Made some tabbed journal cards
That pull out for more text or pics.

Get them free here just click on this text.

Yay for a new year of Project Life!

I am almost caught up with 2011 and have started

planning my album for 2012.

I just found out it is leap year this year also.

Super fun!

So to kick off the year with a bang!!!

I decided to try out my hand at making some

journaling cards.

Click the image to download from Mediafire

I like how they turned out and would love

for to share them with you!

It was my first time making a PDF lol.

I would love to hear from you and see your layouts!

To download some free photo templates I made click this:

http://www.schonakesslerphotography.com/blog/longview-wa-photographer/project-life-layouts-week-5-10/comment-page-1/#comment-10365

Join my Project Lifers group on Facebook to share

your own layouts…ask questions and give tips!

Project Lifers

I am back now though just in time to ring in the new year!

Hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving and a merry Christmas too!

Our kids finally got a wii so they are stoked.

Tonight we’re gonna party like its 1999!
Yeah baby, apple cider, friends and karaoke to bring in 2012!

Here are some photos from my iPhone for the past two months.

How was the end of 2011 for you?

So off we went Monday to Grandmas house with our costumes on and candy buckets in hand.

Every year we also paint mini pumpkins so we brought those along too.

Grandpa even made a pumpkin pie this year…though we had to leave before it was ready to eat

since it was a school and work night. Bummer indeed.

I was able to take the kids portraits outside while the sun was setting.

Kiana took mine and by the time my hubby got off work and

dressed up the sun was gone…so hello flash.

My mom was able to take a family portrait…not full body but it works.

The weather was amazing and we had a great time together.

The kids even got tired before we were done making the usual rounds but we made them

stick through it and carry their own buckets.

About an hour or two later we were done…kids were worn out and we headed home.

Another great Halloween with lots of candy to prove it.

I just love dressing up each year…

This years theme was Animals.

A wild bunch we were!

Enjoy!

Oh and what did you dress up for Halloween this year?

I bought some mustaches at the Dollar Tree and my kids loved them.

I personalized my Starbucks gold card more to my liking with the help of some scrapbooking tools. Love it!

Yesterday was my hubby’s 37th birthday so I took him to his favorite German restaurant in Portland. Oh how we love the Fondue. Der Rheinlander is at 5035 NE Sandy Blvd. Go check it out!

Hopefully this week will be a little more relaxing and cheaper than the last. Lol

Anything exciting happening on your life?

He let out a scream like no other, after I heard a loud crash come from upstairs.

I ran up to find him lying on the floor holding his leg screaming.

To make a long story short the ER thought he had fractured a bone in his foot.

Not until we went to the orthopedist did we find out 4 days later it was just a bad sprain.

Needless to say he started walking on it again and just gas a small limp.

That was wonderful news…especially since he hated the splint and kept taking if off every chance he had.

Kids…

Definitely keeping us on our toes at all times.

Gotta love them.

Hope your week is an adventure as well.

We drove up to Leavenworth WA and camped at an RV park called Blu Shastin. Loved it!

Enjoy….I know we did!

Drove to Portland and beyond 3 times this last week.

Visited my sister and nephews in Oregon.

Went to the Clark County Fair and had our yearly family portraits taken by my friend Erika.

Went to Starbucks of coarse and even tried a coconut frappe. Not bad but I prefer my green tea.

Got a waterproof camera for camping can’t wait to use it!

Looks like my two major weaknesses in life are Eating at restaurants and Drinking Starbucks.

Had a few photo shoots this week will blog again soon.

Each Wednesday I will start sharing some instant iPhone pics from the last 7 days.

I loved the fun and funky pics I could take with my iPod touch.
I just got my first iPhone 4 on July 1st!!!
Yes I am and have been a little excited. Lol.

My fave photo apps are these:

Hipstamatic
Shakeitphoto
Instagram
Picture show
Camera +
Pro camera

With the top 3 my faves.

Here are some pics from this month so far.

Come back next week to see more!

In the comment area feel free to leave your favorite photo app

for both the I phone and an Android.

Got a blog? Let me know!

take or have someone handy take a photo of my

with my awesome clients.

I thought I would share the great pictures

of me and my peeps from January – July 1, 2011.

I love ALL of my clients.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Thank you for picking me to create your

families priceless and cherished memories.

In no particular order here.

You wanna be next?

Join me and everyone else over at my facebook fanpage!

Schona Kessler Photography 

When I got home from photographing a session

and I got out of my car I saw the sky…the clouds were

amazing…like a painting. I had to take a picture of how

perfect the sky looked. It was right around 5pm that night

after I got my shot I went inside and thought nothing

more of the nights sky.

