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About Me
I'm a photographer, crafter, maker of things currently living in San Francisco, California. I was born and raised in a small town in Ohio, but quickly was itching to spread my wings. This wing-spreading lead me to Miami, Florida where I enjoyed a quiet and peaceful life.

My photography features landscape, nature and home and garden. I also quite enjoy snapping a few pics of the little people in my life.

Favorite Things
Since I've been labeled "crafty" I try to live up to that honor by making stuff. I especially enjoy alternative photo developing techniques and sewing stuff. I was a big scrapbook nerd but recently I haven't really been that inspired. Maybe I'll get my mojo back someday.

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12 January 12

12 For 2012

It’s January 2012, the 12th day and I sort of have a “Ground Hog’s Day” feeling, as if I’ve been here and done this before.

Over the past week and a half, I’ve been reading everyone’s new year’s posts and goals for this 12th year of the 2000s. Love hearing how different people interpret the change of the calendar. For me, new years are symbolic of new beginnings and opportunities for growth and development as well as another building block on the life I’ve created so far.

Ali Edwards promotes a small goal each year called “One Little Word.” The idea is that you select a word that could be the “theme” for your year. For the past 2 years, I’ve chosen words that helped me stay focused on my goals for the year and gave me a sense of direction. This year, I have selected “action” as my word. I’ve been asking all my friends, “What word would select for 2012?” and I LOVE hearing all the different responses.

If you have time, Ali has an audio file on her blog reading all the words her readers have chosen this year and it’s powerful to hear them read aloud.

In closing, last year at this time, I made a list of 11 goals for 2011 and I am curious to see how I did and I’ve made a new list of 12 for this year.

1. Continue to grow and develop my skills working with metal. - check! Lots of sewing this year (not so much metal work, though - boo!)

 2. Improve my sewing skills by making more clothes. - check! Learned a great deal this year and wore a bunch of my own creations.

3. Learn this new thing and kick it’s butt. - no comment here
4. Create 4 brand new designs - this did not happen :(
5. Travel - go on at least one major trip this year. - We didn’t go on a major trip, but several small trips, including Miami! That was super fun :)
6. Be more active - camping / hiking / scuba diving - Check! We bought our bikes and I began biking to work. In 2012 I would like to do more camping.
7. Enter one design contest this year - Surprisingly, I did do this one. I entered the BurdaStyle Costume contest - but sadly, did not win :(
8. Improve my Adobe Illustrator skills by doing one new project a month - fail! Didn’t even attempt this.
9. Completely overhaul and organize the house - cleaning mode! - This sort of happened, but still needs a lot of work.
10. Visit friends in Florida, Georgia and Ohio :) - visited Florida and Ohio, perhaps I’ll figure out how to see more people this year.
11. Make an effort to remember birthdays and special occasions - send real cards and not just “happy birthday” messages on Facebook. - another fail! I totally had the desire, but my job sucked the life out of me most days and that’s a terrible excuse for not sending birthday cards, let’s give it a whirl this year!

Twelve Goals for 2012

1. Relauch my Etsy store

2. Take some fashion design classes and increase my sewing skills

3. Become a better photographer

4. Live healthier and stop turning to food for comfort

5. Enter a fashion design contest

6. Take more photos

7. Buy more handmade and local

8. Scrapbook more - digitally - After our fire in 2010, I am done with paper scrapbooking

9. Improve my Adobe Illustrator skills

10. Learn 12 new tunes on my fiddle

11. Bike, bike, bike

12. Volunteer - somewhere, doing something that will give back all the goodness I’ve been given (I’m a lucky girl)

What are your plans for 2012? Any big goals? I’d love to hear more about them!

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10 November 10

Day 21 - A Photo of Something that Makes You Happy

Ahh! An easy one, finally! My camera, this camera, makes me so happy! Actually, anything that records the world around me is always listed on the top 10 of “happy things” for me.

Chris likes to recall the old days (pre-digital cameras) when we would snap photos and take them to be developed. Nothing made me happier than riding home and flipping through all of those photos. 

I can’t remember when the obsession to take pictures took over me, but I am proud to say when I was 10 years old, I was Girl Scout Troop 1250’s official photographer. They bought me my own 110 camera to use too! I was so thrilled because our family couldn’t afford to buy me a camera of my own. 

When I was in college, I took several photography classes. I always struggled between wanting to be an artist and feeling obligated to be a scientist. Science won the college battle, but I think artist won the career battle :) Anyway, my photography professor told our class something that has stayed with me all these years. “You can consider yourself a real photographer after you have clicked the shutter over 100,000 times.”

At the time, that seemed incredibly impossible, but I average about 5,000-6,000 snapshots a year between my camera phone, the computer (hello PhotoBooth) and my Nikon so I estimate I’m halfway there. :)

Loving photography also means loving the stories behind the pictures. The greatest thing about taking the time to pick up your camera (even cell phone cameras) is showing others how you see the world.

This is your chance! Nothing shows your point of view like a photo. Everyone has this incredible opportunity to share their world just by taking a picture with a camera. And seriously, it DOES NOT matter what type of camera you have. You can make one even. Just get out there and document your world and then show people. It’s so sad to see pictures at garage sales and flea markets.

Ok, I buy them too and I love them, but don’t you wish you knew the story behind them? Sometimes I like to create stories for them, LOL. 

Alright, I’m wrapping this post up. Get your camera, get inspired, snap your world and do a show and tell! I want to see your point of view! Get clicking!

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Themed by Hunson. Originally by Josh