Feeling like one of the horde orc peons from World of Warcraft. All I do is “work, work”… that is the only thing that seems to come out of my mouth these days.

I have one project in particular hanging over my head like a black shroud. It affects everything I do these days. It taints my thoughts, plans, goals.

I had hoped I would be finished with this project by the 1st of February, but the contractors I brought into the project are not meeting their deadlines. Last time I outsource any contract work.

Regardless, my life is feeling one-sided these days. And I still feel like I’m living in the shadow of last year. And really, it’s time to break free.

How about you… are you swamped with work… or are you living in the shadow of anything?

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Playing with duckies, whales and octupusses that blow bubbles… I never get tired of this.

These are the things that make me smile, laugh and giggle. Someone remind me of this when she hits her tweens and wants nothing to do with me.

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Not that I need anything else on my plate, but more that I need to find that new normal I talked about at the beginning of the year, I decided to pick up the project again. Narcissism is far from who I am, but let’s see how it wears on me for the next 52 weeks. ;)

Clearly, Baby Girl has taken over my life. I’m in dire need of a pedicure. Let’s see if I can’t work a little on me this year…

Anything you need to put in balance in your life?

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First off, I must show off the birthday girl. How cute is she with her oversized flower headband!

And then there was the cake. I *loved* how the cake came out. Remember the sketch? The result was fairly exact. If you live in the Atlanta area, I definitely recommend Karen at Baked With Love!

And the food turned out well, too, even though we ended up having way too much of everything. (See the owl theme plates we bought? Loved them!)

As I was looking at the photos, I realized I never really got a good shot of Fi in her birthday outfit. This was the best shot I had. Cute outfit, but do not recommend pillowcase dresses. If I had to tie the ribbon one more time, I was just going to strip her and let her run around in her diaper.

If I’m honest, the party was for us and our friends. Fi could have cared less about most of the presents. She was much more interested in the wrapping paper and boxes. However, I was able to catch this one expression of surprise that I just love. I think I may print this one out and frame for a wall.

Eventually, it was time for the sweet little smash cake. So we stripped her down and put on her “Look Whoo’s Turning 1″ bib.

Clearly the smash cake was much enjoyed.

All in all, I’d say it was a great party. For as much as I complained to my friend about the price, I’m glad I bought the owl themed party items. I know she won’t remember any of this, but I will definitely cherish the memory and love the thought of the sweet little owls with it. I think I’m developing a love for anything owl… could be dangerous to my wallet!

I do have a few more picture from the party on my Flickr, so if you want to see more, go check the set out!

So… was it worth the wait? lol

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Flickr Photo Bomb Monday - Family Birthdays & Other Birthdays & Random Pics...Birthday Cake Sketch

So the long weekend Jason and I had planned was once again ruined by sickness. Our last attempt to do something fun on a long weekend was a trip to Florida to visit mom and we all got sick! I’m hoping to break that cycle with some new healthy habits we’re adopting. More about that in another post.

Sitting around doing nothing left me with lots of time to go through a ton of photos. As you can imagine, this week’s (or last week’s) photo bomb post has tons of photos:

More ammo for when she’s older…

My neighbor makes the best pigtails!

Ethan… one of the many suitors ;)

Yes, I like to eat paper.

The girls meeting for the first time. Fi wanted to give Genesis a kiss!

My little cousin, Allondra! Isn’t she cute?

My cousin and aunt goofing around. It was great to see him.
Last time we saw each other we were kids!

The baby smash cake mom bought for the family group birthday party.

The baby smash cake was not well welcomed by the girls.

The family birthday cake. Loaded with candles!

Cute kids at the Butterfly Rainforest at U of F in Gainesville.

Baby Boy Josiah!

Jeremiah the birthday boy!

I think the next set of photos is Fi’s birthday party…finally!

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Some of my favorites:

My little friend Miguel

Summer Fun!

Loving on a baby girl

My practice baby girl with her momma

Atlanta Missions Project Tshirt

Love this little girl! She’s so quiet and shy when Holly Park starts each week, but by the end she’s my little shadow!

Yummiest PB&J I tasted in a long time!

Lots of bubble fun with the big fan… It was hot outside!

And one of my baby girl for good measure.

More pictures next week!

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Flickr Photo Bomb Monday - Family Birthdays & Other Birthdays & Random Pics...Flickr Photo Bomb Friday!

Anyhow, here are a few of my favorite photos from this batch:

I’m loving the time I’m spending looking back. Fiona has grown so much in a year!

