Rachel Carlson

LEAVIN' ON A JET PLANE...

...CHA bound!  my flight departs @ 8:20 a.m. tomorrow morning - thanks button for getting me to the airport super early - ARGH!  nothing like 11th hour syndrome - ACK!  not sure if i will be able to blog from the road - time permitting - yeah right!  it's a working trip after all.  i'll be back next week late tuesday night, working at 11 a.m. on wednesday and then coming home to sleep?  pics to follow i'm sure by weekend's end?! 

to my fellow colorodoans, enjoy the snow this weekend (smirk, smirk) - AHEM, that will make for "6" consecutive weekends of the white stuff - grrrrrrrrrrr!  here's hoping anaheim will be filled with plenty of sunshine (hee, hee)!  i know i'll be regretting saying some portion of this paragraph - HA!  yeah, go ahead and laugh now........

happy weekend hugs!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

ARGH!

yep, enough said!  if you've been waiting on something or just on an email response from me, bare with me as i compose myself and get the burial over with - of the computer that is - grrrrrrrrrr! 

macro love...

*click on photo for best view

my photo of the day for today {my album lower left-side down there somewhere}.  i think i'm just desperate at this rate really.  it's too cold to get any outdoor photos these days - pout!  my subjects have been all indoor and just of random objects here and there.  not what i expected my photo of the day project to be this year.  i'm thinking i want to be a food photographer - sushi in general - not sure why - ha!

tomorrow we head downtown for an urban day of art museums {according to schoolboy we are researching for a book report} and having celebratory grown-up beverages - sign me up for that!  whenver i can get an "urban" day downtown with the camera - bonus!

we have two storms upon us this weekend - not much to fret about really - just mabye 4 inches at the most.  like we NEED more snow - grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

happy weekend!

he's all GROWED up!

yep, he is!  said in the tune of one of our fav movies.  tonight's post is in honor of my sweet guy.  i'm SO proud of him!  my cute guy returned to school tonight.  he took a semester off and now he's back at it.  chasing the dream.  this semester he's taking furniture making and ceramics - perhaps he will be able to make some cool pottery of his own to add to his collection.

yep, that's right, as you might recall, the same cute guy that made this for me:

still LOVE my paper cabinet to this day!  i keep telling him that he can make a fortune selling these.  i even have a friend that will buy the wood for him.  wonder how i can encourage him to work that into his semester projects - hee, hee!  i'm hoping that this semester project will be a cool piece of furniture for the two of us - we really need a dresser with lofty drawers - hint, hint!

button, i'm SO very proud of you for chasing your dream and pressing on!  i can't wait to call you mister fine wood worker dude, guy, man - WAIT, you already are him!  cheers to you!

wendy reed has done it again....

she has new bags ready to go!  better hurry because they go really fast!  this will be the last batch she makes before cha at the end of this month!

happy shopping!

sweet me designs

go wendy go!!!

working with watermarks and photoshop actions...

*click on photo to see the example - orginal photo

i'm testig out watermarks finally!  not my best one - only my first one and not really a "real" one - ha!  if that made any sense - hee, hee!  not sure if i even want it to look this way - ha!  here i used RC as my first/last name initials and just added the standard first name/last name photography as seen everywhere.  the font is "dear joe four" - have always liked this one.  i want to add another type of element but not sure what yet.  i think simple is good too though?  thoughts?  hey layle, recognize the spool?!

then i used aly's actions to convert the original photo to the "simply vintage" ps action - it makes the vintage label more authentic if you will:

*click on photo to see example - ps vintage action photo

haven't blogged in a while...*sigh*...the weather had me poopy as we got yet another storm on friday.  this one of the "freezing" kind and temps have been in the NEGATIVES.  it has snowed just a little w/this storm to add to our already TONS of snow on the ground.  and it's gently snowing now. 

i had to cancel my 1st girl's day out snowshoeing trip this weekend as i did not want to put anyone in harm's way. the roads have been slick thanks to the freezing temps - brrrrrrrrrrrrr!  i need to get out on the snow as i prepare to do this in march:

2007 TUBBS Romp to Stomp Breast Cancer Snowshoe Series

So excited to join my former colleagues this year for the romp - the team is growing!  For you locals, let me know if you are interested and I can get you to the right person!

here are some photos of denver in 1913 - i've heard that we have received more snow in the last three consecutive storms than they did in 1913 - yipes!  my fav is the sledding photo - not something that can be done today as this is a very busy street now.

denver in 1913

*photographer unknown - still researching to give proper credit...

*december's featured blog*

how super cool is this!  i was december's featured blog at this very cool website:

today's mama

very flattered to say the least!  just got the email from rachael - thanks so much for featuring my blog - how exciting!

*warning* forgot to duck...

i didn't even see that one coming!  i received a very last minute call last night w/bad news and so i didn't go to work today.  signs!?  i don't believe in signs really.  it's just a reminder to believe in myself, my worth and the strength to press on!  i start a new, very short-term assignment tomorrow and will get back in the game in no time!  what a way to enter the new year - gotta love a good challenge after all!

cheers and HUGE hugs to my dearest husband and friends for their continued support!

peas/beans, path/road...which one will you choose in 2007

**HAPPY NEW YEAR** or as we are having fun saying:  happy 2 double OH 7 - hee hee! 

is it just me that has this silly new year's tradition - or a crazy good luck charm that my mother instilled in me years ago - whichever the case, i STILL have to venture to the store today (if it's open) to get a can of the crazy beans/peas to eat!  HA!

what path/road will you follow this awesome new year!  do tell!  i'm so excited about the new year - not sure why this year is different really.  i guess it's just the idea of getting a new start, seeing things through fresh eyes and making all things possible.  after all, you must have things to aspire  and encourage you to press on!? 

we finally had our christmas!!!  the packages arrived and so did the christmas visitors that weren't able to come on the 1st try thanks to the blizzard!  so we had our "package opening" christmas on saturday, dec. 30th - woo hoo!

my highlights:

LOVE to get books for gifts!  these two were on my amazon wish list:  claudine hellmuth's book:  collage discovery workshop - can't wait to dive into this one and get inspired to create!  and then there is this one:  visual chronicles - filled with TONS of unique/awesome inspiration - woo hoo!  the dvds were a pleasant surprise and an exciting bonus!

then there was this:

i'm so new to the iPod world and i was tickeld to get this from my brother-in-law!  my dearest hubby has already filled it with all of my fav songs and i am now ready for an upcoming trip at the end of this month to anaheim (appropriately on the iPod:  john denver/leaving on a jet plane)  - wahooooooooooo!

ahhhhhhhhhh.......but THE best surprise of all is that i'm going to DISNEYLAND!  okay, WELL, not really but i will be walking distance from "the happiest place on earth" as i will be attending C.H.A. winter (the craft and hobby world's fair) at the end of this month - along with more of my projects!  thanks to the design team that i'm on (love you therm o web and c!), i will happily be working in the tow booth and rubbing elbows with tim holtz (note, see dvd above).  i took a peek at the tradeshow's floor plan and he is a hop away from the booth i'll be in - love me some timmy!!!  it has always been a pipe dream of mine to go and have been invited previously but never was able to get the means together to go.  airfare/hotel has been booked and i'm set!  happy 2007 to me as this was on my "to do" list this year!  as an added bonus:  martha stewart is the keynote speaker on the 1st day of the show - crossing my fingers that it's not sold out yet!

i finally get to meet my dear friend wendy at cha!  can't wait to see/meet you wen!

thanks for letting me share! 

CHEERS to all of you my dear friends!