Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Lovely Photo Wednesday or One Word Wednesday?

Hello friends! I've got a question for you today, as evident by the title. While I've had a blast so far with One Word Wednesday, I'm actually really missing Lovely Photo. Plus, the collaboration that my mom and I are working on is very similar to One Word. Therefore, I'm wondering if you'd all give me your opinion -- which do you prefer? Lovely Photo or One Word? And why? There will be no link up this week due to this -- but head back next Wednesday to see what's happening. ;)

Thanks sweet friends! And because I can't leave a post pictureless...(or maybe because I want an excuse to share this photo of Gracie -- you decide. ;))
grace

( much ) love.
Hannah

Monday, March 28, 2011

Fly


fly
fly
fly
Swooshing, swinging, touching the sky,
Wind whispering ripping cries,
Clinking chains, hands gripped tight,
Hair filling and flowing by,
Dropping -- whoosh -- intake of breath,
Soaring high, blue sky melds,
Brushing the sun, eyes closed tight,
Hair rippling in wind, breeze grasped soft,
Curled hands unclasp, breath held quick,
Leaving seat and earth behind,
One more swing, once more swift,
Releasing grip on what's below,
Breaking face up towards sky,
Quickly, swiftly, going high and low,
Let go fast and
Fly.

A little more poetry to start off the week. Definitely more of a freeverse poem with no distinct rhyme scheme, rhythm, or whatnot. That's how I like to write them though. While I sometimes enjoy crafting a poem that's in a set form, I usually feel that it's too constraining. I prefer to let my words flow in wild ways and unconstrained sound.

On another note, how's your Monday going so far? Mine is proving to be busy, but good. Hoping to get a lot accomplished today -- wish me luck. ;) Blessings on your week, sweet friends!

( much ) love.
Hannah

Saturday, March 26, 2011

I am...intentional.

Penned in my Bible, scrawled in red capital letters by Psalm 139 are the words, "I am not an accident."

I am not an accident.

I am intentional. The well-known verses of Psalm 139:13-14 hold such powerful truth, yet in hearing it time and time again, do we just gloss over it? These are life-changing verses and yet do we dig deeper? Do I dig deeper? Is that how I'm living life? On the surface? Like an accident?

I am not an accident. I am intentional.

My mission is to live fully alive and wholly for Him on this wild land we call earth, amidst unbelievers, scoffers and haters. And to love. I'm created intentionally to love. To live vivid.

"Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."(Psalm 139:14b)

My soul doesn't just know it -- it knows it very well. Wonderful are your works. His works. If I am His work, then I am wonderful. Beautiful.

Intentional.

My whole being and person was created intricately by God -- my soul declares the wonder of His works. I am wonderfully made; my soul knows it well.

Not just well. Very well.

I am...intentional.

With all intentionality, there is a purpose. All of life is intended for a purpose. To live for Him, fully alive, wholly in love, and completely trusting. Intentionally living. Using our gifts and talents. Creating. We create because He creates. And the Lord creates intentionally.

I am not an accident.

I am intentional.

I am fearfully set apart -- wonderfully made and chosen by my God, for my God. A child of the Everlasting and a lover of Jesus. One small person on this vast land that I'm passing through. Part of a holy race -- a chosen generation. To be set apart is to be the farthest thing from an accident. To be set apart is to be declared by God to be His own.

Chosen.
Intentional.
Wonderful are your works, O God.
My soul knows it well.

Very well.

Open my eyes to the eternal. I need not new material things, but a new heart. Lord, fill my eyes with you.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Spring Bloom Giveaway Winner!


