Shabby Blogs

Photography with Jessica - Minimizing Under-Eye Circles

2012-01-31T12:08:00.001-05:00

Here is another awesome Photoshop tutorial that I hope you will find really helpful! This is the method I use for minimizing the look of under-eye circles. Please know that I'm not an advocate of extreme retouching or fake looking pictures like those you see in fashion magazines. All people have circles under their eyes to some extent. That's just the shape of the human face and there is nothing wrong with that! This video shows how I maintain a natural look while smoothing over any deep, dark, distracting areas...

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Vintage Valentine Cup Wraps!

2012-01-26T20:44:00.000-05:00

In my vintage loving world, Valentine's Day is the cream of the crop, as far as holidays go. With all the adorable vintage Valentine cards available, it's just so hard to choose which ones to share. I am So in LOVE on how these little pretties turned out! :)

You can Find and Download the entire set HERE

Easy Download Directions:

1.Click actions

2. Click on View All Sizes,

3.then select "ORIGINAL SIZE"

4.Save to your computer and print.

And Guess what!?!

These little wraps have a whole Other SET to go with them!!

I made them for a Lovey Friend to share with you all.

For any of you that want more Vintage Cup Wraps to give to that special Valentine, HERE are the ones I did Last year.

Till next time my Pretties!
xo,
Keren
www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - Photoshop Touch Ups

2012-01-24T20:39:00.003-05:00

I wanted to continue with some more tutorials on post-processing. This little video is all about the cloning tool and the healing tool in Photoshop. They are great for getting rid of blemishes on skin, lint on clothes, small unsightly objects in the background, etc. I hope it's helpful to you in touching up your photos!

Soul Spilling (& a freebie)

2012-01-16T19:42:00.002-05:00

I almost forgot what a computer is over the holidays. We went from Michigan to Arizona so we could spend some time with my husband's family...and we even hit New Mexico to visit some of mine. It was a whirlwind trip, but so worth it. I really have the coolest family and family-in-law on the planet. I've also got some super fantastic friends. It was lovely getting to see Jessica during our time in AZ. I wish each of you could do a shoot with her or take one of her workshops just for the chance to spend some time with her. She's that cool. Feeling rather blessed...and also a little lazy. I brought my laptop, but didn't touch it once. Not even a peek. It was lovely! Since I've been home, I've been trying to slowly ease myself back into cyber world. But not very hard, if I'm being totally honest. :)

2011 was all about acceptance for me. I didn't particularly intend that, but it just happened that way. I feel like I learned so much about accepting myself- the good and the bad, and just being cool with that. I hope to be a better person in the future, but today I am rather hopelessly flawed...and I'm okay with that...mostly. Ha! It takes practice. This year I am going to try my best to simplify. I've already put some of my big plans on hold so that I can make my life a bit easier and spend that much more time with my little girls while they are still little. I love Shabby Blogs, but the majority of my heart will forever be with my family. I hope you understand! I'll still be releasing new goodies and posting here, but it just won't ever be at the expense of my family. Not that it ever was. It's just so easy to get sucked into Cyberspace. Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest...all of it. Even just having an iphone makes me feel like I am plugged in 24/7. I don't like that. My life is here...in my own home...with my own family...in my own mind and heart and hands. Everything else can wait. Simple as that.

Speaking of my own family, I snapped a few pictures of my dear in-laws during our trip and these particular shots inspired me to create a little goody for you...

Aren't they the cutest?!! And I love these frames because they are neutral so they go with everything. Just click on the png image below for the full-sized version and save it to your computer. Can't wait to see how you use these!

Sorry for the soul-spilling, but as long as I'm sharing, I just want to say thank you to each of you who follow this blog and our website. Your support and friendship means so much to us. We truly thank you for being such amazing fans and friends.

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Shabby Pink Christmas Tags

2011-12-22T00:30:00.001-05:00

Hi there everyone! It's been WAY too long and I've missed you all so very much!
Like Megan mentioned, I was in the middle of moving cross country and let's just say moving cross country will never be in my To Do List again. EVER.

In the mist of all the madness, I did manage to sneak away and create a very LAST minute Christmas Freebie, for you all! I've always loved a man in Pink, and Ol' Saint Nick never looked so good! ;)

To download this vintage goodie click Here!

vintage clip art credit: Two Crazy Crafters
PS custom shapes: Starsunflower Studio

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

xo,

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Serious bang for a buck!

2011-12-13T14:31:00.000-05:00

I'm not a money person. I don't like to think about money, budget money, handle money, or even really make money as you can see by my lackluster approach to chasing down blog and website sponsors. I do love a good deal though. I like to see how far my pennies can stretch while finding things I love. A vintage treasure here, a Target coupon there. Nothing too fancy, but it's fun sometimes to see what a well-placed dollar can get you. Having said that, I'm pretty sure I have come across the best deal of all time. Seriously. Have you ever heard of this?

I just recently discovered Give 1 Save 1 through my friend Alisa and it is AWESOME! In a nutshell, you give one dollar to save one child. ONE dollar. I've bought several things throughout my life with a dollar. A diet Coke at McDonald's, a carousel ride for my kids at the mall, a couple fake mustaches from those little machines that spit out the little plastic egg things. None of that can even compare to helping a child in need of adoption unite with a family. Maybe my little dollar or your little dollar alone can't do all that much, but together, we can do really great things. What do you say? Will ya give a buck? Okay, actually, will you give two? Because I really want you to do this right now so you can download Alisa's gorgeous printable art, but I also want you to give one a little later when Yours Truly will be posting over there. :)

Please go here and be a little bit more awesome today.

Free Printable Calendar Awesomeness

2011-12-09T14:56:00.000-05:00

Things have been a little quiet at Shabby Blogs lately. Jessica and Keren are still so busy and I have been totally selfish with my time. I feel like November is a time for counting our blessings and December is a time for cherishing them. I've been busy doing work for some upcoming things, but I have mostly been just cherishing being a mother and a wife. Snuggling my little ones, trimming the tree, watching Christmas movies, doing fun little projects together as a family. Last night my husband and I stayed up until 4am just laying in bed, laughing over the silliest things. I love my little family and the coziness that falls upon our yellow farmhouse this time of year. I hope you've been able to slow down and enjoy a little loveliness too!

I've been wanting to do a really special freebie that is December-worthy, but I haven't been able to think of anything rad enough. Then it occurred to me to hit up my dear friend Adam of Fall Down Tree...who is practically bursting with awesome. Holy smokes, has he delivered! Do you remember that adorable printable calendar he was good enough to share with us last year? Well, he has made another one and it is to die for, friends! It's going on my wall TODAY. It's only available to download until Tuesday the 13th so click quick, people! :)

Give yourself the gift of AWESOME!

{click the above image for the download link}

Thank you so much, Adam! You are full of talent and generosity from beard to toe. :) Also, I have it on good authority that there is a sale going on at the Fall Down Tree Etsy shop right now where you can buy two prints and get a third one free! Sweet, huh? I don't know about you, but I am aaaall over that. Happy December!!!

Treasure Freebie

2011-11-18T13:06:00.001-05:00

I know that not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving, but it is one of my favorite holidays. I just think you can't be happy without being grateful and you can't be grateful without being happy. A holiday that makes us slow down and think about our blessings is a cool thing. My life may not be perfect (I keep expecting the pile of dirty clothes in my laundry room to sprout legs and come after me! I swear I heard it growl.) but I am so grateful for all that I have been given.

Here is a photo frame/collage freebie for you to use in case you'd like to display your treasures with a bit of flair. :) Just click on it for the full-sized version and then save it to your computer!

Thank you to each of you for visiting us and supporting us and being so kind to us. We are grateful for you!

Blog Necessities Freebie

2011-11-10T20:06:00.003-05:00

Whew. Things are crazy in Shabbyville right now! Jessica, Keren, and myself all have sooooo much going on!

Our brilliant and sweet photographer Jessica has got a brand new look and a brand new name. Sierra Studios Photography is now Jessica Downey Photo. She's launching her new site with a MASSIVE array of giveaways too long and fabulous to even list here! Keep an eye on her blog and facebook page for all of the details! It's going to be so rad! Go Jessica!!!

Our talented and adorable Miss Keren is in the middle of a cross-country move from California to North Carolina. That's all. No biggie. Ha!!! She's taking a little time to get settled in and I can't wait to hear all about her new digs!

Me? I'm working on some top secret shabby awesomeness. I can't give details yet, but just trust me when I say that some really cool stuff is coming soon! :)

Ooookay. So on to the freebie...

I don't know about you, but when it comes to writing new blog posts, I have found that there are certain things I need over and over again. I created this freebie pack for you with the necessities in mind. Included are 3 arrows, 2 speech bubbles, and 1 label. There are two versions of each- one with shadows and one without. These are so great for before and after photos as well as quotes and titles and whatever else you can think of! They can be your go-to goodies and I hope you have fun with them! Just for the heck of it, here's a little example for you:

Shabby Blogs Necessities:

Download

Delicious Autumn Freebie

2011-11-03T22:09:00.000-04:00

Mmmmmichigan. I love where I live. I'm surrounded by trees and meadows and lakes and rivers. My family and I recently stopped at the covered bridge near our home to collect beautiful leaves that we could dip in wax and then string across our family room. On our way home, I snapped a photo of the river and decided to use it in this freebie. I did one version using one of my favorite quotes by George Eliot and the other is blank so you can customize it however you'd like. Please enjoy them!

P.S. There are so many awesome things happening behind the scenes at Shabby Blogs right now! From fresh new designs and a rad facebook fan freebie to a big fat project I can't wait to disclose...I think you're going to be super stoked, friends! :)

Fall Doodle Frames Freebie

2011-10-27T20:23:00.000-04:00

I have been so busy lately, but it's the kind of busy that doesn't feel like busyness. I've been fun busy. We've had family visiting (that's my sweet niece, Paisley in the photo above), trips to the pumpkin patch and farm stand, hay rides, Halloween parties, leaf collecting with my little ones... Fall is such a lovely time of year, is it not? There's something about the crisp autumn air that just makes me feel hugged. It's just...nice. We've already had our "trunk or treat" party at church and my rock star, mermaid, and bumblebee each came home with more candy than any person should eat in a lifetime. In our family, we let our kids choose a few pieces of candy and then they leave the rest by the front door for The Great Pumpkin. He takes the candy and leaves a present instead. I really love our little traditions! I always feel like we have to get as much family fun in as possible before the winter comes and we turn into cave people.

I hope you've been able to enjoy this season in your neck of the woods! (Make sure you leave a comment so we can hop around and visit your blogs to see what you've been up to!) Here are a few blog frames to make posting those fall photos that much more fun! As always, just click on them for the full-sized .png versions and then save them to your computer so you can customize them with your own images. Enjoy!!!

Photography with Jessica - Photographer's Holiday Wish List

2011-10-25T21:32:00.001-04:00

I do have some more post-processing posts coming up for you, but since it's getting close to the holidays I thought this would be the perfect time of year to start thinking about photography-related gift giving. If you know someone who loves photography, this list may help you pick out the perfect gift. Or if you're the one who's always behind the camera, you might want to leave this post on your computer where someone else can see it!!! Each and every one of these items has been lovingly hand-picked by me for you! Some of them have even already made it into my own personal collection...

1. Temporary Camera Tattoos by Tattly

2. The B-Hobo Camera Bag by Kelly Moore

3. Betsy Camera Bag by JoTotes

4. Collapsible Light Sphere by Gary Fong

5. Camera Strap Cover by Mel V Designs

6. Canon Digital Rebel T2i Body

7. Newberry Album by Kolo

8. Canon 430 EX II Speedlite Flash

9. Felt Camera and Click Brooches Cranky Lost Donut

10. Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Lens

11. Nikon D90 Digital Camera Body

12. Camera Dial Laptop Decal by Photojojo

13. Canon 50mm f/1.8 II Lens

14. Toy Wooden Camera by Little Sapling Toys

15. Smile Handprinted Letterpress Poster by Roll and Tumble Press

16. Sewing Pattern for Point and Shoot Case by Keyka Lou

17. Picture Taking Freak Print by Lollipops

18. iPhone Skin by Deluxe Graphics

19. Cheeky Lime Classic Camera Bag in Green

20. Nikon SB-700 Speedlite Flash

21. Vintage Camera Embroidery Patterns by Tiny Bazaar

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Pretty Kitty Tags!

2011-10-14T19:37:00.002-04:00

Wishing you all a blessed weekend! I'm off to take care of a sick toddler-- No Fun.. I know! But I'll leave you with this Pretty Kitty that is sure to melt your heart!

Click HERE to DL original size

xo!

Keren

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - Using Actions in Photoshop

2011-10-12T19:57:00.002-04:00

Some of the most frequent questions I get about post-processing have to do with actions. What are they? Do I use them? I do use actions. I love them! Used skillfully, I think they really elevate a photo beyond snapshot status. An action is like a short cut for a long Photoshop process. So instead of going through 10 or 20 individual steps in Photoshop to get the look you want, an action puts them all together and does them really fast for you. It is like a recipe to get a certain look.

Actions don't come with Photoshop, you need to get them separately. There are a lot of sites that make actions that you can buy, although The Pioneer Woman has some great FREE ones. There are soooo many action sets out there. For my photography business I use and love Totally Rad Actions. But for this tutorial I'll be using the free sets from The Pioneer Woman (she has super easy instructions on how to download and install them).

So let's get started! First of all, in Photoshop make sure you have the Layers, Actions, and History windows open. They are probably already opened by default (located at the right side of your screen) but if you don’t see them, just look at the top of the screen and click on Window and then Layers, Actions, and/or History.

Each action has a name, and in Photoshop you select which action you want, and then click the "play" icon to "play" that action.

Then it quickly goes through each of the individual steps and creates a new layer or layers on top of your image. You can use these layers at their full 100% strength, but I almost always change the layer opacity to tone it down to my liking.

When you're done adjusting the layer opacity, you right click on your bottom layer and choose "flatten image" which merges the new action layer/s into the original layer. You can then leave it as is, or you can apply other actions.

Let's do an example photo together (click on YouTube icon to view larger on YouTube)...

Happy {Vintage} Camper Freebie

2011-10-06T17:23:00.001-04:00

Hello favorites! The weather in Michigan has been freakishly glorious this week so my little ladies and I have been doing lots of what I call Wellie Wandering. You're never too old to go exploring and I get as excited about our little discoveries as my children do. Rain boots and sunshine are good for the soul. So, in the spirit of adventures big and small, here's a little design I made that can be used in your posts or on your sidebar. Customize it with your own text and enjoy the heck out of it! :)

{click image for full-sized version}

Look for a big fat batch of brand new backgrounds and goodies at ShabbyBlogs.com tonight and tomorrow!

