31 August 2012

wrapped.


This week I:
*  was so inspired by the above illustration
*  Introduced my new online art journal class!!!  Sparkle With Love: What's Your Season?
*  have been working on said journal a lot so I can have a sneak peek post ready for you all!
*  got to spend the day with my art teacher ladies (they are the best)
*  celebrated having Amelia in our lives for 6 months.
*  started my third Project Life Volume for 2012. (can you believe this year is already 2/3 of the way over)?
*  wrote a ton of pen pal letters.
* was pretty relaxed and enjoyed spending all of my free time with my family.

xo
janel


29 August 2012

6 months.


6 months

The best 6 months of my life!
*  she is talking non-stop
*  she is saying "da da da da"
*  she has started to sit all by herself
*  she loves to bounce and jump
*  she's eating puffs now
*  she is still sleeping through the night
*  she still takes three naps a day
*  she started with the babysitter and loves it
*  she rocks back and forth when she is on her tummy
*  she loves to play with "big" toys now.
*  she loves to hang out with other babies
*  she smiles and laughs all of the time
*  she loves everyone who she meets

I love this girl so much.
I can't believe we have had her for half of a year already.
life is good.
God is good.

xo
janel

28 August 2012

Photo Canvas-Contrado Imaging.

One of my goals is start adding more photos of family and friends into my home.  Our walls are filled with original art and prints from Indi artists.  
That's just how we roll.
I take a million photos, billions even.  
I have albums, mini-books, and blog posts to prove it.
Recently, I have been wanting to incorporate some of these photos into our wall decor.
About a month after we brought Amelia home, we had an amazing photo shoot of our little family, so I immediately wanted to start with those.
This is where Contrado Imaging comes in.
I had the opportunity to put the services at Contrado Imaging to the test.  I got to design my very own canvas print! 
The had so many options for me to choose from and the website was so incredibly easy to understand and maneuver.
They even have a Banksy effect you can do!!!
Not to mention, how amazing and efficient the customer service was throughout the process.
I quickly uploaded one of my favorite family photos and made all of my design decisions.


I have dreamed of having these photos blown up BIG and in black and white, so this opportunity was perfect!!
The product shipped from the UK and literally took less than a week to get to me which was amazing.
The packaging was completed with such care to make sure that the canvas would be perfect when it arrived, which it was.
It's lovely.



This is definitely a piece of art we will treasure forever. AND, it has a lifetime guarantee so we literally can treasure it forever.
 It has livened up our living room and I am so excited to order more from Contrado Imaging in the future.
You should definitely check them out too!!

xo
janel

27 August 2012

makeover.

It is one of my favorite spaces in our home.


BUT, I am ready to completely re-do it :)
Even though this little sweetie has only been living in this space for 6 months, I have had it completely decorated and ready to go for over a year!
I get tired of decor really quickly.
It's not a good thing sometimes :)
The good thing about this is that her main staple pieces (i.e. crib, dresser, rug, shelves) can all stay.  I just need to de-clutter, simplify, and add re-do the accent pieces, fabrics, and art.
I have been pinning A LOT of children room photos for inspiration and I am excited to tackle this little project.










I am definitely ready for change.
I will probably be selling some things online, maybe open up a little pop-up shop full of cute new and vintage children things.
Keep your eyes open :)

xo
janel






24 August 2012

project life-weeks 32-33

This is the BEST project my friends.
I can not even express how much enjoyment I get, looking back through these pages and seeing ALL that I have been able to document. 
I practically don't even need a baby book for Amelia, these books tell it all.
With company last week, I didn't have much time to post my pages, plus I had run out of ink right before printing all of my Color Run photos...not good.
So here are my pages from Weeks 32 and 33.

Week 32


This was my last week before heading back to work for the school year.  We made sure to take full advantage of it.  We had trips to the zoo, and other St. Louis landmarks.  Amelia and I also spent a lot of time getting crafty together and watching The Olympics.




