Picture Time: December Edition!

I did a little holiday photo shoot with my puppy (he was such a good little model!) and these are just a few of my favorite photos. I wanted to try out my lightscoop and I also wanted to try the plexi trick to get reflections.

Now, I did the plexi trick... but without purchasing plexiglass. I actually just used a piece of plastic from a poster frame (an idea I came across on a message board). It worked out pretty great I think! On with the photos.....

I only wish I would have thought of this idea sooner, because some of these would have made for a mega cute Christmas card! Oh well, there's always next year. 

Book Review: "13 Steps Down"

"13 Steps Down" by Ruth Rendell

(summary from Good Reads)


Mix Cellini (which he pronounces with an ‘S’ rather than a ‘C’) is superstitious about the number 13. In musty old St. Blaise House, where he is the lodger, there are thirteen steps down to the landing below his rooms, which he keeps spick and span. His elderly landlady, Gwendolen Chawcer, was born in St. Blaise House, and lives her life almost exclusively through her library of books, so cannot see the decay and neglect around her.

The Notting Hill neighbourhood has changed radically over the last fifty years, and 10 Rillington Place, where the notorious John Christie committed a series of foul murders, has been torn down.

Mix is obsessed with the life of Christie and his small library is composed entirely of books on the subject. He has also developed a passion for a beautiful model who lives nearby — a woman who would not look at him twice.

Both landlady and lodger inhabit weird worlds of their own. But when reality intrudes into Mix’s life, a long pent-up violence explodes.


Would I recommend this book?
Considering I couldn't even finish it, no I wouldn't. I made it all of six chapters into this book and it had me bored to tears. I tried, really I did, but I just couldn't do it. The summary sounded intriguing, but I just couldn't get into the story at all.


Don't get me wrong, Rendell's writing style is great, the story just didn't grab my attention. Maybe down the road I'll give this book another shot, but right now it just didn't do it for me. Hopefully others will like it.

Lightscoop

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was also one of the most inexpensive and simple gifts. The set of Lightscoops for my camera.

Lightscoops are a great alternative to an expensive external flash unit. If you shoot indoors a lot, even if you prefer natural light (like me), sometimes you just need the extra light your flash can provide. When you use your on camera pop-up flash, it can overwhelm your photos. With the Lightscoop attached, the light from your flash is bounced off the ceiling (or a wall), then back to your subject. This gets rid of the harsh flash side-effects, but still provides the light you need to get great photos.

The Lightscoop is just a simple attachment that slides into your camera's hot-shoe and sits in front of your pop up flash. It has a mirrored surface to reflect the flash:

(image from google images)

Here are a couple of examples that I snapped real fast yesterday to show what the Lightscoop can do...

This first image of Oscar was taken with only the pop-up flash. The poor little guy is blinded by the brightness, the photo is really washed out and has harsh shadows. It doesn't make for a very nice photo at all.

This next photo was taken with the Lightscoop attached. I didn't really edit at all, so it's a little dark, but you can see the difference easily. You get a nice, crisp image without the harsh shadows and possible temporary blindness :) I also like the catch lights (in the eyes) that the Lightscoop/Flash combo helps to create.

Again, this next image was taken with the pop-up flash only. Notice how it's washed out.

The next one was taken with the Lightscoop attached. A much more attractive photo since it's not so overwhelmed by the flash.

Overall I think the Lightscoop is a great investment for someone that's not ready, or doesn't have the funds, to purchase an external flash unit. As much as I'd like one, natural light is what I'd prefer. The Lightscoop is just an aid to help out when flash might be necessary and a good aid at that! I received the combo Lightscoop pack, with the Standard and Warming (amber colored glass) units.

If you'd more information or would like to purchase your own Lightscoop - this is where mine came from: http://www.lightscoop.com/index.html

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from my own little elf...

 .. and this bigger, more awkward elf :)

I hope everyone has a great Christmas!!

Book Review: "If I Stay"

"If I Stay" by Gayle Forman

Mia is a 17 year old musician with a great family, a punk rock boyfriend and a wonderful best friend.

On a rare snow day in Oregon, everything suddenly changes in the blink of an eye. When a car accident pulls her from consciousness and leaves her confused and alone, she watches from the sidelines as her own damaged body is being pulled from the wreck. There's nothing she can do but watch. No one can see or hear her, but she can see and hear everything they say and do. Mia is able to follow her family and friends around the ICU and she sees how everyone is affected by what has happened.