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Tweet - Tweet Post Pretty!

2011-09-29T20:56:00.002-04:00

Yay! Fall has arrived and I couldn't be anymore giddy! By far my most favorite time of year. Has nothing to do with the fact that I'm an October baby bty.. ;) All the pretty colors and smells make me... Well.. Just Plain HAPPY. I've also been wanting to use these adorable little brown birds in something, because they too make me.. you guessed it ..super happy and they just Tweeted Autumn is here! :)

Click HERE to DL

So here's to all my fellow Fall Lovers! This one's for you! :)

Till next time!

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Attention Mommy Bloggers!

2011-09-20T22:47:00.001-04:00

We've all been in that situation where you're with a group of people and some unfortunate soul has something icky in their teeth or in their nose...or maybe their zipper is down. I can't lie to you, friends. In that situation, I'd either be the winner with spinach in her teeth or the girl who just smiles and pretends like she doesn't see it. However, there is something I have seen a lot of in the blogging community and it is infinitely more harmful than spinach teeth. In all seriousness, I'd like to address this issue with you because it involves many of the things that matter most to me, personally.

Regardless of where I am online, most of my time is spent in the company of moms. There is something within this circle that comes up on a regular basis, but is almost never addressed. That something is the issue of safety. I truly don't mean to offend or alarm anyone, but I have been shocked by some of the photos and information I have seen shared online by women (and men) who most likely just never stopped to think about the risks of such. I've seen home addresses posted for all to see, detailed family whereabouts shared, and naked child after naked child after naked child. I just don't understand this. I've thought a lot about it and as someone who believes that people are basically good, I can only assume these lapses of judgement are based on a simple lack of awareness.

According to the Internet Safety Project, more than 20,000 images of child pornography are posted every day. Approximately 20% of all Internet pornography involves children. While I sincerely doubt anyone reading this article would EVER knowingly contribute to these statistics, my fear is that we may be inadvertently placing our children in danger just because we don't want to think about an issue as horrific as this one...certainly not in relation to us or our own sweet children. To be completely honest with you, I would quite literally rather think about pretty much anything else on the planet as opposed to things like identity theft, cyber stalking, child abduction, and pedophiles. It makes me sick to my stomach. Please believe me that I would never be writing this if I didn't feel there was a strong need for it. While I am not claiming to be an expert on this subject, I have done a bit of homework...and we all know that there aren't many forces in this world greater than a mom who has done her homework. So, without further ado:

DON'T post suggestive/provocative pictures of yourself or anyone else- especially children, online. In my own mind, I imagine that each picture I share online is a poster in a crowded subway station. Would I still post it?

DO keep in mind that the way you see your photos and the way others see your photos may not be the same. That photo you have of your little one in the bathtub or on the beach may be the most adorable thing you or I have ever seen, but to the wrong person it could be pornography. Be discerning and use caution.

DON'T forget that what you share is most likely permanent. If you do choose to post that picture of your little one's tushy, just remember that the same little tushy will be a big tushy one day. We want that tushy to be able to run for congress...or at least go to high school without getting stuffed in a locker.

DO take a closer look at your photos before sharing them. Is your house number on the mailbox behind your little sweetie as he or she is getting on the bus in that first day of school photo? Is your address on the envelope next to the bouquet of flowers you photographed? I know that sounds a little James Bond, but just be aware and be careful.

DON'T share personal information. That sounds strange because we often share personal things on our blogs, but I mean things like your address, what school your children attend, where you will be (and won't be) at certain times, ages, birth dates, last names...things like that.

DO be aware of what photo editing software can do. If you have posted pictures of your children online, it is possible that those images have been taken and photoshopped in a manner that makes them child pornography. In other words, cyber predators can take that sweet photo of your little one in the bathtub and Photoshop themselves right on in there with them. One of my best friends is a social worker and opened my eyes to this practice. I seriously felt sick to my stomach and lost a lot of sleep after that conversation. Don't freak out like I did. Just be aware.

DON'T be afraid to speak up if someone is posting something you think could be dangerous to themselves or their children. Just keep in mind that this is a very sensitive subject and should be handled carefully and tactfully. Don't go overboard, but do be a responsible advocate for the safety of children and others.

DO err on the side of caution when it comes to deciding what to share online. I'm not saying you should parade your children around with blankets over their heads a' la the late Michael Jackson. I'm just saying we should all exercise common sense and be protective of our own children and children in general. I don't want to start any wars in Blog Land, but I say, when it comes to something this important, sometimes you've got to be the girl who cried spinach in your teeth.

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Etsy Shop Banner Collection!

2011-09-15T20:08:00.000-04:00

Hi there!! Sorry about running late today! Its been pretty hectic in the world of FPTFY. I'm sure you can all relate :) Hopefully this next Freebie will make it up!

Remember a while back, when Megan first introduced me I made some Freebie Vintage Business Cards?? If you don't, you should really check them out because I just made YOU and Etsy Collection to match them!! YaY!!

The Collection includes:

-760 x 100 Blank Etsy Banner

-400 x 400 Blank Image

-100 x 100 Main Avatar

-100 x 100 Blank Avatar

*Note: Make sure you Download the Original size on Photobucket*

BTY-- the 400 x 400 Image will also work for a Post Pretty!
Enjoy!!
xo,

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - Post Processing - How Much is Too Much?

2011-09-14T01:09:00.000-04:00

In the next few posts I'd like to start delving into the subject of post processing. In today's digital world, a photo is rarely left as-is straight out of the camera. Post processing refers to anything that is done to enhance the photo after it has been taken. It's such a fun and interesting subject and we have such great resources available to us to use that sometimes it can be difficult not to get carried away! So before we start learning about the "how's", I'd like to spend a little bit of time talking about the "why's".

So, why do we post process an image? With photography our goal is to capture the world around us, and the goal of post processing is to enhance that reality and make it even more beautiful. But I would caution that there is a line between enhancing and distorting. Of course, photography and post processing are art forms, and as with all art, there is much room for creativity and interpretation of what is considered "good". So what I have to offer today is just my opinion of how post processing should be used, and I realize that there may be those who disagree with me... and that's ok!

I think our culture is kind of making us feel like everything and everyone needs to be PERFECT! Real life is beautiful and vibrant and wonderful... but it is NOT perfect, and I think that photography should reflect that. When I first started out with post processing I did so much to every image, just because I could. It took me a couple of years to learn to back off and leave some life and reality in my images.

When you first meet a person, your impression of them includes so much more than what they look like. You take in their voice, tone, attitude, mannerisms, facial expressions, and everything that makes them who they are. When I first meet a client, I don't notice if they have some flakiness on their chin or some puffiness under their eyes because there is so much more to them than that. But photos are different. When you look at a photo all you get is the visual aspect of the person, and so the little "imperfections" are much more noticeable than they are when you see a person in real life. So when I'm post processing the client's images, I'll go ahead and get rid of the flakiness and the puffiness, because in my opinion those are just visual distractions of what your real impression would be if you were really with them.

What I don't like to do is extreme skin smoothing (makes them look like a doll, not a person) body shaping or slimming. Don't get me wrong, I'm just like every other woman out there, always wanting to lose 5-10 pounds, but I think if we regularly alter what we look like in photos it just tends to reinforce the unfortunate cultural pressure to be perfect and make us feel like we aren't good enough. I also don't like to go crazy with the color enhancing. Upon viewing my images, I don't want the first thing to pop into the viewer's head to be "Photoshop!" I want the beauty and life of the subject to be what grabs the viewer's attention. So in short, that's what guides what I will or won't do with post processing.

In the next post I'll start to teach actual post processing techniques, but in the meantime I'd love to hear what you think!

Extra Credit Blog Collage Freebie

2011-09-08T21:12:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty sure I went through all of the stages of grieving this past week. (Is eating chocolate cake one of the stages? Because it totally should be if it isn't.) Summer is over and my two oldest girls are back in school. Little by little, I am doing my best to accept that. One thing that will be so great for me is getting back into designing again. I've loved this time with my children more than words can say, but I really have missed designing lovely new things for you in mass quantities. :) So much to do and it is back to it for me!

For those of you who haven't blogged those back-to-school photos yet, here's a little goody to help you do it with flare. (Of course, you can use this for other things too!) I did a fun little shoot with my girls inspired by the previous post by Jessica. Even though I had my camera settings all wrong and didn't realize it until way too late to do anything about it, I'm still pretty pleased with the shots I did get...while trespassing in the neighbor's apple orchard. Rebel.

This photo collage was created using a super cute kit called "Extra Credit" from one of my all-time favorite digital shops, Digital Design Essentials. Just click the image below for the full-sized .png file and then save that little sweetie to your computer! Happy shabby blogging!

Ooh, PS! Don't forget to vote for us in the Parents Best Blog Awards! We would be ever so grateful!

Photography with Jessica - Back to School

2011-09-02T00:23:00.000-04:00

I recently visited my elementary school in California... well, at least the outside of it. I loved elementary school! I have dim but happy memories of the people and things that occupied so much of my life at that time. I wish I had pictures to help me always remember my classrooms, wonderful teachers, the beloved library, and friends who I haven't seen in decades.

Even though it was 113 degrees here in Arizona today, and even though school started weeks ago for us, September always gets me in a nostalgic, back-to-school kind of mood. Ahhh, the crisp autumn air, the new shoes, the smell of library books and crayons.

Don't forget to take some back-to-school pictures of your kids. And don't stress out about doing on the actual first day of school (which is stressful enough already)! Here are some photo ideas to help you capture some memories about this year in their life:

· have them write their name and grade on a slate or ruled paper and hold it

· clothes laid out the night before (be sure to get details)

· new backpack

· new shoes

· kids packing lunches

· this year's text books

· details of school supplies

· child in front of the house with complete outfit and backpack

· getting on the bus

· with their best friends in front of the school

· shot of the school sign

· child with new teacher

· sitting at new desk

(click on photos to enlarge)

Remember, these photos can be as artsy or as practical as you want! The whole point is to be able to remember all the fun little details that make up "school life" for your children!

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Shabby Rose Digital Lables

2011-09-01T05:42:00.001-04:00

It's Super late right now.. or should I say Super Early (2:32 am) and all I can think about is THIS!! :)

I will totally resort to begging if I have too! ;)
Happy Vintage Freebie Thursday BTY!

xo!

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Jazz Hands

2011-08-31T20:53:00.001-04:00

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.

2011-08-25T20:28:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-08-18T02:09:00.001-04:00

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

2011-08-16T23:11:00.000-04:00

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

2011-08-14T23:20:00.002-04:00

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

2011-08-11T16:57:00.001-04:00

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

2011-08-04T05:48:00.001-04:00

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

2011-08-02T01:58:00.000-04:00

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!

Summer at Summerfield

2011-07-28T17:21:00.000-04:00

Maybe it's because I adore all of those English period films or because summer in Michigan is heaven on earth, but shortly after we moved into our 130-year-old farmhouse, I named it Summerfield. It is surrounded by beautiful trees and fields and magic- if I do say so myself. I love it here.

This summer has been such a lovely time for my little family. My three girlies and I have been dragging our old quilt outside and nestling in among the tall grass beneath a beautiful old oak tree to read The Secret Garden each evening. I love that time of day when it is still light enough to read to them, but just dark enough for the lightning bugs to come out and transform our little piece of earth into a fairyland. During the summer, our home also turns into Birthday Central because of my girls' July birthdays. I have so much fun throwing together their parties! My little princess wanted a princess party, of course. She also wanted to include some "spa" activities so we transformed the playhouse my husband and I built for them this spring into The Pampered Princess Salon & Spa. (Do you remember me mentioning our playhouse project? We have yet to completely finish the inside, but I'll share pics when we do!)

My youngest turned 3 this week and I threw her an alligator-themed party based on the book, A Girl and Her Gator...and the fact that her nickname is Ally-gator. :) We had so much fun!

I've tried to fill each summer day with my girls to the brim with fairy tales and learning and adventures. I almost burst into tears when I saw all of the back-to-school things at a store the other day. I am not ready to let go of summer yet! I'm gradually working on some school-themed designs to add to shabbyblogs.com, but you'll have to be patient with me and my denial. :)

Below you'll see a lovely little bit of summer sweetness I've made for you to use on your blogs. You can customize it and use it on your sidebar or in your actual blog posts. Wouldn't it be a great way to announce a giveaway winner or to share a favorite quote? Enjoy it...and enjoy the rest of your summer!

{click image to save full-sized version}

P.S. Still working on answering emails regarding our latest team call. I'm sorry it is taking me so long, but you guys are sooo dang awesome that it is way harder than I thought it would be!

P.P.S. Keren will be featuring some of my little parties at FPTFY so be on the lookout! :)

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Matching Banner(s) for White Wash BG

2011-07-21T07:00:00.001-04:00

One of MY FAVORITE Shabby Blogs Freebie, is the background called, "White Wash"! With that being so, I Just knew I had to create a matching banner for it. I made 3 versions of it for you to choose from!

The first one, is a blank slate for you to embellish it with whatever pretties your little heart desires.
For the second one, you could leave the inside of the frame black and use white font letters to make it look like a chalkboard OR and this is my favorite one, you could Insert a picture in it by following Meg's awesome tutorial Here!

example - click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge - right click to save

Would you like to see more matching Banners? Tell us the name of your favorite backgrounds!

We LOVE hearing for you!

Till next time!

xo!

Keren

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - Composition Part 4

2011-07-19T00:34:00.000-04:00

Here is a great topic to close out our set of posts on composition: perspective! The perspective from which you can take a photo can be infinitely variable, yet we often find ourselves stuck in the rut of taking photos from our normal, everyday perspective (what we see from our eye level). I challenge you to go out and find a subject, then try to photograph it from every different angle you can think of!

Next time we'll delve into the beautiful (but often baffling) subject of lighting.

Photography with Jessica - Composition Part 3

2011-07-11T23:30:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple more fun compositional elements to add to your bag of tricks!

Details
It is our nature to photograph smiling faces, but sometimes it can be very powerful to capture other details that tell so much about a person or an event.

Out of Focus

This is a really beautiful, artistic way to capture an image, but it really must be used very sparingly. For this technique, you need to change the setting on your lens to MF (manual focus) and then twist the focusing ring on your lens until the image you see is just slightly out of focus. You want enough blur so that it's obviously intentional, but not so much that you lose all detail of your subject. And don't forget to switch your lens back to AF (auto focus) when you're done!

And for next time, one more post on composition and then we're off on another great topic!

