Kinda like being nominated for Prom Queen!

Wow... talk about humbling. I was just updating my Facebook page and while there, I reached my 100th Like! Isn't it funny how social media has become so important to our daily lives? I catch up with my family members, support clients in the message windows, surf Pinterest, network and well... let's admit it - waste time. LOL

But there is a validation that comes from something you are building has a sufficient following. Kinda like being nominated for Prom Queen. Am I overreacting? Perhaps, but honestly, I think I am celebrating.

Wish I had some confetti to throw in the air...

Here is what I did instead:

I have 100 FB Likes! Let's give something away! I will draw from my followers and give the winner a set of the Family Blocks you see features on the cover photo! WOW! I'm so grateful and thankful!         
And the winner is... go like the page to find out! LOL

That was so much fun! I am now on mission to increase my blog readership to 100 by the end of May. I realize that I have my work cut out for me, since I'm at 45 followers. I will do a drawing on June 1st if I can get to that elusive number and I'm going to make sure it's really good. More details to come...

Thank you so much. ♥

From the Make Something Event!

Each month, I host an event so asssist my clients in Making Something Meaningful. We always kick off with a beginners class and then offer something tactile. For May, the class was the uber cute Family Blocks. Each guest received the wooden blocks for free! You know you wish you had come! Check the Make Something Event page for details about the next event!

Step 1

Customize your family blocks at my website.
Shameless plug, I know, but there it is.
www.MyPhotoFairy.com

Step 2Cut and trim each letter to fit. 

Step 3

Prepare your 1x3 Pine board by cutting into (3) four inch and (3) 4 1/2 blocks.

You will also need a glue stick, a brush and modge podge for the next steps.

Step 4Apply glue liberally to the wood, postition and adhere each letter as shown. Use a gift card or another block of wood to "burnish" the paper to the wood. This will smooth out any bumps or air bubbles.
Repeat for each letter.

Step 5Use a brush to apply Modge Podge from top to bottom to the blocks. This wil seal your project and protect it. Repeat for each letter. After it dries, then apply Modge Podge again from left to right on the blocks. This will create a cross hatch line effect and make it look like canvas.

Creative Tip: Paint your blocks of wood ahead of time to match the prints.

Once Upon A Time...

For as long as I can remember, I have told stories.

My daughters love them, as they should. Who else's stories should be more revered than their mother's? But there is one little fairytale that captivates them everytime.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl who was loved by all who knew her. She had eyes as blue as a summer sky and a smile that could light up a room.

The story would go on with what girls dream of doing, like riding horses on the beach or walking a tightrope above the Grand Canyon.  Why do stories mesmerize us so?

Is is that we are delivered to a different place while listening to a good story? I think so. Our children believe what we read to them when we kiss them goodnight.

We have an opportunity to weave our very lives into their dreams and make our children and ouselves the heroes in our own stories.

What stories do you tell?

Photography follows the law of averages.

My dad used to teach photography at a college in Denver, long before digital cameras. Back in the days of real film. He taught me a valuable lesson which I still use today.

Basically speaking, simply take a bunch of shots to get one awesome one! *laughing* So, let me confess, this photo was the final shot of 17. Not that 17 is a ton, but they were all her jumping up and down. I did get two other shots I liked... Additionally, I have a friend who would KILL ME if I didn't mention that I took this with a Sony NEX-5.

I love what a picture can do. You can capture joy in a single frame and hold it there, close to your heart forever.  

And is that what celebrating life it all about?

My Mission in Life

cel·e·brate
  /ˈsɛləˌbreɪt/ Show Spelled [sel-uh-breyt]  verb, cel·e·brat·ed, cel·e·brat·ing.

verb (used with object)

1.   to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies, festivities or rejoicing.

life

   /laɪf/ Show Spelled [lahyf]  noun, plural lives  /laɪvz/ Show Spelled[lahyvz]  ,adjective

noun

1.  a corresponding state, existence, or principle of existence conceived of as belonging to the soul: eternal life.

I recently determined that this is my life's mission; to celebrate life.

I posed the question via Facebook; "How do you celebrate life?" and the answers seemed ordinary, things I had heard before. Which, in effect is the opposite of celebrating. 

What say we kick up our heels with vigor to observe the simpler things in life?  Pour a drink and toast the fact that it's Tuesday!

Let's beat the drum, blow off steam, carouse, drink to, have a ball, let loose, lionize, live it up, make merry, mark with a red letter, paint the town red, party and just raise hell.

Of course, here I am waxing poetic and not giving you any actual examples. Let me amend my post with five ways I celebrate the mundane, everyday bits of my existence... therefore transforming them from mundane to fabulous.

1. Photograph.
   Really? Yes really. When do we take pictures? Oh yaaaaah.... special occaisions! Now quit complaining and get out your camera.
2. Exert.Physically and mentally if possible! We are designed to train, develop and condition ourselves. So don't just sit there, do something.
3. Share. Doesn't matter what; share a smile, share your lunch, share your time. When you give someone else a chance to partake in what you have to offer, you feel better.
4. Talk.To the cashier, to the neighbors, to your cat. Shoot, talk to yourself. Fill in the blank spaces with words that mean something. Talk to express love and hurt and every other emotion.
5. Create.I can't sing. I can't really draw, I even tried to knit. But I love and live to create. You don't have to be creative to create something, so I don't want to hear that excuse. There are many opportunites to be inpired by someone or something else.

Now, I know it would be easy to say, "Sure, those sure sound ordinary to me." But I double dog dare you to try it. Celebrate your life today. And tomorrow. And the next.  And if I missed one, let me know. <3

Yearbook Season

It's yearbook season and I always love this time of year.

Don't you remember, at the end the end of the year, yearbooks would come out and you would hope your picture was good, look for your friends in the candid shots and then have all your friends (plus the boy you were crushing on) sign your book to save for years later. I know that for me, I very rarely had little more than my standard school photo in the book and I longed for more.

Well, I'm not in high school anymore, but as my daughters' bring home their school annuals, I find myself... longing for more again.  I hear you... I know, I know. "You don't have time". Do you have fifteen minutes a month? Be honest with yourself. You KNOW you have fifteen minutes. Especially if you had a yearbook staff at your beck and call.

I love the whole drag and drop feature, combined with the flexiblity of being able to customize each and every detail... if I have the time.  Here are a few samples and yeah, you could totally catch up.

In just 15 minutes a month (5 minutes to upload the photos, 5 minutes to jot a note or two down and 5 minutes to make sure it's just how you want it) you can create your own yearbook.