Fun Foto Freebee

Okay, so I cheated a little on the title...

Teachinfourth is offering a fun giveaway to help you to celebrate Christmas... the first 100 people to blog about his site (pick a post, any post...you can even talk about the photo giveaway) or his photography site is free to then leave a comment on his blog (read the details and post your comments here) and choose a free 5 x 7 of any image that he has taken...

Yes you read correctly... you have the whole wide world of his blog and his photography site to choose from (except for images from photo sessions) but then who wants pictures of a stranger's kids anyway when there is so many gorgeous images to choose from (unless you are one of those parents that have less-than-attractive kids maybe?)

Regardless, other people's family shots are not available to choose from, and neither is the Alphabetography (which you should check out anyway because its fun to play with the alphabet generator) And while you're looking around the blog, check out some of the posts about Joey... they will seriously crack you up!

Pinterest

I have a new pet peeve....and its name is Pinterest.

Anyone else sick and tired of seeing so many blog posts of "this is what I have pinned today" or "I just found so-and-so's pin list and look how cute it is"?

I know Pinterest is supposed to be a way to save your inspirations, etc and to have other people comment on them, but I'm tired of checking my blog reader and find that multiple blogs I follow only posted their "pin list" for the day. Honestly people, not everyone is interested in seeing what new things you have "pinned" for the day... and I've stopped following a few blogs altogether when it became obvious that they were only going to post new pins every day. I realize its the new shiny toy out there that everyone just has to play with, but its reached annoying enough levels that I have no intention to even join Pinterest.

Oh, and the "Wordless Wednesday" thing has been done to death people....

I think its time to weed out my Reader blogs again... too many people I am following are following one another... which means there is a lot of repeat blogging out there as people show "so-and-so did this on her blog and I just had to share it with you"...which is fine if only one gal does it, but when you are two weeks out from reading the original blog post and people are still sharing it, you realize how tired you are of seeing the same stuff over and over and over, and wondering why these people don't share more original posts.

disclaimer: despite this posting being a bit of a rant, I am actually in a very happy place right now.... I am just getting tired of deleting so many posts without reading them because its the same stuff over and over again....

second disclaimer: honestly, I really am happy....

I love crafting blogs..

...and I just found a new one. Check out PurlBee for fun projects on sewing, crocheting, knitting... best of all its free! free! free!

I think these felt citrus coasters will be my next project....

...aren't they adorable? You can find the pattern here

Whoops! Just stumbled across this pattern...I actually follow this gal's blog (Resurrection Fern) and I've favorited a few stones in her Etsy shop

Oh yeah... these are definitely my first project from this site.... you can find the pattern for these here. Amazingly enough, I already have a bunch of the pearle cotton embroidery thread balls lying around and goodness knows I always have a rock or two handy!

Oh man, check out how cute these quilted pincushions are!

If you are remotely into the crafty ... you will have a lot of fun just looking around this site!

Happy creating gals.... you can hate me later for hooking you onto this site!

Most annoying blogging peeve....

I have a blogger peeve.

Maybe its just me, but does anyone else have a problem with stumbling across a blog that interests you, deciding to follow it (just to see) and then find your reader box flooded with posts?

I checked my reader account around 6 pm last night and cleared the cache. Fast forward to just before 8 this morning when I check again.... this one blog had 47 new posts! That equals nearly 3.5 posts an hour if he'd worked throughout the night (or maybe he's in Europe where it would have been early morning/day for him?) Regardless of location.... that is just too freaking much... no matter how random a blog it is. Its a lot of graphic design (which is how it caught my eye) but they also post a lot of images of fashion, there are recipes tossed in at random intervals, and odd observations of "my buddy wore this hat the other day....."

Enough already.

Maybe this person doesn't have a job to report to.... maybe the more traffic they get to their site the more revenue they generate with advertising... I don't know. But this has got to be the shortest time I've kept anyone in my subscription queue (less than a week). I have better things to do with my time than constantly check my reader box and clear out this guys' posts on an hourly basis....

Oh... new thought. Maybe its a collaborative blog, with several authors posting whatever interests them or catches their eye. That would certainly explain the excessive volumes that is being posted.... but I am still keeping the blog deleted.

New Blog

Hello to all.... I have a new blog (don't worry, this one isn't going anywhere). You can find me here posting about all things wedding. I am trying to keep the tone not so gushy and lovey-dovey over here... and this way anyone who is interested can keep involved with what's going on, what still needs to be done, and you can shout out if you think I have missed something (goodness knows there is a lot I have probably forgotten to check into). Feel free to comment if you have any ideas on things I can try, advice about what may have worked for you or someone you know, or warnings about the mistakes I need to avoid.

I can really use everyone's help over here... I really have no serious clue about what I am doing and I am using this new blog to get myself organized and on-task (a challenge in and of itself... I am not the most organized of people!)

The blog is open to anyone and everyone.... feel free to pass it along to anyone you think would be interested.

Etsy, Etsy, Etsy....

No sales, but still Treasured....

Utah Lake in Orange can be found here and made it into the #1 position....and Old Bolt made it into this gorgeous Treasury listing...its bottom row, second from the right. Various photos of mine have been favorited by a lot of different people though, and my shop has already been favorited 26 times (and no, its not all by family members!) Girl is feeling the love.....

In other news, I have been accepted as the Monday morning blogger for the Female Photographers of Etsy (fPoE) group....I'll include a link to the blog when my first post goes up a week from this Monday. Its a montage (Mosaic Monday is the name) of photos from various group members, all surrounding whatever theme I decide on. I'm really excited for this!!!!! Not only is this a way to expand my blog base, but the more groups and activities I can get into on Etsy, the more recognition my shop will acquire....

I've also joined the fPoE photo exchange....so far, I think we're only considering this once a year (its our first year of doing this, so the details are still being worked out) but I signed on to do exchanges with two other members. The idea is we send each other a 5 x 7 of a piece either in our shops, or not listed...along with a brief synopsis of who we are and what we like, etc etc. Its just another way for the members to get to know one another.

Basically, I am spending a lot more time on Etsy now...which, I figure, is the best way to get myself out there. I am trying to do my own Treasury listing twice a week (to start...the trick is to not fall in love with and want to buy everything you find to "Treasure"!) I've noticed that if someone likes your Treasury, it brings them back to your shop...not to mention that the people you include in that Treasury tend to check you out as well...which is where a lot of my latest faves have come from.

Its only a matter of time before I make that first sale....not that I am in it for the money (though I won't say no to it!)...its just a neat feeling to know that something you took will be up on someone's walls someday.