hey guys! since spring is here I thought it would be fun to share some ideas to make your room cozy for spring. also I thought it might take our minds off quarantine (I’ve been sharing lots of posts about that lately so I thought something new would be fun!) 💛
Tag: design
Our Florida Winter: Photoshoot
How has your week been? Mine has been good, but busy with school. I can’t wait for Christmas/New Year’s break! Do y’all like the Christmas “redesign” of the blog? It’s not as good as the regular one, because Mukta designed that one, but I like it. It’s fun to change things up!
Anyway, today’s post is “winter” photography. If you could call it that… I’m a Florida gal, so our winter is basically the same as summer (except we kinda freak out at 65 degrees “It’s so cold! It’s going to snow!”- and yes, that is a real conversation). Plus the majority of these photos are of my cutesy little sis Em. Hey, I won’t complain if you won’t!
#sorrynotsorry
I decided to split the post into two categories: nature/outside and Emily/sibs (my siblings). So…. let’s get started!
I don’t really know why I took this photo (maybe it was a lighting test) but I actually kinda like how it came out. The quality isn’t great, but I like the different elements. The stones are so pretty, and I love the layering of the steps and the plant.
This picture is weird… I like the detail of the cherry tree’s trunk, but the angle is really crazy… what do you think?
There were a couple of tiny flowers by our sidewalk, so I tried to take a picture of them. Believe me, it’s harder than it looks! I was literally lying on the ground hoping that none of our neighbors were watching me… the things we do to get a picture!
THIS PICTURE IS SO PRETTY. I literally have no idea why I like it so much… but I love the pine cone. Plus we have some bokeh in the back… yaaaaaassssss!
I can’t decide which I like better- the pine cone in focus or out of focus. In this picture, I really like how sharp and clean the grass is, plus I like the bokeh.
BEHIND THE SCENES/// I moved the grass so I could focus on the pinecone… it was way harder than I thought! Steadying the camera was MUCH harder with only one hand…. plus I was lying on the ground.
I don’t love this picture, but I wanted to show y’all how huge our cherry tree is. It might not be super big, but we planted this thing from when it was TINY. It was about the size of a marigold, I kid you not. It’s so huge now! We planted it at the end of February in 2017, so we haven’t even had it for two years.
The light was so pretty coming from the top of the tree, so I had to take a picture!
I love the way the light is coming in through the leaves! This picture is so pretty 🙂
Now for the part of the post that you OBVIOUSLY came for… my cutsie patootsie sister Em plus my brothers! Plus an overload of camera mirror selfies (that sounds weird) of me!
C: Make me a cool rapping singer. Here I’ll sing for you “BOOM BOOM BOOM I’M A RAPPER” I obliged.
C: Take a picture of my eye… with sunglasses on!
Okaaaayyyy?
Em’s face the entire time that C was posing “as a cool rapper”
I don’t normally like color contrast like this, but this is adorable! I love her expression… J was posing for me like this, and she decided to copy him.
OH MY GOODNESS I’M FRAMING THIS… How cute, though? I love it.
Wouldn’t you love to knock on a door and have this cutie answer? How adorable!
BTS (behind the scenes): She was actually trying to slam the door on me while I was taking them. She was literally saying “Out, Tina! Out, Tina! Chris-tin-a, get out!”.
If you look past the blurriness, she’s adorable!
“And what are you doing here, my good friend?’ (not what she was actually saying lol)
I tried to capture pictures of her running… and failed.
I told her “Pose for me” and “be a model” (she doesn’t know what a model is lol) and this is what she gave me.
I love her messy face… She looks so deep in thought.
She was mad at me when I wouldn’t let her “see it, see it, see picture”… I haven’t taken the picture yet!
But when you tell her to smile for the camera… CUTENESS ALERT! I love this picture!
Need I say more?
She found this random green ribbon… and she loved it!
Selfie of me! Probably not the best part of my fave to take a picture of… hello acne + freckles 😦
I have no idea what he was doing…
They have ganged up against me! I took both these pictures within 10 seconds of each other…
MIRROR SELFIES
These were so fun to take! I might make one my profile picture!
Sorry for the long post… I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what picture was your favorite!
Thanksgiving Outfit Ideas
I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is almost here! When you read this, I’ll be on the home stretch- the last day of school before Thanksgiving break. Yay!
Idea 1: T-Shirt and jeans
This is SO comfy and also really casual. A thanksgiving t-shirt would be super cute!
