Octopus Triptych Revisited

Hey guys! This post about creating your own DIY Octopus Triptych has far and away been one of the most popular posts on the blog so far.

One of the recent comments mentioned that Picnik is defunct now so now what??? Be prepared for lots of links coming up.

I've been thinking about a couple of different options and here is what I've come up with:

1. You can still grab the file and head to Kinkos to get it printed big in black and white.

Jenny at Little Green notebook has a great post about big prints for little cash:  - She actually scanned a photo and had it blown up.

LGN also has a great way to hang big art on the cheap.

You could split up a big piece of art into several parts and hang them separately to get the triptych look.

2. You could take this a step further and add to the black and white copy post printing. There are watercolor pencils that would be a fun way to color in the octopus. You could also paint over it in translucent paints, you could dye the paper, stain it with tea for an antique look, etc.

Also - PicMonkey kinda took the place of Picknik for a lot of people, and while I haven't used it inside and out, it is pretty okay. Or, if you are lucky and have Photoshop, you have the world at your fingertips in terms of photo manipulation.

I'm curious if anyone has done this project. What have you discovered?

UPDATE: I found someone who actually did it!!! Go here to see her finished product. Looks great! Thanks for the shout out.

Envisioning Life

Where has the time gone? It seems like I just looked up and have been living in DC for 6 months. I've been teaching for 5 months. I've been married for 4 years. And I have 5 months until I turn 30.

All of these units of time and many others that deserve a longer post, remind me that life is short. Too short. The start of a new year has always been a time for resolutions and renewed commitments to lose weight, eat better, save money, etc.

The Headmaster at my school led a devotion last week about actually envisioning your life a year from now instead of making resolutions. He shared great insight and verses about how to change your life but made one statement that really hit home for me. He said (more eloquently than I) that in one year from now, you will be somewhere, but it is your choice where that is. You can sit passively by or you can actively determine where you will "be".

Instead of making a resolution this year, I am envisioning myself at the end of 2013. There are several personal and professional things I want to be at the end of this new year. Some I am happy to share and others I'd like to savor myself. I hope you will understand. I've also realized as I've been envisioning lately, that while I have lots of tiny things I want to accomplish/be, they all boil down to one or two major life goals. It's funny how when you ask yourself why you want this or that, you discover bigger deep rooted desires - the perfect stuff to envision and motivate you to make changes.

I hope you also are envisioning yourself at the end of 2013 - what will you be?

A note about the radio silence: I don't pretend to have a million readers out there. Honestly, it is probably more like one or two. I do take the content and things I post here seriously and want it to be worthwhile to you and me. These past couple of months have been a wonderful time of change for my faith, family and friends and I've struggled with how to make it relevant to the readers of SplendidMinta and also how to be true to myself. I've also been considering the concept of sharing your life on the big 'ole internet and asking myself what the point is. Really, what is the end game? There are wonderful blogs out there - that I read daily - that support families, inspire and/or change the world. I don't know that SplendidMinta fits in any of those categories. So, is there a point in continuing? Has anyone else come across this big question?