Day 30. Feeling Creative

Its been a long time friends since I have felt any sort of creative.  Its slowly coming back to me again and I am so excited.  

Thankful Winners

The winner of the  Karina Ink giveaway is...

#3 Vanessa!

And the winner of Mel's Important Dates is...

Vicki from Joyful Whimsy!

Please email me right away so you can claim your prizes!

makingitmyown at gmail dot com

Day 28. Rare Days

I'm thankful for the more rare days like today.  When a certain little girl lets me do her hair.  AND takes a nap.  Its the little things that make me happy

Day 26. Small Business

Today is Small Business Saturday.  We have 3 small businesses and we are so thankful for all of those that support us.  Thank YOU!  

I'm offering 20% off in the Ruffled Sunshine Shop through the end of the month.  Just use the code smallishuge at checkout.  

Happy Weekend!  I'll catch up on days 24 and 25 soon!

Day 23. I'm Thankful with Lovely Lindsay.

Lindsay Lindsay.  What can you say about her?  She can say the tiniest thing and it MEANS something.  She loves black and white like I do and is beauty-ful.  Happy Thanksgiving friends.  

late nights. date nights. a sliver moon. felicity re-runs. leftover broccoli + potato soup. dried craspedia. eames knock-off's. empty calendar days. five year old how-do-you-spell-it's. saying hello! crisp clean sheets. hot showers.  argyle socks. love note texts. baby wrists. red starbuck's cups. old friends. old sweatshirts. warm cookies. earlybird on insta. the mini van. peace signs. andrey. lucas. gavin. charlie. peppermint in winter. peach in spring. yellow. sharp pencils. that song. on repeat. worn-out chucks. legos. everywhere.  dog-earred book corners. trusting my gut. following my heart.       oh... and pumpkin pie.

We interupt this program for "What the heck Camera should I buy?!"

Hey Hey!  Sorry about interuppting I'm Thankful week but I've seen camera questions flying around on facebook so I thought we could help a bit!

Are you getting ready for Black Friday?  For me, there is nothing on this earth worth going out for before noon on Friday.  Its crazy.  And don't even get me started on this whole shopping on Thanksgiving thing.    Thats just me though.

If you are thinking about braving the crowds to get a new camera, I know it is an awesome time to get one.  But uh, what the heck do you even look for?   I thought I would ask my personal photographer and camera expert to help you guys out with some choices and kind of give you an idea of what to look for.  I also asked my personal photography teacher to give something away.  So read what the man has to say cuz he really knows his stuff.  Then I'll check back in at the end with the giveaway details.  Cool.  And if you have any questions feel free to ask away in the comments.

Hi, Darin here.  Jenn's hubby.  She's invited me to share some insight to a question that gets asked quite often. 

What the heck camera should I buy?

I usually answer with a few questions of my own to try and help qualify the end use.  How do you see yourself using this camera?  Kids in soccer?  Shooting lots of indoor recitals or plays?  Looking to get the next lolcat cover shot?  Do you want to shoot video with it?  Do you want to haul around a big DSLR and multiple lenses?

With so many great products out there it can be intimidating to decipher the lingo and figure out which camera will best suite your needs.Here's a few tips on what to look for when perusing the camera section of your local shop in the next few weeks.

Megapixels are great, but not all their cracked up to be.  Camera manufactures love to tout how many each model has, but 6mp will give you a great 8x10 print.  So don't let that be the deciding factor when looking for a new camera.  In fact, having too many can actually make your images look worse.  Cramming too many on a sensor can introduce noise (grain) and rob clarity from your pictures.

For low light and indoor photography you want a fast lens.  Whether that is a fixed lens or an interchangeable, the larger the aperture the better chance of sharp photos.  The lens on most cameras will have focal length and aperture in white letters.  Look for the smallest number (which equals the largest aperture).  For instance if one camera has a lens that is a 2.8 and another has a lens that is a 2.0, grab the 2.0.

Sports shooters will want to look for something with a large optical zoom and image stabilization or vibration reduction.  Digital zoom=fuzzy pics, so you can ignore those stats as it is a pretty useless feature. Having a larger screen on the back of the camera can be a bonus for reviewing images in bright sun.

Tired of reading already?   Ok here are my recommendations based off of years and years of research, scientific study and my personal affinity for Nikon.  (not really, but here you go!)

Best camera under $150

Canon Powershot A330

Comes in fancy colors!

Best camera to take on an adventure

Olympus Stylus Tough 800

Water, sand and life proof.

Best superzoom

Fujifilm HS10

30x optical zoom,10mp and 3 inch tilting screen

Best entry level DSLR

Canon Rebel T3i/600D

Nikon D5100

Best advanced DSLR under $1500

Nikon D7000

So whats in my camera bag?