Belle Lily has a ton of cute thanksgiving themed shirts on their site. They’re really inexpensive and they also have a Black Friday coupon code right now, so definitely check that out. Here are some of my favorites:
How cute would any of those be with jean and ankle booties? It’s super effortless too! They also have a ton of long sleeved options for all of you lucky ones who actually have a temperature change during the fall season.
Idea 2: Sweater Dress
Sweater dresses are GENIUS! They’re a great choice for thanksgiving too.
This sweater dress (picture credit) is a great idea! It mixes sweaters and dresses so well. This is the perfect choice if you don’t want to wear jeans.
This sweater dress outfit (picture credit) is also super cute. It’s simple and effortless but it looks adorable.
Idea 3: Coordinate!
This awesome compilation is perfect for families. There are lots of color schemes, and they’re so cute! Coordinating with your family is SO adorable. Plus, you can use all of these ideas for your own personal outfit too!
I hope you enjoyed this short (but hopefully sweet) post! I’m off to go make yummy goodies for thanksgiving!
A non-expert’s overview of Bible Journaling
Today I’m going to be sharing a HUGE post about bible journaling. We’ll talk about my favorite supplies, some art I’ve done, my bible, and we’ll even look at some art inspiration. Are you ready? I sure hope so!
To bible journal, you need a bible, so I’m going to show you guys mine.
Non-referrer link to Amazon- I bought it when it was $24 from this seller
I bought my bible in January of this year, and it’s held up beautifully! As you can see from the picture, it’s gotten rather splotchy (I have no idea how it could get dirt on it, lol) but it’s not that big of a deal. It’s also available in hot pink, but I didn’t want that. At first I planned on getting a bible cover as well but I haven’t had any need for one, so I don’t plan on getting one.
None of the pages are falling out or anything like that, and the paper is very nice. It’s not super thin like most bible’s pages, but it’s not too thick either.
I highly recommend this bible for someone who has just started bible journaling and doesn’t want to “mess up”. There are lots of simple line drawings, which are awesome and very creative (nothing I could draw, lol). Bible journaling has also really improved my hand lettering, so I’m comfy with doing lots of art, and I also put sermon notes in it.
Now for the fun part, XD! I’m going to show you several art example and try my best to add the supplies I used.
They’re not all very good pictures or art, but I love flipping through the pages and looking at all the pieces of art I’ve done.
Starting at top left, going clockwise
My Creative Bible $28.34
Crayola colored pencils 24 pack $9.34 (about 39 cents/pen)
Pilot G2 pens 12 pack $12.79 (about 1.07/pen)
Pencil
Sakura Pigma Micron Pens 6 pack $10.93 (about 1.82/pen)
Staedtler colored pens 10 pack $14.49 (about 1.45/pen)
Washi tape $7.90 (about 20 cents/roll)
I hope you enjoyed! See you next week 🙂
Why I don’t have Pinterest + an alternative
Today I decided to share an easy alternative to Pinterest!
I’m going to share this alternative with y’all right off the bat… Unsplash! I know, right? If you don’t know what Unsplash is, it’s a free photo website full of high-resolution photos. They’re all free for the taking and you can use them anywhere, plus they’re great quality! Awesome, right – if you want photos. But you can use Unsplash for other things too! I use it for a Pinterest board. It’s not the same, but here’s what it DOES have.
- Tons of great quality photos- if you want photo inspiration, this is WAY better than Pinterest. These photos are professional and hand picked daily!
- Bible journaling and art inspiration- this is surprising but true. There are quite a few gorgeous spreads for bible journaling, art, bullet journaling, and planners.
- Cute pictures of babies- I know! But they’re so CUTE 🙂 ‘Nuff said.
- Food pictures- I have a whole board on this one 🙂
- Boards- You can make collections that are kind of like pinterest boards! It’s very similar.
- Appropriate photos- the photos are all hand picked and very appropriate.
- You can submit photos- I can’t promise that they’ll be accepted, but you can submit them!
- You can like photos
- You can follow other people’s feeds
- Your feed is specific to your interests
VIEW MY UNSPLASH ACCOUNT
One thing I love about Unsplash is that it’s not ads for products. On pinterest, the pictures make you want stuff, but Unsplash pictures don’t (for me).
Go to unsplash.com today to sign up, or check out my unsplash account with the link above.
Reveiw of Design Pique Studios+New Blog Design!
Hey guys! As you probably know, Mukta recently redesigned my blog. If you haven’t seen it yet because you’ve been reading my posts in your reader or your email or not at all, then come see it! It’s absolutely gorgeous. Mukta took my hard to understand vision and made it into the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.
Let’s take a look!
