Mandi Ehman's Blog, page 101
July 24, 2013
Easy Overnight French Toast Muffins
source: Mandi Ehman
Our family absolutely loves this breakfast casserole, and now that our big girls have mastered making it on their own, we’re enjoying it as a weekly weekend breakfast and occasional breakfast-for-dinner dish!
As we were preparing for VBS week this week — which means getting out of the house by 8 a.m. each morning, something we’re not used to as homeschoolers — I was trying to come up with easy breakfasts to take the stress out of our morning routine, and I decided to try a sweet version of our casserole. In muffin size, of course, because who doesn’t love a good muffin?!
After a few attempts, here’s what I came up with.
I love this recipe because it’s really a hearty, healthy breakfast, but it’s fun too. With no-sugar-added whole grain bread, plenty of eggs for protein and optional maple syrup, there’s no worry about sending them off with a sugar rush (unfortunately, they’ll get plenty of that at VBS), but everybody gobbles them down!
I don’t often cooking in silicone, especially after reading Katie’s thoughts and the extended discussion in the comments of this post, but we need a new muffin pan and my first batch with paper liners ended up soggy, so I made an exception for this batch.
source: Mandi Ehman
Easy French Toast Muffins
Recipe type: Breakfast
Ingredients
6 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
8 slices of whole grain sandwich bread
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)
Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs and milk and whisk together thoroughly.
Add vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup (if using) and stir until combined.
Tear or cut sandwich bread into ¾” squares and add to egg mixture.
Refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.
In the morning, pull batter out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Scoop batter into a prepared muffin tin (or silicon muffin cups), filling each cup all the way.
Bake for 40 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes to cool. Serve warm as is or topped with butter and/or additional maple syrup.
#version#
Click here to add this recipe to your Plan to Eat account.
What is your favorite way to make french toast? What’s your favorite easy breakfast dish?
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy on the way, and together, they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. She loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.
Easy Overnight French Toast Muffins
© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
Free Printable Gift Card Envelopes
The following post is from Jason & Jennifer Bruce of New Season Design :
source: New Season Design
We’re big fans of giving gift cards as gifts, but the biggest problem we have with them is presentation! We’ve tucked them inside greeting cards. We’ve wrapped them with wrapping paper. We’ve even tucked them inside a tiny gift bag. Those things work, but I wanted something a bit more polished.
These tiny envelopes are a fun way to present a gift card to someone. Just print, cut, fold, and tuck your gift card inside. Each one has a lighter space on the front where you can write the recipient’s name or a little message. There are six different patterns to cover every gift card occasion!
Click here to download or print the gift card envelopes.
How do you feel about gift cards as gifts?
Jason & Jennifer Bruce are the husband-and-wife design team behind New Season Design, where they work together to help clients put their best foot forward online. Jason is a pastor-turned-graphic designer, and Jennifer is a teacher-turned-blog designer who also blogs at The Simple Pen about life, learning and the things she loves.
Free Printable Gift Card Envelopes
© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
July 23, 2013
Learning to Ride a Bike the Easy Way
source: Mandi Ehman
Learning to ride a bike was not exactly a fun experience for me. I’m physically awkward and uncoordinated, and the whole balance thing does not come easily to me, which is a bit of a problem when you’re trying to ride around on 1″ wide wheels.
I can still picture the parking lot where my dad attempted to teach me. I can still see his normally patient facade cracking. And I can still feel the shame of being the kid who was never very good at riding a bike.
As most of us do when we become parents, it’s always been my hope that things would be different for my girls, that they would be more coordinated than I am and able to do those things that seem so important when you’re in elementary school — ride a bike, do a cartwheel, rollerblade, go across the monkey bars.
The only problem? We live in the boonies with a gravel driveway and gravel road. In fact, our girls only had bikes at my parents’ house right up until they began to pack for their move to Florida late last year, and I was starting to worry that our 8-year-old was never going to get enough practice to actually learn to ride without training wheels.
Then a funny thing happened.
When their grandparents dropped off their bikes at our house, the girls excitedly began riding back and forth on the wooden “bridge” that runs along the side of our house. It hardly seemed like enough practice (or much fun at all), but they kept at it, eventually graduating to the gravel driveway as their practice area.
When one of the training wheels on our oldest’s bike broke, she just kept riding. And eventually she asked Daddy to take off the other one…and just kept riding.
