Rachel Carlson

HAPPY very last day of 2011.

make it good.

make it count.

make it memorable.

and let me get the door for you 2011.

best wishes for a safe and happy day/evening of celebration.

see you in 2012.

cheers,

happy.fried.egg. aka happy friday.

 

just wanted to share a video with you today. i never saw this movie yet really like this video. just another reminder to make the next few days REALLY good because it.is.almost.over.

make it good.

make it count.

make it memorable.

because in a few days you will need to put on your super hero capes and:

SOAR.

no disguises needed.

just add cape.

cheers to an amazing weekend ahead.

remember that fun screen print of mine?

the sketch i did for a screen printing workshop at the beginning of the month, you can catch up with this post:

the make house....part 3 and there you have it.

WELL, stay tuned for that little sketch making it's first official debut in just a few days on january 1. i was very proud of that little sketch having done it 15 mintues before the workshop began AND adding the polka dots on location thanks to nathan, owner of the make house. he said, you want polka dots, add polka dots! so i did.

i ran into nathan the other day at postal annex where we exchanged kind words, etc and he thanked me for sharing the photos of the workshop AND he is now featuring them on the make house website, take a peek here:

the make house - classes

thank you SO much for that nathan, that just made me so happy!

i'm so excited to take the 2nd part of the workshop (Screen Printing Multiple Colors on a Manual Press) in february once i save up enough money for it post CHA travel, deadlines, etc.

cheers to nathan and mackenzie for making 'learning new things' fun.

happy thursday,

rachel

other ways to ring in 2012...what are you doing?

i have to share this sweet gift that my dear friend penny from austin, texas sent me. i had bad lighting when photographing so if you can't read what the charm on the clasp reads it is: trust your journey. such a powerful message to me for 2012 as i continue to embark on it. penny was my training partner for the avon breast cancer 3 day on april 26-28 in 2002. the theme for that year was: I'mpossible (i AM possible). SHE was the one that held me accountable for being there every single day to train so that we could walk 20 miles in one day for three days. AND for even being crazy enough to talk me into a 10k the weekend before or was that two weeks before!!?? there was no time to bitch, moan or complain about i'm too tired, or i'm not feeling it, or i have blisters, etc....we made sure that we were there together to hold each other accountable to be successful in our walk, to 'finishing' something so important to us. i miss penny dearly and wished we could train again. thank YOU dear friend for the very important message.

NOW: let's get on with ways you can ring in 2012, projects to hold you accountable, etc. because just as much as i am a cynic, or a skeptic, or a realist i still like to encourage others to find ways to make sure they are working to fulfill their one true passion, fears, goals or simply to hold yourself accountable. and because most of my readers come from the industry that i have worked in for several years you will recognize most of them and/or are already ready to use them here in a few days.

*all images are property of ali edwards*

the first one is: one.little.word. most of us are familiar with this one.

the premise: pick ONE single word for the entire year. embrace it. live it. breathe it. eat it. become it. however you decide to interpret this is up to you.

*ali edwards*

ali offers many ways in which to guide you on this path with your one little word in the following:

one little word via big picture classes

**The One Little Word classroom opens on January 1, 2012.**

ali takes you through each step on a monthly basis to document, acknowledge, plan and carry out ways in which that one little word will become a part of who you are and continue to be.

IF i were to choose a word for 2012 if would be: NOW.

ali also has amazing digital elements on designer digitals if you choose to do an online documentation. i know this because i have some of those elements that i used for a 'week in the life' project also from ali edwards.

i dug up this digital layout i did with those elements from september 29, 2008 to document one of my favortie fall traditions by visiting kenosha pass in the rocky mountains. WOW, oh how i miss digital.

ali also shares other projects on her blog throughout the year that can help you in between the bigger projects if you feel that you can't commit to the bigger ones. my favorite one is december daily and documenting every single day in december leading up to the holidays. as you can see on my blog this month, i took the premise and did it on my blog instead by blogging every single day in december. and guess what....it's.not.easy. i don't want you to think i don't have a life. or having a pity party for myself because i'm going through hard times right now. i chose to do something. i simply do it. i'm just saying give yourself credit for at least doing something every single day and that is: WAKING UP.

i was very lucky to have met ali one year at CHA so long ago, even luckier still that i now live in the same state as she. hope to see her one day again soon.

