31 Days: One Sentence a Day

So far, all of my posts for this 31 Days series have been on capturing memories photographically.

However, this week, I'm going to do something a little different, and I challenge you to join in:

I'm going to start keeping a one-sentence journal on Twitter!

The idea began when I read this article a few months ago.

I love the idea of recording my memories, without feeling like I'm dealing with some sort of cumbersome daily task... with this set-up, in the worst case scenario, I can simply update right before I go to sleep from my phone.

I will have a link to my Twitter feed up in the side-column tomorrow, but for tonight, it's time to get some rest!

If you decide to join me, please leave a link to your Twitter in the comments so that I can follow you! :)

31 Days: I Fell Off the Bandwagon

Remember last Sunday when I said that I had been feeling crummy?

Well... maybe it wasn't so much a "had been feeling crummy" as it was a "currently feeling crummy."

Regardless, I've spent much of the last week vacillating between having tons of energy and feeling like death warmed over. As you can probably imagine, this hasn't left much time for blogging.

I do promise, however, to hop back on the bandwagon this week - two posts a day to make things up. :)

There are, after all, only 10 days left in this blogging challenge. It's time to finish strong!

31 Days: A Few Quick Reflections

Not much to post today, and to be honest, I can't say too much because I'm currently stuck posting from my phone. Apparently my computer is on a blogging strike.

Anyway.

I've spent the last 24 hours sorting on and off through a box of photos of my early years, and it's a rather interesting experience. There are so many photos that I couldn't possibly keep them all, but how do you determine the value of one photo over another?

I'm struggling with little decisions, like do I keep this photo of an unimportant event that I have actual memories of, or this cute photo of an equally unimportant event that I don't remember?

What pictures do I think my future children will be interested in? What will I wish I had copies of later in life?

Maybe I'm a photo hoarder, maybe I'm sentimental, or maybe I'm just normal... But this task is much more difficult than I thought it would be!

31 Days: We Will Remember

For today's Sunday inspirational post, I thought I'd share a song. We've been singing this song at church and I absolutely love it!

Enjoy!

31 Days: Instagram Scrapbook Pages

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday - I was not feeling well at all - stress induced migraines are YUCKY! :)

Anyway, I thought I'd make it up by showing you some of these neat scrapbook pages that people have made with their Instagram photos. I SO want to try making one of these!

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31 Days: Instagram Dog

Happy Fall Y'all!

31 Days: The One IG'er You MUST Follow

If you are into iPhone photography at all, there is one Instagramer (IG'er) that you absolutely must follow - AMPt.

AMPt stands for Advanced Mobile Photography Team, and they post some of the coolest Instagram photos each and every day. In addition to showing you the images, they also tell you the backstory and provide a detailed explanation of which apps and tools they used to create the effect so that you can duplicate it on your own.

If you are looking for some amazing photographic eye candy, a little bit of inspiration, or a tutorial on how to improve your iPhoneography, AMPt is definitely the place to look!

31 Days: Instagram Fall Photo Challenge

What do you all think about having a little fall photo challenge? Over the next 21 days, I challenge you to see how many of these photos you can capture, then upload them to your Facebook and/or Instagram for all to enjoy. (P.S. if you're on Instagram use the tag #mtlfallchallenge so that we can see your work!)

1. Autumn decorations
2. At least one pumpkin
3. Dressed in fall colors
4. Your favorite fall scent
5. An artistic shot of an apple
6. Fall morning
7. Fall evening
8. Autumn leaves
9. A [fall] word
10. A good [fall] thing
11. The color orange
12. The color red
13. The color brown
14. Something you're thankful for
15. Cozy and warm
16. Comfort food
17. A special fall project
18. Something you're thankful for
19. Sweet treats
20. Somebody in a costume
21. The first day of November

31 Days: Print Those Instagrams!

As my Instagram shots have gotten more artistic, I've been thinking more and more about how I'd like to print them. The photos are, after all, a little tricky to get printed since they are square! A little bit of online scouting and Pinterest stalking has brought me to these three websites that offer really neat ways to get your Instagram pics printed. I can't vouch for the services (yet) but I'd love to hear in the comments if you have tried any of them out!

1. ImageSnap - I've seen several posts that link back to the website ImageSnap, where they create cute little "Teeny Tiles" that are magnets made with your Instagram photos. Each Teeny Tile costs about $4, and can also be created using Facebook photos.

2. PostalPix - This nifty little app allows you to order 4x4 prints of your favorite Instagram photos directly from your iPhone. A nice little bonus - PostalPix has a pretty high rating in the iTunes store!

3. Blurb - I can honestly say that I've heard nothing but good reviews of Blurb, and they now offer a sweet little Instagram book for $10.95. I may have to order one of these for myself!

Any other good recommendations out there?

31 Days: Instagram Week

It's no secret that Instagram is *THE* newest trend. While some naysayers might say that we'll regret not having as many sharp, vivid images one day... I say forget it and embrace the trend! We're going to regret our choices of fashion and art one day regardless.

Therefore, I've decided to dub this week Instagram week, at least over here! ;)

I don't have much for you tonight, but throughout this week you can look forward to:

- Neat projects to do with all of those Instagram photos
- Tips, tricks, and tutorials
- A fun fall photo-a-day challenge
- And more!

I can't wait, and I hope see you back tomorrow! :)

31 Days: Photos of God's Faithfulness

My current post series recently started me thinking about Joshua 4, where the Lord tells the Israelites to gather 12 stones from the river and pile them to make a monument as a memory of all that he had done for them. He then commands them to tell their children that they represent the many things that He had done for them, whenever they ask what the stones mean.

