mini book

from a blog i love called  POPPY TALK

I will definitely be making this for a special someone or a few!

 

hi there! cori kindred here with a fun little diy that's perfect for the holidays! my 12 things i love about you books are simple to make and mean so much to the recipient. plus they're thoughtful, cute and (my favorite) handmade!

what you'll need:
- 7.5" x 2.5" piece of cover paper (i used wrapping paper for this one but i've also used wallpaper or a vintage map)
- 6.5" x 2.5" piece of card stock (i used white)
- at least 7 different papers measuring 6" x 2.25" for the inside of the book
- a stapler
- double-stick tape
- a label (i used a vintage one but you could also make your own)

step 1 ~ stack your card stock and inside papers (in the order you want them) and fold in half.

step 2 ~ staple twice along the inside fold of the book.

step 3 ~ cover the front and back cover (on the card stock) with double-stick tape. fold the cover paper in half, then adhere to the card stock. fold the extra cover paper over the card stock and double-stick tape down (on the inside of the front and back covers).

step 4 ~ attach the label! or don't, and write the title on the first page of the book. now find a quiet spot to sit and think about all the things you love about your special someone. once you start you won't be able to stop! when you're done writing in 12 things you love about them, stick their awesome present in their holiday card or stocking. voila!

letters to crushes

theres a slightly large possibility I may have somewhat fallen a little madly in love with you

I found a cute as site called LETTERS TO CRUSHES.


makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Makes me want to send them all to my boyfriend and make him feel special but then i rememebr he's a boy!!

frolicking in fields

I recently spent the day with a great friend Chantelle. 

We struggled to find a place to shoot but when we did it was amazing. We stmbled across a coutch in the middle of a tall grassed field. It was perfection. So we frolicked around in the sun taking cute photos. 

These are some of the images of the beautiful girl herself. Enjoy! xo

If you would like to see more or some of my other photography check out my faecbook site: 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adelaide-Australia/Amanda-Modra-Photography/143231662389114?ref=ts 

Fabric bunting

You will need:

Material - You can have as many or as little different types as you want. It depends if you want to follow a pattern (e.g. blue, green, yellow, pink, blue, green, yellow, pink..) or if you want to have a different type for each triange.
Ribbon or twill tape (I used two metres and it fit 15 triangles, also make sure it's thick as it just makes it easier).
Cardboard (template).
Scissors
Pins
A pen
And finally you will need a sewing machine.

Step One: Make a triangle template using cardboard. It can be as big or as small as you want.


Step Two: Place your template onto your material and trace around it. Now you can cut it out. Repeat this on all the different materials you're using.



Step Three: Fold the twill tape/ribbon in half and iron along it so it stays like that.


Step Four: Lay out the tape/ribbon and arrange the triangles to your liking. Make sure they're nice and secure between the fold of the tape/ribbon, and then pin them into place.


Step Five: Sew along the bottom of the twill tape/ribbon, close to where it meets the triangles. You can tuck in the ends of the tape/ribbon to make it more neat.


Step Six: Now that it's all sewn, you can iron it, just to get rid of all the creases and other little annoying bits.

And you're done! :).

Cutest cafe in Melbourne

 
This  is quite possibly the cutest cafe in Melbourne. Cafe Giraffe is filled with the most adorable trinkets and decorations all over the place. Seriously, ALL. OVER. The place. Wherever you look, whether it's a vintage typewriter, strings of pretty photographs, beautiful mirrors, cute little giraffe toys, there was always something to oooh & aaaah about. 

It's like a cozy museum of cuteness! I wish my room looked like that.

blue bow brooch

If you'd like to know how I made it, here's how:

♥ Knit a small rectangle, in whatever size you prefer.
♥ Use some extra yarn to wrap around the middle to make the bow shape. Tie it up to keep it secure.
♥ Attach a brooch pin base at the back, and a button at the front. Sewing them on is probably the best way to do it, but I just used some super glue.

♥ Done! Easy, right?

RAPHAH

RAPHAH. BE STILL

I would love Raphah in cursive as My first tattoo.  maybe just below my bra line or on the very side of my foot. Not sure exactly where but i'm sure i want it. 

Be still has always been the strong words of God in my life. Through a period where my Cousin committed suicide God reminded me to be still. 

This article explains what i mean when i say be still. 

It is knowing Gos is bigger, to not worry but to drop it all at his feet and seek him fully. Then we can be healed and his plans will be revealed. 

Be still and know that i am God is from psalm 49:10 in the bible

RAPHAH is the Hebrew word for Be still.

A song called Be still and know i am God was played at my cousins funeral. 

