Can I Really Be a Photographer?

4 September 2013

It is a question I often asked myself throughout the years and often times I would say no.  I didn't own a big fancy camera with an adjustable lens and a special carrying case and all the other equipment I thought was a requirement to have in order to be a ‘photographer’.  But I love to take pictures, especially of landscapes and historic buildings.  So while I was abroad this year I just took the pictures I wanted, both memory making pictures as well as artistic type photos.

In the Archaeology Museum of Sevilla

And boy, were there a lot of funny pictures.  These kinds of pictures bring me back in time to when the events initially occurred and it allows me to relive those happy and exciting times.  In the past few months that I have been home I have found that I miss being surrounded by the history and the ease of living in a walkable city.  Yet in only a few short weeks I will be returning to Europe and living out another year abroad and away from home.

BY THE WAY I OFFICIALLY HAVE MY VISA IN HAND!

But back to the topic of the blog post, photography.  It wasn’t until I returned back to the States and started to dive into my pictures that I realized I had a few gems in the bunch.  While in my hunt through the mires of the Internet searching for ways to stay afloat financially I came across a website that would take my photographs and sell them as prints.  The site is called Fine Art America and it can take your digital photos and print them in a variety of ways including on canvas.

Palm trees in Sevilla

Here is the start of my profile and portfolio with more work being added as I go.  Part of the process for me is fine tuning the photos I have before posting them to be—hopefully—purchased.  On the recommendation from Kellie I downloaded a free photo altering program called GIMP.  I don’t do that much to the photos besides cleaning up the crop, sharpening the picture, changing to black/white schemes, etc.

I would like to think that so far everything is running smoothly.  Though, I am still searching for that elusive first purchase.  Granted I haven’t put as much effort into marketing as I should, but that is something to continue to build and work on as I go.

Currently I am working on a few photos from my recent trip to L.A. with my sister for her belated birthday/missed graduation gift.  That is in addition to the photos I have from London and Spain that I am also working on as well. 

Big Ben

As I get this photography business under my belt perhaps one day I will buy one of those ‘real’ cameras for photography.  Until then I am pretty happy with my Panasonic Lumix. 

Also, the scarf progresses, if not at an incredibly slow pace.  More updates to come in the following weeks.  Until next time!

Brittani

Doll Clothes and Dinner!

So, I'm a bit late getting this post out this week.  I mean, it's already Saturday evening.  The truth is, the college semester started two weeks ago and despite not being a serious student, I'm taking a full load of classes.  In addition, I'm trying to have some sort of social life.  This semester, I'm taking mostly boring classes- Microeconomics, Bookkeeping, a business class, and a sewing class.  The sewing class is really more of a lab, giving me access to some gorgeous Bernina sewing machines and four hours every Monday to devote to sewing.  Yay!

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the projects I'm working on, but the circle skirt may get some attention this weekend.  I've been quibbling over how to do the zipper and if I wanted to add pockets because I was afraid it was a bit too plain.  I love the fabric though, so I didn't want to muck with the print too much.  Last night it hit me- you'll just have to wait to see it!

Last weekend however I whipped up a little something to make sure my machine and serger were still in good working order and to remind myself how rusty my skills are.  Thus, a doll shirt.  To say I collect Asian Ball-Jointed dolls might be stretching it.  I only have one, my handsome Sabik by the Korean company Soom.  His name is Carousel.  

Well, this makes it obvious I've been out of the sewing loop for a while.  For a three hour project from pattern drafting to finishing I'm pretty happy with it.  He provides some special fitting issues in that a) he isn't squshy and b) he has extremely wide shoulders but a pretty trim waist.  I wanted something I could pull over his head, but didn't have any stretch fabric so there was some compromise between fit and ease of dressing with this.  And for an added bonus, some pattern matching fail.  I only have two or three yards of this gorgeous navy and brown japanese cotton.  I didn't want to use too much of it because I have other plans for it.  So I only made a minimal effort at matching patterns.  My thread and notions stash is also woefully understocked and I just used whatever thread was in the machine.  In this case, an ivory/natural color that I think work fine.  All in all, I'm happier with this shirt than the last few I sewed for him over a year and a half ago.  I also made his pants oh... two years ago but have since lost the pattern I drafted for them.  A shame too, because they fit really well.