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rainy days by marqos, on Flickr

Regardless I was looking forward to the rain, because rainy days remind me of…

Cloudy Day Queens – 8×12 Fine Art Photograph by judemcconkey on Etsy

cloudy skies…

Let Love be Your Umbrella Necklace by EmilinaBallerina on Etsy

umbrellas…

Puddle Play by Pe11e, on Flickr

puddles…

Gourmet Amaretto Hot Chocolate Mix (Large) by tetoncocoacompany on Etsy

hot chocolate…

Untitled by A Pretty Rock, on Flickr

and of course… labradorite. And if I had some time to work on some new pieces this week, I would definitely pull some of these stones out!

What do rainy days remind you of?

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion {affiliate link} series by Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl. If you’re interested in participating in the group, pick up her e-book today! {affiliate link} You can start at any time.

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Planning the 1st Birthday Party

Part of the process involves thinking about the background I use to shoot my jewelry photos. I know I’ve struggled with selecting backgrounds and improving my current look. With this “break”, I’ve felt that it was time to think of a new look, a new feel for my jewelry before I come back full force.

This past week, I decided to be deliberate about searching for a new background. I originally started photographing with flowers as a prop. I know that I’ve always loved flowers:

But you have to admit, sometimes their beauty can be distracting.

You also already know I favor feathers:

But “been there, done that”… a lot!

The thought crossed my mind to use a bed of glass beads:

Yet, I figured it would make it difficult to photograph the jewelry laying flat. Which has left me to narrow down my new background selection to two choices. This first one I found by chance:

I’m in love with the idea of the bokeh background, but I’m not sure how I feel about the glass as a “stand”. I think changing the color of the glimmers to something that will compliment the colors in the jewelry would be a good idea, too… in theory.

The other choice was to go with something dark, but with a pattern like so:

Right now I’m partial to the brown mat. But I need your help bloggy friends… looking at these photos, I want to ask your opinions. What do you think about these last two photos in regards to a background? I want to avoid buying props for both backgrounds, so I’m looking for some direction from you!

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion {affiliate link} series by Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl. If you’re interested in participating in the group, pick up her e-book today! {affiliate link} You can start at any time.

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With baby on the way, I thought I should revisit the idea to see if I could do with something less. Maybe even something that I could whip out in the downstairs office for impromptu photo shoots and that would easily collapse.

Since my photography is usually what’s involved in the second stage of any new pieces I launch, it’s important to me to have a decent setup that delivers, regardless of how much I spend on it. One that I can set up and break down easily is just a plus. What I have now is clearly neither of these:

So the bulk monster remains upstairs and I continue to avoid taking photos with it.

Luckily, I’m not the only person who has need of a collapsible light box and there are several reviews out there:

• Drawings in Motion: The Making of a Light Box
• Curbly: How to Make an Inexpensive, Collapsible Light Box
• JPG Stories: How To: DIY Collapsible Light Tent

I’m definitely leaning towards the first link, with a foam core setup that bounces instead of diffuses light on the subject. Anyone else tired of their big, clunky, homemade light box solution? Try one of these out with me! I’ll be sure to post photos of what I decide to go with and I’d love to see what you decide, too.

This post is part of the 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion series by Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl. If you’re interested in participating in the group, pick up her e-book today! You can start at any time.

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Join the treasure hunt Saturday the 19th!My Favorite ToolEtsy Blogger's June Featured Blogger: AliciaMae

1. Day 362.365 Because He is the reason for the season…,
2. Dog friendly color,
3. Reindeer bubbles,
4. Fun in the Snow

I got my camera at Christmas last year, so I didn’t have a lot of Christmas photos. Out of the ones I have, though, these are favs that make me smile.

Tomorrow, Jason has his first day off with the start of the shopping season. (Best Buy makes installers work through their day off on the Black Friday weekend.) We plan on decorating. Thought this was appropriate as I’m looking forward to it…last year I put them up all by myself!

If it’s not too late where you’re at, you can still play. Come join us at Artmind!

I can’t believe it, but I’ve just finished my Project 365 year in photos yesterday. I missed a few days here and there, but those are excusable as far as I’m concerned. I’ll be crossing that one off my 101 List. Woot!

There are no words for the amount of fun I had with this project. It was clear to everyone else around me, too. So much so, that my husband felt it was time to buy me a new camera (with the financial help of my BFF. Thanks love!) So at Christmas, I got this fantastic lovely: a Canon Digital Rebel EOS XSi camera. I <3 it so.

As you can imagine, building on my year in photos and the excitement of a new digicam, I’m ready to tackle another 365 project. With that in mind, I’ve been on the hunt for a new theme.

