capturing the everyday

As you may know, I've been using Project Life to document our son's first year of life, week by week. He's 17 months old, and although I "fell behind" on his album, I'm nearing the finish line. One thing Project Life forced me to do was take lots of everyday photos: random shots of our ordinary life. We didn't have an "event" to photograph everyday, and as I flip through his album, I realize how much I treasure the record of those prosaic moments. Well, as I finish Ben's album, I'm (of course) not working on a current album. I've just been playing catch-up. Because I haven't been really intentional about documenting this year in our lives, my photos are kind of lacking. So today, I walked around the house and captured our day. It's not fancy or necessarily very pretty. But this little exercise got me inspired again to continue documenting our little corner of the world. So, here's what's happening right now:
Procrastinating a workout. I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon a week and a half ago, and just yesterday I washed and hung my favorite running clothes to dry. No more excuses. 

Loving that Ben kept sleeping while I photographed him in his crib. The pose was too perfect, and I was able to grab about a dozen pics before he began to stir. He moves around a lot at night, hence the not-so-fitted sheet.

Cooking one of Ben's favorite meals tonight. And I think I'll make mashed potatoes. Life's too short not to eat full-fat mashed potatoes every once in awhile. Fortunately, my running clothes are clean and dry.

Drinking coffee with hazelnut creamer. I've finally run out of the beloved Pumpkin Spice creamer I stocked up on over the holidays.

Working on finishing up Ben's Project Life album. It's truly bittersweet, but it's also part of my Complete 2013 resolution. I finally have a system for photo editing and journaling that works for me.

Cherishing the technology that enabled us to FaceTime with Nick this weekend. He was literally on the other side of the world, and the last time I'd heard his voice was the day after Christmas. I can't believe I caught this moment: Ben kissing his Dad "in person" for the first time. 

If you don't know about Project Life, I'd encourage you to check it out HERE. It has inspired me to document our real life through photos and words. Ali Edwards also has amazing inspiration for documenting the ordinary. You can check out my Project Life posts HERE.

download + install free fonts

So you've found a free font through a blog or website. Now what? It's not difficult to get a font from the web to your computer, but it does take a couple of steps. I'm using one of my favorite fonts, Bebas Neue, as an example. You can download it HERE for free. It's a simple, bold, all-caps typeface that I've used throughout my Project Life album, on stationery and in artwork.

Start by clicking on the link to your desired font. I frequently use Font Squirrel to find fonts that are free for commercial use. Download the .OTF or .TTF file for the font you want.

Go to wherever your downloads are stored and find the zipped file. In Safari, they're listed under the little icon in the upper-right window. Another spot to check is the "downloads" folder on your computer (imagine that!). Double click on the .zip file for your font.

Something like this should open. You're looking for a .OTF or .TTF file that includes the name of the font you're trying to download.

Now open another Finder window by going to File > New Finder Window from your Desktop.

Click on Applications on the left side of the window and locate your Font Book. Double-click to open it.

You should now have two windows open on your desktop. Click on the font file and drag it into your Font Book like this.

Now when you open Word or Pages or Photoshop, your new font should be available to use!

Questions? You're probably not the only one. Leave a comment and I'll be sure to reply. Good luck and have fun finding some fabulous new fonts!

gF picks | fave paper calendars 2013

I'm constantly working to simplify our lives and get organized. When it comes to scheduling, we've struggled over the years to develop a system that works for both Nick and me. For awhile now I've been using iCal, Apple's calendar program. It's super convenient, but I'm a really visual person and let's be honest - I love paper. This is not a sponsored post. I honestly am just in love with both of these calendar products. They've totally simplified my life and I'm using them daily.
(1) Meal Planning Calendar / One of my resolutions last year was to plan meals each week. I developed the habit and couldn't pass up this magnetic calendar I stumbled upon at the Container Store. 

It's designed by MomAgenda, a company that specializes in well-designed, problem-solving products. I love that you can enter the dates yourself and the pages tear off cleanly. It's hanging on the side of our fridge, easily within reach all day long. Love.

(2) Family Calendar / For years, my older sister has maintained an oversized monthly calendar on her fridge. I inevitably end up poring over it while at her house, fascinated by the daily appointments, swim practices and school functions she attends with my nieces. While searching for a calendar option for a client, I came across this winner from Paper Source. It's oversized, recycled and simply designed. 

I hung it up on one of the pin boards in what I call our "back porch." I'd like to think it's a mudroom, but it's more of a small hallway resembling Grand Central Station. I walk by it on the way to the laundry room and when I come in from the garage. It's right across from our powder room. Perfect location for a huge family calendar.

We're three weeks into January and I'm loving both calendars. Do you have any favorite paper products for simplifying your life this year? What scheduling system is working for your family?

project life | seafoam edition week 1

Nearly two years ago, I decided to do a Project Life album documenting Ben's first year. The only products available for purchase when he arrived in August 2011 were the 3x4 grid cards and the Amber and Tuquoise binders. I ordered a binder and the cards and set about putting together an album. I made it about halfway through his first year then stopped. It was time-consuming coming up with my own designs for the journal cards.

A couple weeks ago I hopped on Amazon and ordered the Seafoam Edition of Project Life. It's designed by Elise Blaha Cripe, a fellow blogger, west-coaster and Navy wife. Maybe that's why I love it so much? I am so digging the colors and the simple, bold and graphic designs. I also ordered the set of coordinating 12x12 papers, which I'll use to frame out my photo inserts. 

