Author name: emily

Color Inspiration: {Big Sky & Open Prairie}

Categories: Inspirations, Urban Prairie

There’s just something about the golden color of fall grasses and hay under a vast blue sky that stirs my soul. 

The way the feathered tips succumb to the wind and seem to bend in rippling waves is such a beautiful sight and soothing sound.

I love the worn, weathered textures found in old barns and this tough landscape.  

There aren’t many soft, delicate flowers on the prairie. Instead, thick hide, rusted metal, rugged leather and resilient reeds thrive here.  

Brilliant golden sunlight bathes these wide open spaces.  Colors become brilliant in such intense light, and clouds perform amazing feats of swelling and billowing.

The prairie is so beautiful in the fall.  The color is luminous. The air is crisp and fresh.  Boots, jeans, and long sleeves become appropriate attire again, and cozy quilts re-emerge to cuddle in the cool nights. 

What type of landscape inspires you?

All images via Pinterest

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I love to take pictures, and I take a lot of them.  I also love to create beautiful, colorful images for my blog.  I know that many of my favorite bloggers share this passion for photography and beautiful graphics, so I think many of you will appreciate what I am going to share:

Confession:  Though I have some photo tools that I have been using, I get frustrated when they won’t do everything I want them to.  I have also become victim to multiple memory cards and overloaded hard drives that diligently try to store all of my photographs, but end up disorganized and stuffed with outdated memories. 

My family’s photographs of vacations and life events are piling up, and I have relatives that kindly remind me how behind I am in sharing them.  Agh! I haven’t made a lot of photograph books with Snapfish or Kodak, because I feel limited by them, and don’t have hours on end to sit on their website.  Though I used to do traditional scrapbooking… there is NO WAY I have time for that now.  I have been stumped for years on what to do.  

We live in a digital age. There’s only so many digital picture frames you can own, and only so many places you can put printed pictures (and printing them is such a pain!)  I need a digital photo software that will work for my blog, my business, and my family.

Are you digging the images I have put up on this post so far?  I have had so much fun making them, and a whole new world of managing my photos and creating beautiful images and collages has opened up!

I am very excited to introduce a brilliant digital scrapbooking product, My Memories Suite from MyMemories.com .

This software allows you to import your photographs and design either stand alone pages or entire albums.  It is easy to download, and has a very user friendly interface.  It comes with a nice variety of papers, templates, tools and embellishments to make hundreds of options available for you to design your project.

You can make photo albums, DVD albums, calendars, interactive albums, and convert your images into .jpeg files , all on up to three of your own computers. Now I can work on creating beautiful albums and collages with my photographs at home or on the go (that is huge for me!)

MyMemories.com is also a thriving online community and resource for all of your digital scrapbooking needs.  They have helpful tutorials, a fun blog that highlights contests and designers, an online store that offers a huge array of additional kits for your software (some are free!), and a printing service for your photobooks and calendars.  Just check out their Facebook page and see how much fun people are having with this!

SO WHAT’S THE BIG GIVEAWAY?!

I am giving away one FREE copy of the My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software

(a $39.97 value)

Here’s The Rules:

1. Leave a comment on this blog post between now and Friday,October 28, 2011.  I’d love to hear your ideas about how this software would be useful for you!

2. You must have your email attached with your comment.  I cannot notify you about winning if your email is set to not be shared.  Your email will not be used for anything other than an entry for this giveaway.

3. The winner will be announced on Saturday, October 29th, and you must respond within 3 days, or you will forfeit the prize to another participant.  I will email you the code for the free download once you have acknowledged that you have won.

It’s that easy!

All the images in this post were made using My Memories Suite.  These are my first attempts at using it, so I still have a lot to learn, but what I made was extremely easy!  In the next few weeks I will be sharing more fun projects that I am working on.

I am so impressed with this company and their product.  I hope you will be too- We can always use something that makes our life easier!  Feel free to connect with My Memories on their website, blog, Facebook, and Twitter!

The Giveaway is now closed.

BUT WAIT… 

There’s still some fun for you, too!

