happy 2012 lovelies! 2011 was a beautiful year in my life. today i thought i would share some of my favorite memories from it with you.

1) moved to the most beautiful wine country in california.

2) found the perfect vine covered converted barn to live in.

3) joined a csa at our local organic farm.

4) started teaching yoga!

5) traveled cross country several times (35,000 miles worth to be exact).

6) hiked 18 miles and climbed 4500 feet in one day at yosemite to see the most breathtaking view, rainbow and waterfall.

7) designed my first repeating pattern.

8) received my first order from spoonflower!

knekkebrød recipe

9) became a vegan- and absolutely love it.

10) didn’t get sick once, woo hoo!

11) discovered that being vegan is not only healthy, but absolutely delicious and rewarding.

12) had a Christmas party on the beach.

13) received my favorite purchase of the year- a wacom pad.

14) got the best birthday present- the birth of a best friends baby!

15) soaked in a natural hot springs in the middle of the forest.

16) made new family memories on the opposite side of the country.

17) fell even deeper in love with my husband, and i didn’t think that was possible.

18) experienced God and his plan for us in a more evident way than ever.

19) missed my mom. alot.

20) learned how to brew my own kombucha.

how to make your own tea

21) fell in love with tea.

22) got a minivan and named her nutmeg.

23) got the best hair cut i’ve ever had.

24) quenched my thirst from a natural spring.

25) saw the prettiest sunset.

wrap up: {2011} {favorite} {memories} {photos}

gifting someone of the crafster variety this year? how about a book on their craft? or maybe one on how to sell it or taking pictures of it? i personally own eight out of ten of these books (a bit of an obsession?) and can vouch on how truly wonderful they are. chock-full of useful information, you or your recipient will surley leave full of inspiration and better equipped to take on the world of craftiness!

p.s. do you have any favorite crafty books?

row 1: how to make money using etsy | the handmade marketplace | creative, inc

row 2: craft, inc. | how to sell your crafts online | print & pattern

row 3: a field guide to fabric design | a crafter’s guide to taking great photos | martha stewart’s encyclopedia of crafts

wrap up: {2011} {art} {books} {craft} {crafty} {design} {etsy} {gift guide} {how to sell} {photos}

oh, how i love waking up to this sunrise!

seaside view from watching the mister surf.

it’s grape picking time! workers harvesting the crop, right outside our window.

sunset at mondo’s surf spot.

and one of toaster, just for kicks!

wrap up: {beach} {life} {photos} {sunrise} {sunset} {toaster} {vineyard}

happy monday, lovelies! i wanted to share with you that this month, i will be participating in susannah conway’s the august break! the idea is to post a photo each day and look at august through the lens of your camera. it’s just a little way to take a break from the regular pressures and expectations of blogging.

my purpose will not be to post the most beautiful photo every day, but rather simply share with you my life through the lens of the camera (or droid). there will be no editing, no pressure and no rules- just fun! some days there may be some text while other days i may let the photo just speak for itself. i am also going to use this time to work on some projects, catch up on work and get a head on what i have planned for this fall.

and on that note, i would like to encourage you to join us in the august break as well! with over 650 participants so far, i think we all should to take some time for ourselves and allow some ‘give’ in our lives. so what do you say, will you join me in looking at august through the lens of your camera (dslr, compact, polaroid, iphone)? there are no rules, just lots of pretty photos to look at!

love, bonnie

wrap up: {blogging} {break} {photography} {photos} {susannah conway} {the august break}

happy monday! did you remember this past weekend’s assignment? the hub and i took it to heart, as we went exploring. over the river and through the woods, on a nature walk we went!

do you see the mountains even at the tippy top? they look like part of the clouds at first glance, they go on forever!

and a smooch to end the day!

where did you find beauty this weekend?

{photos: bonnie forkner}

wrap up: {colorado} {nature hike} {photos} {walk} {woods}

see elizabeth floyd’s new still life series, visit airdrome’s outdoor dining room, learn how to make a trompe l’oeil butterfly under glass, see post scripted nesting surprise, and get the recipe for white bean and garlic dip!

are you making something? inventing recipes? taking photos? getting crafty?  redecorating? share with us how you roost in ghtr’s flickr group!

wrap up: {flickr group} {photos} {projects} {readers} {recipes} {roosting}

happy friday darlings!  i can’t believe it’s here already, and my vacation at the beach is about to come to an end!  it’s been so beautiful here and i feel relaxed and rejuvenated.  i’ve so enjoyed writing to you everyday on our balcony with the waves in sight and wind in my hair!  i managed to snap some pictures this week, so here’s my ‘week at the beach’ roundup!

{all photos :: bonnie forkner}

how was your week? xox, bonnie

wrap up: {beach} {photography} {photos} {vacation}

as promised when we talked about using picnik to help edit your photos, here are a few of your pictures, before and after editing using picnik!

this darling banner comes from drawn to letters, who has some difficulty taking pictures of banner indoors.  taking pics indoors can sometimes be difficulty, but the most important thing to remember is to get close to a window, turn the flash off and use only natural daylight.

here’s the after of her banner picture, and here’s what i did using picnik:

click on exposure. set the exposure to 5, and the contrast to 11.  then clicked on advanced and set the brightness to -16.
heading on over to colors, slide the saturation 10 and the temperature to 12.
finally, go to sharpness and slide it up to about 6.

this brightened and livened up the photo quite a bit!  warm colors are a bit difficult to work with, but this helped bring some extra life into the photo.

this adorable elephant pillow and fabric basket comes from a new shop on the block, b*lota handmade.  she’s got all the basics of a great photo correct, a nice background with a window near by, and all natural daylight.  perfect timing for a little editing!

here’s the after, and boy did it clean up nicely!  here’s what i did:

first, i cropped in just a bit to bring the attention closer to the product, and delete any unnecessary background.

click on exposure. slide the exposure up to 27, and the contrast up to 16.  looking better already!
next, click on colors and slide the saturation up to 5 and the temperature down to -2.
finally, click on sharpness and up it to about 10. within about 2 minutes, the difference is definitely worth it!

you can of course then play with corners, text and borders, but for etsy photo shots- simplicity is always best.  i wanted to offer you these two examples so that you could play with them yourself and see what works and what doesn’t. practice makes perfect!  let me know if you have any questions!

(for more on picnik, read this article).

xo, bonnie

wrap up: {edit} {etsy shop help} {photos}