*images property of becky higgins*

next up is project life by becky higgins. don't be nervous by the magnitude of these two words: project.life. it's simple. it's what you do every single day of your life. this is just a way in which you can simplifly the process to document it. i failed at this one because 'life' happened, cards were dealt, bad hands, good hands, i didn't know how to play some of the cards i was dealt so it fell by the way side. i was very lucky that a sweet friend let me borrow a second set of this outline so i could follow along. and i was doing really good taking a photo every single day, documenting every single day for a little over six months. WOW, i wish i would have carried that one till the end. when i can afford to get the elements one year, i'm going to give this one another chance.

 

here is a five mintue video that shows you project life in it's entire premise. i know that some of my friends are still doing this project on a yearly basis and for that i applaud you for holidng yourself accountable to document your life and that of your loved ones. leaving your legacy for the next generations to enjoy. cheers to you!

for my more 'artsy' mixed media side the next one i would like to share is:

art journal every day by julie balzer. what a sweet gal julie is. i only know her online and hope to meet her in person one day. she's really good friends with my sweet friend nat from germany and they have done workshops together. this project works well for the painter/mixed media junkie in me. in fact, i started one of these and was recenly inspired to pick it up again.

it's simple. use paint and mixed media to document your daily life. there is a cool badge you can grab to add to your blog so people can follow what you're doing.

 

i saved my favorite one till the end as this one has been the more popular one to date. and we all know we love it. all the cool kids are there. AND i even have a few crushes on some pinners.

it's called: pinterest

and you need an invite to join. please let me know if you want an invite yet i have to make sure that you know it's highly addictive.

i must applaud the peeps at pinterest for this genius concept. remember the days where we used to 'bookmark our links' in our favorites when we saw something cool online that we wanted to refer back to. HA. what.a.joke. i hardly ever went back to those links, tried hard to keep them organized, thought i bookmarked but didn't. pffft. now there's a simpler way to do things. and you can create boards for categories of great ideas, something you want to refer back to, planning a party, need a tutorial, dreaming of getting that special something, etc.

here is my profile on pinterest: rachel carlson on pinterest

i must admit, i WAS an addict 'in the beginning', ask anyone. i did it for hours at night, in the morning, through the day, in bed, waiting in line somewhere, at the airport, etc. and 'one time' i said i was going to stop at 3000 pins and be done with it...HA. i even get asked why i don't pin anymore. or as often.

that said, i set some boundaries. i don't pin every single day like i used. in fact, some days or weeks i don't even pin at all. if i do, i allow myself SEVEN minutes at bedtime as my mind is trying to wind down from a full day of being online with freelance. i figure that's simply a treat to myself and i'm okay with that.

what do you do with all those pins you might ask? you plan parties. you plan outfits. you use it as a way to store all your 'what ifs' or 'goals' or 'needs' or 'wants'. ask my dear friend lori, we used it to plan a party. people use it to plan their weddings, baby showers....the list of possibilites is endless on how you can use this online 'vessel' if you will to document, set goals, learn something new, etc.

it is very simple: choose to do it. do the hard work. get it done!

i know that most of you that read my blog in the industry or run in the same circles as me are already fully aware of all of these but hopefully i've inspired at least one person with some new ways to make it even more fun.

good luck. good documenting. good goal setting. onward!

cheers,

rachel

how will you ring in 2012?

 

how will you welcome in your new year? your new journey? your new whatever?

resolution: 

res·o·lu·tion/ˌrezəˈlo͞oSHən/

Noun:    1. A firm decision to do or not to do something.

pay close attention to the aforementioned definition of 'resolution'.

i don't make new year's resolutions for a reason. i simply choose to practice the latter in most cases. and i'm not trying to be a negative nancy. i simply do not want to set myself up for failure OR put conditions/expectations on myself that i will not follow through with. it's very simple especially with the cards that i was dealt this past year, even the most recent ones.

i heard something the other day while watching movies, series, etc and it keeps ringing heavy on my mind: There's no power in acting the way you think other people want you to be.

and to me that simply means: BE. just be YOU. and you can define that sentence in so many other ways too so do with it what you will. what are we most afraid of? what scares us every single day of our lives? what defines us as good humans, kind humans, charitable humans? and really, are you doing enough to nourish YOU? take care of YOU? be kind to YOU? be chartible to you? and others as well. i'm learning that i was not and now i have to be more diligent about it.

with that said, i'm simply going to continue practicing doing what i say i'm going to do. to live in the now. to not let others bring me down. to being a better human. a kinder human. a charitable human. if i say i'm going to climb a mountain, i will simply climb a mountain. if i say i'm going to read more books, i'm simply going to read more books. if i say i'm going to learn something new. i'm going to learn something new. i'm just going to simply do it, in the NOW and just get on with it. it's much easier to hold myself accountable for those things i say i'm going to do. if i set myself up in the beginning and don't actually 'do' the hard work that is needed to be done then i've let myself down.

an example of 'doing what i say i'm going to do' and holidng myself accountable as evidenced in this post at the start of this month:

december???

