happy anniversary!

happy anniversary, grandma & grandad. i think it is amazing and inspiring that two people can spend 60 years together and still love and care about each other as much as you two do. i can't wait to celebrate with you both this weekend.

that being said, at least one of my party projects is done! i made a sweet sign-in book for the festivities, with a little room for photos...

type+necklace+giveaway=

i love type... and jewelry... and giveaways (though i don't know that i've ever won one...) so this is perfect! for all you like-minded type-lovers, head on over to glamourthis to enter a sweet giveaway from isette...

(photo by isette via glamourthis)

more macro.

a few more macro shots of flowers from my time spent in amarillo last weekend. being able to see all the teeny tiny details just makes me happy...

more books.

ahhh, it's monday again. and there's that familiar feeling that i didn't get enough done this weekend! on top of that, i've been really bad about posting finished books. here are a few that were completed early last week for my photobooth friend. and i know there are still a few other books that were done, but i'll have to dig around to find the photos for those...

and i know i say this about a lot of my books, but i really love that pink and orange one! i've had that paper for awhile now, and no one has ever selected it.... i hope they enjoyed it!

what did you do this weekend?

i painted in our bathroom (everything is turning purple in there, so exciting!)

went out for a nice dinner with my husband

traveled to amarillo to drop off a car and to spend time with the family

worked on a few books

working on ideas for the cake i have to make next weekend...

letterpress at home?

i love letterpress. the way the ink has that beautiful texture that can't be recreated by a printer. and how you can feel the impression of the type when you run your fingers over the paper. it is truly a handmade process - so much care and time has gone into producing even a single print.

i found this today. it seems that someone has taken the same idea behind the gocco and yudu printers, but created something instead for letterpress. make it small, compact, and something every home crafter can get their hands on. i think it will be great for maybe creating notecards for yourself or as a gift, but will the handmade market flood with 'letterpressed' items as a result of this? it looks to me that you are limited to the pre-packaged designs that you purchase from lifestylecraft. i would think that there would be a great market for designers to send in their own designs and pay to have plates made specifically for use with this machine.

i have dreamed of owning my own tabletop letterpress for some time now. i have not the means nor the time to do anything with one at this point in my life... but i keep searching in hopes of finding something both affordable and close to home. and i don't know that this is the way, either. i'm not really sure HOW i feel about this product yet... i was super-excited about products like the gocco/yudu, but this is different. this is letterpress we're talking about...

how do you feel about it?

things i'm loving.

brilliant diy outdoor bottle torch found on d*s. a few changes i would make... etch a design on the outside and just make it to sit on a table (a stable one!) or on a paved surface. add this to my list of things to do...

this website i found recently... great articles by professional photographers, with advice/tips on everything digital. haven't had much time to focus on that lately, but it's on my list of priorities. that, and both of the boys in my life don't like to be photographed! i am also looking for a few willing models to start a portfolio and get some practice in...

old door turned table (another great before & after found on d*s) using the base of an old sewing machine table and a found wooden door. so simple... would love to put this in our backyard for a little extra storage!

and i'm so very glad it's friday. doug has saturday off and i think i will be heading to amarillo early sunday morning (in a car with a non-working air conditioner, nonetheless!)

in the backyard.

these were actually taken right before i started messing with my macro lens, but not much has changed... thought i would share a few things from our backyard, which is currently in a state of chaos. a friend helped me with a front and backyard plan, and now i just have to follow-through with it. i think the hardest part is getting it ready to actually plant things...

a few weekends ago, i purchased 11 japanese boxwood bushes, and yet i still need 9 more. before we can even plant these, we still have to cleanup the side of our house, where we removed two large cedar bushes, a chain-link fence, and a million trumpet vines. there is some english ivy that is trying to take over, and it also needs to go away before we can till and then plant. so until then, i will be keeping these watered...

this is the edge of a wooden "bench" we rescued from the alley. at least, it wasn't a bench until i put a few cinder blocks under it. i have intentions of painting it the most ridiculous shade of yellow (well, canary) but can't seem to get over how pretty the chipping white wood really is. i know, however, that it will just keep getting more dilapidated until it falls apart unless i do something to protect it...

these are some pretty bachelor's buttons i got at a nursery earlier this summer. i love the bright purple... and i'm keeping the seeds so that i can spread them around next year and have more to enjoy.

this is a hunk of one of those cedar bushes we cut down. i love the roughness the blade of the saw made, and the different colors of the rings. i wonder what happened to cause those rings in the middle to be so dark?

i hope you all had a wonderful weekend. i got a few books done, went to a beautiful wedding, painted in the downstairs bath, and worked a little in the yard. still never seems like enough time though... i keep thinking i need to take a little 'staycation' so that i can get more done!

oh... and happy birthday dad! i'm sorry we can't be there to celebrate, but soon!

fun with macro.

sometimes i wish very much that i could spend all day taking macro pictures of beautiful flowers. right now i will have to be satisfied with a few zinnias and verbena in my front yard.

the people driving by must have thought i was crazy. i didn't realize how very close you actually have to get to your subject to take photos with a macro lens. you basically shove your camera as close as you possibly can without actually touching it. the results are stunning, though, with much more detail...

i know that in the world of dslr cameras, i still have much to learn... but i thought that for my first outing with my macro lens, i did pretty well! i'm thinking i may have to print a few of these up to hang in the house...

crazy life.

life is crazy right now, and all i want to do is go outside and see this in my backyard. i have been reading so many gardening books lately that i have had dreams about flowers and foliage. what has gotten into me? i will have a beautiful yard someday, dammit. image from martha.

what other crazy things have been going on?

-we celebrated our 2 year anniversary last week

-dear brandi has left hartsfield design to pursue grad school in virginia

-they keep moving doug's schedule around at the hospital, yay...

-wedding guestbooks, of course

-we keep finding more things at the house that need to be worked on/fixed

-an anniversary party that needs invites and a cake later this month

-that in addition to the million other projects that i want to start or need to complete:

redo of the downstairs bathroom

painting/rearranging my office

front/backyard makeover

painting a few nightstands

painting my makeshift outdoor bench

...and lots of other things that i want to someday accomplish

how has you life been? i think everyone is super busy right now...