I may be level headed, but...

I despise hanging shelves. Floating shelves to be exact. I may have a level head, so to speak, but I cannot - I repeat CANNOT - hang shelves level to save my life!

They do make this nifty little tool called a level, but I am pretty sure mine is broken and I have several cock-eyed shelves to prove it.

They aren't so crooked
you take a photo a just the right angle!

My life is often like my crooked shelves. At times, it can be a bit off level, and I try to improve on those things everyday. In terms of the shelves, I tried putting a taller item on the "low" end of the shelf in a desperate attempt to make it look like it's the same height as the other side.

It didn't work. But, I don't care, I am not putting more holes in my wall and I don't want to throw another drill across the room!

Ok, that was a bit of an exaggeration...


When it comes to the things in my life that aren't quite level however, I won't give up.  God has given me a heart to improve myself, so I will continue to put holes into the walls of the things of my life that need improvement until they seem level to me.

---

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding;" - Proverbs 3:5

Black and White Photo Challenge

It's Friday, and that means it's The Hollie Rogue's weekly Photo Challenge. Today, black and white photography is the theme. Here's one of my favorite black and white photos:

It doesn't hurt that the subject is adorable!

Future Fathers

Father's Day is right around the corner and in thinking about what I should post to recognize everything they do, it occurred to me that I am raising two future fathers.

I feel like raising boys is a responsibility that I should not take lightly. Not only do I want to raise them to be good people who love God and will make a positive difference in this crazy world, I am acutely aware that I am raising boys who will someday become men.

A lot of emphasis seems to made about raising girls to be strong, confident, independent women. This makes sense, but I honestly believe that boys aren't raised in that same steadfast fashion, and I think that is a huge oversight.

My prayer for my boys is that they will grow up to be as respectful, loving, emotional, kind, generous - the list can go on - as their father. (Needless to say, I count myself lucky to have a husband who is all of these things and more.)

Respect, especially toward women, is a very important attribute that I want to instill in my boys. My husband whole heartedly agrees, but rolls his eyes a little at this pet peeve of mine; the phrase, "throws like a girl", is not allowed in my house. I will be the mom playing catch with her boys in the backyard, or catching for them while they practice pitching, thank you very much!

All kidding aside, it really is my heart's desire to raise these boys to be good men, and someday, excellent fathers.

Here's to hoping that I don't make them think that women are crazy along the way!

Summer!

It's June and that means it's summer!  Let the camping, waterskiing and general fun-in-the-sun begin!


Visit my shop for various cards, prints and coasters featuring the photographs above.

P.S. - I will be debuting a coaster set of the ferris wheel in the next couple of weeks. It's such a whimsical piece and will surely be a source of conversation. Keep an eye of Facebook and I'll let you know when it's been listed!

DIY - Laundry Room Vinyl Decal Picture Frame

Laundry. It consumes most of our lives and seems to grow exponentially when we aren't looking. That being said, I honestly think we spend more time in our laundry rooms than we would like to admit. Why then, should those rooms not be aesthetically pleasing?

For instance, I have a sign in my laundry room - which by no means looks like something out of Better Homes and Gardens - that reads "Drop your pants here".

I have found that I really like laundry humor. It's dirty, but in a good way...

While perusing a local craft store, I came across vinyl decals. "Wash - Dry - Fold - Repeat" one decal read. Enter my "ah-ha" moment of adding photography to the laundry room using an image that I took of some weathered clothespins that had been left outside near a clothesline.

The vinyl decal, the photo and a floating picture frame - that I already had at home - lead to the following idea for sprucing up your laundry room.

How To:


1)   The trick with floating frames is trying find the center of the frame to place your photo. Now, by no means am I going to offer any advice as to how to find the center, as I am sure that I did it in the most backwards way possible. Although, you want to mark and adhere the photo onto the back piece of glass.

I did find that using a dry erase marker to make the marks on the glass works wonderfully, and comes off easily!

I may measure badly, but I did want to
take a picture of the tape measure ;)

2)   Use photo safe double stick tape to adhere the photo to the glass. (Again to the back piece of glass, and obviously this would be a good time to wipe off the marks)

3)   As for the decals, just follow the directions that come on the packaging. Tip: I did find that using a popsicle stick to press firmly against the bottom of the clear adhesive sheet as you are pulling it back helped to keep the vinyl on the glass. 

This is an 11 x 14 inch floating frame with an
8 x 10 inch photo.

As a smaller option, I do sell this image in my shop in the form of a handmade greeting card, which you could frame in a 5 x 7 inch frame and put in your laundry room as well!

Now, google laundry humor, and you can find fun sayings like: "Laundry today, or naked tomorrow!"

"Photo A Day Mom Challenge"

A big thank you to Inspired By Family and The Hollie Rogue for allowing me to contribute a prize to this great contest, just in time for Mother's Day!

I love having the opportunity to encourage my fellow photographers to capture those moments in their day-to-day lives that we all seem to take for granted from time to time. Not only does it give you motivation to take more photos, this opportunity can - and probably will - foster learning new techniques as well!

Without further a-do, here is a sneak-peak at what you could win:

Set of 4 Blank Greeting Cards
featuring my photography

So, take the plunge and try out this challenge. If nothing else, you will come away from it with a wonderful little slice of your life as a mom, in photos!

Photo of the Week

The only thing I can say is that it is becoming embarassing-ly clear that I have a little boy, given what he is doing in this photo, shot from my phone.

(Please take note of the magazine in hand, use your imagination as to where he could be - I mean, what is the best room in one's home to read a magazine? Remember, he's a boy who is currently potty training and his daddy is into cars - oh and note the black marker smeared across his face)...

This moment was so spontaneous, and he was so serious about the magazine, that I had to take a picture. Not to mention that his story behind needing the magazine was because he was looking for a new engine for our boat...

Whatever you say son, whatever you say.

Click on the image above to check
out other fun photos from moms
just like you and me!