Say cheese!!!

The idea of being a photographer was a subject we never talked about in my house where I was growing up. I actually don't know what my mom has to say on that matter still now. I never told her that I wanted to research higher education programs in art, I kinda didn't dare to mention it. I was to become a lawyer and that was it. She was one. She still is. She serves as a prosecuting attorney for Latvian government and is not gonna be messed around with. When my husband is asked what my mom is like, this is what he sais - " Wool dress-suit, short hair cut, iron fist." Yeah...

I remember being 12 years old and dressing up in some of her pencil skirts and jackets and standing on front of the mirror announcing that this is what I am going to wear when I will be a lawyer. From there on she took every opportunity to remind me of how well respected, high earning and smart these people are. It is pretty much the best idea, the only way to go if you want to succeed in life. Brainwashing? Oh, definitely!!! I learned to love the idea and she loved it that I loved it. At that point in my life my career was the only clear thing in my future.

Then I remember being 20 and standing in front of her announcing that I hate law school and am never going back there again. I hated it! I lasted two years before admitting to myself, that this stuff is not for me in million years!

I haven't gone back to college again (except for the two semesters to BYU, but the reasons and experiences that came with that is another story) clearly because I have no idea what I want to study. Photography was one of the things I have always wanted to try. Just for fun. But the expensive equipment, skill learning and actual doing just always put it somewhere in "someday". Well, now I have a camera and time and I know for sure that this is my idea and this is what I want. So, I thought, what am I waiting for....

Yellow summer wreath

I actually like a wreath on my door! I used to think that they are tacky, you know- fake flowers -but seeing the endless variety of styles and materials they can be made out of, I realized, I can find or make a wreath that I would absolutely love to hang on my front door.

A long time ago I bought a huge piece of fabric with intention to make matching skirts for me and my daughter for an outdoor photo-shoot. The event fell through and the skirts were never made.

Thinking about what colors I would like to incorporate in my wreath I remembered of this fabric and got inspired on the spot!!! Yellows and grays seemed the perfect match for me.

Then, another day I went for a run and found this old wreath on the side of the road. Of corse I couldn't let it stay there!

I had to work on it a little though. I stuck extra twigs in spots where it was a little thin and trimmed them all around to even it out.

I decided to spray paint it yellow and put felt rosettes on it. I got the paint with 40% off coupon in Jo-Ann's and felt for about $1.50 as I only asked them to cut it in about 5'' strips.

Then I cut the felt in squares. I wanted my gray rosettes be the biggest ones, so bigger squares for those.

Next step - take a pen and draw a spiral on one square (starting with the middle), so you know how to cut it. I noticed that the closer (more rings) the spiral is, the wider and flatter your rosettes will be. If you want your flowers to stand up higher, make your spiral "fatter". Once you get a feeling of how to cut it, you wont need to draw a spiral anymore.

Then staring with the outside end start rolling them up. Unless your rosette is very wide, you wont need to hot glue it as you go. When you are to the very middle of the spiral, just hot glue the end underneath the rosette to give it kind of a base. You know what I mean once you're there.

And that is the end result! Now I have a yellow wreath

on my door and I like it!