Cupcakes & Nut-Buckets for Father's Day
06.23.12
Last weekend I had a lot of fun making and decorating cupcakes and putting together some "nut-buckets" for Fathers Day. Now that Russ and I have a kitchen all to ourselves, I'm suddenly really excited about baking, especially treats. I'll probably start doing quite a few blogs like this that feature photos of the goodies I'm going to make.
Since I was mainly excited about decorating cupcakes this time, I just bought an easy chocolate cake mix. I had some fun picking out what type of candy to decorate with. I really wanted to do flower designs on the top of each cake. I decided to use fruity Tootsie Rolls for the pedals and Rips candy for the flower centers and stems. I also used yellow nerds as flower pollen and topped it all off with yellow and pink sprinkles.
There were a couple things I wasn't too pleased about. I had fun decorating the cakes, but sculpting the Tootsie Rolls into pedals took a lot longer than I planned. Also, the frosting recipe that I found online didn't set right, but after adding lemonade powder to the recipe it tasted great!
Overall it wasn't a bad turnout for my first baking project!
On my trip to pick up my baking supplies, I got a few ideas for Father's Day gifts. I found some cheap mini lunch pails and picked out some cashews and spicy prtzels and beef jerky. When I got home I put the snacks in the buckets and wrapped them in plastic wrap. I tied it all up with a ribbon and was very pleased with the result!
I think both Russ' Dad and mine enjoyed their gifts. I had a lot of fun putting them together and I think I may even start making crafty stuff like this for most the gifts I give out now, and I can't wait to bake again!
Article written by Shelly Allen.
Photos by Shelly Allen Photography
TAGS: cupcakes, cooking, crafts, fathers, day, gift, ideas, frosting, chocolate, cake, nuts, pretzels, jalapeno, ribbon, bucket, pails, cute, creative, shelly, allen, photos, photography, blog
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Why Would I Give Up The Things I Love Because I Got Married?
06.14.12
I find it odd that when I started telling people that I was getting married, I kept getting the same sort of questions...
"So are you going to keep Irish dancing?"
"Are you going to keep working here?"
"Are you going to give up photography?"
It's unbelieveable that many people automatically assume that falling in love means the end of all the things you did as a single person. What comes next? Lemme guess...
"Are you going to stop leaving the house?"
"Are you going to stop getting dressed in the morning?"
"Are you going to quit progressing in life and settle into a monotonous routine of cooking, cleaning and doing laundry?"
The fact that I'm getting questions like these so often makes me wonder two things. The person asking probably has no idea that married life is pretty much the same as single life. Which makes me wonder if they plan to give up the things they love most in life when they fall in love. Also, since I get these type of questions so often, I wonder just how many newlyweds actually answer yes.
I admit, I have less time since I got married. I've decided to make sure me and my sexy man have lots of free time to together, but by all means I'm never going to just stop doing the things I love to do! If finding your soulmate meant giving up everything you've worked so hard to accomplish all your life, we would all dread the day we finally fell in love. The fact is, getting married isn't "settling down". If anything it feels like I'm just getting started with my life! I'm very in love with Russ, but that doesn't mean I'm any less passionate about Irish dance or photography, art, singing, or even writing blogs.
Perhaps the real problem is too many people, especially women, assume that marriage requires that they to take on a specific gender role. I can only imagine what agony it would be to give up your own original talents and personality to become someone everyone expects you to be. I'll never be a stereotypical wife and I'm proud of that. I haven't been married for too long, but at this point I know my husband never expected me to change into someone else after we got married. In fact I'm sure he would hate it if I had.
I've never believed that getting married is a good excuse to give up the things you love. Doing so will only take away some of your happiness. My husband makes me very happy, but there are other things that make me happy as well. Giving up one happiness for another is just plain silly. Why trade in one for the other, when you can have both?
Article written by Shelly Allen.
