thankful for this

A month like the one we've had here, has been incredibly nourishing. To be reminded again and again of all the things there are to be thankful for keeps me in a grateful frame of mind; which is the best frame of mind to be in.

I've been really trying to live in the space of thankfulness; for my family and friends, for health and happiness. For living a creative life, for being surrounded by a community of incredibly inspiring women, and for photography. And from the look of the One Word Project flickr pool this past month, you've been focusing on the same thing.

Although today might be the last day we "officially' celebrate the word thankful, I know that if anyone can continue to carry that spirit into the next year, it's all of you. I look forward to that. But for now, let's share for one more day, what the last month has meant.

Share with us your quintessential thanksgiving (whatever it looks like to you). And because our gracious sponsor Hello Canvas encourages us to delcare our gratitude by enlarging it (canvas style), they are providing the last giveaway of the month. All you need to do is share your "thankful" here in the comments for your chance to win the random 20X24 canvas giveaway!

And as a little something extra, they'll also be giving away a 20X24 over on their facebook page today. All you have to do is visit them over there and share a comment on their facebook wall. Don't forget to tell them you're with the sisterhood for your chance to win the fb contest.

You have until midnight tonight EST to leave your comment here for your chance to win a Hello Canvas print (like the one in the photo above!).

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Congratulations Veronica! You won a canvas print from Hello Canvas! YAY YOU!

Epic Thanks

Thank you. Thank you for sharing images of gratitude and for your generosity in supporting the Epic Thanks 2011 campaign this past week. Together we've helped raise enough funds to build a secondary school with four classrooms at Shepherds Junior, restrooms, solar power, a science lab, a kitchen and enough beds for the school's first class. I am so, so thankful for the way we rallied around this project, and for what our small group have helped achieved.

Taking a moment to shift attention and reflect on the many things that I'm grateful for have had a magnifying impact on my life and the life of my family, opening our hearts to the incredible gifts that we're given. At the beginning of this week I said that a simple act of gratitude could change everything. Today, I have never believed that more. I hope you do too.

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And the winner of the giveaway is Debc! Congratulations!

Unleash your thankful heart

For the past couple of years I've been blessed to collaborate with visionary individuals on various projects that helped improve the quality of life, education and the future of children around the world.

One of these extraordinary individuals is Mama Lucy who sold chickens and turned her income into an education for hundreds, founding Shepherds Junior School in 2003 in Arusha, Tanzania. Mama Lucy's oldest students have recently graduated from the seventh grade, their final year of primary school. With over 500 children now following their footsteps, classrooms at Shepherds Junior are full, so more are needed for Mama Lucy to offer secondary education. 

This year for Thanksgiving, Shutter Sisters is proudly teaming up with EpicChange.org in a massive online gratitude effort called Epic Thanks to build a secondary school so that the children at Shepherds Junior continue their educations in Mama Lucy’s loving care until they grow up ready to transform our world.

The fun part? You are all invited to join the movement! During the week of November 21-25, 2011, submit a very grateful photo to Epic Thanks' world-changing photoblog of global gratitude and write a post about someone or something for which you're thankful (share on Facebook or Twitter #EpicThanks).

The awesome part? Contribute and raise funds in honor of whomever or whatever you're most thankful, and be entered to win a fabulous giveaway that includes:

One Epiphanie Bag

One Shutter Sisters book

One gift certificate for an 18" print on glass from Fractureme.com

One "Click therefore I am" T-shirt from Cara Rose

One 4-month membership for Shutter Sister Kim Klassen's Photoshop Test Kitchen membership site.

One London vs Paris postcards set

How? Simply donate $5 via our ChipIn page or the Epic Thanks Give page (click on the "Donate" button) and leave a comment below sharing what you're most grateful for and/or a link to your blog post. Winner will be announced on Saturday, 26^th.

Unleash your thankful heart and watch how a simple act of gratitude changes everything!

sisterhood and dreaming

photo by our Target cheerleader and photographer, Chris Sneddon

i've been thinking a lot lately about dreams. In fact, my head has been spinning with them.

Camp SS, reignited my dreaminess….. I feel like my dreams have taken on a whole new life. And the best part .... I am no longer dreaming alone. What I discovered at camp is the power of sisterhood. I have never really experienced anything like it. Suddenly something I thought I didn't need, has become something I can't live without.

I witnessed Camp Sisterhood in so many ways….. 

• I watched as Tracey, Jen and Myriam took the power of their sisterhood and made all kinds of magic. Honestly, you could feel their collective energy. It was beautiful.
• I watched friendships form amongst strangers….big and awesome friendships…. It was beautiful.
• I watched blood sisters share the Camp experience together and admittedly felt a little ache inside…. a little sister longing…. It was beautiful.
• I listened to women share their deepest of deep feelings…. their fears and insecurities… they put them all out there. And as they shared, I felt the deepest connection with them. It was beautiful.
• I discovered that sisterhood is powerful. That when women come together, HUGE things can happen. And my oh my, It was beautiful!

