Spark The Light

Ucluelet, B.C., Canada

 "You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you." ~Unknown

That hit hard.

It feels more relevant at this point of my life than at any other, and the reason being is that starting 2 years ago, I finally began the journey to get that spark back.

It's been 10 long years since my last blog post. I won't bore you with the details, but basically through an unfortunate series of events, I was forced to give up on or set aside all the things in my life that contributed to the very essence of who I was as a person. My blog, my photography, my beloved martial arts gym that I co-founded and co-owned with one of my best friends, my volunteer work with the local women's shelter and crisis helpline, even my own children and immediate family were forced to the side at times because of a toxic relationship with a deeply insecure and narcissistic person. 

Fast forward another 10 years and another more fortunate series of events later and I'm free of that relationship and slowly but steadily working on healing myself and bringing all those things back into my life that were so essential to sparking that light in me.

I moved to a new city (actually, an old city were I used to live more than 25 years ago but I deeply appreciate it so much more now) and started a new chapter in my life as a now empty-nester. I'm in a new healthy and mutually supportive relationship with someone who loves me for exactly the quirky weirdo that I am.  Of course I have my ride-or-die senior rescue dog by my side at all times. Life is amazing. 

I recently finished an iPhone photography course that I thoroughly enjoyed. One of the sparks. I also learned to surf last summer, with the encouragement of my man, which allowed me the thrill of crossing off the Number One thing on my Bucket List. (It's been number 1 on there since I was 15 years old!)  Another spark. We enjoyed camping and celebrating birthdays with best friends, and a big family Christmas, all of which I haven't been able to be a part of in far too many years. More sparks.

This new year brings more opportunities to spark more light, and I've never been more excited about what the future brings, or more grateful for all that I have. 

This year will also see the return of this little blog, with some major revamps coming. Not for the sake of building a larger audience. Honestly it's really just one of the sweet, simple things in my life that brings me joy and sparks that light in me, even if hardly anyone else ever reads it. 

I hope it brings you as much enjoyment to read as it brings me to write. 

-J

And Then Suddenly They Weren't Little Anymore ....

One day they are these tiny sweet little creatures, dependant on you for everything, and then far too soon you wake up to find they are entering teenhood  and you're hanging on to your seat for dear life, haha!

I snagged a rare opportunity to catch a few shots of my growing boys, before they outgrew their patience for me and my Nikon ;) 

Enjoy every moment with your precious "littles", because one day they won't be so little anymore. Mine are almost as tall as me now! (Yikes!) 

-J ;) 

My Memories Digital Scrapbook Software GIVEAWAY!

GIVEAWAY CONTEST DETAILS:

First of all I just want to thank the My Memories team for their generous offer to let me host this giveaway for all of my awesome readers out there!

Alright, here's everything you need to know:

The Giveaway will start at 7 am today and closes on Sunday September 1st. at 5 pm

Visit the MyMemories webpage and choose your favorite digital paper kit or layout, and comment back here at the bottom of this blog post telling me which one you chose,

Enter the GIVEAWAY contest in the widget below.

One winner will be selected at random and I will email them the promo code for the FREE My Memories Scrapbooking Software download.

Each entries will count for a total of 3, and you can enter once a day, for the entire duration of the contest.

AND NOW FOR THE BEST PART!

This is the part you ALL get to be in on.  I will posting a promo code for ALL OF YOU to use  to get $10 off the software download and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store :

USE THIS CODE FOR A $10 DISCOUNT PLUS A $10 COUPON AT THE MyMemories online Store. That's a $20 savings overall.  Here's the code to use at the checkout:
STMMMS98222

So, while only ONE of you will win the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software for FREE,  the rest of you will have the opportunity to get a discount if you use the promo code  Remember that you can enter the GIVEAWAY every day once a day until next sunday!

Good luck! ;)

Share the Memories Digital Scrapbooking Giveaway

"My Memories Suite" digital Scrapbooking Software and a GIFT FOR YOU!

