Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.

The colors aren't quite right, and I want to add a lot more detail, but here's what I've been working on for Calobee Doodles.  My initial thought was to have this be an animated Web layout... when a user rolls over one of the houses (presumably they'd each be a link), something happens.  Maybe a kitty pokes his head around the corner, the chimney smoke moves, or a curtain is pushed to the side to reveal a little boy staring out.

But then I'm not sure I want to get so involved... I have a tendency to lose interest when a project takes too long to complete. I may scrap this as a Web layout altogether and just make it into a print for the shop. Or maybe I'll do both! Either way, it's fun thinking up all the little bits and pieces that bring the doodle together (I'm particularly enamored with the mini clothesline for some reason) and watching each house grow into its unique personality.

(Click for a larger version!)

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Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.

I had fun designing this one, if you couldn't tell. It gave me a chance to flex my (rapidly deteriorating) Photoshop muscles and better familiarize myself with the WordPress Theme structure. A huge part of this redesign is not only design, but a re-branding of sorts. I decided to treat Sixhours.net less like a photography portfolio and more like a personal Web site... and so the design is a little more me and a little less Serious Business (tm). Speaking of which, it's been eight years (!) since I first bought this little nook of the Web. I think this is the domain-equivalent of a birthday at the spa.

I'll be the first to admit I've been in a rut, and I know it's because I've defined my creative life by my photography, but photography isn't doing it for me lately (there's also that pesky new-baby-itis problem, but I'm recovering).  When I allowed myself to apply my creative energy to other tasks, I found I had a lot of ideas and more motivation to work on them.

So now I have a list of projects that should keep me busy for a while. I'm already working on a new look for Calobee Doodles which will hopefully be up soon. Another thing I've been meaning to do for a few months is doodle a desktop calendar/wallpaper for each month... and now is the perfect time to start those for the new year. In the same vein, I may open a new "downloads" section on Calobee Doodles. The problem is I'm always working on someone else's projects and I don't make enough time for my own (tsk tsk!)

I'm also working on a "bucket list," a la Mighty Girl, and that has me thinking about the big picture--the things I'd like to do that might seem too big or too scary to accomplish at first glance.  One thing I'd love to do is write and illustrate (and maybe publish?) a children's book. I've been thinking about that since Elspeth was born.  Even if no one else ever read it, I'd love to make something for her to enjoy when she's older.

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Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore. You can comment here or there.

My summer was long, grueling and complicated, but the start of autumn provides a much-needed respite. My day job is finally slowing its frenetic pace, and I can (hopefully? maybe?) get back to having a life outside work. What a thought!

My shops have definitely felt the strain of the summer, but they're slowly making a come-back.  Custom orders and prints are going out again (if not a bit slower than usual) and I'm very grateful to my customers for being so patient with me!

When I'm not working, I'm spending time with the little (or not so little, anymore) bugger you see up there. Elspeth is a crazy-busy nine-month-old on a mission: She spends most of her time gleefully trying to kill herself. For all the baby-proofing we've done, this kid could find a way to get into mischief in a room filled with nothing but pillows and air. She's on the go, ready for action, and she's not even walking yet.

In short: We're in deep doo-doo.

And yet, that clever, mischievous smile helped me maintain my sanity in a time when I otherwise would have drawn into myself, letting the long days wear me down. It's much harder to mope and fret when there's someone depending on you for food, shelter, love, and the occasional frantic grasp of the ankle to prevent baby from diving off the end of the bed. You know, all the basic parental necessities.

I'm looking forward to picking up the blogging reigns again. I'm eagerly anticipating autumn and all it brings--the cool fall air, apple crisp, stews and soups, scarves, and ultimately settling in for the long winter ahead. Normally I dread the dark, cold months, but I'm feeling surprisingly peaceful about this transition for once. Perhaps it's because I know I'll soon be chasing a toddler around--there won't be any time for seasonal blahs when Ellie's climbing the baby gates and chasing after the cats!

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Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore. You can comment here or there.

My summer was long, grueling and complicated, but the start of autumn provides a much-needed respite. My day job is finally slowing its frenetic pace, and I can (hopefully? maybe?) get back to having a life outside work. What a thought!

My shops have definitely felt the strain of the summer, but they're slowly making a come-back.  Custom orders and prints are going out again (if not a bit slower than usual) and I'm very grateful to my customers for being so patient with me!

When I'm not working, I'm spending time with the little (or not so little, anymore) bugger you see up there. Elspeth is a crazy-busy nine-month-old on a mission: She spends most of her time gleefully trying to kill herself. For all the baby-proofing we've done, this kid could find a way to get into mischief in a room filled with nothing but pillows and air. She's on the go, ready for action, and she's not even walking yet.