I was sitting in my home office a few months ago and the

phone rang. It was my hubby Adam calling as he drove

to work that night at 6ish. He asked if I had gone outside yet…

I said no I was inside and the blinds were closed.

He told me to grab my camera and quickly go outside

and photograph the sunset.

I walked onto our front porch thinking…yeah ok a sunset

is a sunset. Boy was I wrong this time!

I ran back inside to grab my camera…since I didn’t

think I would really need it at first. lol

The beautiful clouds along with the blue and red sky.

Just perfect.

Afterwards I got on Facebook and everyone within an hour

from me was posting photos of the sunset.

It was a beautiful thing to witness…all of Gods glory.

Top photo is at 5pm

Bottom is right around 6pm.

Do you have an awesome Sunset photo you want to share?

Post a link in the comments section below.

I also love taking photos of myself!

Camera shy? Nope not I.

I love trying to get funny photos.

Crazy photos, silly photos, dramatic photos.

I love Photos!

Here is one taken in my downtown Longview, WA studio.

Just me and my crazy russian fur hat.

Can you dig it?

Do you have some funny self portraits to share?

Comment below.

I am going to continue working on taking more creative

self portraits…these will work for now.

If you want this crazy self portrait taking photographer

to take your photos…give me a jingle at 360-957-5918 

The Maternal Lens Blog.

I love to see before and afters it is always neat to see what can come
from something that looks so plain.

I have been working hard to get all the little details added to these pages.

Sewing, bling, lots of journaling and scraps.

Kiana’s 8th birthday and we had her party at Dairy Queen. She had a couple friends and a bunch of family helping celebrate it.

We headed to the circus after the party was over. It was all of our first time except my hubby Adams. He had gone earlier in life.

I need to find the ticket cost…and fill in that blank.

The acrobats were pretty awesome. Zeke fell asleep though. Ha kids.

We love to play games with friends…even if they are meant for kids. lol

Kiana loved dressing up for St Pattys Day

I loved my monthly crop night with the ladies.

I shot a beautiful wedding.

I photographed my sister and her two boys. The kids loved playing in the yard with the sun out.

I am in love with Indian food!!!

Yes we do eat out a lot…so easy…so yummy.

My sister and her boys left.

I was showcasing some of our fave candies.

Some everyday shots of the boys at home during the day.

Went up to Nannies and played yahtzee and went for a nice walk.

Then went out to dinner with our friends. mmmm chips and salsa.

Went to lunch with a photographer friend of mine. Then had a newborn session at my studio.

I had a busy week photographing wonderful people at my studio.

We went to Seattle to see my brothers fiance who was in town from Boise, ID.

Ate at the Outback since the Space Needle closed not more than 15 mins before he got there.

Drove up to Queen Anne lookout. What a view.

Drove home. What a day. 2 hours both ways and about 2-3 hours in Seattle.

We were tired that is for sure.

Had an engagement session for my friend whom I have known since I was like 13.

Had our monthly karaoke party at our house and had a great turnout.

Did a couple more photo shoots during the week.

Got my haircut from a friend who works at Starbucks.

Did her little mini shoot.

Had a wanna be newborn shoot for a preemie who was already 7 weeks old…but tiny.

Had my 33rd bday! Which I share with my sister in law. Very convienent I know.

Had lunch with the family and then our niece babysat while we went to our fave

karaoke bar and sang the night away. Good times.

Got a Starbucks card for my birthday plus lunch and a signed coaster from friends at karaoke.

Wonderful year so far.

Thanks for stopping by.

Get free photo templates I made below.

Some of the templates hold 2 photos and so far the most is eight. I decided to upload
them to mediafire and share them with all of you out there in hopes it will make your
project life less stressful and even more memorable. I even made a 4×6 that will hold
two 2.75 x 3.75 pics for the spots where the journaling cards go.

I would love it if you enjoy these free templates if you would leave some love down in the
comment section….and hey if you are blogging your project life journey…leave your blog as well!

I made the templates with Photoshop CS3.

Knowledge of how to use clipping masks is needed.

Download Template Freebies

Yay for more Project life pages done!

I am always the last to join the party. lol

See weeks 1-4 of my Project life here.

Get free photo templates I made below.

Some of the templates hold 2 photos and so far the most is eight. I decided to upload
them to mediafire and share them with all of you out there in hopes it will make your
project life less stressful and even more memorable. I even made a 4×6 that will hold
two 2.75 x 3.75 pics for the spots where the journaling cards go.

