so I thought I’d at least update you on what we’ve been so busy with (well, part of it at least!) 
We own an old farm house. It’s a wonderful New England 100+ year old house - with all the character & charm of an old home (and all the problems, too!). We finally were able to have it painted this summer & we couldn’t be more thrilled with the results.It used to be white (more like a chipped, cracked dirty version of white). We decided to go with a Colonial Blue color, with white trim & black accents. We are VERY happy with how it turned out.
Here are some pictures of the house, freshly painted & landscaped. (We do 99% of things at our house by ourselves - landscaping included. It was nice to have some help w/ the painting - as it was a pretty big undertaking).
And here are my new rocking chairs. OH, my chairs. I’ve wanted these since the day we moved in. This porch just BEGS to have white rocking chairs sitting out there. I love how the fresh paint makes them pop. And I LOVE rocking in them. And yes, we love that big porch! 
A view from the street:
In addition to the house painting & landscaping, we’ve got quite the kitchen renovation going on. I promise to put pics of that up as well when it’s complete. Cabinets are in & I *almost* have a sink back again. Oh, I cannot wait.
Stay tuned & thanks for stopping in!
Other, Photography
Hi all - so a few had asked about seeing more of the pics I am taking lately. I have decided it’s easier for me to do a Photography Blog to keep this one just focused (mostly) on paper crafting. (and my cat that I love so much, hehe)
Anyway, here is the link if you’re interested. I try to post recent pics of things I shoot. It will most like evolve into a personal blog as most of my shots are of events & things in my life.
Hopefully it’s not too boring
Photography
I’ve been having lots of fun with my Photography. I got a new lens (50mm f/1.4) & I’m totally loving it. It’s fun to practice with a lens that is so fast & is great in low light. I have to share a photo of my best test subject, Max:
Isn’t he such a pretty boy? He loves me & is totally OK with my camera obsession. (at least I think he is. I tell myself he is.) I love how his whiskers are HUGE. When he was a kitten, they were pretty much the same size. It was hilarious because he had this little head with GINORMOUS whiskers. He’s definitely grown into them - but they are still pretty big & I love ‘em. Gives him so much personality.
We’re making progress on our kitchen renovation project. I think we might be hanging cabinets *soon*. I was able to sneak up to my craft room for just a bit this weekend in between painting. I was very much into butterflies for some reason, so here are some cards. I am loving the October Afternoon paper. It’s just so yummy.
In fact, I love that darn patterned paper so much that I had to punch as many butterflies as I could out of it. I used a Martha Stewart punch for these:
Then I decided I’d like to see how stamping on the paper would look. So I used my new fave Hero stamp & cut out some more butterflies from OA paper:
Super simple cards, but so much fun to make…!
I hope to be back soon with pictures of a newly renovated kitchen…with a SINK. A SINK!! (What I would not give to have my sink back. Oy.)
Cards, Photography
I just realized that I forgot to include what I shoot with in that last post. For those of you who asked, I have a Nikon D40 with just the 2 kit lenses:
18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
55-200mm f/4-5.6
so far these lenses are great & I’m getting a lot of use out of them. (I’ve been fussing around with the camera on my own for about a year now - but just started taking formal classes a few weeks ago). The Nikon D40 is a WONDERFUL camera for me as it’s my first DSLR and it can do oh-so-much, and it wasn’t very expensive. Some day I’m sure I will graduate to a more beefy camera body - but for now I’m very happy with it. Nikon discontinued the D40 this past January, but if you’re looking to get something similar, I recommend going with the D5000. (by the way, that site I just linked to is amazing & full of SO much great info about DSLR’s & Photography in general).
I am in the market to beef up my lens collection, and I think I’ve set my mind on a new 50mm f/1.4 lens. I am drooling over the potential photos I shall get with this lens - I hear & see amazing things.
I would love to someday own an 85mm, Fisheye & Macro lens…but they all cost a lot of $$ and I suppose I have to be patient
Photography
but it’s for good reason!
I’ve been spending a lot of time on Photography. I started a class & I’m really enjoying it. The fact that it’s Spring & we have daylight, green trees, grass, etc. - has allowed me to play a lot more & get more photo practice in.
This past weekend I was lucky enough to have a photo session with this wonderful couple:
They were so much fun to work with. They are HUGE Red Sox fans (WOOT!) and they had great idea to use a onesie in some shots.
Jess made these blocks herself, using some designer paper & Modge Podge. That’s right - she is a paper crafter like me! LOVE IT!! If you’d like to see more of these or perhaps order some custom blocks, you can to check out her Etsy store. The stuff she makes is amazing - and it would make a great addition to your nursery, or a wonderful baby gift!
A big THANKS to Jess & her husband for letting me shoot your maternity photos!
