Artfully Said

A wedding and a new blog you have to see...unrelated

So if you are at all into photograph or weddings you need to check of the wedding of Miss Megan and and her new husband Dave. Now - let me say, this is not your traditional wedding in the least but it looked SO fun and I am so envious of her independent spirit and willingness to do her own thing. I mean my wedding day was perfect for me but man...I don't know that I'd even have the moxie to host an event like they did. Go here to see some of the photos. The wedding was photographed by Becky Novacek and I have been reading her blog pretty often lately too. I think she is going to turn out to be pretty inspiring to me. You can read more about the actual wedding here as a photo from the wedding was recently featured on the cover and their wedding was featured within. Don't you wish you had been there?? I know of Megan from the paper arts event I attended last fall in Omaha, NE, Silver Bella. She attended and was a vendor and well I just admire her spunk.

I also want to introduce to you a new blog - brought to you by my very own husband Jason. Check out his handsome mug on the left ;) I have been bugging him for quite some time about starting a blog of his own. You may or may not know that he is a pastor and well, I love hearing about his way of looking at things and his understanding of faith and the Bible. I know I'm based and all but I highly encourage you to check him out. Faithful Alternative

I feel like a kid at Christmas and some sites to check out...

One of the more difficult aspects of my life is that we only have Grady 50% of the time. Now please know - this is the best thing for Grady. His Dad all in all is a pretty good Dad and they love each other to pieces. So that is what we do. Because it is about what is best for Grady, not about what we prefer or his Dad prefers or goodness knows what else. So every other week on my day to "get him back" I kinda have an extra bounce in my step. I watch the clock more closely and count down the time until I get to go and get my little guy with big energy and big cuteness. And today is that day. And I feel almost like it is Christmas. Or my birthday. Or some very special day. And I guess it is because today we get our Grady Bug back. The photo here is an older one from when I first got my camera last summer. But I love the silliness of it. You can always count on him to be a ham for me.

I also wanted to share with you the yummiest and free little magazine I came across at Chad & Jodi's House. Kraft's Food & Family Magazine is filled with simple, quick meals, lots are healthy and the ingredients won't cost you an arm and a leg. it is my kind of cooking. Oh and they have photos!! lots of them. I am a cook who needs photos to make sure I'm on track - the kitchen is honestly not my forte. In fact the we don't even jump any more when the smoke alarm goes off and I'm cooking. It is just a natural part of the process of my serving dinner. And I'm only exaggerating a little bit really. So anyhow - back to the magazine - go to Kraft Foods Magazine Archive to see past issues or Kraft Foods Magazine Sign up to get your very own copy delivered to your mailbox.

And last, I want to share with you this adorable catalog/magazine that my Mother-In-Law shared with me this past weekend.

Warm Biscuit has the most perfect children's decor for the person who loves vintage and retro type things. I especially like it because that is how we are decorating Baby M's room. They have retro inspired fabrics (I think my favorite is the paper doll fabric), the old-fashioned Fisher price toys that we played with as children - remember the clock and the phone? - they're in here. I honestly cannot afford most of what is on their pretty little pages but they are a great inspiration if you are a do-it-yourselfer like me. 

A little hello from Grady...

It has been a while since Mr. Grady has made an appearance on the blog so I figured it was about time he stopped by. Here he is in all his grown-up 7-almost-8ishness. I cannot believe how big he is. But he is still my little guy. He snuggles and gives kisses and hugs just because he wants too. Let's hope that doesn't stop for a long time. He loves sports - mainly soccer, baseball and football. He is an excellent reader - tested at the end of the school year at an end of 5th grade/beginning of 6th grade reading level - he is going into second grade. So proud of him for that! He loves his XBox 360 and would play it always if he could. He has lots of energy but still needs lots of sleep. And when he doesn't get it - he goes into hyper drive. He is a great helper around the house and earns his alowance with rarely a word of complaint and is more than often ready to help with extra with a happy heart. He has a tender heart and cried with me at the end of Charlotte's Web. He is our little prince and we could not be more blessed.