Here’s a coupon code for $10 off the purchase of My Memories Suite Scrapbook software.  Once you download the software you will receive an additional $10 in the MyMemories.com store- a $20 value!

Simply enter this code at checkout:

STMMMS33401

Enjoy!

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Vacations are such a special time to relax and  have fun with your family, but finding ways to capture and share your experiences can be challenging.  Here are some tips I learned on our recent Disney trip to help you preserve your memories for years to come:

1. Take Scenery Photos:

Set the mood, and begin to tell your story.  Remind yourself what it felt like to be immersed in the environment, and share it with others.  Entrance signs, seasonal decorations, and architectural or natural details are all photo-worthy subjects.

2.  Take Sequential Photos of Action:

Don’t limit yourself to the “Stand here and say ‘Cheese’ ” snapshots.  Those are great, because you always want to see brilliant smiles; however, take pictures leading up to that moment, and even afterward.  You never know what might happen!

3.  Capture a Conversation:

What were you talking about? Take a picture of people talking, or of the subject of the conversation.  Silly faces, odd expressions, and raucous laughter will spark memories years later.  Even if you can’t remember what you were talking about, these expressions capture personalities beautifully.

4.  Diverge from the Plan:

Vacations require planning- usually lots and lots of it! But the FUN  happens when you spot wonderful little opportunities and take advantage of them!  You just never know what  magical moments will present themselves (like finding Goofy in his Pirate costume when you are waiting in line for a ride!)

5.  Remember The Night:

Just because the sun goes down, doesn’t mean taking pictures is over!  Plan to take pictures at night, or in dimly lit places, during your trip.  You can capture beautiful effects, and eliminate the harsh glare of a flash.  Most cameras have a night setting (indicated by a moon and star icon), or you can set your camera to a slower shutter speed.  Purchase an inexpensive Monopod online or in the camera section of Wal-Mart or Target.  This is much easier to transport and set up than a tripod, yet is essential for providing extra stability for low light situations.

6.  Constantly View Your Photos:

What a wonderful digital world we live in where we can view our photos right away! Remember the days of having to wait until you got home to take rolls of film to the developer?!  Take advantage of this brilliant technology by viewing your digital photos immediately, either when you have a break from taking photos or at the end of each day.  Not only can you free up space by deleting poor photos, but you can see what photo techniques are working, and which ones aren’t.

7.  Take A Blank Memory Card:

If you are like me, you have several memory cards running around that are filled with day to day personal and business photos.  If you are going on vacation for a week or more, I strongly suggest you buy a fresh card (which is so much easier than taking time to clean up an old one!).  Now you are free to take lots of pictures, and you won’t lose focus when you are reviewing and organizing your vacation photos.

8.  Organize Photos A.S.A.P.:

View your pictures on your computer. Delete the poor photos, Edit the ones that need a few touch-ups (my vertical pics always have to be rotated), and Organize your pics into folders with recognizable file names.  I organized mine into folders by destinations (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Downtown Disney, etc.) and then named the pictures in each folder by subject matter (Mickey1, Mickey2, Fireworks1, Fireworks2, etc).  Now you can find, print and share individual photographs quickly and easily.

9.  Use A Digital Scrapbooking Software:

If “a picture is worth a thousand words” then a lot of pictures tells an entire story.  Collage your photographs onto themed digital pages with titles and journaling to paint the details of your adventures.  I love using the My Memories digital scrapbooking software.  That is what I have been using to create the images you see here! It comes with a nice variety of features, and has more you can download for free on the website.  Did I mention I am giving away a FREE copy of this? Hurry over to my Giveaway, it ends Friday October 28th!

10.  Share Your Memories:

You’ve taken amazing pictures, organized them and created beautiful digital pages- now share them!  Family and friends want to see where you’ve been and what you’ve done.  Upload your pictures to your social media sites, publish them on your blog, and print a few keepsake books.  Create a new background for your computer desktop or a calender for your home or office.  All of these things also make perfect gifts!  

With some planning and organization, creating beautiful memories from the photographs of your vacation can be simple.  Your efforts will be enjoyed for years to come!

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