In a series of flashbacks, you see how Mia's life has come to be how it is now and what if could be if she makes the decision to wake up. It is after all her decision. But what will she wake up to? Her family is gone and everything will change. Will she stay or will she go?

Would I recommend this book?

Yes, in a heartbeat. It's a beautiful story and very well written. Forman takes you through Mia's life and you see all of the love, all of the hard times and everything that she would be leaving behind. There are points in the story that get pretty emotional, it almost pulls you into the moment so you know exactly how she was feeling right then and there. Reading what Mia sees herself go through from her outside perspective makes this story that much more intriguing.

While this story is targeted more for the teen and young adult audience. I think that it's a book everyone should read. "If I Stay" is certainly one of the best books I've read this year. Another plus is that it's a super fast read - it took me all of about 3 1/2 hours to read the whole thing.

FYI: There will be a second book to follow this one released on April 5th, 2011 titled "Where She Went".

Book Review: "Love and Other Recreational Sports"

"Love and Other Recreational Sports" by John Dearie

Jack Lafferty is a 35 year old New York City Banker, and wanna-be writer, with women troubles. His fiance left him three weeks before their wedding and Jack is left wondering if he's defective when it comes to relationships. He just can't seem to get anything right.

After swearing off women and alcohol -- neither of which works very well -- he meets Sarah, a lawyer and musician, and he can't help but be drawn to her. However, with his mind stuck on the idea of being defective, he does everything is his power to stay away from her. His friends encourage him to go for it, but he's reluctant at first and thinks that she may not be interested in him.

Jack just wonders why he doesn't understand women. After a conversation with his best friend, Alex, about Alex's crisis over losing his hair, Jack has an epiphany. He realizes that he should have been listening to the advice he's been giving out to friends for years - "Nothing is easy and some things are meant to be a mystery and not understood, it's better that way."

Would I recommend this book?
Sure. I was different for me to read something I would consider "chick-lit" in a male perspective. You get a good, entertaining look into the mind of a 30-something single guy.

It's a relatively short book, but Dearie can get wordy is his descriptions. Some people like the detail, but I found it sort of distracting at times - I would be reading about something, then Jack would go off on a completely unrelated tangent then jump back to the current time and throw me off a bit. I'm talking like 5 or 6 page tangents sometimes. It was a bit much. Regardless, it was a good book and had me laughing out loud, especially at the best friend, Alex.

Book Review: "Stay"

"Stay" by Allie Larkin

Savannah Leone is in love with Peter. Peter is marrying Janie. Janie is Savannah's best friend. Shit like this just happens to Van and she's convinced that she's just going to be alone forever.

After miserably making it through a wedding that she didn't want to happen (as the maid of honor no less), Van goes home to drown her sorrows in endless glasses of vodka and Kool-aid along with a Rin Tin-Tin marathon. She drunkenly decides to order a German Shepherd puppy online. When she realizes the next day what she's done, Van feels like she should do the right thing and give the little puppy a good home. Little does she know that he's not so little... and also only responds to commands in Slovak.

After naming her new "puppy" Joe, he quickly wins her heart and becomes her best friend. He helps her build a new relationship with Joe's vet, Alex, repair old friendships and get out of toxic ones. Who knew an innocent dog could create such a turning point in their life?

Would I recommend this book?

Yes. It's a really sweet story. There's no heavy emotions and it's just light and funny. You won't be able to say no to Joe either :)

A Warm Oscar

Cold weather means a cold puppy!

Poor little Oscar doesn't like to spend a lot of time outside when the temps plunge. Can you blame him? I can't, I don't want to be out there either!

Normally I'm not one to dress up my pet - I've tried, but he hates it! - he does wear scarves around his neck and he actually enjoys it. I figured that he might be willing to wear something that covers more of him if he realized that it helps him stay warm.

Enter the brown puppy coat ($2.50 in the Target bargain bin!):

So far he seems to tolerate it. How long that will last, I'm not really sure! Isn't it cute?? It even has these little pockets on it - which are completely useless, but that's besides the point! I've thought about sticking a treat in there or something just to watch him try and get it out, but that would probably just be mean :)

Bookstore Haul

The husband and I were doing some last minute Christmas shopping on Saturday, and he noticed that the bookstore in the mall was closing down. It's a chain (Waldenbooks) and I think just that location is closing - which makes sense because a massive Barnes and Noble opened right across the street.

