July Photo a Day Challenge wrap up

It's hard to believe that we're almost through another month already!

It's worked out well having my fat mum slim's photo a day challenge photos on Pinterest, so I put my July photos up there.  I still don't need any more daily content on this blog, Facebook, or Twitter.  You can check out the entire board here (or by clicking on the above photo).  I'm just sharing a few of the highlights in this post today.

Day 1: Self-Portrait

I did the short hair thing for the better part of 5 years.  It was fun for a while, but I miss having long hair (kind of a lot) so I'm growing it out again.

Day 2: Busy

I am almost always multitasking so it's not unusual that I have at least two notebooks in front of me at the computer.  This also means that I'm doing a good job with my list making!

Day 7: Garden

Some friends gifted us some herbs from their garden.

Day 9: Big

Miller Park.

Day 12: Texture

The bleacher seats at Miller Park.

Day 18: Plate

I took a few pictures of this for an article.  It's cold orzo pasta salad with tomatoes and feta cheese, sauteed vegetables (portabella mushrooms, squash, and zucchini), and avocado slices.  If you missed the recipe, it's over here.

Day 20: Eyes

It took quite a few photos to get a shot of Angel this close that wasn't completely blurry.

Day 23: Mirror

I feel like I've used about every possible option for prompts like this around the house, so I took a few pictures in stores this month.

Day 25: Heart

Heart buttons.

Day 26: Sunshine

Sunlight filtering through the trees at Greenfield Park.

Day 30: Calm

Another shot at Greenfield Park.

Again, you can check out the entire set of July photos on Pinterest right here.

I'm going to re-cap what is becoming my standard questions and insight that I put together for these challenges:

I have a confession to make.:  Most of you know that I don't necessarily take the photo prompts on the given days for the challenge.  I believe that I get better photos this way than I do if I force the photos every day.  I also only take the time to upload and edit these photos once or twice a week

Is it tough to participate in this challenge and the Scavenger and Macro challenges?  The short answer to this question is yes.  The last two months it wasn't too hard, but I had a tough time pulling everything together before the end of the month.  A lot of the prompts didn't match up, and I was taking more photos at various outings with family and friends and taking less photos for prompts at home and out on my own.

Is it worth it?  The short answer to this is also yes.  Many of you know that as a freelance writer, I like to use a lot of photos in my long term earnings articles.  It is a huge time saver to pull something from my files that I know is high quality than to shoot and edit something brand new or search for a stock file online.  These challenges really help me with this process of continuing to grow my own photo supply.

I am participating next month.  I am also planning to continue to not force photos everyday and only take time to upload once or twice a week.  If you're interested in participating for August, check out the prompt list right here.

What have you been photographing lately?

New article:
Blueberry Dessert Recipes  

Scavenger Hunt and I Heart Macro on Monday (7/30/12)

Welcome to another edition of the photo Scavenger Hunt and I Heart Macro!  Enjoy!

1) Paint

Jake got some good weather to spray paint some new models this week.  Now that they're based, he can start working on the details.

2) Green

We have finally been blessed with some rain this past week after over a month with no more than few sprinkles.  These water drops are authentic!

I'm using one of these shots for I Heart Macro this week.

3) Eyelashes

Self-portrait.

4) Shapes

I'm sure that many of you recognize another version of this photo as what I use for my Saturday Link List button.  I decided to create a new version of it for this prompt.

5) Clouds

I intensified this picture of an impending brief summer storm.

Here's another less intensified cloud picture that I took later in the week.

Check out Ashley's blog to see what other people submitted for the themes this week.



Here is a weekly photo of Angel for you.  I have a couple of new ones for the monthly challenge, but I took this with my phone on Saturday.  Jake brought the Best Buy bag downstairs to work on something with my desktop computer, and of course Angel immediately claimed it when he sat down to pet her.

The Monthly Photo Challenge Update:

I did a lot of catch up with the Monthly Challenge this past week and am on track to complete all of the prompts this month.  Check out my board here: July Photo A Day Challenge.  Stay tuned tomorrow for a July wrap up post!