This week also included working in my classroom to get it ready, finding out that I didn't have to "travel teach" this year, and decorating for Ali's birthday party!


Week 33

Week 33 was a special week because we had family in town!!  Amelia and her cousin Ali became instant BFF's so a lot of the photos are of these two bonding.


I also added a full insert of Ali's birthday party since it was so much fun and too hard to pick and choose photos for.



Amelia started to sit by herself this week!!
We went to a disaster awareness night for our community where Amelia met my favorite police officer and had her face painted for the first time.
And, dun dun dun, school started back up :)



And speaking of hard to photos to pick and choose from, I decided to do a full on spread, with three inserts, for The Color Run.
Yes, it was that amazing.

The Color Run











I love when my husband tells me, "Don't worry babe, I saved my color packet for you to put in your Project Life album."
He's a keeper :)

Also, I was so excited to hear that Elise has designed a new core kit for Project Life!!!! I will definitely be purchasing it for 2013.

xo
janel

Would you like to know more about Project Life? You can read all about it here. You can also check out more of my Project Life pages right here!

23 August 2012

Sparkle With Love: Online Journal Class



I am so excited to announce my NEWEST online art journal class, "Sparkle With Love."
I have had numerous emails from people asking me to host another class and with life finally slowing down, I am ready!!

Here is the scoop:

     Join us for a 30 Day journal challenge jam packed with creative prompts, techniques,    giveaways, chats, and of course an amazing community of online friends :)


This class will start October 1 and continue on until the 30th. 


There will be a new prompt/challenge each day.  I'm so excited!!


Once you purchase your class spot, the class login information will be emailed to you within 72 hours. This class will be hosted on a private blog.

Would you like a peek into some of my past journals??  Click here

Here are some sweet testimonials you can read from past classmates :)

"I look forward to each prompt like Christmas morning!"
I love you Janel !!
xoxox cuppy

"I was eager to check the class page each morning, wondering what today's prompt would bring.  They all made me think throughout the day.  I loved coming home and getting all those thoughts onto paper. Thanks Janel."

"This was a great class, and I'm so glad I decided to take it.  And I love knowing that I got to do something I enjoy and got to help bring Amelia home at the same time."


"The best way to get to know your inner artist, I have learned so much about myself in this class!"

 "Ive never done an online class before but after taking yours, I will do more in the future.  I loved it! No pressure to get it done by a certain time, that it'll be judged etc - just a class to express yourself and challenge your creativity."

"This was a great experience and I loved how interactive it was with both classmates and students. The journal topics were fresh and insightful (along with inspirational) I feel like I learned a lot and I can't wait for you to do another similar class Janel!!!"

 "janel is an art teacher by profession with an artistic soul and heart. she is encouraging and inspiring without being critical. taking one of her classes is an affordable way to do something positive for someone else and yourself. there is no wrong way to express your art. simply by beginning you may start to think or see things in a new way, and or push yourself further artistically. meeting and interacting with new friends you many never have known before the class is also a fun bonus"

 "I found it very therapeutic to journal each day, it challenged my creativity and it was nice being able to share and look at what other students had done through the flickr group. My classmates were so encouraging and the prompts were relevant and helpful to personal growth. Thank-you! xo"

"I really enjoyed Janel's Journal Class. Not only was this a fun class for me and for others, but it was for a good cause. I am happy I was able to play a small part into getting Amelia home to Janel and Adam. I got a little behind in the class, but I feel as if the class is just extended for me :) I made new friends in the chats and got to reconnect with old ones." 

I really hope that you will join me in journaling my way through my favorite season :) 


Again, I love these classes and I cherish all of the friendships that I have made through them.
Will I see you there?
I hope so.

I will only be taking a limited number of classmates for this class so grab your spot  before they are gone!!

Yay!!!
xo
janel


"Sparkle With Love"
$25.00




22 August 2012

welcome to the art room.

Well, school is back in full swing!
Our first official day was last Wednesday.
Here is a little peek into my other world, the art room...
















I love it.
xo
janel