Every Picture Tells a Story…

And an even better one when the picture is pretty.

I have always loved taking pictures. And after I birthed this blog from a need to practice my writing, I soon became aware that I needed to put my own pictures with my words. It made sense.

And just as my writing benefited from perpetual practice, so did my pictures. I discovered it wasn’t in the taking of the picture necessarily, although you do need to have something captured on your camera, but in the editing of the pictures.

At first, I used my picture program in my computer to pump up the contrast and colors for each picture. But when my old computer began to lock up with too many pictures, I started to use my phone camera and other photo editing apps to do all of my picture editing.

I’ve tried Snapseed and VSCO but in the end, I just use the phone edit program, Square InPic which puts any picture into a square format, and then the edit program attached to Instagram. That’s it.

I have a new computer as of a year ago and would love to get a better photo program to use, but for now, I can use my phone with all the pictures being backed up onto my phone via OneDrive.

Maybe one day I’ll get back to film, or even own a DSLR camera, but for now I am contented to just keep doing what I’m doing. The best camera is the one you have with you.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

A Summer Morning Walk in Denton

Missed posting this morning bright and early because the Garden Party happened. I took a long walk as the weather had broken and other than the fact that my feet hurt, it was a glorious walk.

All the cottages in town looked proud and festive. The dappling of the Summer light through the trees was so enticing. And in the cacophony of cicada and cricket song from the trees to the meadow, I heard the lullaby of lazy days to come.

I owe you a garden and garden party post and now that I have time to do that, I’ll do that.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

Days 19 Through 35 for the 100 Day Project 2019

This year is my second one participating in the 100 Day project. If you weren’t around in 2018, you can go HERE to see what I did. This project is an amazing way to prove to yourself how important your creativity is to you. And how you are trustworthy and worth showing up for yourself for 3 plus months in a row.

Last year was pencil and pastel sketches. This year I decided to just fall back to my favorite medium of collage. And also this year I forgave myself if I couldn’t show up on a day, say Easter, and allowed myself to do two the next day. I got a little behind but caught right back up. Because I quite honestly, love the excuse to step up into my craft room and escape for a little while.

I publish every creation on Instagram and Facebook daily just so I am accountable to myself and the people who are also participating. And perhaps next year, I’ll create a local group who wants to join in with me on the 100 Day project. Any one game?

Go HERE to see the first two weeks of the 100 Days of Shalagh 2019.

Go HERE for a definition and the home of the project. Or search the #100DayProject hashtag on social media.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

100 Day Project 2019 : Weeks One and Two through Day 18

This is the second year that I’m taking on the 100 Day Project. Last year I did both 100 days of sketches and pastels and simultaneously participated in the Index Card a Day challenge with collage and a few other random mediums. The thought of doing all of that again exhausts me.

This year, I decided to just do 100 days of collage on a slightly larger format than an index card. I cut a piece of paper in half and decided that was neither too big nor too small. It was just right. And everyday(almost) I get into the craft room and I stand there and I craft. Read about my start Here.

Here’s the thing, you are sure that there’s nothing that you could possibly commit to every day. But that’s bunk. You certainly can. You are committed to putting clothing on everyday. You concede that activity will take a certain amount of time and you patiently spend that time daily putting that clothing on your body.

Life is all about expectations. I have just added an expectation on to myself. Much like doing the laundry or making dinner or exercising, I expect that I must blog three times a week and now I art daily. Once it’s a non-negotiable in my head, I slide it into my day without a thought. Intentions become habits.

I have missed a day or two with the boy’s birthday/Easter/Spring Break combination this weekend but I am also not worried about it. I’ve also noticed that with this proactive arting, I don’t care too much about whether people are seeing it online. The act of doing it seems to be satisfying in and of itself.

Keep on Keeping on! Art like you mean it. And if you are interested in keeping up with my progress, you can follow along with me on Facebook or Instagram.

See Days 19 through 35 of my 100 Day Project for 2019, here.

See Days 36 through 69 of my 100 Day Project for 2019, here.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

Driving Through the Doubt Storm

Through the work of the magnificent Sas Pethrick, I received a huge aha about myself recently. I took her quiz on my self-doubt archetype and, BAM, I was exposed. I do have a tough time believing I can do the hard things. I do believe I need someone’s help for everything or it’s impossible. And I know that I am very vulnerable to any criticism. I do procrastinate to avoid proving how unqualified I am at being an adult. She said I was an Innocent archetype. And she was spot on. While I am optimistic, loyal, and spontaneous, I struggle with self-doubt and self-belief.

Although I have begun to heal some of this behavior (I no longer time-debt and have begun proving I can do hard things, see the Wholehearted Living story I wrote for Terri Connelan’s Quiet Writing blog), I can feel the oppressive shadow of doubt looming. A constant companion that no longer serves. So, two days ago I set myself to creating vignette pictures for a blog site revamp that’s held me hostage for years.

As I stood there looking down at all these little pieces of flowers and whatnots and began to arrange them and take pictures, the chatter began. Negative comments about how the light wasn’t right or how I wasn’t sure if this was how I needed to do it “right”. And I made myself stand there and continue to work through those mean nuisances that were my thoughts. Kept standing and kept rearranging and kept taking pictures. Until I was done. And I felt better. My resistance was futile as I drove through it.

The next day, I sat at the computer and I began to edit and upload the pictures. And I felt better as I did this because I saw how pretty my pictures were. I did a good job of doing the work and driving through the wreck that was my self-doubt storm. Every time I do the hard things, I kindle a spark of trust inside for my reliability and my ability. And that feels like pride. Stay tune for the results of a long long road to my self-recovery.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.