DIY Christmas Tree Ornaments

Hi Everyone!

I'm back again to share this easy Christmas Ornament DIY. These take very little time and turn out really beautifully.

All you need is some patterned paper (I used this paper stack), string (I used green baker's twine), glue, and scissors. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the ornament shape, but you can hand cut the shape or use a circle cutter. I just happened to like this particular shape, it really doesn't matter - circles, hearts, stars - whatever you feel like cutting up! You need 5 different pieces of patterend paper, cut in the same shape. Essentially, you fold each piece in half and glue them together.


I followed this tutorial by Lori Whitlock and voila! A beautiful Christmas ornament to keep or gift!

*please ignore the last remnants of my paint splatter manicure - it's coming off before this post goes live, I swear!

Check out my other DIYs over at MixedMethod! Have fun crafting, and Happy Holidays!!

CHEESE!

Steph here. 

Maybe you like taking photographs all year round (like me). Or perhaps you are the type of person that only takes photographs at holidays or big family gatherings. Maybe you don't have a camera or rarely pull it out. The intent of this post is to show you how cool it is to have those 100% natural, completely candid photographs. There is definitely a place for a posed family shot. But let's be honest, most of life isn't posed. Really great memories can be captured if you are willing to pull out the camera at all sorts of everyday moments. An evening ice cream cone, a nightly bath, a walk in the park, a ride on a mower, a happy child.

Whether you are taking photographs of your children, significant other, family, landscapes or places you'll create great memories to view later if you snap today. People often tell me that they don't have a nice camera. NOT a good excuse! If you learn how to use any camera (even a phone camera), you can capture some great memories that you will cherish later. So go, snap away. The seemingly mundane moments in your life often are the ones most remembered and appreciated later.

Check out some of my other photography on my website: LeeEdwardPhotography.com

Santa Fe Beauty

Last May, I had the great fortune of traveling to Santa Fe, New Mexico to visit my husband's aunt Kathy. The flights were a bit long with a baby, but were certainly worth it! Santa Fe is gorgeous. Breathtaking. We really enjoyed the change of pace and scenery. The architecture is completely different, the lifestyle is a little more laid back and there is art everywhere! I was able to take a lot of photographs of the beautiful scenery there and I am devoting this post to sharing them with you today!

Here is 5 secs. worth of advice before diving into the photographs while traveling: BEFORE taking any photographs of a place you are visiting, take a few moments just to enjoy the place. Look around, explore. Become engaged in your environment. Be in the moment! Then take photographs to commemorate a space, a place or a person. Sometimes, photography can get in the way. Don't let the initial focus be on taking photographs. Enjoy the place first, then capture it!

Grab Bag of Cool Things from a Weekend in NYC: Art, Architecture, DIY Decor, and Cuisine!

Howdy, Friends! Today I share some nifty stuff from my weekend in NYC to inspire you! 

This is part of the mural at Tu-Lu's Gluten-Free Bakery! I'm in love!

The decor in the Yaffa Cafe was quite eclectic.                                                                                   

While walking I saw this weathered gem. 

You know I love architecture! 

 I just love this view in Abe Lebewohl Park. 

This guy just made me happy! 

Ahh, now to the cool DIY part of this post! We stayed with my architecture student friend, and I just love how she decorated her apartment! So simple, clean, and DIY! 

 I'd seen this before, but it looks so cool in practice!

On Sunday, we brunched at Queens Comfort which had a very different type of decor than the Yaffa Cafe and my friend's apartment. 

This was the painting in the bathroom. 

Never had ice tea with brown sugar in it! I think I liked it! 

That's all for this week!

--Lael

Don't feel like baking this holiday season? What about making candy? (sort of)

A few Christmases ago I "made" some peppermint chocolate candy for a special someone. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any pictures.

I bought a few cheap molds, special chocolate for the molds, red and white sugar, and peppermint oil. I sprinkled the sugar into the the molds. Then, I melted the chocolate using a double boiler. I stirred in a small amount of peppermint oil. I finished by pouring the melted chocolate into the molds. And voila! Once it hardens you have yummy candy you can just pop out of the molds.

Here are some cool videos from YouTube which describe the process in more detail and show some cool designs. You can buy the supplies at craft stores like Joann's. Here are some Wilton products that are pretty easy to find: Candy Melts, Candy Molds, and Candy Tools.

There are, of course, many more sophisticated ways to go either on your own or with kits. Check out the Alpine Pal Candy Pretzel Pops from Wilton (pictured below).

http://www.wilton.com/idea/Alpine-Pal-Candy-Pretzel-Pops

Sweet Eating and Melting, 

Lael

Book making!

I love taking photographs. Even more, I love turning those photographs into art that I can view. What's the point of having lots of really great photographs if you don't hang them on the wall or view them often? 

I really enjoy making photograph albums or books. Whether for a client or myself, they are a super fun and a great way to view photographs and last for years! With the holidays around the corner, they are also a very thoughtful gift for friends and family. There are book and album templates designed for just about any type of photograph (whether from your phone, a scanned image or a digital camera) and they come in all different shapes and sizes! Also, you can customized them with any text or embellishments that you want!

I use a more complicated program to design photograph albums, but there are plenty of easy to use, quality book making companies out there for everyone to use! In this post, I'd like to highlight a few.
On a side note: I've made books on Picaboo and iphoto and recommend both. Picaboo allows for ALOT of customization, which is awesome!

Picaboo
Picaboo is great because it has an easy to use online book creation station. It saves your progress on their site, so you can work on a product as much as you'd like over time. They offer lots templates etc. for easy creation -- but also allow you to completely customize using your own ideas.

Mac iPhoto
iPhoto books are created on MACs (sorry PC users) in the iPhoto program. Again, these are easy to create with an autofill feature if you want to work super quickly. They also have the ability to customize to some extent. There aren't quite as many templates but the ones the offer are quality and and well designed.

Mpix
Mpix offers great products in general. They are going to be even pricier than the two choices above, but are well worth it if you have the funds. Lots of templates to choose from!

Shutterfly

Printstagram (for Instagram photographs)
These little books would be perfect presents. They are the most inexpensive of the book outlets included in this post. But think of the possibility! The minibook is only $12 and comes with 50 photographs spiral bound (think brag book). The tiny books are 3 for $10. Stocking stuffer?!

There are more outlets out there for transforming your photographs into product, but these are good choices. If you try them out, let me know!

Steph

Sketching for Your Vote...

Something a bit different today, but it's arty because I drew it. ;-)

Tetris Twist

In honor of Halloween, I have a few wonderful pumpkins to share with you. These pumpkins are unlike anything I've ever seen before! Enjoy!

Pumpkin gallery!

Also, saw this Tetris pumpkin the other day and thought it was super neat! Check it out. 

Pumpkin Tetris!

I know Halloween is over, but I fully plan on celebrating Halloween and Thanksgiving completely. I am not rushing to get to Christmas (unlike most retail spaces). 

Hurricane and Painting

Howdy from Hurricane Sandy! Survived the storm with just a leaky roof. Not much text for you today, but here are some photos I took of a painting my grandmother painted! I really like it. Some with flash and some without to show color/texture variations. Makes me want to do a work on canvas...

--Lael