A Puppy Party

Yesterday we went to a birthday party for my friend Heather's daughter Roxanne (who turned 5). She had it at The Kids Spot, which you may remember from a previous post on my other blog I taught art classes at last Summer. It has changed owners since and I have to say it I am seriously impressed with the new owners. It was a great party and we all had fun (yep, including The Baconator and Xander). The theme was a Veterinarian Party, since that's what Roxy wants to be when she grows up, so all the kids brought their puppies...it was so cute! Heather made these awesome treat jars filled with DIY play dough and chocolate puppy paw lollipops. She is one crafty girl. ;) Oh and I am totally stealing that for Gia's birthday this year because it is an awesome idea and much better than the throw away treat bag junk that we usually do.

Ways to Donate to Haiti

I haven't said much about the horrible earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12th. For the first few days, it was so hard to even watch the news because you just couldn't imagine a place that bad off. What really pulled at me were all of the orphans that were now homeless without food or formula...now that number will probably triple because of every one that has perished in the tragedy. There was no doubt in my mind that I had to do something to help so when it came to deciding where I wanted to make my donations, I did a lot of research. While the Red Cross and UN are reputable organizations (the jury may still be out on the UN). I wanted to make sure that ALL the money I donated went STRAIGHT to Haiti, to people already on the ground and able to help. I found a few great places that I am confident in.

Haitian Health Foundation - There are several areas in which you can donate and all of your proceeds will benefit the many citizens of Haiti that need it.

For His Glory Outreach - I first saw this organization mentioned on a report about the orphanages that were devastated. They are an outreach with an orphanage in Haiti (Children of the House of God) so all of the proceeds go directly to their children.

Doctors Without Borders - There are a huge number of volunteers from the organization already in Haiti trying to help. There are several ways you can have your donation spread out.

Craft Hope is also doing a fundraiser where all of the proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders for relief. This is an awesome group of crafters who have donated goods for free to go to a great cause. You can check out their Etsy shop for all the details and to start shopping!

I took things a little further and actually volunteered to go to Texas and help For His Glory Outreach when they are able to get things together and go to Haiti. I haven't been contacted as of yet but I will keep you updated with details. I would love to actually go to Haiti to help hands on but I don't have my passport yet so I don't think that is possible. :( It just breaks my heart that these children are in such a horrible situation. Hopefully with everyone giving so graciously that this will change sooner than later.

I HEART Photoshop

I was able to get some of the photos that Morgan took of us a few months ago so I could play around with them in Photoshop. I am actually redesigning her blog so look out for that soon. :) If you have ever seen an awesome photos and said to yourself "How do those she/he get those photos to look so good?" 99.99% of the time, it is with the help of Photoshop. Unfortunately, most photos don't come out of the camera looking awesome...they need a little help to get there. :) Oh Photoshop, how I love thee...I am amazed every time I use it (and I have a pretty basic knowledge). I wish I had the time to take an actual course so I could learn all there is to know, I would be a happy happy girl. Granted, I would probably never get any work done because I would be too busy playing. ;) Anyway, back to the photos...I am going through my favorites and will be posting them here randomly over the next few weeks (with a few PS tutorials for you). Morgan took all of these photos...I just edited them. :)

Meet Eric

I have been so busy lately that I haven't even gotten a chance to introduce you to Eric. He is my BFF's newest little bundle. She took this photo shortly after he was born (which has now been almost a month). I love newborn photos, I wish I had some of Gia but I didn't get into my photography phase until she was about one. I would have loved these little shots. Look how cute!!

Biz Monday - Freshen Up in 2010

I made it over here with 30 minutes to spare...whew! This Biz Monday post is all  about freshening up your office space for 2010. New Year's resolutions usually include cleaning out your closets and getting rid of the junk that you haven't used for years but sometimes we forget about the spaces we use for work. Whether you have a whole room, half a room, garage or corner in the living room,  it is a perfect time to clean out, re-organize and redecorate (on a shoestring budget of course).
Here are some ways to start:
Clean out and unclutter.
Do you have piles of unfiled paperwork stuffed in every nook and cranny? It's time to get everything out in the open and go through it. Do you have a business that requires you to keep customer records? I put aside one day a week to do all my filing and paperwork clean up. I have a simple folder that I put anything that needs to be filed away during the week and on Friday I bust it out and get to work. Also don't forget to go through desk drawers...with children around they tend to collect all sorts of crazy stuff.

Create a system for your records.
We all know tax time is a headache but make it a little easier on yourself by keeping thing in order all year long. I keep a simple worksheet each month and then record my expenses and income. Then at the end of the year, you just have to add up each month. You don't need an expensive accounting program to do this....just a simple IRS tax form that tells you the breakdown of what categories expenses go in. I designed my worksheet to fit their requirements to make it even that much easier at the end of the year.

Spring for one new office supply.
Ok now I don't mean staples...go for something that will spruce up your space and put some color into your work life. This is probably my favorite tip because I have a freakish love of pretty office supplies. Why write with a plain black Bic pen when you could be using a uber cool Hello Kitty one? You don't have to spring for new furniture (unless of course that is in your budget) but you can get a pretty notebook, cool magazine boxes that double as file holders or funky pens and notepads. There are tons of places out there to find some really cool office supplies. Two of my favorite places are See Jane Work and Sorting with Style. You can also find some great handcrafted supplies on Etsy.

*On a side note, I have no idea where that photo came from but I LOVE that office. So shabby and modern (strange combo I know).

Ahhh Love is in the Air

I took my original Christmas freebies and redesigned them for Valentine's Day! I included the pyramid goody box, pillow box and I added a new one...the matchbook notebook. These make great projects and can be used for a variety of things. Each PDF comes with instructions and the printable template. Print as long as your heart desires but I do ask that you keep this personal... no commercial resale please. I would love to see pics of how you use them. :) You can click the photo for the PDF and I have also included links on the sidebar for easy reference.