December 23, 2024

Saturdays with Shauna: Photography! Part 1

October 20, 2012 by

PHOTOGRAPHY

 

This week I thought I’d start a mini-series and share something with you that is near and dear to my heart.  Some of you may know that I used to run a part-time portrait photography business a few years ago and I still love to take pictures even though I’ve closed the business.  Photography is something I feel we take for granted now that we have digital cameras and the ability to take as many pictures as we want… some of you may remember the days of film when we had 24 or 36 shots to a roll and we were much more discerning in what we deemed photo worthy.  Then we had to wait anywhere from an hour to a week to see the prints!  These days, we come back from vacation with 2,000 digital photos to sort through and many of them never even see print.  It’s such a shame that treasures like this end up living on our computer or camera cards instead of in frames on our walls so they can be enjoyed.

In my opinion, photography is the greatest invention of mankind; it is truly a gift from God that we are able to preserve our memories and the faces of our loved ones for future generations.  I would like to share some of my thoughts and tips with you in the next few weeks on getting great shots that you and your family will treasure in the years to come and also how to get those images into frames and albums so they can be appreciated.  I also want to show you how to archive and manage your digital media so you don’t lose your images in the event of a hard drive crash.

Me with my parents a LONG time ago 🙂

 Week 1 – Getting the Shots!

First of all, you have to actually take pictures!  Some of us get busy and forget and we let months or years go by without really taking any photos, except maybe at functions like graduations and weddings.  Especially if you have little ones, pets, and elderly people in your lives, you really need to make an intentional effort to take photos of them often.  Little ones don’t stay little for long and sadly, pets and elderly relatives aren’t getting any younger.  I don’t mean to be Debbie Downer, but having lost all of my grandparents by the time I was 19, my dad when I was 21, then my mom when I was 27, along with my father-in-law in 2006 and our beloved toy poodle, Ginger, last year, I find myself wishing all the time that I had taken more photos of all of them.

Here are some ways you can be intentional (there’s that word again!) about taking photos of your loved ones for posterity:

Look at every day as a photo opportunity!  You don’t have to wait for a family get together or a holiday, just take photos!  In your backyard, in the living room, at the park, whatever.  Especially if you have young children – they change and grow up fast so you really need to make it a point to take photos of them often.  Use your camera or your smart phone if you have to, but just make sure to get the shots.

My son, Gunnar, having dinner one night at home <3

Create your own “family photo days”.  Schedule a day and take your family to a scenic venue for some family photos.  Do it once a month or once a year, it doesn’t matter – just do it.

My sister-in-law (at the time), me, and my brother… love that 70’s film look! lol

Use the holiday season and family get togethers to take photos.  Maybe you don’t see Aunt Judy but once a year at the family reunion.  Make sure to take a photo of her!  Maybe with the birth of a new baby there’s now five generations alive in the family – get them together for a group shot.  Maybe Great Grandma is celebrating her 97th birthday – get a picture of her blowing out her candles.  Or Uncle Joe flew in from Timbuktu for Christmas this year.  You get the picture (pun intended 😉 )

Get in the shot!  Maybe you’re like me and you abhor photos of yourself.  You avoid the camera at all costs and make jokes about breaking the camera lens when someone forces you to pose for them.  Quit it!  Your kids and their kids and so on and so forth, will treasure photos of you one day.  Get out from behind the camera once in awhile and get in the shot.  Use a tripod and your camera’s self-timer or give the camera to someone else.  Your loved ones won’t care about how bad you think you look in the picture, they will cherish photos of you regardless of what you looked like.

Our toy poodle, Ginger, who passed away in February 2012

Don’t forget Fido!  Our pets are like family too and they have a much shorter life span than we do.  Sometimes we neglect taking their photo because they’re always around.  But unfortunately, your beloved pet won’t be around forever.  Be sure to take plenty of photos, even if it’s just a picture of the dog lying on the couch.  One day you’ll be glad you did.

Next week, I’ll have some basic tips for you on taking better pictures!  In the meantime, your homework assignment is to take some photos this weekend!  Be sure to share some of them on our Facebook Fellowship page and comment below and tell us about your experience! 🙂

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Saturdays with Shauna: Knitting!

October 13, 2012 by

Now that the weather is getting cooler here in Middle Tennessee, there’s nothing more relaxing to me than curling up under my favorite blanket with a steaming cup of hot chocolate next to me and a quick knitting project in my hands!  I discovered a love for knitting several years ago.  For me, it is calming and I get a sense of accomplishment when I can finish a quick project in a few hours’ time.