Surely it was a fluke. Learning to ride a bike takes special equipment like balance bikes and hours of running back and forth holding onto the back of the bike while the kids pedal…right?
And then our 7 year old decided she was ready to learn too. She hopped on a bike without training wheels and wobbled up and down my mother-in-laws driveway. The next week she did it again and started to gain some balance. And the third week she took off and hasn’t looked back since. She came home and asked Daddy to take the training wheels off her bike as well and then showed off her new skills:
I love this for so many reasons, not the least of which is that while my kids may have inherited some of my quirky traits, they ended up with my husband’s balance and coordination. But I also love that it reinforces in their own minds that they can teach themselves whatever they want to learn without waiting for an “expert” to show them how. Along with the swimming skills they’ve also picked up this summer, despite a two-year hiatus from lessons, it’s just another example of our better late than early philosophy in action.
When they’re ready…they’re just ready!
How do you teach your kids to ride a bike?
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy on the way, and together, they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. She loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.
Learning to Ride a Bike the Easy Way
© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
Simplify Your Life with the Touch-It-Once Rule
source: khrawlings
Editor’s note: There are a lot of great posts in the archives here at Life Your Way that don’t get much attention anymore, so I’m sharing a couple of my favorites each week. We’ve started to fall out of this habit again, so rereading this post was a good reminder to me to take care of things right away rather than leaving them for later!
While we often approach decluttering and organizing as one-time tasks, the truth is that that upfront investment is really only half the battle (albeit a very important half!). Once it’s done, you still have to spend a fair amount of time keeping it that way!
There’s really no way around this (other than moving out of your house, sealing the doors and windows and just looking in on it from the outside like a museum piece!), but there is a simple rule that makes it much easier to maintain. We call it the touch-it-once rule.
Most clutter forms when we set something down because we don’t know what to do with it or don’t feel like dealing with it at that moment. When you do that, though, you end up spending twice as much time dealing with it because you still have to go back to it later.
In our home, this is often abandoned hair accessories, arts & crafts that our girls make for us, the stuff we bring inside from the car, dirty dishes in the sink and even trash after opening a package (yes, I did just look around my house to make that list).
Instead of falling into the trap of setting things down to deal with “later”, commit to taking each item to its home right away. Here are a few examples:
Put laundry in the laundry basket rather than on the floor.
Rinse dishes and put them in the dishwasher right away.
Put away shoes, coats and bags as soon as we walk in the door.
Sort the mail as soon as you bring it into the house.
My husband and I have both been trying to do this very consciously for the last couple of weeks, and it’s amazing how often we set something down out of habit even though it would have only taken a second to deal with it.
When you get the urge to set something down and deal with it later, think through what obstacles are in the way of putting it away right away.
Does it have a home, or do you need to create a home for it? If it doesn’t have a home, what do you need to do to create a home? Does it involve decluttering a drawer or cabinet? Are you just not sure where to put it? How long would it take to do what you need to do to put it away?
Is it something you need to access later, so you need a temporary spot for it? When you’re working on a project, it’s no fun to have to put the things you’re using away every time you use them if you know you’ll need them again in the near future. Use a bucket or basket to corral these tools while you’re using them and then put them away when the project is done.
Are you setting it down to remind yourself of something later? We have a perpetual pile on our kitchen counter that we use as a reminder to do various things — call the cable company, get something at the grocery store, add an appointment to the calendar. I’d really like to get better at writing these reminders down on our glass board in the laundry room rather than using a pile to remind us! Create temporary zones for bills to be paid, notices and reminders, etc.
Is it hard to put away? We got back from vacation 3 days ago, and the lunch cooler is still sitting on the counter because I need to get a stool in order to put it away. I want to buy a step stool for the laundry room to eliminate this problem because I’m always creating piles because getting a stool is so inconvenient. For items you use more frequently, what could you do to make their home more convenient so that they’re easier to put away each time?
There are limits to this, of course. For example, we create stair piles fairly frequently because it just doesn’t make sense to run upstairs every time I find a little toy that needs to be put away with the rest of a set, but then I carry as much as I can each time I go up and down the steps so that I don’t have to make special trips. (I’m not sure if that makes me efficient or lazy, but it is what it is.)
The “rule” itself is not nearly as important as creating good habits, which takes practice. To get started, take some time to look at the piles and clutter around your home and think about whether they could be avoided with the touch-it-once rule!
Do you follow the touch-it-once rule in your home? What exceptions to this rule would you add?
