Teri Fode Photography / Blog

to the printing press!

[scrapbooking]

warning: the Tra-Digi™ is set to print!

Heidi and I saw the proof of the book this past week! So fun...so exciting...so surreal! It was so incredibly awesome to see our little creation in print...on a computer screen for now!

So, we proofed, and proofed some more. A little tweaking...a few more step-by-steps added for the digi side of it, and off to the printers it went! According to Deb at Pine Cone Press, it was set to print on Friday.

So...Heidi and I will be off to the Memory Trends trade-show in Vegas in 2 weeks to...see an actual copy of the book and to help promote it! Can't wait...our little book project is almost real!

I'll leave you with a few "snippits" from the book...just to tease you!  ;)

Have a BEAUTIFUL weekend...

:) :) :) :) :)

beauty

[it's not what you look like.]

Society tries real hard to tell us that beauty is all about how we look. How much we weigh. The style and color of our hair. The brand of our clothes. The shape of our legs. The size we wear.

We see it everywhere we go.

In the mall. On the billboards. On the television.

In our heads.

I'm so thankful that God looks at the heart.

He doesn't care what size we wear...what color our hair is...what we are wearing today...whether our nails are painted or not...

He only looks at our hearts---which is not to say that he doesn't care about how we take care of our health. He instructs us to take care of our bodies.

But he looks at us differently than we look at ourselves.

Our hearts reveal the reality of who we are.

Do our hearts yield humbleness...or pride?

Do our hearts promote words that lift up...or tear down?

Our true beauty...

lies within our hearts.

'But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't look at how handsome Eliab is. Don't look at how tall he is. I have not chosen him. God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart."' 1 Samuel 16:7.

Oh...and Victoria's secret? All of those models...are air-brushed.

Have a beautiful day.

more fun & funky...

[scrapbooking]

warning: once you try that fun-funky style...you'll be *hooked*!  :)

Busy weekend...but thought I'd post a couple more "Fun & Funky" layouts I did for fun...more "Elsie-inspired" style. Really havin' fun steppin' up the eclectic-ness of it all!

Have a great weekend...

["just like spring"] used a transparency, laid it over the tulip design from my sketch book (Target) I used for the "Tra-Digi" book, traced with sharpies and white sakura pen...

[explore] lots of doodling! Had a ball! Try it! Take Elsie's fun style and make it feel like your own with your own "funky" doodling and *playing*!!!

Have a great weekend!  :) :) :) :) :)

PS: Check out Heidi's blog for a 30-day parental-prayer list for parents!

the stone cutter

[inspirational]

note: don't you love it when the people in your life lift you up and make you smile? :)

You know how it is...we all get off course sometimes. That tunnel vision creeps up and you get all caught up in your own "misery-of-the-moment".

Well, today was my day. I really had the blahs. Just an icky day all the way around...lots of junk bringing me down...yep, just one of "those" days.

So, on my way home from work feeling all sorry for myself, my sis, Heidi, called.

I told her about my *stuff*...she listened...and then, she shared the most amazing little story with me. So simple. So short. But so...powerful.

And this is how I envisioned it as she told me:

"There was this stone-cutter.

 

He wanted to be something "else"...he wanted to be something "other" than what he was. So, he decided to become...a sun.

But, low-and-behold, the clouds kept getting in his way. Seemed that a cloud was the thing to be. So, he decided to become a cloud!

But then, he realized that clouds seem to hover over the mountains. The mountains seemed so big and important. So, what better thing to become than the biggest of them all...a mountain!?!

After becoming a mountain, he realized that man kept cutting away at the side of the mountain...they were cutting the "stones" and carrying them away! Seemed so "significant" of a thing to be doing. At that moment, he decided to become...a stone-cutter."

Wow...I felt so uplifted after she told me this adorable little story! And isn't it so true? Sometimes we want to *be* or *do* or *have* or *experience* something "other" than what God has given to us at this very moment in time, and when we try to *be* or *do* or *get* something other than the very thing He designed for us...it doesn't feel right...it doesn't work out the way we thought it would...we just want...

to go back to the very place we were supposed to be in the first place.

So, my sister was really a bright spot in my day today. She really made me think, and smile, and thank God for the way He uses the people in our lives to get us out of our "tunnels"...I said "Heidi, bet you didn't even know that God was going to use that little story you read this morning in your daily-devotional to lift me up today, did you!?".  :)  :)  :)

And now that I've shared it with you, it wasn't just for me after all, eh???? He's so good...

On another note, Heidi originally had called me to share that she had just finished "viewing" her 18-year-old babysitter who recently passed away from cancer. Wow. THAT humbled me for sure. Puts life into perspective...

Makes me realize that what seemed like an icky day with lots of "blahs"...wasn't really all that icky...

a fun, funky style...

[scrapbooking]

warning: it's fun...it's crazy...it's funky...

