Creative & Pinteresting

Each time we move, I attempt to create a space using the items from the previous location. I do this to ease the transition from one location to another, and to save money (in lieu of buying new). Our Oklahoma house includes the monster bath that we used to [...]

When we were decorating my daughter's room in Oklahoma after our move from Washington, I decided to incorporate several of the characteristics of her previous room. The twin-size ladybug blanket would no longer work, as she was upgraded to a full size. I purchased the same blanket in the [...]

One of the big thrills I get as a graphic designer, is picking up the final product after it is printed to send it to the client. This week, I picked up these postcards, and mailed them to a bride in Massachusetts named Danielle. Their wedding colors (black, white, [...]

In case you haven't heard, Pinterest is kind of a big deal. It is an online resource for inspiration and information of all types. It is a virtual inspiration pinboard for you to collect links to sites that you want to use later for creative or do-it-yourself purposes. Your ideas [...]

When my friend Nicole's National Tour of In The Heights was ending, she knew she wanted a very special gift for her fellow cast-and-crew members. She contacted me to see if I could make a vintage postcard of the likes of this famous one from New York City, since [...]

Home is where your heart lives. It is where your mind wanders when you daydream. It can move, it can change, but the feeling is always the same. The feeling of coming home is the feeling of acceptance. It is the relief of knowing you are safe, loved, and [...]

When people take maternity photographs, they want to capture more than just a snapshot. They want to freeze a moment in their lives to remember and to celebrate that experience. Often these pictures have standard poses and beautiful backdrops. I have my maternity photos of that kind, but I also [...]

After completing JP and Nicole's Wedding Site, I was contacted by their friend Carol. She wanted to work on her director's profile site, but first wanted to see herself in cartoon form, like the ones JP and Nicole's site showed I am able to produce.  Carol is pursuing her Masters [...]

When my friend Jenna contacted me for a logo for her custom birth statistic print design company, I was super excited. She wanted to have something that complimented her art. That meant bold colors, but with a classic or vintage-ish feel. She didn't want it to necessarily look childish, [...]

A dolly, a blanket, a hug, a hand to hold, a cushion, protection, whatever you call it, we all need it: Security. May you always feel safe in the knowledge that you are loved, and that there is always somewhere to turn if you need help. Girl carries around [...]

I am so excited to debut my latest web design project, NicoleWedsJPinBeantown.com! The Story: In high school I met and became good friends with a boy named JP. He and I were in the band together. He acted in the drama club, and I made a fool on stage trying to [...]

Stop and think about your life. The things you own. The time you spend. Do you know where it all goes? Getting organized can be overwhelming. Figure out what space and time you have available and then fill it with the things in life that you feel are a [...]

Don't believe it 'til you see it with your own eyes. Right? No. Recently, I have read several articles (the best being this one) that show how ridiculously altered major media photographs have become. No longer is it acceptable to be beautiful. Now, you have to be bionic.  Even super gorgeous [...]

Just over a year ago, when I was about to have my son, my friend Melissa showed up at my door with two blankets that she made for my kids. Each were made with the given child in mind. Girl's was ladybug themed. It had two layers of quality [...]

You want to take a picture. What do you do? Put the camera to your face or look at your viewfinder screen, put your subject in the middle, and press "go", right?! Not so fast! There is a rule of thumb in the photography world called the rule of [...]

I have a kid post for tomorrow, but tonight I'd like to share a picture that I took of my friend's horse, Kintla, yesterday. The horse was beautiful and was very patient with me. My friend was also super patient. I love animals, and any opportunity to [...]

We are a military family. We move around a lot. When we were in Charleston, SC, my wonderful photographer (Jess Tyndall - Heartwork Photography) took a photograph of us walking away from her on the beach of Sullivan's Island. A tradition was born. At each base, it's my goal to [...]

Here is one of my recent projects that I am proud of: a ladybug princess canopy for Girl's bed. Girl sleeps on a bed that was my husband's when he was little. While wonderful, it is very masculine. In fact, it is going to become Boy's when he turns 18 [...]

Note: You don't need an expensive camera to shoot in manual. Most point-and-shoot cameras offer this option! Check your manual! Learn before you buy a DSLR to figure out if photography is going to be your passion/hobby/profession (get a more expensive DSLR), or just for fun/just for snapshots (get a [...]

If aperture is how open or closed your sensor is (how wide your eye is open), the shutter speed is how fast it opens and closes (how fast you blink).  In this tutorial, I will show how varying shutter speeds effect your photographic outcome. The most basic way I can [...]