There are tons and tons of 365 groups on Flickr. None of them seem to be right for me. Just so happens that a friend of a friend of mine…I feel like Simone from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off saying that…has this great blog where she documents something she is grateful for every day with a photo.

Not that I’m not grateful for all the blessings God has given us, but I can just imagine how great it will be to see this a year from now. THIS is DEFINITELY the project for me. To kick it off, here is something I was grateful for yesterday…

Mmm…chocolate. Nothing like chocolate (or sex…as my husband likes to say) to get rid of a headache. ;)

Anything you’re grateful for today?

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Before

After

I’m definitely liking the colors in the “after” shots much better.

Sometimes I even pull out older pieces and then get this desire to redo or embellish them even more. This is one of those pieces that brings out that feeling in me.

Anyone else ever feel the same? If you have and you’ve redone a piece, I’d love to see before and after pictures. I think it would be interesting to compare…

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Help Me Pick A New BackdropThe 2008 Christmas WishlistMy how the time flies...

“American Sunset” by GR58

“air force security forces” by Defensor Fortis

“the american” by Exodus Photography

“Raising the 2nd flag on Mount Suribachi” by Steiner62

“On the waterfront” by carpe icthus

“Have a safe July 4th!” by Exodus Photography

This is where I normally write a snappy little introduction to the featured artist and then introduce a piece of theirs on my blog. However, photography always speaks better for itself:

New York City Radio City Music Hall
at Christmas – Original Digital Photograph – $5

4×6 Brooklyn Bridge in antiqued sepia – sold

Outer Banks North Carolina Lighthouse 5×7 matte finish – $5

Definitely great additions to any photography collection. Make sure you visit her shop.

See more of her work on Etsy: AliciaMaePrints
See her other shops on Etsy: Eclectic Design Gifts and Random Supplies
Visit her blog at: Crafts and cooking as I know it

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My camera equipment is very simple. I am currently using a mid-level camera, the Canon PowerShot A620. It’s an easy to use camera, but it has a decent macro feature. The only time it seems to have some trouble is when it’s photographing red items, but there are definitely workarounds to that.

My setup is very simple as well:

• a rubbermaid tub
• interfacing
• 3 clamp lamps with daytime bulbs
• background paper

I’ve basically taken the Rubbermaid tub and put it on its side. (Any frosted white plastic container large enough to hold your items in will do.) Then, I wrapped the outside of the tub with the interfacing. (You can get this at any sewing store.) I then clipped the lamps to both sides and the top of the tub so that the lights shine through the interfacing and the tub. The interfacing and the frosted-ness of the tub help to diffuse some of the direct light that results in harsh shadows.

Inside the container, you will want to lay out you background paper so that it is covering the back and the bottom of the tub. One continuous piece of paper works best, however, you can use two connected pieces and then Photoshop the connection crease out of the paper in later processing.

That’s it! I leave this setup in my spare bedroom and then I can photograph at any time when the mood strikes, rain or shine!

I find that a tripod is an absolute must, especially if you have plans of taking close-ups of your product. A tripod keeps your image sharp and removes the possibility of fuzziness from shaking. I think tighter crops of an item are really nice additional shots that help sell a product. (One of the many things I will be adding to my website after I work on a redesign early next year.)

Most of the time I don’t do post processing on my photos, aside from resizing and cropping the shots. However, when I do have to work on them, I generally process levels and then leave it at that. You can make your photos pop with just a small adjustment to the levels. Here is a tutorial on adjusting levels in Photshop.

Aside from that, it’s just a matter of practice. Trying different things to find your photography voice is the only way you will end up with the results you want. That is, aside from hiring a professional photographer like TS Harrington (who, by the way, if you do throw in the towel, does some fantastic product photography with live models!)

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TiffanyTeske
on Etsy

Polaroid transfers are a new concept for me. Having hardly ever played with a Polaroid camera, the thought of tearing apart a Polaroid shot to make a new piece of art had never crossed my mind. Lucky for us that Tiffany of TiffanyTeske stepped away from a future career in nursing to indulge in her love of photography.

When you first come upon Tiffany’s images, I dare you to not be immediately drawn in. Not just by their artistic view, but by the ethereal aura they project. Her Polaroid transfers are like a cherished memory that is slowly fading and all that’s left are the good details.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Photographs not quite your thing? You can also get a slice of her work through her cards and pendants.

See more of her work on Etsy: TiffanyTeske
Visit her blog at: EtsyBUZZ

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If you’re worried about my newsletter sale, it’s still active until the 23rd. If you’re wondering what the sale was, you should have subscribed to my newsletter (see the newsletter box at the side of this post.) ;)

In the meantime, I have plenty of goodies to post in the coming weeks. Just get ready!

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