Anyone that knows me well knows I'm eclectic...wanna know why? I love all kinds of styles and love to blend them and use lots of different things! Take my house decor, for instance...I have very a traditional style mixed with elegant, country flair, Target and Pottery Barn!

So, in scrapbooking, it only makes sense that I would be eclectic! Take this page from my Hall of Fame entry for example...one big photo with lots of little ones mixed with lots of eclectic "schtuff"! Kinda fun, kinda funky, kinda crazy (scroll down the page, yes, past the fabulous Katherine Brooks and Rhonna Farrer! Yes...there's 'lil 'ole me with short hair!)

So...then clean and graphic and linear came on the scene. And I just couldn't do it for the life of me. I tried, really I did. But in the end, I decided that what really matters is what makes you happy when you are creating keepsake-memories with your photos. You can read my views on that here...oh...and the funny note to myself as I posted to myself on this entry a month or so ago after re-reading it myself...

I had temporarily forgotten the very important point I had even made in this entry on a day that I was down about missing a page call...yep, even Hall-of-Famers have dissapointments...go ahead, peek at my dorkiness! Can't even believe I'm telling you about that comment I posted "to-myself-from-myself"!!! (it's the last "post/comment" on the above referenced entry). :)

But now...have you seen? Have you heard? Did you know? Funky is all the rage!!! And...I...LOVE IT!!!! Yes! It feels so *freeing* and *fun* and *artsy* and *creative*!!!

We can thank Elsie Flannigan for this trend-setting style...and I've seen it slipping into the designs of Rhonna, Carrie Colbert, Allison Kimball, and others...

No...don't feel compelled to *have* to start being funky! If you are clean and linear and love the fabulous style of the awesome Cathy Z., then keep on keepin' on!!! That's the beauty of srapbooking. It's what YOU like...it's what makes you happy...it's what feels good during the whole process!

I do predict that we'll be seeing a lot of this style in the mags very, very soon...they love "fresh" and "trendy" and this is a very fun style for the magazines to portray. But not everyone will be able to relate to this funky fun, so we'll still be seeing lots of other fabulous stuff too.

As for my TraDigi™ book? A little funkiness...not a ton...but some! Lots of influence from Karen Russell in my work in that book because that's who has been my favorite scrapper from the beginning of...well, for a long time. I just gravitate to that "layering-of-photos" style and it makes me so happy! :)

But, this was so much fun! Okay...here's the scoop on this page and the products...FIRST...the adorable little girl is my cute, spunky, adorable little niece). SECOND...the products are from my kit I received from MY FAVORITE MEMORIES.

It's a fabulous "Kit-Club" and yes, I'm endorsing it right here and now!!!

About a year ago, I received an email from Shari Kimmey, the owner of My Favorite Memories. She explained that she was starting an online Kit Club and asked me to be her first designer. From that point on, Shari and I have *bonded* and I call her one of my close *cyber-friends* because even though we are both so busy, we can let a month or more go by and then pick up where we left off...she's a wonderful lady and OH MY you MUST check out her site!!! I don't endorse too many things...so please know it's from my heart.

Don't miss her "Previous and Current Designers of the Month"!!! You'll find fabulous designs from the likes of Trisha Ruebens, Layle Koncar, Carrie Colbert, Heather D. White, Rachel Ludwig, my sis Heidi, and MORE! Mellete B. designed for her too but I'm not sure why I couldn't find her designs. Okay...and I'm still in there somewhere under "previous designers"...:) I created a fun Christmas monogram decoration that I can't wait to pull out of my Christmas box this year! You'll have to check it out and let me know what you think...it was so fun! (Big wooden letters spelling out "J-O-Y" that are decoupaged with KI products from her December 2004 kit...it's in the gallery under "past designers").

So...this funky page, above, is completely (except for the white pen) from her August Kit...the white flowers? I used a KI transparency in one of her special KI Kits and then TRACED over it using a transparency and a white pen! Okay...and don't miss a sample of her Add-Ons too!

If you are into Kit Clubs...or have never heard of them...you can buy a single month or save money by signing up for several months at a time. The fun thing about a kit-club is that it gives you a pre-packaged group of goodies to play with. A kick-in-the-pants if you're in a rut! I love her kits...

Why am I promoting her? Well...really just because I had such a FUN TIME today playing with this page and am so excited about trying a new "thang" but still staying true to my "artsy-eclectic-use-tons-of-stuff" style! And...I have a ton of respect and "like" for Shari. Hi Shari!!! Are you surprised??? (I'll be emailing her a link to this entry...she'll be a happy girlie I'm sure). Hope you have lots of new people checking you out and peeking in on your new MESSAGE BOARD!!!  :)

Okay...that's it for now except to say that my Pastor ROCKED at church and I can't wait to share some fabulous inspirational stuff this week that really had me...feeling very blessed and happy and  peaceful today...

