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My best friend of many years was here visiting from Alaska last month.  I've known her since I was in the 3rd grade.  We grew up on the same street, only 3 house apart.  Even though she went to a private school and I went to public school, we were inseperable and were together everyday after school.  When it was time for high school, she moved away, but not so far that we didn't spend most of our weekends together.  It wasn't until she married and moved to Alaska that that all changed.  She may have been thousands of miles away, but our friendship was permanent. 

Last month, on her way to Colorado for her daughter's wedding, she made a detour to California to see me.  It had been ten years since we had last been together.  I cherished every minute of the week we had together and before I knew it, it was over and she was off to Colorado.  After she had gone, I went through all the photos I took while she was here and wanted her to have something to remember our time together, so using some of the photos I had taken using Instagram, I first made a collage using the Diptic app. Then, using the Sincerely Ink app, I used the collage to make a postcard.  I sent one to her as well as myself.  I don't know when I'm going to see her again but until then, I have this postcard.  It sits on my desk where I see it every time I sit down at my computer and apparently, it's where she keeps hers, too.  We may live in a digital world, but thanks to apps like Sincerely Ink, I'm rediscovering 'snail mail', and that's a good thing!

Speaking of snail mail, who wouldn't want to receive one of these gorgeous necklaces in their mailbox from the lovely Stacy De La Rosa of Bella Wish?!  Stacy has graciously offered to give one away to one lucky winner. Just leave a comment here no later than midnight Wednesday, Sept. 26th!  Stacy's also giving our readers who wish to purchase a necklace a 10% discount.  Promo code: ShutterSisters10

UPDATE: Congrats to Shari Sherman!  You're the lucky winner of the the gorgeous necklace!!

Elevate the Everyday

"The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life and elevating them to an art." -William Morris

What better way to spend the whole of August than to turn our attention toward all the details of our daily life and elevate them to a photographic art? As we kick off a brand new One Word Project, we invite you to join us and the amazing folks at Paper Coterie as we ELEVATE the next 31 days.

Inspired by the arrival of my new book Elevate the Everyday, we want to focus on all the parts of our lives that can so often be overlooked; those spaces and places, affections and connections, routines, milestones and details that make our ordinary life so extraordinary. And there is no better time to begin than right now!

Stating today we will prompt you to discover something that you can elevate, through your lens, from your heart. August promises to be full of inspiration and insights, gratitude and creative joy. Just take a peek at our calendar and you'll see what I mean! We are so excited to have you with us as we elevate the everyday together.

And just to elevate things, Paper Coterie is offering a 25% discount when you buy a copy of the book and/or any of the lovely products from the companion series. There's even a limited edition bookmark signed by yours truly included in your book order while supply lasts! Fun!

We will also be giving away a few copies of the book this month too...starting right now! Just leave your comment here between today and midnight Friday night EST for a chance to win your copy! Wheeee!

Be sure to tag your elevate images with our tag #sselevate in whatever social media platform you're on! And don't forget we've got a OWP flickr group too so add your images to the pool for a chance to be featured here.

YAY! We can't wait to elevate!

our virtual community

images courtesy of #ssmoment via instagram

from top left: @wilburandfern @leslieradams @runningchatter @lucyloomis

I don't know about you, but watching the images pour in from Saturday's Shutter Sister Moment (in real time!) was truly inspiring for me. Many of us long for a tribe. A collective, a group of like-minds with whom to gather. We all know this world is spread far and wide, that's why so many of us gather here, right?

We might not be able to chose our family, but we are most definitely free to choose our tribe.

Ladies, I couldn't feel more blessed to be part of this tribe. Seeing these images come in via Instagram (over 1300 images.. wow!!) and linked to this blog really made me feel connected to this amazing community. I think we all enjoyed it so much that we are planning to have more live feeds in the months to come! yay!

That said, I spent saturday with my family at the coast... and yet each and every one of you was in my heart; tucked away with visual pleasure, knowing in my spirit that we were all out there doing our thing... together yet separate. In this online world, finding connection like this is so important.

Thank you all for joining us in our Shutter Sister Moment. Haagen Dazs was over the moon with joy to see all the imagery pour in as well. Let us not forget the power of photography, ladies! What we are doing matters.

Our random number generator selected #29 as winner of the $100 gift card! thank you, linderloo, for sharing this image with us! Today, to celebrate the last day of July, please share with us your favorite moment from the month!

shutter sisters share a moment (in real time)

Today is the day! Get out your cameras and capture your summer moments with us as you are living them today, in real time.

Tag your images via your favorite social media platforms (below are some Instagram gems) with #ssmoment and #hdmoment and watch the collective visual magic unfold.

Just by sharing a moment with us, and leaving a comment sharing what your summer moment looks like here today, you'll be entered to win a $100 Visa card, courtesy of Haagen-Dazs to use for some more summer fun!

Thanks for sharing your summer moments with us today!

::

please add the direct url to your 'share-a-moment' photo below.

1. Erin	2. justine gordon	3. Daily Practice	4. Kate	5. Carito	6. Karen Marie
7. Viv Halliwell	8. Robyn	9. UpGemini	10. Debbie Ealer	11. melissa	12. Gabriela Bout (gamaraca)
13. Gabriela Bout (gamaraca)	14. fro	15. Linda	16. Paige B.	17. Jennifée	18. smallroots
19. Emme	20. Jeri Taira	21. Meg	22. Roban	23. Laura	24. jan@twoscoopz
25. Liberty	26. claudia	27. Siobhan Wolf	28. Siobhan Wolf	29. lynne	30. Lynne
31. life in eden {amy}	32. cathy~mycornerthoughmylens	33. anngeedee	34. La Cámara de Mamál	35. La Cámara de Mamá	36. Lynne
37. Chelsea	38. Brigid korce	39. melissa	40. melissa	41. melissa	42. Dori Melton
43. Meghan @ Life Refocused	44. geetlee's nook	45. Puna@LifeSignatures	46. Penelope Pink Skates	47. Deb Taylor	48. Jennifer Hagedorn Dizon

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

the colorful month of june

The above rainbow photos shared via Instagram
from top left: @batteredsuitcase @bal93 @kellykardos @magnetisedbylife

Oh my! The month of June was made spectacular thanks to all of you ladies! The world was awash in color each and every single day this past month (and for that my heart is happy!) To see the OWP flickr pool overflow with color and creativity was a feast for our eyes... but you know what we found ourselves instantly in love with?! The community that was created through the #sscolormonth hashtag over on Instagram! Wowzers. The beauty you can find there is something very special. And the art that is created through iphoneography is simply amazing.

Be sure to find us there on Instagram! We are @shuttersisters and we'd love to connect with you. Our feed is dedicated to showcase you! Afterall, you are the sisterhood that is the heart of our online community. It's been so fun playing with color this month, and we look forward to having even more fun connecting now that July is here. We are thrilled to see the friendships grow over there on Instagram.

Before we wrap up our SS Color Month for June and share the winner of the Epiphane giveaway, we wanted to share a glorious collection of photos! Photos you took of your colorful world all month long! Thank you.

The above images shared via Instagram
(red) @smallroots @debmedmb @elke1403 @magnetisedbylife
(yellow orange) @garlinjake @godaona @debdidit @dcw805
(lime green) @bal93 @katmcdknits @siobhanwolf @leslieradams
(aqua) @michelle_gd @wilburandfern @texturejunkie @kellykardos

The above images shared via Instagram
(orange) @jennhaakenson @beautifulnothing @meghandavidson @leslieradams
(grass green) @miansiena @dcw805 @colorlush @batteredsuitcase
(black) @lizbehm @beautifulnothing @marina_sorr @chereap
(white) @lucyloomis @debdidit @lyahle @rnstar43

Thank you all for rocking our world with color! It was simply amazing to play along, to find old friends and see new ones pop up in our community... and to reconnect in that way we all crave. I simply love that we find our tribe through photography. The winner of the Epiphanie camera bag giveaway: Pancakemama/Ani!

Tracey returns tomorrow with the announcement of our new One Word for July.  Can't wait to tell you all about it!