Jazz Hands

You know when some girls get really excited about something and they jump up and down and make stupid faces and flap their arms and talk really fast in a really high voice?  Yeah.  I just did that.  (My poor husband is such a good man.  We've been married for over 11 years so he actually even understands what I'm saying when I do that now.  Love him.)  So why the girly outburst?  Because I just got an email from Parents Magazine letting me know that the SB blog has been nominated to participate in the 2011 Best Blog Awards!  Eeeep!  We're under the Mom Tech Blog category and I swear to you it's all I can do to not bust out my jazz hands over it.  Isn't that exciting?  Thank you so much to whoever nominated us.  This just makes our day!  Will you vote for Shabby Blogs and help spread the word?

 Thank you!

Thank you.

My name is Megan Hastings.  I don't normally share a lot about myself because, to me, Shabby Blogs is about you.  It is my belief that Shabby Blogs isn't a small thing behind a big person, but a small person behind a big thing.  Having said that, there are some things I would really like to share with you.  I want you to know why I sometimes don't answer your emails or why I don't post every day like so many bloggers do.  I feel like I am constantly apologizing for my turtle-like speed and general lack of juggling skills.  I probably always will, but I hope this little glimpse into who I am helps.

I am a mother.  I am an owie kisser, a monster chaser, a bedtime snuggler, a fairy finder, a laundry diver, a story teller, and a dream pusher.  Becoming a mom was something I fought for and continue to fight for every day.  I fight to put my children first in a world where time gets shorter and shorter and the list of distractions grows longer and longer.

I am a wife.  I'm married forever to my best friend and better half.  I believe in date nights and water fights and dancing in the kitchen.  I believe in never giving up and always giving more.  I believe in always.  I believe in us...him and me...me and him.

I am a family girl.

Also...

I am a blogger.  I blog because even though I have chosen to be a stay-at-home mom, I have a voice and my voice matters.  My memories matter.  Someday, they will be all I have.

I am a business owner.  I started ShabbyBlogs.com so that others could have a place that truly represents them and their own unique voice.  I want people to be proud of their blogs because for so many of us, it's not just a web address, but a real piece of ourselves that we share with the world.  Some of us share to remember.  Some of us share to let go.  Some of us share just so we won't feel small or alone.  It doesn't matter why you share...why you blog.  It just matters that you do and that you do it with honesty and integrity and in your own unique voice.  I hope Shabby Blogs helps you do that.  I hope you know that we believe in you and in your voice and that you matter to us and to this world.

As this blog nears 15,000 followers, I just want to say thank you.  Thanks for being a part of this with me- whether this is your first time here or you've been a fan from the beginning.  Thanks for your encouragement and your kindness and your patience.

Thanks for being awesome.

Vintage Freebies with Keren: Shabulous Speech Bubbles!

Happy Vintage Freebie Thursday Everyone! I'm super excited to be sharing some fancy schmancy speech bubbles with you today! I pretty much love speech bubbles on their own, BUT NOW you can't pay me enough to stop making these shabby ones!

I made them big enough to use on your digital scrapbooking layouts and perfect for printing! 
Hope you have a Blast with them!!

To Download Orginal Size

Click HERE

Once you click the link, follow these steps:

1. Hover over the image with your cursor 

2. A tool bar will appear,  the first option to choose is FILE

3. Hover or File and Click Download Original file and  your done! :)

       xoxo,

       www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - Drive Modes

I'm sure you've noticed when shopping for a camera, one of the selling points that manufacturers like to point of is the number of pictures a camera can take per second.  The newer entry level DSLR's can usually shoot approximately 3 - 4 frames per second (higher-end cameras can take even more), which is an awesome feature!  But you have to know how to use it!

On your camera you can choose one of three drive modes.  The standard setting is one shot, which means that when you press the shutter button the camera just takes one single picture.  This is the setting that you'll probably use most of the time.

But what if you want to take an incredible picture of your subject making a soccer goal or diving into a swimming pool?  In these kinds of situations it's very helpful to change your drive mode to continuous mode.  That way, when you keep your finger pressed down on the shutter button the camera will keep continuously taking pictures as fast as it's able to.  So you can photograph an entire sequence of movement and then pick out the photo that captures the exact crucial moment you want to portray.

The continuous mode can also be useful in capturing candid moments.  I'm sure you've all had the experience of trying to take a candid type picture only to later find that you caught someone in an awkward mid-blink moment, or with their mouth weirdly open or something like that.  With the continuous mode, you can capture a sequence of interactions and then go back and find the perfect non-awkward frame.  Yay!

The third setting is the self timer.  You can use this with a tripod (or set your camera on a table, etc.) so you can get in the picture!  After you focus and push the button there will be a delay in which you can hurry into position (on my camera I have a choice between a 2 second delay and a 10 second delay).  There's a small light on the front of the camera that will blink and then stay on when it's about to take the picture.

Knowing about drive modes is just another way to help you to capture the perfect shot!  Have fun with it!

Featured {Shabby} Blogger

It has been ages since I featured one of our outstanding Shabby Bloggers and to say that this is overdue is just plain silly.  It's shameful, that's what.  Sigh.  But the particular blogger I'm featuring is definitely worth the wait!

Meet Michelle!

Blog: A Pinch of Prim

The first time I happened upon Michelle's blog {A Pinch of Prim} I think I GOL'd.  That's like LOL, but with a gasp instead of a laugh.  Her talent was literally startling to me.  Talk about mad skills and swoon-worthy goodness!  She makes these gorgeous paperclay pieces that are just the most darling and whimsical things you've ever seen.  Eeeeep!  Don't believe me?  Check these out:

I told you, right?  Craaaaazy!  Can you imagine being able to just...make things like that...with your own hands...and your own brain...and your own paperclay???  I've got to be honest.  I don't even know what the heck paperclay is exactly, but if you can make things like this with it, you better believe I'm going to find out!