SONG THAT IS PLAYING ON MY BLOG: ...It talks about how God knows us inside and outside...and that no matter where you go in the world, there's no love like His...and how captivating and saturating only HIS LOVE IS.

T.

:) :) :) :) :)

book project...done.

[scrapbooking l misc]

First...

Thank you.

So glad to hear from so many of you via comments and the over-whelming emails. There are so many views on this catastrophe, so much being said by so many people, but we all share this: sadness for the people going through this.

I haven't been on my blog for a few days for a couple of reasons. I guess I just wanted to let my thoughts "settle" with me before coming back to write about...everyday life. Because my life is "normal", and so many lives "aren't" right now. Such a strange thing to stop and think about.

And I hated this feeling of "okay, so while so many people are homeless, sick, suffering from loss of loved ones, let's move on here and talk about scrapbooking and photography and other stuff"...

But...here's the reality:

My life IS in it's normal state. And for the past week, during this chaos in our country, I've been up until 2 or 3:00am (for the past month, really) finishing my book project that was due to the publisher on September 1st-with-a-5-day-extension.

A stark contrast to the reality of so many other people right now, buy my reality none-the-less. And it just seemed (and is) so trivial compared to the...lives of so many others right now.

So, to lighten up the mood around here, but not to diminish the very reality of the continued situation in my country, I thought I would share the experience Heidi and I have had in writing our book! And by the way, the title (Tra-Digi™) is pronounced "tra-DI-geeeee", emphasis on "di", as in "Traditional" scrapbooking combined with "Digital" scrapbooking.

We sent the final project to Pine Cone Press this week. And what an all-consuming (and awesome) project it was to be involved in.

When we were invited to do this project, I'm not quite sure either of us realized the scope of the project in its entirety! In the various projects I've been involved in with Creating Keepsakes and Memory Makers, the "book" itself was already designed; I simply created my page(s) and submitted them to the publisher!

But for this project, we were asked to completely design the book, cover-to-cover! From the text design, to the font, to the title and table of contents, we did it all. Color scheme? Yep...we were in charge. Placement of scrapbook pages? Once again...our decision. How many scrapbook designs and the size of each? Another design point to consider.

Sound fun? Yes, it was. But...very, very time-consuming, tedious, and stressful at times. Complaining? No. Not a bit. Because I feel very blessed to even be a part of it. Very fortunate to be included.

And I hope you like it.  :)  It ships to the book clubs end of November, and to the stores shortly after that.

It's not a huge book...36 pages. But packed with some fun things. My sister, Heidi, of course, is a "digital" scrapbooker; I'm a "traditional" scrapbooker. But I've loved incorporating some digital elements into my pages and photography these days together with all of the texture that I love! These are some of the things I'll be sharing. And Heidi, in addition to sharing some fabulous digital designs, will take you through an easy "step-by-step" of your first digital page!

I know I've mentioned this before: I really loved creating the pages for this book. I used some of my favorite photos and stories. And lots of journaling right off of my blog.

Pages with lots of meaning behind them...together with some fun pages to round it all out.

So, we (Heidi and I) spent many nights these past weeks, on our speaker phones in our studios "creating" this book. Lots of funny conversations ("wait, Heidi, these aren't numbered the same...go to your sketch book page 33...see? No!!! It's not right!...okay...this color doesn't work for the header...what? you don't like that? why? okay...let's try this...hugh?), lots of serious conversations (family, Katrina-disaster, faith topics), and lots of "quiet times" where we realized we were both working and not talking and paying for our silence via a long-distance call!  :)

Every time the phone rang this past month, dh and dk's wouldn't even attempt to answer it..."it's for you mom...it's gotta be Aunt Heidi"...yep. No doubt. What do you think, Heidi, maybe 8 to 10 times a day? Minimum?  :)

We started the book out by actually "sketching it" into a notebook. We each had identical "sketch-books" that we would refer to, since we live 1000 miles apart! And these sketchbooks became our life and blood in the whole process.

We work so well together, even when we are developing product. When I have a vision, I "describe it" to Heidi, and she can make it "come to life" on the computer via a "mock-up". During the book development, I would often "pencil draw" something, and she would create it in Photoshop for us! It was quite an incredible experience and one I'll never forget.

So, that's what my life has been full of for weeks-on-end. Dh and the dk's were "hooraying" around the house when I came home and said "the project is shipped off to the publisher" on Tuesday!

