chantelle (aka Fat Mum Slim) has really created an amazing outlet for people to share and I'm looking forward to another year of inspiration.  Hope to see some of you play along too!

letterpress workshop

 

My love for letterpress has been growing over the years and I was finally able to see the real deal in action a few weekends ago.  Quality Letterpress is a local shop here in San Diego run by Tim Butler.  Tim has nearly 30 years of experience with letterpress and I've been trying to get into one of his classes for nearly a year.  I have no need for creative business cards or wedding invitations but if I won the lottery, a real press to quench my hobbyist thirst would definitely be on the menu!  QL is one man deep so Tim is a pretty busy guy.  When he is able to squeeze in a workshop, there are only 2 spaces per 4 hour class and they fill up fast so I was beyond excited when he offered a last minute class that actually fit my own busy schedule.

The workshop starts with a tour of the shop and some history of the process, the machines and techniques.  There are 5 presses from tabletop size to ginormous and drawers upon drawers of type.  In fact, Tim recommended having an idea of something you'd like to print before arrival because you could easily spend the entire four hours just looking through drawers.

i'd love a table top this size (hear that santa?!)

this is an original news plate from the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor

 

treasure map

I decided to create some stationery using my initial and one of my favorite quotes from Jack Kerouac.  Since we did everything by hand instead of using a newer method of polymer plates, it took a little trial and error to set things just right but that was part of the fun for me. 

 

 

love this color

making sure not to chop my fingers off...

This was so much fun.  I highly recommend Quality Letterpress for my local friends and who knows, maybe I'll be able to step up my hobby someday.



(part of) my masterpiece