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Make sure to click on the "Vote Here!" button under your favorite photo.
The five with the most votes gets moved up here!
The five with the most votes gets moved up here!
I love giveaways, don't you? Don't get me wrong, I love getting stuff, too - a lot. But giving things away - meaningful things especially - is so much fun!
This month's giveaway is from the oh-so-creative and inspiring Tina Steinberg and her line of personalized jewelry. I was so excited when I saw her work and just thrilled when she offered her 'Truly Bracelet' for a giveaway. It's a sterling silver bracelet with a single fingerprint charm, customized with a loved one's fingerprint and a short inscription on the back of the charm.
The winner will receive this one-of-a-kind, customized bracelet (worth $180 ). A kit will be sent to you to make your fingerprint. Adult sizes may be on larger charms or reduced so that, if you don't have any little ones, you can get your older kids fingerprinted or even your brand new hubby!
The giveaway will run until Sunday, Sept 12th at midnight (PST) and a winner will be randomly picked the following day. In order to enter, please visit Tina's site and come back to leave a comment about your favorite piece. But wait, there's more! You can get additional, multiple entries by doing one or more of the following (you will need a separate comment for each entry, please):
1. Follow me on this blog (RSS feed above) and then leave a comment letting me know. If you are already following me, leave a comment letting me know.
2. "Like" Karen Ard Photography on Facebook, then come on back and let me know. Again, if you already "Like" me, you still qualify - just leave a comment (I like you too, by the way).
3. "Like" Tina Steinberg Designs on Facebook, then come back and let me know.
4. Copy this message into your Facebook status: Enter to win a gorgeous customized silver bracelet by Tina Steinberg Design by visiting Karen Ard Photography at www.karenard.com/blog, then come on back and let me know. (You must friend me so I can check!)
5. Copy the same message into Twitter then come on back and let me know. (My Twitter handle is http://twitter.com/karenard)
http://karenard.com/blog/2010/09/jewelry-giveaway.html
What's a girl to do when you're being winked at? Normally she wouldn't have responded but Catherine says his warm smile and gentle eyes won her over. And when he proposed, Michael was sneaky enough to video tape the whole thing. But of course he's romantic. He composes beautiful romantic music for a living. And after seeing how radiant Catherine was on her wedding day, there is no doubt that she is his muse.
Catherine and Michael's Ventura wedding was my personal cup of tea. The closest feel to my own beach wedding eleven years back. And although they didn't actually get married on the beach, the whole beachy, Tommy Bahama theme was just perfect for this intimate, laid back wedding.
This will now be the third wedding this year that I've photographed were the bride and groom help each other get ready. I'm seeing a new wedding trend emerge and I love it. It's so sweet to see the tender moments of preparing together. They had rented a beach house for the week, a place for out of town family to come and share before the big day and lucky me the light was fantastic.
I was excited to open the closet to find this flirty little Tommy Bahama dress and Aldo sandals.
This stunning bride's maid bouquet, as well as the bride's, was created by Greenwich Floral Design. I love the color and textures that she used to create these.
Catherine was glowing the whole day, her eyes and smile full of joy for what was about to come...
Because they saw each other before the ceremony we had plenty of time for great portraits so off to the beach we went...
The blended family...
The ceremony and reception took place at Tutti's Off Main. They had the whole courtyard to themselves, which was perfect for this intimate affair.
This may be my favorite wedding topper ever. I almost wanted to slip it into my camera bag but I thought they may have noticed it was missing. And I loved the way Jana's Creative Cakes carried the whole theme.
They had an amazing singer/acoustic guitarist, Mike West, that set the tone perfectly. I had to keep looking over at him because I'd forget it was a live person. His wife Meg was the event planner and this girl didn't stop moving all night!
For more of their wedding, please check out the slideshow below. The music was composed by Michael and if you are a creative professional that purchases licensed music, please check out Michael's songs over at Triple Scoop Music.
