Well, for those who have noticed my recent absence (mostly) from etsy, blog, etcetera, I've been trying to take a little computer break. I have been spending all my free time staring at the screen and I got all 'putered out. And now I'M BACK, mostly....
Today the air was so perfectly cool and wonderful that I indulged my urge to bake. I hate baking when it's hot. Jasmine and I made almond cupcakes with chocolate chips and chocolate icing (all from scratch of course), and I decided it was time to introduce her to the art of afternoon tea. I love the whole concept of teatime. In Nepal it was 10 am and most, if not all, businesses observed it. Every day we'd take recess from school and make a large pot of chea (similar to Indian chai), heavily spiced with fresh ginger and black pepper. To this day my family takes a half hour break from work and school at 10.
Two years ago fall, when I was pregnant with Jasmine I started having afternoon tea with myself most every day. I'd make a small pot of tea, get out a china cup, and something yummy (fresh baked bread, cake, cookies, or whatever was on hand), put it all on a tray and sit on the couch to watch an installment of BBC's "War and Peace." Today it was Jasmine's turn to find the fun and relaxation in tea.
I wish my camera batteries had not been dead! It was priceless to see my little 18 month old daughter with half a cupcake in one hand and sipping milky tea from demitasse English bone china in the other! She is an amazing child and did not spill any either. After her first cup she said "tea" in her little baby voice and signed for more.
As I was baking I started thinking back over all the interesting things I've made in the past. My mother has a knack for making up fantastic and interesting desserts and she's passed the fascination on to me. The one above "chocolate boxes" is something I made for a special 25th wedding anniversary party we and Adam threw for our parents during college. It was an amazing night with seven courses and a fantasy outdoor setting. I'll have to chronicle it in a future post.
This cake is something my siblings and I concocted for Adam's 24th birthday last year. His falls in November so we were going for a very unique fall theme. I think we were successful with the unique part!
If you look closely you'll discover a little mouse hidden among the mushrooms and leaves. Everything except the branch is edible!
Well, I think I've rambled on long enough. It's fun to reminisce "out loud" so to speak. I hope you are all refreshed from the weekend and ready for the new week ahead of us!
What do you do with fine art photos? Buy a print here and there for your walls? Maybe for a friend. Or perhaps you prefer photo cards to actual prints. Today I'd like to talk about some unexplored uses for photography.
-Funerals
Several years ago my Grandmother passed away. We received scads of lovely flower arrangements, which were spread all over the house after the memorial service. Of course a week or so later they were all dead; rather depressing in the end, don't you think?
What about giving the family of the deceased a beautiful print? Perhaps a favorite flower, or a landscape that reminds them of the beauty their loved one enjoyed. A personal note could be included, "in memory of" or a favorite poem or verse. This allows the family a memento they can keep forever or pass on if they wish.
-Babies
On the opposite end of the spectrum we have babies! Flowers and stuffed animals are excellent gifts for babies/new mothers. However, for those who want to think long term, how about art? It doesn't have to be super sophisticated or adult, just pretty. Babies love to look at bright colors, crisp black and white shapes, and as they get older, flowers, animals, people, etc.
I hope this starts more interesting ideas for art percolating in your minds! Of course these ideas apply to any type of art, not just photography. Although, if you like what you see here, come see the new photos I've added in my store: www.maddoxstudios.etsy.com. Have a fabulous weekend, and feel free to share any ideas you come up with!
Hello all! We're home :)
Vacation was great! Very hot, but the water was great and the snorkeling was fun. Jasmine was a real trooper. She fell totally in love with the ocean and only slept when it was dark! lol. She did great in the car as well - 3 days down and 2 days back up.
I brought back some fun pictures which I will be posting in the next few days. The one on the left is my little bro as "Peter the Barbarian." I now have a facebook account (Erin Beutel) so you can check that as I will be planning to add more vacation photos there as well.
I am very tired so I will leave you with a few pictures of lovely florida!
Goodbye rainy Ohio, Hellooooooo sunny Florida! It's that time of year again, vacation. Many thanks must go to my Parents for this trip, I'm sure it will be wonderful! We'll be camping in the Florida Keys for 5 days. Snorkeling, swimming, beach combing and sun tanning. I'm sure that 3 days (approx) in the car won't be quite as restful with a 15 mo. old, it will be worth it. :) I can't wait to get her on the beach-what a shock!
A note on what will be coming afterwards: Photo Notecards. I'm very excited to start offering these in my store www.maddoxstudios.etsy.com. Marketing will be kicking into high gear on our return. Hopefully I will be returning with many photos as well. Here's some photos of the state park we will be camping in for several days: http://www.floridastateparks.org/bahiahonda/Photos-Visit.cfm
Until later.