I think sometimes when we capture photos we only grab them to celebrate the moment, or capture faces or places. Truthfully, though, a picture can mean so much more. The moments we capture on "film" can stand as lasting testimonies to future generations on all that God has done... just as one little acorn, like the one above, can grow into a mighty oak tree.

What kind of story of God's faithfulness do your photos tell?

In addition to my 31 Days series, this post is also part of:

31 Days: Going Through the Archives

Recently, on a quest to find 50 pictures of my aunt to celebrate her 50th birthday, my Mom and sister dug up a BUNCH of old family photos. I've seen several of them, but can't wait to get my hands on the boxes and help sort through them!

Meanwhile, in the spirit of "capturing memories," here are a few of my favorite photos - photos that include...

The quintessential school photos...

My senior picture. Note the feather boa and attitude earrings. 

Ninth grade, Wal-Mart portrait studio, and the most painful earrings I've ever worn.

Memories of autumns past...

At the corn maze just outside of Indianapolis. 

 Same vacation, at the pumpkin patch. My little Florida tushy was FREEZING!

Family portraits throughout time...

1994

2008

2010

 2011

 2012

And awkward moments you never even knew existed on film.

WHY? 

I've been informed that we are singing, not screaming in this picture.

I encourage you to go dig out old family photos this week if you have access to them, because you never know what you may find, and what hilarious memories you might recall. :)

31 Days: Picaboo Review

Since there's currently a Living Social deal available nationwide for Picaboo, I thought I'd offer up a quick review.

I used Picaboo for both my wedding album and a photo canvas (see above) for the entryway of our apartment. Both were excellent quality, and I'd definitely order from the website again. In fact, I just bought the deal to use for our Christmas cards this year!

In order to create your photo projects, you'll need to download their software, which I found to be super user-friendly and intuitive. Basically, all you have to do is select the type of project that you'd like to make and drag and drop your photo(s) into place.

Shipping costs are reasonable and, in my experience, purchases arrive quickly.

The photo canvas I ordered looks amazing, and is comparable to the other photo canvases on the market. I wouldn't pay full price, as I've found better deals elsewhere, but they regularly go on sale at Picaboo, and there are social buying coupons (Living Social, Groupon, etc.) every few months.

The photo book isn't exactly "wedding album" quality (though I will admit that I purchased one of the lower-end books) but if you're looking for a nice photo book, Picaboo's books definitely fit the bill. The book is sturdy, the cover looks fantastic, and the pictures all came out crisp, bright and colorful.

In summary, the deal available on Living Social is totally worth the money. Picaboo is a great way to creatively save your memories. :)

31 Days: Thursday Thought

Memories don't have to be big to be worth capturing.

Take, for example, this photo from today. Dustin and I got a good laugh out of it. We've declared this photo "Chairman of the Board." (First order of business: more food for Toby!)

31 Days: Saving Wedding Memories

Since today is Pin for the Win Wednesday, I thought I'd share a little craft that I did quite a while back. Okay, so maybe it was last Christmas - but it seems fitting for this post series and will help you get in the Christmas crafting mood. (We've gotta start now, or we never will, right?!)

Here is the idea I originally pinned:

(Originally posted at the blog "... From Glitter to Gumdrops")

Basically, the concept is to take a wedding invite, cut it into strips, curl it, and then stick it into a glass ball ornament. Easy peasy. The Mr and I didn't actually have wedding invites (yay for eloping!) so I used one of our bajillion leftover post-wedding announcements. Here is my result:

Not as classy as the original, but it's definitely not too shabby. I am looking forward to proudly displaying it on my tree this year. :)

31 Days: My Favorite Camera Apps

It's been said that the best camera to shoot with is the one that you have - so in that case, the best camera for me to shoot with is usually my iPhone! I've captured a lot of memories over the last year on my iPhone, so I thought I'd share five of my favorite apps for capturing and editing photos. :)

1. Camera+ - $0.99 - I don't usually shoot with this app, because it's slow to load and somewhat cumbersome, but I do use it to shoot still life photos, since it allows you to have multiple points of focus. I also love the editing tool, called Lightbox, that allows you to import and edit photos shot with the standard camera app.

2. Snapseed - $4.99 - This app is sometimes referred to as the Photoshop of the iPhone - and even though I'm just starting out with it, I can understand why. It does have a fairly steep learning curve, but I've heard a rumor that Molly Newman at ReneePearson.com is going to be offering a self-paced workshop on the app... Can't wait!

3. Phonto - FREE! -This app only does one thing, but it does it well! Using this app, you can add text (in a huge variety of fonts) to your photos. Love it!

4. iQuikDoF - FREE! - As the name would suggest, this app allows you to quickly and easily create TiltShift and focus effects in your photos. All you have to do is mask the area that you wish to keep focused and then adjust a slider to blur the background.

5. Instagram - FREE! - This one may be fairly obvious to iPhone fiends, but I couldn't possibly make a list of my favorite camera apps without sharing it! I never shoot with the apps camera, but instead import my previously edited photos. :) If you're already on Instagram, I highly recommend that you check out AMPt for some amazing tutorials on iPhotography and gorgeous eye candy!

So, there you go, my favorite apps! I'd love to hear yours, too. If you have any recommendations, please share them in the comments. :)

31 Days of Capturing Memories

I've hemmed and hawed about it for the last month, but today I decided to take the plunge!

I'm going to be joining a fabulous group of over 700 bloggers led by the blog Nesting Place for "31 Days 2012." Basically, what this means is that I'm committing to a blog post each day for the entire month of October on a specified theme, particularly "Capturing Memories on the Journey of Life."

I hope that you'll stop by each day and see what I have to offer. You never know what it might be - I'm planning some tutorials, DIY projects, reviews, a few inspiring thoughts, and maybe even some other goodies! :)

I'll see you tomorrow for the first real post of the series!