Meg West Says:
The pictures are wonderful, you are fantastically talented! It was such a pleasure working with you, thanks for the sneak peek! =) Michael & Catherine are going to be overjoyed with their wedding album. :-)
(09.02.10 - 06:41 PM)
http://karenard.com/blog/2010/09/ventura-wedding-catherine-and-michael.html
Do I always brag about the great clients I have? I know I say it often but it's true. Otherwise I would say something generic like, um, "My clients are so.... tall". But no, they're fab. Take this family for example. They are so good about getting Miss O's portraits done regularly. Last week we did her year and a half session and it's been really wonderful watching her grow from our first session when she was just four months to this latest one. Of course we always throw her big brothers in for a few too and they are truly the best, most protective big brothers any girl could hope for.
In case you'd like to follow along with the photography sessions of little Miss O, you can find the four month session here, eight months here, and year session here.
http://karenard.com/blog/2010/08/malibu-family-portrait-photography.html
My daughter and I love watching all the cooking and baking shows that we can find. We record them and watch when we can, talking about all the different cupcakes, designs, flavors, etc... Well, we decided that we needed to take cake decorating classes, and I love that she is old enough now that we can do fun stuff like this together. (She also loves scrapbooking with me! Yeah!)
We had our first of eight classes today. We made the cakes and frosting at home then brought them in for decorating. Assignment number one: a butterfly cake. Things I learned:
Making everything from scratch is the best.
Licking frosting from the mixer makes me feel like I'm five again.
Making a basic butterfly shape is easier then I thought. Just cut the 8" round in half!
Frosting a cake properly is a lot harder then I thought. There is definitely a technique to getting it to stick to your cake without your super yummy, moist cake falling apart. My daughter and I are assuming we will get better at this.
We learned to make our own gel, piping bags using parchment paper, and colored frosting. There were certain techniques we were being taught so our designs all looked fairly similar but that's okay.
Spending two hours with my daughter, laughing, talking and having a great time is priceless. Here is her finished cake.
And here is mine.
The tip we used for the edging was a #17. And we were both very excited to use a bit of edible glitter! We had a blast and I bet your local bake supply shop has classes too. We are learning at Kake Kreations in Canoga Park. I've gone here for a gazillion years to pick up baking supplies and I always stopped to watch the people in class - now that's us. I also love that you can take the classes whenever you want so if you need to skip a week or two it's no big deal. I'll post again after our next class and hopefully you'll see an improvement as we get better.
julie Says:
awesome job. i've thought about taking those classes for so long. the cake looks great. keep up the good work. who eats the cake?
(09.03.10 - 05:42 PM)
h2obetty Says:
The funny thing is neither of us like cake too much so we give them to people or I'll have the Firefighter bring them to work.
(09.03.10 - 06:06 PM)
http://karenard.com/blog/2010/08/cake-decorating-101-1-of-8.html
The Lew Family bid on and won a portrait package with me from a local elementary school fundraiser a few months back. When they called to say they wanted to shoot soon because their precious Lab Emma had cancer, we pulled it together right away. They were great, meeting me early morning for gorgeous light and Emma was in great spirits.
I've really been enjoying the pet photography I've been doing lately as more and more people bring their dogs along for the shoot. Please let me know if you too are interested in pet portraits.
Here's a little sneak peak of this super sweet family and Emma.
And one more of Emma... my fav...
I donate photo sessions to many non-profits throughout the year. I enjoy helping my community through my art. If you would like a donation sent to your organization, please email me directly.
http://karenard.com/blog/2010/08/family-portrait---chatsworth.html
My favorite is the puppy love dog tag with finger print. It reminds me that I need to get my husband print for when hes deployed. I love love love her jewerly.
(09.02.10 - 08:06 PM)I like the love squared piece!
(09.02.10 - 08:16 PM)I liked you on facebook!
(09.02.10 - 08:17 PM)I already like Tina Steinberg Designs on facebook!
(09.02.10 - 08:19 PM)Love Tina & her amazing jewelry and enjoy following photographer's all over the country by way of their blogs and facebook pages. happy to have added yours to my list! :) My favorite Tina piece is by far, Love Squared.
(09.02.10 - 08:24 PM)From her mobile me gallery, I love her Double Drop Necklace with two prints for my two boys and from her store I really love the Circle of Love Locket! Her work is beautiful!
