Embracing Family

 

With this month’s prompts all being inspired by Elevate the Everyday, I have been delighted by all of the images and comments you’ve shared. Obviously the contents of the book are near and dear to my heart which makes your responses that much more meaningful. Thank you so much!

Today, as you visually translate the poignant prompt of family, I am beyond excited to share with you that today’s post and prompt has even more collective energy than usual. Today, Shutter Sisters has the honor of being one of the stops along the way in the Blogust Blog Relay for Good. That means that each and every one of YOUR comments today will translate into a $20 donation to Shot@Life (also near and dear to my heart) to get vaccines to children who need them most. Yes, $20 per unique comment, up to a maximum of $200,000 to reach 10,000 children. WOW! And not only will your comment count on today’s post here, it will also count over on my personal blog as well. In other words, with 2 simple comments today (one here and one on my blog), you are inadvertently giving $40 to Shot@Life. That’s donating all of the vaccines that two children need for a shot at more family time. And that is pretty awesome!

And because we share our support, encouragement and responses through visuals around here, be sure to add the #blogust tag to your images too (in addition to #sselevate) to help show your support and spread the word so that other shutter sisters (and brothers) around town know to come participate too. The more the merrier when it comes to social good, wouldn’t you agree? And speaking of other shutter sisters, Anne Geddes is a part of the campaign as well. We're in good company.

So be sure to leave a comment today, go hug your family and take your camera with you to document it! Then tag your images and help spread the good word. We’re a part of something very special over here and we want everyone to join us! That's how we do it here...together!

To keep up in the Blogust relay, check out the calendar of bloggers so you can follow along all month long to help us reach our $200,000 goal! 

favorite space

As I looked at the Elevate the Everyday prompt for August 2nd and began to think about my favorite space, I started by doing a mental tour of my house. As I imagined each room, nothing stuck out in my mind quite like this corner of my son's room. Before naps and bedtimes we snuggle into this comfy rocking chair to read books and sing songs. These are rare quite moments amongst days filled with constant activity and motion. I am grateful for this space and what it represents.

We are ready to elevate the everyday this month! Show us your favorite space in the links below and add them to the One Word Project pool on Flickr. And be sure to tag your images this month with #sselevate.

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!

weekending by Suzanne Scheve

 

Suzanne Scheve shoots images like this with her Canon Powershot SD1200 digital Elph and spends her weekends chilling out with her daughter, dog and camera. You can find her Suzanne (aka Manchesterlass) on her blog.

Are you chilling out this weekend? Share your weekending shot with us.

rainbow sprinkles

 

June is always a busy month at our house. From the end of the school year festivities, to dance recitals, to awards banquets, to the kick-ff of summer, to birthdays, it’s a hectic (albeit fun) time of year. Although I have often wished that my youngest daughter didn’t have to vie for celebratory space by having a birthday in June, I realized this year that her June birthday, if seen in a new light, is actually a gift.

I’m always mindful—as  most parents are—to be sure my kids gets rightly celebrated. That we thoughtfully choose the proper way to celebrate; serving the favorite meal, making the favorite cake, using the favorite plate, and hosting a party that fits the age and the era. Although this can be overwhelming sometimes amidst all the other activities that are jammed into June, this year, I felt like my daughter’s June birthday gave us a chance to actually slow down and focus on what matters most. Instead of feeling like it was just another thing on the calendar, it felt like the perfect respite from the chaos.

This year we eagerly and deliberately planned ahead,  setting time aside for a lovely lunch with close friends, a dinner out with the immediate family unit, and made the decision to buck our annual cake-baking tradition for a more unique birthday treat; a do-it-yourself sundae bar. I will admit, I lingered for a bit on that one. How could I possibly be OK with changing up a family tradition that hadn’t been modified since my oldest daughter was born 14 years ago? I’m not sure how. But I was OK with it. We all were. And it created just as much of a special celebration as would have come from baking a cake. By letting myself off the hook on that one (sundaes are soooo easy) I gave myself and my daughter the opportunity to add rainbow sprinkles—quite literally—to a celebration fit for a very special nine-year-old.

I’ve been wishing for ways to create a new energy around this time of year and the rest of the summer for that matter (less anxiety, more ease) and what I’ve learned is that wishes like those can come true.  All it takes is a little foresight and allowing yourself the chance savor the moment.

As we begin to wind down our vibrant month of color here at Shutter Sisters (#sscolormonth), today we have chosen to celebrate them ALL. It’s rainbow day! Rest assured, July will be bringing all kinds of opportunities to shoot and share your summer moments with us (yes, that’s a hint to our next OWP theme that will be announced on Tuesday, July 3rd) but it’s still June so let’s celebrate all the colors of the rainbow right now. Share with us every shade today!