i spy: jewelry in my "embrace the camera" photo & a tutorial

here we are "embracing the camera" in front of the beautiful budding trees at my in-laws' house. spring and cherry blossoms make me so happy!

why is it so difficult to get a family picture where everyone is looking good at the camera?  lisa leonard (fab jewelry designer and blogger) has a great post on getting a good family photo.  too bad i read it after we took this!





now, take a closer look at that picture.  do you see the nifty little necklace i'm sportin'?  guess what......i made it!  (and you can too!~complete tutorial at the end of this post)

which leads me to--- "i spy: jewelry and shoes" with little miss momma.  this is my second week of participating in ashley's photo challenge.  see the first week, here.

i love jewelry, but don't really have a lot of it.  (i'm cheap, remember, and just can't justify buying myself a million pieces of bling).  so i will share with you a few of my most memorable pieces of jewelry that were gifts from my husbo (aka "free to me")........insert congregational "awwwwww."

1.  engagement ring:  such a special daily reminder of our promises to each other.

photo courtesy reeds jewelry

2.  sapphire pendant:  from our honeymoon cruise to the carribbean  {sapphire is my birthstone}

3. rhodochrosite bracelet: he brought this back from his trip to argentina this winter.  rhodochrosite is argentina's national stone.

4.  zipper rosette necklace:  this one isn't from jon, but it was "free" 'cause i made it!

want to make your own?
follow the easy steps below and you can!
{the tutorial is for a hair clip, but is easily adapted to make a necklace}

materials:

1/2 of a zipper
hot glue
barrette clip or necklace chain
piece of round felt in coordinating color

1.  using 1/2 of a zipper, tie a knot in one end
2.  cut off the excess after the knot
3.  tuck the end toward the middle and start twisting
4.  hot glue and hold for 20 seconds
5.  twist the zipper, turn the rosette, and glue every inch or so.  wait 20 seconds after gluing before twisting again (see picture for hand position)
6.  continue for the length of the zipper or until you reach your desired size of  rosette
7.  trim the end and secure to the back with hot glue
8.  the rosette is completed--now make it into a hair clip (or necklace or purse accessory--the possibilities are endless!)
9.  glue a circular piece of felt to the back of the rosette
10. attach hair clip with hot glue and wait several minutes for drying time
done......you did it!

don't forget about my necklace giveaway!  you can enter here!

i spy: our neighborhood & embrace the camera

i'm doubling up on two fun projects today along with ashley from little miss momma and emily from the anderson crew--two totally rad girls with mad photography skills.  i want to be like them when i grow up!

 it a dream of mine to  learn more about photography and cameras (and how to make your 2 year old pose beautifully for a picture). right now, i'm just using a little olympus point and shoot camera, but am in the planning stages for getting my very own DSLR--can i get a woot, woot!.


1.  be an amateur or not, i still want to find and document beauty in my everyday and so i'm joining ashley's "i spy" series where every week she takes pictures based on a theme (this week is "the neighborhood").  check hers out!





i spy: neighborhood edition

they're both giving me that look that says, "we're over it!" 

 

2.  i'm also linking to emily's "embrace the camera" series where she encourages us all to join in the pictures with our family and friends and capture the memories that we are living right now.  i love this, because i have tons of pictures and only a handful that i'm actually in (that might be partly because i refused to take too many pictures when pregnant and i've been pregnant for the past 3 years---or so it feels :))!







disclaimer:  like i said, i have a major problem getting my 2 year old to pose nicely for any said photos, but here it is.......she mostly looks like she's in pain........

before our walk, Sister was sporting the "shades" and thought it was the coolest to wear matching ones like momma.  she told me before she went to bed that "momma my friend." ---pure sweetness!

oh one more thing, all you "seem like profesh" photographers out there, if you have advice on which DSLR i should get or how to make children pose like baby gap models, leave me a comment.---it's much appreciated!