One of my favorite projects is a simple knit hat, which can be finished in one sitting if you have a few hours to spare.  Even if you don’t know how to knit, this is a great starter project and I’ve posted links along the way to help you learn!  A great resource for learning the basics is knittinghelp.com. There you can find free videos that show you how to do everything from cast on, knit, purl, cast off and everything in between.  So if you don’t understand something, search for a video on knittinghelp.com or check their message boards.

Now, let’s get started! 🙂

 Simple Knit Hat (adult size)

 

This is me sporting one of these hats I made last fall

 You will need: 

Size 13 knitting needles – 16” circular 

Size 13 double pointed knitting needles (set of 5)

One skein of Lion Brand “Hometown USA” Super Bulky yarn (weight 6) in your choice of color (or about 5 oz/81 yards of any other super bulky weight yarn of your choice, I just prefer to use Hometown USA because it’s inexpensive – $2.79/per skein on amazon.com — and comes in a variety of great colors for fall)

A large-eyed tapestry needle

A stitch marker 

A tape measure

To start, cast on 48 stitches using the circular needles.  If you are unsure how to cast on, see this video:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/long-tail-cast-on

Row 1:  Knit and join together, being careful not to twist.  Knit the entire row, marking the beginning of the row with a stitch marker.  To see how to join and make sure not to twist, see this video:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/circular-needle

And to learn the “knit” stitch:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/the-knit-stitch-english-english  And here is some information on using stitch markers:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99967

Knit every row until your work measures 8” long.

After you’ve got 8” knitted, you’re going to K2tog (knit two together) all the way across the next row.  Here is a video on how to K2tog:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/knit-2-together-english

Knit the next row.

Switch your work to the double pointed needles.  At this point, you should have 24 stitches, so just slip each stitch onto a double pointed needle – 6 stitches on each of the 4 needles.  Use the 5th needle in the set to work with.  Here is a video about working on double pointed needles (DPNs):  http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/double-pointed-needles

K2tog across the next row.

Knit the next row.

Now you’re ready to finish!  Cut your yarn and leave a 6” tail.  Thread this into your large-eyed tapestry needle and carefully transfer the remaining stitches off of the DPNs and thread your needle through them.  Pull the yarn tightly to gather the top of the hat.  Then stick your needle through to the inside of the hat and turn the hat inside out so you can weave in the end of the yarn on the inside where it won’t be seen.  Here is a post that talks about weaving in ends:  http://www.knittinghelp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109276

Basically, you’re just going to work the yarn tail through a few stitches inside the hat (make sure you’re not going all the way through!  You don’t want to be able to see it on the right side of the hat) so that it doesn’t unravel.  After you feel like it’s tucked in there good and won’t come out, you can cut off any remaining length of your tail.

Guess what?  You’re DONE!  And you have a cute hat that you made to show off to all your friends!  It was fast and inexpensive too!  You could whip out a few of these for Christmas presents and bless everyone you know!  And as you learn more about knitting, you can add your own variations such as stripes in different colors or incorporating the purl stitch to make your hat look different.  I’d love to see your hats and hear about your projects, so please leave a comment below!  I hope you enjoy making many hats in the future and if you’re new to knitting, I hope this tutorial has sparked your interest in the craft!  Happy Knitting!

<3 Shauna

You can visit Shauna Jared’s personal blog, Work Home Play, for more crafts, DIY projects, and recipes!

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Saturday’s with Shauna Jared

October 6, 2012 by

This blog is brought to you today by Shauna Jared

I am so excited that I was asked to do the Saturday craft/fun blog for the Singles Ministry here at GCH!  I love all things crafty, although it’s hard for me to find time to actually do them… but recently I’ve discovered a new craft obsession that’s relatively easy and inexpensive as well as relaxing, so I thought I would share it with you guys!  Hand embroidery! 

 

Now, I know what you’re thinking.  Embroidery?  You mean dishtowels with animated vegetables and teacups on them?  Puppies doing laundry and washing dishes?  Well, you certainly can embroider those patterns if you would like (I’ve found TONS of free vintage embroidery patterns online… see the links later in this post) and I actually find some of those old patterns quite charming!  As the Bible says in Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I make all things new.” 😉  But there are plenty of modern embroidery patterns out there and you can make anything from tea towels to quilts to embroidering on clothing and tote bags!  And embroidered items can make fantastic gifts!  (Christmas is only 79 days away, ladies…. )

 

So, let’s get started, shall we?