Bonus: 

Doesn't that look delicious?  I'll give you a hint- it was.  Bell peppers, sugar snap peas, onions, garlic, and (frozen) gnocchi all sauteed up with whatever seasonings I had on hand.  I love gnocchi done this way.  Brittani gave me some dirty looks for using frozen gnocchi after our fun gnocchi making weekends in Spain but really it isn't any fun to do it alone. 

The Start of Something New: Crocheting

8 August 2013

A few years back I had nonchalantly picked up a set of knitting needles thinking I was going to sit down and learn how to knit.  The short story is that they were set aside and completely forgotten.  Many years went by and I had pretty much given up on ever having the time or desire to try anything like that again.  Well the whole returning to the States and having time as well as a need to be more resourceful and profitable in other areas I returned to the idea of knitting.  But a new question arose, to knit or to crochet?

I did a lot of extensive research into what each created and how easy or hard they were to learn.  What it came down to as far as I could tell is that the main difference between the two was the needles used.  Crocheting uses a single needle with a hook that is about 6 inches long whereas knitting requires two needles that can range in size from a few inches to a foot or more depending on what you are making. 

Crochet Hook

The reason I decided on crocheting was because it was a smaller single hook, much easier for travelling with and since I am going to going to England in a few months it made more sense.   So the next step was to acquire some other supplies, namely yarn and needles.  A quick pop over to JoAnn and I had a set of three different sized crochet needles, two balls of yard and two little books about stiches.  In total I spend about $17, with a student discount.

Two stitch books, two balls of yarn and a set of three needles

One thing that was difficult for me to initially understand was the different sizes of needles and yarn and how they corresponded with each other.   What I found out was printed on the yarn packing it says what size needle you need to work with it.  

Yarn Packaging

Needle packaging

 I would say that the most common sizes are between 2.25-5.0 mm or B-1 to H-8.  In my set I have a G-6 (4.0mm), H-8 (5.0mm) and J-10 (6.0mm).  In all of my initial attempts at crocheting I am going to use the G-6 (4.0mm) size with the yarn pictured in my supplies.

So, the first thing I need to do is get something started and for my basics I turned to a website: http://www.anniescatalog.com/pages/stitchguide/index.html?cid=3, starting with how to hold the crochet hook and then on to how to tie the slip knot which starts off your crocheting experience.  From there you create a ‘chain’ which is simply a single strand stitch.

My first attempts at making a chain stitch

From there I worked on the very basic stitches of single crochet, double crochet, half double crochet, treble crochet and the slip stitch.  These are all the basics that each come with their own abbreviations that are used in patterns on the internet and in books.  Chain is ‘ch’, single crochet is ‘sc’, double crochet is ‘dc’, half double crochet is ‘hdc’, treble crochet is ‘tr’ and the slip stitch is ‘sl st’. 

Top Left: Double Crochet, Middle Left: Half Double Crochet
Bottom Left: Slip Knot, Middle: Treble Stitch, Right: Single Crochet

What is even more interesting and important to learn, besides just how to create a single strand of a stitch, is how to make that second strand.  That is where knowing how to chain stich is important, that is how to gain height within a stitch to make a double crochet stitch larger than a half double crochet stitch.

Now I have a few basic stitches down I can pretty much start a simple project, like a scarf, choosing one of the simple stitches as the means to create it.  Or at least that is how I think you get started on a scarf.  Haha!  I suppose a little more research is needed.  Well until next time!

Brittani

Endings and Beginnings

 5 August 2013

Amazing how times flies when you are having fun.  These past few years have been a wild ride and now that I am back in the States it feels just like before I went to university.  I am enjoying seeing my family that I haven’t seen in over a year and revealing in the conveniences of American living.  But my wandering feet are about to take over again.

Ruins of a castle in York

Small street in York

My name is Brittani and I have followed the tried and true way of education for my whole life.  I went to school solidly, every year from Pre-School through my Bachelor’s degree without missing a beat.  Throughout my school years I was an Honors Student and for the most part excelled in learning.  But I didn’t always have a plan for what I wanted to do ‘when I grew up’.  As a matter of fact the major I chose to start at Arizona State University with was one that I had chosen randomly from the list.  It also started with an ‘A’ so I didn’t have to mire through too much to make a quick decision.

Anthropology was my haphazardly chosen field of study.  The cultural subsection didn’t really grab my attention in the first semester and so I was starting to doubt my choice.  But then came along the Archaeology class that would change my life.  It was brutally hard but incredibly rewarding.  To this day it is the class that I remember most.  Buried Cities and Lost Tribes, taught by the amazing Dr. Laura Popova. 

