A tri- to try in Photography

Terrific! It's Friday. What's going on this weekend? Don't let Friday the 13th get you down. Throw a superstition party and let everyone reveal their most believable superstitions (of course select your favorite Friday the 13th to watch as well). Celebrate with crepes on Saturday in honor of Bastille Day, and don't forget to head to explore some art and to pay homage to Rembrandt on his birthday (we'll be doing it!).

Here's a trifecta of awesomeness all wrapped around photography for you to try this weekend. My new camera is going to get broken over the next few days in prep for the Alt Channel class I'm taking on Tuesday with Justin Hackworth. Join me, and we'll both become pros at our DSLRs (I really do want to see all the great shots you capture of your kids! I promise).

1. TAKE STUNNINGLY FLATTERING SELF SHOTS: 

(Not necessarily captured here.) I've got a need for some higher quality headshots/self-portraits. I am so horrible at finding a shot that I like, and I kind of find the whole process a drag. I found three simple reminders from a fellow blogger heading out to a blogging conference (where lots of photos are taken) that I want to pass on.

Have you tried this?

Angle yourself towards the camera, drop your shoulders, and lean into the camera, putting your weight slightly on your front foot.

I'm going to try it. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

2. DO NOT SAY CHEESE:

Dave Cooper, talented hubs of Jen Cooper, over at Classic Play has some awesome suggestions on how to take better family photos.


My fave is #2:

2. Let it happen naturally and capture it. Your family is a living thing that moves. You need to move as well. Capture real moments. These are so much more rewarding to look at a month from now, a year from now, 10 years from now. Have you ever heard someone say “Remember that time we all stood up from the picnic table and stood in a line and you took that picture? That was fun. We should do that again.”?

There's more goodness over at Classic Play. Go and write down all that he has to say!

3. MAKE THE MUNDANE EXTRAORDINARY:

I'm discovering, with my new large camera, that a strap is essential. And though I don't mind loudly publicizing Canon, I'd like to go for something more special. Bri Emery over at DesignLoveFest posted a wonderful tut on crafting your own camera strap. Have you seen it? Go check it out.

Race you to Michael's for all the supplies!!

Do you have any great photography tips you can send my way? How do you make great art and look good doing it?

Thanks for a great week! Don't forget to enter our giveaway held in conjunction with the Playful Learning. Tell your friends, too. Winners chosen on Monday!

Until soon, XOXO, MJ

A Spectacular Look for your Blog

• Pleasing hierarchy of organization through color or font
• Strong, clean banner or heading
• Crisp, colorful photos

These are the top three design elements that draw me into a website or blog. How about you? Have you ever thought about what keeps you coming back, besides content, to certain sites for news, ideas, or inspiration?

 

the original banner for this webhome

Through the great people of Alt Summit, I had the opportunity to learn from the talented Laurie Smithwick, cofounder of Kirtsy and owner of a design studio in Charlotte called LEAP design. I learned a ton, and I adored how she moved us from fine art examples to blog designs - a great recap of art history connected to our modern-day experience of art through computer screen.

Laurie had example upon example to illustrate her points, and already I know I'm not going to do her fabulous skills justice, but here are five simple, doable, put-it-in-your-purse takeaways for your own designs. And, if you can, sign up (for just $15) to take a class with her. You will be delighted you did. Seriously, delight.

1. Use your hotspots

Our literate brains are patterned to follow a certain path, and we transfer that information when "reading" the web. Generally we are drawn to the upper left corner, and then to the right top and then left side bar. Using eye-tracking heat maps (fancy pants technology), researchers have learned our routines so use this natural flow to your advantage (eg: set up your space to have focal points in these three areas). Or, if you choose not to have this flow (and Laurie gave us a lot of great designs that don't), think about the focus areas that you want your readers to follow. 

I like to think of it as a hierarchy of dot to dots. Where should the reader begin, continue, and end?

2. Become friends with white space

 

Did that emptiness there bother you? Did I lose you in the vast wasteland of white?

And there's an example of white space not helping.

But most of the time, white or empty space can allow your readers to enter into the space. If there's too much happening within the design of the page, there's no place for the eye to go. 