 

I’m currently working on a tea towel with some funky flowers on them (see photo above), so I’ll tell you what you’ll need for this project and where to get patterns and how to get them on your tea towel (or pillowcase or whatever your project is going to be!)

 

Basic tools you will need:

 

Embroidery pattern ( this is a link to Aunt Martha’s, but there are plenty of other options.  The one I’m using is “Fantasy Flowers” found at sublimestitching.com)  

Embroidery needles 

Embroidery hoop (5” – 7”) 

Embroidery floss (how many and colors will depend on your particular project) 

Blank Tea Towel (or pillowcase, tote bag, shirt, quilt piece, baby bib, whatever… you get the picture.  A “blank” just means an item that has no design on it – it is awaiting your brilliant embroidery masterpiece)

An iron and ironing board… I think most everyone already has these 😉

 

And depending on what type of pattern you have, you may need the following:

 

Vellum tracing paper 

Iron-on transfer pen

 

 

First, let’s talk about the pattern.  You can buy iron on transfer patterns and all you will do is simply follow the instructions on the package and iron it on to your blank.  Simple!  You can find the “Aunt Martha’s” brand of iron on transfers at Wal-Mart or JoAnn’s and these are usually the vintage type patterns.  I’ve also found a couple of awesome websites that offer iron on patterns for purchase:

 

Pattern Bee:  http://patternbee.com/MENU.html

Sublime Stitching:  http://www.sublimestitching.com/ (the pattern I’m currently using in the photo at the beginning of this post is “Fantasy Flowers”… they also sell everything else you would need for embroidery in their shop!  Even beginners kits!

 

You can also find patterns online (some free, some purchased PDF’s) to print at home.  You would then need some vellum tracing paper and an iron-on transfer pen in order to get the design onto your blank.  I’ve found many websites that offer free vintage embroidery patterns, so you would need the tracing paper and transfer pen to use these.  You would simply print your pattern out, then place a piece of tracing paper over it.  It is thin, so you can see the pattern underneath.  Use your iron-on transfer pen to trace the design onto the paper.  Then follow the instructions that come with the pen and iron it on to your blank.  Easy peasy!  (NOTE:  If there is lettering, make sure you are tracing it BACKWARDS so that the words show up correctly on your blank when you iron it on!  Let’s not talk about how I found this out…)

 

Here are some resources I’ve found for free patterns:

 

Pattern Bee:  http://patternbee.com/MENU.html (offers some freebies)

Vintage Transfer Finds:  http://mytransfers.blogspot.com/

French-Knots: http://www.french-knots.com/

nanaCompany: http://nanacompany.typepad.com/nanacompany/ (beautiful blog and they offer some freebies)

 

I’m sure there are other ways to get your pattern on to your blank, but these are the two best ways, in my opinion 

 

Now that you have your pattern on your blank, you’re ready to go!  

 

Next, you need to put the hoop on your project to help you make even stitches and keep even tension.  Take the hoop apart and put the piece that isn’t adjustable underneath your fabric.  Your whole project doesn’t have to fit inside the hoop, you can move it around when you need to work on another part.  Now put the piece that has the adjustable screw on it on top of your fabric, over the other hoop, and push down until they go together.  Then you will need to tug at the fabric all the way around the hoop edge to make sure it’s good and tight.  And tighten up the screw if you need to.  Be sure to remove the hoop from your project when you’re not working on it for an extended period of time.  You don’t want it to get “hoop burn”!

 

Now, thread your embroidery needle with some floss and make a knot at the end… then we’ll take a look at a basic embroidery stitch!

 

The Back Stitch

 

 

So easy!  This is the stitch I’m using in the photo at the top of this post. Simply bring your needle from the back of your work, up through at “1”, back down at “2”, then back up again in front of “1” at “3”.  Then you would go back down at “4” and so forth.

 

There are other stitches you can do to get different effects, such as the stem stitch, satin stitch, split stitch, and French knot.  If the pattern you choose requires one or more of these stitches, it should give you a tutorial in the instructions.  If not, you can Google the stitch to find instructions or even find video tutorials on YouTube 

 

So that should be enough to get you on your way!  Are you addicted yet?  I certainly am.  I can’t wait to see your projects and hear about your new found love of embroidery, so please make sure to share in the comments below!  Praise God for embroidery!  Have a blessed day! 

 

<3 Shauna

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