Lightscoop: My New Favorite!

Before I say anything else, you need to know that I received no compensation for this post. I’m simply madly in love with this new gadget, and you MUST know about it!

The other day I was stalking perusing Tatertots and Jello, and Jen mentioned this product. It’s called Lightscoop, and it changes the way you’ll take pictures with a flash for-eh-vah.

                              

Truth be told, I shoot everything in manual mode. My friend has the same camera as me, and she shoots entirely in automatic. What a shame, right? But I get it. Some people are just overwhelmed by it all, so they stick with what’s easy. Because there are some situations where you might need a flash, this is just the gadget for you.

All of my “before” shots are first. They are all shot in automatic mode, and each one of them called for a flash to be used—even though they were all shot during the day.

 

Notice how the befores don’t give off the right coloring, and they’re bouncing light all over the place? Eww.

Here’s my bed-headed little one on the computer. I peruse Tatertots and Jello. She peruses new American Girl dolls. Notice the washed out couch? The over-reflected hair? Check out the after!

I still can’t get over the next one. Shot during the day (around 12:30?). I think I pushed the flash up on this one, so I don’t know that automatic would have called for it. However, look what the Lightscoop did just 7.3 seconds later. Incredible.

 

And finally, my needs-a-haircut son. He doesn’t peruse. Not when he’s watching Star Wars. He also doesn’t wear a shirt. Like ever. As he puts it, “I need my muscles to breath.” Here’s the before…

And here’s the after. Looks like they were shot at entirely different times, right? The coloring is SO much better.

I’m not a super impulsive buyer (my indecisiveness is a curse, I tell ya!), but as soon as I saw that this bad boy was only $30, I scooped one right up. (Pun intended.)

             

Easy to install, inexpensive, and spectacular results! Can’t beat that! I put a link to their site on the logo.  Let me know if you take the plunge! I’m anxious to hear if you love it too!

DIY Bookshelves

Disclaimer: This is a long post. With a lot of pictures. I venture to say it’s taking me longer to get this post around than it was to actually do the project. With the cabinet finally finished, I realized that my daughter really needed some more room for her books. I didn’t want to fill that pretty thing with all books, so I had to come up with something.

So here’s the something.

I will admit that it’s the first project involving wood/nails/labor that I’ve done completely by myself. Needless to say, I was a little apprehensive, but it turned out better than I expected.

As the books were being placed on the shelves, my little one kept saying, “Hey! I forgot about that book!” “Oooh, I wanna read that one!” Mission. Accomplished.

  

How about a tutorial for this oh-so-easy project? The first stop was to Lowes for some primed MDF strips. I spent more money with the primed version; However, I know you could do this for less money. I knew I’d be painting it light, so I didn’t want to worry about priming it. Worth the money, really.

I drew a small bead of wood glue along the edges to be nailed and held it for a few seconds. It offered some support and kept things from shifting while I was nailing them together.

I knew I wanted three shelves, and they measured out around 27” each. This meant I needed an 8 foot piece of each. I took the three pieces up to the wood-cutter guy (official name) at Lowes and had him cut them. Yeehaw! How easy is that?

After painting them (including the exposed edges), my husband screwed them into some studs on the wall. I didn’t bother hiding the screws. Who’s gonna see them?

Because the beauty of this project is really in the color of the books, I wanted the shelves to be as simple and streamlined as possible. Luckily, that was also the easiest to build.

And of course, it wouldn’t be a success unless this goofball liked them. I think she approves.

Supply breakdown:

• 8 feet, 1x6 (three shelves at @ 27” each)
• 8 feet 1x4
• 8 feet 1x2…………………………….Total of $28.00
• Wood Glue $2.97
• Nails/nail gun, paint—already had

Rugs: They Ain’t Cheap!

Well, in true JaG form, I’m itchin’ to do something to my daughter’s room. While it’s generally piled with clothes and Barbie dolls, I just feel like it’s a little “flat” when it’s actually clean. I’m SO close to having this cabinet done for her room, but Michigan weather just doesn’t allow it.