Laurie quoted Channel’s stupendous advice, "Look in the mirror before you leave, and take something away." I was inspired and went right to Blogger to add some easy, breezy white space to Pars Caeli. It feels like a great welcome mat to me.

3. "Your fonts are talking behind your back."

Direct quote from Miss Laurie. 

And, I knew they were. Fonts communicate the mood and style on your blog. Choose them carefully and choose them minimally, like 1 or 2, and at most 3. 

A classic serif font makes happy friends with a strong sans serif. For Pars Caeli, I decided that Didot (serif) and Bebas (sans serif) should be best friends forever. Sometimes we invite other whimsical fonts over for a playdate (like Learning Curve over on the right), just to make sure we're staying social and meeting new font friends.

Need to get out and meet some new fonts? Try some of these Laurie recommends:

FontSquirrel.com

Typekit

Google.com/webfonts

Dafont.com

4. Color, the short list

Color is powerful. Use the force wisely. Colors are not there to merely decorate your web space, but they can also play a unique function in guiding your reader through a site.  Are all your post titles in the same color? Does that connect to your menu or to your Instagram feed?

Readers want a way to organize their time in your space. Help them through the use of 1-5 consistent, beautiful colors.

I was torn on this one, and actually asked Laurie, "what if your banner has more than five colors, could that still work?" Funny enough, she took the time after class to come on over to Pars Caeli.

Here's one of my favorite tweets: "And your site is so lovely. I especially like your favicon! Beautiful work." 

I love my little cloud.

5. Look no further than your lunch for color inspiration

Seriously, she had made the most beautiful lunch. Greens, purples, earthy browns. And she used

Genopal.com/pic2color to make color palettes from a photo

Other great places for color palettes?

Colourlovers.com

Design-seeds.com

Kuler.adobe.com

I found this color scheme through Design Seeds after salivating and daydreaming through 100s of great choices. I really have to set a time limit on myself when I hop over there to Design Seeds.

So there you have it, my friends. Ready to recreate and subtract? Even if you're not a blogger or web guru, consider how your fashion, stationery, magazine, and interior design choices follow many of these same guidelines. 

Put it in your purse and take it away.

Thanks for stopping over. It's been really wonderful to have you here.

XOXO,

MJ

Did you come to see my DIY?

Happy Friday, friends! I am ready to downshift a bit from the hectic of this week and transition to the wholesome with ballet, Daisies, and soccer mixed with some great sunshine (pretty, please strange Midwestern weather?)

As promised, I wanted to share some goodies I learned over with the innovative educators of Alt Summit. I feel like a four-time proud alumna (check out my recap of Growing your Readership), armed with more knowledge and idea inspiration.

When I saw this course title come up on the Alt website, I immediately clicked in. Victoria over at asubtlerevelry.com led us through "How DIY posts, no matter your niche, can drive readership." Victoria is a totally dedicated, passionate mom of twin daughters who specializes in the "art of merry making" and that kind of just sounds awesome to me because I love to be merry. In her eyes DIY can make a huge difference and can elevate your site from okay to a-mazing!

Blogger buds, happy weekend: here are my 5 helpful takeaways on DIYs.

#1 Be original

Yes, we're developing a theme here. This was Nicole's big push in the readership class, and Victoria stressed this need for great, original content. According to Victoria, original = not done before, done in a new and unique way, used in a capacity that makes the project original in its design.

Here are some nifty ideas from her on how to allow the divine and clearly original inspiration to seep in. Let your brain relax. Take a walk (without the mobile device), a shower. Look at old books and (more so than blogs even) and let yourself be inspired.

#2 Begin it

If you're still feeling desperate for that magical, fabulous post, she encouraged beginning something. Just start working on something, and as you go through the process of creating, other things will inspire and bring new energy and creativity to you.

#3 Keep it accessible

Victoria is an established crafter and blogger, and she's even headed over to the pages of Better Homes and Gardens very soon! And yet, I was edified to hear that her most popular DIY post remains a simple heart ice cube for Valentine's Day. It also brought home the point to me that you gotta keep the materials easy to find, make the steps simple, know your audience, and what they can do. And put the links to your DIYs in a really obvious location on your blog so your readers and new visitors can find these right away.