Hey everyone, I KNOW, It's been nearly forever since I wrote my last blog post but THIS TIME I have a really really good excuse!  AND my excuse leads to a really really good deal for one of YOU lucky readers!
The reason I've been MIA is because I've been distracted by this new digital scrapbooking software called  My Memories Suite from www.mymemories.com .  Now to be completely honest , I am NOT a scrapbooker by any stretch of the imagination, it;s just not my "thing", HOWEVER,  as a photographer, I am always eager to see what;s out there when it comes to the editing/finishing process.. I thought I would try out this digital scrapbooking software from the My Memories site and see how it checked out in terms of editing/scrapbooking/album  programs out there.

MY OFFICIAL REVIEW
Here I go on this honesty kick again, but as a longtime Adobe fan, and I love my Photoshop CS but I have to tell you, professional editing software is expensive, and can be quite technical  - it can be overwhelming to a beginner. Whether you are a scrapbooker who just wants to make her photos look more polished, or a blogger extraordinaire who is looking to take the blog world by storm, it's good news to hear that there is a program out there that is easy to use, affordable and still gives you good results for your photo albums.
I had a hoot playing around with this program! Everything was user-friendly - even a hassle free and simple download process which impressed me,  It DID take a bit of time to download  ( about 90 minutes actually - but maybe my well-used laptop is slowing down in it's old age, haha)  and mind you, it was a BIG file. However it is quite a powerful program and I was fascinated to see just how many creative possibilities it held.
As far as simple editing processes went, again it was easy to use, simple and efficient. There were at least a dozen different "effects" you could use, that were all simple actions that took place with just a single click the mouse. Nice!   The background patterns, colors and texture had tons of possibilities in their creative combinations. You can also look online for even more of their themed scrapbooking kits for inspiration.

As far as photo albums go, once you open the program, you have the option of selecting one of their many creative templates, or designing your own from scratch.
I used a photo of my newest furry addition to our family (our 8 week old puppy, Turk) to design my own layout and try some of the photo editing/finishing options and add some text. I'm kind of a minimalist at heart, so I kept the design simple and keep the focus on his cute little face. haha.

Before:

After using My Memories Suite

I have to admit that for a quasi-prejudiced Photoshop geek, I was super impressed with the professionalism the scrapbooking software had to offer.  Mind you, I  reviewed this from a photographer's angle, not a scrapbooker's, so I can guarantee an experienced "scrapper" could probably use this program to scrap circles around me in in terms of how much more it could handle, haha,  That;s one area where I admit I am totally out of my league.

But ya know what? THAT'S OK,  Because from my viewpoint, if you're an amateur photographer just starting out, or an avid blogger this could be just what you're looking for to get you on the right track. And it's actually fun to use too. Especially if you are a wannabe 'foodie" blogger, like me. If you hadn't noticed, my love affair with food has gone on for YEARS, haha.

My next project was influenced by my foodie fetish - A couple years ago I decided to start a family recipe cookbook that would encompass not only all of our secret family recipes passed down from generations,  include  photos of the prepared dishes, but also photos of our family ( kids included)  preparing and enjoying the food as well.  I plan to give printed, hardcover  copies to each one of my kids as a personalized 'housewarming" gift for the day they each move into their own homes. While that is a long way off yet, I've begun to collect recipes, and make sure my camera is nearby when we make them, so that I can begin my photo collection to go with the recipes.
I used one of the ready-made creative templates to create a 'ccokbook" album to see what said family heirloom recipe album could look like. Here's a page from my album:

Ya I know what you're thinking What's in it for you???


Here it is......  One of you, my dear precious readers, is going to get to WIN this software download for FREE!   How?  By entering the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking GIVEAWAY right here on my blog!  I will post the contest details right here on my blog TOMORROW.  So make sure you pop on over here tomorrow to check out how you can enter for a chance to win!
I'm super excited that My Memories asked me to host this giveaway for all my readers, and super pumped to give this away to one of you!
 AND! AND! AND!
There's more good news about the giveaway for ALL my readers but you'll have to wait until tomorrow's post to see what that is!
There, is THAT a good enough excuse as to why I haven't been around?

I'm off to go find something to eat since staring at those food pics made my tummy rumble....
See you back here tomorrow!
~J   Xo.

