Simple Stories Sweater Weather is Perfect for these wood crafts.

I have a good friend who is also my "craft buddy"-- Heather Hose. Heather is a wonderful mother of 2 boys. She also works very hard at her IT job. It is so fun to get together and craft with her. We love to put together different wood crafts with scrapbook paper. We have made several for different themes representing different times of the year and I love everyone of them. We can sand, paint, glue, cut and sand some more for hours. It is really fun and a huge stress relief at the end of busy weeks. She recently made these adorable Autumn blocks and plaque using Simple Stories "Sweater Weather". She cut the vinyl letters out on her machine and used the paper for the background. I think it is AMAZING. She is so talented. "Sweater Weather" is a really fun fall line. The colors are absolutely perfect for this time of year.  "Sweater Weather" is available now at Allscrapbooksteals.com. Happy Crafting!!! Jacqueline (Thanks for being a great friend Heather :-))

Halloween Lobby and Shelf at Allscrapbooksteals.com

Halloween products are here and available at Allscrapbooksteals.com!!! We were so excited for them that we re-decorated our lobby to show off all the new cool stuff from My Mind's Eye Frightful, Authentique Spirited, Doodlebug Ghouls and Goodies, Simple Stories Frankie and Friends, and American Crafts Haunted Hollow. WE LOVE IT!!! The shelf was so fun and we added some washi tape (trick or treat and the candy washi) from Doodlebug that really makes it pop. The wood blocks are covered in Simple Stories Frankie and Friends. There is also a ton of embellishments to make cards and layouts pop. The framed art from My Mind's Eye Frightful is really fun too. We added washi tape to inexpensive dollar store frames to give the pictures our own unique look.  Just so you know the crow finishes it off nicely. That thing looked so real that it kept freaking me out. Let me know if you love it as much as we do!!! Happy Crafting Jacqueline.

NEW Authentique "Spirited" and "Grateful"

The kids go back to school and the mornings start getting colder.  Fall is definitely in the air. It is a good thing that we have the holidays to look forward to, otherwise, I would be really sad to leave summer. Authentique has 2 brand new lines. "Spirited" is an awesome Halloween line. "Grateful" is a really fun fall line. Some of the things that I like about Authentique is their paper. It is a nice, heavy textured paper, perfect for scrapbooking or cards. The stickers layer really nice with pop dots to give your cards a level of dimension. Stick on some mini jewels or sprinkles and you have a card that can't be beat. Check out Authentique today at Allscrapbooksteals.com. Happy Crafting!!! Jacqueline

Patriotic Blocks with Doodlebug Paper

With many children running around my house. I love simple fun ideas for decorating. I love letters on blocks and Doodlebug Stars and Stripes and Patriotic Parade is the perfect companion to compliment my vinyl letters on my wood blocks.  It is fun festive and of course Patriotic. When I decorate my home for the 4th of July my kids see how important this holiday is to me and how much I love this country. Now is the perfect time to make decor for next year. Many times I make crafts after the holiday, because I get supplies at great close out deals at Allscrapbooksteals.com. I make up all my projects so they are ready to go next year. I hope that you have some time over the summer to enjoy making your own craft projects. Happy Crafting!!! Jacqueline

Make your Photography look like a Professional.

I LOVE taking pictures. Of course, my favorite subjects are my children. I love capturing every moment every memory to keep forever. I want to have all the special times recorded to remember forever.

Technology is fabulous. I always have my iPhone with me and it is super handy when I want to capture something spur of the moment. The video recording also is very helpful when you have that impromptu concert or stunt that you don't want to miss. While my phone is great. My camera is better. I use a Canon digital camera. It is an amazing camera, but a couple of tricks that I have learned over the years make my pictures fantastic.

#1 tip is lighting. Lighting can make any photograph amazing. Overcast days and evening light is my favorite. A month ago I took my daughters Senior pictures. We had a professional photographer in mind that we wanted to use, but they went out of town at the last minute. My daughter and I decided that I would just take the pictures. I am not a terrible photographer, but definitely not professional. We went about 7 pm in the evening and took these pictures. (They was no Photoshop used. I have not figured that out yet.)

Light diffused by trees. 

Light diffused by trees

Soft evening light catches the light in her eyes and gives her face an even tone.

She is in focus, while the light from the water back lights her making her stand out and everything else is fuzzy (Because of this picture the place I had these developed asked me to sign a waiver that I had the photographers permission to use this photo. I told the clerk I am the photographer. Very proud moment :-)

The light catches in her eyes and gives her face a soft glow. Evening is awesome. 

Tip #2 Rule of Thirds and leading lines
According to Wikipedia:The rule of thirds is a "rule of thumb" or guideline proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines. Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.

I have tried to use rule of thirds and leading sometimes they turn out great and other times not so much. Here is my attempt.

She was joking around and turned around and I took the picture. I liked the result. 

Tip #3 Take lots of pictures. You never know what one will be your favorite and you may catch something that you really like. Taking these pictures of my daughter I took around 300. I had a lot to choose from.
Here are a couple of favorites.

Such a great smile. I love it!

I love how the light catches her gorgeous brown eyes. 

The last tip is to Archive your photos. There was quite a bit of teal blue in the background so I used the new My Mind's Eye Necessities Teal and Wood to enhance these pictures. The wood paper and teal vellum were perfect to do a simple layout. The pictures really popped. All the Necessities products are available at Allscrapbooksteals.com. Check out our Facebook page and Pinterest Page for more photography tips. Happy Crafting!!! Jacqueline