Saturday, February 5, 2011

Blizzard 2011: A Photo Book { Hello You Books }


Blizzard 2011 by Amy Hipelius | Make Your Own Book

My mom had a brilliant idea of designing a photo book of some of my blizzard photos. And I always do what my momma tells me :-) Plus, it helped that I have over $150 in Blurb groupon certificates that I need to use by Feb 18 or I lose them. Yikes! I have some designing to do...

This layout was inspired by Ali Edward's Love You Because templates. I also used several of her word art, and her font. Love her work. The frame on the front cover is from the Leave the World Behind kit by Britt-ish Designs.

Do you need help documenting a story in a photo book? email me. I'd love to do it for you.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Yin and Yang .... 35::365 { One Photo a Day }


I'd like you to think that this is what my house looks like. Clean, pretty, and simple. But it doesn't. It looks like this...


We have some work to do around here.

I couldn't decide which photo to choose for today... and then I decided to share both. They truly represent the yin and yang. What we like people to think & believe, and what's really going on. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Right?

Thursday, February 3, 2011

BRrrr .... 34::365 { One Photo a Day }


If there ain't snow, there's ice... temperatures dropped today significantly. Right now it's 10 degrees... tonight it will be hovering around zero with wind chills 10 to 20 below. I don't think the twenty-some inches of snow dumped on us yesterday is going anywhere anytime soon. Time to snuggle up!

365 :: One Photo a Day { January 2011 }

My 365 project is coming along, and I'm really enjoying it. Most days it's easy for me to pick up the camera and snap a photo or two. But some days I forget all about it until late at night and then I'm really challenged to 1) find something to photograph and 2) get the right lighting. I only missed two days, so not bad. I'm not going to beat myself up if I miss a couple days here or there.

I decided I'm going to build a Blurb book (size 7x7") with one photo a page or spread. The maximum page count they have for the 7x7 book is 440 so I have a little wiggle room to add monthly title pages, and include a full photo spread here and there.

Here's a glimpse of the book with January. What do you think? I'm definitely going simple. Not just because I like simple books, but because if I do anything fancier it just won't get done. The cover is just for placement. I'll design it once the book is complete. Now that I look at it in book form I'm wondering if I should go all black & white with the text/background. What do you think? Is the color distracting? Or does it add life to the book for you? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Janauary 365: complete!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

SNOW DAY!! { Blizzard 2011 photo essay }

Snowmageddon, snOMG, Snowpocaplypse... whatever you call it -- it was BIG! It started yesterday late afternoon, and we were happy to watch it until about midnight when we went to bed feeling the wind literally shake our house. If I wasn't such a big believer in God, I would have been scared :-)

This morning we woke up excited to see what had developed over night.


And our windows were frozen over in VERY cool patterns. The snow/ice was caught in the screen, and clearly the copious amounts of wind created this pattern.


We couldn't get out our front door... or our back door. Thank goodness the wind was kind to us, and didn't pile up snow drifts right in front of our garage doors. In fact, there were some clear spots where we could see the blacktop. Right next to 3 foot drifts.

I whipped up some melt in your mouth pancakes for everyone. YUMMY!


And then Jeff started layering on the clothes to battle the snow. I went out into the garage to see him get started, and turned around to find Sean looking longingly at the snow piles. He REALLY wanted to play. At least he had the sense to put on Daddy's boots before coming out into the garage.


There was just so much snow, it was hard to fathom where it was all going to go. But my big eagle scout husband was prepared, and I had no doubt we would be free to roam soon enough.


The snow drifts were intense, and honestly hard to capture on film. And some of the wind patterns that emerged on the snow were so beautiful.


When we started out this morning it was still kind of crazy windy with snow flying everywhere. But slowly the neighborhood started coming alive with children playing and parents shoveling and snowblowing.



The snow plows were a welcome sight in the neighborhood, even if they dumped piles of snow at the end of your driveway.


And then the sun started to peek it's nose out to blanket us in its warmth, and to remind us that everything was going to be OK. Spring is coming soon enough. Hard to believe, I know. But I'm certain it will.


I finally bundled Sean up like Kenny from South Park, and sent him on his way to conquer the snow drifts. He was thrilled to be in a huge snow playground where he could climb and jump anywhere. He checked the mail, investigating the ice age, played king of the mountain with Makayla across the street, and learned how to eat snow.




But eventually the cold snow started to run its toll on the little man. And he started to ask for some hot cocoa. So we made our way inside.


That's not to say the work ended outside. In fact, it took at least four hours to dig everyone out of their driveways in our little corner of the neighborhood. It was definitely a community effort. Nothing like a good snow storm to get everyone out of their house.


The rest of the day was spent eating homemade cookies (thanks to our neighbors!), sipping hot cocoa, snuggling on the couch, and skillfully avoiding any kind of housework. Well, it was a snow day. Right? Momma gets a snow day too.

Keep warm! It's gonna get mighty chilly out there, folks.

Blizzard 2011 .... 33::365 { One Photo a Day }


I had such a hard time deciding which photo to use for today. I had a few favorites, but decided this one told the biggest story. Lots more photos coming soon.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

snOMG! ... 32::365 { One Photo a Day }

CAUTION: There's a friggin' blizzard out there.

Will this be the biggest snowstorm in Chicagoland EVER? Time will tell. This is Jeff's second pass with the snowblower on the driveway. We're keeping count.

I'm still in my PJ's.

Yep, I schlepped on my boots and winter jacket over my PJs to take this picture from our front porch. Not my best work, but the blizzard had to be documented in some way... and simple sounded good to me today.

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