I would love it if you enjoy these free templates if you would leave some love down in the
comment section….and hey if you are blogging your project life journey…leave your blog as well!

I made the templates with Photoshop CS3.

Knowledge of how to use clipping masks is needed.

Download Template Freebies

Onto the photos!

I have sewn and added bling and other things to these pages since I took these photos.

This week over at the I heart faces blog the theme is Slice of Life.

Two days ago my hubby and our boys went up to visit Nanny since it had been a while since

we had all been up there together. We always play Triple Yahtzee with her and she

usually wins and this time was no different. I wanted to capture this moment

in time since it means a lot to us and will always be great to look back at in the future.

Of coarse my two young boys are eating…seems that is all they ever do these days lol.

I set the timer and put my camera on the kitchen counter and ran to my seat.

I love that we aren’t looking…they didn’t really realize I was taking a photo till afterwards.

Moments like these are what I want to remember…

Thanks for stopping by. Go check out all of the other wonderful entries at I heart Faces.

These are my sweet, funny, caring and always make me a proud mommy kids.

I try to not overdo the staged photos with them…I try to capture who they are

everyday around the house. The goofy things they do make me smile.

I have been taking a lot of photos with my ipod 4th gen…and love it.

It makes it all so simple. Carefree. Capturing the moment with that thing is great.

Sure the quality lacks a bunch but it is light weight and very portable. The

videos are also a plus. No editing just shoot and go. Love it!

Anyways back to my darlings.

Kiana is just now 8 years old. She is an excellent artist and loves i-Carly and

Wizards of Waverly Place. Oh I do love Netflix.

Kai turned 5 in January. He loves Trains and most cartoons. Barney is a fave.

He is even reading now…can sit and read us kids books…even new ones.

Zeke turned 4 and has started saying many more words this past month.

Night night, bear, please, bite, more, I love you. I see you. Kai, Kiki, Dada and Mama.

Those are the main ones. We are so proud of the little guy.

He is still an avid climber and got a second degree burn on his lower right leg last week.

It seems to be healing nicely. He didn’t climb for 2 days…but has since returned to

his jungle roots.

I love them all.

Each is different.

Unique.

MINE.

I finally got the first 4 weeks of my Project life Album finished.

I have added some bling and sewing to my layouts.

I am doing this as a 52 weeks album instead of 365 photo a day album.

I am totally loving how easy it is to just print my pictures out at home

and add some journaling and add a little bit of everyday life stuff

and be done with the weekly layouts. So nice and a change of pace

compared to the standard form of scrapbooking.

I have some 6×12 page protectors that I am adding inbetween

layouts for some extra photos and stuff from our day.

The freedom to do what I want but have it all layed out is such a relief.

Check out Project life for yourself at www.beckyhiggins.com.

You won’t regret it.

If you are doing a project life album as well I would love to see your blog too.

Just leave it down in the comments section.

Can’t wait to get caught up to week 8.

 

I went to the annual Scrap Happy scrapbook retreat in February for the third year in a row.
It was there that I was introduced to Project Life by Becky Higgins by my friend Jackie.

I knew right away it was something that I wanted for my family and our memories.
I went online that night and bought the Turquoise project life kit off of Amazon for me
and one for my older sister Juanita.

When our kits arrived it just happened to be a crop night at Scrap Happy so I started
working on it right then.

 My sister came over for the weekend and I finished putting mine
together and she got about 2/3rds of hers put together. There are no set rules with this
project you have to obey. Some are doing a picture a day (potd), some are doing it weekly
like I am, others are doing a general scrapbook and others have thier own plans.

Last week I started organizing my
photos into weekly folders starting with Saturday Jan 1st to Friday Jan 7th.

This week I started printing all of the photos into 4×6 prints. There are many weeks where
I want to include more photos then the usual seven so I got the idea to make 4×6 templates.

Some of the templates hold 2 photos and so far the most is eight. I decided to upload
them to mediafire and share them with all of you out there in hopes it will make your
project life less stressful and even more memorable. I even made a 4×6 that will hold
two 2.75 x 3.75 pics for the spots where the journaling cards go.

I would love it if you enjoy these free templates if you would leave some love down in the
comment section….and hey if you are blogging your project life journey…leave your blog as well!

Join lots of others around the world who are all using Project Life products as well.

BigPicture.com has a forum to post your photos, ideas and more…check it out!

Thanks everyone I look forward to seeing your Project Life albums as well.

Happy scrapping!

I made the templates with Photoshop CS3.

Knowledge of how to use clipping masks is needed.

Download Template Freebies