This photo is one from my assigment I turned in last night (read about my photography class in previous post here). Wendy gave a tutorial on a better black and white conversion. The color version of this image turned out rather nicely too I think. So I think I'll share that one too.

Oh and I have not told you yet! I'll let you in on a little something we have cooking for Grady. We are suprising him with a summer vacation to Disney World! He thinks we're just spending a lazy week at home on vacation...but little does he know! We are going to pack the car (he will be with his dad the day we pack - sneaky us) and then after church that Sunday we're just going to head south (we're driving). I have not figured out the best way or time to tell him the plan yet though. One idea we've had is to hand him a map and let him play detective. But I'd move to hear your ideas on how to best surprise him or Disney advice in general. If you have some, please feel free to leave it in the comments section below!

 

Treated Myself to a Little Pretty from Etsy

So in all my picture taking-ness that I have had going on I decided I wanted a pretty custom camera strap. So I ordered one. Here is a photo of it. I'm sure it is helping me to take better photos. It HAS definitely made carrying it easier b/c it is nice and long - a good 6" longer than the strap the camera came with. And isn't the Amy Butler fabric oh so pretty. I'm a sucker for pretty things. So think you might want a custom camera strap of your own?? Well you're in luck! You can visit the Etsy store I ordered it from. here is the link VMJess. Shipping was super, super speedy and I couldn't be more pleased with it!! While visiting Etsy be sure to look around. They have so many cute things!! Check out Pearly Grey's shop for super adorable retro baby and toddler bibs and burp rags and toddler skirts and things, I found Lou and Lee this morning in case you have a sweet little girl in need of some hair decor - I love felt. And this adorable blanket by Ninis Handmades I could just spend hours looking at all the pretty things!

Loving Pandora.com and a new picture or two…

A co-worker introduced me to Pandora.com.com a couple of weeks ago and I am SO lovin’ it!! Maybe I’m just a little bit behind the times?? Maybe my age is starting to show?? Regardless – if you have not tried it you NEED to do so. You just type in an artist you are interested in listening to and it generates a play list for you of music from that genre. How cool is that!!?? Oh and you can give specific songs a thumbs or down to further customize your list as it goes along. Create an account and it saves your station for you. I LOVE it. did I mention it’s FREE?? I cannot believe it’s been what - 2 weeks since my last post? I’ve been just too busy enjoying the summer I guess.

Grady is in his last 2 weeks on coaches pitch baseball (the step between t-ball and little league) and I have not shared a single photo. I’ll get those up soon. but for the time being I’ll just share a couple I am turning in for my photography class tonight. The cute little guy is my nephew Ivan. He’ll be 1 later this month and this is the first picture I have shared of him. What a neglectful auntie I am!! The other 2 images are just my attempts at some compositional rules for photography. We’ll see what Wendy has to say about them tonight!!

Learning bit by bit...

Last August I mentioned I purchased my first digital SLR camera. Shortly thereafter I found a class that I was really interested in. So I emailed the teacher and was put on a wait list. Which was fine with me because I knew nothing about what I was doing. It was in about maybe March of this year I finally started shooting in manual with my camera. That is where I make all the decisions about the settings for my camera instead of letting the camera think for me. And then a few weeks later I get a message saying I would be getting in to the next round of classes! SO-  I started a photography class with the super fabulous Wendy Schulz about 2 weeks ago. It is a twelve week, on-line class. We have 2 weeks to complete each assignment. There will be 3 technically focused assignment and 3 artistically focused assigmments. Last night I had my first one-on-one review session with her. I think I did ok. The first assignment challenged me but in a good way. Here are just a couple pretties of my practicing. Hope you like!

I think I may be getting the hang of it!