#4 Maintain beautiful in the process

Use pretty materials. Invest in nice tools. I have never critiqued my pair of scissors or noticed the quality of my kraft paper. Victoria suggested painting or wrapping your scissors with colorful washi tape to give them a fresh feel. Make every aspect of DIY photos fun and interesting, even the shots of the supply list. She encouraged all of us to take clear, well-styled photographs on a simple blank backdrop and focus on taking a killer final shot of our DIYs (even more than the step-by-steps, which, if need be, can be less than perfect compared to the final work).

#5 Schedule time

And last, but best of all in my books, was her example of how she schedules time in her week to be inspired. This is not an easy task no matter your lifestyle but poses a particular challenge to a mom of two small twins. Victoria pulls out her calendar and marks off a few hours every week to leave the house and head to the bookstore to imagine new possibilities.

Put this one on the to do list for me: Set off time to be inspired.

Along this theme of DIY, I've got a fun project coming up in collaboration with Molly the Waffler. I'm stopping over there on Wednesday because I think she may just be able to help my broken umbrella situation.

Have a fabulous weekend. Keep it bright. I can't wait to see your DIYs next week.

XOXO,
MJ

"Twitter is the blogger's water cooler"

Today's quote is from the wonderful Nicole Balch from MakingItLovely.com, a beautiful blog about stylish living. Nicole put on one great class last night through the Alt Summit Channel on Growing a Readership, and I was one of her 90 happy students.

I might be a little bit infatuated with everything Alt Summit, but in a totally unbiased way, I also think they are offering some fabulous classes for only $15 that are hip, informative, and filled with other really great bloggers (who you want to invite out for coffee after the one-hour class but they live all over the globe so you just meet up in the twittersphere).

I'm not going to give away all her nuggets, but here are 5 that you can put to use in your own blogging.

#1 Be Original              

What should you post to grow your blog? Original content that sets you apart from other blogs. Nicole recommended a ration of 90:10 - 90% original photos, layouts, tutorials, and creative writing and 10% share cute buys and faboo recommendations.

New to me: the idea of a blogger book tour. Some publishing companies like Chronicle give 10 or so blogs original content applicable to the new book and get the word out through great blogger reviews and posts. Love that.

#2 Share You

Your readers want to get to know who you are. Who is the great Oz behind the curtain? Share your story in fun and interesting ways. 

Nicole mentioned Mighty Girl's life list. Her blog follows the 100 or so things she wants to do with her life. Try spicing up your profile by letting people hear your story and connect with you, the author of your webhome. 

I also learned some awesome nicknames for loyal readers. I wish I could remember all the good ones, but it definitely made me think I need to have some kind of name for you good people who come here to see what's happening in my piece of Heaven. (my inspires? I'm still thinking...) 

#3 Predictable Fun                                        

Your readers come to rely on you, and consistency is key. Your timing doesn’t have to be every day. Nicole started blogging three times a week and now she's bringing us gorgeous photos and content daily..maybe even more soon. 

Stay consistent. But don’t put the pressure on yourself. Aim for once a day.

#4 Become BFF with Social Media           

Social media is fantastic. Stay attentive to the little things. Can your readers find you? This means easy buttons to follow you on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram.

Keep the same username for all your platforms so that someone can easily search for you.

Twitter = blogger water cooler!! Keep it fun. "Twitter is a great way to interact with your readers and jump into conversation…traffic will come naturally."

Oh, and match your header to your domain name.

#5 Comment Etiquette

"Don’t have anything in your house that is not useful or beautiful." via Pancakes and French Fries. That has nothing to do with anything, but I found it inspiring!

Stay active with other bloggers and leave a thoughtful comment. And a clear don't – don’t put your URL in a comment. You've already added it in to the basic info on the post. Double dosing here is clearly tacky.

Every post initiates a conversation. It's a like a great party. Be sure to respond to people. "Talk to the people who have been nice enough to talk to you."

And everybody loves comments. So true, so true.

Honestly, what I love best about the Alt Summit classes are the completely creative, dazzling folks who join in the very chatty webinars. You get a complete blog roll and a ton of twitter handles to follow...and I've found some great *inspires* to keep me going for quite a while.

Happy blogging!

XOXO MJ