Thank you so much to everyone who entered!
I loved being able to share the fabulous necklaces of Erin (Little Bird * be absolutely lovely).
And now, the winner is...
giveawaywinner
Congratulations! Send me your address and you'll have a beautiful new spring necklace coming your way!
Thanks again friends -- stay tuned for another lovely giveaway! :-)


Much love.
Hannah

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

One Word Wednesday — Nostalgic ( or nostalgia )

It's the third week of One Word Wednesday. The word (or theme) for this week is Nostalgic. What memory or sight makes you smile at its bittersweetness? Melancholy memories may be welcomed at times, but sometimes, it's the sweeter thoughts of times before that make you smile. My memory? This fairy house at my grandparents. It's been hanging on the kitchen lamp for as long as I can remember, and almost all of us grandkids have sat on the long wooden table as babies, staring up at it as my grandpa twirled it.
A few more details...
One Word Wednesday at Aspire
Every week, there will be a a new word. On Wednesday, you can link up your photo with that word. For example, if the word was water, you could link up a photo you took of rain. It's like a photo challenge without any pressure. Just a weekly photo meme link up. Sound fun? Good. :-)

Some guidelines...
  • The photo must be one that you've taken.
  • If you've got multiple linkups/photos, note which one is for One Word Wednesday.
  • Make sure to include the button in your post.
  • And most importantly, make sure to bloghop around a bit and visit and leave a comment on three other entries. It's more fun that way! :-)
signsofspring

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Today.

nostalgic
Wind blows and whooshes swiftly,
Rain falls in sheets on dark, deep ground,
Dry earth soaks up falling teardrops,
Blue sky dons a gray gown,
Through the trees, blowing breeze,
Whistling through the world,
Brings a cooling rain that comes,
Dropping from the sky, slipping down from high,
Scenting the earth with wet perfume,
After thunder has ceased to boom,
Wind has stopped its blowing sting,
Gray gowns are replaced by rainbow,
Winter finally changed to spring.

A poem by me. Sometimes I like to write poetry -- especially on days like today. It's wet, rainy, and windy today. But no snow...so today, looks as if it'll be a good day. I love wet, sloppy, rainy, windy weather sometimes. Like today. How's the weather where you live? And what's your favorite type of weather?

Blessings on your Tuesday!
Much love.
Hannah

PS One Word Wednesday's word is Nostalgic. Get your photos ready for tomorrow, sweet friends! :)

Monday, March 21, 2011

A few more signs of spring...

signsofspring
the snow melting into puddles of water, sloppy over the yards.

signsofspring
(had to share this one again) Bubble blowing.

signsofspring
Chalk drawings.

signsofspring
Buds poking through damp dirt.

signsofspring
Sap dripping.

And...

signsofspring
The absence of boots.

Is spring appearing where you live? Hoping that it's getting wonderfully warm and spring is saying "hello!" We had a brief salutation from spring but we're due to have some snow come Wednesday. Oh, well. Like my friend, Allison, said:
"Spring will come Hannah. I don't think our wishing and impatience will make it come any faster than it will. ;) Why not enjoy the these days while they are here? :) These days will make Spring look glorious! Don't you think?"

Hoping your week is blessed -- and that you have a lovely Monday! :)
Much love.
--Hannah

Friday, March 18, 2011

( friday ) favorite things

friday favorite things | finding joy I'm joining in with my lovely momma for ( friday ) favorite things. Celebrating, as my mom said, "those moments of joy in the midst of the everyday." All the lovely grace gifts throughout the week. I'm excited about this. Thankful for all the precious moments in midst of normalcy ( or ) chaos. Make sure that you head over and link up as well, sweet friends! :)


Here are my ( friday ) favorites...
*********

fridayfavoritethings
Bubbles in March.

Making homemade pizza.

Staying up late watching Biggest Loser, Survivor, Top Chef, Cupcake Wars, Amazing Race, and Chopped Allstars with my mom and sisters.

fridayfavoritethings
Colors.

Swinging by the store with my dad on the way home from ballet at ten at night.

Snapple.

Forty degree weather. :)

Snow finally melting.
Snow finally melting.
And once more...
Snow finally melting.

fridayfavoritethings
Carrots.
(okay -- I absolutely love carrots. Not the little baby ones, but the ones you've gotta peel yourself. If you know me, I'll have several carrots daily.)

Five minute chocolate cake.

Beating my mom's score on fruit ninja on my sister's itouch. ;)

Quiet on Tuesday afternoon.

My mom remembering that I had asked her to buy my
favorite, purse-size notebook, because the
other two that I have are completely filled,
and finding the notebook in her target bags. :)

fridayfavoritethings
Food Network Magazine.

Some amazing soup from Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's.