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy on the way, and together, they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. She loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.
Simplify Your Life with the Touch-It-Once Rule
© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
July 22, 2013
Weekly Reads + Encouraging Kids to Love to Read {7/22/13}
Ack! I had to go and open my big mouth about finally finding my reading groove…and then I lost it again.
I’m still working my way through both Lost Child in the Woods and Mansfield Park, a few pages at a time. Even though I’m really enjoying both, I’m feeling pulled in a million directions between projects and appointments and my returning desire for as much sleep as possible!
The girls, however, have been reading nonstop — something that never gets old for me (especially after our oldest’s struggle with reading as recently as last year!), even if I do find myself asking them to please put their books down while they brush their teeth, set the table or eat lunch.
Here are their reading lists for the week, which put me to shame:
Dylan (7.5):
Jesus Wants All of Me (Yes, she’s reading a devotional straight through like a chapter book. Love her!)
The Slumber Party Secret (Nancy Drew Notebooks #1)
Sarah Plain and Tall (This was one she had started awhile ago and decided to pick back up and finish.)
Peyton (almost 9)
Misty of Chincoteague
Owls in the Family
Amazing Days of Abby Hayes: Some Things Never Change
Sword in the Tree
The Minstrel in the Tower
A Question for You
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes some kids love to read and some kids hate it. A lot of people say that it’s a girl thing and boys just don’t enjoy reading as much, but Heidi at Mt. Hope Chronicles has three very active boys who are also voracious readers, so I’m not convinced that’s true. Heidi also shared this article on Facebook the other day about how some of our strategies for encouraging boys to read (books full of gross humor and using video games as incentives) might not be helping the cause. I obviously don’t have any boys (yet!) to compare, but my hope is that our little girls and Jackson will love to read as much as the big girls do.
I think that our family’s love of stories in general (there is almost always an audiobook playing somewhere in our house) plus our limits on TV and electronics time help, but I’d love to hear from you as well: How do you encourage your kids to read? How do you encourage them to love to read? Are those two questions even different, or is the answer the same to both?
Share Your Reading List
5 More Homemaking eBooks for Just $7.40! {BundleoftheWeek.com}
I’m really excited about this week’s bundle. For just $0.40 more than the regular price of our Life Your Way Printables Complete Download Pack, you’ll get all 300 printables plus 4 ebooks to help you get organized at home!
A little organization and pre-planning goes a long way when you’re managing a home, and this collection will help you get organized, tame the paper clutter and simplify your home. Plus, discover the secrets for throwing a party without the stress and get all of the printables you need to set up your home management notebook today!
Hurry, because this offer is good this week only! In addition to The Life Your Way Printables Complete Download Pack, you’ll also get these ebooks at a savings of more than 75%:
Planner Perfect by Jenny Penton
Plan a Fabulous Party {Without Losing Your Mind} by Mary Carver
10 Steps to Organized Paper by Lisa Woodruff
Homestead Simplicty by Lisa Barthuly
Even if you’re not interested in this week’s bundle, be sure to sign up for the BundleoftheWeek.com weekly newsletter so you can be the first to know about the latest bundle:
5 More Homemaking eBooks for Just $7.40! {BundleoftheWeek.com}
© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
7 Must-Have Products for a Green and Natural Home
The following post is from Emily of Live Renewed:
source: Emily at LiveRenewed.com
Recently, my container of homemade deodorant ran out, and I was heading out the door on a super hot day, so I knew I needed to do something. I went into the kitchen, grabbed my large box of baking soda out of the cupboard, sprinkled some into my palms, patted it onto my armpits, and went on my way.
By the end of the day, even after walking to the park while pushing my kids in the stroller, standing outside in the hot sun while they played, and driving in a scorching hot car – sweating the whole time, my husband confirmed that I did not smell like B.O. Sometimes the simplest things work the best.
One thing I have loved about our family’s transition to a more green and natural lifestyle is that I have found so many great multifunctional products that simplify my life and save our family money, while also reducing our exposure to toxic and harmful chemicals in the products that we use on our bodies and around our homes every day.
Here are my top choices for multifunctional green and natural products:
source: Emily at LiveRenewed.com
1. Castile Soap
Castile soap is an all-natural, oil-based soap that is a staple in every green household. One of the most popular brands is Dr. Bronner’s and they list 18 different uses on the side of the product label. While I haven’t tried everything suggested there, our family uses castile soap for:
body soap in the shower
replacement for shaving cream
baby bath soap (the unscented version)
homemade foaming handsoap
multipurpose homemade cleaner
homemade soft scrub
toilet bowl cleaner
pet shampoo
2. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is a curious thing – it’s usually solid at room temperature because it’s melting point is 76°. Unrefined, virgin coconut oil retains the scent and taste of coconuts, and is also the most beneficial. Coconut oil is great to use in both the kitchen and the bathroom. To get you started, we use it for:
cooking and baking
nutritional additive to smoothies, oatmeal, etc.
homemade deodorant
diaper rash lotion
after-sun lotion
moisturizer
And here’s a list of 101 more uses for coconut oil!
3. Baking Soda
I think baking soda pretty much speaks for itself. I buy it in four pound boxes, two at a time, to be sure that I never run out! Baking soda is one of my top go-to green and non-toxic cleaners!
baking (of course!)
homemade deodorant
in place of deodorant
homemade soft scrub
non-toxic abrasive cleaner
carpet deodorizer
And here’s a list of 60 ways to use baking soda around your home!
source: Emily at LiveRenewed.com
4. Essential Oils
If you’re new to using essential oils, you may feel a little overwhelmed or unsure about how to use them. I recommend beginning with just a few basic ones that you can use for both cleaning and personal care; lemon, tea tree oil, eucalyptus, lavender, and peppermint are a few of my favorites that I use most often. Also, here is a great post on the basics of using essential oils to help you get started.
And here are even more ideas for ways to use your essential oils:
homemade multipurpose cleaner
homemade baby wipes
homemade tick and mosquito spray
sunburn relief
homemade reed diffusers
homemade vapo rub
5. Vinegar
I feel like I can’t even begin to list all of the uses for vinegar here, but let’s just say the uses are pretty much endless! You can get started by checking out this post on 20 uses for vinegar around your home.
One thing to remember when using vinegar is that you should not mix vinegar and castile soap together for homemade cleaners.
6. Carrier Oils
Carrier oils include almond, jojoba, grapeseed, olive, etc., and are used as the base for many homemade healthy and beauty products. Try one of these recipes to get started:
oil cleansing method
homemade lotion
homemade scented body oils
homemade sugar scrubs
7. Glass Jars
And of course, you’ll need glass jars to store all of those lovely homemade beauty products, and so much more, around your house! Although we are trying to really simplify our stuff and purge unnecessary stuff from our home, I’ll admit that I am a definitely hoarder of glass jars. My husband picked up about 10 dozen of them for me at an estate sale earlier this summer, and I’m just dreaming of all of the ways that I can fill them up. For more inspiration, here are 15 ways to reuse glass jars!
If you are looking for a good place to start your journey toward more green and natural living, I want to encourage you to invest in these multifunctional products that will become the base for so many homemade, safe and non-toxic products all around your home.
What are your go to multifunctional products for green cleaning and body care?
Emily McClements is passionate about caring for God’s creation while saving money at the same time. She is a blessed wife and mama to two young children, and blogs about her family’s journey toward natural and simple living at Live Renewed.
7 Must-Have Products for a Green and Natural Home
© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
July 20, 2013
Weekend Reading: July 20, 2013
source: Mandi Ehman
This was a very busy week — busy with fun stuff like a backyard water party at a friend’s house and not-so-fun stuff like a 2-hour glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. In the middle, the girls spent hours outside playing, despite the heat wave, splashing in our little backyard pool and climbing trees. And when Daddy mentioned that a few of those trees needed to come down, they took to the picket line with signs, slogans and marching in a “Save the Trees” campaign. So funny!
It was a good summer week, but I’m hoping next week will be a bit cooler and less “thick” out!
Here are some of my favorite posts from this week. As always, check out what I’m reading to see the other posts that make me stop and think. You’ll find new posts all week long!
Family {The Little Things Matter}
40 Ways To Be Present in Your Child’s Day | The Better Mom
The Day I Stopped Saying ‘Hurry Up’ | Hands Free Mama
Parenting Phrases That Never Go Out of Style | Finding Joy
Work {Practical Tips for Your Sanity}
How to Manage Email Inbox Overload and Actually Get Stuff Done | The Art of Manliness
How to Deal with Self-Doubt | Peace and Projects
3 Steps to Effectively Manage Career Priorities | Black Enterprise
**Despite the academic-sounding title, this article includes some great tips from my friend Andre for any entrepreneur!
Food {Gluten-Free for Everybody}
I love how Amy talks about good food being good food, whether it’s gluten-free or not, and even though there’s no medical reason for our family to seek out gluten-free recipes, these recipes are all going on my must-try list:
Quick Almond Pan Bread | Plan to Eat
Lemon Basil Cookies | Elana’s Pantry
Gluten-Free Coffee Cake | GoodLife Eats
And because ignoring it won’t make the problem go away, be sure to read about the growing problem of ‘sextortion’ involving minors as young as 12 or 13 years old.