Photo by Shelly Allen Photography
TAGS: marriage, gender, role, commitment, quit, career, job, irish, dance, shelly, hathaway, allen, relationships, free, time, work, photography, happiness, happy, love, soulmate, husband, wife, clean, cook, laundry, assum, passionate, wedding, newlywed
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The Top 10 Reasons Why Wedding Receptions Are Dumb
03.27.12
So... I've encountered quite a few people who are a little surprised that Russ and I are not going to have a wedding reception. Frankly I'm a little shocked that so many people like receptions at all. They're expensive, annoyingly traditional and REALLY boring! But instead of going on and on about every single reason why wedding receptions are dumb, I've decided to create a top ten list that emphasizes the biggest reasons why everyone planning to get married should seriously consider skipping the reception all together.
10: Throwing a bouquet, cutting a cake, dancing with your father... what in the world do these weird traditions have to do with finding your soul mate? Nothing.
9: I don't want to spend the best day of my life posing for pictures. This is not about how I look in my dress or who styled my hair.
8: Is it really important to invite every single person that has ever seen or heard of us? The only real motivation in doing something like that is simply to show off. "Oh! Look at me! I'm so pretty in my dress and look at this hot guy who's in love with me! I'm so special! Look, look, look!" Ya... no thank you.
7: I don't really enjoy being the center of attention. That kind of stress gives me a headache. I don't want a headache on my wedding day.
6: It takes the focus away from the real purpose of the day. For example the actual sealing ceremony.
5: They just plain cost waaaaay too much.
4: They go on and on and on and on.... they seem to last forever. Especially if you decide to stand in a line all day! There's a fun way to spend the best day of your life.
3: If you don't have a reception you don't have to worry about buying flowers, a layered cake, decorations, clothes for bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girls... need I go on?
2: You don't have to spend your entire engagement planning a reception, which leaves much more time for making-out and cuddling. ;)
and the number one reason of all...
1: With no reception, the Honeymoon starts much sooner. ;)
Article written by Shelly Allen & Russell Allen.
Photo by Shelly Allen Photography
TAGS: wedding, marriage, bride, groom, dumb, stupid, top, 10, ten, reasons, cake, dress, photos, flowers, bouquet, ceremony, honeymoon, making-out, kissing, cuddling, bridemaids, groomsmen, stress, expensive, headaches, money, boring, love, relationships
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I'm Not A Photographer. I'm A Photoshopographer.
03.20.12
Before I started delving into photography, I was a graphic designer. Even as a teenager I was creating websites and altering photographs taken by other people just for fun in my free time. I thoroughly enjoy working in Photoshop so a few years back when I began taking an interest in photography, Photoshop became my most important tool for making every photo look vibrant, professional and full of emotion.
Even now, when I take professional portraits or action shots I confess I know very little about how to work the intricate functions of my Canon T1i SLR digital camera. I usually just set the camera on auto and think only about basic lighting and composition. The real process of making my photos look professional takes place after the photo shoot, when I touch-up the photos in Photoshop. Because of this, I consider myself a photoshopographer rather than a photographer.
I've heard many photographers talk about how much they hate using Photoshop. Most photographers have very little graphic design experience so they will charge extra to make any changes to a photo, even if it's just changing a colored photo to black & white. For a photoshopographer it's quite the opposite. My favorite part of any kind of photoshoot is touching up the photos afterward. I have complete control over lighting, intensity, removing unwanted objects in the background; I can even change the entire mood of photo by altering the colors or make a smeared, blurry photo look artistic.
I've learned there are some who believe that altering photography in Photoshop is something to avoid because it can make photos look inauthentic or fake. I believe photoshopography is a beautiful new art form that allows a photographer to combine their own artistic ideas with real images.
To me, Photoshop isn't just for touching-up photos, it's a magical tool which gives me the ability to turn an boring gray photo into a vibrant work of art. Learning how to use Photoshop to enhance photos is an art form all it's own and it can take many years to master how to accurately use the program, let alone develop your own personal style. I love being a photoshopographer and don't plan to change my methods for creating professional photos anytime soon. The photos speak for themselves.
Article written by Shelly Allen.
Photos by Shelly Allen Photography
TAGS: photoshop, before, after, photos, photographer, photography, photoshopography, photoshopographer, graphic, design, pictures, images, exposier, brightness, contract, filter, editing, edit, touch-up, computer, design, shelly, hathaway, colors, experience, canon, T1i, cars, people, lighting, nature, digital, process, photoshopographer, tool, program, adobe, websites
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