In short: We're in deep doo-doo.

And yet, that clever, mischievous smile helped me maintain my sanity in a time when I otherwise would have drawn into myself, letting the long days wear me down. It's much harder to mope and fret when there's someone depending on you for food, shelter, love, and the occasional frantic grasp of the ankle to prevent baby from diving off the end of the bed. You know, all the basic parental necessities.

I'm looking forward to picking up the blogging reigns again. I'm eagerly anticipating autumn and all it brings--the cool fall air, apple crisp, stews and soups, scarves, and ultimately settling in for the long winter ahead. Normally I dread the dark, cold months, but I'm feeling surprisingly peaceful about this transition for once. Perhaps it's because I know I'll soon be chasing a toddler around--there won't be any time for seasonal blahs when Ellie's climbing the baby gates and chasing after the cats!

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I'm not sure where the last month has gone... lost in the abyss! Life is great, just extremely busy.

Ellie started daycare this week, which was relatively uneventful with the exception of her catching her first cold. Welcome to the petri dish, baby girl. She's been a bit feverish and snuffly, poor thing, but seems to be on the upswing. We're only a teensy bit sleep-deprived, so I consider myself lucky!

Speaking of the little bean, I'm told tomorrow is Mother's Day, and oh hey, I'm a mom now, right? I guess I am, although most days I feel like this is just a warm-up for the years to come and the "real" parenting has yet to begin. This is the honeymoon phase, which serves the purpose of ensuring we bond appropriately so that when she's 13 and a terror I won't leave her on the side of the road somewhere. I may be tempted, but thanks to the memory of her baby gummy grins, I won't actually do it. :)

All in all, after four and a half months of Ellie in our lives, I think I can speak for both Tim and myself when I say we are just so in love with her. She's perfect, from her adorably wrinkly little toes to the slightly bald spot on the back of her head where she rubs against her crib mattress at night. Yes, you read that right--even her bald spot is adorable. I want to capture every little nuance of her behavior and tuck it away in memory, because every day she's a little more attentive, a little more coordinated, a little more her own being and less the squirmy, wailing creature we met in December (who was cute in the way newborn babies are cute, but is no match for this strikingly blue-eyed baby girl).

In other news, I've been working on some new ideas soon to be released at Calobee Doodles... in fact, I need to take photos for some new products tomorrow.  Very exciting! And today I spent some time at a local greenhouse, buying new starter plants to decorate our porch over the summer (a "congratulations, you've survived four months of mommyhood" present to myself). It seems the new floors have inspired me to prettify the rest of the house, which includes our often-neglected back porch and yard area... I can't wait to see all the colorful flowers peeking in at us through the kitchen windows.

Now I'm going to go relax, maybe read a book, and enjoy the first thunderstorm of the season. Good night!

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The new carpet was installed the week before last, and it's like walking on a cloud. We wasted no time in putting Ellie's room together, and I posted some photos at Flickr. The room is not entirely finished... I still have to paint her dresser, put up curtains/blinds, find a better slipcover for the chair and some long curtains to act as the closet "door." But this is definitely a huge improvement over the stark, bare room we had before.

I'm especially enjoying the quilt/pillow set we purchased from littlelegwarmers.etsy.com (always happy to support a talented Maine artist) and the colors we chose make the room bright and cheery. Even better, miss Ellie has taken to it well... we had a couple rough nights but now she's back on her regular schedule and happy with her pretty purple room.

We're expecting lovely weather this weekend... I think it's time for a trip to the coast and some thrift shopping!

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It’s long overdue, but I’m happy to announce the brand new Calobee Doodles Web site!

It’s a showcase of my doodles, as well as an archive of past custom orders. I needed a separate place to show off my illustrations, because let’s face it–my photographs and doodles are two very different beasts and at times it feels as if I’m catering to different audiences.

Besides, I’ve been looking for an excuse to geek around, and what better way than to build a new Web site? This one was particularly fun because I got to be a bit more playful with the layout. At some point in the near future I hope to redesign sixhours.net as well…  it’s been over a year (where does the time go?). As if I don’t do enough of this stuff at my day job… I’m practically dreaming in PHP and CSS these days.

Speaking of which, I’ll tell you a story. You know how I posted earlier about Elspeth and how she’s typically a great sleeper, right? Well, I totally jinxed myself with that post, because suddenly the little bean is waking up in the middle of the night to eat–after almost eight weeks of sleeping through without so much as a peep. Apparently someone’s going through a growth spurt.

