last chance harvey....

don't forget

~~

the

give-aways

end tonight

~~

where do you enter

right

here

{run there quickly and get your name in the drawings}

~~

when will there be a winner

TOMORROW

*

happy sunday

just a little reminder....

that you might win this photo

taken by yours truly

just by entering this give-away

and

if that's not enough

you might win

an amazing new mixed media art book

by mary beth shaw

by entering

this give-away

~

seriously

who doesn't love to get something for free

right

*

{and because i love you, i'm letting you enter your name for both contests once a day through sunday}

when the wind blows...

looking at these photos

 that i took on tuesday

reminds me once again 

why i try to never pose children for a photo shoot

and

i try to never ask them to smile or say cheese
instead
i've learned that
"booger head"
"did dad just fart"
and
"did a bird just poop on my head"
work perfectly

just let kids play

~

just let them be themselves

and

to all you cat lovers

i about busted a gut when the extra kite string on the ground 

became a temptation that this cat couldn't resist

i mean seriously

this made me laugh out loud

and

to think that some people believe cats aren't helpful

~wrong~

and

when the kite comes down

you start all over again

*

{don't forget about the amazing give-aways over here}

hip hip hooray...it's a give away...times two

the amazing and talented mary beth shaw

is giving away another copy of her new book

and

lucky me

i'm hosting this week's give away

~

mary beth and i have known each other since 2005. the hubby and i were living in st. louis then and met mb at a fantastic art show, when we bought some of her artwork from her. after that first meeting, it seemed like every art show we went to, there she was and she ended up calling us her

"art show stalkers."

then

we moved to wisconsin and i thought our stalking days were over, but that was short lived as she ended up having her booth in madison's largest and super amazing art fair on the square

and

as soon as we saw each other, we just laughed. we were still stalking her, even if she did come to us.

{2009 at katherine's house}

i can't even begin to tell you everything she has done with her career, but it has sky rocketed. from selling her art, teaching, designing her own line of stencils to writing a book. she hasn't stopped moving from the day i met her. she's what we call a firecracker. or a little spitfire.

~

when she was writing her book, she asked me if i wanted to add some of my artwork to it and at that point, the artist in me was long gone, as the photographer in me had taken over, so i said "bless you for being so sweet, but photography is where my heart is" and she totally understood. she never did ask me for one of my recipes. obviously she knows that i don't cook.

{mary beth, me, elena, katherine}

lucky for me, one of the places she teaches at is valley ridge art studio, which is only about 75 minutes from my house. so last year i was lucky enough to take her class and even though she taught me and a room full of eager women for two full paint filled days, by the end i had mostly learned that i can't even begin to do what she does. not even close. please, give me a camera any day instead.

~

so for this give away

leave a comment here telling me either your number one favorite art supply that you can't live without or your one, all time favorite food that would crush you if you could never eat it again.

~

a winner

will be drawn monday morning

so you have until sunday night to leave your comment

AND

then you can head over to mary beth's blog to win a give away on her blog

{hint: it's one of my all time favorite photos printed in an 8x10}

~or smaller if that works better for you~

~

whew

i think i gave you all the information you need

now

go ahead

and

play play play

*

ps....you can enter this give- away once a day through sunday because we're nice that way

looks like the tango to me...

i never finished what i was sharing.

last week i only gave you part of my weekend and never followed it up with the rest of it. my bad. so i decided today i better play catch up before my current photo overload, that's dancing all over my desktop screams uncle and starts running around the back yard pulling its hair out.
*

sharing the good stuff...

i've learned something new

~

i have always used my macro lens while in auto focus
{not auto mode, auto focus}

which has provided me with some photos i've really loved

but

now i use my macro in manual focus 

and

ohh la la

what a difference

~

on a windy day 

shooting anything outside that can move in the wind

is really hard to do while in manual focus

so it's not worth the headache

but

on a calm day 

or while shooting inside

use your manual focus and i think you'll be presently surprised

~~

now

if all of you comment saying you already do this

i'm going to slap your hands and ask you why you didn't tell me this sooner

because

i think we need to share the good stuff with each other

right

~

so today

do you have 

special shooting techniques

or

a lens you can't live without

or

a camera bag that has changed your life

or

camera settings you swear by

that you want to share with everyone

 here 

as a comment

that i can republish on a future post
linking back to you

~

if you do 

i'd love to hear from you

*

ps....thank you all for the amazing amounts of congratulations from yesterday's post. you're the best.

the news i received on friday the 13th....

Dear Beth,

Good news! Your article, “Happy Mistakes,” which appeared in the February/March2008 issue of Somerset Memories has been chosen for Stampington & Company’s annual publication, “Hand Crafted: The Best of Stampington & Company.”
 

For the reprinting of your article, we would like to present you with a complimentary copy of this special publication, and a check for $50. 

now granted

i will never walk under a ladder and i still think a black cat crossing my path

is a bad omen

but

the number 13 

well

we're pretty darn good friends

*