In my class this week, we focused on shooting still life. Given that I’m still figuring out my camera, I shot almost ALL of my pics last night with incorrect exposure. (Somehow I had modified the exposure compensation setting on my camera. WOOPS.) So yea…they didn’t come out all that great, but hey - that’s why I’m in a class, right? Once I figured out what the heck I was doing, I managed to get this one nice shot of a weed.
HAHA. All the flowers & I chose to shoot a weed. Yep.
It’s a pretty weed, no?
Photography
Thought I’d just do a quick update on my craft room (which happens to be a bit of a disaster lately, yikes!)
This is how I film my videos. It’s super sophisticated ehhh?? Basically I just attach my Flip Camcorder to my Tripod & angle it downward onto my work surface. I film the video & then I use iMovie 09 to edit. I have to flip all of my videos around so that you aren’t watching me work upside down…!
Sometimes I have enough natural light when shooting a video so I don’t need any lamps. But mostly I use 2 desk lamps & just angle them down so they are giving me enough light for the video.
(notice all the CRAP surrounding my work surface?? Yeaaa….that’s mostly how I roll. I’ve convinced myself that I’m just so darn artistic that I can’t be bothered to put stuff away as I craft…yep, that MUST be it!! )
And here’s where I shoot 99% of the stuff that I make. Normally I have my Cricut on this table & do all of my die cutting here. When it’s time to shoot photos, I just take my Cricut off the table.
It’s the best spot in the house - mostly because there’s lot of windows in this room & lots of natural light. I almost NEVER shoot with artificial lighting - photos always turn out best with natural light. See that shade that’s half down? I usually pull that ALL the way up - as high as it can go - letting in as much light as possible. (sometimes I forget to close it though, and it’s a little creepy b/c I’m sure my neighbor can look in & see my disaster craft room…so yea, I try to remember to always close it! Privacy is key people!)
That black cloth is just a black sheet that I threw over a board. (the board came out of the back of a large poster frame - so it’s almost like a hefty piece of chipboard that’s roughly the size of a poster). This makes for a decent backdrop - one that I can lean most anything against, such as matching designer paper, etc. If I don’t find anything that I like for matching paper I simply stick with the black.
Oh and that project currently sitting there being photographed…? That’s a Valentine’s Day project that I created - I haven’t shared it with you yet…so ssshhhh I will be sharing soon. They are fun & cute for kids.
Thanks for looking!
Craft Room, Photography, Videos
Today’s card is back to the brightness I was sharing with you last week. I figure while it’s still summer I better make as many bright cards as I can! Although now that it’s August, I’m realizing I need to start thinking about the FALL craft fairs I will be doing. EEK! Time to start making pumpkin POOP.
Here is the card I’m sharing today:
Supplies: Kraft Cardstock - PaperTrey Ink, Designer Paper & Felt Flower from K & Co., American Crafts Thickers, SU! Bermuda Bay Ribbon.
On a random note, I did my first official “photo shoot” for friends of ours who wanted some pics of their sweet baby girl Savannah in her Christening Gown. Here are some of my fave shots:
Savannah is such a good happy baby, and so much fun to work with. Big thanks to Cyndi for giving me the chance to practice getting some awesome shots with my camera.
Cards, Photography
Hi guys - sorry I’ve been somewhat MIA!
I don’t really have anything crafty to share with you today, but I do have a few photos that I took over Memorial Day Weekend that I figured I would post. I’m trying to get better at my Photography & Photoshop skills. I am really pleased with how these came out. You can see more Photos of mine on my Flickr Page.
Here is Matthew & Catie just hanging out being goofy on a blanket in that backyard at my Mom & Dad’s house. Love those blue eyes on Matthew!
I caught Catie playing with Matthew’s gameboy all alone on the blanket.
This is my Dad (”Uncle Chris”) talking to Matthew & Catie at the BBQ.
My personal webpage has a full gallery of photos, but these are just a few of my favorites. Thanks for looking!
Photography
just a quick post regarding Photoshop - and sharing a card with you!
I am obsessed with this blog where this lovely woman shares her Photoshop Tips & Tricks.
I used this “Quick Fix” tip to adjust the brightness & contrast of this boring card photo. So I give you the Before & After pics below. It’s so simple and makes such a huge difference in your photos. I am all about learning new things with Digital Photography & Photoshop lately! (just add it to my list of craft obsessions…)
BEFORE: SOOC (Straight out of camera) - looking rather BLAH.
AFTER: Much brighter and rich with color!
What do you think? Not bad for only adjusting a few things….?
Photography
this weekend we spent some time at my parents house in Western MA. Saturday we took the kids to the park with Heather. It was a GORGEOUS day! The best part is that I got to practice LOTS with my camera. And I actually had some interesting things to Photograph!
This is Chloe, my parents cat. She poses very nicely for my camera!
And here are some shots from the park…I uploaded a few more photos from this weekend to my Flickr Account. Thanks for looking!
Photography