Anyways, everything was on sale! I normally just get books from the library, but I figured if I could find some good deals, why not? Most things ranged from 20 to 50% off it seemed.

I think I came out pretty decent. I ended up with 7 new books. Some that I've been wanting to read (but are unavailable at the local library) and a series that I've heard of, but wasn't high on my list.

I purchased:

- "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson ($5.50 Paperback)

- "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson ($5.50 Paperback)

- "In the Woods" by Tara French ($8.75 Paperback)

.....and then I snagged the first four books in the "House of Night'' Series - I realize there are four more books to this series, but this is a good start and it was a fantastic steal...

- "Marked", "Chosen", "Betrayed" and "Untamed"

by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast ($3.29 each Hardcover)

Once I begin reading these, I plan to purchase the other 4 books (one of which haven't been released yet - Jan, 4th, 2011) "Hunted", "Tempted", "Burned" and "Awakened".

So overall, I think I made out pretty good on my purchase! With all the books I've been accumulating lately, I should really consider purchasing an actual bookcase!

Quilted Ornament Tutorial

As promised, here is the tutorial for the Quilted Ornaments. It is picture heavy, so it may take a while to load depending on your internet connection.

If you have any questions, please post them in the comment section or email me.

Materials:

- 3 inch diameter foam ball (Joann's has 2-packs for $2)

- 18 2.5 inch squares of fabric A

- 18 2.5 inch squares of fabric B

- 1 two inch wide strip of Fabric B, 12 inches long

- 2 strips of 3/8 inch wide ribbon (8 inches in length)

- 2 strips of 5/8 inch wide ribbon (8 inches in length)

- 1 strip of  either ribbon (8 inches in length)

- Pins flat head, straight (I used ~300 pins to make 2 ornaments)

- Hot glue gun and/or fabric glue

Step 1: Start by cutting all of your 2.5 inch fabric squares and the 2 inch by 12 inch strip. I used a rotary cutter and cutting mat to to this, but if you don't have those it's fine - it will just take a little longer.

Note: One of my fabrics was a bit thicker (think fleece thickness), so I had to cut my strips at 12 inches. If both of your fabrics are thin, you can get away with only 10 inches instead.

Step 2: Attach one of your 2.5 inch fabric square (Fabric A) to a styrofoam ball by securing the for corners with pins.

Note: You can also attach this piece with fabric glue if you'd like, but I chose to use pins only because the glue puckered the fabric.

Step 3: Take one square of Fabric B, place a pin through its center wrong side up.  Pin the fabric to the ball (right side of fabric facing the ball) framing Fabric A. The bottom corners should just about line up on both squares.

 

Step 4: Fold the fabric square in half, then fold the corners inward and pin the corners so the fabric is formed to the ball.

Repeat Step 4 three more times until your ornament looks similar to this:

Repeat Step 4 again, 4 more times to create this look:

Step 5: Take a square of Fabric A.  Again, place a pin through the center of the square, wrong side up. Pin to the ball about 1/4-1/2 inch down from a point of fabric A.  Fold fabric in half over pin and fold in corners. Pin corners down to secure.

Note: You're repeating the same pattern as Step 4. Start with the four "bottom" pieces, then go back around and pin the four "top" pieces".

Now repeat Steps 2 thru 5 on the other side of your styrofoam ball. When you're done, the side/seam should look something like this:

Step 6: Take the strip of Fabric A and fold in each edge by ½ inch and press flat. Add hot glue to the top center of the ball and adhere one end of the folded strip to the glue. Fasten the strip with hot glue around the enter ball until ends meet.

(I don't have pictures of the bow construction because my fingers were covered in glue! Hopefully you get the idea from the finished pictures.)

Step 7: Next assemble the bow and loop for hanging on a tree! Take a piece ribbon and fold in its ends to the center of the ribbon and fasten with hot glue. Repeat with remaining ribbon pieces in both colors. Form a cross with the 3/8 inch ribbon by gluing the two ribbon loops together, seams inward. Repeat with ribbon the 5/8 inch ribbon. To form the complete bow, glue the cross of  the 3/8 ribbon to the 5/8 ribbon at their centers. For the tree hanging loop, glue the edges of the ribbon together, overlapping by ~ ¼ inch. Fasten the loop to the center of the bow with glue.

Here's the finished product!!

Now, while I wish I could take all the credit for this idea, I can't! I found the idea on a DIY wedding message board, but made some adjustments to the project. You can view the original project here. I did my version of the tutorial with more photos and details because there were points in the original one where things were a bit unclear. I hope my (and the original) tutorial help you create some beautiful decorations!

Quilted Ornaments

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been working on a couple different kinds of ornaments to give as gifts this year.

I've already shown you the how-to on the painted ornaments, so up next are the quilted ornaments. I saw this idea online and decided that I must try it! They turned out pretty amazing and I'm pretty sure the gift exchange recipient loved them :)

Here's a little peek at a finished ornament - more to come in my upcoming tutorial:

They are a bit time consuming, but oh so worth in in the end! They are very cute and easily customized to match any theme you might have.

I am currently working on putting together a step-by-step tutorial. It's a lengthy process, so I'll be including lots of pictures. I'm hoping to have the tutorial ready to post by tomorrow so keep an eye out!

Book Review: "The Undomestic Goddess"

"The Undomestic Goddess" by Sophie Kinsella

Samantha is a 29 year old lawyer in London and on the fast track to a partnership at a big law firm. After working so hard to achieve so much, she makes a huge, costly mistake. She is afraid she will get fired and does the first thing that comes to mind: she runs.

Getting onto the nearest train, she finds herself in the London countryside. Confused and scared, she ends up on the Griegers doorstep. Mrs. Grieger mistakes her for an applicant for their housekeeper position and Samantha is too out of it to correct her. She accepts the job and weaves a web of lies to keep her afloat in a job where she has no clue what she's doing.

She meet, and falls for, the Griegers gardener Nathaniel - who hates lawyers. She begins to come into her own as a housekeeper, but then discovers a secret about her former law firm employer. Then the media finds out what has become of her and complicates her already complicated situation.

Would I recommend this book?

I guess so. It's witty and funny, but it's not my favorite Kinsella book.

Picture Time: November Edition!

I'm a little late at getting these up, and I've been a bad blogger lately - so prepare yourselves for an overabundance of new posts, updates galore!

The month of November brought me some opportunities for portrait photography, finally! This is something that I've been wanting to get into because, let's face it, there are only so many photos of flowers and trees that one can take. I'm hoping that more portrait shoots will come my way soon.

If you or anyone you know needs photos taken (babies, kids, pets, families - anything really!), please let me know. I primarily like to photograph outdoors in natural light, but indoors is also an option. The best part? IT'S FREE!!

That's right free, because I need my practice! Contact me through email, facebook or leave a comment here.

Ok, onto the pictures! Here are a few of my favorites from November 2010:

Painted Ornaments Part 2

The ornaments are done!

You can see the first portion of this project in this post.

Applying the names to each ornament turned out to be the easy part. All I did was cut out each name in vinyl, apply it to the ornament, smudge with glue, sprinkle with glitter, then peel off the vinyl. Poof. Done. Just like that!

So to break this down....

Step one: Apply the name to the ornament with vinyl.

Step two: Spread glue and apply glitter. I pressed the glitter down with my finger to get more on.

Step three: Peel away the vinyl slowly and carefully to reveal the name.

I used Martha Stewart glitter and glue from Joann's. It works great, but it's sort of pricey so don't forget to grab a 40% coupon before you buy.

Here are all of the finished ornaments:

I have a few different ornaments in the works as well. Those are part of a gift exchange, so I won't be posting anything about them until after the person receives them.

Book Review: "My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time"

"My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time" by Liz Jenson

In 1897 Copenhagen, Denmark, 25 year old Charlotte roams the streets as a successful prostitute. In the midst of a tough winter, she stumbles across a job opportunity to work as a house keeper. She and her "mother" (whose not really her mother) begin working for Fru Krak - she is a peculiar woman whose husband mysteriously disappeared years earlier.

Charlotte has heard stories about this supposed disappearance, and believes that Professor Krak may still be alive. While on her mission to find him, she finds herself suddenly transported into 21st Century London. A whole new world for her.

She has discovered the mystery of what happened to Professor Krak. Time travel, a means of escape for those who what to start life anew somewhere besides Copenhagen. But Time Travel comes with it's consequences. While in London, Charlotte finds love and a whole new way of life.

Would I recommend this book?
Honestly, no. I didn't really enjoy it all that much. The story was funny, but in a really "out there" sort of way. Not my style I guess. Another thing that bothered me was the fact that there were no chapters. That meant no natural breaks in the story. Just the idea of not having a natural stopping point distracted me - it's a dumb reason not to enjoy a book, but oh well.