This week at I Heart Faces they are focusing on "Play".  There are many ways to interpret this theme...one can play an instrument, or a sport.  The pictures could be of a group, of an individual, or of a couple of kids sharing a fun moment with a toy.

Since I have kids and they love to play (I mean, is there anything else?) I am going that route. 

We had a church picnic the other night at the park just down the block.  As soon as we got there, the kids headed for the balls, the bubbles, the hoops, and any other play paraphernalia they could get their hands on.  I told them on the way there that this was their dinner, and they needed to eat.  I'm pretty sure they squeezed in a few bites between tossing, running, catching, waving, jumping, and falling.

I took several pictures of all the kids playing; they were throwing a football back and forth, they were playing with mini-lacrosse sticks, they were going for wagon rides.  I also captured Eliana on the swings.  She loves to swing these days, and insists that I push her higher!  Higher! 

I told someone recently that if she could stay outside all day she would probably be the perfect child.  She wouldn't throw a single fit.  She would be 100% content.  (Those would be Mike's genes shining through.)  Her smile keeps me out there.  (Believe me, the heat, plus the bugs, plus the heat, plus the bugs are MORE THAN ENOUGH to send me inside.)  But she just wants to play.

Go take a peek at all the fun people are having...whatever it is that they are playing.  Check out the judges, too...they are very funny people, and their pictures are so happy and colorful!

 

 Oh, how I love pictures of feet!  I do!  I love pictures of my babies' feet.  I love pictures of their feet now.  I love pictures of my own feet.

Pictures of feet can tell a story.

This week at I Heart Faces is a non-competition week, and they are focusing on feet (you probably could have guessed that).  Fun!  They are also raising awareness for an organization that does some good for others' feet.  Soles 4 Souls is a charity that collects shoes and gives them away to those who need them.  They do this in countries all over the world, with the help of both companies and individuals who donate shoes.  They are helping to make many someones' stories a little better.

 

Tucked knees,

Peeping toes.

Big shoes to fill,

But toes will grow.

Toes in water

Get all pruney;

Toes on land

Sometimes get spoony.

Toes and feet

Have things to do-

Sometimes bare,

Sometimes with shoes.

Wrapped up toes

Don't have much fun.

Needles and toes

Don't get along!

(Take it from me;

I'll skip the pic,

But if you're curious

Give a click.)

But once they heal

They like the sand.

They show off tricks

Like handstands.

(Well, maybe that

Is the hands' little trick,

But it's my poem

So the words will stick.)

An auntie's toes

Play hide and seek.

Toes chase balls

Around the beach.

 

 

Toes are good for a lot of things,

Useful digits on our feet.

Take pictures of the ones around you;

It will be a treasure sweet.

 

 

Head on over to I Heart Faces for some more wonderful pictures of feet!

 

 

I Heart Faces is having a fun week, with no judging.  The challenge this time is pretty funny.  They were inspired by the young-me-now-me website, which if you have a chance to swing by will make you laugh out loud.

This challenge requires one picture of you (the submitter) when you were young, and a picture of you (the submitter) reenacting the same picture now. 

Think about that for a minute.  Pretty funny.

I just happened to have several photos of myself when I was a toddler.  I am in my undies in most of them.  While I am willing to put a lot of things on this blog, a photo of me in my underwear now is not one of them.  So, I went with this picture instead...

I love that picture.  I think it's cute.

Michaela and I had some fun recreating this scene and getting a new picture.  First there were curlers, then there was the figuring out how to arrange things, and what was that on the back of the sofa anyway?  This is what we came up with...

I look like a little old lady.

The only thing left to say is, Mom, what was in the box on the couch?  I am really curious.

It's fun to make fun of yourself.  Hope this made you smile.  Head over to I Heart Faces to see some other creative, funny, and some sweet, takes on this theme.

While I do take a lot of pictures I do not usually mess with them too much.  This includes doing anything creative with them, even if a particular series of pictures might lend itself to a fun pictorial adventure.  This week I Heart Faces challenged folks to create a collage.  I came up with this...

 

 

It's a little late on the final day, so I'm not sure that it will be included in the choices, but it was fun to play with the pictures and come up with different scenarios.  As I was experimenting I realized that a collage is a sweet idea for a gift for someone, or for a special area that you want to decorate with photos.  Wouldn't something like those pictures of Eliana be cute in a bathroom?

Visit I Heart Faces to be inspired by other creative takes on the collage!

 

 

 

Well...I went to add my link and it's closed!  So...this is what I would have done.  I thought you could add your post until 9pm PST.  Now I know!  Until next time...

At I Heart Faces this week, they are looking for dramatic black and whites, pictures that are sensational or moody.  That is interesting.  Most of the pictures I take are of my kids, and while those three are plenty dramatic and moody, I am not sure that it's the kind of drama and moodiness that is being called for in this challenge.  That being said, I did take a picture last week that I thought captured a certain something and I figured it was worth a shot.  So, here goes...

When I do take my camera along with me, I take a lot of pictures.  Michaela is quite used to me clicking away, whether it's in Target or on the soccer field, in our dining room or in our yard.  She is always ready to smile.  It's hard to get a picture of her not smiling.  Of course, there are always the silly faces.  (I don't know where she gets that!  Ha!)  But most of the time, she sees the other side of my lens and immediately grins. 

At Christian's soccer game the other day I caught her with the zoom, so she didn't know that I was taking her picture.  I remember snapping this shot quickly and then going back to the game, so I didn't really know if it would turn out or not.  I also didn't know exactly what she looked like.  Once I saw it on the computer I was so happy.  I love it...I love her hair (the girl has such pretty hair), the tilt of her head, the way she has her lower lip caught under her top teeth.  I wonder what she's thinking.  Or what has captured her attention.   I like the negative space; to me it shows that there is something in the distance that she has her thoughtful eye on.

The color version of this picture is pretty, too.  I'll show it to you someday. 

There are an insane amount of photos entered into this challenge already...I am very curious to see what photo the guest judge, Tara Whitney, chooses as her favorite, as well as the runners-up.  Black and whites are so lovely, and there are so many different ways to convert (I'm assuming most of the pictures are digital).  Have fun perusing over at I Heart Faces, or get dramatic yourself and add a photo to the challenge!