Candy Apple Autumn

This was our dessert last night! So yummy!   I will post the recipe under the "foodie" tab for anyone who wants it.
Yesterday was a home day for me, which is rare these days. I was actually kind of forced into it because I had somehow driven over a nail and popped my front drivers side tire, so my poor "Thumper" ( my aptly-named car) is hobbling along on a doughnut tire until I can get a new one, and I have to limit my driving severely.
All in all it was a productive day though, my oldest son helped with trimming the hedges and raking as I mowed the lawn.
Then once the kids were in bed for the night,  I sat down with my laptop working quietly away, and I was finally able to finish an editing project that was on my mind for some time.
They were some vintage-era inspired photos for a friend of mine, Lou Lou.
Check 'em out:

I had a ton of fun doing that shoot, she has a larger-than-life personality and she is such a character - love it! 

The rest of my weekend is back to busy again, but it includes a baby portrait session so I'm looking forward to that ;)
\
Candy apples and vintage dresses,
-J
 

Adventures in Blog-land

The fact that this post is happening on a weeknight is a small miracle in itself, but given that I am typing this from my dearest friend and mentor Barb's  basement, as she teaches me all sorts of new blog tips is SUPER EXCITING to me.

 Barb's task isn't an easy one, she has to reign me in and pull my dreamer head outta the clouds -

 -  long enough to teach me how to effectively link and network with other blog sites - in particular we are "focusing" on photography sites ;)

Sorry.   It was right there.    I had to.

The first site we visited was kevin & amanda . I particularly liked this post here about her fave camera strap.  I've been looking for a hassle-free way to haul around my camera(s) for years! Every strap I've ever had was stupidly annoying. Either it was too thin and dug uncomfortably into my shoulder after just a few hours, or it was heavily padded and slip off my shoulder every time I'd lift the camera to frame a shot.  None would rest properly at my side, and my poor camera would flail out awkwardly with each step. I was constantly in fear my lens would get bumped too hard and do one of two things: crack the lens, or the poor weight distribution caused by the awkward angle the camera hung at would cause the entire lens to pull away from the body and destroy both the lens and the body.  I'm so thankful to have finally been pointed in the right direction. (she had me at the point she mentioned  "cupcake" - don't judge me)  I have a feeling I can learn alot of handy tips from this site, and it's always nice to find other fellow cupcake-lovers blogger-photographers like me. (I know, priorities, right?)

 The next site was pioneer woman  This lady blows my mind with her constant creative inspiration. I have yet to find something she can't do.

On the more serious side, we visited ilovephotography, which had some phenomenal , inspiring shots as well.

I'm off to post comments on these and others' blogs who catch my interest, and get a running start to the world of networking opportunities!

Hope your day is inspiring and a little bit magical!

Hunting for good photo blog sites (and maybe a cupcake)
-J

 

Prints & Projects

Well, I did it! I finally got some work uploaded onto the Artist Rising site, as promised. YAY!  You can click HERE to go see my online gallery and check out my "Artist's Profile"  etc.  I don't have a lot in my gallery yet since I have to go through my archives to pull up all of the work I've been wanting to post. But it will get there! I also hope to do a few new painting projects this month as well. So far I have 8 photograph prints and 1 acrylic painting for sale on the site and I will add more art and art/photo collections as I go through my archives and (hopefully) categorize them.

Speaking of painting projects, I am hoping to get my hands dirty with a few more projects in the near future. More on that later though. 

Loaded paintbrushes and not nearly enough drop cloths in the world,  ha ha ha
-J

Busy week = BIG UPDATE!

Get ready for a major overhaul - the photo below of my tools doesn't even begin to cover the extent of the "building" that this blog  (not to mention my whole career) is going to undergo! 

I'm amazed at how FAST the time has gone by -  I can barely keep up with all the new stuff going on these days.(in a good way)  The good news is I have LOTS to share with you all in the next few weeks!  I've been steadily moving in a new direction over the past few years, and I'm so excited to share all the new changes this direction is taking me, I could almost  burst!
 I'm beginning a new business adventure again, ( to read about my last one, click here ) this time for my own online art store!  My love of photography has led me in a new direction, one that is way less client-centered and more art-inspired. I WILL still be doing photography, but my store will be more than just photo prints, I am also going to be selling my own paintings ( I do acrylic, and oil ) as well as my other handmade unique items, made not only by me by also my featured artist friends who are wonderfully talented.  I hope each of these will add a bit of happiness and inspiration to the lives of those who receive them! A tiny seed for this was planted in my heart a couple years ago, and since then that seed has grown in a dream that had rooted itself so deeply in my heart that it is now a part of me, and I am so excited to see it grow and slowly become a reality!   I will share more details over the following days and weeks as I can. Lots of fine-tuning to be done and many business details to be worked out, (I'm well-aware of the crazy time-consuming hours of hard work from when I started my first business with my friend Kendall)  but now that it's FINALLY happening I couldn't be more excited  - I'm ready to move forward!

