April was a great month. Spring made itself felt. It was a nice change after the misery that was March. I found myself outside, riding my bike, enjoying the nice weather, looking at flowers, and creating lots of stuff. This squirrel above had raided our bird feeder but I didn't care because it gave me the perfect photo op. Nature … [Read more...]
A beginner’s guide to good photos for selling products online or documenting projects
I recently took a class at Quelab on product photography. I'm going to share the general process and a few of the cool tips I picked up. This is gong to be a beginner level overview of the process to give you an idea of how it works. If it's something you're looking to learn, it will be enough to give you some direction to start with. Or if … [Read more...]
Making a kid’s step stool/table- with pictures, lots and lots of pictures!
I recently made this kid's step stool for toddler B. (Plus it folds into a table!) In this post I'll share my process and steps. After joining Quelab, I knew I wanted to come up with something to make in the wood shop there. They require training on any of the equipment that is potentially dangerous before you're allowed to use it and the … [Read more...]
Making my own pinhole camera
When I was a kid, I remember making a pinhole camera out of an oatmeal canister. The 'film' was half a sheet of photo paper- torn, not cut and my picture was of a tractor. So when making pinhole cameras was mentioned at the recent photography class I took at Quelab, oatmeal came to mind. As it turned out, the cameras we made were a tad bit … [Read more...]
2019 – Picture a day challenge
Except for a few habits and things that I have to do most every week like work, I've decided to mostly focus on monthly goals for 2019. One of my exceptions to this is a goal to take at least two pictures every day: one of B and one without B. This goal is not original. I am stealing it from somebody else. I do take a lot of pictures of B, … [Read more...]
Making my own canvas prints from start to finish
About two years ago, I ordered a series of canvas prints from a place online. It felt like however they made them must have involved a bit of magic. How do they frame them all nice and how do they get the photo on the canvas anyway? I didn't really think over much about the process, but it definitely went in the this is something that I have … [Read more...]
How to make cool pouches with a laminator
These pouches/envelopes are quick and easy if you have a laminator (you could also try using self-sealing laminating pouches if you don't have a laminator). They're a fun project and make a great place to store any mostly flat objects- papers, receipts, etc. For this example, I made a pouch to store these cool snow people I … [Read more...]
Coffee table refinished
I picked up this coffee table for free when I was living in my first apartment. Back then, anything with the word FREE attached to it drew me like a magnet. These days, I know better... mostly. After I first got it, I spray painted the center piece, which provided suitable decor for my late teens and early twenties. At some point, part of … [Read more...]
Making bird houses
This bird house was here when we moved in. I think it is just so cute, but since it's lost most of it's roofing I doubt any birds are going to take up residence. A couple of days ago S came home from the store with a bird feeder and the declaration that he was going to make a bird house. It sounded like so much fun, I decided that I needed … [Read more...]
The challenges of entertaining a 1 year old
Perhaps one of the most helpful things I read about parenting was talking about how there are just so many different phases with kids as they grow up. A parent that sucks at the newborn phase might be great with a toddler. All parents have strengths and they're bound to find some phases easier than others. So if this phase is hard, one you're … [Read more...]