WELL, we are close to the end, only five more days to go. and YES, i will make it to the end of december. i did/or will have posted every single day of december like i said i was going to do. and some days i even posted twice. sure i might also work ahead with my posts yet more than likely i raced to do it also at 2 or 4 in the morning. sure it might have seemed like a small task to do something every single day for 31 days in a row. it was a good test to hold myself not only accountable yet to also pull myself out of struggle, out of sadness, out of weakness, out of the darkness. i can't say i will do the same in 2012 yet i will make sure that i am more consistent with my blog as the days go by.

tomorrow i will share some ways that 'others' use to welcome in the new year, especially in the industry that i am in as an artist, one who documents, one who loves to read and write.

and HUGE thanks for reading all this month. it's been nice to see via google analytics who you are and where you come from.

cheers,

rachel

 

p.s. not meant to make you sad yet simply to say, go live the next adventure!

happy day after?

i only took TWO photos with my big camera yesterday. this is one of them. it was both my holiday lunch and dinner for one: wine, bread, caprese salad, grapes AND chocolate. i'm not normally a wine drinker yet i felt the need to simply celebrate. celebrate life. and survival.

hope you will have a lovely 'day after' all the festivities as you work to also celebrate the last six days of 2011. what do you have on your agenda for end of year? whatever it is, make.it.good. make it count. make it memorable.

i for one, as cynical as it might sound, am so ready for it to be done, over with and filed away. excited for what 2012 has to offer. after all, it's up to YOU (me) to make it count.

cheers to a great week ahead!

happy christmas.

happy christmas eve day.

i hope you are spending it with family and friends.

make it count and enjoy.

cheers,

rachel

Holiday lights on Peacock Lane

last week i visited Peacock Lane to see holiday lights. WOW. i had been doing the research on what would be the best place to visit and start a new tradition in a new city and my sweet friend sharon sent me a few tips. i followed this one as it was under 4 miles from me. i also made sure that i went on 'pedestrian only' night. it's much nicer like this after all, you walk instead of drive your car. the entire block is closed down to vehicles. who knew how popular this would be. this has been a tradition since 1929. good golly, i had never seen that many people on one neighborhood block.

and boy was it cold that night too. the fog was on cue and rolled in with perfect timing. i like a good foggy night in portland. trust me, i've seen them as late as 3 am from being on the set of Grimm. it's eery, it's spooky, it's perfect for a photographer like me. it will be a learning curve but i WILL learn how to take great photos in the fog now that i live here.

 

there were people singing. people on lighted up bikes. families huddled together to stay warm. it was a perfect way to see lights as i'm still so new here. even some of the home owners were having parties and were kind enough to come out and thank pedestrians for coming out to see their homes. it's obvious that they take a lot of pride in this tradition. i followed some carolers around to shoot a very poor quality iPhone video, just the same i will have it as a memory.

here is the line for hot chocolate. someone had a small (1-2 person) shed-like booth and was selling hot chocolate.

 

 

 

 

this last photo was my favorite house. i stood there for a little while listening to carolers and enjoying all that is community in such a great city.

and good will toward men is my wish for all this holiday season.

thanks for letting me share.

happy friday, happy weekend, happy holidays,

rachel

p.s. please click on the link below to learn the history of two familes on the lane:

the chartier family and the bloodgood family

and how the tradition began:

welcome to peacock lane - history of the lane

brown paper packages tied up with string.

package wrapping continues after my sewing machine comes out of 'time out' - enough said about that. i'm sure you're not surprised with my above choices in wrap. in fact, it's my signature colors/dots after all. my pressies are never on time for the holidays AND more than likely ALWAYS handmade, homemade or independently/locally purchased. i'm of the notion that pressies should be given YEAR ROUND, not just on one specific day. i did rush out to get some in the mail for specific reasons but that was all. plus the lines at the P.O.'s are absolutely ridiculous.

what are you still doing to prep for the holidays?

p.s. happy WINTER.