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Altered Art Greeting Cards

2011-07-07T15:30:00.000-04:00

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th! It feels like we will be celebrating Christmas tomorrow morning, the way this year is flying by!

A few weeks back, I received a request for some altered art greeting card images, and made my First Set. Today, I am sharing the other ones I made in Pretty Pastel tones. These two first ones are my favorite!

To download click

Image 1 Image 2

To download click

Image 3 Image 4

Till next time my lovelies!

xo,

Keren

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Shabby Blogs Team Call

2011-06-30T17:29:00.002-04:00

I'm not going to lie to you. My summer so far has been AWESOME! Our yellow farmhouse has been filled to the brim with tons of family coming to visit, trips to Mackinac Island and to our little town ice cream shoppe. Fireflies, camp-outs, Lake Michigan...my life does not stink. :) It's definitely hard to wipe my mascara mustache off and give up pirate adventures with my kids for computer time, but I've been able to sneak in a bit of design time here and there. Never fear! I've recently uploaded a bunch of new backgrounds to ShabbyBlogs.com and will be adding a whole batch of brand new blog headers within the next few days. (If you want to be among the first to know about things like that, make sure you "like" our new page on Facebook!)

Shabby Blogs has grown like mad since I began it a year and a half ago. That is so rad! It really is. It is also a lot of work and could take up every hour of my days if I allowed it. Lately, I've been really torn. I want SB to continue to grow and to continue to help and encourage others. At the same time, it is just bigger than one person...especially if that one person isn't willing to miss out on time with her sweet little family. (My family is everything to me and that is something I just can't/won't bend on.) Back in October, I put out a team call and was blessed to find Keren and Jessica. To say that I appreciate, respect, and adore those two women would be the understatement of a lifetime! They are as talented and brilliant as they are kind. (My favorite combination!) Now it's time to add to our team even more. If you have any of the following skills and are interested in collaborating with or joining the Shabby Blogs family, we would love to hear from you!

*Please note the extremely professional tittles you are about to read. :)

Expert Blog Code Person
We are working on making our Blogger backgrounds compatible with Wordpress and Typepad. Wanna help us? Email me!

Awesome Tutorials Person
You may have noticed, but it has been a lonnnng time since we have posted a new tutorial. Shameful, really. We need to get on that...and also update some of the previous ones to include tips for those using Blogger's template designer. Does the thought of that make you all giddy with excitement? Email me!

Digital Scrapbooker Who Loves Making Headers Person
It's no secret that I am aaaaalways behind on headers...and a billion other things. Sigh. If you are a super scrapper and think your style is a good fit for Shabby Blogs, email me! I'd love to see your work!

Awesome Blogger Finder Person
Another one of those billion things I'm behind on is featuring Shabby Bloggers. This breaks my heart because it is one of my absolute favorite things about SB. I love shining the spotlight on people you might not know about. There are so many amazing people out there! I truly believe the best bloggers are often ones with only a handful of followers. If you have a knack for finding lovely people who do lovely things, email me!

I am so excited about this! I can't wait to add to our already super awesome team!!!

Speaking of adding to our team, there is someone I'd like you to meet. Not only is this outstanding person the newest member of the Shabby Blogs family, but he is also a member of my family family. You are going to LOVE him! Everyone, this is my brother Steve:

He's the monkey on the left, not the insanely adorable little man on the right...in case you were worried about child labor laws. ;) Steve will be in charge of our sponsorships- so if you are a freakishly awesome blogger or business owner, you're going to want to contact Mr. Tracy for all of the details on becoming a Shabby Blogs sponsor. I am so elated to have him not only as a brother, but as a partner. I love that boy with all of my heart. He is one of the most amazing, loving, strong, and admirable people I know. You are going to LOVE working with him if you get that opportunity. Side note: He is single.

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Scrapbooking Vintage Gnome Printable

2011-06-23T11:01:00.001-04:00

You could find Tons and TONS of Girly Stuff out here in Blogland....BUT unfortunately not so much for Boys. I am Totally guilty here! Being a total girly girl at heart and only having one girl, I must confess, I have never made a boyish freebie in my life! Until now :)
This vintage little Gnome and color palette combination, Screams, "I am a Retro Boy!"

Click HERE to download

Please Note:
Image will Look super Bright on Flickr, but When Printed out it look like example above.

It could also be used for SUPER Awesome Birthday Theme, don't you think?

The Gorgeous Layout Created again by
Nicole Brenna from
ScrapMeThis.blogspot.com and ScrappingEverydayMiracles.blogspot.com using this image!

Thank you Nicole!

Would love to see what you create with it! Enjoy!

xoxo,

Keren

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - Composition Part 2

2011-06-21T15:46:00.002-04:00

I hope you've been having fun filling your frame, using the rule of thirds, and using symmetry and balance in your photos! I now have three more "ingredients" for you to add to your photography composition "pantry". These are some fun ones that I like to throw in for interest and variety!

Framing

When using the technique of framing, you'll want to look for environmental elements that you can use to frame your subject. It doesn't have to be a perfect four-sided element like an actual picture frame, but anything that can enclose your subject at least a little bit will help to draw the focus. I think it looks especially nice when the framing element is closer or farther away than the subject, making it out of focus.

Selective Focus

One way to use selective focus is to focus on something other than your subject's face/eyes. This is especially fun with little children since they tend to not only have cute little hands, but they also love toying around with any small object they might find on a photo shoot (sticks, fruit, flowers, etc). In these photos, the subject's face may be in the picture, but it will be blurry since it is not the main focus of the image.
Another way to employ selective focus is with two people and one of them is in focus while the other is not. That way the second person is still an element of the photo, but not the main focus.

Tilt

I love tilting the camera to create interest, but this is a technique that get's old pretty quickly if it's over-used! And the angle of the tilt is important too. If you don't tilt enough, it looks like it wasn't intentional. If you tilt too much, it strains the viewer and isn't pleasing to the eye. Just play around with it to find the level of tilt you like best.

And since composition is such a fun, diverse, and practically never-ending subject, I'll have even more compositional elements for you next time! Have fun photographing!

Vintage Freebie with Keren: Scrapbooking Love

2011-06-16T08:00:00.006-04:00

I keep telling myself....ONE DAY I will sit down, finish all the scrapbooking projects I have started but have never completed and finally have a book(s) of sweet sweet memories ready to be passed down to my Ariel. To be honest, I really don't see That Day being anytime soon BUT for all of you that do make the time for it, THIS ONE'S for YOU!

A pretty little bracket frame big enough to print and ready to be scrapped!

Just take a look at this

Gorgeous Layout Created by
Nicole Brenna from
ScrapMeThis.blogspot.com and ScrappingEverydayMiracles.blogspot.com using this image!

I can't help but to smile every time I look at it! :)

Please Note:

Images will Look SUPER Bright on Flickr, but When Printed out images will look like example above

Click HERE to download original size

Pretty much, the possibilities are endless! Would LOVE to see what you come up with!

If you love this freebie, keep an eye out for my next one! I know you are gnome-ing to Love it ;)

xo!

Keren

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Vintage Freebie with Keren - Vintage Polaroid

2011-06-09T09:00:00.001-04:00

Thank you Everyone for all your sweet and thoughtful comments on my last post! I tell you.. If you're ever feeling blue, the Blog Community will never let you down! :) Hope you all had a wonderful week and if not, may this pretty little ballet girl brighten up your day a bit!

Click image to save PNG file

xo,
Keren
www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - Composition Part 1

2011-06-07T23:59:00.009-04:00

Now that we've covered a lot of the basic technical elements, I'd like to begin a series of posts about the more creative side of photography! How a photo is artistically put together is often referred to as composition. Today I'll be introducing you to three different elements of composition. Don't think of these as absolute rules that you must follow every time. I like to think of them as ingredients you can use to make a good picture, and you're going to want some variety! Just as a good chef wouldn't just use one single ingredient all the time, no matter how delicious it may be, a photographer should try many different compositional ingredients and combine them in new ways. And once you know these guidelines, it's even ok to break them if you have something else in mind! But they are here for you to help you to enrich and diversify your photography.

Filling the Frame

This simply means getting in CLOSE to your subject so that all other distractions are out of the frame and your subject can really shine! You can either physically move closer to your subject or use your lens' zoom to get right in there. This technique isolates the subject for more impact. This can also be achieved later by cropping your image.

Rule of Thirds

For the rule of thirds, picture a grid (like a tic-tac-toe game) over your frame. You will place your main point of interest at one of the places where the lines intersect, and any strong vertical or horizontal lines in the picture (such as the horizon) will line up with one of the lines.

Symmetry/Balance

This is kind of the opposite of the rule of thirds. If an image is composed with symmetry, there is an imaginary line dividing down the middle (it can be vertical or horizontal) and the two halves look very similar to each other, almost like mirror images.

A symmetrical photo is balanced, but a photo doesn't have to be symmetrical in order to have balance. It simply means that the two sides of a photo each have something to balance out the other.

So have some fun playing with these compositional elements, and next time I'll introduce you to even more!

Do something good, get something good!

2011-06-07T01:17:00.004-04:00

First of all, MUCHO thanks to everyone who has donated to Bike MS so far. It's hard to even find the words to tell you how much it means to me. Also, thank you for your kind comments and words of encouragement. You guys rock! As of this moment, I've accomplished 68% of my goal. (The financial part, I mean. My other goal, of course, is to finish the ride without dying or shaming the dear people I'm doing it for.) I said I'd randomly select a few lovely Bike MS sponsors to receive free advertising here on the Shabby Blogs blog, but I've changed my mind. Instead, I'm going to give free ad space to EVERYONE who donates!!! If you have sponsored my Bike MS event and your name is scrolling on my donation page, please email me and we'll work out the details. If you haven't yet, it's not too late! Is there a minimum donation amount? Nope. Just give whatever you can to this really great cause! {I'm afraid we can't provide advertising for any blog or website of a "mature" or otherwise offensive nature, but other than that, we're happy to support you!}

Just so I don't look more foolish than ~~usual~~ necessary, I've been training as much as my children will let me in preparation for my ride. In fact, I've even hired a personal trainer. She keeps me on the straight and narrow and I can pay her in raisins so...yeah. Win/win.

Click here to donate!

Let's do something good!

Vintage Freebie with Keren - Assortment of Pretty Blog Buttons

2011-06-02T09:00:00.010-04:00

Here are a bunch of pretty blog buttons for you to use on your blog anyway you want! Sorry I am not very chatty tonight... My Great Grandfather Passed away last night; he was 108! I know, What did he eat right? I don't think he did anything special... We have just been super blessed to have had him with us this long. The assurance to know he is in a better place now is the only thing that keeps us going strong.

I Love you Sweet Papa! We will hold each other again one day and Rejoice together!

xo,
Keren
www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Love makes you do crazy things. (a freebie & a plea)

2011-05-27T00:24:00.000-04:00

You know how people always say that love makes you do crazy things? It's true. Totally. For instance, I have this friend who I love so, so dearly. I've watched her husband struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and I've seen the toll it has taken on him and on his beautiful family. I love them more than words can express. I've hated knowing they had to face this horrible thing and feeling like there was nothing in the world I could do to make it any better for them. That changed yesterday. I found a way to help. Okay, it's not an instant cure or a magic bullet, but it's something and I will do anything. Yesterday, I found out about Bike MS. A few hours later, I was registered for a 30 mile event with my local chapter. It wasn't until a few hours after that that I allowed myself to logically consider how woefully under-qualified I am for this event. I've already said it, but let me say it again. Love makes you do crazy things. In a pathetic attempt to educate myself about what to expect during this experience, I spoke to several professional cyclists. That was dumb. Really dumb. Do you know how professional professional cyclists are? Like...really professional. There were so many words said that I have never heard before in my life. So many words. I just stood there and nodded and tried to ignore the intense urge I felt to either change my name and move to Tahiti or vomit right then and there on the bike man's fancy bike man shoes. Did you know there are bikes in this world that cost thousands of dollars? Thousands. Of dollars. Did you know that bike shorts with big fat booty pads in them not only exist, but are worn proudly by just about anyone who is even remotely serious about riding a bike? Did you know that clippy thing that goes on your bike to hold your water bottle isn't called a clippy thing at all? It's called a cage. A cage! Guess what kind of bike I ride. No, really. Guess. I ride this bike:

The only thing missing is the big basket on the front. Oh no- I have the basket. It's just missing from the picture. Yeah. And what will the "real" bike people look like? This:

You know what though? I am in this. Pink pansy bike, clippy thing and all. And I am doing this my way- the Shabby way. It won't be perfect or first or without hyperventilation, but it will be done with all my love. I'll almost definitely get my non-padded booty beaten like there's no tomorrow, but if that means we are even a spec closer to a tomorrow without MS, I'm in. If you knew me well, you'd know this is one of the craziest things I've ever done... but it is going to be awesome!!! Want in too? Pleeease consider sponsoring Bike MS and my girly pink bike so we can say to this amazing family and to every person who suffers from MS that we've got their backs. It would mean so much. Even if it's just a dollar or two. And, to add to the awesomeness, I will randomly select at least three Bike MS sponsors to receive free ad space on this blog for one full month. I will also give whoever makes the largest donation free ad space on this blog and ShabbyBlogs.com for two months. My event is on June 11th, but I will run this very special giveaway through the end of June and announce random winners along the way as the mood strikes me. (That's how I roll.) And, just for good measure, here is a post pretty I created for you in honor of adventure, hope, and crazy love. Enjoy it!!!

{click image for full-sized version}

Photography with Jessica - Focusing

2011-05-25T00:16:00.007-04:00

Hello again! Let's get into the topic of focusing... Some purist photographers are of the opinion that to be a true photographer, you must manually focus all your shots. But let's be real here! That is pretty much impossible if you're photographing people who are, well... alive! And since I love to capture spontaneous and natural moments, it's highly impractical for me to use manual focus. I use the Auto Focus mode 99% of the time, and I'd like to teach you how to really use it to your advantage!

With the default camera settings, the camera will decide for you what to focus on. The results are not always what you would want. Of course, it would be much better for you to choose for yourself what you'd like to focus on!

First of all, there is a little switch on your lens that needs to be switched from MF (manual focus) to AF (auto focus).

Then take a look inside the viewing area of your camera and you'll see a set of focus points that looks more or less like this:

You're going to set one of those points as you "go-to" point. I almost always have my set as the center point, just because that way I always know where it is and it's totally a habit for me to go right to it whenever I need to. I suggest you start out with the center point chosen, and then after you get comfortable, you can decide if you'd ever like to change it.