Today was the wedding of our good friends Dustin & Amanda! It was a lovely wedding. Jasmine had fun running around and making friends with british flower girls! (Here she's having a snack and wandering through the bridal party.) Adam was a groomsman and looked handsome in his tux. Since she just learned to walk, Jasmine amused herself by spending the entire day walking around. Not going anywhere particular, just cruising. We also had fun watching one of the photographers break out into some sweet moves on the dance floor :)
Not too much new here. I've been listing about one new photo a day, so keep stoppping by. (http://www.maddoxstudios.etsy.com) We'll be leaving on Friday for vacation in FL!
Once again I'm changing my favs at the bottom of the page...
Well ladies and gents, it's that time of year again - graduation. I'm off to Indiana for the weekend. My two wonderful cousins (and of course best friends) are both graduating college. Yay! I get to see lots of people I haven't seen since our wedding, and show off our adorable little girl. Unfortunately Adam has to stay home and work. We will miss him, but at least there will be lots going on.
As to a 5-6 hour car ride with a 15 mo. old, that I am not so much looking forward to. Sigh. Well it's off to bed so I can get up and pack. Congrats to anyone else out there graduating! Back on monday...
P.s. i'm member number 863 of the million blog list :) http://millionbloglist.com/index.php?title=Main_Page#801_thru_900
Happy April everyone! I know I usually update on Saturday but I was busy. :) Silas and Heather came down Friday and stayed for the whole weekend. We had a lot of fun together. Walked to the library, made cards, watched movies, and played with Jasmine in the sand box. Adam had to work evening on Saturday and all day Sunday, so it was nice to have some company.
On another note, Maddox Studios is now open for business!
www.maddoxstudios.etsy.com
There are only two items for sale so far but I will be adding more soon. The photos are coming as soon I figure out where is the best place to get them printed. Hopefully this week sometime. The design on the left one of the designs I chose for the business cards. I will have three color and three black and white designs. (The bubbles in glass and the rose, which you can find several posts back, are two that will be b & w.
The back will look like the second picture. :) I'm so excited! Now I have to figure out my packaging. Fun, fun!
Well it seems Jasmine has woken up from her nap so I'd better sign off. Check out the new favorite items from Etsy at the bottom!
Today is my birthday - Yay! Mom and Dad and Head and Silas came down and we all had dinner. Thanks to David & Fujie for the great card!
I'm really tired right now so I don't have much to say. My neck aches. Blech. Jasmine is starting to walk! It's so cute. Today i told her "show Grandpa your new trick," and she stood up and took a few steps. Yay!
On another note: to Kim and Linds if you see this, Jazzy and I are coming out for your graduation! Can't wait to see you!
I reiterate - Yay for weekends! We had a good one. Friday we went up to mom and dad's after work. Saturday we made potato blocks and stamped up a storm. I brought a bunch of prints back to scan for cards, backgrounds etc. Should be good for the new store... Saturday night was the homeschool play (Heather was in it!). It was hilarious and the acting was great! Sunday afternoon Silas and Adam got out acrylics and we all did a few color studies, which was really fun. Art rocks! I'm not as good as I might wish, but I imagine that most artists feel that to some degree. Anyway, enough mundane details.
I believe I have pretty much finished the branding for Maddox Studios. I have settled on 3 black and white pics and 3 color. Also a basic image for logo purposes. Here's a question - if I customize a basic shape from photoshop with color and text is it violating any laws to use it as part of my branding?
For those of you who may not know, the picture on the left is my lovely daughter Jasmine. This pic was taken a few months ago, when she was my jewelry model for an afternoon. Isn't she a doll? I must say I'm mighty proud of my cutie... Well that's it for tonight. It's time to change my etsy favorites. Scroll down and check them out!
We finally got a sunny day! So rare for spring in Ohio. Consequently I got to do some more work on my product photos. Adam watched Jasmine for me while I dragged a box of jewelry, glassware and fabric out to the deck. The results were the best I've had so far! (It was fun too :)
On another subject, we took Jazzy to the playground today. It was the first time she's been since she could actually enjoy it. She was quite enchanted with the swings and also the slide. We determined that she will probably grow up to be a food critic since she went around tasting all the rocks she could find. One star will be equal to dirt and rocks, two stars equal worms etc. . .
Back to art. Adam recently started his first online comic, ReTale. The strip has been in his head for a long time but has been transferred to paper more recently. You can check it out at www.adambeutel.blogspot.com. I think it's pretty neat, but then I am somewhat biased. :)
Just one last note and I'll stop rambling. At the bottom of my blog you'll find a compilation of some favorites from fellow etsy sellers. I will be changing the featured items once a week, so please check out some of their work! Thanks for reading. I will update more often in the future, but for now I'm off to promote my store.