Ummm...I don't think I'll tell them yet about the fun little projects I'll be working on for CK soon...let's just let them have me back to normal a bit first.  ;)

COUPLE OF NOTES BEFORE I LEAVE TODAY:

Regarding the Katrina disaster: I have some direct information regarding "starting the process" of applying for an SBA/Disaster loan. I'm an Escrow Officer at a title company and closed an escrow for a gentleman last week that is an Agent for the SBA/Disaster Division and is being sent to the disaster area soon. He shared some very helpful tips (I was intrigued at the process and found myself asking a million questions...didn't even know why...until I received an email from someone who has friends affected that lost EVERYTHING...and then the wonderful ways in which God mysteriously works unfolded as I was able to pass on some "inside tips" to a family I don't even know...will never even meet here on earth)...just amazing. God is so good!

If you are in need of some information or know of a family or people that are feeling confused about the process of obtaining an SBA loan or grant, please email me direct (or post a comment here stating "please send Katrina info"), and I will send you the tips and instructions he shared. These loans are at 3% and cover the loss/damage to a victims home, contents and automobile! Victims must FIRST register with FEMA before contacting SBA/Disaster division...MUST obtain a "registration number" first...then the process evolves from there. I've created a word document with the tips he shared and am happy to share them at your request.

(Bloggers: please help share this info? Family by family, person by person. If we even help one, it's a blessing.)

May God bless the victims of Katrina.

dare i?

[simply my view]

warning: you may disagree. that's okay. this is a safe place to disagree. or vent. or share. i hope it's simply thought-provoking, though.

Sad. Angry. Disturbed. Hopeful.

Just some of the feelings I've been going through the last few days regarding the devastation in the southern states of my Country.

Blogging is so...therapeutic in a time like this. Yesterday was Don's birthday, so, quite frankly, I wanted to save this until AFTER his very special day. Plus, I wasn't ready to share my thoughts. And feelings.

But now, I'm ready. And I'm not going to make this politically correct. I'm not going to write what I think people want to hear and read. I'm not going to worry about all of that. Because after all, this is the *safe* place I can come to simply...write. This is...my view...

SAD.

Sad that so many people are suffering.

Sad that so many people have lost their lives, their homes, their sense of security.

Sad that America is experiencing such a terrible catastrophe.

Sad that people are without food, clean water, basic needs of life.

Sad that people that could leave the areas, didn't.

Sad that people that couldn't leave the areas, are suffering.

Sad that so many are now victims of corrupt people lashing out and being evil.

Sad at the images pouring over my television. Visions of helplessness, hopelessness, fear, suffering, pain, death.

ANGRY.

Angry that people are blaming our President.

Angry that people are blaming the government for lack of preparedness.

Angry that people are looting...food that might have gone to waste anyway? Hard to say. Not going through it myself. Radios and material items? Why? What for? Angry at the evilness of it all.

Angry that the media feeds us only the parts they want us to see. Angry that the media slants so many things that they report. Angry that I can't see it for myself. Angry that most people believe everything they are spoon-fed by the media.

Angry that people are so quick to blame the officials for lack of response. Angry for...the slowness of response.

Angry that America seems to forget that we aren't the only ones in the world. Angry that many Americans don't think about the fact that we aren't the only ones that experience such catastrophes.

Angry that we help other countries...will they help us? Do we even need them to?

Angry at the politics of it all.

DISTURBED.

Disturbed at the criminal, evil element of people...the looting, gun shooting, killing.

Disturbed at how quickly living conditions deteriorate in a time of complete chaos. Disturbed at what "no plumbing, toilets, water" can mean. Disturbed at the living conditions.

Disturbed that I live in a city that is likened to being a "sister-city" to New Orleans. A city that is considered to be "under river level".

Disturbed at the very small glimpse into what the Book of Revelation refers to as a sign of the "end times"...as in, it's a very small, tiny preview of the time of tribulation, whether it occurs in my lifetime or later.

Disturbed because I beieve...it will occur in my lifetime.

Disturbed because there are so many signs. Disturbed because...I believe this is one of them.

Disturbed that people in this country can go about their daily lives without another thought as to the graveness of this catastrophe.

Disturbed that it may very soon cost me almost $100.00 to fill my gas tank.

Disturbed at how quickly a people can become so lawless.

Disturbed at the reality of a major catastrophe in our country. Disturbed that even America can't prevent the grave conditions of this situation.

Disturbed as to why man would build a city in a "bowl" under sea-level anyway? Disturbed that man will rebuild a city in that same under-sea-level bowl.

Disturbed at man's lack of wisdom in light of his intelligence. Disturbed that he doesn't know the difference.

Disturbed as to how mankind resorts to "survival mode" as in, every man for himself in a time of crisis.

HOPEFUL.

Hopeful because I know God is in control of everything. Hopeful because nothing happens that God Himself does not allow. Hopeful because I know that it is God that "giveth and taketh away". Hopeful because God is good.

Hopeful because of my faith...I don't have to understand everything.

Hopeful because I see the goodness of God in humankind, coming together, helping people in a time of trouble.

Hopeful because of the out pour of kindness and love and concern of fellow Americans and others around the world.

Hopeful because my Lord promises to return.