On a Canon camera, there should be a little button that looks somewhat like this:

If you push that button you can scroll through all the focus points to choose the one you want. You will be able to see the little squares light up red in your viewfinder so you know which one to select. Or, some camera models (like mine) will show your selection in the top screen next to your shutter button.

On a Nikon camera, once you're ready to shoot (touch the shutter button to get the camera in "shooting mode") you can just look through your viewfinder and use your arrow buttons to select your focus point.

Now you need to choose a focusing mode. On a Canon, look for a button (or a menu selection) called AF Drives. Then you can select one of the following (on Nikon look for the AF button):

One Shot (called AF-S for Nikon) is good for stationary subjects such as inanimate objects or people who are not moving (adults/older children who are posed). With this setting, you look through the viewfinder and place the center square directly over the subject's eye and press the shutter button half-way down to lock the focus. Now as long as you keep your shutter button half-way down, the focus will stay locked on the subject's eye and you can move the camera to recompose the shot the way you'd like (you probably don't want their eye right in the middle of the frame). Press the button all the way down when you're ready to take the picture.

The other focusing mode is called AI Servo (or AF-C for Nikon). This is used for moving subjects (sports, fidgety kids, interaction/candid photos). With this setting, you place the center square directly over the subject's eye and push half-way down to focus and do not recompose. As long as you have the button half-way down, the camera will stay focused on whatever is in that center square, even if it's moving. Press the button all the way down when you're ready to take the picture.

If you don't want your subject directly in the middle of the picture, you can always crop it to your liking later.

Or if you'd like to avoid having to crop your images, this is a situation where you might want to choose a focus point other than the one in the center.

There you have it! Now you know how to focus like a pro! Here are some things to keep in mind...

Some lenses are faster-focusing than others so they'll perform better when using AI Servo (AF-C).

A person's eye is the most important part of the picture, so unless you're going for a creative, selective focus shot, always focus on your subject's eye, whichever one is closer to you. If the person is far away, just focusing on their body is usually fine.

There is a third focusing mode (AI Focus/AF-A) in which the camera goes back and forth between the other two modes as it determines is appropriate. But the camera is not always correct, so I prefer never to use this setting.

When shooting at wide-open apertures with a very shallow depth of field, accurate focusing is very important! With practice using these techniques, you'll do great!

Vintage Freebie with Keren - Chalkboard Pretty

2011-05-19T03:00:00.001-04:00

I don't know about you, but I am ALWAYS going to ♥ Chalkboards!
I remember entering Jr. High (aka Middle school), and to my horror ALL the lovely vintage chalkboards had been replaced by dry marker white boards! :( Sure they are less messy and easier to write on .. BUT still.. Nothing can replace that nostalgic feeling you get like writing on an old school chalkboard.

Click small image to download original PNG file

clip art credit: Vintage Catnip

This vintage beauty can be used for lovely blog announcements, blog buttons, incorporate it into a blog banner or even (and this is my favorite one) put a Picture in it! Don't know how? Use this awesome tutorial Meg did a while back! Enjoy!

xo,
Keren
www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Vintage Freebie with Keren - Adorable Bluebird Banner

2011-05-14T13:14:00.000-04:00

A few posts back, some of you lovelies left comments saying you would like to see more banners that matched Shabby Blogs Backgrounds. Well, your wish is my command! :)

click here to Download original PNG file

This little cutie matches perfectly with this divine blue polka-dots background Megan is so generously providing!

Basic Dots Blue

I totally LOVE, Polka-dots, vintage bluebirds and flowers, so this little combo is a total match made in heaven for me! I hope you Enjoy it too!

xo,

Keren

www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - RAW vs. Jpeg

2011-05-11T00:33:00.003-04:00

So you've learned the photography basics and now you're a whiz at taking perfect pictures... What's that? Your pictures are not turning out perfect every time!?! Well, it's time to let you in on a little secret. Nobody's pictures turn out perfect 100% of the time. But as you get more and more practice, your ratio of "wow" pictures to "ooppps" pictures will keep getting better all the time!

I thought it would be a good idea to address a question I get asked all the time. What is the difference between a Jpeg file and a RAW file? Is one better than the other, and which should I use?

RAW files are very large because they hold a lot of information without losing any details or quality. A RAW file is basically the pure image taken directly from the camera's sensor before any settings are applied such as exposure and white balance (in-camera settings are still applied when you view your picture, but they are not set in stone and you can adjust them later). Jpegs files are condensed by your camera so they are not as large as RAW files. They take up relatively little space on your memory card and on your computer. But they have already lost some detail and quality right at the start. So later when you go to alter that image, you are altering something that has already been altered and you lose even more quality. It's kind of like when you make a copy of a copy and the quality is not so great.

Here is an example illustrating their differences... I took a photo that was too overexposed, and is especially bright in the highlighted areas of the subject's face. In a Jpeg image, the camera sees the very bright areas and thinks, "well, these areas are pretty much like a super light yellowish color, so I'm just going to record them as yellow (very light)". With a RAW image on the other hand, would retain the correct color information which would be a very light flesh color. So later if you darken the Jpeg image, what happens? It darkened to the incorrect yellowish color instead of the proper skin tone. But if you shot the image in RAW, it would still retain the proper light skin color and allow you to darken it with a much more natural look. (click on image to enlarge)

Keep in mind that RAW files are not compatible with all versions of Photoshop, so it may be necessary to upgrade and/or download additional software in order to process them. And this may be different from camera to camera as well. When I purchased my current camera, I had to upgrade to the next version of Photoshop because my old version couldn't handle the RAW files from my new camera.

If you don't have a lot of space on your memory cards or your computer, you don't plan to make any enlargements greater than 8x10, and you don't do a lot of post-processing, then you can shoot in Jpeg mode without any problems.

If you have the space and the proper software, I would shoot in RAW.

Either way, make sure you always save your original files so you can go back to them if you need to! In other words, always choose "save as" instead of "save" after you've done your post-processing (and then save your finished product as a jpeg since RAW files cannot be printed).

Hopefully all this information will help you decide if you want to shoot in RAW or Jpeg! Now go take some pictures!!

Floral Frame Freebie

2011-05-05T12:47:00.000-04:00

I am so beyond thankful to be a mom. If I'm being totally honest, it's my favorite thing about myself. I'm thankful for the courageous and loving birthmom who tearfully placed our daughter in my arms almost exactly eight years ago. I'm thankful for the women I have known who have loved, befriended, and inspired me in spite of myself. I am thankful for my own mom who is one of the most amazing people on this planet and for my mother-in-law who raised the man I love and continues to bless my life. And, as long as I'm listing things this mom is grateful for, let me also sing the praises of big fat naps, take-out, Tylenol, date nights, Oxiclean, chore charts, Sesame Street, and really long baths. To moms and amazing women everywhere: Happy Mother's Day! Women are awesome!!! (Yes, I just caught how weird that sounded.)

In honor of Mother's Day, I've whipped up a little blog goody for you. Fill it with lovely photos of your kids, fill it with pictures of the women who inspire you, or just fill it with pictures of food. Totally your call.

Floral Frame Freebie:

Download

*Also, I just want to thank everyone for your kind comments on my previous post. Totally made me cry. You guys are beyond wonderful!

Just Say NO to Blog Envy

2011-05-01T21:22:00.002-04:00

So it's late at night and there's nothing good on TV so you decide to catch up on some of your favorite blogs. Sure, you could catch up on the laundry, but come on! I'm trying to keep it real here. :) You bounce around from blog to blog, just minding other people's business, when you notice that you've been sinking lower and lower in your chair...and sighing an awful lot. You may even feel a little sick to your stomach. Sure, there's a chance its indigestion, but I bet you twenty bucks it's something else. Blog envy. If love strikes from a cute little arrow shot by a chubby cherub, blog envy strikes like Tanya Harding with a keyboard to the knee...and then maybe a mouse-turned-nun-chuck to the throat. It's a brutal game. Once blog envy hits you, everyone else seems more and you seem suddenly much, much less.

Maybe you envy the blogger with 362 comments on a single random post. Maybe you think you don't measure up to the blogger who transformed an old purse into a pair of shoes for the homeless using nothing but her bare hands and some glitter glue. Or, maybe you see that blog with a gazillion followers and all of a sudden your left eye starts to twitch and you feel overwhelmingly compelled to raid your child's holiday candy stash. We've all been there. I have over 13,000 registered followers- and I am so grateful for that. Still, the other day I came across a blog that was the epitome of style and success and I thought to myself:

I hated feeling that way, but denying it doesn't do anyone any good. So I let myself feel it...and then I may or may not have eaten most of a box of Fruit by the Foot...or is it Fruit by the Feet if you eat more than a foot? You should really never eat more than a foot of anything. The point is, I let the awesomeness of someone else make me feel like an idiot. I could be crazy, but I have a feeling I'm not alone in this. It's not that I didn't like this person or that I didn't want them to be awesome. I just didn't want myself to be so much less than them.

I've thought a lot about this and how silly it is to compare ourselves to what we think someone else is or isn't. When it comes to blogging, who knows who or what a blog author really is in real life? The person we think we know and we admire so much could be a shameless nose-picker or have 14 toes and live under a bridge somewhere. Or, they may be brilliant and talented with a dazzlingly clean house and 42,000 hours of service to the community in their back pocket. Either way, it has nothing to do with you (or me) and the amount of value your (or my) life possesses.

I love my shabby bloggers so much. That may sound silly to you, but I honestly do. I've met so many amazing women who have made such a difference in my life. I don't want a single one of you to ever let blog envy (or any other kind of envy) make you feel insignificant or less-than. So, having said that, here is a list I have compiled that I hope you will find helpful. Take it for what it's worth, but these are my tips for making the most of your own blog and kicking blog envy to the curb:

1. Be original. You know that saying "There is only one you?" I know that I, myself, have gagged on the sheer cheesiness of that statement at least once before now. Even so- it's the truth. There IS only one you...and that is a very cool thing. Do you know how many times I have seen the same photos from Martha Stewart or Country Living posted over and over and over and oooover? Yes, that kitchen is cool, but not as cool as your thoughts and your photos and your life. Know who YOU are. Embrace who YOU are. Blog who YOU are.

2. Respect the originality of others. To be an honest and original blogger means putting yourself out there. It means sharing a piece of who you are- even if it's only a small piece. Whether you are sharing a photo of your latest vacation or your own personal views on global warming, what you are really sharing is a piece of you- of your life, your heart, your story. We must respect the things others share. We can love it or hate it, but we must be kind. This means we cannot, under any circumstances, take from others without their consent. My best friend is the most amazing artist I know. She blows my mind with her incredibly unique style and leaves a trail of beauty behind her wherever she goes. Naturally, people want to be like her. Even though I understand that, it hurts me to see people copy the things she does that are so special and unique. There is room for all of us. We must be original and let others be original too.

3. Blog blindly. Yes, we want people to read our blogs. Yes, we love it when people leave us comments. Those little comments tell us we are heard and that we matter and that we are, perhaps, even a little bit rad. We want to see our numbers go up and our followers go up and our incomes go up. Having said that, if you are blogging for numbers, it's going to be really hard to stay true to yourself. Besides that, if you allow yourself to feel good when your numbers go up, you have to also allow yourself to feel bad when they go down. Why do that to yourself? If you are constantly looking at the number of comments, the number of followers, the number of visits you get and everyone else gets, you're going to end up like the crazy lady downtown who zips around on roller skates while holding a stuffed animal and talking to herself. You are more than a number. The people who come to your blog are more than numbers. Be true to yourself and blog what you love without looking over your shoulder. At the most, you will become an overnight sensation and all your wishes and dreams will come true. At the worst, you will leave behind you a legacy that is a true representation of who you are. Let someone else worry about the score. (I literally put my husband in charge of that from the very beginning of Shabby Blogs. I have no idea what my numbers are and I don't want to know!)

4. Be kind. Don't you just love nice people? I love nice people. I love it when people aren't afraid to genuinely compliment others because they recognize that pointing out the good in someone else does not take from the good of oneself. If you come across a blogger who inspires you, tell them! Leave them a comment or email and let them know the good you see in them. Share their blog with your friends. Do whatever you can to encourage that blogger and build them up. Isn't that what you would want people to do for you? In high school, I always used to hear girls talking to girls about other girls and saying things like, "Isn't she beautiful? I hate her!" For goodness sakes, why do we do things like that? What a waste! I am genuinely drawn to people who are kind to others and who are always looking for ways to lift up those around them. Those are the blogs I want to follow and the bloggers I want following me.

5. Blogging isn't everything. Gasp! I know, right? Shabby Blogs is all about...well...blogs and here I am saying it isn't everything. That may seem strange, but it's the truth. I've seen so many people whose lives have become what they do to have material to blog about. Please don't get me wrong. Blogs matter. But the best blogs are written by people who live their lives to the fullest...far away from laptops and hard drives. If you want to know that you are special and you are valued and that you have something to offer the world, the best thing you can do is turn off your computer. Read to a child. Volunteer at a hospital. Go for a walk on the beach or in a forest or up a mountainside. Never lose sight of what matters most.

You can download and print this beautiful quote designed by the ever-inspiring Alisa Holland here.

Vintage Freebie with Keren - Mother's Day Tags

2011-04-28T07:00:00.001-04:00

Can it be true?! Mother's Day is JUST around the corner! How freakishly fast this year is slipping away :(
My Baby is no longer a baby but a 21 month old that looks like a 3 year old...Ahhh!!..how I miss that new baby smell! Sensing a tad bit of baby fever, are we? Maybe ;)

Hope you enjoy these Fab Mother's Day Tags! They are 2" circles for easy punching :)

click Here to Download

clip art credit: The Graphics Fairy

Have a wonderful week!

xo,

Keren

www.FreePrettyThingsForYou.com

Photography with Jessica - ISO

2011-04-26T01:58:00.010-04:00

Have you all been experimenting with aperture and shutter speed? Trying new things? Having fun? Good! The last of the three basic photography principles is ISO and that's what we'll be going over today. And the good news is that it's super easy to understand. And to make it even better, besides just applying to DSLRs, a lot of point and shoot cameras have adjustable ISO settings too!

Your ISO setting determines how fast your digital sensor "picks up" the light coming into the camera, and works in combination with aperture and shutter speed to determine your exposure. It's a carry-over from the pre-digital days of film speed. The lowest setting starts at 100 and can go all the way up to 6400 or more. A lower ISO number (100 for example) produces a clearer, smoother, cleaner image but requires more light to do so. So you will need to be in a very brightly lit area. A high ISO number (1600 for example) needs less light to capture the image, but the image will be grainier the higher you go. So you can be in a dark area and will still be able to capture your image, but it will have some amount of grain.

