show me yours

 photoclutch from Urban Outfitters

 My daughter got a princess photo album for Christmas (among a million other things, one of which was her own camera –surprise surprise). She picked up the empty album this evening and sighed, I don’t have any pictures of me and my friends to put in my album.

Ouch. Those words get a photographer right where it hurts. She’s right. Well, sort of. It’s not that there are no pictures of she and her friends; on the contrary; I have taken more photos of her and her friends than should be legal. But as far as real, tangible photographic prints, there are none. So, for a five-year-old, it feels like there are no pictures. What a strange irony considering I document every day of our lives with my camera and yet...no pictures.

When I shot film I used to get prints made of every roll. We all did. And even when I got a digital slr, I still vowed to treat each full memory card as film and get prints made. That plan lasted for a year and then card after card turned into disc after disc and the images on my computer has grown to an ungodly amount and just like that, prints are now few and far between. I will defend myself and saw that I have bookshelves of photo albums from years past. It’s just since the digital stuff that I have gone astray.

But, alas, it’s a new year! Time to turn over a new leaf. So, I ask, how do you do it? Do you enlarge your favorite photos and display them proudly on your walls? Do you create calendars or keepsakes? Do you scrapbook? Do you print your favorites and get them into photo albums?

And what about the photo albums you do have? Where do you get them? Do you carry a little brag book (I love the one shown above)? Do you print up books from Shutterfly or iphoto?

How do you keep yourself accountable in getting those luscious images you capture printed? We’d love to hear your ideas, get links to your printing resources, or hear your best kept album secrets. Spill the beans; show us what you’ve got.

The Glow of Good

Sometimes the planets align and everything we put our time and energy into comes together even better than we could have imagined. There’s really no way of knowing when a plan might happen like that but it’s always and pleasant and welcome surprise when it does.

A few weeks back a group of some very special Southern California women gathered in a loft in LA and enjoyed a night of crafting (see photo above), conversing, savoring, and sharing. We talked about photography, creating meaningful (and affordable) gifts and living a life that makes a difference in this world. We feasted on tantalizing delicacies and divine music but above all else, we sincerely enjoyed one another’s company.

During the rush of the season, I wish you evenings of memory making and magic where the glow of good company warms your heart.

 

In light of the goodness that was shared at the memorable LA event, HP is giving away one of their adorable and super-fun Compact Photo Printers to a shutter sister. You know the drill; leave a comment here to be entered into the random drawing. Good stuff!

And... speaking of the magic of a great event, if you think a Shutter Sisters gathering would be something you'd like to attend in the future, let's hear it. I think a Shutter Sisters Summit in 2009 sounds pretty good to me, what about you?

Handmade For the Holidays

Fabric handmade by Pippi Joe.  Shooting bag custom-made by Tracy Joy.

One of the great things about the holiday season is that I get to partake of one of my favorite guilty pleasures--without the usual amount of guilt.  I'm not referring to mere shopping (which I'm not really fond of).  I'm talking about shopping on Etsy.  I could probably spend every moment of my natural waking life browsing through all the amazing Etsy artists and never get bored.  For me, the appeal is not just the seemingly endless supply of beautiful handmade items or the idea of supporting the DIY ethos.  What really gets me excited is the ever-increasing number of people creating and sharing their art and handiwork.  I take this as a sign of hope for the future of humanity.

I've often marveled at the multi-faceted talent beyond photography that abounds amongst our Shutter Sisters community. Whether it's wordsmithing, or whipping up whimsy, or brewing beauty that's functional (or not), or making music, it's impossible NOT to be inspired when you're surrounded by so much creativity. I dare say that keeping such company lends itself to embarking on artistic endeavors you've never attempted before. And again, I take this as a sign of hope for the future of humanity

For today's giveaway, Tracy Joy--mom/wife/photographer/entrepreneur/bag-designer-extraordinaire--is offering up a Kristine Shooting and/or Diaper Bag in the winner's choice of color and flap design.  Tracy's bags are made with interchangeable flaps so you can change the design without changing the entire bag.  Perfect for the budget-minded accesorizer!  Be sure to comment on this post to be entered in the drawing.

Congratulations to Wayfaring Wanderer for being the winner of the Superhero Joy necklace. Sweet stuff!

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Edited to add: Please note that this giveaway is for a shooting bag (lightly padded for easy access to gear while on a shoot without a heavy bag).  Tracy Joy's fully padded camera bag is the Reese bag.

