February Sponsors Giveaway! $10 Target Giftcard

Hello everyone! I have been so busy and stressed out with other things, that I have completely forgotten to blog this week. But I'm back with something FANTASTIC... a Target giftcard giveaway! This is all thanks to my lovely February sponsors! They each have something fabulous going on at their websites.   Today, you can enter to win a $10 Target giftcard (just a little gift from the ACC sponsors!). Pretty cool, right? Go ahead and enter below :) a Rafflecopter giveaway All entries will be verified. The more times you enter the better chance you have of winning. Please be honest and only enter when you have done what the entry says to do. Giveaway will end on March 4th. Winner will be contacted shortly after. The winner will have a week to respond to claim their prize. If prize isn't claimed, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck! I love Canary Lane Photography!

Inspiration

Last week I talked about the series I'm starting, The Inspiration Project. Today is all about feathers! Feathers are so fun to draw/paint, and they can be either complicated or simple. This is what I'll be sketching today :)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Now it's your turn! What inspires you? This is what one of my lovely sponsors said:

Visit her Check out Canary Lane Photography! (they're amazing)

3 simple Photoshop tricks

As a somewhat new Photoshop user, I'm still figuring out little tricks that makes designing a bit easier. Today I'm sharing three simple Photoshop tricks that I use to jazz up my photos. I own Photoshop Elements 8, but I'm pretty sure these tricks can be used with most versions (you might need to take a look around your program for the same settings). 1. To draw perfectly straight horizontal or vertical lines, simply hold down the shift button. For dotted lines, click the brush icon in your toolbar, then click the same brush icon in the long toolbar near the top of the screen and change the spacing (I usually do about 300%).

2. To get the look of confetti, go to your brush settings (click the brush icon in your toolbar, then click the same brush icon in the horizontal toolbar near the top of the screen) and change the settings similar to the ones above. Note: using 'fade' will eventually completely fade out your confetti. Just keep using the brush

3. To 'colorpop' your picture, place a black and white layer of your photo on top of a color layer. Then erase the areas where you want color to show. I love Canary Lane Photography!

Festival

Last week I hung out at the Chinese Cultural Center festival. It was a perfect day (not too hot, not too cold) and filled with booths selling cute things. Oh - and you can watch the cool dragon dance I saw below. :)
Photos: 1. Dragon boat 2. Dragon dance 3. Painting 4. the festival

I love Canary Lane Photography!

"Bee Mine" Valentine Printables

Are you scrambling for last-minute Valentine's Day ideas? Me too ;) Well I was, until I made these 'Bee Mine' valentines today. They are super easy and cute! Go HERE to print out a sheet of six. You can write your "to and from"s on the back and attach a piece of candy if you'd like.

Happy (almost) Valentine's Day! Check out Canary Lane Photography's Valentine mini shoots!

The Inspiration Project

It is a great feeling to be inspired. I love it when i'm surfing the web and I see something that sparks a million ideas in my head. That's why I've decided to start something called The Inspiration Project   (Inspiration or T.I.P. for short). I will be posting often (usually about once a week, on any given day) about T.I.P, sharing photos and quotes. Why? Because I love sharing what inspires me, and I hope it will inspire you too. 

(at least this is what it's like for me)

Today is the first day of The Inspiration Project. Ever since the art challenge I did in January, I am so ready to create more! Here are some things that inspire me to whip out those paints and pens:

(from left to right) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
What inspires you? Check out this month's sponsor:

Owl Valentines

I love Valentine's Day! It's definitely one of my favorite holidays. I love the valentines exchanges, the treats, the hearts... I pretty much love it all. Here are some adorable owl valentines you can create yourself.

Supplies: Solid-colored cardstock, wrapping paper or patterned scrapbook paper, scissors, a glue stick, and a pencil.

First you need to download and print out your templates. To do this, go HERE and click 'download or print'. Cut the shapes out to use as stencils and trace around each one with a pencil on patterned or solid cardstock. Be sure to trace on the back of the paper, so your pencil marks won't show on the front side. You should have two wings, a body, a heart, a beak, one white shape and two smaller black dots (for the eyes).

Now glue the pieces on the body. Getting the wings in the perfect spot can be tricky - this was all hand-drawn so it's not perfect :) You may need to trim a corner off so the edges match.

Voila!

Aren't they super cute?

Now you can attach a piece of candy on the back with tape and write a cute little owl pun ;)

This project can be time consuming, so I would recommend making these valentines for a small bunch of friends. Don't be afraid to make them all different colors and patterns, too. I even jazzed some up with a thin coat of liquid glue on the wings and sprinkled on glitter.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Check out this month's sponsor:

Caramel Corn

This caramel corn is one of my mom's old recipes, but it's the best. I could seriously munch on this all day long. Actually, it was kind of my main course for lunch yesterday (teehee). Ingredients: 2 cups brown sugar 1 cup butter 1/2 cup white corn syrup 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon vanilla 10-15 cups popped popcorn Boil first four ingredients for 5 minutes. Stir in soda and vanilla. Pour over 10-15 cups popped popcorn. Mix well. Pour mixture onto waxed paper; let cool. Break into chunks. Enjoy! I know I will be... ;) Check out this month's sponsor:

10 Things I Can't Live Without

Let's jump right in to ten things I can't live without...

Zoe. Have you met my dog? Her name is Zoe and she is about nine years old. She's a chihuahua-dachshund mix (a.k.a. a Chiweenie) and hates being picked up. BUT, I couldn't live without her (she's my baby).  My Laptop. I can't really imagine quitting blogging. It has been such a big part of my life now that It's always on my mind. Needless to say, I would hate to lose connection with the blogging community. =)

Chocolate. 'Nuff said

Disney movies. The best thing to watch when you're sick.

My Camera. I love practicing photography and capturing sweet memories. I'm hoping I can upgrade to a DSLR soon.

Pizza. I could eat pizza every day of my life if I had to.

Sunsets. Arizona's are especially pretty.

Target. #1 on my Favorite Places to Shop list.

Music. I love making it and I love listening to it. I sing when I'm happy, sad, angry, etc. and it definitely helps.

And last but not least,

Love. Because who can live without it?

Psst... I'm linking this post up here.

What's something you can't live without?

Valentine Garland d.i.y.

Yesterday I saw Warm Bodies with some friends. I do NOT have a strong stomach at all, and it's a zombie movie. Zombies eat brains (and people too). Even though it was kinda gross, it was a really cute love story and had several hilarious parts. Speaking of love (sort of)... I made a cute + simple Valentine's heart garland. You can make one too!

1. Gather some baker's twine (I bought mine at Hobby Lobby) and felt. 2. Cut out a heart shape from paper for your template and pin it to the felt. 3. Cut out several hearts (I made a short garland, so I cut out seven) using the paper as a guideline 4. Hot glue the twine to the back of your hearts.
I love mine! It turned out exactly how I wanted it to :)

Check out this month's sponsor: