Bits&Pieces

Year in Review Time…already?

2009-12-30T05:00:00-06:00

While I'm working on a special Best of My Blog As Voted by a Panel of Me post coming tomorrow, I thought I'd share with you my year end "Best of" layout, as created by a Panel of Me.

I know, I know…it's challenging to pick the best photos of the year, when you take so many and have lots of emotional connections to so many of them. The way I do it is to think of a couple of memorable events, then pick a photo from each, and then to just find a handful of photos of the people I love. And that's it. The end result looks like this (click on the image to see it larger):

SUPPLIES: Layered Template No. 30 • Classic Cardstock Natural Beauty (Katie Pertiet) • Avenir font

Two events that were my favorite? the Green Day concert and our summer vacation to northern Minnesota. The rest of the snapshots are just a few of my faves of all of us from throughout the year.

The journaling reads: 2009 was a memorable year, both for the good reasons and the not so good. The good? Our family outing to see Green Day in July, our amazing Northern Minnesota road trip we took in late summer and Dan selling the coffee shops back to ERC. Also good, and the definite best part? Another year of health and togetherness. Aidan made it to 13 without too much teen angst. Cole made it to 10 with his usual joie de vivre. Cathy to 43, and Dan to 44, but looking much younger in real life, of course.

The few not so good things—namely Cathy losing her job—really turned out to be a pretty good thing, with new creative opportunities to explore. As the year comes to an end, we’ll remember things like: kids playing in the corn, obsessions with the Who, first boyfriends, bouts of insomnia, a little knee, wrist and elbow pain, and new ways of thinking about work and life. But always being grateful for all the we have in this life. The Zielskes are lucky and blessed and thankful.

I simply flipped the template design to create the second page (instructions on how to do it are included in the template package.) A very do-able approach to documenting a few favorite shots of the year with a clean and simple design.

There's also a 12 x 12 version of this template available.

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And speaking of design…

Design Your Life 2010 begins tomorrow. Registration will close on January 6, so there's still time to join me for this 12-week workshop. I'm looking forward to meeting my new students and welcoming back the returning alumni. Remember, although this is a fast-paced workshop, it's still a work at your own pace format. Once you register, you will have permanent access to the class and all of the materials so that if life gets in the way and you fall behind, you don't have to worry about not completing the course. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me at design dot life at comcast dot net. (design.life@comcast.net).

Christmas at the Farm (and the story of the Pig Fish Jello Mold)

2009-12-29T05:00:00-06:00

Because of the Christmas Snonami of 2009, our celebration with Dan's side of the family was pushed to December 26th—Boxing Day to my Canadian friends and relatives—so we all gathered last Saturday to celebrate together.

You know you're in the right place to celebrate Christmas as you take off your boots and gaze upon the cork art image of Jesus and children.

The boys and men were quick to get outside for some fun in the snow. (Well, the boys were a bit quicker on the "Let's go outside and play football" than the men folk. But the men folk always rise to the occasion.)

And yes, if you think it looks like a harsh and unforgiving football climate, you would be correct. It's also the primary reason I took only two photos. I'm no fool. I will stay in with the meat and cheese platter, thank you very much, and the wood-burning fireplace.

Yes…the ladies stay inside and stay cozy, like cousin Maria and her mama, sister Stacey.

After the outdoor frolic and numerous egg nogs, it's time for our meal, prepared lovingly by Grandma Joanie, with carving assistance from Papa.

Which led to perhaps the strangest of Christmas delicacies, which has since been dubbed: the Christmas Pig Fish. I present my sister in law, Deb, and her delightful if not confounding creation:

Aside from the fact that she looks like a Farm Kitchen Food Network host, let's take a closer picture of the jello creation, shall we?

Now I believe it's supposed to be some sort of pineapple, but all I could see was a snout and two eyes, and scales. In other words: a Christmas Jello Pig Fish.

Seriously. This is like something you might have seen in the background in one of the hospital scenes from Jacob's Ladder or something. In other words: disturbing.

Despite our inability to accurately peg the creation's genus and species of origin, it was quite tasty and I truly hope the Pig Fish returns as a tradition in the Zielske family celebration.

Next up, gift opening.

Gift opening at the farm has evolved over the years. What was once a mad, free-for-all of small children ripping paper and screaming while adults pegged each other with wadded up balls of the discarded wrappings has given way to a much more ordered, one-person-opens-a-gift-at-a-time affair, while adults peg each other with wadded up balls of discarded wrappings.

Cute teens open matching gifts…

…and dweeb Dads make the shots so much more magical.

One of my favorite gift moments was when Grandma Joanie opened a gift from Cole.

Cole made her a manger scene out of Sculpey at the urging of his sister, so Joan could add a new set to her already amazing collection.

And after that, I put my camera down and ate every thing sweet I could get into my mouth.