Graduation from Arizona State University

So hop, skip and jump to nowadays I am about to embark on a journey to get my Master’s degree in Bioarchaeology at the University of York.  A lot of time and difficulty went into making this decision to attend York instead of Cambridge, but in the end I am more than happy about my choice.

But what has been truly amazing about this past year in Spain has been that it prepared me for this next phase of my life, living aboard without any friends, family or really anyone that I know.  Additionally, spending a year in Spain has opened a lot of doors into my creative side that I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to reach again, let alone make money with it.

In a desperate attempt to stay afloat in a foreign country Kellie and I employed our writing skills through a freelance website called oDesk.  We wandered through a few websites to arrive at this one and for us it has the best fit for what we do.  And now, facing down the real looming black cloud of student loan debt I am expanding my creative skills again in search of sustainable income while studying.

So it's London and not York. St Paul's Cathedral

I have a lot of ideas about several different projects that I want to start and work on.  The biggest one is perhaps learning how to crochet.  I will be investing a small amount of money into the start-up materials but from there I hope to be able to utilize the internet and my cute little books to create wonderful things.  Though a scarf is the obvious first project.

That is a normal fashion choice in Spain.
We are in the gardens of the Alhambra and Kellie
just had to photobomb my picture.

From there I also want to delve deeper into my love of photography and hopefully get something set up for that as well as work on to get the best shots.  Soap making, candle making, weaved bracelets, T-shirt design, cooking , baking…I have a lot of different idea and projects that I want to explore.  Join me as I explore and investigate and maybe you too will have a few new hobbies and projects of your own!

Brittani

Pattern Drafting

How quickly our plans can change.  The dress I was going to make I've decided to do as separates instead.  One of the reasons being- I started drafting the blouse pattern today.  As a self-taught seamstress, this isn't exactly easy for me and I'm struggling a lot with it.  On the other hand, I know how to handle the skirt.  So, next week I'm going to try and whip out the skirt and when Brittani comes over for our Craft Day, she's going to help me work on the blouse pattern a bit.  To say it's being unruly is an understatement.

Still, I promised progress today and progress was made!

Thrilling, isn't it?  That's the front and back blouse pieces, with the french dart pinned in on the front.  I was originally going to gather the back fullness in to the waistband, but since it's now going to be separates I'm going to eliminate the back zipper and probably dart the back.

Before this week, I didn't have a sewing area set up, but my super sweet partner and roommate let me take over a corner of the living room.  So here it is, super classy.  The serger was my first major sewing machine purchase- the sewing machine was my mother's.  I'm not even sure how old it is, but I love it.  My (currently quite small) fabric collection is in that bottom drawer, with the exception of the current project which is all draped over a hanger in the closet.

Alright, that's it for this week!  Next week it's Brittani's turn to take over.

-Kellie

Fresh Starts, New Projects

It's a bit strange, coming back to the United States after living and teaching in Spain for a year.  For both of us it's a whole new chapter in our lives.  In fact, this is the first time in three years that we aren't living together.  We've been through a lot together, half our lives.

My name's Kellie, and I have never been able to take the easy road.  I've been a student on and off again ever since leaving high school, but getting a degree just never seemed that important.  After spending a lot of time at dead-end jobs in call centers and financial aid offices, I decided I'd had enough.  It was right about then that Brittani was finishing her bachelor's degree and we both needed a change.  My parents had attended a TEFL course in Spain and after much deliberation we decided to follow in their footsteps.  Not only did we go for the course but we committed to staying and teaching for a year.

In the beginning it was pretty rough.  Being thrown out of our comfort zones allowed us to jump into other pursuits that had always been put off in favor of 'real' work or school.  Namely, writing.  Fast-forward to now.  We've been back in the States for a month.  Writing is going well but I'm itching to do something else.  One of the things I found I missed most while I was away was my sewing machine.  Writing is a wonderful creative outlet and allows me to make a living doing something I love but it doesn't have quite the same reward as creating something tangible.  I've revitalized my Etsy shop and gone fabric shopping.  Freelance writing may pay the bills, but there's no reason my other hobbies can't help!

Forgive the abysmal artwork.

My first project is a full skirted, boat neck dress.  The top will be this gorgeous ivory linen/cotton blend, with the grey floral as the skirt and an underskirt/lining of ivory crepon sheer.  Once the pattern is done and I've made the sample, I'll offer it made-to-measure in my shop.  I'm so excited to get started!

-Kellie