this or that thursday: monarch chrysalis

Remember the caterpillars from last week? They are no more. They have each turned into a chrysalis. The first two are hanging underneath a brick window ledge and the third is happily becoming a butterfly inside his own little home.


First they hung in a J position for a day.

Then the chrysalis started to form, and I mean it happened fast! About an hour after I checked and saw the caterpillar still in a J, I went back and found the partially formed chrysalis.

And just a little while later, they looked like this. I think they're such a lovely shade of green.

Their chrysalides eventually became solid green with a touch of beautiful gold accents. They haven't changed much in the last week.


This is #1...

and #2...

and #3 tucked away in the bug habitat.

The chrysalides are exquisite just like the monarch butterflies they will become. They look as if someone painted them with a tiny strip and a few dots of pure gold. Here's a closer look.

I'm checking on them all throughout each day for changes in hopes that I won't miss #1 and #2 flying away. At least I will have #3 if I miss the other two. It should be any day now!

**Update -- I can totally see the monarch's wing through the chrysalis this morning so it looks like today will be the day! I'm posting iphone pics on my instagram feed in real time (username is debduty). I'll post an update on my blog  next week!




<a href="http://www.debduty.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g404/dkaym/thisorthat200.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a>
Time to link up again! There are just a few rules:

• submit the url of your blog post, not your home page
• link up a photo that was taken by you
• include a link back to my blog in your post (you can use the button or a text link if you prefer)
• visit a few other blogs and leave some comment love 

Okay, now let's see what you've been shooting!

project life: week 17

Week 17 was a fabulous and fun week because it included lots of time with cousins and a crawfish boil! Hard to top that! Once again, I love how the colors of clementine came together to look so beautiful with my photos. I took a lot of pics of my layout this week so let's get right to it.

left side:

right side:

And a few detail shots of this week's layout including...


...the washi

the instagrammed stamp (I purchase the stamp from Studio Calico, but I can't find it in the shop so I'm not sure if it's still available)

a few more instagrams...

and another 4x6 pocket (the label that can be found here).

Check out more Project Life inspiration every Tuesday at The Mom Creative.

this or that thursday: monarch caterpillars

Something very exciting is happening in my backyard right now! You see, I planted a milkweed plant last summer in hopes of attracting monarch butterflies. Milkweeds are the only plant a monarch will lay her eggs on. When the tiny caterpillars hatch, they eat the leaves of the milkweed until they are ready to find a place to form a chrysalis and begin their transformation.


Last year we didn't find any caterpillars, but a few days ago I happened to look down and saw three monarch caterpillars on my milkweed! Hooray! I emailed my friend, Kim, who blogs at A Fresh Perspective because I know she has raised many monarchs in the past. She was so helpful and answered my many questions about how to care for the caterpillars.


She recommended a bug habitat that can be purchased at Wal-Mart. By the time I went to get it and got back home, two of the caterpillars were gone. So I put the third one in the box along with some leaves for him to munch on.


The caterpillars can crawl 20 to 30 feet to find a safe place to form their chrysalis. I was really hoping to find where the other two had gone so I told Mason I would give him $10 per chrysalis that he found. I didn't know it was going to be so easy! He found them both very quickly on the bottom of the brick window ledge that is near the milkweed. So we not only get to watch the one in the box, but also two under the ledge!


I'm sharing updates on instagram and I'll also share the whole process in a few weeks on my blog if all goes well. For today, I have a few shots of all three of these beautiful caterpillars while they were still on the milkweed.

<a href="http://www.debduty.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g404/dkaym/thisorthat200.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a>

I really appreciate all of you who link up! I always enjoy going through the amazing photos you share. Now it's time to see what you've been shooting this week! Here are the rules.

• submit the url of your blog post, not your home page
• link up a photo that was taken by you
• include a link back to my blog in your post (you can use the button or a text link if you prefer)
• visit a few other blogs and leave some comment love 

Okay, just link up below!

project life: week 16

Time to share week 16 of my Project Life. I'm still loving the every day moments that I'm capturing with this album. Too bad I didn't have this when my boys were little. It would be so nice to look back on.


This week I took a pic of my weekly trip to Target to get groceries. That's definitely a part of my everyday life so I wanted to be sure and include it at some point. I took a photo of one of the hot dogs Mason made for us for dinner one night. It was nice having the night off! And Gary took a pic for me of a get together with some friends. I really love the photo of my dad. He needed a photo for work so he asked me to take it for him.

left side:

right side:

The labels I used in the lower right corner for the journaling are by Martha Stewart and can be purchased at Staples. I had to order mine from their website because we don't have one locally, but I think next time I'll just use some labels that can be printed at home like these that I found on pinterest.


My plan is to work on Project Life today. I love putting the pages together so it's going to be a good day!

color me weekly: orange zinnia

Orange is such a fun, happy color. I definitely wanted to use one of my orange zinnia pics to see what colors I would find. I love the resulting palette.

this or that thursday: butterfly bush

Today I'm sharing a couple more flower shots. After all, it is springtime! My butterfly bush has just started blooming, but as of yet I haven't seen any butterflies. I'm waiting patiently.

<a href="http://www.debduty.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g404/dkaym/thisorthat200.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a>

It's time to share what you've been shooting! There are just a few rules.

• submit the url of your blog post, not your home page
• link up a photo that was taken by you
• include a link back to my blog in your post (you can use the button or a text link if you prefer)
• visit a few other blogs and leave some comment love 

Okay, now just link up below!

project life: week 15

This is week 15, the week that included spring break for my boys. It was also the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking so I included a photo of my son's 100 year old book that was published just weeks after the tragedy. I also continued my plan to get a picture of some of the rooms in my house. This time it was my tiny office. The little camera in the bottom right corner is a Dear Lizzy stamp that I stamped, embossed with clear powder and cut out with a craft knife.

left side:

right side:

Check out more project life sharing at The Mom Creative.

another reason to love instagram

Sometimes I get an idea for a scrapbook layout about pictures that are a few years old. I don't always love the look of these shots that I took before I really got into photography. That's where instagram comes in. Seriously, it makes everything look better!

I had some pictures of my boys biking when they were 12 and 14 back in 2009. For fun, I ran them through instagram and added the Earlybird filter... my personal favorite. They are sized at 2.75" square. I love the look of them on the page!

This layout was made mostly with the Studio Calico April kit, City of Lights. It's not available anymore, but click here to see the contents.

this or that thursday: zinnias

Gardening is not my thing, but I'm being ambitious this year. I bought some brightly colored zinnias to plant in my flower beds. I hope they survive. Just in case they don't I took pictures right away.

<a href="http://www.debduty.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g404/dkaym/thisorthat200.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a>

It's time to link up again! There are just a few rules.

• submit the url of your blog post, not your home page
• link up a photo that was taken by you
• include a link back to my blog in your post (you can use the button or a text link if you prefer)
• visit a few other blogs and leave some comment love 

Okay, now let's see what you've been shooting!

louisiana crawfish

One of the best things about living in Louisiana is the food. There is a lot of delicious cuisine... especially the crawfish. We had a crawfish boil recently and it was such a fun time! They were so spicy and delicious. The only bad thing is that they are so messy. It makes it hard to get a few pictures and eat at the same time!

These were all taken with my 24-105 f/4.0L. I love that lens when I want a wide angle. I would prefer a wider aperture, but sometimes when I'm taking shots like these I have a tendency to stop down too far and end up with more of the shot out of focus than I want. So having to stay at 4.0 is a good thing... sometimes.