Another lovely Christmas at the farm—one day late—has come and gone.

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SAVE ON DIGI SCRAPBOOKING CLASS!: ReneePearson.com is still offering my blog readers a discount on her Just the Basics digital scrapbooking class. The regular price for the Basics class is $50, and Renee offers a $40 early sign-up price through the first week in January. However, Renee is offering my readers an additional $5 off so they can register for $35. The offer expires on Dec. 31. Use the code CATHYZ1209 when checking out to save.

A simple way to save a week

2009-12-28T05:00:00-06:00

Long has the idea of doing the whole Photo A Day over the course of an entire year appealed to me. The problem I face in trying to do that is this: too big a commitment. I like to tackle photo documentation in much more manageable chunks. Enter Seven Days:

SUPPLIES Layered Template No 25 (Cathy Zielske) • Classic Cardstock Foundation (Katie Pertiet) • Worn Page Edges 2 (Lynne Grieveson) • Archer font

I took last week—a week where let's be honest: most of us take a gazillion photos anyway—to document my seven days. Now as much as I love my camera and taking photos, I don't take pictures every day. But with the challenge of knowing I was actively trying to do just that, I found myself being a bit more creative and purposeful with my camera.

I also found myself looking for the story of the day and as we all know, that doesn't automatically translate to the best photo.

For example, on Monday, I took a shot of a card and some McDonald's gift certificates given to Cole by his bus driver. Of all the years my kid has ridden the bus, he's never received a card from a driver. I was genuinely touched that this kind man generously gave a card and gift certificates to every kid on his route. It really echoed what the holiday season is about.

Now I realize on a design like this, you don't have the room to tell the full story, and so you have to boil it down to the barest of details. This in and of itself is a great exercise in trying to be more concise with your journaling. And, for those of you who detest journaling, it's not a huge commitment to write a single sentence caption style.

While I don't plan to do this every week in 2010, I do plan to try and do one week a month, very likely the first week, to try and get 12 pages documenting a handful of shots and everyday stories from my year.

Again, it's not necessarily going to be about the best and brightest of shots, just a slice of ordinary life with possibly a touch of the extraordinary showing up from time to time.

The template is also available in 12 x 12.

Hope you had a good one

2009-12-26T10:29:59-06:00

A picture of one of my favorite gifts received this year. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. See you next week.

Merry Christmas to all…

2009-12-25T00:01:00-06:00

…and to all a good night.

Yes, Virginia, those are my scissors

2009-12-23T08:52:11-06:00

You see those scissors with my name on 'em? Yeah, I'm talking to you. Well here's the deal: just WALK away. Don't even THINK about it. I think it's quite clear who they belong to in that THEY HAVE MY NAME ON THEM.

(Just kidding, you can borrow them... provided I watch what you're using them for. Deal?)

So me and my beloved Fiskars scissors are going to be spending some time together today, doing some final wrapping of presents as Christmas draws near.

One of the potential highlights this year? An over-sized dose of white for Christmas. Forecasters are calling for up to a foot and a half of snow in parts of central and southern Minnesota for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I realize this puts a huge dent in a lot of travel plans, even potentially ours as we usually travel an hour south to spend Christmas Day with Dan's family, but you have to admit: there's something magical about snow falling on Christmas.

Having a hearty bowl of chili on Christmas Day, instead of the usual turkey dinner, isn't the worst thing that could happen.

Good luck with your final preparations before this holiday arrives. And to my fellow Minnesotans, may your snow shovels be oiled and at the ready.

More holiday blasts from the past

2009-12-22T05:00:00-06:00

SUPPLIES Layered Template No. 22 • I Believe Solids (Mindy Terasawa) • Winter Reverie Paper Pack (Jessie Edwards) • Archer font

In a maddening search for all of our Santa Claus-related photos last week, all I could dig up the one you see above. Our Santa shots have apparently gone missing because I searched high and low in this house, and came up nearly empty handed. I was planning to do a whole series of digital pages to add to my Christmas album, using this new template, but alas, no other Santa photos were found.

Then I dug a bit harder and found this:

SUPPLIES Layered Template No. 22 • I Believe Solids (Mindy Terasawa) • Winter Reverie Paper Pack (Jessie Edwards) • Archer font

Yep. The year was 1968. That's me, so busy making sure Santa got my entire list I didn't even bother to look at the camera, which clearly had my older brother Mike mesmerized.

Although the number of photos from my own childhood pale in comparison to the sheer numbers of shots from that of my kids, I'm thinking sometimes it's not about quantity or even quality: it's just that there is one here or there or really, anywhere.

Thanks, Mom, for the scan, and more importantly, the memory.

Documenting "never"

2009-12-21T07:59:08-06:00

Last week, I posted a list of nevers—from things I've never done, to things I've never not done, and many things in between. It inspired a cool discussion and a number of you took the idea and blogged it too.

