Friday, February 13, 2009
The Importance of Journaling
6:58 AM | 
Posted by
Gabby Faye |
My Florida Mood
Sometimes you have more to say than photos suggest. In those instances let the journaling BE the page and either take a specific photo to illustrate it, or just use elements from a digital kit. The journaling on this one reads:
When I am in Michigan after November 1, my mood is gray and gloomy. The cold, the sunless skies, dead summer flowers, naked trees...that is what I see when I look out my window. Why WOULDNT I get depressed? Coffee, chocolate, doesn’t help. Lots of windows, outside decks, two sun-rooms do not help. Even my favorite hobbies soon begin to suffer. Only visits with my granddaughters lift my mood.
"Then we jump into the car after Christmas and, within two days, are in sunny, warm Florida. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! Flowers, lots of sun, green everywhere. My ailments disappear and my mood gets as sunny as the skies. There are birds everywhere...BIG birds, friendly birds, birds who love to pose for photos. The flowers are in profusion, colors brighter than I have ever seen before, scents no bottle can capture. The trees bear fruit; bananas, oranges, limes, star fruit, mangos. Paradise!!!"
This coffee mug that I use in Florida sums up in a photo what I had to say in my journaling. I hope the loved ones we leave back in the cold, snowy North, understand a little better why we leave them for 4 months every winter. If not now, maybe when they read this as they get older themselves.
When I am in Michigan after November 1, my mood is gray and gloomy. The cold, the sunless skies, dead summer flowers, naked trees...that is what I see when I look out my window. Why WOULDNT I get depressed? Coffee, chocolate, doesn’t help. Lots of windows, outside decks, two sun-rooms do not help. Even my favorite hobbies soon begin to suffer. Only visits with my granddaughters lift my mood.
"Then we jump into the car after Christmas and, within two days, are in sunny, warm Florida. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! Flowers, lots of sun, green everywhere. My ailments disappear and my mood gets as sunny as the skies. There are birds everywhere...BIG birds, friendly birds, birds who love to pose for photos. The flowers are in profusion, colors brighter than I have ever seen before, scents no bottle can capture. The trees bear fruit; bananas, oranges, limes, star fruit, mangos. Paradise!!!"
This coffee mug that I use in Florida sums up in a photo what I had to say in my journaling. I hope the loved ones we leave back in the cold, snowy North, understand a little better why we leave them for 4 months every winter. If not now, maybe when they read this as they get older themselves.
In this example there is less journaling but I wanted the story to live on and I am the only person still alive that knows this story.
"All the while my mother was growing up, the family had at least one portrait taken of each family member each year. Her high school graduation coincided with the Great Depression, and that photo was the last taken until Mom and Dad were engaged years later. For Dad’s birthday in May, the month before their wedding, Mom went to a well-known portrait photographer. He was taken with her look and asked her to pose for him, and he would give her a set of portraits free. This was one of the “head shots”. A large copy hung on a bedroom wall back as far as I can remember. A tattered smaller one was in Dad’s wallet until he died at age 89. This and several other poses came to me and I will preserve it for future generations."
So, when you think about stories you heard growing up, think about whether they will die with you, or live because you took the time to tell them.
"All the while my mother was growing up, the family had at least one portrait taken of each family member each year. Her high school graduation coincided with the Great Depression, and that photo was the last taken until Mom and Dad were engaged years later. For Dad’s birthday in May, the month before their wedding, Mom went to a well-known portrait photographer. He was taken with her look and asked her to pose for him, and he would give her a set of portraits free. This was one of the “head shots”. A large copy hung on a bedroom wall back as far as I can remember. A tattered smaller one was in Dad’s wallet until he died at age 89. This and several other poses came to me and I will preserve it for future generations."
So, when you think about stories you heard growing up, think about whether they will die with you, or live because you took the time to tell them.
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009
CHATIQUE 20 - Retro Style
Thanks to Sallie K who looked up the definition in Wikipedia and put this in the forum:
“Retro” can be used to simply mean “old fashioned” or old, functioning much like “timeless” or “classic”. It has also been associated with modernism in the immediate post-war years, encompassing an aesthetic that ranges from tailfins on Cadillacs to ranch houses. Sometimes, it can also suggest an entire outlook on life, for example, social conservatism, home schooling or the embrace of traditional gender roles. “Retro” can also be applied to forms of technological obsolescence, for example, manual typewriters, cash registers, bulky hand-held cell phones, or the resurrection of old computer games. But most commonly, “retro” is used to describe objects and attitudes from the recent past that no longer seem “modern.” It suggests a fundamental shift in the way we relate to the past. Different from more traditional forms of revivalism, “retro” suggests a half ironic, half longing consideration of the recent past. It has been called an “unsentimental nostalgia,” recalling “modern” forms that are no longer current. "Retro" sometimes also refers to the fifties era.