"Hello local college!

Classes on making lovely things with paperclay?

Why, yes!

Tomorrow?

Absofruitly!

I'll even wear something besides pajama pants!"

Just so inspired over here.  I love a blog that inspires, don't you?  Such a delightful thing to stumble upon.  And, to add awesomeness to awesomeness, it turns out that the person behind it all, Miss Michelle, is as sweet as her creations.  I know because I had the privilege of getting to know her a little through the process of ordering my own little pinch of prim.  Did you see that "Ally-Gator" up there?  Well it was like Christmas over here the day she arrived in the mail.  My little 3-year-old Ally was more reverent when we opened that box than I have ever seen her behave in church.  It was priceless!  These special pieces of artwork, this lovely blog, and the wonderful woman behind them are all such sweet treasures.  Please hop over and get to know Michelle from A Pinch of Prim!

Side Note: Seriously, someone needs to purchase her latest daaaaarling piece because it is absolutely going to belong to me if you don't.  Two words:  Pink.  Hair.  Two more words:  Pink.  Bird.  KILLING me!

Other Side Note: Miss Keren Dukes is the smarty pants behind Michelle's header made to match one of our SB backgrounds.  Love that!

Summer Sunset Frame Freebie

I feel like the sun is setting on my sweet summer and before I know it, my little mermaids will be headed to the pumpkin patch.  I'm not even going to let myself think about that though.  For now, the sun is shining all golden and happy, my family is here and my heart is full.  I'm off to enjoy it!  Here's a little something for you to enjoy...

{click image to download full-sized png frame}

 {click on image to download full-sized text version}

*Freebie elements by the fabulous Michelle Underwood

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Shabby Rose Frame

What can I say? I L.O.V.E me some Pink :)  So here's to all my fellow Pinkaholics!  A new post pretty for special announcements or even a brand new shinny blog banner!  Just click on the image and save.

Big Hugs till next time!
Keren
www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - Lighting

In the world of photography, lighting is extremely important!  It really makes or breaks a picture.  It's what makes the difference between an everyday snapshot and an awesome photo, and after today you'll know how to deal with it like a pro!

The first thing you need to know is that the camera does not process light and shadow the same way our eyes do.  Our eyes are really good at taking in a scene which contains both bright areas and shadowy areas, but a camera can't do that.  In your photos you can only expose properly for the light areas or the dark areas.  If you choose your exposure for the light areas, the shadowed areas will look super dark.  If you choose your exposure for the darker areas, the highlighted areas will be over-bright.  Either of these look especially bad when it happens on a person!  So in order to learn to master lighting, you need to find/create situations in which there isn't so much contrast between the light and dark parts of the scene.

So there are a couple of no-fail lighting situations where it's easy to get a great picture.  The first is shooting on an overcast day.  In that case, you can shoot anywhere and in any direction and it will look good because the clouds diffuse the sunlight, eliminating the harsh light/shadow contrast (remember you can click on any of these photos to enlarge).

The second is shooting in what's called open shade, which means that you're not really deep into a shaded area, but are near the edge of the shade closer to the light.  And when you shoot in the shade, you want to have your subject face towards the light so you don't get what's commonly referred to as "dead eyes".  You want the light to reflects as catch lights which gives the eyes life and sparkle!  This particular photo was taken under the small shaded overhang of a building.

While shooting in overcast situations and in open shade can be great, I really love using sunlight!  The best times to shoot with sunlight are within the first hour or so after sunrise or in the last hour or two before sunset.  At these times the light is soft, golden and beautiful.  Soft light doesn't produce the harsh contrast that you get at other times of the day.   I like to use back lighting in these morning and evening situations (more on that coming right up).

Indoors near a large window with indirect lighting you can also get nice soft light!

Another important aspect of lighting is the direction that it's coming from.  This can be divided into three main categories:  side lighting, front lighting and back lighting.

This illustration is a perfect tool in understanding the direction that the light is coming from and what it does to your subject.

You can see how the light coming from the side (and slightly downward) creates a highlighted area, and then shadows gradually wrap around to the shaded side.  This is what gives the sphere dimension.  Without this shading, the sphere would just appear as a plain, flat circle.  This is a perfect example of what happens with side lighting.

You can see how the side lighting on subject's face looks just like what is happening on the sphere illustration.  The areas receiving the light from the windows are the highlighted areas, then the shadow gradually wraps around the contours of the face, giving a beautiful sense of dimension.

Front lighting would be as if you were looking at the sphere from the same direction as the light was coming.  You would only see the highlighted areas, and the shadows are now lost from your view.  This produces a flatter, two dimensional look.  But this can be flattering because it tends to minimize the appearance of any imperfections such as blemishes or wrinkles (since they do not cast a shadow as they would with side lighting).

My favorite is back lighting!  This would be as if you were looking at the sphere directly opposite from where the light was coming, so you would just see the shaded side of your subject.  I love the soft hazy look that the light creates as it comes directly at the lens!

Remember that you are now on the shaded side of your subject, and in order for your subject to be properly exposed (not too dark), you'll need to over-expose the scene in general.  You can see that the background is very bright and over-exposed, but the subject is perfectly exposed (with no harsh contrast) and that's what's important.

So go out and start  experimenting with lighting!  It's a really fun subject and it's so exciting when it all begins to make sense and your pictures begin to look amazing!