What Mukta did:
- Picked a new theme (I love the open, clean layout)
- Designed an AMAZING header.
- Designed a blog button and post schedule.
- Designed headers for all the site pages and sidebar elements.
Check out the site if you haven’t already. I am in LOVE with the design *heart eyes emoji*
Review Of Design Pique Studios
Design Pique Studios is Mukta’s professional unprofessional business (you’ll see what I mean in a moment).
One thing you must know about Design Pique Studios is that it is an unprofessional business that designs professionally. Mukta’s business is free, but her designs are professional. This may make you think twice, but when you see the designs she’s done (she does book covers too), you’ll fall in love with her company.
Design Pique Studios has designed plenty of blogs and book covers, so naturally, Mukta is very busy. However, she was very kind (even when I disturbed her on vacation… twice) and always found time for our emails. We were able to get the design completed in less than two weeks.
Overall: I love Design Pique Studios and recommend it to you, whoever you are :). It’s very professional, not pricey at all, and easy to do. She makes the process so simple and easy and I really do recommend her.
Check Design Pique Studios out here!
I also have something extra special for you…
Interview with Mukta
You guys are going to love this. Definititly check out Mukta’s blog and design website.
How long have you been blogging? (also, can you send a link to your blog in the answer?)
I’ve been blogging over at my personal blog, Born Free for four years now! (I know right, sounds like forever 😉 )
What are your goals for your blog and business?
For my blog, well, my dreams are like anyone else’s. To meet and get to know people who share my interests, and to hope that every step I take is towards improvement. As for my business, it began as an experience for my working in the design field, and by far it has proved to be worth every minute I spend in it.
What are some interesting facts about yourself?
Well, I am an excessive sweater no matter what time of the year. I am an INFP-T and a somewhat fitness freak. 😛 I can officially not dance if my life depended on it, haha. AND I have both sleepwalked and sleeptalked on some long-gone day in my life, I trust.
How did you first get into blogging?
It began with my dad, actually. I had no idea what a blog was, and my dad started it to post some of my early writings and such, but now it is taken over by me completely and am glad it is so.
How would you describe your blogging style?
I would say… all over the place? It doesn’t have a fixed theme, really, so I post anything that I enjoy. The whole purpose of my blog revolves around the idea of preserving what I enjoy, so to say. J
What are some tips for beginning bloggers?
Well, I certainly would say that it takes time to get in the groove. Rocky days are normal, not feeling motivated is normal, so if you want to be a blogger, you’ll have to be up for all of it.
What is your favorite design tip?
Well, my work motto (the one I just made up a moment ago) is ‘When all else fails, clipping masks are your saviour’. And seriously, if you’re having trouble designing your blog, take it easy- find a font you like, find a texture you like, put the texture on. That works magic, trust me. 😉
Did y’all enjoy that? I loved hearing Mukta’s answers!
Whoops//Changes coming up
Hey guys!
First of all, So sorry that I haven’t posted in OVER A MONTH! Seriously, that’s awful! There are a couple changes coming up on the blog, just wanted to let y’all know.
- Mutka (https://designpiquestudios.com/) is redesigning my blog! She’s amazing and so easy to work with. I can’t wait to get the new design up. Not sure when we’ll be done, hopefully in the next couple weeks or so.
- IDENTITY CRISIS!! Ahh! Okay, I exaggerated a little bit, but I’m not super sure what you guys want to see C & C (my little nickname for this blog) become. That is one of the reasons that I haven’t posted in a while; I’ve had ideas, but I haven’t been sure of what Y’all want to see.
Possible Post Examples:
And now my mind goes blank…
Books I’m reading: Do you guys want to see what I’m reading? Not sure if that would appeal to you, but it wouldn’t be too hard to post; I’ve been reading a LOT lately.
Book Review(s): A couple of books I’ve been reading might be fun to review on here. If you want to see this, let me know!
Writing: I’m in the planning stage of my new novel that doesn’t have a title so if you want to see that journey on here, I could do that.
Modesty/Clothing/Fashion: What do you guys want to see in this category? I could post a couple ideas that I’ve used for myself and maybe you would enjoy that. Not sure, though. 🙂
Art: Warning: I am NOT an artist. This may not be the best category… LOL. I’m not SO great at art… enough said.
Organization/Minimalism/Downsizing: This has been on my mind a lot, so if you want to see this let me know.
School: Okay, okay, sounds super boring, but maybe you want to see this. IDK
What are some of your ideas for what C&C should become? I’d love to know, so comment below.
christina raquel 
