I was reminded of this blog earlier when I visited Amy of The B-Line’s blog and she posted the results of a recipe she got off of it. I had bookmarked it a while back with the intention of sitting down and reading it hardcore. This afternoon I did just that.

While the blog is fantastic for reading about life on a ranch, cooking, home and garden, what really drew me in were the vivacious photos. And there is a whole section devoted to getting a better grasp on SLR cameras. Which I sorely need.

Ree, the Pioneer Woman, and several contributors walk you through learning the basics as well as some tips for touching up in PhotoShop. They spell it out in plainspeak how aperature and shutter speed work together. How to get away without the flash indoors. They are upfront about the fact that they are self taught. Which is inspiring to anyone who needs to expand their knowledge past the auto features factory programmed in a camera.

I’ve been wanting to take a photo class for three years now with our local adult school program. In the Fall, I won’t let another opportunity slip away. In the meanwhile, I’m hoping some of the lessons I’ve picked up will help me photograph my lights a little better as well as the upcoming calendar project.

Photo from The Pioneer Woman Print for Free Section.

Yesterday marked my personal milestone of Summer. Amelia started her first day of camp. I have a lot of summer camp memories, a few good years, many not, especially when I was little. So I had a lot of angst dropping her off yesterday for her first day of day camp. I’m glad to report that she had a great time. Several sweet little girls we know are in her group. The daily schedule of events was impressive and I was a little jealous. I wanted to hang out and do some of the fun activities: art, dance, swim, yoga, gym time, edible art, etc.

The start of camp also marked the start of a new schedule. Where as before I had a few afternoons where both kids were out of the house, I will now have mornings. This will continue into the new school year. Matt is now working from home, and we are all really loving this; we all get a little more quality time with him. The studio is no longer lonely with him working in there.

Have Fun at Camp card by AJK Artistry. S’mores anyone?

Elsa Mora, a papercutter I have really admired since my early days on Etsy is now selling papercut templates of some of her designs. Sold four pre-printed designs for $10, you simply cut the pink sections away to reveal the papercut. The work sold on Etsy gears towards fairytale in nature, but check out her blog where fantasy takes flight (and takes my breath away.) Like this Frieda Kahlo necklace below. Love Frieda. Love Elsa.

I’m on the cusp of ordering my large format printer to tackle the lamps. I’ve decided on this HP Photosmart B8550 Laserjet printer. It can go up to 13″x19″ and I can replace the ink cartridges individually. The ink alone sold me–with the Epson you have to replace them all at the same time which is really costly.  This printer is about half the price. I tried to find one that could do poster size printing, but they start at over $1000 and quickly go up from there. Bah.

I’ve done a few sketches for the lampshades, to be turned into templates for easy replication. I’m taking babysteps. I’ve started my illustration job, so that takes priority as well as keeping on top of regular orders. I’m getting there. 

Lamps will be ready for sale this summer. I’m holding myself to this.

Feeling blue? Feel okay but want a smile anyway? Head over to My Milk Toof and follow the adventures of Ickle and Lardee. Read once every couple of days to keep the Prozac away. You may want to start at the bottom and work your way up as the recent stories are continuations of older ones.)

Thanks Sarah for the wonderful introduction. I agree…I could totally see this being a book (and I’d buy it!)

Sunday, the first day of Summer, brought with it my first spotting of fireflies. I think they are so magical. Seeing them make me understand why people used to believe in fairies. We plan on catching a bunch in a jar with Amelia (and then let them go.)

And I remembered this painting I did, gosh, maybe nine or ten years ago.

I tallied up my night light sales since I started selling them in late December. To date, I’ve sold 206 night lights. I’m super pleased.

I’m starting to research a 240 volt base that is comparable to my shade so I can start selling internationally.

I’m also honing in on a printer decision so I can start selling lamps. I’m considering the HP Photosmart B8500. It’s a lot easier on the ink than Epson, and I can replace the cartridges individually. I’m thinking of other uses for the printer…have some ideas that I plan on rolling out and revealing at a later date.

Still waiting on the green light to begin work on the calendar illustration project. It is such a great project, so I hope it goes through.

Photo: Tape Measure Bracelet by Undone Clothing.

I. am. caught. up.

It helps that the pending project mentioned last week hasn’t been approved (as of yet.) That took a lot of pressure off of me. The Target order is off my plate and I caught up on the wave of orders from my episode of Martha re-airing. I also finished the freelance work that was waiting for me when I came home from vacation. Isn’t that such a satisfying feeling?

Of course, there’s plenty of other things to do. I have a lot of mail that I’ve tossed on my desk. My studio needs a hefty cleaning and perhaps a little reorganizing. A trip to Ikea may inspire that. I have mountains of laundry to do.

I had some x-rays taken for my kidney stones. What showed up clear as day on my CAT scan failed to appear on regular x-ray, which means they won’t be able to blast the bastards. It also means that I have a less common type of stone that is uric acid based. What this means for me is a lifestyle overhaul. I’m going vegetarian. So if you have any great recipes or cookbooks, send them my way.

Despite the home matters on hand, I’m taking some much needed time for myself tomorrow and hitting the salon to deal with the frizzy mass on my head that is a sure sign of the coming summer.

Next up for me…ordering a printer and getting those full sized lamps in the shop! Yes! Yes!

It’s official. I’m as far away from vacation mode as I can be. I thought this was the case on Monday but then Tuesday happened. A hailstorm of work landing on my desk.

I was caught off guard when I found out the Martha episode re-aired. I was *really* glad it hadn’t happened last week when I closed shop! Still, I found out via my cellphone at a doctor’s office an hour away from home. I was frantically trying to update my shop on my phone, with poor reception to boot. (And can I just declare publicly how grateful I am to Matt for bringing me a phone that meets 21st century requirements?)

I hinted at project that I was excited about yesterday. I *think* it’s moving forward, so take this news with a grain of salt. The rose paper sculpture is a quick and dirty mockup I threw together in about 30 minutes yesterday to send off to the client to show his client. I *may* be illustrating a calendar for a major airline. Here’s the kicker, the deadline is the end of the month for 12 shadowbox style illustrations.

I finished the bulk of the Target work last night. All the templates are cut. I’m weary of cutting Tweet Tree templates. However, there are more to do. I think I sold 7 or 8 Tweet Trees yesterday.

Here’s a trend I can get behind! Papercuts for product settings:

Vintage 60s Dress by Estate Sale. Thanks Nichole!

Cappuccino Cups and Saucers by Poetic Home.

I didn’t intend to be so evasive when posting my vacation photos. We went to Palm Beach, Florida along with my in-laws. It was the much needed getaway. To quote Amelia, “This is the life.”

I came home to piles of work. In addition to some freelance, the Target purchase order FINALLY came in (for July sale) but I have to hustle to get it to their warehouse by mid-month. Fortunately, I precut a lot of templates prior to going on vacation.

And another interesting project may have landed on my desk. Would require revisiting shadowboxes. Will post more if there’s more to post.