exposed.

our photo assignment this week had to do with exposure. more specifically we had to get at least one "high key" photo and one "low key" photo. i had no clue what either of these were so i turned to my good friend google. the way i understand it is high key photos are when the photo is overexposed and the subject slightly fades into the background. and a low key photo is taken in a dark(ish) setting with one light source to give a sort of eerie feeling.

these are a few of my highs & lows:

neither of my low key photos were taken in the dark or even in really dim lighting with a single light source, but i chose them because they had a lot of contrast between the darks and lights.

i'm a photographer now!

one of the main reasons i haven't blogged for a while is that school started about a month ago. i love it. i am super busy with work and/or school just about everyday. also i haven't had much to post about--until now. i am taking photography this semester which should be right up alley, but honestly i have been struggling with it. dslr {digital single-lens reflex, or those really fancy cameras} have so many different settings that i just cannot keep straight. luckily i have a super cute/amazing photog for a teacher. she is encouraging each of us to take a photo a day for a month using this list of items {also seen on pinterest or instagram}:

i'm a little behind seeing as how it is the 6th today but that just means i will need to play a little catch up, and i may go out of order. sue me.

#2: words

wish me luck in my class!

pinterest love.

{caramel topped shortbread}

amazingly i haven't been spending as much time as i was on pinterest. that's not really saying much though because i still get on it every opportunity i have. these are some of my favorites.

{i have a weakness for shoes}

{cute diy idea}

{festive cards}

{♡}

creative gift-giving.

this holiday season i don't have too much money to spend on my family & friends unfortunately. but lucky for me i am able to make a lot of the gifts i give which i think is better than spending loads of cash because it gives a personal touch that you wouldn't get otherwise.

{merry christmas! love kermit & miss piggy}

while my brother was in alabama, he collected quite a few bottle caps off the ground. he sent them home hoping i would do something with them for him. well i never really got around to it so i thought a christmas present would be the best thing to do with them.

i took a plain black photo album with a smooth cover from wal-mart and hot glued the bottle caps on in rows. i glued a little foam piece to the inside of the bottle caps to have a sort of platform to glue to the photo album so i didn't have piles of glue around the base of the caps.

for a personal touch i added one of his missionary badges in the center. afterall, this will be used for his many pictures from the mish.

turned out pretty cool right? i think he'll like it.

happy holidays everyone!

celebrate.

i LOVE birthdays. not just my birthday, but really anyone's. i love that there is a special day to celebrate specific people for no specific reason (other than the obvious of course). mostly i just like to celebrate.

saturday was this beautiful girl's birthday--the big 19!

katie is my best friend kamrie's little sister and i have basically adopted her as my own. she is beyond gorgeous and very talented. check out her sweeeeet tumblr here.

celebrating also gives me one more reason to get crafty! thanks to pinterest i get unlimited inspiration and here is what got me inspired:

aren't they pretty? i fell in love. how cute would they be for a little girls birthday (or a big girl...why not)? mine didn't turn out as festive as these, but next time i go to the craft store i will make sure to pick up some fun patterns & glitter paper to make the next ones just as fun.

how about you try making your own? the person who receives it will be thrilled!

what you need:

cardstock or pretty heavy scrapbook paper

this template (thanks to the wonderful blog Oh Happy Day)

pencil

tape

stapler

exacto knife

hole punch

scissors

any embellishments you want to make it awesome:

{i.e. strands of sequins, fabric ruffles, ribbons, crepe paper or tissue paper (for homemade pom poms and ruffles), glitter}

*i enlarged the template a little bit to make it fit for an adult head but it should be fine for little kiddies heads depending on how big (or high) you want them.

i used Oh Happy Day's instructions for the basic party hat right here and then embellished as i pleased. here are the instructions in case you don't want to go to her blog which i most definitely recommend checking out.

step 1: download pdf template. print & cut out template. trace template onto heavy paper.

step 2: cut out traced party hat.

step 3: put tab into slot.

step 4: punch a hole in each side for ties.

step 5: push ribbons through each hole and tie a knot to hold it.

step 6: embellish.

cutest sisters around.

i think it turned out pretty dang cute, and she of course wore it very well.

music lovin.

i really liked these covers. i thought maybe you would too.

meg & dia are darling. go listen to their other covers, you will enjoy i know it.

pinners anonymous.

{daily inspiration}

i'm addicted. i will admit it freely & i'm not ashamed. pinterest is where i spend most of my free time. so i thought i'd share some of my favorite pins thus far. i will make this a weekly feature so you can all keep up with the things i love -- so nice of me i know.

{i absolutely adore anything coconut}

{i obviously will be making this--stay tuned for a diy}

{i'm in love}

{chocolate labs melt my heart}

*click captions for sources.