Photo of the Week: July

Better late than never, right? This should have been posted at the end of July, but we were in the middle of a week long camping trip. Things have been a bit behind since, but I'm almost caught up.

Anyway, here are the photos that made it to Photo of the Week (POTW) for July:

For photo details, check out my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtfullySuperior/.

Challenge: Photo of the Week

Well, the year is nearly half over already. Hard to believe, right? But, it's true.

I know it's kinda silly to start some sort of project, like Photo of the Week, mid-year, but that's exactly what I'm going to do. See, I've been a bit of a slacker on creating new photos. Most of what I work with, and sell now, are photos from years ago. I love them, and they sell well. But, they're not new. 

So, I'm wondering why I don't have that much new work? Am I really that busy? Do I lack inspiration? Or, am I just plain lazy?? Whatever the reason, I think that having a definite goal in mind will force, I mean help, me get out there and capture some sweet shots.

Being a person who functions better with structure, I'm giving myself the Photo of the Week Challenge starting in July through the rest 2016. That gives me 6 full months to significantly add to my portfolio. Here's how it's going to work. Each week, I will get back out there and search for those sweet shots. Then, I will choose my fave photo from the week and post it on Facebook. Be sure to "Like" my page here: https://www.facebook.com/ArtfullySuperior/ to see the weekly winners.  I will also post them monthly here.

Stay tuned for something new...

So it's been awhile...

Wow, I'm shamefully embarrassed at how long it's been since I've posted. Nearly 3 years seems ridiculous, so I must have been so busy right? I guess so, but aren't we all?

So, what have I been so busy with over the last 2 1/2+ years? Most importantly, I am still a stay-at-home Mommy first. But, now I'm also a homeschooler. We tried our local public school, but for many reasons, it just wasn't for us. We took the plunge and tried homeschooling for the second half of Kindergarten for my older daughter. The verdict:: we loved it!

Our Classroom

I also formed a local homeschool group last fall, so that has kept us in touch with other like-minded families. We also take super fun monthly field trips to local parks, farms, mines, etc. It's a ton of fun, but also keeps me pretty busy.

Over the last year, I also took on an online job as an "Internet Relevance Judge". Translation: I spent 10 hours weekly judging horribly boring information to ensure that when people search on Bing or Google that their searches find what they want. I made it about a year, but my husband and I both agreed that my time would be much better spent focused on my true love: Art.

So, I'm back. I will throw myself back into this full-force. I have lots of new ideas, and I'm excited to really do this! Here some of my new things below, and I recently opened another shop on Redbubble. Check it out on the right of my blog.

Lake Superior Stone Necklace

Stone Keychain

Stone Necklace with New Acrylic Treatment

I will do my best to make an awesome effort to blog regularly. To start, my goal will be to blog monthly. I can do this!

Where I've Been...

It's been quite awhile since I've done anything with this blog or really with my photography for that matter.  So, what have I been up to?  Most recently, I had another beautiful baby girl, Cassidy.  She is now 5 months old, and my first baby, Savannah, is about to start Kindergarten.  I can hardly believe it!

Savannah at almost 5 yrs. and Cassidy at 5 mos.

But, before Cassidy, there was quite a lapse with no communication here...I have been pretty private about it, and I don't plan to elaborate about it now.  But, in the last couple of years. I have finally come to realize and attempt to deal with my depression and anxiety.  Unfortunately, the pregnancy didn't help my condition much, and I am currently finding my way out of post-partum depression.  Thankfully, I have an incredibly supportive husband, great doctor, and a great determination to get back to the self that I remember before I felt paralyzed by this stuff.

I am realizing now that turning away from things that once made me happy, like photography, although it can also ramp up my anxiety too, is not the answer.  I need to keep doing the things that make me, me, and do my best not to let my depression and anxiety run my life.  I think that this blog may even be somewhat therapeutic in that respect.

So, there it is...I have broken my silence about something not many even know about me, and I shouldn't feel ashamed of.  Anyone else out there been through this and care to share?

Black Friday Sale

My entire Shop is on Sale for 30% OFF Black Friday-Cyber Monday!  And, for the first time ever, I'm offering FREE Shipping (within the U.S.)!!  Sale ends Monday, November 28th, but you can enjoy FREE Shipping throughout the holiday season :)

Start shopping  here

First Snowfall

We woke to our first snowfall of the season yesterday morning!  Not too much, just a skiff really.  For those of you who may not know what a skiff is, there was just enough of the white stuff on the ground to know that it had snowed.  But, you could still see grass peeking through the snow, so there wasn't enough even for ground cover.

Our snow-capped lights looked like little mushrooms

Our  poor icy  pumpkin

To Savannah's disappointment, there wasn't enough for good sledding or snow angels.  That certainly didn't stop her from trying though...

She just wouldn't take no for an answer when it came to sledding.  I swear I have no idea where she gets her persistence from ;)

                           

                                     Savannah trying to make her snow angel

I have to say, I wasn't really ready for winter to be here yet.  Even though I know that I live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I realize that it can really snow just about anytime here.  Yoopers, those native to this Peninsula, often joke we only have two seasons up here: 1) snow and 2) bugs.  Savannah and her Daddy did take advantage of the one thing that this wet, little bit of snow was perfect for: building snowmen!!

Showing me her snowgirl's ears

Placing the final touches on the snowman

Father/ daughter discussion on the fine art of building snow people

Their finished product!

Although I wasn't mentally prepared for this stuff yet, I must admit there is always something special about that first snowfall, however little it may be.  A fresh, white blanket covering the landscape makes everything seem pure and beautiful.  The snow did remind me of just how excited I am to capture nature in all her icy and snowy glory to add to my winter portfolio.

Halloween Highlights

We had a fabulous Halloween this year, so I thought I would share the highlights! First, we started out by making autumn cut-out cookies.  My little helper and I made these tasty little morsels:

My little helper sure loved the sugar sprinkles!

Next, Savannah had a blast carving her first pumpkin!  Well, she really supervised my carving while she played with the seeds, guts, and pieces that I cut out.  It was great fun though, and those seeds sure were yummy after we toasted them :)

Our Jack-O-Lanterns

Finally, we went trick-or-treating with the cutest little Minnie Mouse ever!  OK, so I'm a little biased.  But, it sure was neat to see our little girl truly understand this holiday.  We went last year, but she really didn't get the concept.  This year she was all about it though.

You can see our Halloween clings on the window in this one.  Someone is really into grouping things right now ;)

How was your Halloween?