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| The view from my front porch back home |
Last year I married the love of my life, and I am so happy to be able to call him my husband now. We had a very DIY wedding (between my penchant for crafting, and my need for control of details, it made sense to do most things ourselves).
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| Our wedding day |
Cooking and Baking
I have been cooking for as long as I can remember; both of my parents were good in the kitchen, and they always let me "help" with the meals. As I got older, the house rule was "if you don't like what's being served for dinner, cook for yourself." I used to be a picky eater, so I ended up cooking for myself a lot. I'm no longer a picky eater, but all of that experience paid off.
I have spent some time cooking in diners and cafes, but now I mainly cook for just us two. I also love to bake desserts, and I am always bringing sweets to my friends (there's only so much two people can eat, but I like to bake in big batches...). I like to experiment in the kitchen, and when I am cooking just for us, I rarely measure or even follow a recipe. Now, I must admit that not everything comes out tasty, but, to me, that's part of the learning process (and a good excuse for a pizza night). I believe that the kitchen should be a stress free place. There is no reason to be scared of cooking or baking; the best way to learn is to get your hands a little dirty. I encourage everyone to jump right in.
Oh, and don't forget to taste as you cook!
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| This is just one of many crock pot recipes that I love |
Crafting
My love for creating things comes from my parents as well. They were both DIYers to the core (they each built their own houses; as in, most of the measuring, hammering, painting, etc was done by them, and I got to help!). I love trying new techniques and using new materials. I always have a huge list of new projects to try, and I would much rather shop for crafting supplies than new clothes (it's a wonder the hubby still lets me go to Michael's by myself).
Most of my crafting energy now goes towards my Etsy shop (check it out here), but I still love to make cute things for our home and our friends. My Etsy crafting is predominantly decoupage and glass etching, but when I'm crafting for myself, anything is fair game (as long as there isn't any expensive special equipment to buy, that defeats half of the purpose of making it myself).
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| I made this for Valentine's day, but I like it so much that it's still hanging above our sink |
Photography
I shoot almost all of my photos with my Canon Rebel XS (the occasional cell phone picture sneaks in too). I switch between the kit lens (18-55 mm zoom, F 3.5), and my new fixed lens (fixed means you can't zoom in and out)(50 mm, F 1.8). I always shoot in RAW format (sometimes called a digital negative), because there is much more flexibility when it comes time to edit. I use Photoshop Elements to clean up the pictures, and to add text.
The most important aspect for good photographs is good lighting. You don't need a fancy camera to take good pictures, and, conversely, a fancy camera can still take very bad pictures (although it can be a big help in tricky lighting situations). However, if you do have a DSLR camera, I would encourage you to learn to shoot in the manual and semi-manual modes (and shoot in RAW). There are many blogs and websites out there with great instructions, tips, and tricks.
Find/Contact Me
If you want more, you can find me at the following places:
Etsy
Google+
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments (or just want to say "Hi!"), please feel free to email me at MdoubleMcrafts@gmail.com
Updated April 29th, 2012
nice to meet you
ReplyDeleteSam