And throughout my trials i am reminded of Gods love, power and in that i feel peace. 

So be still and know God is God. 

RAPHAH.

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exulted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

The traditional translation of the Hebrew word raphah in Psalm 46:10 is Be still. Be still and know that I am God. we are quite familiar with that version. But, we might not realize that raphah implies a good deal more than sitting quietly. God is not interested in bowed heads and folded hands. He has something else in mind here. To understand His perspective, we need to see the others uses of this form of the verb.

Joshua 10:6 translates raphah as abandon. Deuteronomy 4:31 uses forsake or fail. Psalm 37:8 uses ?cease.? Judges 11:37 translates as let alone. What is the similarity In every case, this form of raphah carries the idea of letting go of something. Thats the imagery we need in Psalm 46:10. God is not asking us to be quiet. He is asking us to let go of everything else that demands our attention. He is commanding us to stop the striving, frantic business of living. He is requesting our full and undivided attention. Then, and only then, will the second part of the verse become reality.

Do I have to sneak away to a quiet corner to enter into this relationship with God No, I dont! (But it helps!) Even in a quiet corner my mind can be so full of myself and my world that I cannot hear or know the God of creation. I could stand on a crowded street corner in Brazil and be so attentive to God that the world ceased to exist for me. Location is not the question. Neither is physical posture. Face down or face up makes no difference. What matters supremely is the discipline of abandoning the constant stream of distraction. I must enter into the heavenly throne room and stand or kneel in the presence of the All Mighty. God must fill my mind and heart until everything about me and my world is pushed out of the picture. Such discipline takes practice (or epiphany). Usually years of practice. Thats why I begin by finding the quiet corner or secret place. Whatever helps me enter into His presence and His presence alone is a useful tool. Whatever does not help must be abandoned, even if its the choir or the organist.

Do you want to know God? He invites us into His presence. But the steps to get there are up to us. Abandon, forsake and cease. Let go of everything that keeps you occupied with the important but trivial. The bigger the gap between you and your life, the closer you will come to Him.

Be still. Raphah

Words of truth.

Ok i'm going to start bloggin some photoshop techniques.

There are heaps of ways to make a smiple image look stunning. 

And photoshop makes it so easy.

For my own reminder as well as to help all you photo lovers i'm going to try and post a new technique or effect every now and then. Horray!

So first up is how to create a simple vignette. These looks great on desaturated or Black and White images and it is so so so ridiculously easy. 

Vignette (pronounced vin-’yet) is a sort of framing element that you’ll sometimes see in photos (particularly older photos or Lomo shots), in which the image fades out toward the corners. It’s most commonly seen as a fade out to black, but white is also used sometimes. The vignette can be a powerful element of the photo because it has a natural tendency to draw the eye toward the center of the photo.

1. DO THIS AS YOUR LAST STEP IN PHOTOSHOP!!!
2. Create a new empty layer on top of the stack. Ctrl + Alt + Shift + N
3. Fill the layer with pure white. Shift + Backspace
4. Set the blend mode to “Multiply”. Alt + Shift + M
5. Apply the vignette filter to the new layer.
   Filter >> Distort >> Lens Correction…
6. Mess with the “Amount” and “Midpoint” sliders in the “Vignette” section.
7. Press “OK”, and now you have art!

I would love to get m hands on a photo editing program called 

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP LIGHT ROOM 3. 

I've grown up with photoshop and love it to pieces but i'm always up for a change and am so interested in finding out what else this program could do to my images!

Anyone willing to buy it for me haha. 

If you're an advanced amateur or professional photographer, you need a wide range of tools to keep your digital projects creative and organized. Lightroom provides all your essentials in one intuitive package.

Lightroom 3 delivers a range of new features and enhanced capabilities, including faster performance, new world-class noise reduction, lens correction, support for DSLR video files, easy-to-share slide show videos with music, and much more.

You can get a free trial !!!

I have fallen in love with the fantastic work of  Ryan Polei.

Both a photographer and videographer his work is exactly my style.

He uses great effects including burred edges and desaturation as well as short fast and quirky cuts on his videos.
Check him out here and find out what i'm carrying on about.

As far as i'm aware he is on the streets of Adelaide, so i'm trying to get some hot tips and maybe even some lessons!

Sometimes I wish my stuff would turn out like this.... but I must remember practice mades perfect!

Lately I have been discovering some incredible wedding photos.

Doing some recent wedding shoots myself its inspiring to find new images and ideas for future clients. 

I hope to have my wedding Photos are as amazing as what London Photographer Marianne taylor creates.

They are simply beautiful with a clean, yet artistic and somewhat vintage feel.