Thursday, September 23, 2021

join me for #SeeYourOrdinary this October 2021

31 Prompts for SeeYourOrdinary Instagram Challenge divided into four themes. First, about me: 3 things, reflection, heart, hope, book, inspiration, and favorite food. Second, about town: landmark, hidden, offbeat, road, open, closed, skyline, and blocked. Third, the common: scaffold, weed, crack, glass, tree, door, wood, and window. Fourth, the uncommon: unfettered, moving, free, still, home, space, and thread.

Fall can be a time of new beginnings. A time for taking a second look at your everyday surroundings and really seeing what is or isn't working for you.
 

And our #SeeYourOrdinary Instagram Challenge can be part of that process.
 

Will you be joining us this year?
 
Week of October 1, 2021's theme is About Me. 1-Three Things. 2-Reflection. 3-Heart. 4-Hope. 5-Book. 6-Hobby. 7-Inspiration. 8-Favorite Food.
Collage of two photos arranged vertically. Top photo is a garland of flowers floating on water taken by @SueBloss https://www.instagram.com/p/CGt5QB4J96y/. Bottom photo is a snowy forest scene with a drawing of a heart with a bow binderclipped to a barbed wire fence taken by @StutzJanice https://www.instagram.com/p/CK2eH_wAMp3/.

 

Twice a year, The Road to The Good Life hosts the #SeeYourOrdinary Instagram Challenge. It's premise is simple: take a second look at your surroundings and really see what makes your life extra-ordinary. This year, we have four mini-themes: About Me; About Town; The Common; and The Uncommon.
 

Week of October 9, 2021's theme is About Me. 9-Landmark. 10-Hidden. 11-Offbeat. 12-Road. 13-Open. 14-Closed. 15-Skyline. 16-Blocked.
Collage of three photos. Left vertical photo is an artist's studio with paintbrushes on a table, magnifying glass, and easel taken by @Mobler118. Top right photo is a paper collage of written text with a bouquet of flowers, a butterfly, and handwritten text ' the archives' taken by @ShalaghHogan. Bottom right photo is a skein of yarn on a desk next to a computer keyboard taken by @SFP4584.
Collage of three photos arranged horizontally. First photo is top of a box taped shut with droplets of water taken by @IKIBana_Banana. Center photo is a vine covered stone wall with a cut out through which you can see light taken by @SueBloss. Right photo is hippopotamus head above the water with its eyes open taken by GRomero5.

 

GETTING INSPIRED.

Every year I am incredibly grateful for all the women who participate and share a peek into their worlds and their lives. Some have participated multiple years and some have shared a solo image or two. But, all have touched me and brightened my world.

We all see our ordinary differently. And, there's no right or wrong way to view one's surroundings. One thing that's helped me in challenges like this is to start thinking about the prompts ahead of time. Also, responses to prompts can be literal or abstract. Basically, anything goes as long as it's family friendly.

To get you looking--really looking--at your life, scroll through this post for some images past participants shared. To view the original images, click the relevant link in the caption found immediately below the collage.

Collage of two photos vertically arranged. Top photo is a woman in a hallway taking a selfie reflected in the mirror behind a floral arrangement taken by @ShalaghHogan https://www.instagram.com/p/B8y2WuXAYG6/. Bottom photo is a beach with the reflection of a bridge and trees in the water taken by @SFP4584 https://www.instagram.com/p/CG8WESgp3Xb/.
Collage of three photos horizontally arranged. First photo is a bookcase taken by @One_Lucky_Mimi. Middle photo is a stainless steel pot with oval handles on the stove making soup with a spoon in it and a stainless steel tea kettle in the background. Last photo is a bookcase with a mix of books and toys. There's a crocheted dog facing out on the top shelf and the profile of a wooden dog on the second shelf.

 

TRYING SOMETHING NEW FOR 2021.

Not everyone likes sharing their posts publicly. So this year, we have a private Facebook group, The Road to The Good Life starts with Heart. If you'd like to participate privately, join the group and share there. Also, like reminders? We've set up four events on our Facebook page that correspond with the four themes. Simply respond Interested or Going and you'll get reminders and notifications. What could be easier? Here are the links to the four events:

Week of October 17, 2021's theme is The Common. 17-Scaffold. 18-Weed. 19-Crack. 20-Glass. 21-Tree. 22-Door. 23-Wood. 24-Window.
Collage of four photos. Photo on the left taken by @HalteWoman is a corner of a room with a screen, potted plants on stands, a small fountain on the floor surrounded by rocks arranged in a dry pond. Three stacked square photos on the right: top by @PegAndersen is a wooden fence in front of a snowy pasture with evergreen trees in the distance and a blue sky with a setting sun and clouds. Middle by @Frazkay is a charging station filled with Ford electric bikes. Bottom by @SueBloss is two hiking boot clad feet standing a top a dirt path.

 

RULES FOR PARTICIPATION.

There are only a few rules.

  1. Follow the #SeeYourOrdinary hashtag to see what others post. Only images from publlic Instagram accounts appear. NOTE: If your instagram account is private, your photos won't show up under this hashtag. There's no requirement that your account has to be public.
  2. Post as much or as little as you like. You can post once or thirty-one times or somewhere in between.
  3. You don't need to finish posting by the end of October. If you want to take longer, you totally can!
  4. Use the prompts to guide your posts or don't. You can take prompts literally or use as a jumping off point for a journal entry.
  5. Be kind, if you comment on the posts of others. We want this to be a welcoming and inclusive community. There's no place for hate here.
Week of October 25, 2021's theme is The Uncommon. 25-Unfettered. 26-Moving. 27-Free. 28-Still. 29-Home. 30-Space. 31-Thread.
Collage of three photos arranged horizontally. First photo is a an embroidered chair with two pots of cactus on top of it, with an orange tabby cat and another potted cactus on the ground taken by @StutzJanice. Center photo is a closeup of a shower curtain which is a series of different blue shaded colored ovals taken by @Lissette.Creates. Right photo taken by @ILiveGreen is a vintage folding chair with a weathered wooden seat on top of which is a vase with yellow flowers, a potted plant, and a succulent and next to is a snake plant.
Collage of three photos. Two photos on the left: top photo is a window with drops of rain with a skyscraper in the back taken by @SeasonsJoy and bottom photo taken by @PegAndersen is a shelf with various plants in front of a window out of which an evergreen forest and mountains can be seen. Right photo taken by @LauraLeeRussell is a grate on a paned warehouse window.

 

RESOURCES.

Since the challenge started in 2017, I've gotten a new book with each challenge to focus how I approach my prompts. Some focus on the technical side of photography; others are more abstract.

Collage of three photos. Top photo taken by @SeasonsJoy is a table with a planner, walnuts in a dish, a nutcracker with a shelled walnut, a truffle, and a coffee mug. Bottom row has two photos: a table with a glass dolphin, a jar of shells, and a dish with a shell taken by @SallysHeartAndSoul; a table on top of which are a wire crate with three glass jars containing a variety of sizes, a flowering potted plant, and a painting of a flowering potted plant taken by @ILiveGreen.

 

Credits: All layouts designed by and illustrations created by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life. All photographs taken and shared to Instagram by their respective creative and credited above with link to their original image.

DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links, preceded by (*paid link). I feature products that I own or that I am considering purchasing. All opinions presented are my own.
 
The Road To The Good Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

at 9/23/2021 09:00:00 AM
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