Have a great weekend!
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy on the way, and together, they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. She loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.
Weekend Reading: July 20, 2013
© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
CommentsThanks so much for featuring my pan bread! by Stacy
July 19, 2013
Simple Summer Maternity Style
source: Mandi Ehman
Let’s be clear: a fashionista, I am not.
Most of my clothes are hand-me-downs from my mom and sister (both of whom are very fashionable), and I’m perfectly okay with just having a few outfits that I really love and feel good in. And truthfully, most days at home during the summer find me in a pair of cotton gauchos (like these) and a tank top.
My goal with this pregnancy has been to buy as little as possible (after giving away a pretty complete maternity wardrobe) and still feel good, and I think I’m doing pretty well so far, so I thought I’d give you a peek into my closet and some of my favorite outfits.
Here are my wardrobe stables with a sampling of what I wore “out” this week:
Fold-Down Waistbands
source: Mandi Ehman
(Um, wow, I look annoyed in that first picture. We were trying to get on the road to my doctor’s appointment this week, and apparently I’m no good at the fake smile!)
This skirt is actually a maternity skirt, but only because I had been looking for one in this pattern and this was the only one I found (via Old Navy Maternity). That said, I have a feeling it will continue to be a staple even after Jackson is born because it really just has an elastic fold-down waistband rather than a specific maternity cut.
In addition, I bought these non-maternity linen pants from Old Navy with the exact same style waistband, and those pants have proven to be among my favorites as well because they’re just so comfy.
I’ve only recently had to start retiring some of my non-maternity shirts, but both the skirt and pants are very versatile with a variety of tanks and tops so that I can dress them up or down depending on the occasion.
Maxi Dresses
source: Mandi Ehman
I love maxi dresses during the summer, and I love that they’re so easily adaptable during pregnancy. Other than one dress that is simply too tight in my, ahem, chest area, all of the dresses in my closet still fit beautifully, and I really feel good in these dresses — not just from a fashion perspective, but also because they’re cool and breezy, the perfect outfit for humid, 80-90 degree days.
This particular dress (a hand-me-down from my mom) was especially long to start, which means it’s still very, very long despite my growing bump! I’m hoping to find a long-sleeved cardigan so that I can continue wearing this one right up until the end of this pregnancy in the fall!
In addition to maxi dresses, I also have a few short cotton dresses that I wear a lot. I’ve found that as long as they were to my knees to start, they haven’t gotten too short yet. I will admit that my favorite short dress for the past month or so is actually a maternity dress, which I like because it’s a little more fitted rather than just hanging over my belly.
Shorts and a T-Shirt
source: Mandi Ehman
I’m not a huge fan of shorts normally, but I did end up buying a couple pairs of maternity shorts for this hot, hot summer. One pair has a full maternity panel — which I’m pretty sure was invented by someone who has never been pregnant during the summer because it’s so very hot on my belly — while the other just has an elastic waistband that actually sits on my hips below my bump. Those will probably still be in my closet next summer because they’re comfy and cute!
Again, I just pair these with a variety of t-shirts, tanks and other tops for various events — despite the abundance of ugly spider veins on my legs — for a cool and comfy summer outfit.
How do you stay cool while pregnant in the summer?
Mandi Ehman is the blogger behind Life Your Way. She and her husband have four beautiful girls plus one baby boy on the way, and together, they live, work and homeschool on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia. She loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.
Simple Summer Maternity Style
© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
Photography Gadget and Gear Round-up {+ a Fun Giveaway for You!}
The following post is from Krystal of Krystal Griffin Photography:
[image error]
source: Krystal Griffin Photography
I’m really excited about this post because I get to share with you some wonderful items that I love. Photography accessories and gadgets are in endless supply these days, ranging from the fashionable to the functional, economical to costly. The reason I love so many of these items is that they are all high on function and economy, some are even fashionable, and best of all we get to giveaway a few of them at the end of this post!
