Disc Golf

My sweet, sweet husband loves disc golf! You might have heard of it. Some people (who don't play it quite often) might call it frisbee golf, and that's exactly what it is!
The goal is to throw the disc (a heavier frisbee) into a basket with as few throws as possible. The basket may be in plain sight, or it might be a little harder to find. Either way, the individual playing must throw the disc in such a way that he reaches the basket. Scoring is exactly like golf. There are mid-rangers, putters, drivers and fairways. Correct me if I am forgetting the rest. It is a ton of fun!

Anyways! Keep your eyes open! I have many pictures on the way of this so-called disc golf! ♥

God Bless!
~Mrs. S

Project 365

For those of you who love to document things, this could be of interest to you! People all over the world are doing what's called Project 365.

It's simple... take a picture of something you do or see every single day for 365 straight days, and POST it. The link above gives more information and has a list of websites used to connect to others doing it. Yay!

I am starting TODAY, on December 26th. By next Christmas I will have taken a picture every single day. I decided that I will post ONCE a week on this site as to not overwhelm you. I am so excited! Seeing as I am posting the first picture here, I will start posting on Mondays.

Take this as an opportunity to get to know me and what I do on a daily basis!

So here it goes, my FIRST picture of Project 365!

I'm feeing crafty! Today I am starting my L♥VE AT FIRST SIGHT frame project!

Repurposing and DIYs

I am so excited! For Christmas I was given some of the greatest gifts from my family!

I received, first off, a HUGE amount of fabric, thread, needles and things of that sort from my mother-in-law. I will never need to buy needles or thread, at least for a really long time. My father-in-law bought me a beautiful case for my sewing supplies. It is white with green leaves printed all over it. ♥ Yay! He also gave me some starter supplies (SO needed) like scissors, pins, etc. My sweet husband bought me some yarn, a nice new sets of crochet hooks and a Crochet Bible. (I kept telling people that I really wanted to learn how to crochet. I know right?! How could I have not learned yet?!) My "other mother" and good friend, Katherine Oram, gave me one of her old Singer sewing machines, along with some more thread, scissors, some frames (so I can be crafty) and a bread machine! Finally, my parents bought me another battery for my camera and an AMAZING flash that I desperately needed to own. Now my pictures, no matter the location or time of day, can be beautiful! Yay!

I cannot express to you all how excited I am! I have been so blessed with the tools I need to do what I really want to do, repurpose what I have, make what I want (at an affordable rate), and learn it well enough so that I can teach my own children one day (and others) how to do it, too!

Anywhoozlebees... Yes, "any-whoozle-bees," be on the lookout for new posts! Since I have so many more craft supplies and new tools for my photography, there will be many more posts! DIYs, Sewing, Crocheting, and Photography! Oh my! ♥

Thank you so much for your support! You have no idea what your encouragement and support have done for me! I love you all! Thank you!

~Mrs. S.

Sibling Session: Monica and Leah

I have known Leah and Monica since...oh, who knows! We have known each other almost our entire lives. We all grew up in homeschooling. I eventually went to a private school, but in elementary and middle school I was home schooled. (I HIGHLY recommend homeschooling.) See, some counties have home school groups or co-op groups. They hold an abundance of classes and activities. It's great! We were in the same group and eventually attended the same church. Basically, we have known each other "forever."

Monica and I had some of the same friends, so we have kept in touch on and off over the years. She recently started attended the same University as me! However, she got hitched this past March, yay! Her and her hubby now live in Germany. She is visiting for the holidays and wanted to get some pictures with her sister, Leah!

We had a lot of fun! Monica and Leah have such cool personalities, which make it easy to capture their joy and love for each other as sisters! It's great!

Thank you Leah and Monica for allowing me to take your pictures! You two are such beautiful women. Keep the faith and walk strongly in Christ as you enter into this coming year. God loves you SO much! I have no doubt that he has great things in store for each of you!

My Journey With Editing...

I wanted to share with you how I have improved, not for my benefit but because I am simply SO excited to see that I have improved, even though I still have a lot to learn!

I have been working to make my photos more natural, colorful and less intense. Some people edit their pictures to the point that it looks VERY edited. That's cool and all, but that's not me. I would rather have light and natural photos. I don't use PhotoShop. I use Photo Explosion! I found it for $30 at Target. Sweet!

Some might think that it is easy making pictures look natural. It's not that easy. Haha! First, many original shots do not have much color in them, at least, not as much as I would like. You have to add color to them. Then sometimes, the colors don't balance well. You might have to change the hue of certain colors, like red, just a tad bit so that it does not look so orange-y. Yes, orange-y. From there I sometimes like to lower the contrast so that the pictures do not look so bold, but instead soft.

Anyways, the point is: It can be a long and complicated process to simply make a picture look natural.

Now, I am no where near the level of a professional. My pictures are no where near as clear, balanced, natural and soft as photographers like The Photography of Haley Sheffield and Anna Daniels Photography. However, I have seen improvement in my editing. Which seriously makes me happy!