So back in August I made a pretty major purchase for me - a Canon Digital Rebel XT camera. It is a digital SLR camera. This means I can change my lens, my aperature, my shutter seed. All that fancy camera stuff. I took a 6 week class from The Camera Company here in Janesville. Then life happened I didn't use my camera much for a few weeks and that turned into months.

This past weekend I spent at my sisters with her and her 2 little boys, Isaac (1/2 and 2 years old is what he tells me he is) and baby Alec, my godson, born just last month. I shot a couple hundred photos I think. I deleted a lot but I think I got some really good ones too! I think I may be getting the hang of this camera. I've learned that I really need to watch how I hold my camera. I've also learned I need to just use my camera, as much as I possibly can. Practice, practice, practice. So here are some results. Now these are straight out of my camera. I have not done any editing of the images. I own the software. Just don't quite know how to use it well yet. I'll get there though. I'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback, corrective criticism on the images below. Just leave your comments below.

Weekend in Omaha...

I got back on Sunday from a 4 day trip to Omaha, Nebraska with my mom and aunt. While I attended Silver Bella, they lounged and shopped. Had a really nice time at Silver Bella, took classes from world-class teachers, met some very sweet other Bellas, shopped for all kinds of pretty little things and just had a wonderful time away. It really got my creative juices flowing again which feels great. I have used my camera more this week than in the past couple of months put together. And lo and behold, it seems the more you use it, the better the images are you get. Who'd have thunk?? So here is a tiny peek at just a couple of my creations and treasures. My most special purchase is from the so lovely and sweet Miss Rebecca Sower. I am simply thrilled & honored to be the owner of one of her original art pieces.   She is such an inspiration to me in both her artistic style and her quiet soul. I was also so lucky to have taken a class from her. I have not finished those beautiful little vignettes yet. But, when I do I will surely post a photo of them. Also here is a photo I took of her and her daughter Madeline who was her assistant for the classes. I also took a class from the awesome Kim Kwan. This was the only project I actually finished during class and I learned how to do Japanese Stab Binding. Thanks Kim you were a great and super fun teacher. So glad i got the experience! Okee doke. I have bunches more to share but need to get some zzzzs. Good night!

I have been playing…

But with new things!! I am the proud - and slightly intimidated - owner of my first digital SLR camera AND Adobe Photoshop Elements for image editing. For those of you that may not know what SLR means – well technically it mean single lens reflex I think. What that means is it is one of those cameras that you changes lenses with and have manual setting for capturing images just the way you want them. That is…once you figure out how to use the thing correctly.

So to show you what I’ve learned so far. Here is a little thing I did using a photo from our wedding last year where I followed instructions on how to make an image look vintage. I like the overall look but think the photo is too dark. Don’t know enough about what I am doing yet to lighten it. What do you think? Like? Don’t like? Too dark, right?

And then the camera. A Canon Digital Rebel. I am using the lens it came with and already know the better ones I want. But I want to learn with what I have. Here are some I took resized for the blog. Hopefully the image quality is retained for sharing b/c that IS part of the whole point of having a good camera.

Home is where your story begins.

  My latest creation. Home is where your story begins. I have loved this saying since I first saw it. It just really spoke to me; and on different levels. When I am with my “big” family – my mom or dad or sisters, no matter where we are, I am often home. Being in the midst of them brings back all those familiar chapters of growing up. Of course not all the chapters were easy, but those are out-weighed by the good ones. And I love creating new chapters with them too. I love how things resonate in my sisters just like they do in me. And it makes sense, I suppose, since we came from the same place. But that is still a priceless gift and one I treasure. They make me feel at home.

But I have a new home now too. In my “little” family. When Jason and I were first dating, one night when it was way too late and life was way too complicated, I told him that HE was my home. My soul just felt so at peace in his presence. Like it had been wandering for way too many adult years and had finally found a place where it could rest and be cared for and nurtured, and cherished. He is my home. And Grady is my home. And so a new story has begun. And I love adding to the story of my life with them. I wonder what our next adventure will be?

Hugs,

Johanna