So, here are my favorite photography gadgets and gear:
Remote Shutter Release
I have mentioned this tiny tool before when we talked about getting everyone into the photo and that is certainly a prime time to pull this out. There is no reason why one person is left out from a group to be behind the camera, but that isn’t the only time you might like a remote. Landscapes and fireworks, or any time you want a slow shutter speed, are other occasions it will prove to be useful.
You will have to find a model that is compatible with your camera, but there are endless options, and you a sure to find one that suites you. I own one a lot this one found at Amazon. Priced around $10, they are well worth the money.
Lens Cap Holder
Tell me I’m not the only one who is constantly misplacing my lens cap? I don’t know what the issue is, maybe the small size, or the fact that I’m thinking about what I’m photographing and not my cap. In any case, they do seem easy to misplace.
This holder has to be the best one I’ve seen yet. It’s far more durable than other options and won’t get in your way either. This item is also $10, and I think it pays for it’s self with all the caps you won’t have to replace.
The Lightscoop
[image error]
Source: Professor Korbe’s Lightscoop
Shortly after buying my first DSLR I realized that there were times you really need some extra light. But the on camera flash didn’t look so great, and I wasn’t interested in spending big bucks for a flash.
Enter the Lightscoop®! I found that a $30 dollar tool could make vast improvements on those photos that require some extra light.
The basic idea is that the Lightscoop® redirects all that flash light to bounce off the ceiling, creating flattering light in your dark room. From the time I bought the Original Lightscoop®, they have since came out with the Deluxe (for DSLRs) and Jr. (for large point and shoots) models.
They sent me a Deluxe model to review, and I’m impressed with improved durability and two piece construction that makes it easy to pack in a bag. It can now swivel to angle the light up to the ceiling for a vertical shot. If trying to use this seems confusing, don’t stress about that. It comes with some great instructions to get you started (both in the packaging and on-line) and it’s pretty intuitive. The three models are priced at $19, $30 and $36. Given the ease of use and the improvement in your photos, it’s a great buy.
You can find Lightscoop® on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, where they share tons of photography tips and tutorials! You’ll also save 15% off any Lightscoop purchase with coupon code LYW15, which is good through 8/16/13.
Wrist Straps
[image error]
source: Porteen Gear
By now, most of you know that you can get a camera strap for your neck to match anything the imagination can come up with. But what you may not have seen is the wrist or hand straps. If you aren’t crazy about having a strap around your neck because of the bulk, irritation or the fact that it occasionally swings into your shot, then this is your solution.
I have admired Porteen Gear bags for a long time and took notice of some quality straps that they carry as well. Robyn sent me one (which we will be giving away!), and I was really impressed at how durable and heavy the nylon is, with more bulk and structure than the picture might show. I think a few people I know will be getting these as gifts. This strap is super easy to use and comes in some beautiful styles and colors. The basic nylon strap is $12 and well worth all of that. If you are looking to upgrade from nylon, you can always spring for the new leather option.
Bag Inserts
[image error]
source: Martilena
My quest for the perfect bag to put my camera in proved to be nearly impossible to fulfill. It’s tough find the perfect blend of all your needs, the style you want and the price you need to stay at. We ladies ask a lot of our bags, and this was no exception.
Fortunately, I stumbled on an Etsy shop called Martilena that carries custom sized bag inserts and my problem was solved. I could get a bag in just the size, style and function (storing my things and protecting my camera) I needed and simply buy an insert to put in it. And when I get tired of it wear it out I can simply pull it out and start over again. While my insert is big to hold a lot of professional gear, the smaller models are perfect for the everyday bag to carry a DSLR, purse contents, iPad and other electronics. This insert was another item that I was pleasantly surprised with how the quality is. Most of the inserts range in price from $35-55 and come with your measurement choices.
Enter to Win
This week, one lucky Life Your Way reader will win a photography gadget gift bundle, including:
one Lightscoop of your choice
small bag insert from Martilena
teal and black DSLR wrist strap from PorteenGear
To enter, fill out the form below:
This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on DATE. The winner will be selected randomly and notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well. Open to U.S. residents 18 years old and above.
Krystal is a stay-at-home mom of four children, ages 4-9, whom she homeschools. She is acutely aware of how fast her children are changing and is passionate about keeping family memories alive through photographs. Now and then she gets to help other families’ bottle up their own memories at Krystal Griffin Photography.
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