Hearing my mom's story about Eli's "adventure" when she took him shopping (Costco and Trader Joe's) on Saturday.

fridayfavoritethings
This face.
fridayfavoritethings
This face.
fridayfavoritethings
(definitely) this face.
fridayfavoritethings
Oh yeah...
fridayfavoritethings
And these faces, too.

Sam swinging outside.

Caleb pushing Sam in the swing.

fridayfavoritethings
These boys.

The chalk drawings on the sidewalk.

The empty chalk box that was just filled with colorful newness.

Wearing my glasses. And finding out that they're not so bad.

fridayfavoritethings
The road (and drive) to ballet.

Talking to my mom and sister on the way to ballet.

Trying to talk only in rhymes on the way to ballet.

Laughing at Chloe's rhymed sentences. ( ex: "my rhymes are the best, and it's not a test!" )

The book of Acts.

My black sweatpants. (favorite :))

fridayfavoritethings
Our 99 year old piano (only a few more months till 100.)

Listening to my mom playing our piano.

Singing with my mom at the piano.

Friday afternoons (the only day of the week that I have absolutely nothing going on.)

Chocolate.

fridayfavoritethings
Wood. (and the smell of it.)

Seeing the grass again.

Grace jokingly offering to clean my room for a quarter.

Quotes, poems, stories -- words.

Sammy speaking -- not just baby talk!
( if you're wondering...he said, "NO!" )

Making a dinner that everyone loved.

Finding out that kale can actually be tasty.

Typography.

fridayfavoritethings
Light on the keyboard.

Ballet rehearsal.

Worshop practice immediately after ballet rehearsal.

Coming home to some yummy dinner (that my family saved for me) after both.



What are some of your ( friday ) favorite things? Make sure to head over and link up!

Much love.
Hannah

ps. redesign coming to aspire soon, friends! stay tuned.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

One Word Wednesday — ( signs of ) Spring

Spring is finally (but slowly) appearing where I live and with the lovely Spring Bloom Giveaway to celebrate that (make sure to enter), today's One Word Wednesday is ( signs of ) Spring. My photo? The sight of the snow melting on the road. It was that or a picture of a thermometer reading 38 degrees -- because that's warm here! ;)
A few more details...
One Word Wednesday at Aspire
Every week, there will be a a new word. On Wednesday, you can link up your photo with that word. For example, if the word was water, you could link up a photo you took of rain. It's like a photo challenge without any pressure. Just a weekly photo meme link up. Sound fun? Good. :-)

Some guidelines...
  • The photo must be one that you've taken.
  • If you've got multiple linkups/photos, note which one is for One Word Wednesday.
  • Make sure to include the button in your post.
  • And most importantly, make sure to bloghop around a bit and visit and leave a comment on three other entries. It's more fun that way! :-)
signsofspring

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Some spring loveliness for YOU ( giveaway! )


Giveaway closed.


Spring is finally showing its lovely face and in honor of the grass slowly but surely being revealed, I thought it was high time for a giveaway to celebrate the coming of one of the prettiest seasons of the year. And what better to celebrate spring than a colorful, stylish, and oh-so-lovely accessory?

lovelynecklace

First of all, the talented lady behind Little Bird, Erin, creates stunning jewelry that is beautifully simple. Her store is full of absolutely darling pieces and wonderfully stylish accessories. (I know that you'll love it.) And today, I'm giving away one of the sweetest necklaces I've ever seen.

springbloomnecklaces

Want to win? Here's how...

Mandatory Entry

Comment and tell me which Spring Bird necklace you would choose if you won. I have the aqua and absolutely love it -- though you can't go wrong with any of the other darling options! Which color is your favorite? Let me know and it might end up being yours.

Extra Entries


Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry! This is to make sure that all your comments count. Giveaway runs from today (the 15th) and ends on the 24th, CST. Winner will be announced on the 25th! And who knows? maybe it will turn out to be you. :)

Make sure to celebrate this wonderful spring weather -- and have a lovely day! :)
--Hannah

Sunday, March 13, 2011

( collaboration #2 ) dinner two ways.


top : mine
bottom : my mom's.