This first photo was taken outdoors with plenty of light, so I used a low setting of ISO 100 so I could get the clearest picture.

The second photo was taken indoors and at night (no flash) so there was very little light and I had to use a much higher ISO of 1600. You can see that there is some graininess to the image.

The newer your digital camera, the higher ISO settings it's likely to have, and the less graininess as well.

A very easy way to understand ISO is the "worker bees" analogy. Think of your ISO number as your number of worker bees, and those bees' only job is to buzz around gathering light for your photo! If you are in a dark area, you'll need a lot of bees to help you get enough light for your picture, so you need a high ISO number. If you are in a very well lit area, you won't need much help getting light, so a small number of worker bees will do the job and you just need the lowest ISO number (100).

So, that's it! Easy as pie! So once you have your aperture and shutter speed set the way you want, just try to keep you ISO set at 100. But if your photo is too dark you'll need more worker bees gathering that light in for you, so increase your ISO until you can get the correct exposure!

Being able to adjust your ISO is awesome because it allows you to avoid flash use in low light conditions! I avoid using a flash whenever possible because it creates yucky harsh light and sharp shadows. You will get much better images by increasing your ISO instead, even if it does add a little grain. Most of the time in the newer, nicer DSLRs, the grain is almost unnoticeable!

And to illustrate that point, here are some pictures I took of my kids searching for eggs this Easter. In this setting (indoors with partially covered windows), if you didn't know how to adjust your ISO, you would be forced to use the icky flash! But look how great it looks if you just bump up your ISO a bit. No noticeable grain at all! All these were taken at ISO 640...

Now let's see how you use your ISO settings! One more time, the rules for the link party...

Please link to ONE specific blog post, not an entire blog. And please only link to a blog post featuring pictures that you've taken experimenting with ISO settings!
Thanks for your cooperation, I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures!!

Post Pretty Freebie!

2011-04-21T05:00:00.001-04:00

Ready for the weekend to get here!? Me too! Here's a little vintage pretty to get you through till then :) But before I go and leave you, I wanted to say that I would really Love and appreciate YOUR feedback on what kind of vintage freebies you would like to see more of here on Shabby Blogs! After all I am making them for you and I wouldn't want any of you to get bored or anything ;)

Click here to Download

Till next week My Pretties!
xoxo!
Keren
www.FreePrettyThingsForYou.com

Adorable Deer Easter Tag Freebies!

2011-04-14T09:06:00.001-04:00

Are you all ready For Easter?? If the answer is No, you're not alone! I'm so behind on everything I don't even know where to start! Hopefully these adorable little vintage deer tags will get us all motivated to get the Easter wagon rolling :)

Click Here to Download

I really can't get enough of this little fawn.... I hope she brings you lots and lots of :)
Enjoy!

-Keren
www.freeprettythingsforyou.com

Photography with Jessica - Shutter Speed

2011-04-12T19:06:00.010-04:00

I hope you've been having fun experimenting with aperture! Now we'll be getting familiar with shutter speed. Most of this is applicable to SLR cameras, but I'll also clue you in on how it relates to point and shoot cameras too!

Shutter speed works in combination with the aperture and ISO to determine how much light is entering your camera. I like to think of the shutter as a tiny set of sliding doors inside the camera that slide apart and then come together again. Shutter speed is measured in seconds, and in fractions of seconds. If the shutter goes very fast, like 1/2000 of a second, then only a little bit of light has time to enter the camera. If the shutter goes super slow, like 10 seconds, then a whole lot of light is getting in over that long amount of time.

It is much more common for the shutter to only be open for a fraction of a second. On your camera, the fractions of a second will be displayed as whole number, and the full seconds will be displayed with hash marks.

So why is shutter speed so important? Because it controls how motion appears in your photo. A fast shutter speed will freeze action, and a slow shutter speed will allow for motion blur!

So when taking your pictures, you need to decide whether you want your subject crisp and clear, or if you want to see some blur to convey a sense of motion.

In most cases you will probably want a fast shutter speed. Here are some examples of situations where a fast shutter speed can freeze the action in a photo:

Sometimes I like to allow for just a little bit of blur to convey the feel of motion. I love it and I think it adds a little fun and spunk! You'll notice that the shutter speed wasn't quite as fast for this one:

There are some instances where you would want a very slow shutter speed to allow for a lot of motion blur. For these kinds of photos you would need to use a tripod to avoid camera shake. As human beings, we are not able to stay 100% completely still while taking a picture. If your shutter speed goes any slower than 1/125th of a second, you start to see this camera shake motion and your pictures will be blurry.

Here are some examples of the effects you can get if you leave your shutter open for a long time:

In these first images of a Hawaiian fire dancer, it is so awesome to see the path of the fire as it twirls!

In this next image of the waterfall, the flowing water creates a smooth blur as it travels on its path.

And that's not all you can do! You've probably all seen impressive motion blur pictures of fountains, car lights on city streets, and even stars that circle with the Earth's rotation. If you Google "motion blur" you can see all kinds of cool photos you can take with a slow shutter speed and a tripod!

Keep in mind that leaving your shutter open for long periods of time will be letting a lot of light into your camera and you may get over-exposed images. You can compensate by closing up your aperture, or by shooting at night when there's less light.

On an SLR camera you can choose your own shutter speed for your photos, remembering that anything slower than 1/125th of a second will need a tripod (or set the camera on a table, the ground, etc.) to keep it still.

Though I like to shoot completely in manual mode, an easier way to begin experimenting with your shutter speed setting is to use the TV mode (shutter speed priority mode) on your SLR camera dial. In TV mode you can determine your own shutter speed, and then the camera will automatically determine your aperture and ISO for you. Cool!

If you have a point and shoot camera, there is one way to control your shutter speed. To freeze action with a fast shutter speed, set your dial to "sport" mode, which has an icon that looks like a person running. This setting will tell your camera to use the fastest shutter speed possible. Unfortunately, there's not really a way to get heavy motion blur with a point and shoot. There's no setting to keep the shutter open for that long.

Next, I'll be covering ISO! In the meantime, let's see your photos with your new shutter speed skills!

And let's set some ground rules with the link party:

Please link to ONE specific blog post, not an entire blog. And please ONLY link to a blog post featuring pictures that you've taken experimenting with shutter speed!
Thanks for your cooperation, I can't wait to see your pictures!!

Swanky Spring Frame Freebie

2011-03-31T21:34:00.008-04:00

I'll just put it right out there. Spring makes me crazy. Okay, actually, winter makes me crazy and spring makes me crazy happy. You know the beginning of "The Sound of Music" when Julie Andrews is all singing and twirling around on the mountaintops? Well that's me. I sing. I twirl. I full-on frolic. Mother Nature and I are on speaking terms again so my little girlies and I have been outside getting reacquainted with her. That's why I've been a little MIA lately...in case you were wondering. I've been here:

And, as long as I'm sharing, I've also been working on a huge project that has absolutely nothing to do with computers. That would be this:

Any guesses what it is? You know what? Never mind. I'm horrible at keeping things I'm excited about to myself. It's a playhouse!!!!! I ordered the Cozy Cottage from Sweet Retreat Kids who, by the way, are awesome! (No, they didn't pay me to say that- just so you know. They really have phenomenal prices on their playhouses and tons of other super cute stuff. So happy with them!) Our playhouse arrived in about a week so my sweet husband and I have been out in the still-colder-than-it-should-be weather working away on our girls' little abode. I'll post pictures of the finished "cottage" when we're done if anyone wants to see it. (I never know what you want to know, but you know...)

Aaaanyway. I'm filled with the promise of spring and wanted to check in to share the love. :) I created a new set of swanky spring blog frames in 7 juicy colors for you to add some kaPOW to your posts and sidebars. Yummmm. :) Happy SPRING!

Swanky Spring Frame Freebie:
Download

Photography With Jessica: Aperture

2011-03-09T20:55:00.014-05:00

The Basics of Photography - Aperture

Ready to begin on your journey to better photos? Most of this is applicable to SLR cameras, but I'll let you know how it relates to point and shoot cameras as well!

To truly understand photography, you only need to understand a few basic principles. First and foremost is that photos are created by light. Traditionally, it was light hitting film, but these days it's mostly light hitting a digital sensor. The Greek root of the word "photography" literally means "writing with light". So everything we are going over today will be dealing with how that light enters your camera. The amount of light entering your camera is referred to as exposure. Let in too much light and your picture will be too bright, or over-exposed. Don't let in enough light and your picture will be too dark, or under-exposed.

The three things that determine how much light enters your camera are aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. These three things work together to let in the light and determine your exposure. Today (for the sake of your sanity!) we will just be focusing on aperture.

The aperture refers to the adjustable size of the hole in your camera that lets in the light. It is measured in f-stops. The smaller the f-stop number, the larger the opening. I'm a visual person, so it helps me learn if I can see a diagram!

Aperture is important because it determines your depth-of-field, or the portion of your photo that is in focus. A wide open aperture gives you a very shallow depth of field, so only a small portion of your photo will be in sharp focus, and everything in front or behind will be very blurry. A very small aperture will give you a much greater depth-of-field, so everything in your photo will be in focus, front to back. A good way to remember this: people squint (making their eye opening smaller) to see things in better focus, so therefore, you can remember that a smaller aperture gives you more of everything in focus from front to back.

Your own personal preference and artistic flair is what determines what aperture you should use! It totally depends on what you are trying to achieve with your photo. For instance, I love the beautiful blur in the first example! To me it looks more artistic, dramatic, and professional. But some people may opt for the second photo because you can clearly see all the details of the gorgeous dessert table! Like I said, it just depends on you and what you are trying to accomplish with your photo.

Here are some more examples:

In the first photo you can see that it is a very wide open aperture at f-1.2 and the depth of field is very shallow. Only one bottle is in focus and the ones directly in front of it and behind it are already starting to blur a little. And the farther in front or in back you get, the blurrier things become.

In the next photo, the aperture is a little more closed up at f-4.0 and more of the bottles are in focus. But the bottles at the ends are still blurry.

In the last photo, the aperture is even smaller at f-9.0 and all the bottles are clear and sharp. The depth of field is even getting great enough that you can start to see the wall in the background coming into focus a bit, which in the other two photos was so blurred that you couldn't tell what it was.

On an SLR camera you can choose your own aperture for your photos, but keep in mind that certain lenses can only open so wide. Some have only a maximum aperture opening of f-2.8 or even f-4.0, so those lenses wouldn't be able to open as wide as others that can go all the way to f-1.2 (like my favorite lens)! So if you like the look of a shallow depth-of-field, you'll want to look for a lens that has a very low aperture number.

Although I prefer shooting completely in manual mode, an easier way to begin experimenting with your aperture setting is to use the AV mode (aperture priority mode) on your SLR camera dial. In AV mode you can determine your own aperture, and the camera will automatically determine your shutter speed and ISO for you!

So... what if you have a point and shoot camera but you still want to get some background blur in your pictures? The good news is that you can, at least to a certain extent. Just set your dial to "portrait" mode, which has an icon that looks like a person's head. This setting will tell your camera to open its aperture as wide as it is able to. Awesome!

Next, I'll be teaching you all about shutter speed and ISO! In the meantime, I'd absolutely love to see your photos experimenting with your new knowledge of aperture! Feel free to participate in Shabby Blogs' first ever link party so we can see what you've posted on your blogs using your rock star aperture skills! How exciting!

Free pretty things for you!

2011-03-01T11:50:00.005-05:00

I am so incredibly excited to introduce you to another new member of the Shabby Blogs team! This girl is so crazy-talented and we are beyond lucky to have her! If you're a follower of Free Pretty Things For You, you're already familiar with Keren Dukes. She is just as sweet as her darling creations. It is such an honor to welcome her to the Shabby Blogs family! Take it away, Keren:
HELLO Fabulous Shabby Blog Readers!!!! My name is Keren Dukes from Free Pretty Things For You and saying I'm freaking out with excitement to be here with you is a TOTAL understatement!! Words truly cant begin to express how truly blessed I am and feel!! Thank you again Megan!! This is a total dream come true! :) So, with that said my lovelies, here are a few facts about your new Shabby Blogs Digital Diva (lol Megan comes up with cutest names, huh!) :

*I create delicious vintage freebies and share them on my blog for all to enjoy.
*I am a new mommy to a beautiful persnickety princess named Ariel.
*I met my wonderful soul-mate of a husband on MySpace-- yes you read right! ;)
*I started blogging and using photoshop in January 2010 not knowing a thing about either subject! (Google and Youtube became my BFFs)
*I use A LOT of exclamation points and happy faces! :)
*My dream pets to have one day would be a white teacup Yorkie and a white miniature pony. *My Favorite colors are.. you guessed it white, aqua and pink.
*I get SUPER DUPER inspired when readers ask me to create something specific for them, so please, feel free to drop me a note with suggestions!
*I hate pickles, relish and I CAN'T parallel park to save my life!

I think that's enough randomness about myself for now. :) I'll leave you with a lovely new shabbylicious freebie. Help yourself to these blog business cards that you can customize and print out...or just use them on your actual blog! Enjoy these vintage pretties!

Blog Business Cards Freebie:
Download

P.S. We'll be uploading brand new backgrounds and goodies to the site tonight and throughout the week! It's like Christmas!

Photography & Blogging With Jessica

2011-02-10T18:40:00.004-05:00

Hello there! I'm Jessica Downey and I am so excited to be here! I'm looking forward to all the fun we'll be having here together on Shabby Blogs.

Let me introduce myself - I'm the wife of a wonderful and supportive husband, and the mother of two precious little ones. My son is a gentle, loving five-year-old with Autism, and my daughter is a vivacious and sparkly two-year-old. When I'm not hugging, playing, teaching, driving, feeding, or cleaning up after them, you can always find me on a photo shoot or at my computer editing photos! I've been a photographer for about 5 years now. I actually went to school to become a teacher, not a photographer. I didn't get into photography until after college. I've taken a few classes and workshops here and there, but experience has been my greatest teacher!

Photography is so much more than a job for me. It's all about documenting life and communicating life. We document moments in time to preserve them for ourselves, so we can always look back on them and remember. And we also use photography to communicate our life to others. That is what is so wonderful about the world of blogging! We can record our life for ourselves, and at the same time share it with the wide world around us. And whether it's for your family blog, your recipe blog, your crafting blog, or whatever part of your life you are sharing... you are going to need great photos to do it! That's where I come in. I'm here to help you elevate your photos from ho-hum snapshots to stunning images that will make those blog surfers stop in their tracks!