Where else I linked up today:

Treasury Round Up - 7/29/12

It's been another great week of treasuries!  Please help me thank the curators who featured my work this past week by visiting their shops and checking out their treasuries.

Linda (PruittDesign) included my Beaded Dangle Earrings - Pink Glass Triangles in her Plum Tickled Pink treasury.  Linda puts together some of the best color combinations!  A lot of the shops featured in this treasury have Christmas in July sales.  Check out them while you still can.  Also, check out Linda's Purple Drop Zipper Pull.

LeAnn (pasqueflower) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Embellished - Blue and Beach Charms - Set of 2 - One Glass Charm, One Metal Flip Flop Charm in her Rhapsody in Blue treasury.  This is a great name for a collection.  The blues are a nice contrast to all of the heat that so much of the country, Wisconsin included, has had lately.  Check out LeAnn's Oven Mitts 1 Pair Man-Sized Blue Mitts.

Alice (PipingHotPapers) included my Button Charm Bracelet - Red in her Cool vs Hot treasury.  This is a gorgeous collection.  I love what Alice wrote about it, too: "Doesn't matter...I love them both."  Check out Alice's Fridge Magnets / fits magnabilities / 5 one inch fridge magnets / turquoise, black, and vanilla / Asian inspired silhouettes.

Kathy (tapestry316) included my Button Charm Bracelet - Two-Hole Explosion in her Pass me a lemonade, please! treasury.  This is such a bright, fun collection.  Check out Kathy's ACEO original watercolor and ink painting of Toys and Games Pieces - 7 Card Draw.

Kaili (clockworkghOst) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Skinny Fringed - Black and Pink in her Pink & Brown treasury.  Kaili also puts together some of the best color combinations.  Check out her Hibiscus Flower Dew Drop 4x6 Print Nature Photography Pink Yellow.

Pamela (ForHerEarsOnly) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Easter Morning in her Forget Me Not treasury.  I love all of the turquoise here.  Check out Pamela's Peacock Blue.

Erika (ArtfulRising) included my Beaded Cuff Bracelet - Skinny Wrapped - Blue in her blue skies smiling on me... treasury.  Erika puts together some of the most whimsical, inspiring collections ever.  Check out her Beautiful Butterfly Magnets.

I also curated my own treasury this week.  I took the opposite approach of LeAnn and went for a bright red collection to match the heat.

July is RED HOT!

Thanks to those who linked up with me last week!  Here are a few of the items that they featured last week.  Click on the photos to check out the product listings.

I am really touched by all the people who I have inspired to start their own treasury round ups with awesome shop features and write ups!  Please link up with me and grab a button for your own post.  I know that not everyone posts these rounds ups on Sundays, which is fine.  I will leave this link up open all week.  The most current post is now linked at the top of my blog, just under my header so you can find it easily at any time during the week.

If you link up, take the time to visit and comment on at least one other post.  No one benefits from linking up if we don't all support each other.  Thanks!

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Tribute to Sadieday

I'm taking a break from our regularly scheduled Saturday Link List today to post a little tribute to Sadieday.  Many of you read Sharla's BeadedTail blog and know that her Sadie recently passed away.  Everyone who reads Sharla's blog got to know Sadie very well and miss seeing her happy face every week.  One way that we got to visit with Sadie was through her Saturday Sadieday strolls around her neck of the woods.  Saturday will always be Sadieday to many of us now, and I put together my own stroll through the Milwaukee area for Sadie today.  Enjoy!

We enjoy lots of beautiful architecture and trees in our neighborhood.

We live right by a couple parks with trails and of course more trees.

We like to visit a nearby pond with swans and ducks.

Milwaukee has beautiful beaches, too.

Of course, sometimes it's just nice to relax right in your own backyard.

I hope that you enjoyed my stroll through my neck of the woods today!

Stay tuned next week for our regularly scheduled Saturday Link List with a brand new list of August recipes!