Today it is often used in a positive sense, referring to quirky or attractive products that are no longer available. For example, "Retro fashion" or "Retro Chic" may consist of outdated styles, such as tie-dyed shirts from the 1960s, or poodle skirts from the 1950s. A love of retro objects (things from the past) is called retro-philia.
Retro often reflects a sensibility aligned with camp. Camp is an ironic attitude, an explicit re-introduction of non-dominant forms.”
We can roughly divide design and style by decades: 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, and so on. Those of us who lived through some of those early decades immediately picture elements of those years. You can convey that feel with your choices of color, font, and design elements.
I am giving a variety of font sites but most of them have all of the decades. I just KNOW you will wander around each site…most are free, but those that aren’t will give you an idea of style.
If fonts are threatening to take over your computer I urge you to get the FREE program, The Font Thing. http://www.download.com/The-Font-Thi...-10038296.html
(If enough people request it I can do a tutorial on using that program in a Chatique soon.)
When you are checking out the fonts for a particular retro decade, don't forget to look at the "Wingdings" or fonts with designs or little drawings in place of the letters. I have a "florals1" and "florals2" I use a lot ( http://www.flyerstarter.com/free-fonts/f/Florals1.html ), and a "Darrian's Frames" ( http://www.fontspace.com/darrian-lynx/darrians-frames ) that also sees a lot of use. I also use some wingdings at huge resolution to make coloring pages for my granddaughters.
http://www.fontscape.com/explore?7CM has the fonts arranged from Medieval to the computer age, Pop-Art; Op Art.
1910s – World War I, the introduction of the automobile. The Gibson Girl was the ideal, with her long hair done up, high necked blouses with hug sleeves, tiny waist, dress to the floor, high shoes…showing ankle only if being a bit naughty. The colors are muted. I think that is due to all photos we have of that period are black and white or sepia. Fonts to use are the more formal, “Spenserian” fancy like the font, Beautiful. Check these fonts for ideas. http://www.letterheadfonts.com/fonts/billhead.shtml Expensive, but a good overview of the feel of the era.
1920s – Typefaces characteristic of the Art Deco period of the 1920s. Reminiscent of the Jazz Age or Roaring Twenties, the era of Prohibition, flappers, the Charleston, bakelite, and penicillin.
http://www.fontscape.com/explore?7SW
http://www.fontage.com/artdeco.html
http://www.free-fonts.com/font/1920.html
1930s – Type designs typical of the 1930s, the age of the Great Depression, Swing music, Walt Disney cartoons, and frozen foods. The flamboyant American period influenced by the glamour of Hollywood.
http://www.fontage.com/broadway.html
http://www.myfonts.com/browse/keyword/1930s/
1940s - The patriotism and sacrifice of the war years! Red, white, and blue work well.
http://www.fontstock.net/search/0/1940's%20Christmas.html
1950s – MUSIC, teens as a separate group, full skirts, Pink and Charcoal Black, the Atomic symbol and other curved figures, chrome, formica. Type designs typical of the beat culture and jazz era of the later fifties. The atomic age of the 1950s.
http://www.andynortnik.com/free-retro-fonts.htm
http://www.andynortnik.com/clipart_1.htm
http://www.fontscape.com/explore?7EG
1960s – Typefaces reminiscent of the swinging 1960s, the psychedelic era of hippies, bellbottoms, lava lamps, pop music, the Beatles, and free love. Colors I remember are Avacado green and burnt orange. Also, the combination of tourquoise, brown and yellow. Tie-dye, psychedelic flowers and beads. Must not forget the beatnik in the late 60s with the long straight hair, heavy eye makeup, white lips, and ever-present beret hat. Loden-green and black were staple clothing colors then.
http://www.fontscape.com/explore?6MJ
“Retro” can be used to simply mean “old fashioned” or old, functioning much like “timeless” or “classic”. It has also been associated with modernism in the immediate post-war years, encompassing an aesthetic that ranges from tailfins on Cadillacs to ranch houses. Sometimes, it can also suggest an entire outlook on life, for example, social conservatism, home schooling or the embrace of traditional gender roles. “Retro” can also be applied to forms of technological obsolescence, for example, manual typewriters, cash registers, bulky hand-held cell phones, or the resurrection of old computer games. But most commonly, “retro” is used to describe objects and attitudes from the recent past that no longer seem “modern.” It suggests a fundamental shift in the way we relate to the past. Different from more traditional forms of revivalism, “retro” suggests a half ironic, half longing consideration of the recent past. It has been called an “unsentimental nostalgia,” recalling “modern” forms that are no longer current. "Retro" sometimes also refers to the fifties era.
