Month: March 2012

Pet Photograpy Tricks

Elsie at A Beautiful Mess Blog always has great ideas: Here’s her take on Pet Photography:

This next photography article is near and dear to my heart! My pets are some of my very favorite subjects to photograph. Jeremy and I melt over old photos of our pug so I try to take as many as possible of our new dachshund. It’s not always easy to photograph (hyper) animals but here are a few tips that might help…

1. Use Treats. (Duh, right?) This is the easiest trick in the book! Just grab your pets favorite treat (or toy) and hold it directly above or beside your lens. I took this photo of Dolly today and it took me 20 photos to get one good one because she was jumping around so much… worth it, though! Without the treat I probably wouldn’t have gotten a usable photo.

2. Use Props. This photo of my mom’s pug, Gigi, was taken on the day we brought her home. I grabbed a salad bowl from my kitchen table and set her in it. Brand new puppies are a little bit more calm I don’t think I could get either of my (older) dogs to sit on a bowl now! Work with what you have a try different props until something works.

3. Dress Up. Cheesy as it may be, animals in costumes are ADORABLE. I love costumes and the more your pets wear them, the less they will mind them. Here’s an iPhone pic of Dolly stealing my glasses…

4. Use Window Light When taking an indoor photo of your pet be sure to turn OFF your flash and use natural light. We’ve all seen photos of dogs and cats with “devil eyes” which are caused by using an on-camera flash. Turn your flash off for a much nicer image! If you are low on light guide your pet near a window. Position your back to the window with your pet in front of you (facing the window). Most of my favorite indoor photos of my puppies were taken using this method.

5. Pose With Your Pet When you are in the photo with your pet there will automatically be more personality, even when your face isn’t shown. I think it highlights the family aspect of having a pet. Photos where you are snuggling, playing or sleeping will be treasured memories that you will keep! I hope these tips inspire you to take more photos of your furry friends this week. xo. elsie

Paper Woven Basket

This is from doitang. There are no english instructions, but its definatley doable. Basically the creator created strips of recycle paper to weave a small basket. The strips were reinforced with sewing. Basketry is an art that requires patience. I’ve made several reed baskets and have found that once you get the first few side strips in, it goes much smoother. I love the idea of recycling the old paper though! Give it a try.

Is there Gold at the End of the Rainbow?

There is here! These pictures are all over the web. Make your own!

Take a baggie and put a few gold wrapped candies, like Rolos. Add in one of each rainbow colored twizzler licorice stick. Secure with tie. Or put into a jar. Either way is so cute!

Homemade Bean Bag Chair

For adult-size chair

Medium- to heavy-weight fabric for outer cover:
- for fabric 45” to 48” (115 to 122 cm) wide: 5 yards (4.6m)
- for fabric 54” to 60” (137 to 152.5cm) wide: 3-1/2 yards (3.2m)
Muslin for lining, yardage same as for outer cover
Zipper, 22″ (56cm) long
Polystyrene or plastic pellets, approximately 6 cu. ft. (1.85 cu. m). Note that more may be needed depending on the size of your bag. Check online (we suggest Amazon.com) or with doll stuffing suppliers, packing suppliers or upholstery suppliers for sources.
Other suggested filler to use would be packing peanuts. Use the ones that DO NOT dissolve with water
1″ (2.5 cm) grid, such as cutting mat or graph paper

For child-size chair

Medium- to heavy-weight fabric for outer cover:
- for fabric 45” to 48” (115 to 122cm) wide: 3 yards (2.7m)
- for fabric 54” to 60” (137 to 152.5cm) wide: 2-1/2 yards (2.3m)
Muslin for lining, yardage same as for outer cover
Zipper, 18″ (46cm) long
Polystyrene pellets, approximately 4 cu. ft. (1.27 cu. m)
1″ (2.5cm) grid, such as cutting mat or pattern paper

Follow rest of instructions at sewing.org HERE

Caramel Apple Jello Shots

So we tried apples… and guess what? YUM. Especially with my caramel flavored butterscotch schnapps jello.

(If you wanted something with a little bit more alcohol content you could always try them out with Van Gogh Dutch Caramel Vodka instead of butterscotch schnapps)

Shopping List (makes about 40 slices/shots)
10 small granny smith apples
1 envelope knox gelatin
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 drops yellow food coloring
1 envelope Land o Lakes caramel hot chocolate (Regular would do just fine if you can’t find caramel)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butterscotch schnapps
lemon juice

1. Half and hollow out apples cutting them from the stem down. I used a melon baller to hollow the apples and it worked well. After hollowing them squeeze some lemon juice on top to reduce browning.

2. Mix your 1/2 cup water with your envelope of hot chocolate in a medium sized sauce pan. Whisk it to make sure all the chocolate is combined. Add the 1/2 cup of coconut milk, whisk again.

3. Sprinkle your gelatin on top and let it sit a few minutes. Turn on low/medium heat and mix the gelatin until all is combined.

4. Add 1/4 cup sugar and simmer slightly until sugar is combined. Add your food coloring until you get the caramel color desired. I used two drops. Let mixture cool to warm. Pour in your 1/2 cup of butterscotch schnapps.

5. With your apples arranged so they fit tightly and secure on a cookie sheet, pour your caramel jello mixture into your apples. Refrigerate overnight.

6. Cut halves in quarters and those quarters in half again. Serve immediately. (The lemon juice can only prevent the browning for so long). Trim off the sides of the apples that have browned too much!

This is from Thatssomichelle – what a great idea and others, check it out!