Spring Photography Classes

My sister Tonya has a gift. She's an amazing photographer and captures not just people in her pictures, but manages to tell a story with out saying a word. I'm completely biased of course but I feel wholly confident saying she's the best photographer in the world. There, I said it.

She's coming to visit me in March and is having a photography class while she's here. Not only is Tonya a good photographer, she's a great teacher. She is hosting a beginning photography class on March 12 that will teach you the basics plus a few tips on how to get better.

The cost includes lunch and good treats of course Tonya's expert instruction. Click {here} for more information about it.

If you're thinking this class doesn't apply to you or your not a photographer, think again. It takes more than owning a camera to be a photographer. Just because I own a set of kitchen knives doesn't make me a chef right? But I still enjoy cooking. Learning how to use your camera will give you the opportunity to take better pictures. Even if it never develops into a career for you, you will still be able to use it for your personal gain.

Even if you don't have the greatest camera, come and spend a day with friends and learn the other basics to photography. There is more than taking pictures and Tonya's class can help you learn how to capture the most important moments in your life.

Valentines Day 2011 | I {heart} Decorations

In general, I think Valentine's Day is about the most useless holiday. A whole day to show the people you love how much you care about them? Lame. You should be doing that every day. My approach to Valentine's day is have low expectations and you won't be disappointed. I'm happy to report that my day was hardly disappointing again this year.

Regardless about my feelings, having a child is oodles of fun for Valentines day and Bridget and I have had tons of fun making Valentines for her to take to her class and to decorate the house. This year since I have found Pinterest, I've been so inspired to create things in my home and for my family. Although I just got my decorations up this weekend, I still did it before the dreaded day, so I'm good.

I tweaked my back last week when our car slid off the road so I've been laid up the last week. Last Friday night James took Bridget to the Utah gymnastics meet and gave me five blissful hours to myself. Sigh. I watched "Pride and Prejudice" and crafted the whole time. Sigh.

So what did I do with  my time? I made sewn heart "curtains" after I saw them on Ashley's blog (She is fab by the way, she has great projects and gives great advice). I cut out thousands of hearts from an old book in all sizes and then sewed them together. Labor intensive, a little. Fingers cramping by the end, you bet. Worth it? Oh yeah.

 

Isn't it pretty? I love looking at it, especially when the heat comes on and it makes them sway. In addition to the book hearts I also cut out some pink hearts from card stock and threw those in there too.  

I LOVE sewing paper like this! I did it for Bridget's birthday part and I love the effect. It's really easy and goes pretty fast too. 

While we were hanging these up, I realized how filthy our windows are. Luckily it was warm outside that day! Look what a good helper James is out there cleaning them for me.

 I just love the sun hitting these hearts. They are so pretty!

These hearts are in my kitchen window.

In addition to my hearts in the window, I also made a new wreath. I found this tutorial on Pinterest for a similar wreath. I had an old heart shaped wreath that was looking a little scary so I ripped everything off it and filled it with felt rosettes. It took some time but the end result is lovely I think.

 I am so digging my awesome door knocker! 

Another crafty project I tackled that night was a heart chandelier. It didn't turn out quite as I expected but I love the hearts. Next year I'm going to tie them together and use them as garland. 

I started out cutting three identical hearts from a folded piece of paper (they were easier to glue together when they matched up). I used a hot glue gun glue them together, right before the last glue and glued in the string.

 

My pile of lovely heart dangles and Mr. Darcy. Yum.

Here is what they looked like before I hung them up.

Here they are after I cut them.

 

This is the string I used. I picked it up from Hobby Lobby. Good stuff.

Valentines Day 2011 | Bridget's school Valentines

Your baby's first school Valentine's party doesn't happen only but once and I knew I had to make it pop! I found this idea on Pinterest and knew it was perfect!

This was really easy and very fun to do. I took a cute picture of Bridget and then in Photoshop added the hearts and the words. To slip in the sucker, you take a razor blade and cut two small slits at the top and bottom of her hands. 

 

Her Valentine's couldn't be delivered in just anything, so I used an Anthropology bag my friend Heather had left and glued some cute felt hearts on it. I love this bag!

What a cute bag of Valentine's!

An experiment

I saw a stunning picture of Heath Ledger the other day and it inspired me. He's good looking, no doubt but this picture really spoke to me. In my quest to improve my photography skills, I decided to  try my hand at taking a photo I knew was going to be in black and white. I was quite pleased with the results. James helped me out with my picture (because I can't be in two places at once, shocking, I know) and I'm proud of his skills.

So this is my family. I'm not normally a huge fan of black and white photography, mostly because I think my child is so stunning in color. But when I look at Bridget and how elegant she looks, I think maybe I judged too quickly. I love James's picture, he's so handsome.