Here are some pictures that I have taken this year! I still have SO MUCH to learn about editing (and taking pictures) but I am so happy to see the improvements!

I honestly can't remember when I took this photo. I want to say it was in 2011, but I can't recall. Note: This is with my old camera (Canon G9 Powershot), not my new Nikon.

What I could change: A lot! Haha! Lighten their faces and skin color, just to open up their faces.
 Lighten the picture, just in general. Lighten the background a little. Maybe lighten the edges.
Note: I noticed that lightening a picture makes many pictures much softer. This picture is a little
too bold for my liking.

This picture is from earlier this fall.

What I could change: less contrast might be the biggest thing I see. maybe a different tone.

This one, also from earlier this fall.

What I could change: find a way to make this warmer tone less orange-y.
find a way to make the picture a little more soft.

A very recent shot, late fall. (See? More natural!)

What I could change: work to lighten the face a little more, just a tiny bit.

Shot taken last week. (Definitely more natural!)

What I could change: Learn how to make her skin look natural, still have color, but not so red.
Maybe a little more contrast.

If you all have any tips or advice about my editing. Please comment! I would love all the help I can get! You do not have to have a blogspot account to comment on this site, so PLEASE comment! Your advice is greatly appreciated! ♥

~Mrs. S

Sisters Part 2

I just love these photos, so I had to share!

Sisters

Gotta love 'em!

Creative Session: Ible

Ible a.k.a. Elizabeth, is a good friend of mine. I met her through myspace years ago when myspace was the facebook of today. She was a student at GSW, the university I was about to attend. I honestly cannot tell you how we became so close. All I know is that Ible has been such a good friend to me over the years!

Ible, I absolutely love you and I am so grateful for our friendship over the past few years! I am so glad that we continue to be "old school," writing letters back and forth in the mail, but I will miss you when you move! Thank you so much for letting me take these pictures of you!

Thrift Stores and Flea Markets

I love love LOVE thrift stores (and flea markets)! Now, it can be difficult for some to find the more up-to-date fashions at thrift stores, but if you are into the vintage and classy look, thrift stores actually have a lot of choices.

I visit the local thrift store/flea market every time I am visiting my parents and I find tons of good stuff there, especially skirts and cardigans.

Here are some facts about thrift store shopping:

Fact #1: Cardigans can be found at just about every thrift store, Goodwill and Salvation Army. So if you are addicted to cardigans like I am, start visiting these stores. They will probably be anywhere from $5 to 50 cents. That is WAY better than buying a $20 cardigan from Old Navy! Especially when you will probably find some from Old Navy at your Goodwill for A LOT less.

Fact #2: A lot of thrift stores (Goodwill and Salvation Army included) carry the classic high-waisted pencil skirts. I buy these pencil skirts at the local thrift store for $1 a piece and in all different colors and patterns!

Fact #3: High-waisted skirts are not for everyone, I know. A lot of thrift stores (most to all) carry A-line skirts of all different lengths, patterns and colors. I have bought many of these as well for $4 or less.

Fact #4: For the men, there are PLENTY of NICE button-up collared shirts at EVERY thrift store. The issue is that you are going to have to take the time to look! I bought my husband 4 long-sleeve button-up shirts for his birthday and it cost me a total of $12. Guess what? Some of them were Ralph Lauren!

Fact #5: I know that some men nowadays like to wear cardigans/sweaters, well, they have those, too! My brother has received many cardigans through my friend and me, which we found at the local flea market ($1 a piece) and Salvation Army ($2 a piece). That's a good deal!

Fact #6: Women, you just bought a $3 dress from Goodwill. You liked the style, but the pattern and colors don't really suit you. Well then, an option would be to dye it to a color that you would prefer. Then, your dress would be of a solid color, your choice! Don't think of it as buying a $20 dress, but buying a $3 dress. You now can afford to make it your own, completely unique.

Fact #7: Always be open minded about the pieces you look at. Remember that a different top can change the look of any skirt, and a different cardigan can change the look of any shirt. Remember that you can alter the clothes you get. If the skirt you bought was $1 and you aren't shirt you like it, no harm done. Play around with it. Cut it, sew it or add to it.

Fact #8: Take the time to look. Don't tell me you only go out shopping (pleasure shopping) for 30 minutes!

Here are some thrift store steals!

Cardigan-$1, Skirt-$3, Shoes-$5
TOTAL=$9

Skirt-$1, Cardigan-$3, Belt-$1
TOTAL=$5

Cardigan-$3, T-Shirt-$4, Skirt (cut off from dress)-$3
Total=$10

Cardigan- $1, Skirt-$1, Belt-$1  
TOTAL=$3

Mini Session: Devon

Devon is such a passionate person. It is pretty crazy how true that statement is. She is mentioned in an earlier post and this is probably not the last time you will see her. Devon and I have been friends for the past few years seeing as we have attended the same University. She has a huge heart for God which is quite encouraging on many occasions.
Thank you Devon, once again, for allowing me to take these pictures of you! I hope you enjoy them!