Just think of the blogs that you love... they are beautiful and stylish. And I'm not just talking about the blog itself, but the writing and the pictures are part of that whole package! I can't wait to help you get started on taking your photos to the next level!

Have something in particular you'd like to know about photography? Leave your questions and lesson suggestions in the comments below!

-Jessica
SierraStudiosPhotography.com

New Site - New Swag

2011-01-20T13:44:00.011-05:00

It's here! It's here!
The new site is here!

I didn't know if this day would ever come. For the love of Pete! We've got some little tweaks to tweak, but we're live and I am so excited!

Mucho love to Adam, Russ, Wil, Jared, and my kindred spirit Alisa for their brilliance and hard work and friendship. Enormous thanks and deepest love to my sweet and ridiculously supportive husband and family...who have been shushed and unattended to way too many times during this crazy process. I recognize I didn't just win a Golden Globe or something, but I'd be completely remiss if I didn't acknowledge these amazing people for all they have done. :)

What are you still doing here? Go check out the new site!

Don't freak out, okay?

2011-01-15T15:09:00.006-05:00

So you may have already made the switch, but if not, your Shabby Blogs background has probably been sporting a little notice that looks like this:

I tried to make it as unalarming as possible, but still, we've probably gotten over 300 emails from Shabby Bloggers who are a tiny bit...shall I say freaked out? Hang in there, lovely people. It's going to be okay! I promise. Here are the candid answers to your most frequently asked questions:

What the heck is going on???
A few months ago we switched servers. We used to host all of our images on Photobucket. Photobucket, however, started to really not like the bandwidth we were using...so they began charging us...a LOT. Since late this past summer, I have personally been paying around $800 a month to Photobucket to cover the expense of the bandwidth used by Shabby bloggers. Unfortunately, Oprah and I don't have the same salary to work with. So, we began looking for other options...better options. (Shabby Blogs did, I mean. Not me and Oprah.) We found a much more feasible alternative, switched our image locations over, and rewrote the code for our backgrounds, buttons, and blinkies. The code that is currently on ShabbyBlogs.com is the code you should be using.

How do I know if I have the new code or the old code?
If you've got the new code, you won't have the above image on your blog. Instead, it will be the usual white, chippy wood tag that simply says "ShabbyBlogs.com." If you have switched to the new code, but the above image is still there, you haven't deleted the HTML gadget that contains your old background. Make sure you either replace your old code with the new code within the existing gadget or, if you create a brand new gadget for your new code, delete the old one.

Do I have to update anything besides my background?
Yep. I know this isn't ideal, but it's what we have to do to keep Shabby Blogs a free site...and we truly don't anticipate ever having to do this again! You also need to update your buttons and blinkies.

I don't see my background at ShabbyBlogs.com anymore! What gives?
You're sitting down, right? Take a deeeeeeep breath. Okay. Some of our very early designs have been...retired. Eeeek! Sometimes (okay, one time) digital scrapbooking designers change their terms of use or become difficult to work with. We ADORE the insanely talented and sweet designers we currently work with and feel so blessed to know them. In fact, we may use their products to recreate some of our more popular retired backgrounds in the future. We are constantly looking for new designers and adding to our already vast collection of backgrounds. While I know many of you have become very attached to our retired backgrounds, I hope you understand.

What happens if I don't change my background by the end of January?
Shabby Blogs isn't the type to send brutes with gold teeth and hockey sticks to your house. Good news there! The bad news is that instead of sporting a lovely SB background, your blog will simply display an error message from our friends at Photobucket. That's all. Nothing too exciting, but there you have it.

I hope that answers your questions! I realize this is a bit of a pain, but we have to do what we have to do to ensure that we will always be able to offer you the absolute BEST blog goodies free of charge. Thank you so much for visiting our sponsors, making donations, sending us super sweet emails, and being so patient and awesome during our recent changes...and always, actually. I know I always say this, but we seriously have the most outstanding fans and followers on the planet. We genuinely love and appreciate you!!! It is because of your support that we will be able to launch the brand new and even more fabulous ShabbyBlogs.com next week! Eeeeep! We are so excited about the direction SB is heading and we are sooooo looking forward to all of the upcoming awesomeness in store for 2011!

I never win a(nie)thing.

2011-01-11T17:05:00.005-05:00

I really don't. But I'm okay with that because I am totally blessed in other ways. I always get good parking spaces, for example. You know who DOES win though? Amy Baldwin from Curly Q Mosaics, that's who! Congratulations Amy!!!!!

Just FYI, I did use an actual, official random number generator for this giveaway. My kids are sick with the flu and I didn't want to upset their world record for most episodes of "Scooby Doo" watched consecutively to make them choose a winner for me. I'm not going to lie to you. It didn't feel right. (The random number generator, not the Scooby...although, that didn't really feel right either.) So...

The only thing better than a chance to win the Nie Nie calendar is TWO chances to win the Nie Nie calendar, am I right? So this time I just sort of closed my eyes and pointed. Waaay more my style. And you know who I picked the second time? Sarah from Texas...who purchased the calendar for her friend, but not for herself. Now that is friendship! I love you already Sarah and I'm so excited to send you your very own Nie Nie calendar. :)

Amy and Sarah, please send me an email (through our website) and let me know your addresses! Congratulations ladies!!! I'm so excited for you!!!!!

PS. I made that lovely "winner" image up there using Michelle Underwood's Vintage Colors Collection...which I looooooove!

Retro Blog Tags Freebie & Giveaway

2011-01-06T23:37:00.012-05:00

I hope you all had an extremely lovely holiday season. Ours was divine! I got to spend tons of time with the people I love most and the rest of the time ironing out the final details of the new Shabby Blogs website...which I promise really does exist. (And anyway, I do rather love the super sweet people I get to work with on that as well so it worked out quite nicely.) While I was in Arizona, I got to see the calendar I designed for Stephanie Nielson (Nie Nie) on the shelves of actual book stores. Totally uncool of me, but if one makes something like that, one has just got to see it in an actual store, hasn't one? It was pretty fun. I may even post a completely dorky photo of myself in said store on the SB Facebook page for those of you who would like to see Uncool in action. The calendar itself though? Pretty dang cool. Have you ordered one yet? I'm pretty sure everyone and their pet iguana has one by now, but just in case you haven't snagged it yet, I've decided to give one away. Just leave a comment here for your chance to win. I'll have one of my little "helpers" choose a winner on Monday. Easy enough, right? Good luck!

In other news, we recently hit 10,000 followers. You guys are awesome and we appreciate and love the heck out of you! In honor of your awesomeness, here is a retro tag set for you to customize and use on your own blog. Wooohoooooo! Rather than make you download it, I'm just going to post the images here and let you right-click to save them to your computer. (That's easier, right?) We hope you enjoy these little pretties!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T01:02:00.010-05:00

I hope you had a day filled with love and family and everything lovely! We've had so much fun here in waaaarm Arizona! :) While here, I was able to meet in person the first member of the Shabby Blogs team and it was honestly a dream come true. The amazing Jessica of Sierra Studios Photography was kind enough to meet with me and even photograph my little family. She is just as delightful as her images (which is saying a lot!) and it is a true honor to welcome her to the Shabby Blogs family! I'm so looking forward to learning more about her and from her! Images are such a vital part of blogging and Jessica is going to be teaching us how to make the most of ours. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! If you want to see why, just take a peek at some of the images she captured of my own greatest gifts:

These photographs literally made me cry when I saw them for the first time...and they will probably make me cry a thousand times more as I look at them throughout the years to come. I feel so blessed to get to know so many talented and lovely people through Shabby Blogs. I'm so lucky and honored to share these special people with you! Please take a moment to get to know the first member of Team Shabby by visiting Jessica at her website and blog. Welcome Jessica...and Merry Christmas to each of you!

Blog Photo Collage Freebie

2010-12-21T01:30:00.005-05:00

My little family and I spent the morning flying from snowy Michigan to sunny Arizona to spend some time with my in-laws. Family and sunshine. What more is there? Actually, to answer my own question, there are lovely blog freebies...and here is our latest! Just download, customize, and post. Enjoy!

Blog Photo Collage:

Download

Awesome Printable Calendar Freebie

2010-12-17T12:56:00.001-05:00

One of our Shabby Blogs sponsors is Fall Down Tree. If you aren't familiar with the artwork created by the super talented Adam Record, shame on you. Just kidding. Honestly though, you really need to check it out. I'm a sucker for art geared towards the young and the young at heart so Adam's work is definitely going to be finding its way into my home. For today's freebie, Fall Down Tree has generously offered an insanely adorable calendar to you...for freeeeee. Print it out and display it proudly, friends! But hurry, because this exclusive download will only be available through Monday. Enjoy it everyone!

Printable Calendar Freebie:
Download

We're Cursed (& A Freebie)

2010-12-16T22:12:00.003-05:00

Today was supposed to be the launch of the brand new (and seriously awesome) ShabbyBlogs.com. Actually, it was supposed to be last Thursday, but I pushed it back to this Thursday. The day has come and gone, both of them, but our shabby piece of online heaven remains the same. Sigh. Is it possible to be cursed? Seriously. Is it? Because if it is...we are. Everything that could possibly go wrong today did...and some other things that I didn't even think were possible. It's just one of those things. Still, I'm beginning to feel like the girl who cried website. You know what though? There are so many things in this world that are truly worth being concerned about. People are hungry and homeless and ill. Our site not launching when it was scheduled to is really not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Right? While I apologize whole-heartedly, I absolutely promise there is a whole team of people working insane hours to bring you the radness you crave. Rather than even try to give you a new launch time, I'm just going to ask you to cross your fingers and send happy thoughts our way. And, on the bright side- more time for freebies! :) Enjoy our latest!

Shabby Blogs Freebie

2010-12-16T00:34:00.003-05:00

The new Shabby Blogs should go live tomorrow afternoon and here I am, late at night, finishing up last-minute things and preparing to give away a special little piece of me. When I launched Shabby Blogs the first time, I had no idea if it would matter to anyone but me. I was a stay-at-home mom who loved my life, but wanted to do something with my talents and free time. I said a little prayer and took a huge leap. I'm so grateful I did! This has been such an amazing journey for me! To thank you for all of your support and kindness, this freebie is the original Shabby Blogs logo...for you. Though it isn't for commercial use, I hope you will enjoy it and that it will make you smile when you see it on your own beautiful blog. With all of my heart, thank you!

*You may click on the image for a larger version! :)

Treat Bag Tag Freebie

2010-12-14T22:53:00.005-05:00

Here it is! Freebie #2! This vintage-inspired treat tag is ready for you to customize and staple to a bag of your favorite goodies. I made this lovely topper using kits from the fabulous Gina Cabrera of Digital Design Essentials. It is sized to fit over a sandwich bag, but feel free to make it smaller if you've got a different treat bag in mind. These are so great for classmates, co-workers, friends, and family! Whatever you do to make this digital treat your own, have a blast!

Treat Bag Tag:

Download

Shabby Collage Freebie & Launch News

2010-12-14T01:09:00.007-05:00

Are you excited for Christmas? I'm soooo excited! Christmas is coming early for me this year. Having the new Shabby Blogs website up and running is my big fat enormous present! Did you catch that I said it would be launching last week, but it's still the same old Shabby Blogs? I was hoping nobody would notice. :) I've pushed it back to this Thursday. BUT, on the bright side, that gives me more time to dish out freebies! I'm going to be posting one a day until the launch of our new site. Wooohoooooo! Up first is this little photo collage I made using a few of my favorite vintage goodies. Don't you just love deer? (It is hunting season here in Michigan right now, so perhaps this is a bad time to ask.) I just think they are such lovely, cheerful animals. And the vintage elf is rather adorable too, is he not? So jolly! Anyway, just plop your own photo in and you'll be ready to dazzle the blogging community at large with your sheer awesomeness. :) Enjoy!

Shabby Christmas Collage:
Download

PS. Don't forget to update the code for your background, buttons, and blinkies if you haven't already!

Super Important Info, New Backgrounds, & Freebie

2010-11-29T00:09:00.009-05:00

It's time. Remember a while ago when I told you about the changes Photobucket made? Well, because of those changes, we have had to fork out a lot of money each month to continue to provide you with the most awesome blog designs on the planet. Unfortunately, we just can't keep carrying that burden. We did a lot of research to make sure that our solution to this problem was the best one possible. We will be hosting our images and your bandwidth on a new server. What does this mean for you? It means that the code we've previously had on our website will no longer link properly after JANUARY 31st. All you need to do is hop over to ShabbyBlogs.com now to snag the new codes for your favorite SB goodies (backgrounds, buttons, blinkies). Easy peasy! And, if it's new background code you're looking for, you're in luck because we just released 15 brand new holiday designs! Eeeeep! I know I'm biased, but they are rather lovely. :) So, go grab the code for your favorite SB lovelies and you'll be on your merry way!

We're making a lot of changes around here and we are so excited! From the new code to the new team and new website launching on _____, things are rocking and rolling in Shabby Land! One other change we are making is that we are, for the first time ever, setting aside some space on our blog and website for sponsors. Not only will this help cover our expenses, but there are so many amazing companies and individuals out there that we would be honored to promote at Shabby Blogs. We have a few openings left, so if you are interested, just send us an email with "sponsor" in the subject field and we'll give you all the juicy details. :)

Last, but not least, I've whipped up this super adorable freebie for you to use on your blogs. I created this chalkboard goody using the actual chalkboard in my kitchen and this super cute element from Michelle Underwood's newest digital scrapbooking kit- Joy. You can customize it however you'd like and use it in your posts or on your sidebar. The sky is the limit! Just click on the image below and save the full-sized version to your computer. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Freebie & Sneak Peek

2010-11-23T12:49:00.010-05:00

You know how I've been talking about revamping ShabbyBlogs.com and making it even more awesome? It's been a long time coming, but that's because we wanted it to be more than just awesome. We wanted it to be freakishly awesome! That's why we teamed up with some of the most talented and downright fabulous people on the planet... and now I get to tell you who they are! But first, a tiny sneak peek at the new SB- set to relaunch on December 9th:

I told you it was awesome! This is just a super small sampling because I don't want to spoil it, but mark your calendars for December 9th! It's going to be sweeeeeet!

Are you dying to know who I worked with on this marvelous make-over? I am dying to tell you! It's Moselle!!! Have you heard of them? If you haven't, you sure are going to! Not only are they some of the most talented creative minds on the planet, but they are also some of the absolute nicest people you'll ever meet. I love nice people, but I especially love nice, talented, generous people. If you do too, you're going to love Moselle! To give you a little taste of their niceness, talent, and generosity, they have offered a little freebie just for you! Check this out:

Give Thanks Bunting and Acorn Apparel from Moselle

Acorn Apparel: accessorize your home with these charming, whimsical, woodlandish, autumnal acorns! Make bunting, name cards, or hang tags!

Give Thanks Bunting: with this little lovely, Moselle shares some basic (but of course, gorgeous) elements and leaves you with plenty of wiggle room to create your definition of beauty.

Both downloads come with simple instructions and suggestions to make it your own! Happy creating...and happy Thanksgiving!

Get your freebie download here!

PS. Brand spankin' new winter backgrounds and goodies are coming soon!

Giveaway WINNER!

2010-11-04T17:26:00.003-04:00

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who voted for Forrest's Liberty Swing project to help the disabled. I really mean that. Thank you! Even though he didn't place in the top 10, I know he will still raise the money needed for this great cause. Anyone can donate through his website...so just keep that in mind. ;) I am so proud of Forrest and all of you for your support. Helping is a very cool thing and I love you guys for it!

Now to find out who won the Shabby Blogs giveaway!!! Are you excited? My little "Random Number Generator" and I sure were! I know most people do their winner-picking online, but we like to keep some things old school around here. It's way more fun that way...and I promise my 2-year-old is fair...when toys aren't involved. :) So, without further ado, here is THE WINNER:

Can you see that? It's shopping-diva!!! I'm so excited for you and I hope you love this collection of treasures as much as I do, Miss Diva! Also, it looks like you're from Greece? That's so awesome! (Of course my daughter would pick someone as far away as possible.) Your package may not arrive until the year 2015, but it's coming! I promise. :) CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Oh, but I love to give things away. You know that. So I had to ask my little helper to pick another winner. (What relief when she didn't stick her finger in her nose when I said that to her!) This lucky blogger will be getting 2 lovely frame decals:

See that? It's Jen from Midwestern Modern Momma!!! Yaaaay! I am so excited for you! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Did I mention that I like to give things away? Because I do. I really do. So we picked another winner to get the sweet frame decals:

Check it out! It's Melanie from Homestead & Bread! CONGRATULATIONS Melanie!!!!!

Okay, okay. Just one more. I can't help myself. The final person to win the frame decals:

It's the super sweet Natalia...who, I have to say, is the absolute most adorable thing! CONGRATULATIONS, Natalia! I'm so excited for you!

Congrats to each of our winners and thank you so much to everyone who participated! If you were a winner, please email me (shabbyblogs{at}gmail.com) with your address so I can get your goodies to you! X's & O's!

10 Days Left

2010-10-21T17:32:00.005-04:00

Click here for giveaway details and here for more information about the Liberty Swing project.

I know you may be tired of hearing about this, but what's the point of having a blog with 8,600 followers if you can't use it to help people, right? This will probably be my last post about this cause- until I announce the winners of our HUGE giveaway. I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has voted and helped spread the word so far. There are so many nice people in this world! :) Thank you!

PS. How much do you loooove Mr. & Mrs. Owl salt and pepper shakers!?!! I bought them at an antique shop earlier this week just for you...but it's hard to part with those little cuties! :)

Shabby Blogs Team Call

2010-10-11T22:32:00.007-04:00

{click to enlarge}

You know we like to share here at Shabby Blogs, right? We love sharing our blogalicious goodies with you and even our own shabtacular finds (see giveaway below). So, why not share THE Shabby Blogs Blog??? We're looking for a few seriously awesome individuals to join our Shabby Team! If you are interested in any of the above positions (or would like to pitch us your own) just email shabbyblogs {at} gmail.com with shabulous in the subject line. Due to the massive amount of email we get, we may not be able to respond to every applicant...but we will try our best!

Sooo many cool things are going on at SB right now! The new and even more rad website is getting closer and closer to launching...I promise! Squeeeee! We're so excited!!! It's going to be infinitely more fabulous and easy to use. Plus, we will be adding whole new freebie categories that have never been offered anywhere before! I can't give too much away, but believe me when I tell you it's going to knock your polka-dotted socks off! Double squeeeeeeee!!! Stay tuned!

New Goodies & A Giveaway

2010-10-07T16:56:00.005-04:00

Yeah, I know. Fall has actually been here for a while now, but I've been too busy outside enjoying it to upload our gazillion new designs...until now, I mean. They are online and they are fabulous so grab them while they're hot! I'll also be listing brand new headers and buttons in the next few days so stay tuned! :)

Thank you to everyone who voted for Forrest through the Pepsi Refresh Project. Thanks to you, he made it into the top 100 and gets to stay in the running for another month! You know what that means, don't you? You can keep voting!!!!! Let's get him in the top 10 by remembering to vote for this awesome cause each day!

I don't usually do giveaways, but because I soooo want to see Forrest get the opportunity to put a Liberty Swing for the disabled in at our local park, I am going to host one. My own! But rather than give away a custom blog design, I am going to give away a very special Shabby package from my very own collection. Random bits of loveliness from my favorite antique stores and flea markets sent with love from me to you. If you love shabby and vintage, you will LOVE this surprise package! Having said that, I am horrible with surprises (especially ones I am excited about) so I just may post sneaky peeks on the Shabby Blogs Facebook page. :) If you want to enter this special little giveaway, here's what you need to do:

*Leave one comment if you posted on your blog about The Liberty Swing Project...and please leave a link so we can visit you!
*Leave one comment if you added the voting widget to your blog (found on the right-hand side of Forrest's voting page)
*Leave one comment if you tweeted about The Liberty Swing Project
*Leave one comment if you shared it on Facebook
*Leave one comment if you voted at least 5 times for the Liberty Swing (You can vote each day, both online and by text so if you vote 10 times, you can leave another comment!)

I will count each comment as one entry and choose the winner at the beginning of November. If there are a lot of entries, I'll choose more than one...because I totally want you to win! :)

Forrest Friend Freebie #2

2010-09-21T17:32:00.005-04:00

Hello, friends!

Did you vote today?

If you didn't read the post before this one, scroll down and check it out! We've only got 10 days left to get Forrest and the Liberty Swing in the top 10! This is such a wonderful cause! I know we can work together to help this really amazing young man install a swing for the disabled at our local park. Pretty please continue to spread the word and VOTE VOTE VOTE! :) Remember that you can vote once a day and also text your vote every day as well! (Pepsi#: 73774 Vote#: 102161)

Thank you SO much to everyone who has already helped bump Forrest up in the polls. Just to show our gratitude, here is a Shabby Blogs Post Pretty just for you! Click on the image to see the enlarged version and then just right-click on it to save this little fella to your computer. You can add text to create your own button or add a little fun to your next blog post. (What is it about gnomes that makes them so endearing? Love those kitschy cuties!) Just one more Forrest friend popping in to encourage you to keep SWINGING the vote. Keep it up, you guys! We {heart} you for it!!!

Forrest Friend & Freebie

2010-09-10T17:00:00.010-04:00

We have officially survived the first week of school! It really went better than I even hoped. I've missed my little 2nd-grader and kindergartner so much, but I've had a total blast playing with my youngest who is still at home with me. We go to the park almost every day...which is kind of silly because all she ever wants to do is swing and we have a swing in our backyard. :) All three of my girls have been like that. Isn't it neat how much children love the simple joy that comes from being on a swing? That's why when I heard about my friend Forrest's quest to bring a swing for disabled children to our local park, I vowed to do whatever I could to help. Before I became a stay-at-home mom, I was a nanny for quadruplets with Cerebral Palsy. It was a truly incredible experience which will forever remain with me. I have such a soft spot in my heart for the sweet individuals who suffer from this condition.

Forrest is a 14-year-old whose brother, Zach, has Cerebral Palsy. While growing up, Forrest watched helplessly as his older brother missed out on the fun of playing at the playground. He made it his mission to bring a Liberty Swing to Whitehall, Michigan. When this swing is installed, it will enable Forrest's brother and all others who are in wheelchairs to participate in an activity that many of us take for granted. Liberty Swings were created in Australia and are not cheap. They cost $16,000 with shipping. (That is A LOT of shoes!) Having said that, this amazing young man has already raised $10,000. Seriously, how many 14-year-olds do you know who would work that hard to raise that kind of money...and for such a worthy cause? Forrest's love and determination are so inspiring! He recently became involved with the Pepsi Refresh Project to further help him reach his goal. Have you heard about that? Simply put, people submit ideas and the ideas that get the most votes, get the funding. If that's Forrest, he will have enough money to purchase and install the original swing as well as purchase another one! Will you do me a favor and vote for this very special project? It would mean so much to me...and to so many others! It only takes a minute to vote and you can do it again each day. Will you please please please help? Yep. I am totally begging. You can share this idea via Facebook, Twitter, and just about anything else from the voting page. You can even text Pepsi at 73774 and enter the following number in the body of the text to vote for the Liberty Swing project: 102161. Nothing would make me happier than to see this thing plastered all over the internet. Let's do something good, friends!

Vote for the Liberty Swing Project

The clip isn't working on the Pepsi site so here's a little video to illustrate exactly what this swing is all about:

Oh, and just to show my gratitude, here is a freebie I cooked up for you, my good-doing friends. It's just a silly little doodle I'm calling the Forrest Friend Freebie, but it looks rather sweet in your blog posts. As always, if you need a little help figuring out how to customize this little goody, check out the video on our FAQ page. Here's an example of what your finished freebie may look like using my favorite 2nd-grader to demonstrate:

Go VOTE and then download the Forrest Friend Freebie HERE!

Candy Bar Wrapper Freebie

2010-08-04T23:41:00.006-04:00

There are two kinds of moms in this world. First, you've got the moms that dance around their empty houses like leprechauns when their kids go back to school. Then, there are the moms that create fictitious dentist appointments just so they can pick their kids up from school early because they miss them so much. As pathetic as it sounds all laid out in black and white like this...I'm the second kind of mom. (Shocker, I know.) I bought school supplies for my girls the other day and almost burst into tears. When I realized what a weenie I was being, I gave myself an imaginary glove slap on the cheek and decided to celebrate the impending...you know...school thing. It is in this spirit that I created a little freebie for you. It's a candy bar wrapper that you can totally customize and send to school with your child for their teacher! Sweet, right? It's sized for those extra large candy bars and all you have to do is add your own photo and text, print it out, cut it out, and hand it out. Now I know that everyone isn't a mom- so don't think I forgot about the rest of our Shabby Bloggers! I also created another candy bar wrapper that is perfect for any occasion. Customize it for a birthday, a girls night out, or just because! Let's face it. You never need a reason to give the gift of chocolate. :)

Candy Bar Wrapper Freebie:
Download

We've also got a few back-to-school backgrounds and will be posting them at ShabbyBlogs.com in the next day or two. Happy happy happy!

Juicy details about some of the awesomeness ahead at SB is coming soon too! ;)

*For the school-themed wrapper, I used Gina Cabrera's Wheels On The Bus kit. It is soooo stinkin' cute! For the other wrapper, I used Michelle Underwood's That Was Yesterday kit. Love love looove it!!!

Change is good.

2010-07-21T23:20:00.005-04:00

Listen. Do you hear that? I'm pretty sure you can actually hear crickets on my blog right now. Doh! In case you were wondering, the answer is no. I was not abducted by aliens. I was, however, abducted by my kids...and maybe just summer a little. What? People blame seasons for allergies so why not blame them for absences? Although I've been totally and completely MIA to you, I have been right there for my husband and three little girlies- who won't stay little for long. So, while I know I should feel horribly guilty (and sometimes I do) I am not going to say I'm sorry. Sorry. I just won't do it. Oops. Okay, but seriously...look at this face:

"Sorry, my love, but mommy can't make you a leaf crown because she has to fix the coding for Blogger's new template designer feature and answer about a thousand emails."

Beeeeeeep!
Wrong answer.

See what I mean? You say no to that face! :) In all seriousness though, I have had the most magical time with my family this summer and thank you with all of my heart for your patience. Man, I LOVE my Shabby Bloggers! Love love love!!!

********************************************

Okay. Now that you know I haven't been abducted by aliens and that I make a killer leaf crown, let's get on to the juicy BLOG stuff. Have you tried out Blogger's new template designer?

I am so excited that bloggers will finally have an easy way to adjust some of the aspects of their blog that previously meant going code-diving. (Yes, I invented that term, but you know what I mean.) So awesome, right? If you've played around with this feature, you may have noticed that adjusting the width of your blog a lot and/or picking one of the more funky templates may make your Shabby Blogs background equally funky. Here at SB, we are all about funky...just not that kind of funky. The biggest problem is that the Shabby Blogs logo/link may get thrown to a weird spot on your blog. Not cool, Blogger. Not cool. Soooo, the question is:

Can you take advantage of Blogger's new features while still keeping your totally awesome Shabby Blogs background?

Shabsolutely!!!!!

The first thing you need to know is that Blogger's "Picture Window" template works best with custom backgrounds. So, if you are using Blogger's template designer, you'll want to select that template. (If you're still a "Minima" template user, rock on. You don't have to do a thing.) The second thing you need to know is that adjusting the width of your blog may mean tucking away your standard-sized background and grabbing a wide (or 3 column) design instead. Just keep that in mind. And thirdly, we've been working on a ridiculously awesome code just for the new Blogger templates. It'll mean no funky logos or general icky-ness. We don't like icky-ness on our blogs and I'm guessing you don't either. I'll be spending the whole day tomorrow updating the code for all of my backgrounds. If you are happy with the way your blog looks now or if you haven't had any problems, just keep on keepin' on. But, if you want to switch your code to something that gets along a bit better with Blogger's changes, head over sometime in the next little while and snag the new code.

I know this is the longest post I have ever posted in my life, but hang in there because I have one more change to address. (My kids are asleep so thankfully it's not a diaper!) Many of you may have heard the buzzzz about PhotoBucket also making changes lately. While their changes may not affect you, they are affecting Shabby Blogs- and most free blog design sites. Simply put, since I host my images on PhotoBucket, each time someone views one of those images (your blog) it takes bandwidth from PhotoBucket. On the bright side, there are a wicked lot of people out there using Shabby Blogs goodies. I can't even begin to tell you how rad that is! On the downside, Photobucket is getting seriously weighed down having to pay for this massive bandwidth. So, they want Shabby Blogs to pay for it. I won't tell you what it costs, but I will say that I could easily lease a BMW for that amount. Gulp. While this has been a little tricky, there is no way Shabby Blogs is going anywhere. Wait a second. That doesn't sound right. We ARE going somewhere, just not nowhere. Huh? Whatever. You know what I mean. In fact, we've taken this challenge as the perfect opportunity to revamp SB and make it even more insanely awesome than ever before. We've teamed up with the absolute MOST OUTSTANDING team of creative geniuses ever assembled to launch a brand new and even more rad Shabby Blogs in the next month or two. We're like blogging ninjas. (Do ninjas wear pink?) I am so excited about this that I will dedicate my next post to announcing more of the details, but trust me. Shabby Blogs is going to seriously rock your world...and we are here to stay.