Also, Tracy is offering a discount to the Shutter Sisters community through December 31st.  Get 10% off your entire purchase by using the code SHUTTER.  With free shipping to U.S. addresses for December, it's a good deal!

custom photo calendars

The holiday gift-giving season is fast approaching and I don’t know about you, but I am on the lookout for inexpensive, but personal gifts to give this year. I always get a rush of creative energy every November as I read my favorite magazines and check out all of my bookmarked creative blogs and sites. I start to imagine all of the cute, crafty things I could make for my friends and family, but more often than not I run out of time or energy. However, there is one simple, yet personalized item that everyone loves to receive…a custom photo calendar. The best thing about creating your own photo calendar is that it can be as simple of a project as you choose. One of the quickest, easiest ways to create a custom calendar is by using an online service such as Snapfish, Kodak Gallery, or Qoop. These sites provide the calendar design, printing and shipping meaning that all you have to do is pick your favorite photos and upload them! And if one of these sites is already your photo printer of choice, you can choose the photos that you have already uploaded throughout the year. Super easy and super fast! And I am so excited to tell you that Snapfish is graciously providing the whole Shutter Sisters community with this awesome offer: buy one 12-month calendar of any size, and get one 12-month 8.5x11 calendar FREE! The coupon code is FREECAL08 and it is good until 11/31/2008.

Now, if you are feeling ambitious and want to try something a little more “hands on”, I have another idea. Have you seen the little desktop calendars that fit neatly into an empty (and slightly dismantled) cd jewel case? Why not create one using your own photos? There are a couple different ways to do this.

If you are a Photoshop user, I have exciting news. I took the liberty of designing a photoshop calendar template that I am sharing with all of you! Click here to download the files. Then all you have to do is plop in your own photos, print them on some photo paper or cardstock and cut them out! Now I personally would not benefit from having this photo calendar sitting on my desktop because I tend to be a little…uh messy. In fact, it would get completely buried by paper and coffee cups. So I am opting to make mine into a calendar that you can put on a bulletin board or magnet board! I went to Target and got little colorful binder clips and some magnetic clips. That way the recipient of this gift can display it in plain site. But don’t worry. If you would rather use a jewel case to hold the calendar pieces, I created the photoshop template to fit in a standard sized cd case.

If you are not a Photoshop user and prefer a more scrapbooky approach, you could always cut out a photo and stick it on a 4.5”x5” piece of cardstock (leaving the bottom blank), then use a nice pen to write out the calendar dates on the bottom. Do that 12 times and stick them in an empty jewel case! Voila, cute and crafty.

However you choose to create your photo calendar, I guarantee that your friends and family will love receiving a gift that they can enjoy all year.

EDITED TO ADD:

Looking for the 2011 template?? Here it is!

friday's featured resource: family gratitude photo spinner

The words "I am not a scrapbooker" could never be more of an understatement than when they are applied to me. I mean, I'm seriously not a scrapbooker. A couple of years ago, I attempted to make a life book for my daughter, Alex, and while the final result does the trick, the craftsmanship could not be more laughable. So when I met Scrapbooker and Life Artist Extraordinaire Ali Edwards earlier this year, and I had the opportunity to turn the pages of some of her truly amazing creations, I could only smile ruefully when she said, kindly, "Karen, it's not about craftsmanship. It's about capturing memories." Easy for her to say. She "captures memories." I more imprison them.

Still, since she posted her latest project in partnership with Big Picture Scrapbooking, even I'm inspired to give it a try. The Family Gratitude Photo Spinner you see above is such a clever way of displaying photos, and as Ali says on her blog, this project is a great way to get your photographs out in the open and display them in your home -- and for those of you in America, this would even be a great centerpiece for the Thanksgiving Day dinner table.

Since my multinational family rarely celebrates Thanksgiving (and, in fact, we'll be out of the country visiting in-laws this holiday), I won't likely attempt this in the next few weeks (but you certainly should!). I do think, however, I might use this as a Christmas gift idea -- perhaps for my mom. Or maybe, I'll just do it for myself in preparation for next year.

This project can be purchased and downloaded for a mere US$ 12 here. The purchase price includes color handouts with step by step instructions, downloadable PDF templates (for transparencies and titles), full supply list with links to products, an audio message from the lovely Ali Edwards herself, a private gallery for sharing your projects with others in the class, and access to a message board for sharing thoughts and ideas as you work through the project.

Happy creating, all.  And if you make this, please upload it into the Shutter Sisters Flickr pool -- I'm sure we'd all love to see how they turn out!