minding my nest

practicing the art of an ordinary life

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around here

lately i am in love with january skies. 

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currently i am pretty well staying caught up with my project life album.IMG_8942_blog

the key for me is to keep it as simple as possible.  each sunday night, i collect my photos in lightroom and upload them to walgreens.  then usually either monday or tuesday i got pick them up.  slap them into the pockets. 

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i have found that my enjoyment of this project is inversely proportional to the amount of time i stress over embellishments and ‘perfection’.  so therefore i stick to just a few little doodads here and there.   nothing fancy.

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the only thing i’ve been doing a little bit different is the title card.  since i always have more photos than i need, i opted to use one of my photos instead of the title card that came with the kit. i just added a little label in photoshop that i created with the date. 

title card

let’s see…what else can i tell you….

oh yes, currently i am swooning over this beautiful calligraphy. calligraphy

i got a wild hair and decided to try my hand at it.

practice

i can tell you that it is much harder than it looks.  after practicing for a couple of weeks now i’ve gotten the hang of it a little more.  although it still appears as if an 87 year old woman who drank 14 cups of coffee is writing.

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but i will also share with you that there is an almost meditative aspect to practicing my letters over an over if that makes any sense.  kind of soothing in weird sort of way. 

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the other thing i love about calligraphy it is the tactile aspect that i sometimes crave…especially this time of year when i’m stuck inside.  it’s perfect when tripp and i are sitting together and watching television. 

calligraphy is also helping me with my word for the year.  something i’ve been needing to do for a while…which is paring down the amount of time i spend on the computer. between my real job, my blog, and my photography, i could easily spend the majority of my day in front of a computer screen.  and it’s not that i want to cut out my blog or photography because both of those are sources of real joy for me.  sometimes though…i guess i just need to unplug a little.

aound here i am looking for any way possible to inject a little color in my life. 

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this time of year our landscape can be so brown and drab.

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around here i am trying to slow down, be more present.  pay attention to the details.  this is how i am happiest in life. this is when i find magic.IMG_7109_blog

at the kitchen faucet of all places.

and so for the color and the light and the magic and the peace…i am truly grateful for all of it.

thank you january.

love, kelly

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Comments

  1. Carrie says

    January 30, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    I am so impressed with the calligraphy! That is something I always wanted to learn and never did!! You are doing amazing!! Way to go sister!! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Deanna@Snippets from Springdale says

    January 30, 2014 at 6:31 pm

    your calligraphy is beautiful…I took a course once and practiced and practiced and then stopped practicing and lost it…sad face inserted here!!

    Reply
  3. Dotti says

    January 30, 2014 at 6:54 pm

    Your calligraphy looks good. I have to tell you a calligraphy story. When my daughter got married, she wanted to use calligraphy to address her wedding invitations. So we practiced, both of us, and got the job done. But I haven’t done a lick since then. In fact, my handwriting is worse than ever. Keyboarding does that to us, don’t you think?

    Reply
  4. Dotti says

    January 30, 2014 at 6:54 pm

    Oh! So see … you’re all set for when Kelsey gets married! 😀

    Reply
  5. Justine says

    January 31, 2014 at 4:03 am

    Great post and I love your calligraphy. I think I may try printing out photos each week, a great idea

    Reply
  6. Katie says

    January 31, 2014 at 8:05 am

    i’ve just begun to fill out a photo album with family pix. it takes me back to when i used to do it when the kids were little. it’s fun to have the album out to look through and remember. and i hear ya about getting off the computer. i’ve been drowning myself in reading lately, and it just feels wonderful. and with hardcover books, not the e-kind. ; )

    Reply

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