I figured the easy fix would be to get a rug in her room. You know, warm it up a bit, right? Break up the monotony of the floor. Easy peasy! Yeah, right. Let me show you the contenders after researching 1,745 sites for one.

#1. LOVE it. What’s wrong? It’s on Ebay. And that’s not even an actual picture of the rug! How in the world am I going to order a drawing of a rug. Verdict is still out on it as I wait for an actual picture from the seller—possibly.

#2. Again, with the LOVE. What’s wrong? It’s too dark. And it’s $239. ‘Nuff said.

And here’s where Pottery Barn comes in. It HAD to be Pottery Barn.

#3. I love the pattern in it. What’s wrong? The pink seems a little purply to me, and I wouldn’t mind a mix of green in there somewhere. I’m nervous about too much pink. Price? $299. For a rug. In a kid’s room.

#4. Oh wait. Here’s something a little cheaper. And it has the pink and green in it. Nevermind. It looks like a beach towel. Price? $169. We’re getting there, people!

And finally? #5. My love. My passion. My desire. Price? $299. Come ON! Can’t I catch a break here?

I turned to Ebay and found it for $239. Hmmm…it’s not quite as obnoxious, but really?

So that’s where I am. Stuck searching for a rug that might not exist. I’m pretty madly in love with it, and I know what that means. It just might have to be mine. I’m frugal. I save. I DIY, darn it! Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pay the money.

At least that’s what I’m telling myself right now. Why can’t Pottery Barn offer 40% off coupons every Sunday like my other favorite stores?

Art Tray

When kids are little, they are sponges when it comes to art projects. I remember my daughter cutting construction paper into squares for over an hour one day. It doesn’t take much, but they just love it. And then…they get older.

My 8-year old is still on the fringe, but my 11-year old’s artistic creativity has been limited to monsters, sports, and skulls.  There was a time when any one of these rooms would have been a perfect fit for my little ones, but now they’re just…well…for little ones.

I decided something needed to be done. I’m not overly impressed with the art teacher/class at their school, so I took matters into my own hands. I shopped the house to see what I could come up with that would spur some creativity in my kids. And….I came up with this! 

The paint, the paper, the glue, the scissors—that’s a given. I felt like they needed some sort of embellishment tray to jumpstart their artwork.

My local grocery store (Meijer) had this outdoor tray, and I found a circle placemat that fits perfectly inside. I thought it would be good to keep things from sliding around, and it would prevent some major scratches on the surface. Plus, it adds a nice pop of color!

The little glasses were found at Goodwill for $.49 cents a piece. Cute! The larger jars are Mason jars I already had on hand. All the art supplies—already had them.

When I set the tray on the table, my son said, “Wow! You bought a bunch of new art supplies!” Uhhh no. So maybe that’s it? Maybe kids just need things in front of them? Maybe the inspiration comes from accessibility and a colorful display? We’ll see.

I thought I’d be able to show you some picture evidence of its success. You know, pics of my kids frolicking in pom poms and skipping through fields of foam letters. Alas, it decided to be 80 degrees here today, so they opted to watch my husband burn the Christmas tree in the backyard.

That may have been cooler, but my option was MUCH prettier. Just sayin’.

SAS Day and “Normal”

I’m on mid-winter break this week, so I decided to gut the kids’ bedrooms. As I approached the rooms with my hazmat suit, I found it funny how differently they seem to play. Case in point--

He’s the “typical” boy with his arsenal of weapons and the ultimate Star Wars battle.

Then, there’s my daughter. She has her books lined up for her “students” and has written her very own Santa book.

No girl’s room is complete without a plethora of jewelry, some ultra-cute writing utensils, and the ever classic chick flick “Aquamarine”.

Of course, no cleaning day would be complete without finding this on her work desk.

Apparently, after a tough round of tic-tac-toe, a cup of jo just won’t take the edge off.  My little 8-year old has realized that she needed something just a little stronger. That can’t be normal, right? Do you find this stuff in your kids’ rooms?