Featured {Shabby} Bloggers

2010-06-09T17:25:00.010-04:00

It's been waaay too long since I have featured some of your outstanding blogs. I can never narrow it down, so this time I am featuring two. Yep. I decided I can do that. Heck, next time I may do three or four. :) Without further ado...

Daisy Pink Cupcake
I stumbled upon this blog ages ago when I was searching for a bit of decorating inspiration...and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. Seeing that Daisy is a SB fan was just icing on the cupcake. :) When you visit, be sure to keep a tissue handy because you are going to be doing a lot of drooling...and sighing. Sighing and drooling. To visit her blog is to be inspired. When I am short on time, but want a quick dose of loveliness, Daisy Pink Cupcake never disappoints. Go see for yourself! You will become an instant fan.

Family of Four
I was so excited to meet Jenni over at Family of Four. She is such a sweetheart! Not only is she ridiculously gorgeous, but she knows exactly how to make each post pop. Her blog is the perfect example of how a little extra goes a long way. She makes everything she does look good. Please go visit Jenni and get to know her better. She is one cool mom!

Awesome, right? Get over there and give them some Shabby lovin' then!

Next up? New headers. Let me know which background you would like a header for on the Shabby Blogs Facebook page!

Summer backgrounds are here!

2010-06-02T00:09:00.005-04:00

There is no way it is June. I refuse to believe it. My pixie will be finishing the first grade and my princess will be going to kindergarten next year. Kindergarten! At least I will still have my pumpkin home with me. Yep. I'm one of those moms. :) You better believe we are going to take FULL advantage of our summer together though. Mr. H. promised me we could buy a vintage camper that I can fix up all "Megany" if I promise to put a donation button on my blog. I already have a few ads on my site, but I must admit that I haven't tried very hard to really make money from Shabby Blogs. Is that weird? You probably won't believe me (especially since I am notoriously bad at replying to emails) but I really do just like to help people make their blogs something they are proud to call their own. Blogging may be a small thing, but it matters. It matters to a lot of people- a lot of women. It matters to me. Having said that, money is tight these days and I would really love to make some fun memories with my girlies before they are off to school again. If you like Shabby Blogs and want to donate, that would be rad and my little family would seriously appreciate it. If not, I totally understand. Please don't feel like you have to contribute. We are very proud to offer our goodies for FREE and will keep it that way. :)

Over at Shabby Blogs, we have just released a whopping thirty five brand new summer designs and they are calling your name! Happy {almost} summer and happy blogging!!!

A Little Update & A Freebie

2010-05-20T22:46:00.006-04:00

Remember me? I've been kinda quiet lately, huh? That's because Mr. H. and I have been busy doing this:

I've been busy as a bee. But, in my free time, I have been picking some bloggers to feature, getting ready to release some smashing summer blog awesomeness, working on our site re-design, creating a new post pretty for you, and solving world hunger. And you thought I was just lounging on our front porch while my kids hand me dandelions. Shame on you! (Okay, I have totally been doing that too, but shhhh!) I think I have finally narrowed down the Shabby Bloggers I want to feature to 3 and I will be introducing you to them in the next few days. But first, I just had to give you something. 6,000 followers? That is insane! You guys are amaaaazing! THANK YOU!

You may have noticed, but I kind of have a thing for frames. :) I just think they are so lovely and add the perfect punch to your photos and goodies. Shabby Bloggers are way too stylish for boring pictures, am I right? Make mine pretty please! Did you like the frame collage I used above? Would you like to use it for your photos? Done and done. Aaaaand, along with the gold frames, I have also included these:

Enjoy!

Shabby Blogs Post Frames:

Download

*Not sure how to use these? Check out the video tutorial here!

More Spring Bling

2010-04-19T21:57:00.003-04:00

I finally had a spare moment to add a few new headers and some wicked cool buttons to ShabbyBlogs.com. Go grab them! A little freshening up will be good for your blog's self-esteem.Next up? Some awesome freebies just for SBB readers and a new featured Shabby Blogger! I'm going to be hopping all over the blogosphere, re-reading your comments and visiting as many of you as I can to find the best of the best. I may have to choose more than one blogger each time because seriously, it is almost impossible to limit myself to one of you. I swear Shabby Bloggers are the most creative, fun, hilarious, and kind group of people on the planet.

*Some of you may already know, but Blogger in Draft is working on some really great new features. In the future, it will be much easier to customize your blog. I'm working on new ways to integrate our shabulous designs so you can rock the web with your sheer shabby awesomeness. Woot woooooo! :)

Another Anniversary

2010-04-08T12:52:00.003-04:00

So I've been avoiding my own blog because I am totally embarrassed. But, I have to tell you, being married to a man who sees the best in me (even when I don't) is the greatest gift I have ever been given. I feel like there is nothing I can't do with him by my side. He is the greatest man I have ever known. I could go on for eternity about how amazing he is, but the mushiness factor would be tremendous and you would all be drowning in cheese and screaming, "Get a room!" waaaay before I could finish. :) Just trust me when I say that I am the absolute luckiest girl in the world. We are off to Chicago to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, but I'll be back soon to post new headers and buttons!

One Year Anniversary

2010-04-01T23:54:00.002-04:00

Megan, forgive me in advance for hijacking your blog. I just couldn’t let the one year anniversary of ShabbyBlogsBlog and Shabbyblogs.com pass today without telling you and everyone else how proud I am of you! You have spent countless hours, long afternoons, and late nights at your computer instead of doing one of the million other things that you love. You have sacrificed beautiful days at the beach, movies out with friends, playing in the snow with the kids, and virtually any time for yourself. You’ve developed a mild case of carpel tunnel syndrome because of the time your hand has been glued to your mouse. To show for it, you have created literally hundreds of works of art; you have created miniature masterpieces. You have used your incredible talent for taking ordinary things and turning them into something truly extraordinary! You put everything you have into everything you do and your lovely creations are your evidence. You have not only given of yourself, you have given of your heart. You have touched thousands of lives in big and small ways by helping people all over the world create their own home on the web – to create their own blog of memories, their own list of recipes, or their own portal to a world that is bigger than the confines of the walls that surround them. You have inspired thousands of individual souls to express their own beautiful uniqueness and to be proud of it. You have helped them see that their thoughts, their style, their photographs, their ideas, their kids, their homes, their accomplishments, and their lives are worth sharing! You have helped them to recognize the beauty in their own lives and experiences by giving them the tools and encouragement to share them.

To all of you wonderful Shabby Bloggers, thank you for making this blog and www.shabbyblogs.com such a success. I think that you recognize by her work what I have known since the day I met her – that Megan has an unparalleled talent for creating beauty all around her. What you may not know, however, is that this beauty springs from a soul that is so filled with light and goodness that it cannot help but escape. So, while I many times longed to have her hand in mine instead of holding her computer’s mouse, I rejoiced to know that the world was witnessing a small glimpse into the mind and heart of the most amazing woman I have ever known.

With all of that said, Megan, we are all behind you – me, our three girls, and the thousands of individuals all over the world who are a part of Shabby Blogs. 2010 will be even better than 2009 and the good things you create and share will continue to inspire wonderful people everywhere. I love you! Happy blogiversary.

Your husband and biggest fan,

Sonny

Cupcake Wrapper Freebie

2010-03-30T10:56:00.007-04:00

Happy Easter!!!

{Feel free to snag this blog button!}

In our little family, we celebrate a holiday I made up called "Preaster." We do all of our "commercial" stuff the Saturday before Easter and save Sunday for what matters most to us. I buy a puzzle I think my girlies will love and place the puzzle pieces in plastic eggs for their Easter egg hunt. I looooove hunting for eggs, but hate arming my kids with MORE candy...or discovering rotten eggs in my yard months later. Gaaaack! They love this idea and then we get to spend our time together working on the puzzle. :) I so love this time of year!

Right. So I made you another freebie. I couldn't help it. I like you! I whipped up some lovely cupcake wrappers for you to use in your Easter baking/crafting. It seems like I always end up making a gazillion cupcakes for my kids to take to school and I looooove dressing them up a bit with cupcake covers. You just print them, cut them out, add bit of glue and you are good to go! You can also use these as candy cups or put a little fake grass in there and plop a Peep in them as a fun little treat. Maybe I should have called them Peep Ploppers. Isn't that fun to say? Well, whatever you call them and however you choose to use them, have a blast!!!

Cupcake Wrapper Freebie:
Download

Spring is heeeere! {FREEBIE}

2010-03-23T17:15:00.004-04:00

Are you as excited as I am to welcome SPRING? Oh my gosh! I've done my share of frolicking and now I am inspired, rejuvenated, and raring to spiff up some shabby blogs. :) I have designed more spring backgrounds than I know what to do with- which I will be adding to ShabbyBlogs.com within the next few days. (So I guess I do know what to do with them.) I'll also be adding new buttons, blinkies, and some fabulous matching headers. Yaaaay! (I'm sorry my site re-design isn't ready yet so those pages are getting mighty long, but like I said...I had to fit in some family frolics. :) Totally vital.) In the meantime, here is some fresh new blog candy just for you! I created this little pretty using digital scrapbooking kits from the amazingly talented Michelle Underwood. (If you are digi-scrapper, head over to her shop and snag some of her awesome work!) You can customize this lovely any way you want. Just right-click and save it to your computer. It's large enough to use in your posts or it can be shrunk to fit in your sidebar...or both. Your call. Enjoy!!!

Twitter Background Freebie

2010-03-09T00:01:00.004-05:00

First of all- I'm sorry. I've been meaning to get some St. Patrick's Day goodies uploaded to ShabbyBlogs.com for weeks, but something always seems to come up. Mainly, I blame the sun. Remember the sun? That blessed, beautiful, luminous thing that made my children's eyes sparkle and the whole world all green and lovely? Yeah. That sun. Well, he has decided to show up here in Michigan and you can bet your muddy boots I have been outside to greet him! My girlies and I have been jumping in puddles and smashing our snowmen to bits. Tonight, I even talked my hubby into putting up our big trampoline...which is a sure sign that another blizzard is on it's way. :) Until then, we are soaking up every single sign of SPRING. We're even learning how to make maple syrup! Seriously, how awesome is that? Our yellow farmhouse is completely surrounded by bucket-laden trees just drip-drip-dripping away. The old man who farms the land around us gets together with all of his friends and they laugh and tease and work until the sun sets. When I first introduced myself to them, the operation seemed to consist of three elderly gentlemen. I went to the "sugar shack" behind our house this afternoon to say hello and they had multiplied! There were nine of them out there in that tiny little shed, just chatting away and having a good old time. See? How can I sit in front of my computer with a party like that going on just steps away from my back door? :)

I hope you understand! I promise to get back to work full-force soon. Still working on the site re-design and lots of new things I know you're going to loooooove! Want proof? Check out this Twitter background I made just for you! It's sort of St. Patricky, but not so much that you can't use it all the time. (Did that make sense?) You can see a full-sized preview on my Twitter page. I hope you have fun with this...but don't spend too much time on it because Mr. Sun is the jealous type. :)

Shabby Twitter Background:

Download

How to Add Pages to Your Blog

2010-03-02T01:25:00.015-05:00

A few weeks ago, the good folks at Blogger released something pretty dang cool. I call it a late Christmas gift to the world at large, but I suppose normal people would call it a Page Gadget. That's right, people! PAGE gadget! Do you know what this means?!! It means that you can make pages!...on your blog!...with a cute little menu!...and it's eeeeasy! Of course, you could do this before if you wanted to get all HTMLy, but now you can do it so easily. Check this out:

1. Log into your Blogger account and click on the "Posting" tab as if you are going to...you know...post something.
2. Click on "Edit Pages"

3. Now, click on the button that says "New Page." (FYI: You can create up to 10)4. Enter your page title and whatever else you'd like on that page. (It's very similar to a regular blog post.) When you are finished, click "Publish Page."
5. Now you get to pick where you want the links to your pages placed. Once selected, click on the spiffy "Save and Publish" button.You're done! That's it! (See? I told you it was totally easy.) I'll show you one more thing though. If you go to your Layout page, you'll now see the Pages Gadget. Click on "Edit."
You'll now get a pop-up that allows you to rearrange the order in which your pages appear...if you'd like. Just thought I should show you how. :)
Here is what your new page(s) will look like on your blog...unless you chose to put the gadget on your sidebar, of course. Isn't that cool?
*If you were just thinking, "Yes Megan, that's cool...but why do I need that?" here are a few page ideas to get you started:

About
Contact
Links/Favorites
Photo Albums
Videos
Projects
Tutorials
Shop
Website
Disclaimer
Press
Giveaways
Polls
Advertise
Guest Book
FAQ's
Favorite Posts

I'm sure there are a gazillion other pages you could add that would be utterly brilliant, but that's what I came up with off the top of my head. Sadly, you can't link directly to an external url using this gadget, but I'll play around with it. Enough from me though. Go! Blog! Enjoy!

How To Add A Picture To Your Header

2010-02-15T21:54:00.004-05:00

One of the questions I get asked the most is how to customize a Shabby Blogs header by adding a photo to it. It's a tricky question because everyone uses different programs on their computers...and some people don't use any photo-editing software at all. So, for those of you who are already pros, rock on. For the rest of you, check out the video tutorial I just added to our FAQ page and you'll be sporting a super swanky custom header in no time! I can't wait to see it!

*We're working on a site redesign that will include several video tutorials. If there is something in particular you would love a little help with, please let me know!

Hope you had an awesome Valentine's Day! I know I did! :)

Valentine Treat Freebie

2010-02-09T14:26:00.008-05:00

For those of you who haven't finished those valentines yet, here is a little freebie I think you'll totally dig! Just add your own text and/or photo, print and cut them out, and plop them over a lollipop for a super sweet treat everyone will love! Or, if you want to skip the "computer stuff" just print them out as-is and let your kids personalize them by hand. You can even embellish these with ribbon or whatever your crafty heart desires. Enjoy and have fun!

Included in this free download are two separate designs with two options for each. There is a text-only version and a version that allows you to add your own photo...which my kids always looooove! :) Enjoy!

Lollipop Cover Freebie:

Download

*I used digital scrapbooking kits from the talented Corina Nielsen for this freebie.