I've always been attracted to simple design, and one way I've found to simplify my layouts using the kit is to pick a color and use journal and accent cards in only that color. I loved the black and white papers for this layout documenting our weekend in Carmel Valley for J's birthday last year.

Here's the left side, including the 8x10 inch insert I added.

Here's the right side. The black card stock you see in the insert is my own. It didn't come with the kit.

On the left side I used two journal cards from the Seafoam Kit: the plain one with quotation marks and the "recorded" card. I tried handwriting the cards, but the rest of the album is typed, so I decided to stick with that so it stays as uniform as possible. And how great is that graphic paper I used in the insert? It was part of the set of coordinating 12x12 papers that are available HERE.
Some of the details on the left side:

On the right side I just needed one card for journaling, but I added the journal cards with stripes and text because I liked the look of them on the page.

Another look at the detail on the right side:

So what do you think? I knocked out over two months worth of layouts this weekend with the help of the kit. This album is a huge part of my COMPLETE 2013 resolution. Are you a Project Lifer? Which new products are you planning to use this year?

Products I used // Project Life Photo Pocket Pages Design D and F (Big Variety Pack 1) available HERE + Project Life Seafoam Core Kit available HERE + Seafoam Designer Papers available HERE + Paislee Press 4x6 Photo Templates can be downloaded HERE for FREE! Project Life is a memory-keeping system designed by Becky Higgins.

state artwork DIY

My husband is a Navy pilot, so we move every couple of years. Since we met in San Diego back in 2004, we've done three major moves, lived in six different homes and next year we'll be moving yet again! I've always wanted some artwork that commemorates our "home towns," and after gleaning inspiration on Etsy, I created this framed artwork using an Ikea Ribba frame, some free fonts and white card stock. 

The frame had spaces a little less than 5 inches by 7 inches, so I created custom-sized documents in Adobe Illustrator using three free fonts: Oswald, Otama and StateFace. StateFace is a wingding font that includes "images" of each state. I added a little heart over the cities of residence in each state.

Once finished, I printed the designs, conserving a little paper by printing two on one sheet.

Next up, I trimmed the designs to sizes a bit larger than the frames. It's easy to fudge the edges when there's so much white space!

To place the artwork in the frame, I attached a small piece of tape to the printout then lined it up in the frame so the spacing was just right. Make sure the adhesive side of the tape is facing the frame so it'll stick to it.

I hung it on the wall and voila! New artwork on a neglected, narrow little wall in our great room. I kept the colors super neutral, which will go with the new furniture that's coming into this room. It's in a spot I see everyday and I love it!

Have you created any artwork recently? Feel free to leave a comment or email me if any questions come up as you create your own home-sweet-home art.

one little word

Happy new year, friends! I realize I'm two weeks overdue, but we've had kind of a slow start to twenty-thirteen. The holidays culminated with a bout with roseola (sorry about that, Ben), which led to a premature departure new year's eve from my sister's house. But after spending ten days away, it was nice to be home. A contagious baby and a deployed husband meant I spent new year's eve on the couch by myself. As I looked around the house, I felt a little lonely and a lot overwhelmed. So many projects in various states of completion reminded me that I've been struggling to stay focused since Nick left back in September. It doesn't help to be caring for the house and the kiddo on my own, away from the support of our extended family, but this is our life. And it's not changing anytime soon!
So my one little word for 2013 is complete. We have lots of projects - big and small - to complete:
Ben's project life album

December Daily for 2012

Nick's deployment mini-album

the photo wall in our family room

...and the list goes on.
There's also the necessary reminder that even though our family is geographically separated and we're in a tough situation with Nick gone, our family and our lives are complete. 

We really can't ask for anything more than everything we already have. It may sound trite, but it's true. I want to spend a lot less time in 2013 worrying about what we don't have and being grateful for all we do have: our wonderful home, the best friends ever and a loving and supportive family among a million other things.

Twenty-thirteen promises the end of some big things (deployment!) and the beginning of others (we're welcoming another nephew in April!). Through it all, I hope to be able to draw inspiration and focus from my one little word. I'll be sharing my Complete 2013 projects and observations HERE throughout the year. 
Do you have one little word this year?

december daily 2012 | title page

I've officially started my December Daily album! I decided to pick a subject for each day and take a photo each day, but I'll print the photos about once a week and work on the pages when I can. I'll share what I have as I put it together. First things first, the title page. A few weeks ago, I shared the design details for my mini-album. I also decided on a page size: 6 inches wide x 8 inches tall. 

I started by printing a holiday message on a plain white piece of card stock and trimmed it to 6 x 8 inches.

Next up I added one of the little flair badges I got from Ormolu. They're one of only two items I purchased for the album (everything else I'm using is stuff I had around the house). Aren't they sweet? I love that they're mounted on perforated clear paper, so you can fiddle around with the best placement.

I punched holes in the title page using a guide I created for the mini-binder. It's the same size (6 x 8 inches) and makes hole punching easy and accurate. I thought the page could use a little print, so I added a piece of washi tape. What is up with my obsession with polka dots?!

Here's the finished product. Stay tuned this week for subject ideas for your December Daily and additional holiday inspiration! 

Sources: flair badges from Ormolu and the december, you are a fave kit from Paislee Press (not pictured). You can purchase the chipboard mini-binder HERE. Fonts used: Bebas Neue, Caslon and Sail.