Anyway, at 3 a.m. last Saturday, my sleep-deprived brain had the craziest thought:

I bet I could write a PHP function to illustrate Ellie’s sleep habits.*

Yes, I actually thought, “I could probably program my daughter in PHP.” That’s how bad it is, people. I’m now applying computer coding principles to completely organic situations… I think it’s time to step away from the computer and get some sun.

What is this “sun” you speak of? Never mind, I’ll just Google it.

* What would that function look like, anyway? I’m so glad you asked…

function sleep_baby_sleep($baby, $the_fussy)
{

if ($baby == $the_fussy)
{

if (apply_binky($baby))

$baby = “This isn’t food. Where’s my damn food? Scream!”;

else if (apply_bottle($baby))

$baby = “This is food. Yum. But now I’m gassy. Scream!”;

else if (apply_gas_drops($baby))

$baby = ” I feel better. But now I’m WIDE AWAKE. What’re you gonna do about it, punk?”;

else if (apply_snuggles($baby))
{

$baby = “So… sleepy… must… fight… urge… to… zzzzzzz”;

if (put_in_crib($baby))

$baby = “Hey, wait! I’m still awake! You can’t put me in my crib! Scream!”;

else (three_hours_later($baby))

$baby = “Ok, fine, I’ll sleep. But I’m totally waking you up in two hours.”;

}

else if (is_asleep($baby))

$mommy = “*twitch twitch*”;

}

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Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

Our baby girl is almost four months old, and how many times have I written in that fancy baby book we bought? Um... that would be "none," of course. It's not that I don't want to look back and fondly remember all her firsts, it's just that my shorthand? Not so pretty. I can type 120 words per minute, but don't ask me to hand-write a paragraph... my hand will cramp up faster than you can say "carpal tunnel."

This is why Kidmondo.com is my savior. I spend the majority of my day on a computer as it is, so managing Elspeth's online baby book is as easy as posting new photos and videos to Flickr, or writing a quick blog entry--two things I do on a semi-regular basis anyway.

That's right. My kid is barely out of the womb and she already has her own blog. But given her parentage, is that really so surprising?

I can also chart her height and weight (kidmondo calculates the percentiles automatically and plots them on a nifty line graph, which I love--I'm such a nerd), keep notes about dental and medical records, tag my posts with specific "firsts," and invite friends and family to follow along as she grows. I can jot down quick drafts about milestones and other amusing anecdotes to be written about in more detail when I have time--there will be no unsightly scribbles or cross-outs or sleep-deprived misspellings in my baby's book! There are even options for journaling about pregnancy, if you wanted to start from the very beginning. And all updates and posts are summarized in a tidy timeline format, which satisfies the OCD nitpick in me.

And the best part: at the end of the year, I can purchase a hardcover, professionally-bound book of Ellie's adventures, complete with several pages of color photos. As someone who's scrapbooking-stupid, I love that I can still have a tangible product and keepsake to show for my digital efforts.

Something I'd love to see as part of the Kidmondo package is the ability to add a "family tree" page... most traditional baby books include a way to list the members of baby's extended family in a tree format. The Flickr integration is also a little clunky, but the site's creator assured me that they're aware of the problem and working to resolve it. And that's another point--the Kidmondo staff were helpful and quick to respond when I had questions.

And no, they're not paying me to write this. I've just had such a good experience so far, I thought I'd help spread the word to other parents and parents-to-be.

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Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

Ellie 040909

Every time I watch it, I giggle. :)

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Originally published at sixhours photography by caroline moore :: blog. You can comment here or there.

I listed my photographs at Artfire.com this weekend, in the interest of finding a promising alternative to Etsy and just generally trying to get my name out there... and I'm off to a really "fiery" start! Someone posted my "roast" print on a popular scrapbooking forum, and just a few short hours after launching, my brand new Artfire shop has almost 400 hits and 1500 item views. Wow!

Unfortunately, most of the comments toward my photos are negative, and some of them are downright mean (who knew scrapbookers were such a grumpy bunch?), but hey, exposure is exposure. Calobee Doodles is getting some positive attention as a result of all the extra traffic, so I can't complain!

It will be interesting to see how the Artfire shop does given its unique start. I'm always surprised by what appeals to people (and what doesn't). My photography gets much more attention at Etsy--in the form of treasuries and front page features--than my doodles... but I've sold equal amounts of each type. I suppose there's something to be said for making art that appeals to two drastically different audiences.

Speaking of which, I'm in the process of redesigning sixhours.net to add my illustration. I'm not doing much photography right now (unless adorable baby portraiture counts) and it seems silly to keep sixhours exclusively for photography when the portfolio hasn't been updated in over a year. At least it will look somewhat current with the illustration included. Now I'll be lucky if I can find the time to sit down and code it.

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