For this week's collaboration, we ended up going with dinner -- two ways. Everything on my plate was gluten free, besides the noodles, and everything on my mom's plate was gluten free. Therefore, we thought it would be fun to do our collab on that. Thanks for all the ideas -- keep them coming! :)


Much love (and have a blessed Sunday!)
Hannah

Saturday, March 12, 2011

( tutorial ) Simple Edit vs. Vintage

Today, I thought it would be fun (and perhaps informative) to add a little tutorial on a couple different editing styles and how they can complete a photo. I grabbed a photo from a quick shoot that I did with Chloe last month and edited it in two ways in order to highlight a few techniques that will hopefully come in handy with your own editing! Ready? Let's go! :)

Simple Edit.

chloe
I started off with a basic photo of Chloe. The exposure was pretty good, with her face being a little dark due to backlight, but overall, it was a decent picture.
chloe
First, I added a curves layer and made a dramatic s-curve. However, I didn't like the blown out background so I inverted the mask layer, and then painted in Chloe. The contrast was pretty strong, and as a result, I put the first output at 183.
chloe
Aferwards, I duplicated the background layer (CTRL + J on Windows) and put it on Soft Light at 25%.

Are you with me so far? Good!

I loved the colors in the photo and wanted to give them a little boost, so I added a vibrance layer at Vibrance + 25 and Saturation +3. (should be on the right sidebar OR, go to Image >> Adjustments >> Vibrance.)
chloe
The photo was looking pretty good, but I wanted the image to be a little brighter, so I added a Levels adjustment and put it at this:

levelslayer

chloe
I selected all the layers and merged them ( CTRL + E on Windows), then duplicated the background layer and put it on Soft Light, then went to Filter >> Other >> Highpass and did a highpass at 1.5. The sharpness was too strong for me, so I put the layer at 35%.

That completed the simple edit and clean look I was going for. It's a fast and effective way to brighten up and boost a photo. Here's the Before & After.
beforeandafter

Vintage Edit.

chloe
Let's say you've got a little more time on your hands and are looking for a fun way to edit your photos -- or maybe you're looking for a vintage or retro look. Or, maybe you just wanna play around in photoshop (which I definitely like to do sometimes. ;)) This is one of my favorite ways to finish my photos up. I like to try to replicate film effects sometimes, but today, here's just a fairly simple vintage edit.
chloe
Again, I started with the same photo of Chloe and added a slight s-curve, copied the background layer and put it at Soft Light 25%, and under that, copied the background again and set it at Screen 15%.

Now here's where the fun really begins. :)

I added a levels layer and put the settings at this:

imgchloe

There's a big difference already! After that, I click this button photoshopimage and add a #f2f05f color at Exclusion 4%. I repeated that and added a #e6264a Soft Light at 25%, #26ade6 Screen at 15%, and a #4f0c3b Lighten layer at 5%.

Here's where we are so far.
chloe
chloe
Since all the layer levels were added, the contrast needed to be bumped up again, therefore I went back to my Soft Light Layer (the one that was a copy of my background) and raised it to 75%. I also went back to my #e6264a Soft Light Layer and lowered it to 15%.
chloe
I wanted a bit more color boost, so I went back to my curves layer and inside of switching the RGB, edited the Red, Green, and Blue layers.
rgb
chloe
The image was looking pretty good, so to finish it off, I added a Photo Filter (Warming Filter) at 15%, flattened the photo, and that finished the edit! Again, here's the before and after.
beforeandafter

Conclusion.

If you're looking for a simple, fresh way to edit your photos, then brightening, sharpening, and boosting the colors and contrast to your image will (usually) finish it off nicely. However, if want a more extensive and vintage editing style, then the steps that I put out can be tweaked nicely to fit any photo that you have. The main thing is to remember to experiment -- photoshop is fun to play around in! :)

Just for fun, I've added a few more before and after images processed using some actions from my Opal Vintage set (created by me).
actionset
So there you have it! Hopefully my little tutorial was helpful, informative, or just fun to read! I use photoshop cs4 to edit all my images (and absolutely love it), but from what I've heard, you can do almost everything that you can do in photoshop in elements.

Have a favorite editing style? Any actions/textures that you just love? Please share -- I'd love to know! :-)

Much love -- and happy editing!:)
Hannah