Even the littlest of things become important….in the 'sisterhood'…..

I just have to share a camp side story….

I was so determined to get to Target while in the U.S. We do not have Target in Canada, and I really wanted to go. I mentioned it to Xanthe….and she was completely on board. (no Target's in the UK, either) 
But there were a few obstacles in our way.

We didn't have a car....and even if we did, there was no way I was driving. So we needed a car and a driver.

Camp was busy. There were really only tiny windows of time that all of us could make it work.
We had to time our trip, just right.

But, we were determined not to let these obstacles get in our way.

Chris was completely up for it….and willing to taxi us. Have I thanked you for that Chris? I couldn't believe Chris was willing to take us to Target! She has one right across the street from her house. (seriously, so jealous of Chris. Can you imagine?). Paige had a car and she generously offered it to us. Thank you Paige.

Mission Target, became a bit of camp buzz. As I would move about camp, many lovelies would ask… 'did you get to Target? Seriously, you don't have a Target? You gotta get to Target!!' 

We were on a mission…..

Day one went by, no Target, Day 2… no Target…. Then, oh my gosh…. two lovely sisters came to me….with a Target gift card, the afternoon of day 2. It was the sweetest thing. I just could not believe it. Thank you Jen and Brit. You two are both so darn lovely! Target, had to happen!! After all, I could not use my gift card at home. Right?!

And so, as the days progressed, the urgency to get to Target grew stronger, and, finally, a window for Target-time opened! Oh no… no car!! Paige's car was out and about! What? Seriously.... NO!!? Enter.... beautiful Laura!! She's like, 'I can drive you to Target?' I felt terrible, that this sweet woman would have to leave the wonderful 'camp-bubble' to drive us to Target. But, we had to get there!! And so….off we went! Laura as the driver, Chris as the navigator and photographer….Xanthe and I in the back, bursting to get there!!  

We laughed and skipped and oo'ed and awed.....Oh my gosh… watching Xanthe's Target experience was so much fun! Chris followed along with her PEN, taking photos. Laura, gave us her best Target shopping advice. Xanthe bought the cutest 'jumper'...EVER...and tons of American candy to take home to her beautiful boys. I found several fabulous treasures, including a lovely sweater jumper. Thank you Jen and Brit.

It was a sisterhood moment, FOR SURE! The Target dream became a reality…a lovely camp memory. It all happened because of the sisterhood…cheering us on. I realize now, dreams, both big and small, are so much better when shared with sisters.

Today, I am so grateful to sit here…. now part of a sisterhood… a part of something, I had no idea I was missing.
Here's to shared dreams and sisterhood.

This sisterhood thing is all so new to me. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Have you experienced the sisterhood? Are you longing for it? Have you been part of a sisterhood moment, that has left you wanting more or maybe completely changed? Share with us today.

 It's Friday!!! Hello Canvas is thrilled to celebrate our sisterhood by giving away another free canvas via thier facebook page! Go upload a sisterly photo for your chance to win!

thankful for the path

 We are delighted to welcome November with its spirit of deep gratitude and thanksgiving. Can you already feel it in the air? We sure can. There is no better time to use our creative tools (whatever camera suits your fancy) to shoot in gratitude.

This month we are celebrating our One Word Project with the help of HelloCanvas as we use the word  thankful to inspire us.

Among a multitude of other things, we are thankful for photography. For our sisterhood. For being together. For friends and for family. For our creative path. For coffee in the morning and tea at night. For the color of the leaves. For the sun in they sky and frost on the ground. For warm fires. For music. For food on the table and for our many countless blessings!

We are also thankful for HelloCanvas as they remind us to not only shoot with gratitude but to celebrate what we capture through our lenses. Creating a canvas print of something you are thankful for is a perfect way to honor what we are most grateful for. We are excited to be offering a month full of free canvas prints courtesy of HelloCanvas.

Here's what you can look forward to this month:

Each Friday of November we will host a mini-photo contest. The theme? Various creative twists on this season of gratitude, of course! The prize? A 20x24inch print from HelloCanvas.

And if that's not amazing enough, they will give away a stunning 36x48inch canvas print as a grand prize to one thankful winner from our OWP Flickr Pool at the end of November! Plus, 4 honorable mentions for the month will win 20x24 inch canvas prints as well. 

To be included in the Novemeber OWP contest:

Please enter your thankful images to the OWP Flickr pool.

Please tag your images "thankful" & "hellocanvas" so we can find your images.

Please show hellocanvas how thankful we are for them by visiting them on Facebook and Twitter. 

Winners will be announced the first week of December.

So, let's starting seeking out all the things we're thankful for. We can't wait to hear what's on your heart and in front of you lens. Do share!