Today it is often used in a positive sense, referring to quirky or attractive products that are no longer available. For example, "Retro fashion" or "Retro Chic" may consist of outdated styles, such as tie-dyed shirts from the 1960s, or poodle skirts from the 1950s. A love of retro objects (things from the past) is called retro-philia.
Retro often reflects a sensibility aligned with camp. Camp is an ironic attitude, an explicit re-introduction of non-dominant forms.”
We can roughly divide design and style by decades: 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, and so on. Those of us who lived through some of those early decades immediately picture elements of those years. You can convey that feel with your choices of color, font, and design elements.
I am giving a variety of font sites but most of them have all of the decades. I just KNOW you will wander around each site…most are free, but those that aren’t will give you an idea of style.
If fonts are threatening to take over your computer I urge you to get the FREE program, The Font Thing. http://www.download.com/The-Font-Thi...-10038296.html
(If enough people request it I can do a tutorial on using that program in a Chatique soon.)
When you are checking out the fonts for a particular retro decade, don't forget to look at the "Wingdings" or fonts with designs or little drawings in place of the letters. I have a "florals1" and "florals2" I use a lot ( http://www.flyerstarter.com/free-fonts/f/Florals1.html ), and a "Darrian's Frames" ( http://www.fontspace.com/darrian-lynx/darrians-frames ) that also sees a lot of use. I also use some wingdings at huge resolution to make coloring pages for my granddaughters.
http://www.fontscape.com/explore?7CM has the fonts arranged from Medieval to the computer age, Pop-Art; Op Art.
1910s – World War I, the introduction of the automobile. The Gibson Girl was the ideal, with her long hair done up, high necked blouses with hug sleeves, tiny waist, dress to the floor, high shoes…showing ankle only if being a bit naughty. The colors are muted. I think that is due to all photos we have of that period are black and white or sepia. Fonts to use are the more formal, “Spenserian” fancy like the font, Beautiful. Check these fonts for ideas. http://www.letterheadfonts.com/fonts/billhead.shtml Expensive, but a good overview of the feel of the era.
1920s – Typefaces characteristic of the Art Deco period of the 1920s. Reminiscent of the Jazz Age or Roaring Twenties, the era of Prohibition, flappers, the Charleston, bakelite, and penicillin.
http://www.fontscape.com/explore?7SW
http://www.fontage.com/artdeco.html
http://www.free-fonts.com/font/1920.html
1930s – Type designs typical of the 1930s, the age of the Great Depression, Swing music, Walt Disney cartoons, and frozen foods. The flamboyant American period influenced by the glamour of Hollywood.
http://www.fontage.com/broadway.html
http://www.myfonts.com/browse/keyword/1930s/
1940s - The patriotism and sacrifice of the war years! Red, white, and blue work well.
http://www.fontstock.net/search/0/1940's%20Christmas.html
1950s – MUSIC, teens as a separate group, full skirts, Pink and Charcoal Black, the Atomic symbol and other curved figures, chrome, formica. Type designs typical of the beat culture and jazz era of the later fifties. The atomic age of the 1950s.
http://www.andynortnik.com/free-retro-fonts.htm
http://www.andynortnik.com/clipart_1.htm
http://www.fontscape.com/explore?7EG
1960s – Typefaces reminiscent of the swinging 1960s, the psychedelic era of hippies, bellbottoms, lava lamps, pop music, the Beatles, and free love. Colors I remember are Avacado green and burnt orange. Also, the combination of tourquoise, brown and yellow. Tie-dye, psychedelic flowers and beads. Must not forget the beatnik in the late 60s with the long straight hair, heavy eye makeup, white lips, and ever-present beret hat. Loden-green and black were staple clothing colors then.
http://www.fontscape.com/explore?6MJ
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About Me
lauraloub
A granny with a camera and a computer