Not wanting to leave a good idea in cyberspace, I designed a simple template to save my list. Here are the results (click on layout to see it larger):

SUPPLIES Layered Template No. 24 (Cathy Zielske) • Baby Pink Patterns + Solids Paper (Ali Edwards) • Ethan Solids Paper Pack (Katie Pertiet) • Archer font.

I added a few of the shots from the original post at the bottom, but this is not a layout idea dependent on photos. One of my goals in 2010 is to try to do more writing on my pages. I'm realizing with each successive year, much detail is lost to memory and time.

Here's to writing that's not so challenging after all. Never say never, right?

The template is also available in 12 x 12.

Giveaway winners

2009-12-19T19:24:50-06:00

And the results are, courtesy of the Random Integer Generator:

The winner of the gallery wrapped canvas from Color Inc. Pro Lab is:

The winner of the spot in Renee Pearson's Just the Basics 4-week workshop at ReneePearson.com:

The winner of a Life Documented Kit, the first in the Simple Stories system from MemoryWorks:

The winner of a spot in Lisa Day's upcoming workshop at Big Picture Scrapbooking called, The Challenge of Me.

Ladies, congrats! Email me at czdesign@comcast.net to claim your winnings.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment. Have a great rest of your weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday.

Giveaways: Color Inc. Pro Lab, ReneePearson.com, Memory Works and Big Picture Scrapbooking

2009-12-18T04:00:00-06:00

One blog reader will win a 20 x 24 inch (or smaller, if desired) gallery wrapped canvas featuring a favorite photo of their choice from Color Inc. Pro Lab. The prints are hand stretched around a wooden frame and come ready to hang on your wall. This whole gallery wrapped canvas is one of the coolest trends right now in photo display.

I just sent in my first image to have one of these made. I'm excited to get it back and hang it on a wall. I will definitely share when it arrives.

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One blog reader will win a spot in Renee Pearson's Just the Basics 4-week workshop at ReneePearson.com, slated to run January 28–February 25. This is a great opportunity for those of you wanting to learn digital skills to get in and get started! Read on to learn more about the workshop:

Nearly five years ago, when Renee wrote the first Digital Designs for Scrapbooking, computers were not yet an essential tool for mainstream scrapbooking. As the popularity of digital scrapbooking has grown, so has the need for easy-to-follow instructions. That's why she developed this workshop.

Renee will personally lead you through the fun, fast and easy lessons designed specifically for the beginning digital scrapbooker or crafter. Using Adobe Photoshop Elements 6, 7 or 8 and the digital kits and templates provided, you'll be whipping out digital scrapbook pages in no time.

The curriculum is based on weekly lessons including video, pdf and other learning aids. The workshop is designed to gradually introduce new topics and skills, allowing you to master one skill set before moving on to the next. At the end, you'll have a comprehensive set of skills you can use to create your own digital pages.

A SPECIAL FOR MY BLOG READERS ONLY: The regular price for the Basics class is $50, and Renee offers a $40 early sign-up price through the first week in January. However, Renee is offering my readers an additional $5 off so they can register for $35. The offer expires on Dec. 31. Use the code CATHYZ1209 when checking out to save.

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One blog will receive a Life Documented Kit, the first in the Simple Stories system from MemoryWorks.

It’s a 180 piece kit that includes beautiful pre-designed elements to create a whole album documenting an entire year of their life. Included in the kit is an assortment of 3-ring divided page protectors and an assortment of matching embellishments – for a retail value well over $35.00. (Page protectors and albums are not included in the Life Documented kit and customers can purchase these from MemoryWorks separately when our product is released in January—page protectors will be able to be used in most 3-Ring albums but we prefer them with the We R Memory Keeper albums).

To get more of a sneak peek, watch their teaser video here.

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One blog reader will win a spot in Lisa Day's upcoming workshop at Big Picture Scrapbooking called, The Challenge of Me. Read on to learn more about this cool new class:

Who are you right now? Do you know your story? Do you know what really matters most to you? Do your family members or friends know who you are?Reflecting on who you are can be a challenging, yet transformational experience. In creating an album to celebrate who you are, you will have an opportunity to explore, discover and create a record of what you care about, what touches you and where you passion lies. By creating your pages and recording your feelings, you may discover new insights about what matters most to you.

Join veteran BPS teacher Lisa Day in this fast paced four-week workshop where she will guide you through the creation of your story by providing daily prompts to help you record what matters most and challenge you to use your scrapbook supplies in new ways to illustrate your story. In this class, you will be challenged to create 24 layouts that create a well rounded picture of who you are right now.

Learn more about Lisa and see some sneek peeks for this workshop at her blog.

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To be entered into today's giveaway, simply leave a comment today, telling me if you're ready for the holidays, or ready for them to be over, and I will draw a winner on Saturday evening.

Comments are now closed. Check back soon for the list of winners.