BOO!

truly scrumptious!

Pumpkin Cake

easy and oh, so delicious!

Ingredients:

1 spice cake mix

1/3 cup oil

3 eggs

1 can of pumpkin (15 oz.)

Directions:

Mix ingredients together.

Bake at temperature and times shown on cake mix box.

*I like using a fluted/bundt pan - cupcakes might be fun, too!*

Take 'er out and cool.

Frost generously with cream cheese frosting.

And, most importantly, ENJOY!

photography class

I have been wanting to take a photography class for the longest time and I finally did*! The class was on how to use a point & shoot digital camera to take better shots. The teacher, Bryan Niven, is an amazing photographer (check out his work here)! I decided to take the class after seeing the shots he took with his digi as posted on his blog. Can we say amazing?

One of the best parts of the class was the section on how to take focused close-ups. Pretty cool, eh? This type of shot also works well for products, demonstrated below with some earrings I made. Angela took some great shots with her camera, too.

I haven't been in "student mode" for quite some time, but it was fun to get (somewhat) back into the groove, even if it was only for a 4-week class. There's something about sitting in lecture, furiously taking notes, and reviewing concepts that is invigorating and exciting. I'm not sure I'm ready to go back to the early morning study sessions, hours in class, and late night study groups of my undergrad, but I think I can handle one class next semester.

*Shout out to Jeff - thanks for suggesting I take the class!

happy, happy birthday Jeffrey dear!

to you - from me!

why i LOVE photoshop elements

Because I can make my photo look like this!

weekend gems

Another weekend - another trip to Idaho! 2 consecutive weekends in the Gem State is pretty much unheard of for us these days. We're hoping for a successful interview, delicious home-cookin', a round of croquet (fingers crossed!), a Wii bit of fun - good, quality time with the fam.

For those of you sticking around Utah for the weekend, this boutique sounds like a gem, too. Get the details here and here. Go with a friend and support your local crafters!

I looked out the window and what did I see?

Little did I know back in May that my birthday begonias had a special surprise in store for me. After a while I noticed one of these plants is not like the others - it's a pumpkin plant! Where did it come from? How did it get here? Who knows - I'm just happy I caught a shot of one of its beautiful yellow blossoms.

so what do you do when you wake up at 5am?

Go take pictures of the temple, of course!

I woke up at a little after 5am on the other morning. Instead of going back to sleep, I decided to make good use of my time by going to the gym. Since photography was on my mind, I decided to take my camera along, just in case. On the way to the gym, I saw the temple spire and decided to go take a picture.

NOTE: Using the self-timer works wonders for night, or early morning photography!

pay it forward

I've been wanting to get in on the blog swap fun for a while, and I finally have on Kristen's blog! I decided to do the same thing on mine, so here's the scoop.

PAY IT FORWARD: i will send a handmade gift to the first three (3) people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days! the only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. (so, you must have a blog to participate.) i can't wait to see who I will be giving to. to join, just cut and paste and comment away. so get posting.

Who wants to swap handmade goodies?

baby kicks

Here are some pictures of my latest in baby gift giving - handmade shoes! I found the free pattern here. A few mods here and an embelishment there brought me to the final product.

I've also been experimenting with some appliqued onesies, as well. Put it with the shoes and you have a nice, little, color-coordinated package!

Inspiration

I realize I'm becoming somewhat of a slacker on posting to my blog. It's not that I don't think about blogging...in fact maybe I'm thinking about it too much. I just want to make sure I'm happy with what I post and when. Still trying to figure that all out...

I find myself spending much of my time looking, admiring, and loving so much of what is out there in the world of blogs. I can't help but be amazed at the gifted people I share the blogosphere with. Check out Marta's words, Rachel's style, Sally's smiplicity, Nicole's photos...wow! Talented ladies!

With that, I'm starting to realize the trick is not in finding creative inspiration, but in not letting the dreaming keep you from doing. I need to do a lot more doing. What good is dreaming without doing?

The goal: Get going and doing!