(09.02.10 - 09:13 PM)I already like Tina Steinberg Designs on Facebook!
(09.02.10 - 09:14 PM)http://www.facebook.com/pages/Two-Monkeys-a-Washtub/133461853347596
(09.02.10 - 09:18 PM)Posted on my public fan page...I can't friend you from there and if I was in CA, I would be calling you!
http://twitter.com/monkeyswashtub/status/22859041191
Tweeted - couldn't find your twitter ID or your blog follow....
(09.02.10 - 09:19 PM)I loved the cirlce of love locket.
(09.02.10 - 09:33 PM)I liked Karn Ard Photography on Facebook.
(09.02.10 - 09:33 PM)I liked Tina Steinberg Designs on Facebook.
(09.02.10 - 09:34 PM)I love all of Tina's pieces. I have been a fan for many years and refer her website OFTEN. I would love another of her pieces. I have already "liked" her on FB.
(09.02.10 - 09:57 PM)I love all of Tina's designs, but I've been wishing for a Little Love Charmer for a while now... So simple and pretty!
(09.03.10 - 04:46 AM)I like Tina Steinberg Designs on facebook! Thanks for the additional chance to win. (I hope I hope I hope I hope I hope!)
(09.03.10 - 04:49 AM)I just liked you on facebook -- such beautiful photos!
(09.03.10 - 04:51 AM)My favorite is the Spirit collection. Love the uniqueness of each piece. Glad to have found her, thanks Karen.
(09.03.10 - 09:05 AM)I LOVE Karen Ard Photography. She is an amazing artist and captures such beautiful memories for so many!!!! Yeah, glad to call her my friend:) xoxo
(09.03.10 - 09:06 AM)I LIke Tina Steinberg Designs on Facebook!!!
(09.03.10 - 09:07 AM)I love all of her pieces that have the fingerprint; luscious lockets have my eye currently. What a wonderful personalization. I've been a fan of her's for a long time. And I already liked Tina Steinberg Designs on FB.
(09.03.10 - 01:03 PM)I liked the Tina Steinberg Designs on facebook, and I alrleady liked you on facebook a long time ago :)), voted here on the blog and posted the message on my profile page :))....hope this increases my chance to win!! xxoo
(09.03.10 - 02:57 PM)well, I checked out the web site and OMG Tina Steinberg is amazing!!! I saw she is even "connected" with some up and comers in hollywood. That should get the word out pretty fast! In the mean time, Her love touch fingerprint collection is unique and precious while the spirit collection is inspiring and whimsical, but my absolute favorite is the luscious locket collection and in particular the circle of love. It has just the right touch of elegance and tenderness. The lovers names look as if they are effortlessly floating in eternal etherialness (is that a word?) anyway, it brings a touching tear to my eye. just stunning. I think it would be particularly beautiful with the lite box link chain to give it that little vintage look. Good work. I want one!
(09.03.10 - 04:57 PM)BTW, I completed entries 1-4 so I am crossing my fingers for a win!!!
(09.03.10 - 04:58 PM)I liked you on facebook :)
(09.03.10 - 05:46 PM)i like Tina Steinberg Designs on Facebook
(09.03.10 - 05:47 PM)I like Karen Ard Photography on Facebook
(09.03.10 - 05:48 PM)Not only do I love Karen Ard as person, but as a friend too!! Our first meeting was to do a professional pregnancy shoot and I haven't lost her number since :)) I have said this many times and I will say it again, her work is amazing!!!! I know we will be using her photography many times to come and she will be a friend forever!! xxoo
(09.03.10 - 05:50 PM)I love the idea of having a unique (one-of-a-kind) part of your loved one with you, their fingerprint on a beautiful piece of jewelry! My favorite pieces are from the Love Touch collection. I am always amazing at how many clever artisans are out there in the world. :-)
(09.04.10 - 08:04 AM)I love the idea of having a unique (one-of-a-kind) part of your loved one with you, their fingerprint on a beautiful piece of jewelry! My favorite pieces are from the Love Touch collection. I am always amazing at how many clever artisans are out there in the world. :-)
(09.04.10 - 08:04 AM)