Back to School, Back to Nature

Well, it's been back to school in our household...I am enjoying my "Quilting Arts" class through the ABC Adult School in Cerritos.  My teacher, Rosa, is so fun to be around & is so patient with us.  She helped me make a few patterns...something new I've never done before.  You know, those patterns can be so intimidating & I've set them aside so many times after hours of staring blankly at them!  Now I can make my own & decipher theirs (with the help of my super teacher).  Yaaay for school.  =)

Kyra has adjusted GREAT at her pre-school and has been improving her phonics & writing skills everyday.  They recently had their "100th day of school" and celebrated with a party...complete with 100 m&m's for each student to line up & count.  I try to incorporate teaching in everyday activities...we count everything and anything, I ask them questions about what they see & try to get them thinking about the world around them.  They are always very curious!  =)

Kyra's teacher is awesome too!  She writes great little notes on her homework, with plenty of encouragement & what I call "happy hearts."  How sweet is that!

I have tried to instill a love of reading in my girls.  Thankfully, they LOVE books and often get together to "read."  Kyra likes to make up her own stories (which are so fun to listen to) and pretends to be reading these big books!  I love my little bookworms.  =)

 

We (as in Southern Californian's) have actually had some crazy rain the past month!  I know, we are winter WIMPS and have no real concept of how cold the rest of the world really gets, but when it hits 60 degrees around here...we just don't know WHAT to do!  lol.  Here is a shot of these newly planted flowers in the courtyard...funny, but these PURPLE flower plants had a couple PINK flowers growing from them!!  cool.

More pics I took...loving all the nature shots.

and the texture of this leaf was so cool!  I wish it wasn't so blurry...next time I'll get it good.

inside a flower...

peeking in at another bug...

and MORE bugs...I'm lovin' my macro lens people!!!  If you don't have one, it's definitely worth getting if you like to take pictures...it's amazing all the things you see up CLOSE!!

and this bird on a wire...he was just chillin' so I had to get a shot of him.

Some fun new things I've done with my packaging...I made these cool Victoriously UPcycled hang tags...hand crafted with LOVE!!

 One of my latest creations...

Belly, Bugs, Bautista!

Hi Peeps!  I'm still taking a bunch of pictures & here are some of my favorites lately...Ava playing in the fountain at night time...check out that belly sticking out!

 Kyra started Pre-School last week...she's doing great & fitting right in.
We are so proud of you Kyra girl!  =)

I loved these birds just hanging out...reminds me of music sheets...

I love taking pictures of bugs with the macro lens...this is a cool & very tiny, very green bug!  I think it's an aphid or something...not easy to get in focus...any slight movement of the camera causes it to blur.

With all the recent rain, I've had a few opportunities to capture some fun shots...I thought these rain drops looked amazing on this fuzzy looking plant!

Ava set up her Matchbox cars on the TV tray...I loved how they looked all lined up!

My new Sakura & Pilot pens arrived from Jetpens.com.  I am totally loving how the Sakura Glaze & Souffle pens write & FEEL!  They are embossing pens & don't require any special powder or heating tools...sweeeeeet!  Can you see how they give a raised appearance in the picture below?

Here's a recent Etsy order that shipped to the east coast...hope you love your new wallet Rachel!

Visited the CHA SuperShow in Anaheim this past weekend with Kyra...parking was a challenge but we managed our way inside.  Don't you just love this cool looking building?!  I stuck my camera out the car window for this quick shot!

enjoyed some of the make & takes...

got my "Collage Unleashed" book autographed (and doodled) by Mixed Media artist Traci Bautista.  I am taking her online workshop, "Creative SOUL" right now and am really enjoying it.  We get our lessons once a week & then have a live chat once a week as well.  Her style is fun, playful, free & quick...pretty dope if you ask me! 

Here is a shot of me, Kyra & Traci...Kyra insisted on being in the middle!

It was so cool meeting you Traci!  Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us & make us feel so special. 

Here are some freshly planted flowers...which is why they are so dirty!  I'm lovin these colors though...

Here is another little green bug making his way on the new flowers...

At the park for a little fun while big sister is at school...

 then off to the library...but first we have a little snack on the steps.  =)

This sculpture in front of the library is pretty amazing...I just had to capture it...

What are you taking pictures of these days???  What inspires you or catches your eye? 

Link Love & Texture Hunt!

I love taking pictures and last year I took on Project 365 & ended up with a TON of amazing pictures at the end of the year.  I got more familiar with my camera & tried a lot of new techniques, angles & actions.  One of my new favorite photography blogs is MCP Actions.  Another great resource for FREE actions is here on Pioneer Woman Photography.  My girlfriend Kristin is an amazing photographer & I am her biggest fan...you can soak up all her inspiration pics here on her blog.  Add them to your reader & learn how to add the wow factor to your pictures!  =)

You can join Project 365 with me right here & share your pictures with the group!

Today's "nature walk" with the girls today was more of a texture & inspiration hunt.  Check out the glass patio table...

  This is the community BBQ...waaaay up close!  I am practicing using my macro lens...love it!

This is me looking up at the gazebo...I really love how it turned out in black & white...all those lines & angles...very spiderweb-ish!

I love to take pictures of bugs too...especially with my macro lens.  It's somewhat difficult to zoom in close enough, but not too much as to make everything just blurry.  Any slight movement in this mode will cause the picture to come out blurry...this was the best one I got. 

 A cool looking mossy tree...

Typically, I do some quick & dirty editing in Picasa (free from Google) & then spice them up in Photoshop with some of my favorite actions...it's easy, fun & highly addictive if you're in to it!  Now bust out your camera & start shooting!