Capture the Moment

When I got my new DSLR camera for my birthday this past November, I was really excited!  I had been taking pictures with a second-hand Point & Shoot (Fuji FinePix) that I bought from my friend Kristin.  She is the creative genius behind KristinRogersPhotography.com.  

She's amazing, right!  

Let me assure you, I definitely got my money's worth out of that camera...by the time I was done with it, it was being held together with rubber bands and duct tape (not joking)!  I took a TON of cool pictures with it & really enjoyed a whole new world with the macro lens.

Project 365...one of my favorite shots with my trusty point & shoot using a macro lens.

So when I finally got my hot little hands on the new camera, I knew I wanted to make a cover for the strap...something scrappy & fun!  I whipped up this one & was really happy with the way it turned out.  I mixed a bunch of my favorite prints & backed it with plush zebra minky...oh yeah!

It's really comfortable to wear & I've received a lot of compliments on it, so I decided to make another one for my Etsy shop - you can find it here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/69973300/victorious-vixen-scrappy-plush-quilted

This one measures aprox. 24" long & 1.75" wide & fits most standard straps.  It is designed to slip over your original camera strap...strap NOT included.  Please measure your strap before purchase and let me know if you need a different size.  =)

Photography has been a really fun adventure for me and my neighbors can attest to the fact that I can usually be seen with a camera around my neck!  I wear it all the time, stopping to shoot anything that catches my eye.  I love looking back at the pictures I've taken & recalling how I felt or what was going on at the time.  It is another way for me to express myself...by capturing the moment, the details, the simple & complex.

So for all you photography enthusiasts out there, pick up your camera, seize the moment & get shooting! 

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."  -Ansel Adams

I Heart Hearts!

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share some of the hearts I've come across, several I've made, some my girls have made and a bunch from today's events.  The past year I've found myself going back to this same theme...hearts!  

Hearts can be a simple expression of love, affection and emotion.  

Love is all around us!

Happy hearts of encouragement...

Love one another!

Some pictures from today...

I wish I could say I made these, but I didn't!  Don't they look amazing?!

Here are our Valentine's Day cards...with a books of the bible book marker.

My two little Valentine's!  I love you my girls...you are my joy!  =)

 

Love is patient,

Love is kind.

It does not envy,

It does not boast, 

It is not proud.

It is not rude,

It is not self-seeking,

It is not easily angered,

It keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil,

But rejoices with the truth.

It always protects,

Always trusts,

Always hopes,

Always perseveres.

Love never fails.

 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

The Little Things

finding a puddle to stomp in...

running to the park...

stopping to pick a dandelion...

making a wish...

balancing on a little wall...

taking time to play...

finding little treasures in nature...

discovering secret places...

enjoying a little snack...

swinging...

pretending...

climbing...

taking a leap of faith...

admiring the beauty around us...

taking a moment to rest...

making up games...

and learning everywhere we go.

Simple pleasures in the little things in life!
May you be blessed by the little things that pop up in your day.  =)
Have a great weekend!

Back to School, Back to Nature

Well, it's been back to school in our household...I am enjoying my "Quilting Arts" class through the ABC Adult School in Cerritos.  My teacher, Rosa, is so fun to be around & is so patient with us.  She helped me make a few patterns...something new I've never done before.  You know, those patterns can be so intimidating & I've set them aside so many times after hours of staring blankly at them!  Now I can make my own & decipher theirs (with the help of my super teacher).  Yaaay for school.  =)

Kyra has adjusted GREAT at her pre-school and has been improving her phonics & writing skills everyday.  They recently had their "100th day of school" and celebrated with a party...complete with 100 m&m's for each student to line up & count.  I try to incorporate teaching in everyday activities...we count everything and anything, I ask them questions about what they see & try to get them thinking about the world around them.  They are always very curious!  =)

Kyra's teacher is awesome too!  She writes great little notes on her homework, with plenty of encouragement & what I call "happy hearts."  How sweet is that!

I have tried to instill a love of reading in my girls.  Thankfully, they LOVE books and often get together to "read."  Kyra likes to make up her own stories (which are so fun to listen to) and pretends to be reading these big books!  I love my little bookworms.  =)

 

We (as in Southern Californian's) have actually had some crazy rain the past month!  I know, we are winter WIMPS and have no real concept of how cold the rest of the world really gets, but when it hits 60 degrees around here...we just don't know WHAT to do!  lol.  Here is a shot of these newly planted flowers in the courtyard...funny, but these PURPLE flower plants had a couple PINK flowers growing from them!!  cool.

More pics I took...loving all the nature shots.

and the texture of this leaf was so cool!  I wish it wasn't so blurry...next time I'll get it good.

inside a flower...

peeking in at another bug...

and MORE bugs...I'm lovin' my macro lens people!!!  If you don't have one, it's definitely worth getting if you like to take pictures...it's amazing all the things you see up CLOSE!!

and this bird on a wire...he was just chillin' so I had to get a shot of him.

Some fun new things I've done with my packaging...I made these cool Victoriously UPcycled hang tags...hand crafted with LOVE!!

 One of my latest creations...