I haven't had this much inspiration pumping creativity through my veins in YEARS!  I carry around THIS with me everywhere these days:

so that I can be sure not to lose any of the dozens of ideas floating around in my head at any given time, haha. It's already filling up with pages of ideas, notes, sketches, quotes and random inspirations that I don't want to let slip by. Oh, and my new favorite addiction these days is chai frappuccino's  - I'm going through them as quickly as I'm going through my art journal! haha

I spent last month cleaning out my mudroom to make way for my in-home art studio, so that I could have everything in one place, and I can make a big creative mess to my heart's content and not have to worry about cleaning it up when someone comes over, I can just close the door! haha ;)
Still have alot to do ( painting the walls, decorating, put up shelving, hanging canvas etc) but it's a start:

I already have a few things made and ready to hang, I'm super excited to post photos of them soon!
Once I get the online store ready, and I'm ready to list, I'll be sure to post photos of the finished studio and all the art projects as I finish them, including some fun DIY posts of stuff I've made to customize my studio! (custom fabric chandelier, anyone?)

In other news, I fell in love this week . ..  with these camera bags from epiphanie bags!

Saving up to get one, so I can haul my poor camera around with me EVERYWHERE while keeping it from gettting battered ( it still hasn't entirely forgiven me for dragging it around Mexico, haha)
you can see more here

I'll leave you with some random shots of pretties for your eyeballs to enjoy ;)  Remember to always look for the rainbow after each storm . . .

And stop to smell the flowers!

Hope your day is full of beauty and inspiration!

I'm off to go kick some butt in my taekowndo class ( www.outlasttkd.com)  and then home to continue customizing my new studio!  -J

Search for Spring Gear Begins Here

While I'm in the process of re-building up my assortment of photographic equipment (after a break in that left me robbed of almost all of it)  I am searching the internets for some really funky gear to haul my current gear around in!
Since I'm always on the run, I hate lugging around more than I need to. Laptop bag, camera bag AND a purse? NO WAY!  I want something to carry around my laptop, my camera,  AND my wallet, keys, cellphone and sunglasses. (with a handy lil' pocket to carry a lipstick as well? hey, I'm still a woman, after all! haha) 
So begins the search.....
I found some awesome, lightweight laptop sleeve/bags, one of which was love at first sight:

 

Laurex 17" Laptop Sleeve w/ Handle and Shoulder Strap

While it looks light and low maintance to carry around, it's basically just a sleeve with a strap.  Nowhere to fit all my junk!  So moving on, I found....

Tote Couture Quilted Laptop Case

The front pocket is perfect for all my personal crap,  but still no room for my camera! But look how pretty!  I  love the color and zebra print oh-so-much! I think maybe it would be okay to carry around this one on days I don't have my large SLR camera on me? ( nowadays I always carry a small digital camera for photo "emergencies" that I could easily fit in this bag with the rest of my stuffs)

My other option is to find a camera bag that will fit my camera and junk, sans laptop.  THAT would be okay as well.  I don"t usually need both my laptop AND my camera with me at the same time anyways unless I'm travelling.. Dare I go that direction instead?

Just when I began to think it was my only option, and that the elusive all-in-one bag was merely a practical daydream...

...I found it.

 The ultimate in all-in-one convenience, that doesn't scream "I'm a camera bag, steal me!" and is modern, funky,  and definittely not-your-dad's-camera-bag!

I like the bright orange red and black one on the right!

And! And! And! It's big enough to fit my laptop - and- my camera -and- all my other junk!

Yippee!

Now if only I can invent a way to strap a portable tripod to the side of that thing.!  =)