Nikon D300

Nikon D7000

Nikon 70-200mm 2.8

Nikon 16-85mm 3.5

Nikon 35mm 1.8 

Nikon 50mm 1.4

Nikon 85mm 1.8

Nikon 105 2.8

3 flashes

Radio remotes

In the end, the best camera is the one  you have with you...be it an Iphone, a DSLR or a pinhole. Happy holidays and have fun shooting with your new camera!

+++

Thanks D.  Ok.  So did that help at all?  I hope so.  Now here's the deal.  Once you get your camera you are going to look at it and say UH......WTF STOP.  {haha thats some camera humor I though Darin might like!}  Anyways, your fancy new camera won't do you any good unless you know how to use it.  So I bribed Darin in to giving away a slot in his upcoming Intro To Photography class.  This class will teach you what all those crazy things like ISO and aperture even mean.  You will learn how to shoot in {ACK! JUST BREATHE!} manual mode by the time its done.

Sound like just what you need?  You have three ways to enter

1.  Leave a comment, whether its a question or just to say hi I want to win!
2.  Like Darin Warnick Photography on Facebook, leave another comment saying you did or already do.
3.  Like Level Up! Photography Workshops on Facebook, then come tell me you did that.

{Don't want to risk it?  You can sign up for the class on the Level Up page. }

We will be back to I'm Thankful week later!

Day 22.I'm Thankful with Hanna Singer

Welcome Hannah to I'm Thankful Week.  She is the sweetest lady and always says the happiest things. 

thanks so much for inviting me here, jenn.

what a treat to be a part of your beautiful, inspiring blog today!

my heart is brimming with gratitude for so many things during this special season.

when i try to narrow things down, and decide what to share,
the same thing keeps jumping to the top of my list.

patrick and i had big dreams of becoming parents.

we will never be able to have biological children.

i'd be lying if i told you i'm completely ok with that.

the lord has given us great joy and peace in the midst of that grief.

god made a way for our dream to come true.

adoption.

it was through the gift of adoption that elijah became our son!

i will sing to the lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

psalm 13:6

 

elijah has a contagious laugh and boundless energy.

his mischief-making skills improve with each new day.

elijah is creative and such a great dancer;)

i'm most grateful for the constant reminder i see in my son.

a reminder that the lord is faithful.

he is a provider, and promise keeper.

he gives the barren woman a home,

making her the joyous mother of children.

praise the lord!

psalm 113:9

*sniff.  thanks Hannah.  Just what I needed. 

Day 21. I'm Thankful with Modern Marigold

You guys remember Amanda right?!!  My partner in crime from the Friendship Bracelet Swap?  I heart her, I really do so of course she had to visit for I'm Thankful week...

Happy Thanksgiving week, beautiful Ruffle-lets! 

I am so excited to be here -- Jenn is my favorite, did you know?

Thanks for having me over today!

I knew right away what I wanted to write about for this series, but I kept pushing it away.

really, amanda? lame. obvious. booo-ring.

But I just can't push it away. I think it would eat a hole in my head if I kept it inside any longer.

And so today...

I am thankful for the gift of 

c r e a t i v i t y .

And I'm not talking about the sewing/mod podge/stamping/scrapping kind of creativity

{though that is nice, too}. 

I'm talking about the creativity we each were born with--

The creativity that lets you make 

a smile -- a bouquet of dandelions -- a symphony of crackling leaves -- a jump-on-the-bed wild rumpus --

--that lets us make joy.

{children are so good at knowing this intuitively.}

Here is what I believe about creativity:

I believe that we are the children of the most creative being in the universe.

and whether our talents lie in friendliness or flowers, concertos or kazoos, 

I think we've each inherited some irresistible want

to create something of substance and beauty --

even if it's just a joyful noise on a little red kazoo.

Loves + hugs + I hope you are having a marvelous week of creating!

Love + Hugs + Thanks to you too Amanda!  

Day 20. I'm Thankful with The Larson Lingo

Hi, my name is Mel & I blog at The Larson Lingo.I am wife to Kevin & mom to Kate & Claire.When Jenn asked to share during "I'm Thankful" week, I jumped at the opportunity to share what I am Thankful for. Hands down, I am Thankful for Family.Over the year, I have realized how important our Family is.I am a part time middle school teacher & I am blessed with my mom who watches my girls 3 days a week and my mother-in-law who watches the girls 2 days a week while I am at school.I am Thankful that my girls get to see both Grandmas on a regular basis.I am so thankful they are willing to watch the girls while I teach.I don't know what I would do without their help!This past month, the importance of Family has really been on my heart & mind because a few weeks ago, my Grandma turned 100. She is truly the matriarch of our Family and so many of the traditions and values she started with my mom have trickled down to me and may girls.Grammy is the one who always says that Family is the most important thing and she lives that out in her life, even at 100 years old.I wanted to share a recipe that is from my Grammy that we make every Thanksgiving morning (we make it Christmas morning and through out the year also, because it is so yummy!I have fond childhood memories of eating Monkey Bread at Grammy's house whenever we would go visit her.Monkey BreadThe ingredients:4 packages of Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits

1/3 cup sugar2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, divided1 cup brown sugar1 stick butter1 T of Karo Syrup(*if you don't have Karo Syrup you can leave it out*)In a saucepan, melt 1 cup brown sugar, 1 stick of butter, 1 t of cinnamon & 1 T of Karo syrup on low, stirring every minute or so.While your sauce heating, cut your biscuits in half with kitchen scissors(I love kitchen scissors!)Place the cut up biscuits into the ziplock, add 1/3 cup white sugar & 1 t of cinnamon into a large ziplock bag.Shake the bag & make sure your biscuit pieces are nice & coated!Keep stirring your brown sugar mixture until it is all melted:Put the coated biscuits into a Bundt pan (I spray mine with Pam) & drizzle butter/brown sugar mixture over the top of biscuits.Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until nice & golden.

Let cool in bundt pan for 10 minutes. Then, flip it onto a plate!

Mmmmm....look at the yummy-ness!To eat, just pull apart pieces of the monkey bread & enjoy the gooey-goodness!Now, go to the store so you can make some of your own monkey bread for your family this Thanksgiving!************************************And, because I love numbers (I am a math teacher) and I love Families, I am going to give away one of my "Important Dates Prints" to one lucky reader!{The important dates print can be found in my Etsy shop}What I love about the important dates print is that it all the dates that surround you becoming a family...you & your spouses birth-dates, wedding anniversary & your children's birth-dates.(Colors can be customized & the print can have from 4 to 7 dates on it)It is great baby present or Christmas present.Give one to grandparents with all their grand-children's birth-dates.It is an 8x10 digital file that will be customized to your liking.I printed mine out at home (or, you can print it at a photo lab) I have mine hung in a matted frame.*******************************Thanks for letting me be a part of I'm Thankful week & I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving reflecting all that you are Thankful for!

Be sure to leave a comment to win one of Mel's awesome important dates prints!

Day 19. I'm Thankful with Nicole of Simple Organic

Happy Saturday friends!  We have had a cold and snowy day which makes me want to cuddle up next to the fire and read a book.  The craft fair was a success but I'm so glad its over!  Tonight I have the super rad Nicole from Simple Organic over to tell us what she is most thankful for.  Just try not to be jealous that she gets to eat Thanksgiving dinner at the beach. 

It's a real honor to be here on Ruffled Sunshine today; thanks, Jenn for having me! When I contemplated what I could write about in regards to being thankful, it was hard to pin something down because really, I feel so blessed in so many ways.

   

 I thought about how thankful I am for family traditions... as today we're packing and preparing to drive {10 minutes away} tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving week at the beach like we do every year.

   

Then I thought about my little family and how over-the-moon thankful I am for the journey God has brought my husband and me on over the last eight and a half years. 

   

 Even on the hard days I'm thankful for the treasures that have been entrusted to me. But these are things I'm thankful for every year, and there is something more specific I could mention this year.

 

circa 2007 I'm thankful for my mom. She has poured into my brother and me (and our families) so much over the years. She taught me, by example, how to make a house into a home and how to use my creativity in various ways (she even made my wedding dress!). She encourages me in all my dreams and aspirations. She helps me with my kids when I feeling overwhelmed.

   

 I'm thankful for my mom for a lot of reasons that I'm sure many of you share as you think of your mom. She and I had some rocky years when I was growing up (as many mothers and daughters do), but this summer it hit me how close we had become. But this past summer, she was very sick and spent a couple of weeks in the hospital in ICU, and then several more weeks laid up at home. The more I thought about it-- especially as I thought about the awful possibility of her not being around anymore-- the more I realized the reality... that she had become one of my best friends.

   

 After all, she's the one to whom I text or call just to say hi , or tell a funny story about the kids, or say, let's watch a chick flic and do some sewing. And now that she's healthy again and we're back in our groove of regular life, I want to take a minute this Thanksgiving to say how thankful I am to have her in

 my life.

   

 I love you, Mom!

Thanks Nicole!  Hugs...

Come See Me?

Hi guys!  I just wanted to pop in and tell you I'll be at that craft fair again tomorrow.  So if you are in the area I'd love for you to stop by.  It is the My Favorite Things Bazaar at the Columbia Community Church in Richland.    It is from 9-4 and the address is 150 Gage Boulevard • Richland, Washington 99352 

Hope you are enjoying I'm Thankful week!