A cool tool to be curious

Hey all - so have you ever heard of www.stumbleupon.com? I love this program - you create a profile, and then you can choose everything that interests you. Then download a toolbar on your browser where you can "stumble" throughout sites from around the world, always bringing you new ideas, peoples thoughts, pictures, or other information. It's crazy how sometimes an amazing thing shows up on your screen that you never thought about. I put in "creative projects" and a lot of really cool projects came up that I want to try.

Here's one cool site that I just stumbled upon 45 Astonishing Examples of Long-Exposure Photography 

Enjoy! Jules

Travel Photos - taking great, timeless photos

Hello again! It's Jules, it's been a few weeks since I posted - thanks for my sisters and the guest writers that took over my spot. I spent an amazing three weeks traveling throughout SE Asia for my International MBA program. I always love looking back over my photos, and I notice that there are also those few that stand out, those that really show the essence of the place that you visited. I hate photos that look really touristy or unartistic, and aren't something you want to look back at many years later.

When I own a home and can decorate it, I want to have photographs everywhere. Traveling is inspiring and I want to continually remind myself about the experiences and what they taught me.

It's tough to take great photos when traveling, and it takes a little more thought to look for a different perspective than to just point and shoot. So I'll try to show some examples of mine, and also quote some expert opinion.

Taking pictures of yourself and travel mates

I like to have pictures of myself in famous places, but I don't think its necessary to stand in front of everything you see. Also, I've noticed that too often you or others looking at the picture look at the subject and not the surroundings. Or you think you look bad and don't want to show it to other people. When I was traveling in Croatia this summer, my friends and I set up this picture, and I love it. We wanted to document how random it was that we were all wearing the same color, so we propped up the camera and put on the timer, then we just let ourselves laugh and be random for the photo. I think it really captured a great moment that is more classic. It would be much more boring if we were just posing and smiling. So be creative!

- Step back, and look at the subject with a different perspective

I have a few pictures of this vibrant market in Dubrovnik, Croatia. But this picture with an ancient arched doorway in the foreground gives it a unique perspective. It offers more scale and replicates more of the actual experience of walking through an old town and finding this colorful market. Before snapping, just look around and see if you could make the photo a little more relevant to show the experience.

- Doorways - don't let them pass by

 I was recently at a friends home for New Years, and her parents had a whole room of images of doorways. I'm not sure if they took them or purchased them, but I always loved doorways and was excited that I had documented them. These images could go in any room and any one would love the silent images. Just make sure you find a unique way to crop it. Perhaps have a bit of the sidewalk or corner, and see how to fit in windows or plants/bikes that may be near the doorway.

- People as subjects, showing the beauty of the culture

I always love the famous travel photographs of people and children smiling at the camera, sharing their culture and life with the photographer, but I've never been brave enough to take a picture like that with anyone knowing. So I tend to take pictures of people involved in their daily lives, and not noticing me taking a quick snap of their life. I think these images are the most appealing though, really showing an image that is unaffected by me.

Most of these photos I have I really just snapped while walking or driving by. They're not always perfect, but a quick crop or some color adjustments really help to make them standout. Just always keep snapping - if it catches your attention and moves you, it will always be memorable to you or others. And try not to get random tourists in the picture!

Matting Made Easy

I'm going simple today with technique that's easy & looks great -- plus, it's a lot cheaper than the alternative.

I'm definitely one who has never had a picture "professionally" matted. If a frame comes with a mat, then I might use it, but unless it's a really nice piece of art I couldn't justify paying for it. Plus, even if you just buy a single mat at the store, they're not cheap. (Or maybe I just am...) So if you're like me, consider matting to-be-framed pictures on cardstock! We do it for scrapbooking all the time, but I think it's overlooked for framing.

I've done this a few times before, mostly out of necessity/lack of materials, but was reminded of it's greatness while reading this post on Thrify Decor Chick. (It's a long post, so this is the picture to look for.)


She uses colored poster board that matched the color of her walls. At first the reflection looked like the larger picture had stripes on the bottom half of the paper which I think would be work well too.

The ones I've done are really simple. Black & white even...

My first time doing this I was when I made one of these picture frame boxes for our wedding reception for the cards to go in.

I was trying to do everything ultra cheap and decided to use some 4x6 pictures that I had already printed from snapfish (I think) with my favorite white border. I had a bunch of extra 12 x 12 black textured cardstock leftover from another project that I cut to size and glued the photos to them.

I loved how it looked with the white border from the photos.

For this one, I had used my mom's embroidery machine to make this for Jeremy for Christmas one year and just matted it on torn scrapbook paper and white cardstock. Easy right?

Just a start, but tons of possibilities with this one. I've got lots of empty frames sitting around that I'm excited to fill with cardstock-mounted-images. Hope this helps to keep the juices flowing!

Photographing Life - First Post by Jules

Hello All! This is Jules and I'm making my first post here. I'm 28 and am currently a poooor, grad student :). I used to be a "young professional" in DC and became a little disenchanted, so wanted to go back to school - I'm now earning my International MBA in Denver. I have a great group of friends here that make life awesome, as well as a great guy (I'll call him Than) that just moved out here too. I work part-time at an Rug Gallery where I do the website and tech stuff and then also research and sell beautiful rugs and antiques from around the world - so I'm surrounded by colors and shapes and great stories. Inspired by that, my topic today is about observing your surroundings to inspire your art or creative projects, and using photographs as a great way to decorate any space.

I love going on long walks to look at things, to hear the city or nature, and to find new perceptions. Than is an amazing photographer and when ever we travel, go hiking, or just walk around town he's always snapping photos and then they come out breathtaking. We love photoshop and you can play around with it and do awesome stuff or you can do it online on several websites like snapfish.com or getfunky.com-- see the sample photo on the right.

One day I'd love to print out hundreds of these, put them in nice frames and have them around my house - with their stories and memories. So much better than store-bought pictures!

Black and White photos can make a simple photo seem expensive. Dusk is a great-time for a photowalk - shadows can do wonders for depth. Food on a plate - look how gorgeous it looks in b/w!

Parks have some create scenery. Taking pictures of a scene you may see everyday and think nothing of could be amazing just by playing with the colors and lighting on photoshop.

Restaurant Signs are often elegant and could be great for pictures in the kitchen or eating nook.

A child's discarded toy has awesome imagery with the soft fabric against the brick road. Can't you imagine this photo in a child's playroom?

Hope you found this interesting! Now, look through those family photos and snapshots that you have from your digital camera and have some fun with them. See them as a starting point and see how you can change them to make them unique and artistic, and blow them up to hang in your home!

See ya next week! xo, Jules

First Hello from KK

Hello, hello!!

Welcome to our new blog, and I hope you have fun meeting each of us and our creative styles! Everyone has busy lives, but it's always fun to break out a crafts project or make something that can help the other aspects of your life run more smoothly.

I currently work full-time, do freelance work on the side, and am working to start up a small business, so I understand time restraints. I hope to focus on projects that are less daunting and that can be completed quickly.

I'm an avid scrapbooker so one focus will be on simple layouts and techniques.

I also want to shed a little light on the digital scrapbooking world and using different options/programs.

I hope to provide some basic photography and Photoshop tips. Making GREAT photos out of average photos is something anyone can do. I can't find the original of this photo and it's by no means a professional job, but I cropped out two girls on the left side of the photo. Nothing against them, but it almost looked like they were cropped IN in the first place. :)

I also do a lot of projects with mod podge, paints, pictures frames, simple decor, and basically anything else that sparks my interest.

Hopefully we can learn from and be inspired by each other in the weeks to come. I'm looking forward to it!

Sooo...let's Keep the Juices Flowing!!

Tata for now

-KK

P.S. Happy 9/09/09 Anything exciting going on today?